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ESPN.com NFL Power Ranking (pre-camp): 20

ASHBURN, Va. -- It’s 7:15 on a Friday evening at Redskins Park and coach Mike Shanahan has taken a short break from watching film of the morning's practice. The man who always appears to be five minutes removed from a tanning session is discussing a philosophy that’s served him well over the years, but came into question when he was fired in Denver after 14 seasons and two Super Bowl titles.

Now Shanahan and his hand-picked quarterback, Donovan McNabb, want to prove that both of their previous employers made a mistake. We’re talking about two of the most prideful men in the league, and in two separate conversations with the NFC East blog last Friday, they essentially said the same thing.

“Yeah, both of us are here to win a Super Bowl,” Shanahan said. “If you’re not in it to win a Super Bowl, then you need to find something else to do. I’m not ever going to comment on how things were done here before, but we had a philosophy that worked in Denver, and that’s what we’re going to follow.”

It’s worth noting that two years ago, players were hailing the unorthodox approach of Jim Zorn. He played music during practice and delivered lectures on designer jeans. He was sort of the lovable hippie -- right up until the team started losing. In ’09, the Redskins became the most dysfunctional organization in professional sports. Zorn couldn’t be shamed into resigning, so the Redskins simply stripped him of his dignity (and play-calling duties).

Dan Snyder hired Bruce Allen and Shanahan because he has lost so much credibility with Skins fans. Allen and Shanahan immediately began changing the culture at Redskins Park. This was a team crying out for some form of discipline, and Shanahan has delivered in spades. If a player doesn’t hustle between drills in practice, Shanahan will call their names after practice and tell them to run extra sprints. He also makes sure that every player keeps his shirttail in during those sessions. Shanahan can get away with this because of those two rings.

With one hire, the Redskins are once again relevant in the NFC East. Now, let’s take a closer look at their chances of making the playoffs:

THREE HOT ISSUES

1. Can Donovan McNabb elevate this pedestrian group of receivers to new heights? There’s a reason that Santana Moss seems to have a perpetual smile on his face these days. He didn’t even have time to complete routes last season because of the Redskins’ woeful offensive line. Now, coaches are showing him film of the Texans’ Andre Johnson and saying he could do similar things. McNabb invited Moss and the rest of the receivers to work out with him in Phoenix early last month, and you can already see the benefits on the playing field.

“I told them to bring their wives and girlfriends because I wanted it to be a family affair,” McNabb told me. “When you’re around the facility, you always feel like you’re being watched. I thought it was a great opportunity for us to bond away from everyone else and start developing some chemistry.”

But Moss is the only thing close to a sure thing. We're still waiting for former second-round draft picks Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly to show some consistency. For now, they're listed on Shanahan's depth chart as third-stringers. McNabb may have to rely on the 38-year-old Joey Galloway to play a significant role in the offense. The good news for Skins fans is that McNabb once took receivers such as Freddie Mitchell and Todd Pinkston to NFC title games on a regular basis.

2. When will Albert Haynesworth crack the starting lineup? Shanahan bristled when I asked him if Haynesworth was causing a "circus," but the coach must realize that the defensive lineman has dominated the headlines. I think the players were watching closely to see how Shanahan dealt with the brooding star. Now that he's finally passed the infamous conditioning test, Haynesworth will work as a backup defensive tackle. He'll eventually start at right defensive end, but it's not going to happen overnight.

Haynesworth could be a huge part of Jim Haslett's defense if he buys into what the coach is doing. I am eager to see whether this knee issue goes away in the preseason. Haynesworth needs more game repetitions than usual because of all the time he missed. If the knee prevents him from getting on the field, it will become another distraction.

3. Have the Redskins solved their issues on the offensive line? I think a lot of this season hinges on whether three new additions to the line play well. Jammal Brown was a Pro Bowl player for the Saints at one point, but he hasn't played since '08. He'll have to knock off some rust while learning how to play right tackle. Rookie Trent Williams has a ton of ability, but he's working with a much thicker playbook now. There were questions about his work ethic at the University of Oklahoma. So far, he's said and done all the right things in Washington.

