New Face at Wide Receiver

The Redskins shook up the race for the fifth wide receiver position Wednesday with the addition of D.J. Hackett.

After Roydell Williams suffered a broken finger, it was important for Vinny Cerrato to bring in a replacement quick. Cerrato had previously looked at Hackett, and this was finally the time to bring him in.

Hackett, 28, is well versed in the West Coast offense, playing in the system during Jim Zorn's last three years in Seattle. This gives him a huge upper hand over his competition, two rookies (one undrafted) who are just learning the offense, all the while adjusting to the speed of the NFL.

With this advantage, Hackett should push for a roster spot. He looked quick at camp, and made some solid catches, even in the rain. He feels at home in this system, which should allow him to relax, go out, and show his stuff.

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.

Trade at QB coming?

Newsdays's Bob Glauber reported today that the Redskins could be in the mix for a trade involving Denver quarterback Jay Cutler.

Please let him be wrong.

The trade would go against everything this organization has been saying they need to do to get back to the Super Bowl. They preach about consistency. They speak of a desire to minimize player overturn so everyone can grow together in the schemes.

NEWS FLASH: Trading for a new quarterback would be starting over...again.

Last year the 'Skins started over by hiring first time head coach Jim Zorn. Zorn, 55, brought his version of the West Coast offense with him, which the entire time had to learn. And in any offense, the quarterback has the most work ahead of him.

The man in this position, Jason Campbell, performed admirably in his first year in the new system, which was his third system in four years. He didn't throw an interception in the first 8 games, but also threw only eight touchdowns in that span. While playing behind a deteriorating offensive line, he never threw around blame and concentrated on getting himself better every week.

So what would be beneficial from trading a quarterback who performed well in a system and can only improve in it with more familiarity, for a quarterback that comes in with no knowledge of Zorn's system?

Well, Cutler, 25, does have a big arm. He also has been to a Pro Bowl. Furthermore, he's thrown a whopping 19 more touchdowns than Campbell, 27, over the last three years. What could this kid possibly be lacking?

Try character, a quality Campbell has shown many times throughout his career. He always has the team as his priority, not letting outside distractions (like these trade rumors) get in the way of doing his best. Cutler, on the other hand, is on the trading block because he can't get along with his boss, newly hired head coach Josh McDaniels.

McDaniels, the offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots last season, reportedly tried to trade Cutler in a three way trade, receiving the Patriots backup quarterback, Matt Cassel, as compensation. Cassel, 26, was forced into the starting role last year after a season ending injury to famed starter, Tom Brady, and Cassel excelled.

The only guy McDaniels would have wanted to trade Cutler for was Cassel. He wouldn't have to teach a quarterback a new system, which, I'm not sure if you've heard, is kind of hard. McDaniels had to take a shot at it. The deal, however, wasn't struck and Cassel landed in Kansas City instead.

McDaniels reassured Cutler after this saga that he was their quarterback, and they would no longer be trying to trade him. Cutler responded by requesting to be traded while not showing up for the beginning of off season workouts, which is critical for quarterbacks to be at because they are supposed to be the leaders of their teams. Even if you aren't going to get along with someone at work, you can't bring everyone else down too.

Campbell, of course, showed up right on time.

I know many people don't have confidence in Campbell, but it's not all about numbers. It's about leadership and determination. Campbell has become a leader on this offense because he plays for his teammates. He hasn't had the luxery of starting in the same system for consecutive years, but has still performed well. With a full off season becoming more comfortable in the offense, Campbell is getting the consistency that he and this organization needs to succeed, and it would be ridiculous to give that up now.

Redskins Roster Review: Offense

In order for the Redskins to get back to the playoffs next year, the offense is going to have to make great strides.

A year ago, Jim Zorn was just getting started teaching his new team the West Coast offense. The offense started off hot but cooled off as the season came to a close.

This off season, Zorn will be able to pay closer attention to details since the players now know what he wants from them. Though progress will be made from the coaching standpoint, the personnel side still needs some work.

Upgrading the offensive line has been a goal this off season. Last season the offensive line deteriorated as the season went on, showing their age more and more each week. Though getting younger at this position is viewed as a priority, the only move made so far was the signing of left guard Derrick Dockery, 28.

There are still question marks at wide receiver, and it will be essential for second year players Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly to make strides to learn the offense better so they can play prominent roles in the offense. Incumbent starters Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El are going to be relying on the youngsters to step up and take some of the heat off them.

Quarterback Jason Campbell will have to show improvement in his second year in the West Coast offense. He played well last year, but needs to show more improvement in the red zone. This team needs to figure out how to score touchdowns, and he could make big contributions in that department.

Coach Zorn has to push these guys real hard this off season and improvements have to be made. A few more moves might have to be made, most likely through the draft, but they should have every opportunity to take those strides next season.

Redskins Roster Review: Special Teams

As free agency approaches, I'm going to take a closer look at the Redskins three units: special teams, defense, and offense.

Special teams has long been an area of weakness for the Redskins, and the arrival of Jim Zorn did nothing to change that. In 2009, the unit ranked 21st out of 32 teams in punt return average, 28th in punt coverage, and dead last in field goal percentage.

Something, obviously, needs to change.

The first thing they need to do is to find someone, anyone else to return punts instead of Antwaan Randle El. His main focus needs to be on playing wide receiver, and he hasn't contributed returning the ball like he used to. Instead of making a defender miss and racing down the field, he often dances around in one place, rarely making any significant gains.

Another change that needs to be made is at the punter position. The low ranking of the punt coverage unit is a direct result of the lack of a consistent punter. The Redskins cut Derrick Frost in favor of rookie draft choice, Durant Brooks, who was replaced mid season by Rian Plackemeir. Plackemeir showed some improvement during the season, but was inconsistent, and was cut after the season.

Danny Smith, the special teams coordinator, has been praised by both current head coach Jim Zorn and former head coach Joe Gibbs, but he has never been given any punters with significant skills to work with. The only punter currently on the roster is Zac Atterberry, who has never even played in a regular season game. Obviously, there needs to be a punter with experience added.

Smith also has not been given a consistent kicker to coach up. Shawn Suisham showed promise towards the end of the 2007 season, but posted the lowest field goal percentage in the league this past season. Suisham will be a restricted free agent this off season, and it is expected that the Redskins retain him. They can't solely rely on him, though. Some form of competition, whether it be an undrafted rookie or a veteran, has to be brought in to at least push Suisham to get better.

The kick return and coverage units, on the other hand, shined last season, both ranking in the top ten. Special teams captain Khary Campbell was a major contributor to these units. He becomes a free agent this off season, but the Redskins need to look to retain him. He has been here a while, knows our system, and plays hard every week. He can also be a suitable plug on defense at linebacker when he is needed.

There are a few things Vinny Cerrato, vice-president of football operations, has to look at in the coming weeks, but will he take the steps necessary to improve? In recent years, it seems that Cerrato hasn't taken a long enough look at improving special teams in the offseason. There are often young, unheard of players coming in the door, and walking out a few months later. How about bringing in a veteran with some staying power for a change?

I know this may be asking a lot considering the considerable salary cap bind the Redskins are in, but most of the games the Redskins find themselves in, they are losing or winning by less than a touchdown. These games are often decided by special teams. Whoever wins the field position battle and gets a few field goals through the uprights often finds themselves with the all important "W" at the end of the game. If the Redskins could generate some longer returns off punts, pin their opponents inside the 10-yard line, or even hit some makeable field goals, they could get a few more "Ws" next season.