3 Storylines To Follow In Redskins Training Camp

This week, the majority of NFL teams open their training camps. It’s arguably the first major step into the 2010 season, and for some teams, like the Washington Redskins, the step comes with some pretty big question marks. That’s no surprise, what with all of the organizational turnover and personnel changes that the Redskins franchise has undergone this year. Here are three of the most important questions that will follow the Redskins into training camp.  

1. Will Donovan McNabb help the Redskins’ offense rebound? His arrival has many in DC excited. But there are a fair number who aren’t quite ready to book tickets to a January playoff game yet. Their concerns are warranted. While Donovan McNabb has had a stellar career filled with postseason success, it’s a fair argument that he’s not the same QB that he used to be. It’s not likely that McNabb will be as mobile as he once was (and with the state of the Redskins o-line, he’s going to wish he was). He’s also had his accuracy issues in the past. But he’ll also be playing with what could be a very run-oriented offense for the first time in his career, putting him under less pressure to carry the offense by himself. So who knows?
2. Will Albert Haynesworth play nice with the Redskins’ new management? This is probably the storyline of the whole NFL offseason. Haynesworth has been the highly-paid bane of the Redskins’ existence ever since January. His actions have made it clear that he has no love for the 3-4 defense, while Washington’s new brass has made no secret of their disdain for Haynesworth’s prima donna tendencies. But Shanahan has repeatedly denied that the Redskins’ pricey headache will be traded, so he needs to find a way to bring Haynesworth into the fold. A continued standoff will only hurt both parties, and the Redskins need to find a solution to the problem quickly.
3. Will the Redskins be successful with a 3-4 defensive scheme? Ever since Mike Shanahan arrived in DC, the rumors have been foretelling that the Skins would become the latest team to make the 4-3 to 3-4 switch. Not everyone’s a fan. Critics are questioning the adequacy of the Redskins’ current defensive personnel. Being a 4-3 by tradition, Washington is short on the kind of bigger linebackers and heavier lineman that fit in the typical 3-4 scheme. The team has been adding plenty of nose tackle and linebacker prospects in the offseason, but the fact remains that the transition won’t be easy. New D-Coordinator Jim Haslett’s reputation for creative scheming should help, but he’ll certainly have his work cut out for him.

Answers to these questions could be coming pretty soon. With camp opening this Thursday, the team will have the perfect opportunity to put recent struggles behind it and turn over a new leaf. Of course, with questions this big, the team could also prove to be more of a reclamation project than it would like to admit. But what do you guys think? Will these issues become points of strength for the Skins? Or will they just become thorns in the franchise’s collective side?