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The Washington Redskins are indeed the red-headed step child of the NFC East Division. That's a great place to be for Redskins bettors who believe their team has better than good odds of winning the division and quite possibly more.
The Redskins had +700 odds to win the 2008 NFC East Division at Sportsbook.com.
A $100 bet for the Washington Redskins to win the 2009 NFC Championship would pay $1800. A Super Bowl win? $4000 would be paid on a $100 bet.
The Washington Redskins were a -140 favorite to win OVER 7 ½ 2008 regular season games, suggesting the odds makers believe the Skins will go far.
"With the club learning a new offense and adjusting to a new head coach, this will be a year of transition for the Redskins, which could lead to some inconsistency in a tough NFC East", writes James Alder of About.com. "They should remain competitive for the most part, but starting the season with three of their first five games on the road against division opponents could put them in an early hole.
"A more conventional offensive approach could be exactly what the Skins needs," writes Andy Benoit of NFLTouchdown.com. "With a bang-up rushing attack headlined by workhorse Clinton Portis, an ascending quarterback in Jason Campbell and so-so receivers who, at times, can be so good, why not run a West Coast offense? The Law of Common Sense would say that putting your typical personnel in a typical scheme is the best way to maximize results."
"There will be a learning curve, of course. Campbell played in a variation of the West Coast system as a senior at Auburn, but he'll have a lot to learn under Zorn. And it will take time (it took Matt Hasselbeck about four years). Scouts have iterated that Zorn may have to alter Campbell's slow-winding throwing motion.
"Jim Zorn's offense is the seventh system in eight years for quarterback Jason Campbell-- and maybe the one that sticks," points out Andrew Lawrence of Sports Illustrated.
Given the responsibility on Campbell to keep the offense efficient, the quarterback has been under intense scrutiny from new Redskins coach Jim Zorn, who scolds him for everything from the height at which he takes the snap from under center, Lawrence writes - -- "Jason is much more explosive when he's playing lower," Zorn says -- to the distance his off hand travels when he pats the ball before a throw, a habit Zorn hopes to stamp out altogether. Not only does the pat waste precious time, Zorn says, but "it's also an indicator for the defensive back to start driving on the ball. If Jason doesn't pat, the DB gets there a little bit later."
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Mary Montgomery, Gambling911.com
