Q&A With DC Pro Sports Report

So the guys at DC Pro Sports Report emailed me asking if I could answer a few Ravens questions for them to post to their site as pre-game coverage for this oh so exciting preseason game between the Ravens and ‘Skins.  This will be the first game where I talk to another blog about their team, as I will attempt to do a Q&A type thing like this every week.  The post is already up there, here’s what I had to ask them.

• Q1: Although it’s still early, how well do you predict the Redskins will perform this season?  Playoffs?
• A1: The Redskins are in a brutal division, which makes up for the fact that the NFC has been a lousy conference the past few years. Luckily, Washington plays the marshmallow-soft AFC West and has other cupcakes like the St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the schedule. If Washington’s old and creaky offensive line is not destroyed by injuries, as it was last year, the team could go easily go 10-6. A record of 9-7 or 8-8 is more likely. If the O-line really is demolished, and it very well could be, all bets are off.

• Q2: Is there any chance that Jason Campbell loses his starting job?  Do the fans feel more comfortable with Todd Collins starting?
• A2: Campbell would have to play pretty poorly to lose his starting job and not too many people want to see Collins in the starting job, despite what he did in 2007. While Dan Snyder clearly isn’t a big fan of Campbell, Head Coach Jim Zorn is and he will give Campbell every chance to succeed this year. Campbell is also enormously popular with his teammates, who want him to have a big year and force Snyder to give a huge check to someone already on the team for a change. 

• Q3: What rookie do you think will make the biggest impact on the team this season?
• A3: Washington has a lot of young players, but not many rookies because they keep trading away draft picks for has-beens like Jason Taylor. However, they did get very lucky and have one terrific-looking rookie fall right into their laps. Brian Orakpo is a big star of training camp so far and should give Washington the outside speed rusher they’ve lacked since…when was Dwight Eisenhower in the White House? 

• Q4: Did fans and DC media also feel that signing Albert Haynesworth to a deal that big was a completely boneheaded move?
• A4: Most people liked the move. Redskins fans are accustomed to Dan Snyder spending the GDP of Guatemala on a player or two every winter, but Haynesworth is a genuine stud defensive tackle who can stuff the run, draw double teams and get an interior push towards the passer. Washington had the 4th-ranked defense last year, but it was a defense that generated no pass rush and no turnovers, forcing the offense to go 70+ yards for almost every score. Haynesworth is precisely what the defense needed. Besides, he won’t see anywhere close to $100 million of Snyder’s money. That $41 million guaranteed belongs to Haynesworth, but we’ll see how much more he winds up getting.  

• Q5: Give some background about DC Sports Report and MVN.
• A5: DC Pro Sports Report was started in 2006 as a side project for two Redskins fans who wanted to write about the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals and Washington Nationals, as well as the local pro football team. Our NFL Mock Draft Database got us a lot of attention from football fans and the site grew from there. The site is intended for people who love the DC teams, but want coverage and commentary that is critical and even-handed. We make no bones about the fact that we root for the home teams, but we cater to fans that want to hear the bad as well as the good. And there has been plenty of bad to write about recently.