The cuts are in and the practice squad is set and we now know the roster that the Washington Redskins will have the opener of the 2007 season. Let’s take a closer look:
Quarterback
- Jason Campbell
- Todd Collins
- Mark Brunell
Note: Collins has not been officially named the number 2 QB but judging by the last practice where Collins worked with the number 2 unit and Brunell sat on his hands it seems to be a safe bet.
Ding-done the witch is dead. Mark Brunell, nemesis of Redskins fans for years, has finally been demoted down the roster and appears likely to have seen his final duty under center for the Redskins barring catastrophic injuries to both Campbell and Collins. For Jason Campbell this is his 1st year as a full-time NFL starter. There is a lot riding on his success as neither Collins or Brunell are going to lead an NFL team to the playoffs at this stage in their career. Campbell had a successful pre-season finishing with a QB rating of 102.9. He played very well in limited duty against two tough defenses in Jacksonville and Pittsburgh. In my biased opinion he could finally be the answer at QB.
Collins is a bit feeble armed, but he’s “super-smart” and knows the offense like the back of his hand. He’s a serviceable back-up. Brunell is a solid option as a number 2 or 3 QB. He’s shown that he can’t stand up to the season long beating of an NFL season anymore without losing all semblance of arm strength, but for a brief stretch he’d be fine.
Running Back
- Clinton Portis
- Ladell Betts
- Rock Cartwright
- Marcus Mason
- FB – Mike Sellers
Here is one the strongest units on the roster. Both Portis and Betts are proven starting caliber options and Rock Cartwright has been effective in his rare opportunities. There has been some outrage over Portis and his lack of work this pre-season but its really a non-story. LaDainian Tomlinson, Steven Jackson and Frank Gore didn’t have any carries either; Larry Johnson has a whopping 3 carries. Go down the list of top NFL running backs and they averaged about 10 carries this pre-season. Somehow I doubt 10 carries is going to make much of a difference in conditioning. This is a story because media types need something to write about when nothing is going on. Portis is going to be fine and he’ll get 20+ carries this week. Portis’ blocking abilities are much better than Betts and that could be a huge factor while the offensive line gels.
Betts struggled this pre-season but he got most of his carries behind two offensive lineman that had never played an NFL down at their respective positions (Wade and Heyer) against 1st string defenses. I’m not concerned. Cartwright is still the same guy a solid runner but a star special teamer. Marcus Mason will probably be inactive most weeks barring injuries, but he could be the number 2 back over Cartwright if either Portis or Betts goes down. Mike Sellers is one scary dude and will continue jacking up linebackers this season.
Wide Receiver
- Santana Moss
- Antwaan Randle-El
- Brandon Lloyd
- James Thrash
- Shaun Bodiford
If you remember back to the 1999 playoff season, the Redskins offense featured a lot of running and mixed in a lot of deep passes, I expect you’ll something similar this year. The Redskins are built for the running game, they are have 2 strong runners and a mauling offensive line. The receivers are all relatively small but speedy and made for the deep routes. Santana Moss is a proven deep threat and when healthy one of the best receivers in football. Despite being short for a wide-out, he is almost un-coverable one on one and makes better adjustments to the ball than any WR in the NFL. His performance was down a bit last year, but with a QB who can get the ball downfield, if Moss can stay healthy he has a chance to duplicate his pro-bowl 2004 season.
Antwaan Randle-El hasn’t shown the ability to be a reliable number 2 receiver yet, but he appears to have developed some chemistry with Campbell and could put up career best numbers this year. Lloyd is still an unknown quality. He obviously has ability but he drops too many easy passes to take advantage of it, if he struggles again this year he’ll probably be looking for a job next spring. Thrash is Thrash, the rare blocking specialist receiver. He doesn’t have a ton of skill, but he’ll catch the balls that come his way and provide blocking help. Bodiford was just added to the roster for a look-see. He’ll probably have a couple of weeks to catch the coaches eyes before they go looking for another option. He’ll be inactive in week one.
