4 Washington REDSKINS
HIS FACE baked by the Virginia sun, Mike Shanahan was walking to practice at the team's facility in Ashburn at 8:20 one morning when he heard fans hailing the Redskins' new regime. But the Skins' coach did not wave to his constituency. He did not crack a smile. Instead—and in marked contrast to new general manager Bruce Allen, who moonlighted this off-season giving one stump speech after another to potential season-ticket holders—Shanahan simply grimaced, especially at the loudest chant: "Give 'em hell, Mike!" As if anyone had to tell him.
The former Broncos coach, who also wields final say on personnel matters in Washington, had set a merciless tone back in March, cutting 72 years' worth of experience in what Allen deemed "a day of change." Among the 10 departed were seven players 30 or older (from defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin to cornerback Fred Smoot) and even a team captain (tailback Rock Cartwright). Then, as if there was any doubt that the page had been permanently turned, the Skins brought in 27 newly signed free agents. As Shanahan says, "We don't really care what guys have done in the past. It's what they do out here."
And, in one famous case, what they do not do. While the face of the new Redskins is assuredly that of quarterback Donovan McNabb—the team traded two draft picks, a second-rounder in 2010 and a third or fourth in '11, to the Eagles for the veteran on Easter Sunday—the spotlight burns most hotly on the biggest holdover from the miserable Jim Zorn era. Before he'd even set foot in camp, former Pro Bowl defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who had notably accepted a $21 million bonus on April 1, refused a switch to nosetackle in the team's new 3--4 scheme; demanded a trade; didn't show up to off-season workouts; and thereby felt Shanahan's hellfire upon arrival. Told to pass a conditioning test involving two 300-yard shuttle runs before he could even start practicing, an openly petulant Haynesworth took 10 days before he finally ran the drill and met the necessary times for his position. Said Shanahan at the time, "He probably doesn't like me very much right now, but I'm not here to be liked."
Indeed, boot-camp accountability, previously unheard of along the Beltway, was exactly what the organization had sought in hiring Shanahan. But he's not only monitoring on-field performance: On the very first day of camp, Shanahan laid out his expectations for keeping the locker room clean and treating building employees with respect. He then explained his strict system of fines, the same one he'd instituted to great efficiency in Denver. (A missed practice, for example, will cost you $9,000.) "In the past," safety Reed Doughty says, "a player would maybe say, 'Well, I broke [a rule], but can I have a break?' Now it's simple for everyone: You follow the rules or you don't."
"We realize we were 4--12 last year," Allen adds. "We were 0--6 in our division. We've been honest about where we've stood from the beginning, and we've been honest with the players about having to correct that."
Accordingly, few on the depth chart were safe. Tailback remained stunningly unsettled, with Clinton Portis, Larry Johnson, Willie Parker and Ryan Torain all vying for roster spots. The team's weakest unit, wide receiver, saw 38-year-old Joey Galloway surprisingly grab a starting job. And the defense will turn from the 4--3 to the blitz-happy 3--4 under still another Shanahan addition, defensive coordinator Jim Haslett. With or without a happy Haynesworth (who said he's content now with his nosetackle role) the defense—ranked No. 10 in the NFL last year but dead-last in takeaways—will be formidable, with two converted defensive ends who look to replicate last year's lofty sack totals as linebackers: Brian Orakpo and Andre Carter, who each had 11 quarterback takedowns in '09.
Will all of Shanahan's engineering—and attitude adjustment—be enough to wrest control of the stacked NFC East? Not likely. But given the bar set by the coach's predecessors, this team already has one victory in hand: It will definitely be different.
