The Redskin Report

When looking over the Redskins defense, the experts usually focus on the defensive line (although this has reduced with the acquisition of Jason Taylor) or the lack of depth in the secondary as the weakness of the unit. But as the pre-season progresses it is looking more and more that the linebacker position may end up being a major concern this season.

The starting linebackers are either old or coming off major injuries and the depth of the position has been reduced this past off-season as well. Rocky McIntosh is pretty well on schedule in his return from major knee surgery but his mobility may be decreased this season. His coverage skills were never a strong suit and in the last pre-season game the Jets dinked and dunked their way down the field passing off to running backs and tight ends. This is a trend we may see more and more of if McIntosh proves to be a step behind this season.

Marcus Washington is another player coming off an injury riddled season. He’s on the wrong side of 30 now and at an age where many players decline. It could be argued that Washington’s play has already regressed from his career peak back in the 2005 and 2006 seasons and a rebound to that level seems unlikely. Washington has started he’s fully healthy for the 1st time since 2006 this year but that’s a common statement for a player who’s play has slipped off in recent years.

London Fletcher is the surest bet of the bunch but he’s also the oldest at 33. Football players can fall fast when they hit their mid-30’s and even though we’ve seen no reason to expect a drop-off from Fletcher this year, its going to happen at some point soon. No one can play a top level forever. Luckily middle linebacker is also the position where the Redskins seem to have the most ready to step in back-up in HB Blades. Blades appears to be a poor man’s Fletcher at this point in his career and could step into the line-up without a huge downgrade.

The outside linebacker back-ups aren’t so strong. Khary Campbell has been around for a ton of years but the team has never had confidence to play him in more than a situational role. Matt Sinclair is a guy who spent most of last year on the practice squad and is likely on the bubble battling with a few other guys for a 6th linebacker position and unlikely to contribute.

If all goes according to plan the linebackers will be fine but it’s a position that’s teetering on the brink of being a big problem. If the defense takes a big step back in 2008, linebacker is likely to be the position to blame.