Redskins Hog Heaven did not take a day off, but we remind loyal readers that this is a blog, not a newspaper. We are not journalists that can source news. Some days, we just got nothin’. Our thing is analyzing why the Washington Redskins win games, or not.
For slow times between preseason games, we turn to professional journalists for news updates. Rich Campbell (washingtontimes.com) had the most blog-friendly update of today’s practice.
The quick synopsis:
- The Redskins are working on an up-tempo game with Robert Griffin III who is ahead of Donovan McNabb at the same point in the 2010 season in picking up the playbook.
- Roy Helu’s Achilles tendonitis is chronic and it is affecting his development. Helu has the highest ceiling of any rusher on the roster. The injury concern has not fallen to the Malcolm Kelly level. Kelly could barely make the field. Helu flashed occasional brilliance last season. The front office is more effective now at sourcing talent than at any time in Mr. Snyder’s ownership. There is young talent behind Helu. I hesitate to say “reload,” but running back is one position where it almost applies.
- Campbell’s comparison of wide receivers Brandon Banks, Terrence Austin and Dezmon Briscoe is very revealing.
Campbell’s Practice report (8/13) is a good read. Go take a look. We’ll be here when you get back.
The Washington Post is still the media giant covering the Redskins. Mike Jones and Mark Maske are the Redskins beat writers for The Insider, replacing Jason Reid who replaced Jason LaCanfora.
LaCanfora drew the ire of former team executive Vinny Cerrato and Larry Michael for insufficient brown-nosing. A surprising number of readers sided with the team, but LaCanfora merely critiqued what should have been criticized. The Redskins took matters to a silly extreme that only ended when Jason LaCa moved on to a bigger venue on the NFL Network.
The Post has market presence and very fine writers. We swear by them. Other media writers like Campbell and John Keim at washingtonexaminer.com are pushing them with excellent Redskins coverage of their own. Zac Boyer at The Fredericksburg Freelance Star comes up with unique angles on team coverage; recent example: For Rex Grossman, Teaching Robert Griffin III Best Left To His Coaches.
The thought of Grossman as a mentor to RG3 is as disturbing as the idea of RG3 meeting Heath Shuler. Yikes!
The Redskins community is blessed with a rich choice of sports blogs covering the team. Rich Tandler, the Dean of Redskins Bloggers, made the leap from hobby writer to professional beat writer. Rich holds court with CSNWashington.com.
I live vicariously through Rich.
Going to Jason’s house
Washington’s preseason game in Chicago is a chance to get reacquainted with an old friend. Jason Campbell backs up Jay Cutler for the Bears. Chicago is pretty happy with that. Campbell accepts his lot in life.
Your Hog Heaven writers believed that Campbell offered more for the Shanahan offense than did Donovan McNabb at that point in his career. (Yes, we said so back in 2010.) McNabb’s star was fading. Sadly, he was the last to know.
Shanahan’s arrival was the rare time when a perceived weakness, frequent coaching changes, actually worked to Campbell’s advantage. Campbell had more experience adapting to new offenses; McNabb never had to do that before. Campbell was wired to handle change better. That thought never struck anyone at Redskins Park. Other than Campbell himself, no one paid a higher price for the screw-up than Mike “I stake my rep on Beck” Shanahan.
The Redskins might have finished with 14 wins over the last two seasons with Campbell as starter. Whether it was Campbell or McNabb, Shanahan would still have needed to bust a move for RG3 right now.
See, things worked out after all.
Hog Heaven wishes Campbell well – except Saturday night.
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