Roster Down to 53 Today

With the start of the season only a week away, the Redskins finally have to decide who is coming into the season with them, and who is going to get sent packing.

There were several people fighting for their jobs throughout training camp, but it seems like it's fairly obvious what the team is going to look like. There are always surprises, and I'm by no means an expert on this stuff at all, but this is what I think it's going to look like.

3 Spots: Special Teamers (50 left) The easiest spots to give away are the special teamers. Punter Hunter Smith and long snapper Ethan Albright had their spots locked up when training camp started, but the kickers had to fight for it. The fight was clinched Friday night by Shawn Suisham when he nailed 48 yard field goal against the Jaguars. Hopefully he can keep it up all season.

On the offensive side, I used some detective skills to find out from Jason Reid that Vinny Cerrato plans to keep 25 plays on offense. That makes choosing these guys a little less difficult.

3 Spots: Quarterback (47 left) Jason Campbell will start for his second full year in Jim Zorn's offense, and Todd Collins will be right behind him if anything unfortunate were to happen to him. Colt Brennan and Chase Daniel have been slugging it out all offseason, but with growing concerns over injuries and erratic play in the red zone, Brennan will be on the outside looking in. He may be kept on the team, however, if they decide to put him on the injured reserve list, which would end his season.

4 Spots: Running Back (43 left) Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts are going to have to work together real well for this team to go anywhere, but they're the one-two punch for this team; atleast for now. Marcus Mason should be kept on the team, and could challenge Betts for playing time as the season progresses. Rock Cartwright will be returning as well as a key contributor on special teams.

1 Spot: Full Back (42 left) Mike Sellers, enough said.

5 Spots: Wide Receiver (37 left) It looks like Santana Moss and Malcolm Kelly will be the starters, and with good reason. Moss is a beast, and Kelly has shown that he is determined to get in the starting spot and keep it. Randle El will work the slot, and Devin Thomas should be a big deep threat. The fifth spot goes to my man Marko Mitchell, who I've been watching all offseason. He's shown up in all the preseason games, but he'll have to keep working hard to have it carry over to the regular season.

3 Spots: Tight End (34 left) Chris Cooley should be making another trip to the Pro Bowl this year. Fred Davis has performed well during the preseason, but still makes mental errors. Todd Yoder is a consummate professional and will help this teams a lot on special teams.

9 Spots: Offensive Line (25 left for defense) The starting unit is set (from left to right): Chris Samuels, Derrick Dockery, Casey Rabach, Randy Thomas, Stephon Heyer. There were a lot of questions about this unit entering the season, and they came out and performed above expectations. The big concern now is what happens if any of these guys go down. The primary backup will be Jeremy Bridges, with Chad Rhinehart right behind him. The last two spots I struggled with, but it'll probably be Will Montgomery and Mike Williams. Montgomery has shown the ability to play center and guard, something line coach, Joe Bugel, loves. Williams is on, well, because there's really no one else.

4 Spots: Safety (21 left) The team didn't bring anyone new in to challenge for these spots because they are stacked as it is. Laron Landry and Chris Horton will be the starters, but Reed Doughty and Kareem Moore should see plenty of playing time since the team loves playing three safeties.

5 Spots: Cornerback (16 left) This unit could make or break the defense. DeAngelo Hall and Carlos Rogers will be the starters, but after them there are several big question marks. Fred Smoot isn't getting any younger, but Justin Tryon and rookie Kevin Barnes may be too young. These three will have to step up their games with the season finally here, or pass happy offenses will pick right through them.

9 Spots: Defensive Line (7 Left) The starters upfront will undoubtedly be Phillip Daniels, Albert Haynesworth, Cornelius Griffin and Andre Carter. These guys should be monsters this season, especially since they can stay fresh while defensive coordinator Greg Blatche rotates several proven players off the bench. Renaldo Wynn, Kedric Golston, Anthony Montgomery, Lorenzo Alexander and rookie Jeremy Jarmon make up that list, and should all be ready for plenty of playing time.

2 Spots: DE/LB Hybrid (5 Left) I wasn't sure where to put either of these guys, so they get their own category. Rookie Brian Orakpo is going to dominate from defensive end, and he seems to be making strides at linebacker so expect him to be on the field a lot this season. Chris Wilson also made the switch from defensive end to linebacker, and has made the switch look easy. He's still extremely fast off the edge, and has the speed and agility to stay with players in coverage.

