2009 Roster Moves - What's Left To Do?

It has been another interesting and over-spending offseason for the Redskins. So let's sort things out, review what we have and see what left for the team to do before we begin the 2009-10 campaign.

The Good

• Adding Albert Haynesworth and Brian Orakpo obviously provides a badly needed upgrade for the defensive line. Signing Renaldo Wynn was a solid move to add much needed depth. He is a good character guy with a solid work ethic who will help Brian Orakpo develop.
• Resigning DeAngelo Hall was a must or the secondary would have been a complete mess. Shawn Springs was a great player, but really only played part-time due to his various injuries. Hopefully, Carlos Rogers and Fred Smoot can combine for a complete season on the other side despite their inevitable injuries.
• Bringing back Derrick Dockery was a great move. After getting lulled to sleep in Buffalo, hopefully, Derrick will be reinvigerated returning back to DC. Signing OT/G Jeremy Bridges also adds some much needed depth to the offensive line. He has started at OT, but many think he is a better fit at G. Either way, it is great to have a quality player that can play both spots when needed. As for Mike Wiliams, why not? We took a longshot on DE Erasmus James. This year it's Williams. It doesn't hurt to try. Okay, some times it does.
  

Altogether, the Redskins were very lucky. DeAngelo Hall and Derick Dockery, especially Hall, were both suprising cuts for their previous teams. Without these two players, the Redskins would have some more very big holes to fill.

The Bad

• Drafting DE Brian Orakpo and suddenly teaching him to play Strongside LB for the first time is utterly rediculous. It is hard enough for a rookie player to come in and make an impact at one position. Naturally, Snyder Inc. want him to play two positions part-time. This is no disrespect to Brian, but he will spend the entire season trying to figure out whether or not he is in the right spot on the field rather than letting his insticts take over at his natural position. Instead of being an explosive player at his DE, he will be be all over the field, frequently behind plays trying to catch up and it will cause him to lose focus when he does play DE.
• This whole scenario reeks of Lavar Arrington. Lavar had the potential to be one of the best and most feared LB's in the league and Dan Snyder personally ruined his career by hiring new coaches and implementing new defensive systems year after year. Lavar was never used properly and obviously never fulfilled his great potential.
• OT is still not a good situation. We are one injury away from a disasterous season. If the Redskins lose Chris Samuels to injury, the running game and the Redskins offense will go nowhere. Somehow, someway, we need to find another reliable backup.
  

So What's Left To Do?

With our annual lack of draft picks and Dan Snyder's "spend all our money on one player" approach to free agency, it was obvious that we were going to be shorthanded at either Defensive Line or at Linebacker for the 2009-10 season. At least now we know the answer is Linebacker.

At this point, there are no more "big splashes" to be made. There are no more elite free agents or big name available via trade. Instead, we need to take a play out of the Patriots book and find that proverbial diamond in the rough. We need to sign a quality veteran for a minimal salary that fits our exact need. When the Redskins hopefully finish experiementing with H.B. Blades, Robert Thomas, and Chris Wilson, there are a few players to watch. Here is one of the more intriguing players to think about.

• Travis Laboy - IF , that is a big IF, he is healthy, Travis would be an ideal fit. He played DE alongside Albert Haynesworth in Tenessee and played Strongside LB for Arizona last season. His problem has long been his health. He is not big or strong enough to hold up at DE and getting beat up by much bigger OT's has taken a toll on him. He could still be a good spot rusher for passing downs and a fill in at SLB. If he is healthy, he would be definitely be worth bringing in to look at.
  

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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog

Redskins 2009 Post-Draft Analysis

Thank you New York Jets!, Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for moving up in the draft to select Mark Sanchez so that we could actually use our few draft picks to select players we need, rather than the ones our owner Daniel Snyder lusts after.

Sure, I would have loved to have Mark Sanchez on our team, but had we traded the players or draft picks necessary to move up to draft him, boy would we have been bad this season. By sticking with our few draft picks and selecting players that will fill very real needs on our team, we have a much better chance of winning this year.

