The Washington Redskins arrived in Utopia, better known as Richmond, on Wednesday.
Training camp starts on Thursday and coach Jay Gruden has great expectations. Every position should do well. No glaring weaknesses. It's all good.
Translation: let's go.
There's nothing like unbridled optimism before the first snap, block, pass or penalty. The Redskins will look pretty good against each other for the first couple weeks of camp before facing New England in the preseason opener on Aug. 9.
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No matter that a smattering of players remain hindered by offseason surgery. Or that Washington is generally picked last in the NFC East. There's plenty of time for pessimism (see Aug. 9, New England) later, so Gruden can smile for now.
The only downside – the Richmond facility lacks an indoor field. It's actually a nice place for fans with a little hill overseeing the fields. Too bad it seems rains is predicted every day until the end of days, but the Redskins won't melt. At least, not on the scoreboard.
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Washington is just one of 11 NFL teams that still travel for training camp; a hostage to a pending stadium agreement that increasingly looks like Virginia's to lose. No matter crowds seem to decline each year. It's all about keeping Richmond legislators happy, even if camp doesn’t make the town any money. Carlisle was the last to profit from hosting camp back in the glory days of the 1980s.
But it doesn't matter if the Redskins train in Ashburn, Richmond or Outer Mongolia. "Training camp is training camp," Gruden said. And he's right.
Accordingly, there's no right way to run training camp. Gruden is shifting the contact practices to mornings for the first time in his five-season tenure. Most teams do it to give players a break from extreme heat. Given Gruden is 0-4 in season openers, mixing things up this summer wouldn't hurt.
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"At the end of the day you have to go out there and hit people," Gruden said.
And that sums up the next three weeks of camp.
Rick Snider has covered Washington sports since 1978. Follow him on Twitter: @Snide_Remarks
