Hello Coach Shanahan, Good Bye to Many

Welcome aboard coach Mike Shanahan. Redskins' fans can breath a sigh of relief now that Daniel Snyder has assembled our new management team quickly while the NFL playoffs have only just begun. This will give Bruce Allen, Mike Shanahan and newly hired defensive coordinator, Jim Haslett, a full offseason to evaluate the team's current players and begin moves and preparing for the draft. What may be even more important is the fact that "Danny Boy' hired this staff the right way this time starting with the GM, then the Head Coach and then the offensive and defensive coordinators. Perhaps, Danny learned from his last mistake two years ago with Jim Zorn and company.

Our fans have known all season that big changes were coming and they are finally here. As exciting as it may be, it is still difficult to say goodbye to some familiar faces. Some players are sure to be gone soon including Philip Daniels, Randy Thomas, Renaldo Wynn. Chris Samuels may and should retire after his neck injury this season.

Other players that will most likely be gone are Fred Smoot, Mike Sellers and Rock Cartwright. Then, there is the "on the bubble" list. This list, of course, includes Jason Campbell, Carlos Rogers, London Fletcher and Antwaan Randle El.

If he Redskins had extra draft picks, that would make the decision much easier for some of these players. However, the Redskins are left with only 5 draft picks for April. All season long, popular opinion has been that the Redskins will dump Jason Campbell and select a QB in the first round of the draft. However, do not be surprised if Campbell stays with the team for one more year. With so many needs along the offensive line and other areas, the Redskins to choose to select an offensive tackle with their first pick or they could very well try to trade down in the first round to get extra picks. The team needs not only quality, but quantity as well.

For now, the team is off to a good start with its new management team in place. Much of what happens in the draft will depend on what happens with the collective bargaining agreement and free agency. Keep your fingers crossed.

---
JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog

Week 17 vs. San Diego Chargers

San Diego - The 2009-10 NFL season came to a merciful end for Redskins' fans and ended in a fitting manner. The season finale with the San Diego Chargers was a virtually meaningless game as the outcome did not effect either team. With a win or a loss, the Chargers are going into the thick of playoff battle and Redskins' coaches, players and fans are going home again trying to forget about the last 4 months of their respective lives.

The Chargers are clearly a better team than the Redskins. Their offensive unit, led by perennial Pro Bowl QB Philip Rivers, are in a completely different league compared to their counterparts in burgundy and gold and it showed when the game began.

Rivers only played for the first two possessions in the first quarter and wasted no time throwing for 99 yards and giving his team a 10-o lead before being replaced by backup QB Billy Volek. Volek continued the push and gave the Chargers a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter.

As the Chargers' second and third stringers quickly began coming into the game, Jason Campbell was able to gain some brief momentum in the second quarter and he connected with two the team's top touchdown specialists, TE Todd Yoder and FB Mike Sellers. As usual, though, it was not enough. The Redskins mustered only two field goals in the second half and gave up a late touchdown with only 35 seconds left to Billy Volek and company that gave the Chargers the win.

Jason Campbell finished the day with good numbers, at least, on the surface. He finished 28/42 for 281 yards, 2 TD's and 0 INT's. However, he did not move the ball at all against San Diego's starting unit. As he has done all season and career long, Campbell racked up his numbers either against second and third units or at the end of the game playing against prevent defenses. Even against San Diego's backups, Campbell still only manager a 6.7 yard per catch average.

The Redskins running game was virtually non-existent as it has been all season. Starting RB Quinton Ganther managed a mere 27 yards on 12 carries. Surprisingly, Jason Campbell was only sacked one time. On the receiving side, WR Malcolm Kelly had a personal record 84 yard catch. On the downside, how many WR's have you seen make an 84 yard catch and still do not score a touchdown? Besides the record catch, Kelly had an uninspiring 4 catches for 25 yards.

It was nice to see long-time Redskins favorite FB Mike Sellers end the season and possibly his career with a touchdown catch. Sellers will be 35 next season and the Redskins already have rookie FB Eddie Williams that they drafted in 2009. Williams spent much of the year on IR so it is still possible that Sellers could make a return for one final run with the team. Iron Mike has a total of 46 rushes, 102 receptions and an impressive 21 touchdowns in his 10 year career. If this is the end of his career, Mike will be truly missed by hard core Redskins fans.

A bright spot for the Redskins was the kicking game. PK Graham Gano was 2 for 2 kicking field goals. Albeit, his long for the day was only 25 yards, but that is besides the point. The Scotland born, Gano, was signed late in the season and finished 4 for 4 with the team. Now, the Redskins need to lock him up for the 2010 season. Gano had an impressive training camp with the Baltimore Ravens before being let go at the team's final cuts. Besides, every NFL team should to have at least one Scott or one Irishman on it. Between, PK Graham Gano and P Hunter Smith, this would be one important box already checked off on the Redskins' offseason to do list.

---
JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog