Five Questions With Hogs Haven

(Note: We have two Five Questions posts this week.)

To get ready for Sunday's game I exchanged five questions with Kevin Ewoldt of Hogs Haven, SB Nation's Redskins blog.  My answers to his questions can be found here, and his answers to my questions are below.

1. I was a big fan of Washington's move to acquire Donovan McNabb in the offseason. How long did it take for 'Skins fans to forget that he played in Philadelphia for so long, and how has McNabb played so far as Washington's starting quarterback?

Not long. Once all the other Redskins, especially the team leaders, started speaking up about much of an upgrade this is for the locker room and the team...we all pretty much forgot. We were all sick of Campbell (though we all liked him from a personality stand point), but he was not a leader.

2. Mike Shanahan's return to the NFL by taking the Washington job caught the attention of a lot of people. For quite a while the Redskins didn't seem to have a guy like Shanahan around to take control, but already his work seems to be paying off. How excited were Redskins fans when Shanahan got the job, and is he living up to their expectations?

It was like Mardi Gras when the Shanahan announcement was official. As we all know, Shanahan's policy is that he has full control of the roster and personnel. He made Pat Bowlen hand it over, and surely it would be the same for Snyder. This guaranteed that Snyder would no longer be doing any of his free agency blunders, which is what fans have been asking for years.

3. During the offseason, there was a lot of talk about the Lions potentially acquiring Albert Haynesworth since he played in Tennessee when Jim Schwartz was the defensive coordinator for the Titans. Nothing ever came of the reported trade talks, of course, but Lions fans are still interested in what Haynesworth is doing in Washington. He's had a tough season off the field with his brother dying, but how has he been on the field?

He hasn't seen a whole lot of action on the field. The 3-4 defense does not fit him well and his actions to abandon the team during the summer minicamp and OTAs pissed off the whole team. The Redskins D has been getting shredded up front all year, so the last few games Haslett has shown more 4 man fronts, and as a result, Haynesworth is playing well again. If it wasn't for DeAngelo Hall's 4 INTs, Haynesworth easily would have won the game ball. He was in the back-field a lot.

4. Last week against Chicago, the Redskins turned Jay Cutler back into a turnover machine, with DeAngelo Hall picking off four passes by himself. What did Washington do so well to force Cutler into struggling, or was it more of Cutler just not playing well?

The Bears OLine is horrible. I mean...AWFUL. They're on pace for over 80 sacks allowed this year. The right side of their OLine consists of a former undrafted FA from the Skins who stink (Edwin WIlliams) and a Right Tackle who is a 7th round draft pick rookie. Mike Martz is killing Cutler as well refusing to run the ball. Haynesworth had his way with the right interior and Orakpo had no problems getting around the edge.

5. What is a key matchup for the Redskins on Sunday, and do you think they will leave Detroit with a victory?

Jahvid Best vs everyone. The Redskins run defense reminds me of the collective defenses that Barry Sanders rushed against. Missed tackles, open holes...the Redskins will have to play disciplined and keep that middle contained, which is where teams are doing the most damage. Our corners are good tacklers, so look for the rushes up the middle.