PROJECTED STARTERS
WITH 2009 STATS
COACH MIKE SHANAHAN
OFFENSE
2009 RANK: 22
QB DONOVAN MCNABB
G 14
ATT 443
COMP 267
PCT 60.3
YARDS 3,553
TD 22
INT 10
RATING 92.9
RB CLINTON PORTIS
G 8
ATT 124
YARDS 494
AVG 4.0
REC 9
YARDS 57
AVG 6.3
TTD 2
FB MIKE SELLERS
G 15
ATT 0
YARDS 0
AVG —
REC 17
YARDS 176
AVG 10.4
TTD 2
WR SANTANA MOSS
G 16
REC 70
YARDS 902
TTD 3
WR JOEY GALLOWAY
G 3
REC 7
YARDS 67
TTD 0
TE CHRIS COOLEY
G 7
REC 29
YARDS 332
TTD 2
LT TRENT WILLIAMS (R)
G 12
HT 6'5"
WT 315
LG DERRICK DOCKERY
G 16
HT 6'6"
WT 325
C CASEY RABACH
G 16
HT 6'4"
WT 288
RG ARTIS HICKS
G 16
HT 6'4"
WT 314
RT JAMMAL BROWN
G 0
HT 6'6"
WT 313
DEFENSE
2009 RANK: 10
DE PHILLIP DANIELS
G 16
TACKLES 35
SACKS 1
INT 0
NT ALBERT HAYNESWORTH
G 12
TACKLES 37
SACKS 4
INT 0
DE KEDRIC GOLSTON
G 16
TACKLES 34
SACKS 2
INT 0
LB BRIAN ORAKPO
G 16
TACKLES 50
SACKS 11
INT 0
LB LONDON FLETCHER
G 16
TACKLES 142
SACKS 2
INT 1
LB ROCKY MCINTOSH
G 16
TACKLES 94
SACKS 0
INT 2
LB ANDRE CARTER
G 16
TACKLES 62
SACKS 11
INT 0
CB CARLOS ROGERS
G 16
TACKLES 39
SACKS 0
INT 0
FS REED DOUGHTY
G 15
TACKLES 91
SACKS 2
INT 1
SS LARON LANDRY
G 15
TACKLES 90
SACKS 1
INT 1
CB DEANGELO HALL
G 13
TACKLES 58
SACKS 0
INT 4
SPECIAL TEAMS
P JOSH BIDWELL*
PUNTS 77
AVG 44.5
NET 37.6
K GRAHAM GANO
FG 4--4
XP 6--7
POINTS 18
PR PHILLIP BUCHANON
RET 4
AVG 8.5
TD 0
KR DEVIN THOMAS
RET 20
AVG 22.0
TD 0
New acquisition
(R) Rookie: College stats
TTD: Total touchdowns *2008 stats
2010 SCHEDULE
2009 Record: 4--12
September
12 Dallas
19 Houston
26 at St. Louis
October
3 at Philadelphia
10 Green Bay
17 Indianapolis
24 at Chicago
31 at Detroit
November
7 BYE
15 Philadelphia (M)
21 at Tennessee
28 Minnesota
December
5 at N.Y. Giants
12 Tampa Bay
19 at Dallas
26 at Jacksonville
January
2 N.Y. Giants
(M) Monday
SCHEDULE STRENGTH
NFL Rank: 8
Opponents' 2009 winning percentage: .523
Games against 2009 playoff teams: 7
ANALYSIS
On the plus side the Skins' toughest nondivisional foes—the Colts, Packers and Vikings—are coming to D.C., and Donovan McNabb will face only two teams, Green Bay and Tampa Bay, in the top 10 against the pass in 2009. But Washington's own pass D faces a murderers' row of QBs early: Tony Romo, Matt Schaub, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning.
SPOTLIGHT
London Fletcher, Linebacker
IF PRO BOWL berths are any indication, NFL minds still do not appreciate Fletcher's skill set. After 12 years in which he has displayed a field intellect to rival any middle linebacker in the league (including Ray Lewis), the Redskins' captain made his first Pro Bowl only last season, and then only because the first choice, New Orleans's Jonathan Vilma, pulled out when the Saints reached the Super Bowl. But Fletcher brings far more than good intangibles: He was the NFL's second-leading tackler in 2009, with 142, marking his 10th straight season with more than 100 tackles. Echoing the sentiments of many, tight end Chris Cooley says, "London Fletcher is probably the most underrated defensive player in the league."
But in a locker room never short on controversy, the veteran 'backer's role as de facto Redskins ombudsman might be just as critical. Fletcher, 35, lent critical support to Mike Shanahan's switch to a 3--4 defense back in June. The 5'10", 245-pound fire hydrant called out Albert Haynesworth for skipping workouts and fighting a potential switch to nosetackle. (Fletcher's message: "Stop being selfish.")
"If you can walk it, you can talk it," wideout Santana Moss says. "And London walks it every day." Moss actually isn't kidding: Fletcher has never missed an NFL game. And while some may wonder whether his skills can remain effective for much longer, his teammates, at least, know better than to even ask.
PHOTO
DAVID BERGMAN
FITS AND STARTS Haynesworth was one vet whose act ran up against the new regime.
PHOTO
LARRY FRENCH/GETTY IMAGES