FanHouse DerrickDockery

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.

Although it's tough for some fans and media (looks in mirror) to turn the page on the Redskins' "Anybody But Jason" offseason tour, the guy caught in the middle, Jason Campbell, has done just that. Unlike Jay Cutler, who bellyached his way out of Denver, Campbell (save one moment of weakness) has said all the right things. He's moved on -- even if we haven't -- and is looking toward the 2009 season.

Detractors like to point out that Campbell isn't consistent (or smart) enough to be an NFL starter, but they often leave out an important little fact: he's played in three different offenses in five seasons.

The Bills were in an untenable position with Jason Peters. The tight end-turned-Pro Bowl left tackle wanted a new contract, the team wasn't interested in renegotiating, and they wound up sending him to Philadelphia for a first-round pick a few weeks before the NFL Draft.

Armed with two first-rounders -- Nos. 11 and 28 -- it was only a question of when the Bills would draft Peters' replacement. The answer, it turns out, was never. With Michael Oher still on the board, Buffalo took Aaron Maybin and addressed another big need -- pass rusher.

The Redskins didn't address the offensive line on draft weekend, even though it might be their biggest need. But on Friday, they did sign Bills' 2002 first-round pick, tackle Mike Williams, who had been out of football since 2006.

There are more conventional ways to fill out the depth chart, and while Williams has gobs of potential -- he was the fourth overall pick seven years ago -- other than his will to return to football, there's no reason to think he'll magically play at a high level, much less make the team.

The Redskins accomplished two things on the opening day of free agency: they signed three talented players that will immediately be expected to play key roles. And they killed any chance at having a "decent" season.

Washington will either be very, very good or very, very disappointing -- there is no possibility of simply meeting expectations. Why? Well, when you fork over $180 million for 13.6 percent of your team's starting lineup, you do so with the goal of winning the Super Bowl. Nothing less will be acceptable, not after this.

If you thought there was any chance that Chris Kemoeatu was coming back to the Steelers, there are some pretty strong signs that he will be heading elsewhere in today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Steelers already have Kendall Simmons (back from an Achilles injury) and 2008 starter Darnell Stapleton under contract for 2009. They also have a starting right tackle (Willie Colon) who almost every scout/player personnel man not employed by the Steelers believes would be better off playing guard. So the only real reason to bring Kemoeatu back is if he's willing to agree to a very reasonable deal.

But if you listen to Kemoeatu's agent, it sure sounds like he's expecting a landmark offer. And he hopes it comes from the Steelers.

Every NFL team has now played eight games, meaning the season has reached the halfway point. So this week we're presenting our NFL FanHouse Midseason Midtacular.
Best Old Face in a New Place nominees:

Randy Moss, WR, New England Patriots
It's hard to believe now that people actually thought trading a fourth rounder for Moss might backfire and ruin the Patriots season. Quite the opposite as Moss has 56 catches for 924 yards and 12 touchdowns, numbers which any team would be happy to have for an entire season.

Wes Welker, WR, New England Patriots
Welker carves teams up underneath and has 61 catches to show for it. The Dolphins got a second and seventh round pick in return for Welker but when you take his 11-yard average on punt returns into account he'd have been a bargain at twice the price.

Jeff Garcia, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jon Gruden churns through quarterbacks like a quiting smoker through Nicorette but he found a winner when he signed Garcia to a two-year contract this offseason. He's led the Bucs to a 5-4 record with a 95.5 quarterback rating and has had just one bad game all season.

Eric Steinbach, G, Cleveland Browns
The surprise team of the AFC has had great success whenever they run behind their new left guard. And Derek Anderson could make the Pro Bowl because of the way the Browns line secures his pocket.
Sorry, No Photos

Pat Kirwan has a new article on NFL.com that sums up why the Steelers and Alan Faneca are likely headed to a messy divorce.

Blame it on the trickle down effect with a healthy dose of rapidly escalating salary cap thrown in for good measure. When Steve Hutchinson signed with last year's mega-money deal, he rewrote the book on big money deals for guards, who used to have to be content to settle for table scraps compared to offensive tackles and defensive ends.

But when Hutchinson signs for seven years, $49 million it didn't really create that much of a ripple. He was acknowledged to be the NFC's best guard, so him landing the NFL's best deal for a guard made some sense. When the salary cap took a big leap this year however, it ensured that several teams had plenty of money burning a hole in their pocket, which explains how mediocre guards like Derrick Dockery and Leonard Davis end up breaking the bank with deals equal to Hutchinson's.

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.