Speaking of Peyton , everyone I speak to in the NFL - and I mean just about everyone - believes if Manning becomes a free agent, theA Washington RedskinsA will sign him.
FILE - In this Dec. 4, 2011, file photo, New York Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes pulls in a touchdown pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md. By remaining on the roster through the second day of the NFL's waiver period on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, Holmes will get $15.25 million in guaranteed money over the next two seasons.
Redskins Nation is in a state panic. This quarterback debacle has robbed the Burgundy and Gold fanbase of too much for too long. It has been beaten to death by blogs, reporters, news stories, and everything in between. Hordes of fans argue for Peyton, RGIII, Trading down, Flynn...
The arguments that follow usually pose the same questions. Why would Peyton want to be a Redskin? Why should we mortgage our future for an injured superstar...again? Why should we sell the farm for a position that WON'T immediately place the Redskins in contention for the playoffs? Why wouldn't we go after that franchise guy?
One question is rarely asked, though. Is there a way to acquire a veteran quarterback, one that is an improvement over Grossman, and still draft a franchise rookie?
Redskins fans, I give you Kyle Orton. Before you stop reading, I ask that you hear my logic (read) and consider the scenarios for which Orton may be the best thing for the Redskins.
In 2009, as a Bronco, Orton threw 336 passes for over 3,800 yards, 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
In 2010, again as a Bronco, Kyle Orton threw for 20 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, and 3,600+ yards.. Through 13 games. The Broncos went 4-12, and Orton was criticized for his play.
In 2011 Orton played 5 games before handing over the gavel to Tim Tebow, and held numbers similar to Rex Grossman. Moving to the Chiefs, he was again discarded for ‘Ineffective' play. Why? Why spend money on him if you aren't willing to give him a chance?
The Redskins have been burned many-a-time in free agency, and fans are skeptical to even go back. You can't have that attitude, not with your back against a wall. Signing Orton short term (well within the realm of possibility) while drafting a signal-caller the same year, may be exactly what the Redskins need.
You are Bruce Allen/Mike Shanahan, you know you have Rex, who knows the offense. You also know that he averages not just two picks per game, but two picks per game at the very worst moments. You also know that Orton will be floating in the wind this offseason, and easily protects the ball better. What do you do?
Well, first you ask yourself some questions.
How much is Orton going to cost? The answer to that is very little. Orton is just looking for his chance to shine again. He has drawn the short straw and could be given nearly the same contract (Probably less) than Rex was given this year.
What if Orton doesn't work out, or is just as ineffective as he was in 2011? The answer to that question lies in one of your top two draft choices. Your rookie signal-caller. All the while Orton is under-center, you're grooming this rookie to take over, and suddenly a lower-tier starter is your backup. Behind your rookie.
Lastly...
Who starts the beginning of the season? This question is answered by the time-honored tradition of competition. If your rookie comes in and shines better than Orton from the get-go, guess what? He's your starter. If he needs work (likely scenario) you coach him. It's the coaches bread and butter to..well... coach.
This decision can basically be simplified to pros and cons:
You have a proven-effective QB that can start the season, knows a west-coast offense, and isn't as likely to turn the ball over.
You are able to spend less money (Than signing Peyton or Flynn) for use on other positions.
You still remain able to draft whoever...and I mean whoever... you like. Be it RGIII, Ryan Tannehill, even Kirk Cousins if you like him, because you still have a starting quarterback to sit in while he learns.
You are able to fix OTHER holes on both the offensive side and defensive. Offensive WILL take priority this offseason, and hopefully they address the items that will allow any QB to thrive. WR, OL
You allow your future backup (Orton) time with the offense to become acquainted.
You successfully address multiple aspects of the poor depth, all while maintaining an exit strategy.
Cons
Orton may legitimately be at the end of his road
You may not be able to have your rookie ready (Depending on where you draft him)
The use of valuable (even if little) money on a QB still hits the purse, holding you back from addressing some positions
When conversations arise about how to adjust the signal-caller situation, Kyle Orton's name is almost required to be brought in. I'm sure I'm not the only one (Redskins Front Office Included) to take this route.
I, personally, am sold on Orton being a Redskin. I think it gives us the best chance for addressing the signal-caller slot without giving up our first-born.
When it comes to the Washington Redskins and any plans of moving the team, well, the only ones who can answer that question are those "in the know". I was curious to find out what the buzz was in the area after reading a A WVEC article .
The Redskins have to face the very real possibility that Adam Carriker might not want to come back to D.C; and that throwing in Jarvis Jenkins as the starter right off the injury he's had is irresponsible. If this happens to be the case, the Redskins will need to look elsewhere to grab a guy that can start at defensive end in the 3-4 system. Calias Campbell is perhaps the biggest name on the market of defensive lineman, so what better place to start? Campbell is a 25 year-old, 6'8", 300 pound monster on the defensive line. Yes he is going to cost a lot of money, and at his age he should. He also should be starting the majority of snaps for the life of the contract. This would downgrade Jenkins to rotational defensive end behind both Campbell and Stephen Bowen. You could also give Jenkins some reps as the back up nose tackle, giving us a very healthy defensive line rotation, but also a very expensive one. That's something for you to ponder over while we look at what Campbell can do.
Run Support
You can see Campbell circled in red against a run heavy formation.
Campbell is left for the pulling guard of the 49ers to block.
Campbell powers through the attempted block and forces Frank Gore to attempt to bounce the play outside.
But Campbell uses his huge wingspan to get an arm on Gore. He then uses his strength to arm tackle him. It's not very often you'll see someone who can arm tackle Frank Gore. Campbell brings him down in the backfield for a three yard loss, big play.
But sometimes the play doesn't always come your way. What happens when the offense runs away from Campbell?
The guard manages to get inside leverage just enough to stop Campbell to get inside and blow the whole play up. Campbell does manage to throw him to the ground though. Lynch cuts through the hole and gets up field.
Campbell follows in pursuit, not giving up on the play.
The Cardinals are lucky he did chase the play, because he ends up making the tackle 20 yards from the original line of scrimmage, otherwise Lynch would have been gone. Nice effort from Campbell on the play.
Another play Campbell shows great effort in was this one against the Giants.
The Giants are running a screen to Bradshaw away from Campbell's side. He manages to escape the block attempt as the ball is being thrown.
He then chases down Bradshaw.
And delivers a thunderous hit on Bradshaw, forcing the ball loose and it's recovered by the Cardinals in the red zone. Yet another Big play.
Pass Rushing
Here against Seattle, Campbell shows the strength of his hands. He uses them brilliantly to swat down the guards arms.
Campbell blazes past the guard, showing off his athleticism. The guard attempts to recover, but Campbell is much too quick for that.
Campbell is on Tavaris Jackson before he has a chance to react. What I like most about this is that he uses his arms to wrap up, but he also attacks the throwing arm and the football to try and knock it loose. He fails to do so on this occasion, but it's a good habit to get into.
Campbell can even get interceptions, I mean, when he isn't busy tackling runners in the backfield, chasing down screens and sacking the quarterback.
Campbell is on contain duty here. He notices the gap between himself and left tackle which Michael Vick could easily run through. So Campbell uses his strength to push back the blocker and disengage.
Campbell arrives in the gap and locks his eyes on Vick, who winds up to throw.
Campbell has great awareness to get his hands up and try to deflect the pass. The ball hits him right in the bicep and bounces up.
Campbell somehow manages to juggle the ball and bring it down under control for the interception. Once again, big play.
So there you have a little snippet of just what Calias Campbell can do. He makes plays all over the field, finishing last season with 72 tackles, eight sacks, two forced fumbles and that one interception. For comparison, Bowen had 41 tackles and six sacks while Carriker had 34 tackles and five and a half sacks. What do you think, is Campbell worth the money and the risk of limiting Jenkins snaps?
I came across this recent Bleacher Report article where the writer spoke with Landry first hand and at length regarding his Achilles injury. I saw that Landry re-tweeted this article, so it's safe to say Dirty 30 validated it. I recommend the entire read, but here are some of the major parts.
Landry prefaced the Achilles story that the Redskins originally wanted him to get shoulder surgery, but that the second and third opinions he got said surgery was not needed and "PRP" treatment would work. And it did. So, one can see why Landry is hesitant to trust the Redskins medical staff. As for the Achilles:
"This year, I went back to the same doctor in Anderson and he instructed the best thing for me was to get open up and fully cut my Achilles and that's a tough surgery as it takes a year and a half to heal," he continued.
