FanHouse Randy Thomas

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

The following is an actual quote pulled from my league message board on Monday night: "[Expletive] Dallas Clark. [Expletive] the Miami Dolphins."

Needless to say, that particular fantasy owner wasn't too happy that Clark singlehandedly obliterated the lead he had going into Monday Night Football. Seven catches, 183 yards, one long touchdown, and possibly an entire pack of Rolaids. All courtesy of the big man.

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.

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

Looks like the tweaking for the offensive line is still in progress. After a terrible preseason showing for the second unit offensive line, the Redskins made a move by signing Todd Wade and releasing Ndukwe Ikuchuku. Wade has been in the league for seven years and started 86 total games between the Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans.

At 6-8 319 pounds, he's a huge tackle with lots of game time experience. He joins Jim Molinaro and Tyson Walter as a backup to Chris Samuels and Jon Jansen.

With the Vikings coming to town for next Monday night's game at FedEx Field, the Redskins are still looking to add some depth to an offensive line that has virtually no reliable backups. Throughout the preseason, the second unit made all other opposing defenses look as good as their own defense. Todd Collins and Jason Campbell were auditioning for the backup quarterback position under some hostile conditions.

For the past two years, the first-team offensive line has had to overcome a major injury each year. Joe Gibbs' first year back saw Jon Jansen go down for the year during preseason. Ray Brown helped plug the hole until he started battling injuries and from there the Redskins were playing musical linemen. The following year Randy Thomas went down late in the season, but his absence was easily noticed in the playoffs.

If any of the first team went down this year, the reserves on the roster would seriously hamper the running game, leave Mark Brunell vulnerable to attacking defenses and shake the confidence of the coaching staff in play calling. Hopefully Todd Wade will be enough to add some security to an offensive line that makes the Hogettes look like the original Hogs.

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.