Welcome Back Will Montgomery

The Redskins made a smart decision yesterday by resigning the versatile offensive lineman, Will Montgomery.  While the C/G is anything but a household name, he has quietly solidified his place on the team.  2011 was Montgomery's first season as a full blown starter.  He started 14 games at Center and 2 games at Guard and had a solid season.

Between G Kory Lichtensteiger being injured and missing 11 games and LT Trent Williams being suspended for 4 games, the offensive line was in flux all season.  Will Montgomery's ability to play Center and Guard gives the Redskins some much needed flexibility and security.

Being that Montgomery grew up only about 10 miles from where the Redskins played, it's a great feel good story and a good move by the Redskins.  Congratulations Will!

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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog

The Arguement for Signing Peyton Manning

Let's assume for now that Peyton Manning will be fully recovered and ready to go for the 2012 season and that he is released by the Indianapolis Colts.  Should the Redskins try to sign him?


THE POSITIVE

SHORT-TERM:  Realistically, I  think we could plan on 2 or maybe 3 years out of a healthy Peyton Manning.  So in the short term, we could not have a better leader on the field in 2012 and 2013.

WIDE RECEIVERS:  If we signed Peyton Manning, that may give us an inside edge to sign an elite level free agent Wide Receiver to go with him.  If we also signed WR Reggie Wayne, Peyton's longtime teammate, or Vincent Jackson, Santana Moss could move to the #2 slot where he is best suited and could thrive.  That would leave Jabar Gaffney as a solid #3 and Anthony Armstrong along with the two young up-and-comers, Leonard Hankerson and Niles Paul, to fill out the squad.  That would be the best overall group of wide receivers the Redskins have fielded in over a decade.

DRAFT PICKS:  Another big advantage to signing Peyton would be saving our draft picks and using them to fill out several other big areas of need.  The Redskins could stay at pick #6 and select someone like CB Morris Claiborne, which would certainly make sense.  They could also follow last year's plan and trade back in the draft to accumulate picks.  If they were able to trade back to the 12-15 range, they could add badly needed help to their interior offensive line by selecting either of the available Guards, David DeCastro or G Cordy Glenn, and hopefully pick up an additional second round pick in the process.

WINNING:  Most importantly for fans, we could have a legitimate chance of going from worst to first in the NFC East.  Last year, we all saw how much better Peyton Manning single-handedly made the Colts and he could do the same thing for the Redskins.  He could instantly transform our anemic offense with no big play ability into a feared unit with a realistic chance at the playoffs and more.


THE NEGATIVE

There are always upsides and downsides to every free agent and Peyton Manning is no different.

MONEY:  The first obstacle the team will have to overcome will be the mountain of cash they will be giving away.  Obviously Peyton Manning himself will not come cheap, but that is not the only check we will have to write.  In addition to Peyton's contract, we will have no choice but to dole out a second big contract for an elite free agent wide receiver.  Then, there is the offensive line.  Assuming G Kory Lichtensteiger returns and is healthy, the Redskins would need to add at least one free agent Guard to the offensive line.  And, since we are protecting a fairly fragile Peyton Manning, we should probably invest in one of the best free agent Guards that are available like Ben Grubbs or Carl Nicks, rather than selecting an unproven lineman out of the draft and expecting him to perform at an elite level right out of the gate.

FREE AGENTS:  If the Redskins sign Peyton Manning, they are officially going into Win-Now mode for the next two years.  That means you cannot necessarily use last year's strategy of selecting key players to build the team for the long-term.  Instead, we will have to go for broke and sign the best free agents available to plug the many remaining holes on the team as quickly as possible, regardless of their age.

LONG-TERM:  Of course, Peyton is not a long-term solution for us at quarterback.  While we should be covered for the next two seasons, we should immediately invest an early round 2012 draft pick in a young quarterback that can begin developing and learning from the absolute best and groom him to take over the reigns when Peyton ultimately retires.


LOGIC

There is no easy answer.  We could sign Peyton Manning and catch lightning in a bottle for the 2-3 years and have a shot not just to get into the playoffs, but make a legitimate push for the Super Bowl.