"So I went to get a second and a third opinion and everyone I've talked to, and not to criticize Dr. Anderson, but they said, ‘why would you want to operate on that Achilles' when there are other options to healing?' So that's where the hick-up comes in with the team. I told them I wanted to try the other procedure and it's better than the PRP and the procedure would allow my body and heel to strengthen, along with my bone structure and tendons, instead of cutting and taking away those things. It would heal on its own, so why not grant me the opportunity to do this procedure before going through a major surgery?"
For the people that think Landry is done in D.C., hold onto those 30 jerseys. When the Redskins get a chance to evaluate Landry later this month, things could change financially. I certainly am a lot more optimistic than I was twenty four hours ago.
The past 3 weeks I have been primarily focused on addressing offensive positions in this year's free agency. You can check out my profiles on Matt Flynn, Dwayne Bowe, and Robert Meachemhere, or in the HH archives. This week, along with the next 2, will be defensively focused. More specifically, the secondary.
The Redskins secondary is riddled with raw talent, though numbers (turnovers) may not reflect it. The Redskins ranked 22nd in the league in interceptions this year. With a very solid front seven, it's time to address that. The Redskins hired former Tampa Bay Head Coach Raheem Morris a couple weeks ago to take over coaching the Defensive Backs. This is huge. Raheem is very defensively minded, and should be able to fix some of the defensive woes plaguing the Redskins.
Brandon Carr and Dwayne Bowe are the only two logical nominations for a potential franchise tag from Kansas City, with Carr being the front-runner if they can't reach a long-term deal in time. Carr tied for 12th overall (not just DB) for interceptions with 4 in the regular season.
I'll skip the pleasantries and get straight to the film, after the jump...
Ball Skills/Hands: If you've ever seen the movie The Replacements, there's some gooey stuff that they put on their stone-handed receiver in order to make him catch better. Carr must keep a jar of this stuff on the sideline. Maybe he is beta-testing some kind of secret ball magnet... Whatever he's doing, it basically equates to excellent hands.
Zone Coverage: Excels in the zone. Can effectively read the signal-caller to put himself into position to make a play.
Man Coverage: Makes his money in man coverage. Rarely gets beat deep, but does bite on double moves. He has the athletic ability to recover from it, though.
Run Support: Definitely is able to bring players twice his size to the ground. Picks his battles. If he can't bring his man down, he will tie him up and wait for another defender to arrive with help. His size isn't a factor, he's 6' and ~210, but standing up a back with a full head of steam isn't necessarily a good idea. Like I said, he picks his battles.
Intangibles:Money. He wants it. It won't be as much as some of the other guys this season, but it still may be a bullet to bite. Age. He's only 25, so it isn't hindering any 'rebuild' the Redskins may, or may not, be working on.
I read somewhere on Arrowhead Pride that Carr has ball skills rivaling some wideouts, and I tend to agree. Here, Carr is playing close in man coverage opposite Eddie Royal.
Tebow gets rushed and tosses up a prayer (probably literally and metaphorically). Eddie and Brandon have to come back for the pass, and Carr positions himself perfectly to make the play. Carr gets over Royal and pulls down the interception.
One of my favorite things about Carr is how aggressive he is. Here Carr is playing a zone and Detroit will try and pull him deep with a go route.
Normally, Stafford can look off even the most veteran guys, but here he has his eyes fixed on his left TE. Carr notices, and stays put.
He sniffs out the short pass, and is able to close the distance for a minimal gain before the linebacker in coverage can even get close. Watching this in real time was like lightning striking. This represents two things; the first being poor coverage in the flat, and secondly, excellent open-field tackling by Carr.
The Lions and Matt Stafford, again. Carr is in close man coverage and will follow his man deep.
Stafford dumps it off on a checkdown.
Carr's man had him blocked downfield. He sheds his block and is about to learn a lesson in physics. An object in motion...
Smart move. Carr goes low on the larger opponent, making the tackle. I don't really care HOW he makes the tackle, I just care that he makes it. Stafford didn't go to the left for nearly the WHOLE game, instead targeting Flowers, and being relatively successful, if you look at the score (It actually ended up a lot worse than this). I can honestly say that this was a solid game on Carr's part.
