Official Washington Redskins Forum Thread

[manchild24]

Santana Moss (hamstring) returned to practice Saturday morning.

The injury had been bothering Moss for the past week. He sat out the Redskins' preseason opener on Thursday against the Ravens as a healthy scratch, so we expected him to be back today.

[manchild24]

The Redskins have been giving CB Fred Smoot reps at free safety during training camp.

Smoot would be a very undersized safety at 5'11/192, so we doubt he'd be an option to move there full time down the line. The Skins must not have much faith in LaRon Landry's usual backup, second-year man Kareem Moore.

[manchild24]

Coach Jim Zorn says Clinton Portis is having "an awesome camp," and plans to start him in the Redskins' second preseason game.

"He's worked hard, run hard, and he's learning as well," Zorn said. Portis won't play much Saturday, but it'll be interesting to see how he looks. He's averaged just 2.9 YPC in his last five games and will be facing Pittsburgh

[manchild24]

The Redskins will use DeAngelo Hall at left cornerback in their base defense, and in the slot in nickel sets.

We'd think LaRon Landry is better suited to cover the slot. The Skins are desperate after losing Shawn Springs, but Hall freelances more than most slot corners. Fred Smoot is declining and Carlos Rogers will stay at RCB

[manchild24]

Clinton Portis says Redskins rookie wideout Marko Mitchell is "killing" CB Carlos Rogers on the practice field.

"He can not stop him. He ain't stopped him yet this whole camp," said Portis. Rogers is one of the league's most underrated cover men. Mitchell is raw coming out of Nevada, but there is opportunity in D.C. behind Santana Moss

[manchild24]

Ladell Betts will be the Redskins' primary running back on third downs and in the two-minute drill.

Clinton Portis has been an every-down back throughout his Redskins career, but the torch is slowly getting passed. Betts has forced the team's hand by having a great camp and with Portis wearing down at the end of last season, coach Jim Zorn wants to monitor his carries. It's another reason to let someone else take Portis on draft day.

[manchild24]

Jason Campbell completed just 1-of-7 passes for 10 yards against the Steelers Saturday night.

For all the talk about Campbell's alleged progress, this offense has been out of sync for two weeks. Campbell was fighting the elements in a rainy start, but he had plenty of time against the Steelers vaunted pass rush. He simply missed his targets. The Redskins offense has the look of a fantasy graveyard this season.

[manchild24]

Clinton Portis rushed five times for 26 yards against the Steelers in the Redskins second preseason game.

Portis ran hard, but the big-play ability is still missing. A bigger concern is that he was replaced on third-down and at the goal-line by Ladell Betts, who finished with seven yards on four carries before leaving with a back strain

[manchild24]

Redskins coach Jim Zorn admitted Sunday that LT Chris Samuels' knee will likely be a problem all season.

Samuels, 32, is also coming off a torn triceps. They're not in as bad of shape as Seattle, but this is where the Skins' line depth gets scary. If Samuels has to miss time, RT Stephon Heyer would likely kick over to the blind side with Chad Rinehart playing right tackle. They should've kept Jon Jansen

[manchild24]

The Redskins' first team hasn't scored an offensive touchdown through two weeks of the preseason.

Only the Seahawks, Titans, and Colts have generated less offensive yardage. Coach Jim Zorn is concerned with Jason Campbell's accuracy after he finished 1-of-7 for ten yards Saturday night. He is 4-of-13 for 48 yards overall.

[manchild24]

Rookie Marko Mitchell has been the "talk of training camp" and caught a three-yard touchdown pass in the Redskins' second preseason game.

Mitchell hasn't shown any special teams value (key for end-of-the-roster receivers), but caught three passes Saturday against Pittsburgh. Both Santana Moss and Clinton Portis have talked up the possible No. 5 receiver

[manchild24]

The Redskins confirmed Monday that Todd Collins will remain Jason Campbell's backup this season.

Colt Brennan entered the offseason as the favorite for No. 2 duties, but has floundered in camp and is having a hard enough time holding off undrafted free agent Chase Daniel. Collins, 37, would be a poor bet for production in Washington's potentially anemic attack should Campbell go down

[manchild24]

Redskins C Casey Rabach met a playing time quota that will void his contract after this season.

He may wish he wouldn't have, because Rabach would've been scheduled for an over $3 million salary in 2010. The 32-year-old has started 77 of his last 78 games, but probably won't get that much on the free agent market

[manchild24]

Malcolm Kelly has passed Devin Thomas in the competition to be the Redskins' starting flanker.

Thomas entered camp ahead, but Kelly's been more impressive this preseason. It's looking like Kelly will start Week 1, but we still don't like him to have a significant impact. He's coming off microfracture surgery, was already slow, is in a poor offense, and struggles to get off press coverage

[manchild24]

Redskins beat writer Jason Reid speculates that it's possible rookie WR Marko Mitchell could eventually pass Devin Thomas on the depth chart.

Mitchell has been the unquestioned star of Redskins' camp, but he's not even guaranteed a roster spot yet. Let's see him continue to dominate practices and make the team before we jump to any conclusions.