BRIAN ORAKPO is obviously a great talent and an enormous boost to our defense. However, there is one mild concern. We desperately need Brian at DE and there are already rumors circulating that he may be playing SLB for us. We have great potential to use Brian as a flex player playing mainly DE and occasionally SLB, but we need him much more at DE. Either way, getting him on the field is a big upgrade. Philip Daniels will be a great mentor for him this year, not to mention Renaldo Wynn.

KEVIN BARNES has potential to be a starting CB for the team and with oft-injured Carlos Rogers and Fred Smoot manning the position, we need as many bodies as possible. However, it is disappointing that we did not use this pick to draft a second DE, SLB or OT. If the team expects Brian Orakpo to play SLB, they should have selected another DE to sure up the front seven on defence. Likewise, if he does play DE, they should have drafted some badly needed depth at SLB or at least at OT.

The CODY GLENN and ROBERT HENSON picks in the 5th and 6th rounds were wasted picks. Cody Glenn may have some potential upside because he only played OLB for one year at Nebraska and may develop. With that said, has anyone ever said the words "Daniel Snyder" and "player development" in the same sentence before? There were better options available at LB and OG/OT available.

EDDIE WILLIAMS is a decent pick and a guy who could fill a need as a pass catching FB, but again, this is not a big need for us. Anyone who loves the Redskins, loves FB Mike Sellers. Truth be told, he is probably due for some competition this offseason. May the best man win.

MARKO MITCHELL is a darkhorse WR and was a good final draft pick for us. He is a big target at 6'3" and he should send a clear message to WR Malcolm Kelly, who appears to be unable to get out of the trainers office and on to the field for the second straight season since being drafted. Malcolm better find a way to get healthy and on the field fast or Marko could be moving into his locker in a couple months from now.

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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog

Redskins 2009 Pre-Draft Analysis

It's time to start holding our collective breath again while the dynamic duo decide how to make a mess of our upcoming draft.

What will Danny and Vinny do?

Scenario #1 - QB Mark Sanchez falls to #8 and the Redskins trade up with Jacksonville to pick Sanchez. Since Danny boy needs to be over the top with everything, Lord only knows what they would give up to move up for the pick. After watching Danny for what seems like an eternity, my guess would be our first and third round picks this year and probably a second round pick next year.

Result - We get yet another QB of the future and he sits on the bench for a year do nothing and watches Jason Campbell run our pop-warnerish looking offense that to average 10 points per game for yet anther year. Meanwhile, our defense is absolutely run over because we have second stringers and retirees playing linebacker and defensive end. Of course, every game teams gang up on new high priced DT Albert Haynesworth and he gets injured mid-season and needs major surgery that will sideline him for a year and he is never the same player again.


Scenario #2 - QB Mark Sanchez gets picked early by another team so we don't have to worry about moving to pick him. Instead, we simply stay at pick # 13 and select either DE Aaron Maybin or DE Robert Ayers depending who is available and then we wait until the third round.

Result - We only get help at one position in the first two rounds, but boy do we need it. We could go for a SLB, but at least H.B. Blades(the most likely starter right now) is young. There is just no way the old and injury prone Philip Daniels and Renaldo Wynn can hold up for a whole season at DE. It just will not happen. They could also pick a RT, but again, at least we have Stephen Heyer who is young and still has a chance to improve.


What would be best for our team?

Scenario #3 - QB Mark Sanchez somehow still falls to pick #13 and we trade down with the New York Jets to pick allowing them to pick Sanchez. In exchange, we get the Jets' pick #17 and their second round pick. Hopefully, DE Robert Ayers falls to pick # 17 and we select him as well as the best LB available in the second round.

Result - We get some desperately needed help and youth on defense at two positions so that Andre Carter and Albert Haynesworth do not have to play 2 against 5 all season.


Scenario #4 - If Danny and Vinny are hellbent on picking another QB, here is the best we can hope for. Again, Sanchez falls to pick #13 and we trade down with the Jets. At pick # 17, we pick QB Josh Freeman(who a couple analysts have as the best QB prospect in the draft) and use our second round pick on the best DE available.

Result - Hopefully, we get a long-term QB of the future and we get some badly needed help on the defensive line.