I like his speed, aggressive play, and of course his excellent hands. But what I really like, is his intimidation factor. He knows he is talented, and this d-back actually backs it up.. DeAngelo Hall?
Carr would be a perfect fit for the Redskins' 3-4, playing in KC's 3-4 for the past two years. He also isn't going to require as much bank as Brent Grimes or Cortland Finnigan to sign and his age isn't a factor (25). I see no reason to stray away from Carr. His aggressiveness will be welcomed with open arms.
The Washington Redskins continue to explore options that would enable them to hold training camp away from Redskins Park for the first time since 2002. But if they do, it won’t take place at George Mason University.
In January I presented my Mock Draft 1.0 and promised a new mock every month. For February I brought the gang along to rotate through picks. For this mock draft no trades of any sort were allowed. Enjoy.
1. Indianapolis Colt (Ken):Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor If you are going to turn the page on the Peyton Manning era, what better way to do it than to bring in a dynamic, play-making quarterback that adds a dimension to his game that Andrew Luck can’t match? Griffin is an accurate passer with plenty of arm strength, and his mobility will be as exciting as it will be necessary as that offense rebuilds. Griffin is the sexiest player in this whole draft at a position of undeniable need for a team desperately searching for the next face of the franchise.
2. St. Louis Rams (Ronnie):Matt Kalil, OT, USC The Rams haven't given up on Sam Bradford just yet, even though apparently Andrew Luck is still on the board. Bradford needs some better protection around him to give him a little more time, and the addition of Kalil will definitely be a start.
3. Minnesota Vikings (UK):Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa. With Luck on the board, the Vikings flirt with the idea, but ultimately they decide to stick with their 12th overall pick from last year, Christian Ponder. Kalil would have been the pick had he fallen, so it's a shame he went at two. The Vikings have a lot of needs, they could use with a wide receiver to pair up with Percy Harvin and give Ponder a nice set of targets, but I've always felt that unless the receiver is Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, or A.J. Green talent, you don't draft him in the top 10 (unless you trade up ala Falcons last year). Justin Blackmon is good, but not that level, so the Vikings decide to protect Ponder's blindside for the next decade with the next tackle off the board, Reiff.
4. Cleveland Browns (Steve):Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford In record time for a first round pick the Cleveland Browns turn in the card to the Commissioner seven seconds after he announces the Reiff selection. The Browns are absolutely ecstatic with this pick as they considered trading up for a lesser QB prospect in RGIII, but now get their true top choice without having to give anything up. Cleveland now has plenty of options with their remaining selections as they now have their QB and LT locked up.
New head coach Greg Schiano is going to want to improve a defense that ranked 30th in the NFL in yards allowed, and 32nd in points allowed. The aging Ronde Barber may be on his way out, and what better player to replace him with than the drafts best cover corner, Morris Claiborne.
Redskins pick and the rest of the mock after the jump...
6. Washington Redskins (Kevin): Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State This is Vinny Cerrato's wet dream: The #1 rated RB and #1 WR are on the board (and a 2nd round QB-talent he has slated top 10). Although Blackmon was not a team captain and had off-field problems (DUI), Blackmon fills a major hole for the Redskins - mainly a WR that can get more than 1 YAC. He doesn't have elite speed (~4.56 40) or an elite vertical (Calvin Johnson has 12" on him), but his ability to break tackles and beat press coverage is elite. All of the short, intermediate routes play perfectly with Shanahan's offense, which at the least will draw double-coverage. I saw on a draft site that he's comparable to T.O, which I agree with (head-case aside), and I think any Redskins' fan can be happy with that type of production at WR for 15 years. Tell the Redskins trainer to dust off the #81 jersey.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (Parks):Quinton Coples, DE, UNC The Jags have been looking for a pass rusher since the beginning of time. New coach Mike Mularkey grabs one of his son’s college teammates and the best pass rusher in the draft.
8. Miami Dolphins (Ken):Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama New head coach Joe Philbin wants to switch to a 4-3 defense, making one of the top defensive linemen available an obvious choice. But Philbin is an offensive guy and Trent Richardson won't slip past him. Richardson will be a dominant runner in the NFL from day one and will allow Philbin to move Reggie Bush all over the field.
