Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

53: Offensive line

Between now and the start of training camp I'll be making my predictions about who will be on the final 53-man roster for the Washington Redskins--who's there, who's in, who's on the bubble, and who's out. The predicted roster will be revised and updated as preseason events warrant. Today, the offensive line:

Who's here Now: (14) Guard: Derrick Dockery, Will Montgomery, Rueben Riley, Chad Rinehart, Randy Thomas, D'Anthomy Batiste. Center: Edwin Williams, Casey Rabach. Tackles: Jeremy Bridges, Scott Burley, Devin Clark, Chris Samuels, Mike Williams, Stephon Heyer

How many will stick: 9

Starters: Left to right—Samuels, Dockery, Rabach, Thomas, Heyer. I don't have to tell you that everyone involved with the Redskins is holding their breath over this situation. Each of them will have a question mark floating over his head throughout the season: At age 32, can Samuels stay healthy? Why did Buffalo cut Dockery even though they had no replacement and had to eat a good-sized chunk of dead camp money? Is Rabach suited to handling the 3-4 defenses that are becoming prevalent? Does Thomas still have it at age 33? Can Heyer perform consistently for 16 games?

Solid backups: Bridges, Rinehart—Bridges has started 39 games in six NFL seasons. He is able to play guard and could fill in on the left side in a pinch. Rinehart seemed lost last year but I don't think that they are going to give up on him quite that quickly.

Last men on: Clark, E. Williams—I can't see going without a backup center and Williams, a rookie free agent, will have every chance to make it. If you're going to keep another backup tackle they should add youth rather than age and my gut feeling is that Clark is going to have a good enough camp to stick.

First man off: M. Williams—It would be a great comeback story but I just don't see it happening. Kudos to him for dropping the weight but he hasn't played since 2005.

Spots taken so far: 34

• Offensive line—9
• Specialist—3
• Running back—4
• Defensive line—10
• Wide Receiver—5
• Quarterback—3

Spots to go: 19

Next: Linebackers

Potential camp phenom: Keith Eloi

I touched on one aspect of being a phenom in my article defining the term but I buried it and it needs some more attention. A player can only be a phenom once. By definition, once a player has moved through the initial buzz and excitement period he no longer is anonymous. Everyone knows which (usually small) college he went to, how a cousin of a friend of a position coach (never the same position as the player) recommended the player to the team, and how he's just taking it all in one day at a time. Now, some aspects of being a phenom can carry over and happen more than once. Twice Marcus Mason has impressed in August and has developed a cult-like following. But two years ago we learned that he was a local product by way of Youngstown State, where he set some school records. You only can go through that initial period of discovery and the aspect of the unknown when it comes to what he can do on the field. Rookie free agent wide receiver Keith Eloi is not exactly unknown. His notoriety has little to do with his accomplishments at Nebraska-Omaha. He caught 57 passes for 749 yards in two seasons there after transferring from junior college. As a kickoff returner he averaged 26.5 yards and took one to the house. Such production earned him a look with the Redskins in minicamp and he performed well enough there to land a spot on the 80-man roster, as one of six players fighting for one, maybe two roster spots and another one or two places on the practice squad. What has separated Eloi from the masses and elevated him to cult status is his stardom on You Tube. In two videos he demonstrates his freakish vertical leap. In this one, he jumps out of a pool: When I saw the description for the next one, I thought that he was jumping from the ground into the bed of a Ford F-150 that had the tailgate down. Nope. It's easy to see Eloi attaining phenom status. All it will take will be a few leaping catches in practice, perhaps a one-handed grab during a preseason game and he'll be there. The odds of him making the team are long. He has to compete against two veterans, Marques Hagans and Roydell Williams, and a draft pick in Marko Mitchell, to take that fifth spot. But he could provide some lively and interesting moments on his way to the waiver wire.

Camp cranks up on Thursday

We're just about there. The beginning of the end of the longest offseason in sports comes on Thursday as the Redskins open up training camp. The pads will be popping at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Virginia. Eight practices will be open to the public: Thurs., July 30, 8:30 a.m. Fri., July 31, 8:30 a.m. Sat., Aug. 1, 8:30 a.m. Sun., Aug. 2, 8:30 a.m. Tues., Aug. 4, 8:30 a.m. Wed., Aug. 5, 8:30 a.m. Thurs., Aug. 6, 8:30 a.m. Sat., Aug. 8, 1:20 p.m. Fan Appreciation Day/ Intra-squad Scrimmage As most of you know, Fan Appreciation Day was an absolute disaster last year with a traffic jam that made southbound I-95 on a Friday afternoon look like a walk in the park. Why they don't hold that at FedEx Field or even at a local high school stadium—anyplace that's, you know, adequate for such an event—is beyond me. I also don't understand why there aren't some bleachers set up. There isn't a natural viewing area; the area where the fans go is only slightly higher ground than the practice field. Anyone who can't squeeze into the first row along the fence has a very tough time seeing anything. But in the grand scheme of things these are relatively minor issues when compared to not having a general manager or allowing the offensive line to age all at once. So I guess we can deal with them and enjoy the return of football. I'm working on a way to do a live blog from there with my Blackberry so stay tuned for how you'll be able to participate in that. I'll have plenty of other content from there, too. If you want to plug the address of Redskins Park into your GPS or Google Maps, here it is: 21300 Redskins Park Drive Ashburn, VA 20147

