What They Should Be Thinking Today: Washington Redskins

Inspired by ESPN.com AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky, this is my attempt to periodically get inside the heads of the four teams in the NFC East. Today, a quick look at what the Washington Redskins should be thinking as organized team activities come to an end in Ashburn.

What we're most happy about after voluntary OTAs: We're healthy

We still have a mandatory mini-camp next week, but our main goals were accomplished during the last 10 voluntary practices. Our rookie quarterback is causing jaws to drop and is gaining confidence (per the Washington Times), our attendance numbers were pretty much perfect (per the Washington Post) and, most importantly, we survived the first three weeks of offseason practices without any major injuries.

We're keeping expectations under control

Again, the hype for Robert Griffin III is quite ridiculous, but we've seen many great quarterbacks excel in May and June. We believe RG3 is the long-term answer, but he's dazzled without having to deal with a real pass rush or contact. 

We're trying to keep in mind that Griffin's a star because of the plays he makes in live situations. We already knew he was a freakish athlete, so those missiles he keeps launching in practice aren't altering our expectations. 

We're aware that even the best rookie quarterbacks don't often make the playoffs unless they get a lot of help. Cam Newton was arguably the best rookie in NFL history last year, and yet his Panthers still won only six games. 

We think we can compete now, but we're going to be patient.

The key with Griffin is that while Andrew Luck is still in school, he's here getting everything down:

"After every practice, I was writing stuff down in my booklet on things I need to work on the next day in practice," Griffin told the media Thursday, via the Washington Post.

"After yesterday's practice, I only wrote one thing, and that's 'Just play.' Because at the end of the day, after a few weeks, you know what everything is. You just have to stop thinking about it."

We have to do everything possible to keep Griffin healthy

Beyond him, it's just rookie Kirk Cousins, who might not be ready, and Rex Grossman. Grossman was a turnover machine last year, and he'd be worse in relief of Griffin because they're such different players. 

We've tailored the playbook for Griffin, and Rich Tandler of CSN Washington is right in predicting that putting Grossman under center would force us to make substantial tweaks to said playbook. 

For a young team with a lot of new parts, that's never a good thing. 

It'll be tempting to use Griffin in all sorts of wild and wacky ways, and we've already been experimenting with the option in practice (as tweeted by BurgundyBlog.com), but we do have to stay a little more conservative than the fans might want in 2012.