Kareem Moore Coming on Strong at Free Safety for Washington Redskins

The competition for free safety was supposed to be one of the headline battles of the 2010 Redskins training camp. With Chris Horton having problems with injuries, Kareem Moore and Reed Doughty were set to prove themselves worthy of the starter's position.

Doughty, though, has been hampered by a broken hand. And through the first few days of training camp, Kareem Moore has hogged the spotlight.

On Monday, Moore stole two picks from Donovan McNabb. Those are the types of plays that get noticed by coaches.

With his athleticism and ball coverage skills, Moore is considered the only true free safety on the team. LaRon Landry, Horton, and Doughty are all much more suited to play the role of strong safety.

"He was drafted to play free safety," defensive backs coach Steve Jackson said when discussing Moore.

Landry's obvious deficiencies in pass coverage were exposed last year, and Jim Haslett has plans to play him closer to the line of scrimmage this year. Along with that move, there is a need for a ball-hawking player like Moore to patrol the back end of the defense.

London Fletcher likes what he has seen from Moore.

"He has tremendous range in the middle of the field, and he has great ball skills. He's a good interceptor of the football," Fletcher said.

Of course, looking good in training camp and performing in real game situations are completely different. But for now, it looks like Moore will line up beside Landry as a starter at the beginning of the season.

Landry would benefit greatly from playing alongside a primarily pass coverage safety. It would free him up to do what he's best at—run support and blitzing. In fact, Landry would probably act more as an extra linebacker in Jim Haslett's scheme.

Of course, all of that would depend on Moore proving himself consistently. If he can't handle the responsibility of a starter, the dependable Doughty is only one step behind.