Back in early January I took at look at what new coach Mike Shanahan would need to address during the off-season. Now that the draft has been and gone, let’s take a look and see where we are.

Each in turn…
The Offensive Line
Chris Samuels retirement left a gaping hole on the left side of the line. And let’s be kind, this was a porous line at the best of times. Once the position at draft-time was sorted (see Quarterback, below) then there was very little doubt that the line would be bolstered with the #4 pick and sure enough, it was. Trent Williams comes in to protect McNabb’s blindside. The 7th round also saw us pick up Erik Cook (C, but versatile) and Selvish Capers (G) to give depth in the future. McNabb isn’t the scamperer that he was in years past, so he and our running backs (again, see below) are going to need a solid line.

Running Back (s)
The off-season has seen the free agency pick-ups of Willie Parker and Larry Johnson. Which together with Clinton Portis gives us a very old running back corp. Sharing the load, can these guys get the job done? Probably yes, but we’re going to need the Shanahan magic to get the running game going. To be inventive and surprising. But I can’t see any of these guys escaping many secondaries, even though Chris Cooley is saying that they’re all looking good. It will be interesting to see if Anthony Alridge gets beyond the practice squad this season as well as how motivated Portis will be after quite a lot of nay-saying about him from a lot of quarters recently.

Jason Campbell
As I said in the original article, and repeated here, I think Campbell showed a lot last year. He deserved a chance and it’s just the way that things have turned out that it won’t be in burgandy and gold I am pleased to see him moving (probably) upwards.
But there’s no mistaking that Donovan McNabb represents an upgrade, as he would to many teams. It’s easy to point at flaws in his game, but he’s a good age for a QB, has the skillset, experience, leadership and most importantly – the motivation to take us into the post-season sooner rather than later. Personally, I’m really excited about watching him play and hope that the receiving corp can step up.

Older Players
March 4th saw a big clearout of older players. Fred Smoot – gone. Antwaan Randel El – gone back to the Steelers. Rock Cartwright (has joined Campbell in Oakland) and Ladell Betts – gone. Randy Thomas, Cornelius Griffin. Blam… they’re gone. Do I need to say anymore?

It’s now a younger (but not outright young) team and that should reflect well across all elements of play.

The Defence
With the switch to 3-4 coming, there are still some areas to be looked at here. Most notably in the hulking form of Albert Haynesworth. He does not want to be paid to get double-teamed every week as nose tackle and him and Shanahan are apparently not on good terms.
I hope they sort it out. He didn’t have a bad 2009 all told. No, be wasn’t the dominant tackle that he’d been in previous years, but he was a big part of our line despite the setup not playing to his strengths. Whilst his deal is as financially crippling as it is he’ll be going no-where, so let’s make the most of him.

We really need help at safety and I hope that gets addressed in free-agency. But I like the look of our linebackers, who have added depth with 4th round pick Perry Riley.

So all in all, the team is looking good. I fancy us to have a good run at the post-season this year, though won’t get carried away. There’s still a lot to happen before the pre-season.