And we'll see how Artis Hicks performs at right guard. I always thought he was a better option than Mike Williams (out for the year), but this unit needs a lot of work in the preseason. McNabb will bring a lot to this team, but he can't win a lot of games if he's constantly on his back. Ask Jason Campbell about that.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

I was thoroughly impressed with free safety Kareem Moore. He was a sixth-round pick in '08 who didn't make much of an impact in his first two seasons. Now, it looks like he'll lock down a starting spot. He's had an excellent camp. He plays with a lot of confidence and he'll allow LaRon Landry to play closer to the line of scrimmage.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

You knew that one of the veteran running backs would probably be out of the mix, but I didn't expect it to happen so early in the proceedings. Willie Parker is officially listed at the Skins' fourth-string running back. Hard to imagine him making the final roster unless there are injuries.

OBSERVATION DECK

• I talked to one longtime Redskins observer who actually thinks Larry Johnson will have more carries than Clinton Portis this season. I don't see that happening unless Portis suffers an injury, but it's obvious that Johnson's in excellent shape. He's finishing off every run and he actually has shown a burst at times.
• Lorenzo Alexander and Andre Carter have a nice little battle going on at left outside linebacker. Alexander has been running a lot with the first team, but Carter, 31, will get plenty of playing time. You knew Carter would have a little trouble in coverage, but he's actually been step for step with running backs on a couple of occasions.
• Haslett is the best thing that could've happened to Carlos Rogers' career. The cornerback thought his career in Washington was over, but now Haslett believes he can turn him into an Antoine Winfield-type player. Haslett will take advantage of Rogers' size and he'll let him blitz more than in the past. (Adam Schefter has more on Haslett.)
• Brian Orakpo told me after practice Friday that Haslett's playbook has at least 20 more blitzes than Greg Blache's old version. He said it was a little overwhelming at first, but now he's not thinking as much. Orakpo had a nice rookie season, but he's about to become a breakout star. It's pretty amazing to have this many elite pass-rushers in the same division.
• Kedric Golston and Adam Carriker were running with the first-team defense Friday. It looked like the Redskins were working on their dime package, which features two down linemen. I think Haslett will be very creative with his fronts. He'll have some of the same concepts that we've seen from Dick LeBeau and the Steelers.
• Cornerback Justin Tryon made a nice recovery on a fly pattern to Roydell Williams on Friday. But Tryon hasn't done a lot in this camp to move up the depth chart. I think he's behind Kevin Barnes and maybe even Ramzee Robinson at this point.
• If you need a "Rudy" type of player to root for, let me point you in the direction of former Kansas State receiver Brandon Banks. At 5-foot-7, Banks isn't exactly a red zone target, but he's quick and appears to have good hands.
• John Beck rolled right and fired a bullet to tight end Lee Vickers in team drills. Former TCU linebacker Robert Henson reacted with some loud expletives because he came close to breaking up the pass. Beck had too many balls batted down when he was with the Dolphins. His arm angle's been too low in the pros, so we'll see if Kyle Shanahan can fix that problem.

» NFC Draft Rewind: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

» Draft class lists: Dallas | N.Y. Giants | Philadelphia | Washington

Examining the draft classes of each division team:

Cowboys

Biggest surprise: In what has been a largely disappointing class, kickoff specialist David Buehler has probably been the best find. He's a touchback machine and that's allowed the Cowboys' kick coverage unit to be among the best in the league.

Jury is still out: This can be said about pretty much the entire class. It looks like outside linebacker Victor Butler has made the most immediate impact, but he certainly didn't hold up well against the Saints. I think everyone's anxious to see how Michael Hamlin progresses at safety. He definitely has some skill, but no one's been able to see it in a game. When he's healthy next season, I think former Texas Tech star Brandon Williams could be an effective pass-rushing specialist.

