Let There Be Football Part 2

So, yesterday I blogged a bit about the Redskins and their 2011 draft picks. Today, I'm going to look at their offseason free agent and trade moves and how they affect the team's outlook for this season.

1) 2/28- Redskins release Clinton Portis. And so, the Redskins career of Portis comes to a sad end. Sad in that he never quite lived up to the promise of what he could have been in the Skins uni. He turned out to be too fragile to handle the bulk of the workload at RB. A lot of fans malign his time with the team, but looking at the stats he played 15 or 16 games 4 of his 7 seasons with the team. In those years he had a low of 1262 yards and a high over 1500. So, yes it is sad he is gone because when healthy he was a very productive back. Unfortunately, he had combined for 13 starts in 2009 and 2010 which indicates that his healthy days are probably behind. Portis' departure ultimately helps this year's squad as the Skins do not have to depend on his body staying healthy for 16 games and can focus on other players at the RB position.

2) 3/1- Redskins release Derrick Dockery. Unfortunately, Dockery never performed well in his 2nd tenure with the team. If he's going to play poorly, then you might as well go younger and cheaper at the position.

3) 3/3- Redskins sign OJ Atogwe from St. Louis. This move kind of fell under the radar as it occurred just prior to the lockout. As such, it was buried under all the labor discussion that preceded the lockout and that went on during the lockout. Atogwe got on the field for the Skins' 3rd preseason game and looks like a guy that the Skins want to use as a weapon in the 3-4 defense. Think a poor man's Troy Polamalu. In an offseason where the Skins didn't make a lot of splashy moves, this may turn out to be the best.

4) 7/27- Lockout over. Skins trade DE Jeremy Jarmon to Denver for WR Jabar Gaffney. One thing we learned this offseason is that the Shanahans were very unhappy with our pass catchers as they brought in a bunch of guys to compete for spots. Mostly the Skins went for youth this season, but this move saw them trade a 23 year old defensive line reserve for a journeyman 30 year old WR. Gaffney is coming off the best year of his career though with 65 catches and 875 yards. If he can approach that level of production for the Skins then he will be a good complement to Santana Moss. Otherwise, we may wonder why we gave up a young defensive linemen entering his 3rd year even if he only has 0.5 career sacks so far.

5) 7/29- Released Casey Rabach, Phillip Daniels, Maake Kemoeatu, Roydell Williams, and a few bench warmers. Proof that the Skins wanted to go younger. Starting center gone. Two aging members of the defensive line gone. And a WR who didn't play a ton gone.

6) 7/30- Signed Barry Cofield from the Giants and Stephen Bowen from the Cowboys. The Redskins bolstered their defensive line by taking players from 2 division rivals. Cofield was a starter for the Giants at DT in the 4-3. Bowen started 9 of 16 games for the Boys at DE last year. Both will be expected to make an impact for the Skins this year especially in defending the run game. These were good signings as both men are 27 and should have a several good years ahead of them.

7) 7/31- Traded Vonnie Holiday to Arizona for Tim Hightower. If Atogwe is my predicted best move of the offseason, this one is the move that gives it some competition. Hightower was a marginal RB in Arizona. So far in Washington, he has looked like a near perfect fit for the zone rushing attack. He's shown explosive speed and good decision making so far. If that continues during the regular season, Hightower may have the kind of breakout year we've grown to expect from no-name RBs in a Mike Shanahan offense. While I do think Atogwe was our best pick up, this may end up being the flashiest and the one most people notice.

8) 7/31- Signed Jamaal Brown for 5 more years. Brown was coming off an injury last season when we got him from the Saints. Apparently he impressed well enough that the team decided to lock him up long term. Brown is a Pro Bowl caliber talent so no way is this a bad move as long as his body holds up.

9) 8/3- Re-signed Rex Grossman. Eh, uh, yeah. Okay this was not splashy nor was it very exciting. However, Grossman knows the offense pretty well from being at Houston prior to joining the Skins. From what I've seen in the preseason, I'd like to see him back up John Beck and Grossman would be a good backup.

10) 8/5- Re-signed Reed Doughty, Kedric Golston, and Rocky McIntosh. These signings help the depth on defense. McIntosh appears to have maintained the starting ILB spot opposite London Fletcher. I'd like to see LaRon Landry back healthy so that Doughty goes to the bench because I don't see Doughty as a starter. Golston provides depth on the d-line which is important. Good signings since all of these guys have spent a year in the defensive system already.

11) 8/30- Waived Malcolm Kelly. No surprise here. Kelly never fulfilled his promise and the Skins gave him an injury settlement.

All other signings/releases involved players who would've been special teams guys at best. So, I'm not going to delve into those.

All in all, I am happy with the off season transactions made by the Skins. For the most part, they went with youth which I think is the way for this team to build. Hopefully gone are the days of signing guys because of the name on the back of the jersey. If this offseason becomes the rule rather than the exception, I believe the Washington Redskins will become a playoff contender in the not too distant future.

Let There Be Football

Yeah, so I had intended this site to be a little more consistently used. Somewhere along the way I forgot that I even had this blog set up so in basically two years this is my 2nd post. Sad. This means I missed out on commenting on a number of things revolving around my favorite teams: Larry Drew's transfer, UNC's NIT season, UNC's football scandal, the Redskins being mediocre AGAIN, the Cardinals losing out in the NL Central AGAIN due mainly to a bullpen that my mom would improve, my joy that any team not named the Miami Heat won the NBA title, etc.

So, as I endeavor to actually turn this into a more consistent sports blog, I have to turn my attention to the upcoming football season, especially since my Cards are about a kajillion games behind Milwaukee for the NL Central lead and a kajillion minus one games behind Atlanta for the wild card. Anyway, it's time for football and we're only two weeks away from the NFL regular season. Yeah baby.

So, if you take the time to read my first post from 2009 (which why should you it's nearly 2 years old), you'll find out that my favorite team is the Washington Redskins. Okay, stop making fun of me. I said stop it! I get it. We've got a bad owner...okay maybe that's not fair. Dan Snyder is probably what any of us would be if we were billionaires and could buy our favorite sports franchise. We, as fans, just don't like to admit it. But yeah, if I could've bought the Redskins I probably would've started out treating it like a fantasy football team moreso than a real football team. Fortunately, it appears that Mr. Snyder either has hit early senility or has matured as an owner because beginning with this past offseason, the Redskins have actually looked like a franchise trying to build a real football team. That is completely due to the presence of Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan. I know a lot of my fellow Skins fans are less than enamored with Shanny and I can certainly understand it. The man has an ego a Mile High (yes, pun intended about the former Broncos coach). But, let me ask you this. Do you want a guy with an ego who truly believes that he is God's gift to football or a Jim Zorn who knew that he was lucky to have a head coaching job gift wrapped for him due to the ineptitude of the franchise's owner? I'll deal with Shanny's ego because if he ultimately doesn't win he gets fired anyway. Bruce Allen is the key though. For the first time in the Snyder era, the Skins have a legitimate general manager and not just another Dan Snyder "yes man". You don't think it has made a difference? Look at the Redskins offseason.

The Skins didn't trade away draft picks like they caused the plague this year. Instead, they traded down a few times and acquired more picks. That's the type of move a team makes when it is trying to bring in young talent. The Skins ended up with 12 picks by the end of the draft. Now, some of those guys may not be on the final roster after the last preseason game and some may be on the "taxi squad". However, they did draft some players who could and should make an impact this season.

First pick was Ryan Kerrigan a defensive end in a college 4-3 scheme who is being asked to convert to OLB in a pro 3-4. Fortunately for Mr. Kerrigan, he is playing opposite Bryan Orakpo who draws the attention of any blocking scheme used against the Skins. This allows Kerrigan some leeway as far as learning the position and gives him an opportunity to make plays in one-on-one situations. He has shown solid progression in the preseason and, in my opinion, will only get better as the season goes on.

Our second pick was Jarvis Jenkins out of Clemson. Sadly, he tore up his knee early in the last preseason game against Baltimore and is out for the year. It is a shame because he was showing great progress and looked like a potential starter at nose tackle. We'll have to wait another year to see what impact he will make on this team.

Third pick was Leonard Hankerson, a WR out of Miami. Hankerson comes in with a bit of a reputation for dropping passes which is not exactly a good thing. His senior season at Miami was pretty good with an average of over 16 ypc and 13 touchdowns. He won't start immediately as I fully expect Santana Moss, Jabar Gaffney and Anthony Armstrong to be the top 3 guys early. However, I think Hankerson will get more playing time as the season progresses and would not be surprised to see him competing for a starting spot next year.

After Hankerson, the Skins went on a Cornhusker run by drafting 3 straight prospects out of Nebraska. The most promising of the 3 has been Roy Helu. Due to Ryan Torain's injury issues, Helu has seen a lot of time as the 2nd RB behind Tim Hightower (more on him when I discuss free agency/trades). Helu has looked impressive. Right now, I'm of the opinion that Torain is going to have to work pretty hard not to get knocked to #3 on the depth chart going into the season. DeJon Gomes was another 'Husker pick who should provide depth in the defensive backfield, potentially as a nickel back down the road. Niles Paul may get caught up in a numbers crunch at WR as could 6th round pick Aldrick Robinson. Paul has seen more PT in the preseason of those two, but you're talking about a rotation that already includes Moss, Gaffney, Armstrong, Hankerson, Dontae Stallworth, and Terrence Austin. Maybe Paul spends a year on the taxi squad as well.

After that, there are your typical 6th/7th round picks. Guys who may end up released, may end up on the taxi squad, or may end up at the bottom of the roster looking for "spot" duty or a role on special teams.

Evan Royster, RB Penn St.- Not sure where he can possibly fit on a roster that has Hightower, Helu and Torain.

Brandyn Thompson, DB Boise St.- Another guy fighting for a spot as a defensive reserve or special teams performer, but has not gotten as much time as Gomes which could spell trouble for Thompson.

Maruice Hurt, OL Florida- The Skins thinnest area is probably offensive line which means that, for better or worse, Hurt will probably make the roster as a reserve.

Markus White, OLB Florida St.- White hasn't looked bad in preseason opportunities. He may latch on as a reserve.

Chris Neild, DT West Virginia- Neild hasn't made a huge impact, but the Skins are thin with the Jenkins injury at NT, so unless they pick up someone off the waiver wire, Neild has a chance.

Next blog will discuss free agents and trades made by the Skins this offseason.