9. Carolina Panthers (Ronnie):Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama The Carolina Panthers secondary is absolutely atrocious. The addition of Kirkpatrick could bolster the struggling defense that was the cause of the many Panthers losses this season. Many mocks have Kirkpatrick lower due to off-field problems. It's generally understood that college players will either partake in or be around illegal substances, and I don't believe the circumstances warrant a loss in stock.
10. Buffalo Bills (UK):Courtney Upshaw, OLB, Alabama Third Alabama player in a row pays testament to just how good that team was this season. Upshaw is right up there in terms of talent. The Bills biggest needs are a pass rusher and a wide receiver. I don't see a wide receiver I'd take at 10, so Upshaw fits the bill (HAHAHAHA.... I'll get my coat...). The Bills are expected to transition back to a 4-3 defense this off-season, but Upshaw has the versatility to fit in both, but I do think he'll be best as a 4-3 defensive end. Team him up with Marcell Dareus from last year, and the Bills start building a strong defensive line core.
11. Kansas City Chiefs (Steve):Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State New head coach Romeo Crennel, considers a number of defensive players, but then he remembers Barry Richardson is his current right tackle. Richardson is quite possibly the worst starting tackle in the NFL, and a major hole on that offensive line. Adding Adams would be a great welcome back gift for Jamal Charles and Matt Cassel, and could help Kansas City get back to the playoffs.
12. Seattle Seahawks (Tiller):Michael Brockers, DT, LSU It's very obvious the Seahawks need a QB, but there is not one worth a pick at this point. Peety may decide to wait until his Golden Boy(Barkley) enters next year anyways. DE, OG and DT are all secondary needs. I have the Seahawks going with the fastest riser in the draft in LSU product Brockers. Just like Penn State is known as Linebacker U, LSU should be known as Defensive Tackle U, for the amount of high quality prospects they churn out at the position.
14. Dallas Cowboys (Parks):David DeCastro, OG, Stanford Jurrah will be tempted to go after a cornerback in this spot or even a guy like Luke Kuechly, but the ‘gals interior line is terrible. To say Costa sucks would be putting it nicely, Dockery is a free agent and 73 years old, and Montrae Holland is pretty bad also.
15. Philadelphia Eagles (Ken):Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College Until DeSean Jackson is resigned, I won’t be convinced the Eagles are not considering a wide receiver in the first round. Still, their need for an impact inside linebacker might trump all else. Luke Kuechly might be both the best player available and a player that fits their needs at this position. He is a strong presence in the middle, capable of playing tough against the run. I would not be looking forward to playing against him for the next decade as a Redskins fan.
16. New York Jets (Ronnie):Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina The Jets basically burned their bridges with Santonio Holmes and need a playmaker at wideout. As a potential landing-spot for Peyton, the addition of 6'4" Jeffery and his physical play could be the catalyst propelling the Jets back into contention.
17. Cincinnati Bengals (UK):Cordy Glenn, OG, Georgia Bengals need some help on the interior of that oline. DeCastro doesn't call to them, so Glenn is the next best guard prospect on the board. It may be slightly high for the second guard prospect to go, but Glenn offers the versatility to step outside to tackle if they needed him to.
18. San Diego Chargers (Steve):Michael Floyd, WR, Notre Dame With Vincent Jackson too pricey to franchise the Chargers could be scrambling if their top receiver leaves via free agency. Adding Michael Floyd would give San Diego another tall physical receiver, to keep their offense flowing. The Chargers could also benefit from the marketing of a Michael and Malcolm Floyd receiving corps, though it could cause quite a bit of confusion for announcers all season (I'm looking at you Mr. Simms).
19. Chicago Bears (Kevin):Zach Brown, LB, North Carolina The Bears depth is horrid across the board, but a LB talent like Brown can't be over-looked at this spot.
20. Tennessee Titans (Parks):Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford The Titans need to improve an offensive line that has sucked the life out of CJ2K. The interior line needs more of an upgrade, but with Martin dropping this far you have to grab him.
21. Cincinnati Bengals (UK):Peter Konz, C/G, Wisconsin Having an extra pick in the first round is a bit of a luxury, and it's very tempting to take a wide receiver like wright to pair with Green, but I think the Bengals keep it simple, and build from the lines out. Konz could play center or guard, adding another versatile lineman to the group and giving the Bengals lots of options. Dalton had an amazing rookie season, adding two first round offensive lineman to protect him is a huge plus.