Bust alert: We haven't seen enough of him to call him a bust, but there are certainly questions about third-round LB Jason Williams. We're told he's coming along in practice but he's a guy who should've broken through as a special-teams player by now. An injury held him up.

Eagles

Biggest surprise: The Eagles may have found a player in seventh-round pick Moise Fokou out of Maryland. He's now cracked the starting lineup at linebacker and he's capable of being a beast on special teams.

Jury is still out: We expected WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy to make immediate impacts and they have not disappointed. Macho Harris cracked the starting lineup early in the season and he recorded 10 tackles against the Raiders. He's also helped out in the return game. I think the Eagles are still trying to determine whether he helps them more as a safety or as a cornerback.

Bust alert: I hate to call him a bust, but let's watch tight end Cornelius Ingram's knee injury. He's a very talented player out of Florida, but folks are worried that the injuries could always follow him around. But the Eagles knew what the risks were when they took Ingram.

Giants

Biggest surprise: I don't think it's been a surprise to see Hakeem Nicks crack the starting lineup. He's a big-time receiver who had some injury setbacks in training camp. The play of rookie right tackle Will Beatty has been pretty impressive. He was taken No. 60 overall and I think he's poised to replace Kareem McKenzie next season.

Jury is still out: I think we're still learning about Clint Sintim. He has long arms and he's shown flashes of being a pretty good pass-rusher. But he has to be more consistent on the field.

Bust alert: I would by no means call Ramses Barden a bust at this point, but it's a concern that he can't play well enough on special teams to grab a weekly roster spot. I think Barden could help the Giants as a red zone receiver, but apparently he's not trustworthy on special teams.

Redskins

Biggest surprise: I knew Brian Orakpo would be good, but I thought it would take him a little while. Playing out of position at linebacker, Orakpo has made a nice transition. Just keep the guy out of coverage and let him rush the passer.

Jury is still out: I like cornerback Kevin Barnes' range and size, but we haven't seen enough to know if he'll be a longtime starter in this league. He needs to keep improving in terms of awareness.

Bust alert: After his infamous Twitter debut, linebacker Robert Henson hasn't been heard from much. I thought he was an excellent player at TCU, but he hasn't brought a lot to the table in Washington.

We've been hearing it all morning, but the Redskins have made it official that defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth will not play today against the Cowboys. It's obviously a huge blow for a team that depends on Haynesworth to be a disruptive force in the middle of the defense.

Haynesworth will be replaced at defensive tackle by Kedric Golston. But here's the one silver lining: A former NFL scout just informed me that he thinks the Cowboys will be able to play a "pocket-controlled" game, which means they'll have a better opportunity to keep Tony Romo from extending plays with his feet.

The thought is that Haynesworth is so disruptive that he would force Romo to constantly leave the pocket. But that's about the only positive news I can offer Redskins fans right now.

In other news, Fred Smoot will start in place of Carlos Rogers at cornerback for the Redskins. Rogers was pulled for a series last week against the Broncos and he was pretty vocal about it.

Here are the other inactives:

Cowboys: QB Stephen McGee (emergency), S Ken Hamlin, CB Allen Rossum, LB Jason Williams, G Montrae Holland, C/G Duke Preston, T Marc Colombo, LB Curtis Johnson

Redskins: CB Kevin Barnes, RB Clinton Portis, FB Eddie Williams, TE Chris Cooley, LB Robert Henson, T Mike Williams, DT Albert Haynesworth, DE Renaldo Wynn

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

LANDOVER, Md. -- Greetings from the biggest NFC East game of the evening. I've just been handed tonight's incactives, so let me pass them along:

Redskins: Kevin Barnes, Quinton Ganther, Robert Henson, Chris Samuels, Chad Rinehart, Marko Mitchell, Anthony Montgomery, Renaldo Wynn

Eagles: Kevin Kolb (third quarterback), Dimitri Patterson, Joe Mays, Mike McGlynn, Max Jean-Gilles, Kevin Curtis, Victor Abiamiri, Omar Gaither

Eagles coach Andy Reid obviously has a lot of faith that left guard Todd Herremans is fully recovered. I'll be interested to see if Stacy Andrews gets any reps at right guard. Something tells me that we won't see tonight.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Until he does something on the field, Redskins rookie linebacker Robert Henson will be remembered for a series of tweets he fired off following Sunday's 9-7 win over the Rams. Henson, a star player at TCU and the son-in-law of the nationally known pastor T.D. Jakes, caused quite a stir when he used his Twitter account to rip Redskins fans for booing the team and then engaged in a debate in which he came off looking unbelievably immature. Our guy Dan Steinberg from The Washington Post has all the details in this report. Here's the original tweet that understandably fired up Redskins fans:

"All you fake half hearted Skins fan can . . . I won't go there, but I dislike you very strongly, don't come to Fed Ex to boo dim wits!!"

And when some of Henson's 1,200 followers on Twitter -- including some in the media -- started engaging him in a debate, the rookie linebacker took things to another level.

"No I didn't play but I still made more than you in a year and you'd (gladly) switch spots with me in a second," Henson wrote. "I was talking to the fans (who) said the crazy stuff, I'm use (to heckling) but I've never been booed in my own stadium. Again, that was for the half hearted but if everyone wants to jump in, come on. The question is who are you to say you know what's best for the team, and you work 9 to 5 at Mcdonalds [sic]. You don't wanna follow me anymore, then fine but we play for you and win lose or draw, we represent you!! My guy on the Rams said they never got booed even when they didn't win a game."

And honestly, I think it's the McDonald's line that will stick with Henson the longest. As a sixth-round pick who hadn't been active the first two games, it's not like Henson has a lot of job security. In fact, the Redskins could have probably won favor from some fans by immediately releasing Henson.

Even his own teammates became critics. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall told reporters in Ashburn, Va. that he identified with the fans who were booing.

"I'd have booed us too," Hall said. "I felt like booing us, with that (nonsense) we put out there. It was a win, but it was (nonsense)."

And in case you're new to the parenthetical game, nonsense is the Disney version of the quote. Maybe this series of tweets won't define Henson's NFL career, but for now, that's all we have to go on. And with The Post's recent story about the Skins turning their back on season-ticket holders, Henson couldn't have picked a worse time to make these comments.

Are we wasting too much time talking about a guy who may never see the field? Probably so, but I think this story is bigger than Henson. Players have more avenues than ever to talk to fans. In many ways, that's a really good thing. In this case, Henson completely lost his head and forgot that he represents an organization and a fan base.

His words of apology the day after his angry diatribe ring pretty hollow.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants will be thin at cornerback and heavy on wide receivers. I just secured a copy of the inactives and it appears that Terrell Thomas, Corey Webster and undrafted rookie Bruce Johnson will be the only cornerbacks in uniform Sunday.

In a surprise move, the Giants will take six receivers into today's game. Rookie Ramses Barden is the only receiver on the 53-man roster who's not active. Here's the complete list of Giants inactives:

WR Ramses Barden, CB Aaron Ross, T Adam Koets, T Tutan Reyes, T Guy Whimper, DL Leger Douzable, LB Clint Sintim

The Washington Redskins put reserve running back Marcus Mason on the inactive list. He's had an excellent preseason, but Jim Zorn decided he couldn't take more than three running backs to the game. Here are the other inactives for the Redskins:

RB Marcus Mason, CB Kevin Barnes, C/G Edwin Williams, LB Robert Henson, G Chad Rinehart, T/G D'Anthony Batiste, DT Anthony Montgomery, Renaldo Wynn.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

For completely selfish reasons, I was happy to see the Redskins sign practice squad journeyman/wide receiver Trent Shelton this offseason. I watched him for four years at my alma mater, Baylor, and he played a prominent role in our 35-34 overtime win over Texas A&M in 2004. Of course, that was when the Aggies were still a competitive team in the Big 12.

