Record: 1-2, 4th in NFC East
The Redskins appear to be the afterthought in the NFC East this season, which is odd considering they made the biggest free agent splash in the league when they signed defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to a $100 million contract. The Redskins lost their opener to the Giants and then barely squeaked by a decimated St. Louis Rams team at home 9-7 before suffered the indignity of being the first team to lose to the Detroit Lions in over a year. Clinton Portis is still the focal point of the offense, but he's starting to accumulate the mileage of a veteran running back and has already lost one of his better run blockers, right guard Randy Thomas, for the season. It's unclear whether quarterback Jason Campbell has enough weapons at receiver outside of tight end Chris Cooley. Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El are both inconsistent home run hitters and neither Malcolm Kelly nor Devin Thomas has made any sort of impact at the NFL level. The defense is solid, if not unspectacular. Carlos Rogers and DeAngelo Hall are serviceable corners and the 'Skins have high hopes for rookie linebacker Brian Orakpo, a defensive end in college with formidable size and speed.
Coming off the loss to the Lions, the Redskins can either rally or fall deeper into a hole. They play the Tampa Buy Bucs in Josh Johnson's first start this week, which should be an opportunity to get back to .500. Otherwise, the Redskins could find themselves out of the running after only four games.
Difference Maker: The highest-paid non-quarterback in the league, Haynesworth is charged with transforming a middle-of-the-road defense into a dominant one. And it appears the defense will need to be outstanding if the Redskins are to make a playoff run. Haynesworth has been the best defensive tackle in football the past few years in Tennessee, where he is a disruptive force as both a run-stopper and as a pass-rusher. Haynesworth's presence means that getting to the end zone against the Redskins' defense might be easier by going outside than up-the-middle.
-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 7:30 a.m., October 3
