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.
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.
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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.
Four months ago, the Redskins used their three second-round picks on skill-position players. Specifically pass catchers, presumably in an effort to bolster a pretty pedestrian offense. Makes sense and unlike previous Danny-tastic personnel moves, selecting Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly and Fred Davis was understandable (if excessive).
Well, Washington's season begins Thursday night against the Giants, and both Thomas and Kelly have been supremely ineffective. This makes Jason Campbell very, very sad.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed about that," he said about Thomas and Kelly. "We had so much expectation for those guys contributing to our offense. I thought we'd grow together quickly. I went over to their place and visited with them about everything. I told them this was the real deal. They needed to show up on time for meetings and to study. We need them out there."
The Jim Zorn era officially begins on Thursday, when the Redskins face the Giants in the regular-season opener. Despite a shiny, new offense and a retooled roster that includes a less insane punter, Washington has struggled on both sides of the ball during the preseason.
Jason Taylor, who is out with a sprained knee/bone bruise, worked before practice with trainers but did nothing on the practice field. He, too, seems unlikely to play, but Zorn said the team will evaluate him right up through Thursday's warm-ups before making a final call. "Based on today, there's no way, but that's going to be a game-time decision." ...
Told ya. More proof that God has something against Dan Snyder: No. 2 wideout Antwaan Randle El has a broken bone in his left hand. He'll play against the Giants, however, but will have to wear a protective brace. That should hinder his ability to catch the ball.
These guys are among the small handful of preseason favorites for the national championship. Easy call putting them in the Contender category today, no? We make no promises on their ability to deliver, given the whole hot stove human behavior thing whereby Oklahoma has lost big in so many different ways in bowl games lately we know better than to bet on crimson anytime after early December.
But there's always that victory over Texas to fall back on, right? Assuming they beat Texas this year, of course.
Why They'll Win
Talent. It's the lifeblood of all college football programs and Oklahoma's fairly deep with it. The guys the NFL loves are on the lines, but college football fans can appreciate great players with diminished NFL prospects like one Sam Bradford. This guy's just got the knack for making accurate throws, on time, and making the right reads. His freshman season is simply the best statistical freshman season ever.
Oklahoma will continue to do what it always does, play fast on defense, and find ways to get the ball down the field on the ground and in the air. Leading rusher Allen Patrick departs but the exciting DeMarco Murray has arrived and he will be pushed in a big way from frosh back Jermie Calhoun. The offensive line is also widely considered the nation's finest.
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Meet The ... New look offense! Out with Al Saunders and Joe Gibbs and in with Jim Zorn's high-powered west coast offense. The offense Zorn is installing is the one used in Seattle under Mike Holmgren and has made fantasy stars of numerous players through the years, including Brett Favre, Shaun Alexander, and Matt Hasselbeck. This has caused everyone to expect that Clinton Portis -- since he's arguably more talented and much tougher than Alexander -- to become an absolute beast. That's all well and good ... just remember that Portis isn't following Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson on one side of the line.
The Breakout Jason Campbell has shown flashes of being a productive QB, but been derailed by injuries and inconsistency. He has plenty of tools and weapons to become a fantasy starter (top 12ish) in this offense. The Skins even tried to overload the receiving corps during the draft by selecting TE Fred Davis and WRs Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly with upper round selections. He did throw for 215, 348, 301, and 216 yards in the last four full games before he was injured. Be ready to pounce on Campbell as a quality backup with the chance to become a starter at some point in '08.
The Washington Redskins have placed WR/KR Jerome Mathis on waivers. After the draft, it was obvious that Mathis ... who signed with Washington on April 4th ... didn't have a good shot at sticking with the team.
At the draft, the Redskins drafted recievers Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly. Both would've pushed Mathis down on the receiving depth chart. Mathis' return duties took a hit with the drafting of Thomas (who could find a nice role there) and cornerback J.T. Tryon.
Second off, Mathis has had some troubles with Johnny Law of late, which didn't make his signing very tantalizing in the first place. One was for mishandling his pit bulls ... and the second was for punching his common-law wife.
All this could mean that Mathis' NFL career may come to a halt. Depite being a Pro-Bowl player in his rookie season (2005), he wasn't highly sought after during free agency and may have trouble landing a new gig.
Thomas and Kelly are those big possession type receivers that Washington was looking to vault their new West Coast Offense. Both are strong, great hands, can break tackles and make big plays. Ya know, things we were looking for in Chad Johnson.
As Hogs Haven points out, this should help QB Jason Campbell out tremedously. He now has three big targets to look at the ability to spread this team out to four or five wideouts (Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El are no slouches). Davis projects to be like a Chris Cooley type player which gives Washington the ability to use two tight ends in the running game.
Vikings fans aren't going to have a whole lot of to worry about today. After trading away their first-round and both third-round picks to the Chiefs for defensive end Jared Allen, Minnesota only has one pick in the first three rounds, although they do have six picks overall.
But just because they don't have a first-round pick doesn't mean we can't speculate over who the Vikings will take with their second-round pick. Defensive end is obviously no longer a need, but Minnesota could still use help at cornerback and safety. Minnesota will likely be at the back end of a run on cornerbacks, and this isn't a great draft for safeties, which makes things tougher.
I was able to find three mock drafts done in the last couple of days that do go deeper than just the first round. There seems to be a lot of thoughts that Minnesota will take a wide receiver, with two of the three drafts picking a wide receiver. But with Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade, Minnesota actually should be OK at wide receiver, especially since this is a run-based team. Adding a corner, a safety or offensive tackle (as Bryant McKinnie insurance) would seem to be a better way to go.
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.
Twelve months ago, 
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 
The 
Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. 
The Washington Redskins 
Last week, reports came out that the 
Vikings fans aren't going to have a whole lot of to worry about today. After trading away their first-round and both third-round picks to the Chiefs for defensive end Jared Allen, Minnesota only has one pick in the first three rounds, although they do have six picks overall.