22. Cleveland Browns (Steve):Melvin Ingram, DE, South Carolina The Browns are set at 3 of their 4 defensive line positions, with the lone exception being the bookend to last year's 2nd round pick Jabaal Sheard. Sheard paced the Browns last year with 8.5 sacks, but now won't be alone as Ingram is possibly the best pass rusher in this draft. Mike Holmgren laughs his way to the Hall of Fame as he lands both his 'Brett Favre' and 'Reggie White' in one draft class.
23. Detroit Lions (Tiller):Mark Barron, S, Alabama The Lions are in need of some help along the offensive line, but with the top talent already off the board at both tackle and guard, the Lions choose to focus on their other area of need; the defensive secondary. Barron is not the most gifted athlete you'll ever see, but he makes up for this with great instincts, solid ball skills, and great hitting ability. He is a huge upgrade at the SS position, and in the opinion of the Lions, one of the best defense players on the board.
24. Pittsburgh Steelers (Parks):Dontari Poe, NT, Memphis The Steelers front seven is becoming an ancient semblance of a defense. The Steelers will be tempted by Dont’a Hightower or "hometown" product Devon Still, but the nose tackle position is the heart of a 3-4. Casey Hampton will be 35 next season and he has serious health issues, most recently tearing his ACL.
25. Denver Broncos (Tiller):Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama Champ Bailey and Andre' Goodman could both file for Social Security this year. Jenkins comes in and can play right away in place of Goodman, and possibly get a year of tutelage under Bailey. 26. Houston Texans (Ronnie): Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor In near record time (Browns hold the record this draft at 7 seconds) the Texans find probably the second most valuable pick in the draft for how late it is. Houston is very noticeably short at wideout and their number one, Andre Johnson, wasn't able to put up many (~400 yards) numbers due to injury. TJ Yates is young and needs weapons around him to be successful. Wright is a huge steal at 26th overall. Although he isn't a very big guy, Wright can be directly connected to the success of Baylor's Robert Griffin III and will mix nicely opposite Andre Johnson. 27. New England Patriots (Ken): Donte Paige-Moss, DE, UNC The Patriots’ offense was the toast of the town throughout much of the 2012 season, while their defense mostly just got toasted. Donte Paige-Moss has the size and speed to be a very effective pass rusher in the NFL, though his position on this defense will depend on whether or not Belichick decides to employ a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme.
28.Green Bay Packers (UK):Brandon Thompson, DE, Clemson Packers struggled to replace Cullen Jenkins on their defensive line. There's a chance he's cut by the Eagles and resigned by the Packers, but Thompson is a much younger option with the ability to play the 5 technique.
29. Baltimore Ravens (Kevin):Ben Jones, C, Georgia The Ravens were on borrowed time last year with Matt Birk gimping through another season. Baltimore has to address the Center position...and with that, they take Ben Jones.
30. San Francisco 49ers (Ronnie):Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers The 49'ers offense in the NFC Championship proved they are a one-dimensional team. The run is their bread and butter. The addition of a big physical guy like Sanu gives a defense something else to guard besides the occasional 20+ yard scramble from Alex Smith. Adding a passing game could be the only thing holding the 9'ers from a Super Bowl.
31. New England Patriots (Ken):Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina The Patriots will likely use both first round picks to solidify their defense (unless they choose to trade down like they generally do). How refreshing it will be to have actual cornerbacks playing cornerback for them in 2012—as opposed to wide receivers doubling as corners. Gilmore has size and strength, and should be able to push for playing time quickly.
32. New York Giants (Ken):Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson Imagine the New York Giants offense after adding the top tight end prospect in the draft. I just did, and now I have to change my underpants.
Is Manningham the right man for the Redskins? - Rich Tandler's Real Redskins The New York Giants have 21 players on their roster who will be unrestricted free agents on March 13. One of them made the play of the game in the Super Bowl and he happens to play a position of great need for the Redskins. Mario Manningham, a four-year veteran out of Michigan, managed to keep both feet inbounds after catching Eli Manning’s pass in a very tight window in the late going on Sunday.
We’re cranking up the NFL offseason and there are always surprise twists and turns especially when you follow the Washington Redskins. While we should expect the unexpected and we know that a lot will happen, there are some things that just aren’t going to happen.
