NFL Preview – What’s in Store for the Washigton Redskins?

Washington Redskins Poised For Failure…Again

There’s a lot of reasons to get potentially excited about in the nation’s capital. For starters, the Redskins won the Albert Haynesworth sweepstakes. Clinton Portis is coming off one of his best overall seasons, and Santana Moss has finally become an every-game player, as opposed to the guy who vanished for weeks on end only to emerge with sixteen billion touchdowns against Dallas.

Portis is the key here. The injury bug has not been kind to the former Miami Hurricane, but Portis has lasted 16 games in each of the last two seasons. The result? Combined Portis has managed 2,749 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns on the ground. Unfortunately, he’s also lost 8 fumbles, but that’s hardly a reason to knock the rushing sensation. Portis is entering his eighth season, and at 27 years-old, is in his prime. He’s a solid fantasy pick-up for your fantasy nutjobs out there.

But that’s where my excitement for the Redskins ends. One of the reasons Portis succeeds so well is because Jason Campbell fails so miserably. Last season, J-Cam managed just 3,245 yards, 13 touchdowns and threw 6 interceptions for an overall quarterback rating of 84.3. Those are not Superbowl caliber numbers, and as much as the Redskins have invested in the fifth-year veteran, I still question why they would entrust this man with the keys to the truck. J-Cam is not a winner. I’m telling you that right now.

The Redskins defense ranked eighth overall with 95.4 yards allowed on the ground, and that number stands to prove with Albert Haynesworth coming to town for around $20 million per year. Haynesworth formerly anchored the Titans’ vaunted rush defense and now stands to make life hell alongside Jason Taylor and the defensive front men of the ‘Skins. With guys like Marion Barber, Felix Jones, Brian Westbrook and Brandon Jacobs highlighting the backs in the NFC East, Haynesworth will be a busy man. He’ll be backed by a solid secondary that ranked seventh last year with only 193.4 passing yards allowed. The sixth best scoring defense (18.6 points per game) has landed one of the league’s defensive MVP’s.

But keeping guys off the scoreboard is negated when you can’t put points on the board. Washington ranked just 28th in the league with only 16.8 points per game, but managed nearly 320.0 yards per game in total. What does that mean? Lots of movement with no finish. Which is pretty much what you can expect from the Skins until they find a real, championship quarterback.

With star power to boot, and the deepest pockets in the league, Redskins fans make no bones about their expectations for a Superbowl. But even the oddsmakers are being realistic about the Redskins’ chances. They’re pegged as long underdogs to win the NFC East at +550 and are a staggering +1600 to win the NFC Championship. The only teams with longer odds are Tampa, St. Louis, Seattle, Detroit and San Francisco. That’s their company. Faaaantastic.

Don’t be fooled by the superstars and subsequently schooled in our sportsbook. The Redskins are piss poor, and went just 6-8-2 ATS last season. Get excited if you want, but I’m telling you now to stay as far away from J-Cam and company as possible.