Tight Ends
- Chris Cooley
- Todd Yoder
- Cody Boyd
Fantasy alert: Chris Cooley is going to have a HUGE year in 2007. He is obviously Campbell’s favorite target and will get a ton of balls his way this year. He had 7 receptions in very limited action in the pre-season. 80+ catches and over 1000 yards wouldn’t be a huge surprise to me. Amazingly, the Redskins even resigned him at a fair rate instead of letting him being over priced in free agent market next spring.
Todd Yoder is your prototypical 2nd tight end – he blocks well, if everything breaks his way he’ll hit double digit receptions and he’ll probably vulture a few TD catches. Cody Boyd is another guy just added to the roster.
Offensive Line
Tackles
- Chris Samuels (left)
- Jon Jansen (right)
- Todd Wade
- Stephon Heyer
- Jason Fabini
Guards
- Pete Kendall (left)
- Randy Thomas (right)
- Mike Pucillo
Center
- Casey Rabach
- Mike Pucillo
The offensive line is going to be good. The Pete Kendall trade was a god-send for the Redskins. The guard position looked to be in flux until the Jets screwed around and traded a very good guard for pennies on the dollar. His acquisition has solidified the entire unit and left the Skins with solid depth throughout the line. The main question mark is if Jon Jansen can rebound from a down year in 2006. His early pre-season play left a lot to be desired but there weren’t many comments made about him in later games which is always a good sign.
Chris Samuels will look to continue his top performance from last year. Missing the entire pre-season and getting Jason Taylor in week one isn’t exactly being broken in gently, but with a little help from the tight ends and running backs, it shouldn’t be a huge issue. The interior of the line is solid and full of veterans who should avoid the big errors that can get your QB killed. The line should be happy as the Redskins will run and run a lot this year. This will be a strength again in 2007.
Up next… defense and special teams
Lee your confidence in the backs and offensive line is admirable. I think something less of Clinton for not having suited up once, expecially in light how he felt victimized by last preseason and has railed continually against it this year as well. If he does not burst onto the scene as a 1000+ yard back, if he’s winded, slow or hesitant the team will be ok with the backups but Clinton becomes JABRB (just another bitching running back), they are a dime a dozen.
As for the line, I have somewhat less confidence based on a poor preseason of run blocking. Granted Chris Samuels was not in there but the starting O-line never played a single snap together and only got in their first practice together this week. This concerns me and I already see a narrative set up for when the Redskins are 1-2 with an anemic running game about how thing need to ‘jell’ and we’r going to ‘tweak’ the schemes. The eighth week is not the time for the line to start playing together.
Maybe I’m just a nattering nabob of negativity but when I see Clinton bitching about some conspiracy out to get him I see someone that is not confident of his own abilities.
Ah.. I’m probably drinking the kool-aid but that’s part of the fun.
If Portis is feeling challenged or worried about his job – I see that as a positive for the team. Who knows what he’ll see on Sunday, but I have confidence. Portis is a guy who does all the little things – blocking, holding on to the ball that makes him more important than the numbers. I remember the guy who along with the defense pretty much carried this team into the playoffs in 2004 and I feel alright.
As for the offensive line, they are all veterans. They’ll figure it out. Save for Kendall they’ve played together for the past three years. Kendall’s one of those ‘super-smart’ guys and he’s been around the block. I doubt he’s going to be doing things that are so unpredictable that it throws everything off.
Super-smart? So it’s fair to say he’s ‘articulate?’ How about ‘erudite?’ Do you think he has a big ‘ball sack?’
I gotta agree with Ben on Portis. Probably just because I’m tired of whining instead of winning. I mean look at Pearson, I mean why do they not have more giving turf so he knee doesn’t blow out huh? I sure didn’t see him try and miss a set this year. Clinton comes out averages two touchdowns and 125/game, its forgotten, but if not, get him out and lets go with someone who really wants to be there and plays like it.