FanHouse CaseyRabach

ASHBURN, Va. -- Washington's offensive line was arguably one of the biggest culprits responsible for the team's last-place, 8-8 finish in 2008. Yet, as the Redskins wrapped up their first OTA of the summer on Thursday, four months from the 2009 season opener, their starters up front appear set.

Almost.

The 'Skins are, for better or worse, basically settled at left tackle (Chris Samuels), both guard spots (Derrick Dockery and Randy Thomas) and center (Casey Rabach), but there's approximately an entire roster's worth of guys battling to start at right tackle. And, so far, it's hard to pick a favorite.

Redskins safety Reed Doughty might be on injured reserve, but rehabbing a bad back hasn't affected his keen business sense. Or maybe he's just extremely lucky (other than not being able to play because he's hurt, obviously). Whatever, he's been a beneficiary of the club recently signing Shaun Alexander and DeAngelo Hall.

Alexander wore No. 37 in Seattle before his inglorious departure, and that just happened to be Doughty's number in Washington. One financial transaction later and Alexander had 37 and Doughty had moved on to 23. Fast-forward a few weeks, the Redskins sign Hall to a one-year deal, and he wanted to keep the number that brought him such good karma in Oakland.

Yep, that would be No. 23. Doughty dutifully obliged because, as he told the Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg, "I want to have my number, I like 23 ... But at the same time, we're building a house. I'd rather have furniture than a number." Fair point.

Meanwhile, Doughty's teammates' reaction ranged from incredulous to, well, just incredulous:

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: The young Jason Campbell made some nice strides last year ... but had a huge problem holding onto the ball too long. His fumbles, unnecessary sacks and bad decisions led to some poor end-of-game situations. Now with Jim Zorn calling the shots, Campbell will be in his 7th different system in eight years (counting his time at Auburn). Now he will be learning the West Coast offense that takes QBs a while to learn. Backup Todd Collins was golden in his duties last year and it was a bit of a surprise that he re-upped in Washington again. Colt Brennan is a project as the No. 3. Heat Index: 5

Running Back: Heading into last year, many people figured that the Redskins would go to a dual-back system. Didn't happen. Clinton Portis (who is always nicked up) brought it all season long, taking his place near the top of the yardage and TD rankings. Ladell Betts wasn't bad or anything -- he just didn't get the opportunities to shine as he did in 2006. Still, Betts is a very serviceable backup who could get more touches if Zorn really does want to run the football. Heat Index: 8

As you're probably aware by now, Redskins tight end Chris Cooley has a blog. So far it's been fairly well received by football fans, mostly because in an era when too many professional athletes follow a safe PR script in all public comments, Cooley will say anything.

But has he gone too far with his latest post? It's an interview with Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell, and when their Q&A delves into the subject of Campbell's relationship with Redskins center Casey Rabach, it gets, well, disgusting:

3. Jason, have you ever smelled the back of your left hand (the one that's securely lodged under the center's sweaty butt crack the entire game) after a game? I would imagine that hand would have to go through a thorough decontamination process after every game and practice.
For everyone to know if you don't take a bath your butt crack stinks and I think that's what Rabach does to me. Imagine sweating for 2 hours and you're Casey Rabach and you're really hairy and stinky. Rabach has even farted on my hand which is a feelin that never really wears off. I can actually feel it while we're doing this interview right now. After each practice and game the first thing I do is wash my hands of all that chaotic stuff running off his sweaty, nasty body.

I've heard it said that athletes' blogs will take fans inside the locker room in a way they've never been before. If that's what it's going to be like, I'm perfectly content to remain outside.

FanHouse's Top Five scans the sports blogosphere for the best posts of the last 24 hours so you don't have to. Got something for this feature? Hit us up at fanhouse@googlegroups.com.

1) We love to follow NBA haircuts at FanHouse. Now, we have some NFL haircuts to add to the list. Dare I say training camp pranks gone terribly wrong?

2) Redskins C Casey Rabach gets up close and personal. Maybe a little too personal.

3) What do Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Courtney Cox have in common? SPORTSbyBROOKS knows.

4) If the goal of IndyCar racing were to see how far you can ride while your car is upside down, Dario Franchitti might be unbeatable. FanIQ has video of his horrific crash while doing 215mph at Michigan International Speedway over the weekend.

5) Ballhype speaks with the behemoths from SportsBlogs Nation.
Sorry, No Photos

Clinton Portis goes down, but the Redskins have Ladell Betts, TJ Duckett and Rock Cartwright until Portis comes back. The defensive line has some major injuries as well, but with Gregg Williams' blitzing schemes and a strong linebacking unit led by Marcus Washington and Lemar Marshall, the Redskins will be able to improvise. Shawn Springs' injury is a concern. Mark Brunell's fragility is a concern.

But the main concern heading into the season shouldn't be the injury report. It's who isn't on the injury report. If any of the Redskins' front line goes down, it may turn out to be a longer season than if Todd Collins was running the show.

Whenever the second team offensive line was in the game as a unit, life for the quarterback got hectic. The holes they were creating were more effective for the blitzing linebackers than for their own runningbacks. Collins and Campbell were harassed consistently and none of the runningbacks stood out to bring any confidence in a power running game without Portis.

The starters are all healthy now other than Jon Jansen's thumbs. He's been with the team since 1999. Chris Samuels came in the next year, followed by Randy Thomas and Derrick Dockery in 2003 and Casey Rabach in 2005. They are regarded as one of the NFL's better offensive lines and should produce a Pro Bowler or two this year. But behind them are inexperienced Mike Pucillo, Tyson Walter, Ikechuku Ndukwe and Jim Molinaro. None of them looked ready for real game action during the preseason. None of them has any substantial game experience.

If any of the front line first team goes down, the injuries to marquee players may become a moot point if Brunell (or Collins) can't get the pass off or Portis (or Betts or Duckett) is met in the backfield by the defense.