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Redskins countdown to kickoff: Two months ’til season opener

Posted at 11:28 PM, Jul 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-09 23:59:39-04

Josh Doctson of the Washington Redskins. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. - July 9th is a significant day for the Washington Redskins - both looking ahead and looking back.

On July 9, 1932, the Redskins were founded. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame's website:

George Preston Marshall was awarded the inactive Boston franchise in July 1932. He originally named the team "Braves" because it used Braves Field, home of the National League baseball team. When the team moved to Fenway Park in July 1933, the name was changed to Redskins. A bizarre situation occurred in 1936, when the Redskins won the NFL Eastern division championship but Marshall, unhappy with the fan support in Boston,moved the championship game against Green Bay to the Polo Grounds in New York. Their home field advantage taken away by their owner, the Redskins lost. Not surprisingly, the Redskins moved to Washington, D.C., for the 1937 season.

Alex Smith during OTA's.

July 9, 2018 also marks exactly two months until the Redskins' regular season opener. The Burgundy and Gold open their '18 slate September 9th at Arizona.

We're not going out on a limb when we say quarterback Alex Smith will have a significant impact on any success the 'Skins have in 2018. After all, he plays the most important position in sports. And while this will be Smith's first season under Jay Gruden's offensive scheme, the straight talk is: there's no learning curve for the veteran QB.

“He has got to get [the system] down by the first game," Gruden told reporters during the team's mandatory offseason minicamp. "So, I think he is already close to having it down for the most part. Each game plan is going to change with different concepts depending on who we play from time to time. But he needs to get it down and he will get it down. That’s why we got him here. That’s why we wanted to get a veteran quarterback here that can adjust to different schemes and alert on the fly. One thing about Alex, he is the smartest guy I have ever been around, without a doubt, and he is in great shape. He can move around and he can handle a lot of different things. We are not in here to build the team around him, the team is built and he has to lead it like right now. This isn’t a two- or three-year process. This is a one-year process and we have got to win right away.”

Alex Smith talking with Colt McCoy

While the regular season is still two months away, Washington opens training camp two weeks from Thursday. The team begins training camp in Richmond Thursday July 26th. News 3, Hampton Roads' Home of the Redskins, will broadcast live from Richmond each day the Redskins are there.