53: The Specialists

[caption id="attachment_973" align="aligncenter" width="419" caption="Suisham should fend off challenger Rayner"][/caption] Between now and the start of training camp I'll be making my predictions about who will be on the final 53-man roster for the Washington Redskins--who's there, who's in, who's on the bubble, and who's out. The predicted roster will be revised and updated as preseason events warrant. Today, the specialists: This isn't worth a full-blown chart or extended analysis. The punter will be Hunter Smith. You have to wonder why the Colts let him go after he averaged over 44 yards a punt last year, with a net average of 38.8, but he's likely to be an improvement over the myriad of punters the Redskins have employed recently. Ethan Albright will be the long snapper. Period. There is some actual competition for kicker Shaun Suisham, who had the worst field goal percentage in the NFL last year. Dave Rayner has been with five different teams in four NFL seasons. He was a kickoff specialist for the Colts in 2005 and the Packers' full-time kicker in 2006. In his career he is 41 of 52 on field goals, a 71% average. Suisham's league-worst percentage last year was 72.2% so Rayner will have to up his game if he's going to challenge him. I'd say there's a 20% chance that Rayner can beat out Suisham. Spots taken so far: 25

• Specialist—3
• Running back—4
• Defensive line—10
• Wide Receiver—5
• Quarterback—3

Spots to go: 28 Next: Offensive line

53: Defensive Line

[caption id="attachment_919" align="aligncenter" width="207" caption="Andre Carter"][/caption] Between now and the start of training camp I'll be making my predictions about who will be on the final 53-man roster for the Washington Redskins--who's there, who's in, who's on the bubble, and who's out. The predicted roster will be revised and updated as preseason events warrant. Today, the defensive line: Who's here Now: (16) Ends: Alex Buzbee, Andre Carter, Phillip Daniels, Rob Jackson, Jeremy Jarmon, J. D. Skolnitsky, Derek Walker, Chris Wilson, Renaldo Wynn Tackles: Lorenzo Alexander, Antonio Dixon, Kedric Golston, Cornelius Griffin, Albert Haynesworth, Vaka Manupuna, Anthony Montgomery. (Note—Jarmon is not yet on the official roster so it's likely that another DE will be released when he signs his contract. Also, I am counting Brian Orakpo as a linebacker.) How many will stick: 10 Starters: From left to right, Daniels, Haynesworth, Griffin, Carter. On obvious passing downs, Orakpo will move up and rush the passer from the left side. The additions of Haynesworth and Orakpo and the return of Daniels turn this unit from a relative weakness to a strength. Ideally, Haynesworth will crash the middle Solid backups: Golston, Montgomery, Jarmon, Wilson. Jarmon probably won't get a whole lot of time at end, barring injury, as he needs to bulk up and learn the system. Montgomery and Golston will go from sharing the starting job to trying to make an impact as rotational players in their contract years. Wilson seems to be the best bet to back up Carter as the pass rushing defensive end. Last men on: Alexander, Jackson—The battles for the last two, or maybe even three, spots on the defensive line will be among the highlights of August. Alexander didn't play as much on offense as he did under Gibbs but his flexibility gives him a leg up on the competition. Jackson will have to perform well enough to warrant a spot on the game day roster on a regular basis if he's going to make it. He needs to hope that the Redskins do decide to go with 10 plus Orakpo on the D-line because he's very much on the bubble if they go with nine. First men off: Wynn, Buzbee—I made the case last week that Wynn could be released when Jarmon signs. If he does stay, he'll give it a battle but the acquisition of Jarmon sealed Wynn's fate. For Buzbee it's a matter of poor timing. He had his shot to make some noise last year but he suffered a season-ending knee injury the same day that Daniels did. Spots taken so far: 18

• Defensive line--10
• Wide Receiver--5
• Quarterback--3

Spots to go: 35 Next: Running back-fullback

Zorn to let vets sleep at home

[caption id="attachment_891" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Jim Zorn"][/caption]

This story came out last week when I was knee deep in getting the book out, but I do want to address it. According to Jason LaCanfora, now of the NFL Network, Jim Zorn is going to let veteran players--those with four or more years of NFL service—spend the night at home during training camp. After dinner and the evening meetings they will get into their cars and drive home. I'm not sure what to think of this. On the one hand it's a nice perk to hand to the vets. On the other hand, what about team chemistry, camaraderie, sharing the training camp experience with the teammates? Is this just another way for a team known for having different sets of rules for different types of players to further draw lines of separation? I think that the latter point has some merit. It's not as bad as it used to be when the likes of Bruce Smith would be invited to enjoy brandy and cigars with the owner but there still is a star system in effect to an extent. This does add a little bit to that atmosphere even though guys like Anthony Montgomery get the same privilege as Albert Haynesworth. Football is the ultimate team and the more the guys are in the foxhole together—even when the foxhole is a multi-million dollar luxury conference center—the better. But it's not exactly like the time that the vets will be at home is quality team time. They'll be assembled as a team for some 12 hours a day. There isn't a whole lot going on in terms of socialization in the evening. It's not like Clinton Portis would be hanging out and shooting pool with Marcus Mason after dinner or anything. And we're talking about a total of about 18 days. In reality, the policy is unlikely to have an effect one way or another but, regardless, an effect will be perceived. If the Redskins are successful it will be because the treated the men like grownups. If they are mediocre it will be because the inmates are running the asylum. This isn't unprecedented. Brian Billick did it his last few years with the Ravens. Of course, Billick is now a TV analyst and not a coach. If Zorn wants to avoid the same fate as Billick his little favor to his veterans had better not come back to bite him.