Training camp is over for the Washington Redskins. The preseason is halfway finished. Just 21 days until the real games begin. What did we learn over summer vacation in Ashburn? The Redskins aren’t as good as we hoped. Unless the offensive line improves more than a voice-cracking adolescent at choir practice, a losing season seems probable.
Guess money still doesn’t buy success.
Oh, $100 million did buy an impact defensive tackle. Albert Haynesworth is the real deal. Probably the team’s best lineman since Charles Mann departed in 1994. The Redskins should get 20 sacks combined from Brian Orakpo and Andre Carter while Haynesworth battles the right side.
But improving the defense is largely a trap for basing expectations. The unit was ranked fourth last season while finishing 8-8. The key is what the offense did to improve over the offseason.
Well, they signed a guard. Not a Pro Bowler, but a decent player in Derrick Dockery. And … they got a year older hoping the three second-round busts from last year come through this season. The Redskins are hoping the quarterback they were forced to keep gets better in his second season in the same system for the first time since his prep days. Washington is also banking coach Jim Zorn learned a few things from his rookie season to fool opponents this fall.
The real focus of training camp was watching the offensive line. They were disappointing. The Redskins may not be the worst line in the league, but they’re in the bottom fourth. The line is already on its second roll of duct tape with 18 games remaining.
Protecting Jason Campbell and opening lanes for Clinton Portis is everything. The defense can throw all the near shutouts it wants, but the Redskins think the red zone is a restricted area. Ironically, the young receivers appear ready to contribute, but if Campbell can’t even say his native Mississippi three times before feeling pressure, he won’t get the ball downfield any better than during last year’s 2-6 fade.
The Redskins speak glowingly over right guard Chad Rinehart, who didn’t play as a rookie. Seriously? They’re better off hoping Randy Thomas can get through the first six games — the season’s easiest stretch — before yielding to Rinehart. The team badly needs a guard and tackle, but they’re not coming.
The summer sun sometimes causes mirages. Success may be illusion.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or
e-mail [email protected].