The Redskins Blog | FOX Ranks Redskins’ Super Bowls Low Of the 45 games on the list (prior to Sunday’s 46th), the Redskins ranked as high as 38th, and no lower than 18th. Even in the Super Bowl VII loss to the 1972 Dolphins, the game ranked no higher than 14th.
NFL announces 2012 draft order - CBSSports.com Now that the 2011 season is completely over, it’s time to look ahead to the NFL draft. Here is the order in which teams will select from April 26-28.
But this also leads to another staple of the championship parade — the person who really doesn’t care about sports but shows up because it’s a great excuse to skip work and drink at noon on a Tuesday afternoon. And there’s nothing wrong with that.
Peyton Manning is obviously going to be the biggest story of this NFL offseason. The latest reports have him preparing to play in the 2012 season, with medical clearance from two doctors. So let us go on the premise that he will return in 2012. add to del.icio.us.look up in del.icio.us.add to furl
1. "Boy, that escalated quickly...I mean, that really got out of hand fast."
2.If you're just tuning in, there was a FanPost yesterday on Hogs Haven posted by a fan who had experienced a chance run-in with Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett. What followed was a spirited retelling of Jim Haslett apparently laying out the Redskins' offseason plans.
3. In the process of the story blowing up around here, it became unclear to many that this was not a story that was written by any of our writers. It circulated around the internet and the local media with the Hogs Haven handle and caused some rather...unpleasant reactions.
4. "Look, I'm not a cop. I'm no hero." We think extremely highly of the beat guys--guys like John Keim, Rich Campbell, Grant Paulsen, Mike Jones, etc. We hold them in the highest esteem. We don't do what they do. You don't have to be a professional member of the media though to know the difference between going up to a guy and saying, "My name is Ken Meringolo and I write for Hogs Haven...can I ask you a few questions?" and approaching someone as a fan and having a fun conversation. I can write about one and not the other. The same standard does not apply in our FanPost section, and it is probably wise to see about making it so that those posts are more clearly marked.
5. Not too long ago, this story would have been told by the water cooler at work or over a beer at the bar. There would have been a "Wow!" or two and that would have been mostly it. Now, that story is told via FanPost on a site like Hogs Haven--again, to share with buddies--and it blows up into something people at Redskins Park can't be happy about.
6. We continue to encourage you to share your stories. While there is always the potential for unintended consequences, the FanPost section here is our water cooler. The truth is that we have seen things in our FanPost section far nuttier and significantly more ridiculous than what we read yesterday. This one clearly had a lot of legs and part of that is due to Hogs Haven being looked upon rather favorably by a lot of the folks we mentioned above. So when a person clicks on a link taking him or her to a story on Hogs Haven, it is hard for them to discern between what is a FanPost and what is something one of the staff writers puts out there.
7. While regrettable, this whole incident underlines just how crazy we are when it comes to the Redskins, and especially at this time of year. By tomorrow, there will be yet another wild rumor about this team that will capture our attention.
8. One thing we have done here is try and move away from the practice of using nicknames or handles on our staff. We're happy to stand by our names when it comes to the things we write.
9. Some of the best ideas and opinions are expressed in our FanPost section. One day of madness shouldn't detract from what has become a source of great content for us. As I said above, it is likely worth the effort to do more to distinguish FanPosts from stories created by our writers (aside from the byline.)
10. If we aren't happy with any of the rookie quarterbacks after Luck and Griffin, it would make sense we would be strongly considering the free agent route. If that is true, and Manning's arm is spaghetti, it sounds like Kyle Orton is a real possibility, eh?
If I were to follow the prevailing winds going through the NFL, I suppose I would say that the Pats should put there name in the running for Peyton Manning .
Once again, it's time to check off some items on my "TIDU List"
- Things I Don't Understand:
* Why Peyton Manning would choose to play for the
Redskins .
Assuming he's healthy, the Colts' QB will have numerous suitors
clamoring for his services. That includes teams that are much
closer to winning and play in much nicer conditions than
Washington. Besides, Manning needs to drive the offense, and
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan isn't
the type to relinquish the wheel.
This winter has been unusually warm, but we'll see hail in
August if Manning lands in Ashburn.