Anyway, Shelton has apparently taken the D.C.-area by storm based on his Twitter numbers. The good people at Mister Irrelevant blog compiled a list of athletes in the area who had the most followers on Twitter. And lo and behold, former Colts and Seahawks practice squadder Shelton was No. 2 on the list behind the great Alex Ovechkin.

Here's where other Skins showed up on the list:

3. Chris Cooley

6. Chase Daniel

13. Devin Thomas

14. DeAngelo Hall

23. Rocky McIntosh

53. Robert Henson

And congratulations to Washington Post blogger Dan Steinberg, who showed up at No. 10. Here's Dan's full report on Shelton on his DC Sports Bog. Shelton, whose father used to lead cheers at Baylor's famed Floyd Casey Stadium, had this to say about his hometown team (Fort Worth), the Dallas Cowboys.

"I hated the Cowboys, actually," he said. "I was a 49ers fan. I was a big T.O. fan, so whatever team T.O. went, that's who I cheered for. So when he went to the Cowboys, I hated it, but still cheered for him a little bit. But now I'm a Redskin, so I definitely hate the Cowboys."

If you want to check out Shelton's Twitter feed, click this link.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

Matt Terl of the famed Redskins Blog attended Santana Moss' two-city birthday party last week and came back with some interesting nuggets. Like any good birthday, there was a Q&A session that lasted about 15 minutes or so. Rocky McIntosh, Chris Horton and rookie Robert Henson were just some of the players who joined Moss on the panel.

Someone in the audience wanted to know who Moss was pulling for to win the No. 2 receiver spot. He provided a vague (but somewhat interesting) answer.

"Honestly, there's no name I can give you. I just want them to give the second guy a chance to be the second guy. We've got guys who could be the second guy, but the offense of the past hadn't allowed the second guy to be the second guy.

"Meaning we went from the 1-side to the tight end to the running back, or the running back to the tight end to the 1-side. So my honest answer is I just hope that when they see the favor is on my side, they can give that guy the chance to be the guy and get that defense to switch sides so we can both equally get off at the same time. No name and no person can really change that until we do it amongst ourselves. There's no guy that I would prefer in that spot, I just want that guy to have the same chance that I have."

So basically Moss seems to be suggesting that the Redskins haven't put the No. 2 receiver in a position to succeed. It sounds like he wouldn't mind Jim Zorn giving the No. 2 guy a more significant role. Maybe a threat on the other side would make Moss even more dangerous. I think the Redskins would love for Devin Thomas to be that guy, but he needs to show a lot more consistency. Right now, the Redskins don't have anything to show for their three second-round picks from the '08 draft. That better change in a hurry.

Moss was also asked to identify which opposing team was the "toughest competitor."

"You know, every year the Cowboys seem to be our toughest competitor," said Moss before blowing out his candles. "That's the competitor that we live to play against, though. I mean, Redskins-Cowboy games are some of our favorites, and I'll give them that notch against all the other teams that we play."

I could point out that the Giants were the only division opponent to sweep the Redskins in '08, but I won't do that.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley

I'm spending most of the day at Valley Ranch with the Dallas Cowboys' draft class of '09, but here's something that applies to every team in the league. A Web site called WhatIfSports.com has a complex formula involving algorithms that predicts how each rookie will perform. They hit on a lot of predictions heading into the '08 season, so I thought some of you might be interested in their '09 list. Here's how the Beast is predicted to perform:

No. 9 Hakeem Nicks, New York WR
No. 13 Brian Orakpo, Washington DE (how convenient)
No. 22 LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia RB
No. 24 Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia WR
No. 52 DeAngelo Smith, Dallas S/CB
No. 55 Victor Butler, Dallas LB
No. 61 Robert Henson, Washington LB
No. 69 Clint Sintim, New York LB
No. 74 Mike Mickens, Dallas CB
No. 77 Travis Beckum, New York TE
No. 81 Cornelius Ingram, Philadelphia TE
No. 88 Victor "Macho" Harris, Philadelphia CB
No. 99 Andre Brown, New York, RB