Washington Redskins' Preseason Positional Battles, Part Two

The 2008 NFL preseason kicks off Sunday with the Hall of Fame Game, featuring the Washington Redskins versus the Indianapolis Colts. For Redskins fans, there aren’t many competitions for starting positions to watch. Punter, defensive tackle, and surprisingly, wide receiver may even be up for grabs.

So what should we be watching for? Yesterday, I looked at the offense. If you missed it, you can read it here. Today, I’ll take a closer look at the defense.

As with the offense, the starters are pretty well set. The only real competitions seem to be at defensive tackle and safety. While there are several other positional battles worth watching, I’ll begin with starting positions up for grabs.


Third-year players Anthony Montgomery and Kedric Golston are involved in a “heated” battle for the starting spot opposite veteran stalwart Cornelius Griffin. This is a good competition to watch, but this week, we will only get to see Golston on the field, as Montgomery will sit out due to a broken bone in his hand.

Defensive coordinator Greg Blache said in an interview recently that Golston would have taken the starting spot from Montgomery, if the Redskins had advanced past the Wild Card matchup against the Seattle Seahawks last season.

I heard that Montgomery (“Monty”, as he is called around practice) is one those players who needs to be pushed in practice regularly to stay focused, and Blache believes Golston has been able to do just that thus far in training camp.

Lorenzo Alexander is assured a roster spot, due largely to his versatility, as he is able to play offensive guard as well as defensive tackle. Ryan Boschetti, signed as an undrafted rookie in 2004, has been a reliable backup, and he looks to continue that this season.

Matthias Askew spent training camp with the Redskins in 2007 but was cut before the start of the season. He is working hard not to repeat that this season. Second-year player Zarnell Fitch is a long shot to make it past the first round of roster cuts, but he could end up on the practice squad if he has a good showing in the preseason.

LaRon Landry, entering his second season, was the named the starter at free safety and has no challengers. Look for a strong year from Landry, as he appeared to be very comfortable at the position during the stretch run into the postseason in 2007.

At strong safety, third-year player Reed Doughty played well opposite Landry in 2007, once he settled in as the starting strong safety. He did not play well while filling in for then-injured Sean Taylor at the free safety spot, playing a major role in giving up four touchdowns to the Cowboys’ Terrell Owens in Week 11.

When former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams switched Doughty to strong safety and moved then rookie LaRon Landry to free safety, both excelled and played a major role in leading the Redskins into the postseason.

Newcomer Stuart Schweigert, signed to a free-agent contract from the Oakland Raiders, played at free safety with the Raiders and is widely considered the better overall player, but he is a natural free safety. How will he adjust to the strong-safety position remains to be seen.

Both players figure to see a lot of playing time opposite Landry, no matter who starts.

Rookies Kareem Moore and Chris Horton will need to show that they can play on special teams to make the opening-day roster as backups at either safety spot. Versatility could be key for each player vying for the safety positions. If any of these players show that they could also play corner in a pinch, it could be what sets them apart from the others.

Horton has received praise from coaches during camp, and Moore has yet to participate in any practices, due to recent knee surgery. Moore will have to be impressive to make the opening-day roster.

The rest of the battles will be centered on backup positions. Many of these battles are likely to be critical to the Redskins' defensive performance in 2008.

With several key starters returning from injury, the backups are likely to see plenty of playing time in 2008. One of the most intriguing battles is going to be for the third and fourth cornerback spots.

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