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The Washington Redskins are the red headed step child of the NFC East. The Redskins odds of winning the NFC East were set at +375 (compare that to the Giants at +140). The payout would be nearly $400 for every $100 bet. Washington is a favorite to win 8 games or less in 2009. They finished at .500 last season.
They'll need to be competitive in this division, which means the Redskins will have to improve.
Unfortunately this is a team that fell apart during the second half of the season and that rarely bodes well for the following year without drastic measures taking place.
They had 1,400 yard season from running back Clinton Portis and 1,000 receiving yards from Santana Moss, yet the Redskins averaged only 12.5 points over the final 8 weeks.
The good news for the Skins is that their defense played solid all season long and the organization even improved in this area during the offseason.
The Washington Redskins odds could improve further after having drafted defensive end Brian Orakpo while keeping on board free agent cornerback DeAngelo Hall. Perhaps the biggest catch is defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth.
One of the main problems for the Skins is in the quarterback position where Jason Campbell has failed to really stand out and lead the team. Though Washington can run, they'll have trouble winning if Campbell doesn't improve quickly. A solid quarterback could actually take this team to an NFC East division win. More mediocre numbers from Campbell and we're afraid this Redskins team won't get about 8 wins.
Backup quarterback Todd Collins played well when Campbell went down with an injury in 2007, but he did not throw a single pass last year.
Campbell is without a contract. He may have to prove himself even if it's to another team.
Despite some good pickups during the off season, last year's implosion coupled by the fact that Washington plays in what is probably the toughest division and they do so with a questionable quarterback, will make it difficult to win more than 8 regular season games in 2009.
Mary Montgomery, Gambling911.com
