FanHouse Brian Orakpo

When the Washington Redskins got the ball back with 1:32 left in the game, they were just three kneel-downs away from their first win of 2009. They were playing at home, yet there was an audible smattering of boos. On a victory? What gives?

Allow me to take a wild guess -- the Redskins ended the game with 362 total yards, gained 21 first downs and failed to score a touchdown against a Rams team that lost 28-0 last week to the Seahawks. Of course, the booing wasn't overwhelming; probably because most fans realized how fortunate their favorite team was to escape with a victory.

---

---

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Offense -- They stormed out of the gate last season, on the shoulders of Clinton Portis. In the second half of the season, though, the offensive line began to wear down and Jason Campbell wasn't productive enough downfield to take attention away from CP26. This season, there are reasons for optimism. The offensive line has been retooled. The growth of second-year wideouts Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly will give Campbell more reliable options in the passing attack in addition to the solid Chris Cooley and Santana Moss.

Offensive tackle Andre Smith became the 31st 2009 first-round draft pick to sign, coming to terms with Cincinnati. Find all the signed picks' contract details below:

The Redskins defeated the Steelers in their Week 2 preseason matchup Saturday, but despite the meaningless victory, there are still concerns about Washington's inert offense. It starts with quarterback Jason Campbell, of course, although fans now have a new favorite backup quarterback should things get to that point.

The defense is a different story, however. Free-agent acquisition Albert Haynesworth and first-round pick Brian Orakpo have suddenly given Washington a pass rush, and as Pittsburgh and Baltimore (the 'Skins opponent last week) can attest, a suffocating defense can mask a lot of offensive shortcomings.

The '09 Redskins defense isn't yet on par with some of the league's best units, but it wouldn't come as a complete surprise if that changed in the coming months. Because in addition to Haynesworth and Orakpo, there's also free safety LaRon Landry who, according to safeties coach Steve Jackson is, well, just keep reading (via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette):

The increase in popularity of Individual Defensive Player (IDP) leagues was easy to see coming. After all, why break down offensive players individually by position yet group all defenders as a team? Of course, when IDPs come into play, the defense can't be just an afterthought.

Sleeping on defenders while other teams amass high-sack guys like James Harrison and DeMarcus Ware, or consistent 100-tackle linebackers like Patrick Willis or Ray Lewis could leave you high and dry at critical positions. You wouldn't be stuck with Donald Driver and Devin Hester as your top two receivers, would you?

However, it'll get to that point in the draft where 20 or 30 defenders are off the board at a certain position, and you need to add a sleeper or two to your IDP core, someone who has the ability to finish in the top ten at their position. Today, I'll examine a few potential breakouts at each position -- hopefully, you'll add one or two of the good ones on draft day.

---

---

After looking through some Average Draft Position lists as well as my rankings, it's proven difficult to come up with a list of five underrated defenses. In my opinion, the top ten drafted defenses are the right ones to draft. Some may be a spot high or low, but there are no surefire starters out there that are underrated.

What I want to talk to you about today, class, is the ill-conceived strategy of drafting defenses in the middle rounds. In the eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh rounds, you need to concentrate on adding quality value picks before turning to your defensive selection. All it takes is one injury to turn your supposedly-great draft into a mess, so use these middle-round picks to fortify your QB, RB and WR starters. Because in the end, you don't even need to draft a good defense. It's much more cost-effective to cycle through defenses playing at home against inferior offenses.

But leaving you with that would eliminate the fun, so here are a couple of defenses that you should consider adding at the end of the draft.

So, why did a team who ranked fourth in the NFL in total defense draft a defensive player in the first round?

Because Brian Orakpo fell to the 13th pick, was one of the most versatile defensive players in the draft, and improves an area where the Redskins were lacking. Defensive coordinator Greg Blache doesn't blitz, but that doesn't mean the Redskins couldn't use some pressure on the quarterback. That's (presumably, though we can't really be sure with Vinny Cerrato and Dan Snyder at the helm) why they coughed up a second-round draft pick for Jason Taylor. With injuries hampering Taylor, the Redskins managed only a paltry 24 sacks.

Enter Orakpo.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

When I anointed Brian Orakpo as the ideal pick for the Washington Redskins in the first round of the draft, I sort of assumed they'd do something about the offensive line later in the draft. You see, heading into the offseason, the Redskins really had one glaring issue: The sack ratio. They allowed 38 -- in a division full of pass-rushing fiends -- and only accrued 24 themselves. I'm aware that Greg Blache's defensive scheme doesn't chase the passer, but pressuring him with a front four means that's less time the coverage has to do their job. Orakpo helps take care of that with his outside push.

It hasn't been a particularly busy draft for Washington, with the Redskins holding just two picks in the first four rounds. But Dan Snyder's team has been productive nonetheless, adding Maryland cornerback Kevin Barnes in round 3 to defensive standout Brian Orakpo, whom the 'Skins took at No. 13 overall.

Both players could turn out to be great pickups, especially given where they were selected. Orakpo, very unexpectedly, fell into the Redskins lap. Barnes, meanwhile, had injury issues in 2008, helping him fly under the radar for Washington.

Despite weeks of pre-draft speculation and misdirection, the Redskins stayed put at No. 13 and addressed one of their biggest offseason needs -- landing a pass-rush specialist -- instead of chasing after their next franchise quarterback.

Brian Orakpo and common sense won out over Mark Sanchez and man crushes. Sort of. As it turns out, the Redskins did try to trade up for Sanchez but were outbid by the Jets.

"We made a couple of calls, but it was too expensive," Redskins Executive Vice President of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato said Saturday night. Which confirms what most of us already knew: the 'Skins don't think Jason Campbell is the long-term answer. Their run at Jay Cutler last month, and Sanchez last week, confirms as much,