Washington Redskins and Chief Zee Strut Their Stuff For Fans

Redskins Park was awash in Burgundy and Gold today, as the team celebrated Fan Appreciation Day.

The day was highlighted by a scrimmage in which WR Billy McMullen pulled in a great touchdown catch between two defenders from Todd Collins.

McMullen is familiar with the style of offense Jim Zorn runs as he played in similar schemes in Minnesota, Philadelphia, and at the University of Virginia.

Jim Zorn praised him earlier this week for his knowledge and with that catch, McMullen might be making a strong push for the fifth receiver slot.

Jason Campbell played fairly well, but didn't make any big plays. He often settled for checkdowns and overthrew receivers several times. He evaded pressure well and had a couple of sizeable gains running the ball.

On the first possession, Campbell ran in a short-yardage TD. On the day, Campbell went 15-of-22 for 122 yards and a TD pass to Todd Yoder.

Nehemiah Broughton got a lot of touches and looked good out of the backfield. However, he did fumble/drop one pass.

Everything I heard about Colt Brennan is true. It will be a long time until he sees any game action. His release was strange and his mechanics were unpolished.

The defense looked very solid as usual. Cedrick Holt pulled in an interception and the team had five sacks.

There were also several passes batted down at the line, which reminded me of the 2005 team, who constantly did all the little things to knock down passes.

Overall, the end of practice seemed to go at a much slower pace and the offense picked up a delay penalty midway through, prompting fans to voice their displeasure.

Zorn made it clear he wanted to keep the team focused at all times. "I want to go in there every play and just drive, but we've been working now for the last six days."

Players were clearly drained, and Zorn is giving them tomorrow afternoon off so they can recuperate from a hot week of practice.

Despite their fatigue, players still remained outside to sign some autographs after the scrimmage.

Jason Taylor flashed his million dollar smile as the fans clamored around him. He signed autographs while he was being interviewed and a fan shouted out, "Don't our fans treat you better than Miami?"

I got to catch up with mascot Chief Zee as the practice ended and I was able to ask the all-important question: What will the Skins record be at the end of the year?

Zee quickly responded, "13-3, playoffs, Tampa, Super Bowl."

Hey, the superfan knows best.

Then Zee signed my hat, capping the end to a solid day at Redskins Park.