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.
One of my favorite moves on fantasy football draft day is taking a late-round gamble and letting everyone else laugh at me. You can have the first round, just let me pick late. To illustrate, here's an actual message board post last season after one of my drafts: "Commish Snyder purposefully did not draft a kicker so he could take a flier on yet another long shot (Steve Slaton of the Texans). I'm sure he'll say it will pay off in the long run."
My response? "I'll end up dropping Patrick Crayton (my fifth WR) for a kicker before week 1 when Slaton wins the Houston gig -- unless someone suffers a season-ending injury, in which case I'll drop that person."
When it comes to training camp in Redskins Park, it's pretty easy to find the question marks, or -- probably a better way of putting it -- areas in which the team needs to improve. The defense is dominant, and it is already showing as much in practice. And you more or less know Clinton Portis is going to be the rock of the running game.
Washington's aerial attack, however, is where most of the focus will fall in the preseason, even with Washington's questionable offensive line scrambling to gel. In addition to the stupendous amount of attention quarterback Jason Campbell will receive for the rest of 2009, the receiving corps bears watching as well.
With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.
Meet the ... Second consecutive season under the same playbook. This is quite significant because the Redskins' current signal-caller hasn't been afforded this "luxury" since his senior year in high school. I can't even imagine what Jason Campbell has done with all his extra time this offseason, what with not having to learn an entire new playbook. Every other player has to know his own job on each play. The quarterback has to know the job of all 11 players on each play. Comfort matters.
As the Redskins go through mini-camps this spring, the most important development will be how things progress with their starting quarterback, Jason Campbell. It's no secret the Redskins pursued other options during the offseason, only to come up short and end up "stuck" with the 27-year-old Auburn product.
After three seasons, and finally one full one, under his belt, it's time for Campbell to take the next step and become a franchise quarterback. Finally getting a second season in the same offensive system -- 2009 will be the first time -- is a great start for the 6-foot-5 signal-caller. He's also getting more comfortable in his leadership role.
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.
The Redskins made the biggest early splash this offseason, luring beastly defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth from Tennessee to anchor their defensive line. Their work, however, is not done. Unfortunately for Washington, it plays in arguably the best division in the NFL. Fortunately, the few holes the Redskins still have on their roster should be perfectly fixable. In fact, many could be done in-house, with younger players developing further.
Devin Thomas, a second-round pick of the Redskins in last year's draft, can make a significant impact on the Washington offense this season. If he shows some of the talent we saw at Michigan State, he gives Jason Campbell another weapon -- a much more explosive one than Antwaan Randle-El -- through the air.
On Wednesday, I wrote that Redskins wide receiver Devin Thomas should probably make an effort to show up for voluntary workouts since his rookie season was, to say the least, underwhelming.
Twelve months ago, Devin Thomas was making his way up draft boards after an outstanding junior season at Michigan State and impressive combine and Pro Day performances. The previous fall, he had hauled in 79 passes for the Spartans, and then busted out a 4.40-40 in Indianapolis in February. By April, He would be the second wide receiver selected, going 34th overall to the Redskins.
In the weeks leading up to the draft, NFL Network's Mike Mayock admitted that Thomas had all the physical attributes teams look for in a wideout -- deep speed, the ability to get off the line of scrimmage and a knack for coming down with jump balls -- but he also cautioned that Thomas' junior season could be an anomaly.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
The Redskins stormed out of the gate in Jim Zorn's first season as head coach, running their record to 6-2 at the halfway point. The second half of the season, unfortunately, was perfectly symmetrical -- they went 2-6 to finish 8-8.
They could have won three of those games in best-case scenarios, but the best teams come through instead of talking about what could have been. The reality is that the Redskins only played a half-season in '08.
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.
When it comes to training camp in Redskins Park, it's pretty easy to find the question marks, or -- probably a better way of putting it -- areas in which the team needs to improve. The defense is dominant, and 
With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all. 
As the Redskins go through mini-camps this spring, the most important development will be how things progress with their starting quarterback, 
With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call 
On Wednesday, I wrote that Redskins wide receiver 
Twelve months ago, 
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 
