Redskins Set Final Roster

Saturday night, the Washington Redskins decided who would be on the final roster, and of course, there were a few surprises.

The biggest surprises for me were on the offensive side with the decision to cut offensive lineman Jeremy Bridges as well as undrafted rookie quarterback Chase Daniel in order to keep young offensive linemen D'Anthony Batiste and Edwin Williams.

I thought for sure Bridges would make the final cut, with the lack of a veteran lineman to jump in if any injuries were to occur, but the team decided to get younger at the position (which the needed to) and keep two younger guys instead. The cutting of Daniel was a risk, as the team seemed to greatly desire him on the practice squad, but he has already signed to the New Orleans Saints practice squad and is probably forever out of the Redskins system.

On the defensive side, linebacker Robert Thomas was cut in favor of cornerback Byron Westbrook. Thomas seemed a good candidate for the team because he was a veteran player who would contribute on special teams. Vinny Cerrato, however, felt Westbrook played his tail off in the preseason, could perform on special teams, and deserved a spot.

So the 53 are set, and all that's left is the season to start this Sunday against the Giants of New York at 4:15. Should be a great one.

Backup Quarterback Competition Continues

I got off my couch again on Tuesday to go to another session of Redskins training camp, and was lucky to see one of head coach Jim Zorn's inventive QB drills.

Zorn used a piece of netting with three squares cut in it to work on the quarterbacks accuracy while throwing wide receiver screens. The quarterbacks would snap the ball, and Zorn would instruct them "Left," "Right," or "Center," and the quarterback would have to hit the target.

Of the players vying for the backup position, Colt Brennan by far hit the most targets. He wasn't perfect, but the ones he did miss were only off by a small margin.

Todd Collins had a solid outing, but did little to separate himself from Brennan. He was accurate with the ball, but still hit less targets than Brennan.

Chase Daniel, on the other hand, struggled with this drill. He seldom landed one in a box, and on a few throws missed the net completely.

Zorn seemed to make it clear the rest of practice that Daniel is trailing in the competition, giving him zero snaps during 11 on 11 work. Zorn has praised his work, but it is still clear he has a ways to go.

Who Will Backup Campbell?

As most fans know, this off season brought a lot of turmoil for starting quarterback Jason Campbell. The team tried to replace him twice, giving fans more reason to doubt the quarterback's ability (myself not included). For these nonbelievers, their favorite player to talk about will undoubtedly be Campbell's backup.

Todd Collins is the currently holds this spot, but his position will surely be challenged by youngsters Colt Brennan and Chase Daniel. Saturday, Collins was very precise while executing the offense, but moved noticeably slower than Campbell.

Brennan, who is entering his second season, looked the best of the bunch. He took quick drops, released the ball quickly and was very accurate. Undrafted rookie Daniel seems to have caught on quickly, and was very accurate.

It seems like Brennan could be putting himself in a position to supplant Collins for the spot, but this is still early in camp. Nothing will be decided until head coach Jim Zorn sees them in live action when the bullets are really flying. It will be interesting to see how Zorn splits up snaps the rest of camp, there could definitely be reason to give Brennan a few more reps.