5 Spots: Linebacker (Can I have your playbook?) London Fletcher and Rocky McIntosh will be on the field the most, starting along side Brian Orakpo. H.B. Blades is very reliable, and will be the first guy off the bench if anyone needs a breather. Robert Thomas will stay on the team as a trusted veteran. The last spot will go to a rookie linebacker, and the other the team will try to add to the practice squad, but I think they keep Chris Henson. He's shown up on special teams, and the team needs help there.

Alright, that's what I've got. What does everyone else think?

Defense Sets Tone at Practices

As training camp has progressed, it has become obvious that the defense is ahead of the offense.

Many players have said this is normal. The defense always starts fast, and the offense will catch up, nothing to worry about. Though the offense isn't worried, opponents probably should be.

Last season, the defense ranked fourth overall but had trouble getting pressure on the quarterback and creating turnovers. To change this, the team added defensive linemen Albert Haynesworth, Brian Orakpo, Phillip Daniels and Renaldo Wynn, and it's definitely evident that there is a difference.

During drills at camp, these guys were all over the place. They seemed to beat our line with ease on just about every play. Good thing for Campbell there's no hitting the quarterback during drills, or he'd be in a world of pain.

The secondary is the youngest unit on the team, with the oldest starter, Laron Landry, only 24. There are four players entering their second season with the team, and with a full offseason with the team they should show a lot of improvement. Knowing their assignments will allow the players to go out and play and not have to think.

At linebacker, the team will use draft choice Brian Orakpo as a speed rusher. This role had been lost with the injuries to Marcus Washington for several years, and the team believes Orakpo will resurrect this position. The man is fast and strong, and any lineman will have his hands full playing against him.

This defense has the potential to be one of the best in Redskins' history. They have a great mix of veterans and youngsters, and if they can stay healthy, they can do a lot of damage every week.

Orakpo: LB or DE?

OTA's came to a close Friday, and with the releases of Jon Jansen and wide receiver James Thrash, questions about the offenses direction were answered. On the defensive side, however, there are still some decisions that have to be made, and probably the most important is which position number one draft choice Brian Orakpo will play at.

Orakpo was drafted because of his relentless play off the edge as a defensive end in college. He racked up 11 sacks during his senior year at the University of Texas, and was viewed as a great fit as a defensive end in the a 4-3 system, which the Redskins run. So in his first practices as a professional football player, the Redskins made the obvious decision of playing him at strong side linebacker.

Come on guys. Really?

The Redskins have long been awaiting a dominant defensive end, and when they draft a kid who has the potential to do it for years to come, they want to switch his position? That's just ridiculous. Especially since he'd be playing next to one of the biggest forces at defensive tackle, Albert Haynesworth, who will boost his game even further without having to face double teams.

Maybe they're just trying to get see how he does at OLB so they don't have to use time doing it in training camp...and let's hope that's all it is. To win in this league, and definitely in the NFC East, you need a superb pass rush, and Orakpo might be the best shot at getting that.

Draft: Orakpo is First Selection

The draft has finally come and gone, and with their first selection the Redskins selected University of Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo.

PHEW!!!

Going into the draft, the 'Skins had been rumored to be in the mix to trade up so they could draft USC quarterback Mark Sanchez. Though Sanchez has a great chance at being a top performer at this level, taking him would have set the Redskins back several years. They would have traded future draft picks and most of their picks of value this year, not to mention probably driving Jason Campbell to request a trade. But...they didn't...so let's just be thankful for that.

Instead, they got extremely lucky with Orakpo landing at the 13th pick. He was the elite pass rusher in this years class, but he brings much more than physical gifts to this team. At his introductory press conference Monday, he showed that his head hasn't ballooned with all the draft coverage he's been getting.

"It's a dream come true," Orakpo said. "Basically it's a great defense that I'll be a part of...these guys have been winning games without me. I just want to come in and help and keep this train rolling."

"I just want to show Redskins Nation that I am a guy who's here ready to work, come in humble, compete, and most importantly win." he said. "That's the most important thing."

And that's exactly what you want to hear from a rookie. He's a very skilled player who should shoot into the starting lineup, but to come in and think anything is guaranteed would be a mistake. The Redskins have a welcoming locker room, as long as you come in with the right attitude, and it seems like Orakpo should fit in just fine.