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Five Questions with Hogs Haven, SB Nation's Washington Redskins site

Behind the Steel Curtain asked Hogs Haven editor Kevin Ewolt a few questions about the Washington Redskins leading into the Steelers at Redskins game Monday in Preseason Week 2.

By Neal Coolong
Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Ewolt, editor of Hogs Haven, the outstanding SB Nation site covering the Washington Redskins, was kind enough to lend Behind The Steel Curtain a few minutes to answer some questions leading into Monday's Preseason Week 2 game.

1. Is Robert Griffin III:
A.) overhyped
B.) given the appropriate hype
C.) Why there isn't yet an RGIII 24-hour TV network is beyond me.

I'll go with "C." RGIII has the most infectious personality and has been working so hard this off-season on rehab - to the tune of 10-12 hour days! It is getting rather annoying that anything he says is put under a microscope and taken out of context for blogs and major media to pump up, but he backs up the hype with his leadership and work ethic. Scott Pioli once said at the combine "Your QB has to be your hardest working player." When I look at all the elite QBs, they fit that mold and RGIII certainly does, too. The locker room as a result works harder and the 10-6 season (from 6-10) proved that.

2. Who was the more memorable quarterback, Doug Williams or Mark Rypien?

Man, that is a tough one. Mark Rypien was the QB for a 1991 team, one of the greatest NFL teams of all-time, where he was only sacked 7 times as part of a 14-2 season. That's incredible and The Hogs were in prime form. Doug Williams, however, is probably the most memorable for two reasons. First, in his Super Bowl vs the Broncos, he led an offense that set a NFL record scoring 5 TDs in one quarter. Second, he was the first black QB to win a Super Bowl. It was huge topic back then and still gets mentions even today. It's sad that successful black QBs warrant special conversation versus just talking about their skills, but Doug Williams validated to the world it can be done.

3. What's your sense of how the Redskins' receivers will fare this year? If we were to rank receiving corps around the league, and I was to put the Redskins' group in the middle, would you say their ranking should be higher or lower?

It was tough to assess the Redskins WRs last year because Garcon was significantly all 17 weeks and missed six games. Fred Davis, the standout TE, also missed half the season rupturing his Achilles. Fred was RGIII's most targeted receiver up to that point. So, adding both of these guys, who are 100%, back into the mix will ensure the Redskins are in the top 10 for WR corps rankings. With Garcon in the lineup, the Redskins were 9-1 last year. His speed off the line and down field stretches the defense out leaving big holes for other WRs. Josh Morgan had screws removed from his foot and his cutting has improved drastically in camp so far. Also keep an eye out for Aldrick Robinson on Monday night. He is a real speedster that wreaked havoc last year in spot duty.

4. Did you expect the Redskins' 10-6 record last year? Is it going up or down this year?

The Redskins are returning 21 of their 22 starters last year and get several key players back from injury like Brian Orakpo and Fred Davis. I think the Redskins will absolutely be in the 10-6, 11-5 ballpark. Kirk Cousins has looked phenomenal in camp and preseason so far, so if RGIII were to miss some time, I sincerely believe the Skins can win with Cousins.

5. These games get kinda dull later in the second half, if not earlier. We have a contest to nominate and lobby for the Training Camp or Preseason Darling - the player the fan base loves, and either gets cut or is the 53rd member of the Steelers team. If you were doing th same thing for the Redskins, who do you think that player is right now?

Oh yea. We have that going on as well. We call it the "Colt Brennan Award" after he tore up pre-season 3rd string defenses in Jim Zorn's first year and then never started a regular season NFL game. Former WVU QB, Pat White, has a solid hold on that prize now. He did well in last week's game versus scrubs, and you'll get to see a lot of him on Monday.

You can read Kevin's questions and BTSC's answers here. Check out Hogs Haven for all the latest Redskins news leading into the Steelers' Monday Night preseason game. Follow @HogsHaven on Twitter

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