With all that said, of course, this is Danny boy we're talking about so all this silly logical stuff could go right out the window. Seattle is also rumored to be considering taking Sanchez at pick #4. I don't know why they would take Sanchez so high because he will sit behind Matt Hasselbeck for the next 3 years and they have several other needs, but after living with Danny for a decade, nothing is a shock anymore. Needless to say, it would not be surprising if Danny boy traded away our entire 2009 draft to move up to #4 to drat Sanchez either. Result - I pretend NFL players are on strike this year and are not playing football and I do not watch ESPN from September 2009 through February 2010.

Time will tell, 48 hours and counting.

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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog

Linebacker Need Filled At Last

Finally, one of the biggest, if not the biggest, holes on the team has been filled. After Danny and Vinny performed their daily mindmeld Wednesday morning, they fearlessly swooped in and struck a fierce blow to NFC East rivals landing the highly touted and sought after LB Robert Thomas. The move has sent shockwaves throughout the NFC and put the NFL on notice that the Redskins linebacking corps is raising its play to a whole new level.

ESPN.com has been ridiculed for not covering a signing of such magnitude on their home page. While ESPN.com has yet to comment and this inexcusable oversight, they still have yet to even add the signing to their silly little Transactions page.

With the addition of Thomas at LB and last year's draft additions of perennial Pro-Bowl WR's Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly as well as Pro-Bowl caliber TE Fred Davis, Danny and Vinny can now focus on more serious issues in the upcoming draft like drafting another Punter.


On the lighter side, here is today's joke of the day.

Q: How can you tell the difference between a NFL Owner and GM with solid football minds who know what they are doing and two monkeys fighting over a banana?

A: Watch how they spend $16 Million!

Washington Redskins:

• DT Albert Haynesworth - Age 27, $16 million
  

New York Giants:

• DT Rocky Bernard, Seattle - Age 30, $4 million
• DT/DE Chris Canty, Dallas - Age 26, $7 million
• SLB Michael Boley, Atlanta - - Age 26, $5 million
• 1 proven veteran DT, 1 versatile up-and-coming DE/DT, and 1 up-and-coming LB
  

At least we don't need linebackers anymore.

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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog

Superior Handling of the Jay Cutler Situation

Hey Danny Boy,

Way to reproduce the Jay Cutler situation for us here in Washington. First, Vinny says "I guarantee Jason Taylor will be here for two years". Obviously he had his fingers crossed behind his back when he blurted that out. Then, he blows his horn again stating "Jason Campbell is our quarterback for this season". Then, you turn around only days later trying desperately to trade him and you fail at that.

You would think with two men who dream about throwing away draft picks, Danny and Vinny would have given whatever away whatever was necessary to get Jay Cutler. Now that you failed at that, we have a young quarterback in the last year of his contract who knows management does not want him here. Even if Jason turns the corner this year and has an All-Pro year, why would he possibly want to resign with a team that lied to him and tried to get rid of him? With so many teams with questions at quarterback, Jason is sure to at least drum up some interest from several teams.

All in all, Jay Cutler is an All-Pro caliber quarterback and he would have been a big upgrade over Jason Campbell. Jason is a good quarterback. He has a strong arm, throws a great deep ball, is well spoken, a high character guy and a solid teammate. He has everything you want in a teammate, but the intangibles for being a leading quarterback just are not there. Maybe it is because he has never played in a consistent system and has never been given a chance to really develop. Either way, right now Jay Cutler has that edge that you want in a quarterback. He is not Peyton Manning at this point in his career, but he is very good and he does have potential to be great.

Vinny,

For all of us who have loved the burgundy and gold since birth and do not have $800 million to buy the team and straighten out this mess, please do us a favor and at least stop making statements like the ones above publicly. It's one thing to continue making horrible decisions that make our team and fans suffer. It's an entirely different thing when you flat out embarrass us all and make a mockery of one of the greatest franchises in the NFL. Honestly, it looks like you are in a two team competition with the Cincinnati Bengals to see who can become the most humiliated organization. Right now, you are neck and neck.

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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog