Bodog Beat

Clinton Portis hopes to have a much better season this year. (AI Wire Images)

How would you like to be Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell right now? He must feel like the ugly single girl at the prom. Washington tried twice to dump Campbell, first in a trade with Denver for Jay Cutler, but the Broncos preferred the Bears' Kyle Orton instead (Chicago's and Washington's draft pick offers were virtually identical). Then the Skins focused their sights on Mark Sanchez and trying to trade up for him by including Campbell in any deal, but the Jets beat them to the punch.

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So now the 2009 Redskins take the field with a lame-duck quarterback in the last year of his contract. Either Campbell has a huge season and gets a rich new deal from owner Dan Snyder or he's a goner. There's probably no middle ground.

Unfortunately, that Washington offense looks rather average, as does this entire team. Campbell is good not great. Clinton Portis is pretty good but has had a huge workload in his career (325 carries in four of the past five years) and might be ready to hit the wall – he declined big time at the end of last season. Santana Moss is a solid receiver but not really a No. 1 guy. Chris Cooley is a good tight end but had just one TD catch last year. The offensive line is solid but getting old fast. I hate to bring up fantasy football when talking about a real NFL team, but on the Skins offense you might want Portis and maybe Cooley on your fantasy team as a starter, and that's probably it. The Washington offense definitely needs either Devin Thomas or Malcolm Kelly to step up at receiver if it is to take the next step.

The Washington defense should be better with Albert Haynesworth to clog the middle. But will he give full effort now that he got his $100 million deal? The Redskins were last in the NFC in sacks last year, and that should change with Haynesworth taking up two blockers at a time. The secondary might be the strength of this team with a re-energized DeAngelo Hall and rising Carlos Rogers and LaRon Landry.

This team will win some games it shouldn't and lose a few it also shouldn't – much like last year's 8-8 club.

Here is the Redskins' 2009 schedule, and we'll break it down after:
Sept. 13 at New York Giants, 4:15 p.m.
Sept. 20 vs. St. Louis Rams, 1 p.m.
Sept. 27 at Detroit Lions, 1 p.m.
Oct. 4 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m.
Oct. 11 at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m.
Oct. 18 vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m.
Oct. 26 vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 8:30 p.m.
Week 8: Bye
Nov. 8 at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m.
Nov. 15 vs. Denver Broncos, 1 p.m.
Nov. 22 at Dallas Cowboys, 1 p.m.
Nov. 29 at Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m.
Dec. 6 vs. New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m.
Dec. 13 at Oakland Raiders, 4:05 p.m.
Dec. 21 vs. New York Giants, 8:30 p.m.
Dec. 27 vs. Dallas Cowboys, 8:20 p.m.
Jan. 3 at San Diego Chargers, 4:15 p.m.

Strength of schedule: 16th (opponents combined to go 125-192-2, .492, in 2008)
Projected record: 8-8
Bodog over/under total: 8
Bodog odds to win NFC East: 6/1
Bodog odds to win NFC: 14/1
Bodog odds to win Super Bowl XLIV: 34/1

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The Redskins open on the road against the G-Men for the second straight year and will lose to them for the second year in a row. But there's no excuse for this team not to start 3-1 as it faces the lowly Rams and Lions and the rebuilding Bucs following the opener. Of course, St. Louis pulled the road upset of Washington last year and Tampa Bay has won the past three regular-season matchups, so you never know.

In fact, anything worse than 4-3 entering the bye probably means coach Jim Zorn's fate is sealed. That home game with the Chiefs, K.C.'s first visit since 2001, also should be somewhat of a layup.

However, following the bye things get much more difficult as the Skins have just one game against a team that finished below .500 last year. If those back-to-back road games against Dallas, their first at the Cowboys' new stadium, and Philly look familiar, it's because it is the second year in a row Washington must visit those two rivals on consecutive weeks. The Redskins swept the Eagles last season but haven't done so in consecutive years since 1982-83.

The final four weeks are especially brutal: Two more prime-time games against NFC East foes (all three of Washington's home division games are scheduled in prime time) sandwiched by cross-country trips to the West Coast. That game in Oakland is Washington's first since 1998 and the stop in San Diego is the Redskins' first since 2001.

I don't see how this team isn't the worst in the NFC East yet again, but it certainly will be very competitive in nearly every game. Good but not great should be this team's motto. Look for Snyder to dump Zorn barring a playoff push and for the owner to have Mike Shanahan as his coach (and maybe GM) in 2010.

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