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.