However, there is no way fans can possibly block out what Dan Snyder has done to the Redskins over the last miserable decade.  The team could dish out huge contracts to not only Peyton Manning, but several other 30+ veterans.  Peyton could get badly hurt in the very first game and have no choice other than to retire.  Then, we will have missed out on quarterbacks Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Matt Flynn and be staring at yet another season long nightmare dreaming about picking USC Quarterback Matt Barkley in next year's draft.

All in all, logic tells us to pass on signing Peyton Manning and, instead, to continue last offseason's smart approach of building the team for the long haul with high quality, young players that best fit our system.  If we follow logic, we should select a young quarterback in the upcoming draft or try to sign the younger free agent quarterback with upside, Matt Flynn.

Since Dan Snyder has followed anything but logic since he bought the team, who knows what will happen.  Decisions, decisions.

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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog

Well, It's Over. Let's Be Happy

It wasn't easy, as usual, but the season is finally over.  Let's look at the bright side of things today and see the positives that came out of the 2011 season.

1. We got players that can play in the 3-4 defense.
   
   
2. The defense improved substantially and the unit held up surprisingly well given the fact that they were on the field so much more than the offense was and they were put in so many bad positions by Rex Grossman.
   
   
3. Albert Haynesworth is a distant memory.
   
   
4. Donovan McNabb is a distant memory.
   
   
5. One way or another, we will have a different quarterback in 2012.  It can't get worse!  Right?
   
   
6. If another NFC East team had to win and you had to pick between the prima donna Cowboys, the Eagles with their dog beating QB, and Eli Manning and the Giants, I am taking the Giants all day long.
   
   
7. The Giants won the Super Bowl!  That's right, Tom Brady lost to one of the Manning's...Again!  Once again proving that all things from Boston, and that general cesspool area of the map, are bad.  All that talk about the Patriots' dynasty and the Bill Belichick / Tom Brady duo being the best ever is officially over.  Now, someone please give Tom Brady a comb and some new shampoo.  You would think if you had a super model wife, she could at least help you get a decent hairdo, gross.

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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog

New York Giants Moves Paying Off

 As the New York Giants continue on yet another impressive push deep into the playoffs, their personnel moves of seasons past continue to pave the way.

Let's take a brief, albeit painful, look back our post "Yet Another Blown Opportunity".  Back on February 27, 2009, our beloved Washington Redskins, who needed an entirely new defensive line, owned the headlines by signing one player, DT Albert Haynesworth, to a 7 year $100 Million contract.  With incentives, the deal would pay Hayensworth $16 Million per year.

Meanwhile, the New York Giants quietly and smartly spent the same $16 Million per year on 3 players:  starting DT Chris Canty, reserve DT Rocky Bernard, and starting LB Michael Boley.

Since that time, Michael Boley has been a key defensive player for the Giants making plays all over the field.  While Canty and Bernard do not get a whole lot of press coverage in the New York media, they have done a very solid job plugging the middle of the defensive line for the Giants.  This is one of the main keys to the Giants success rushing the passer.  With the middle clogged and the opponents running game minimized, the Giants' much publicized defensive ends can go all out rushing the quarterback.  It leads to a steady flow of sacks, pressures, mistakes, turnovers, and mayhem in general.

While none of the may be selected for the pro bowl, Bernard, Boley, and Canty are the types of players that the Redskins should have been targeting for the last decade.  They are good, and young, players that have solid characters and they are pushing their way towards a second Super Bowl win in the last 4 years for the Giants with a very impressive win over the Green Bay Packers.

Meanwhile, we have absolutely nothing to show for our investment.  Haynesworth, as all fans know, was so bad, on and off the field, that he was traded away by the Redskins to the Patriots for a minimal 5th round pick in 2013.  And just to solidify how bad he was, and now is, he has since been released by the Patriots as well as the Buccaneers.

The good news is that Dan Snyder is, supposedly, not making these decisions anymore.  Last offseason, Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen, did do a fine job upgrading the defense and transitioning to a 3-4 scheme.  It is not a dominant or elite level defense, but it is in the top half of the league and moving in the right direction.

Of course, we all spent last season complaining about how bad the offense was and how they virtually ignored that side of the ball in free agency and the draft.  We will find out soon enough if they can have a second straight successful offseason and improve the offense as much as they did with the defense in 2011.  Here is to hope!

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JacksGhost
Washington Redskins Hog Blog