Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Feeling a Draft

It used to be that the advent of April meant the spots talk around Washington focused almost exclusively on the release of the Redskins' schedule and the NFL draft. Now, with the Wizards in playoff contention and the Nationals about to take the field for the first time, the talk of the town is, you guessed it, are the Skins going to open at home or on the road and what they will do with the ninth pick.

OK, there is some love for the Wiz and certainly there is a loud and growing buzz about the Nats. But this hasn't detracted from Skins talk; it just means that there's more talk going on overall.

This draft is still a very fluid situation. By this time last year, the Skins were in the fifth spot and honed in on choosing one of two Miami Hurricanes, tight end Kellan Winslow and safety Sean Taylor.

This year, however, the choices aren't nearly that clear. To be sure, a large part of the difference is that the Redskins are drafting ninth instead of fifth. Still, this draft is much more unsettled than the last for a few reasons:

• There isn't a consensus number one pick. Last year, it was Eli Manning; in fact, going back to Michael Vick in 2000, the top pick has been a quarterback for the past five years and seven of the last eight. From March on it's generally been a scenario where we knew who would go first, it was just a question of if the team in the top spot would deal the pick. Cal's Aaron Rodgers and Utah's Alex Smith just haven't been able to grab the bull by the horns and become The One. We have the unusual scenario of the top pick being dependent on who's using it.
• There are a three running backs rated in the top ten players. Auburn's Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams and Texas' Cedric Benson, all currently projected to go in the top ten picks, may slide back. This would not be because of any perceived flaws by the two. It's just because teams may want to move up to take another player that it wants and the team trading out of the position might believe that it can get a running back later in the draft. Prize RB's aren't a dime a dozen, but you don't have to spend a high first-rounder to get a good one. The Skins could find one of the top rock toters fall into their lap at #9. They would then desperately seek to deal the pick, being locked into a deal with Clinton Portis.
• The Skins don't have a glaring need. While the Skins might want to replace some of their recent losses by free agency and trade, it appears that they will be perfectly willing to go into the season with Walt Harris at corner, Santan Moss and David Patten at receiver and Lamar Marshall at middle linebacker. If the top two corners and top two receivers in the draft are gone by the time the nine hole rolls around, what do the Skins do--take the third-best at either position or take the best player available?
• There is unlikely to be a player so good that the Skins would be fools to pass him up. Last year safety wasn't an area of great need--it rarely is on any team. But the consensus was that Taylor, a defensive back with linebacker size, was just too good a combination of skills and accomplishments to pass up. There won't be such a player at 9 this year.

Things will begin to gel as April 23 approaches, but there still is likely to be plenty of suspense at sunrise on draft day. Stay tuned.

Brown: No News

No news is, well, no news. That's the non-story of the Courtney Brown wait. From the Washington Post:

Defensive end Courtney Brown kept his suitors in suspense for another day by informing them yesterday he needed more time, according to sources familiar with the situation.

It seems that nobody, either inside or outside of the walls of Redskins Park, is exactly holding his breath over Brown's decision. He could be a nice addition to the defensive end rotation, if he's healthy. Brown's presence could give his good friend LaVar Arrington a nice boost, if Brown is healthy.

The healthy part, as if you didn't already know or couldn't figure it out, is the rub. The first overall pick in the '00 draft hasn't been able to stay on the field and the teams expressing interest in him don't want to pay him if his history repeats itself. It's likely that he's holed up with his agent this weekend, sorting through what has to be a bewildering array of legalese.

According to a source who spoke to Brown yesterday, the top overall pick in the 2000 draft spent several hours Wednesday night and yesterday grilling agent Marvin Demoff with detailed questions about his options. Demoff, who also represents Gregg Williams -- Washington's assistant head coach of defense -- didn't return a call yesterday. Each suitor gave Brown, who has missed 33 games in five seasons, an offer with incentives tied to his health.

Not everyone is completely disintrested. Joe Gibbs and Mike Shanahan, whose Broncos are considered to be the other main suitor for Brown's services, both personally called Brown on Friday, trying to make a final pitch to get him to come on board with their respective teams.

Among those other teams in the bidding are Denver and Jacksonville. Let him take his time. This decision is much more critical for him than it is for the future of the Redskins, or of any of the other teams he's looking at.

We know that the paint will dry eventually.

A Lone Voice Supports Gibbs

You'd think that with 3 Lombardi's that
Gibbs could figure this cap thing out.

For most of last week, the silence was deafening among those in the DC and national sports media willing to defend the Redskins' decisions to trade Laveranues Coles (thus eating the subsequent net $6 million cap hit) and to not up their offers to Antonio Pierce and Fred Smoot. The critics, on the other hand, were out in droves, with Wilbon saying that Gibbs and company were cooking "a meal that's unpalatable", his Post collegue Mike Wise talking about "utter upheaval over one of the worst offseasons in recent franchise history", Dan Daly saying that "the loss of Pierce, Smoot and Coles were power punches directly to Gibbs' midsection", and so on. The national press followed the template established, that the Redskins "organization" or lack thereof really blew it here.

After that died down, the wise voice of one George Solomon, who has been on the staff of Post's sports department forever, came through in his column on Sunday:

The Washington Redskins losing cornerback Fred Smoot to the Minnesota Vikings last week, on the heels of taking a salary cap whack as a result of the Laveranues Coles-for-Santana Moss trade and the recent loss of up-and-coming linebacker Antonio Pierce to the New York Giants, has many fans asking, "Who's in charge of this team?"

And the answer would be Joe Gibbs.

Solomon continued:

To those who question whether he can succeed at managing a franchise when his previous role here was mostly coaching, Gibbs must want to ask, 'Do you think running a NASCAR operation the last decade was simply about replacing spark plugs and buying team jackets?'

Gibbs, 64, signed a five-year contract last year at more than $5 million a season to be team president and coach. While his 6-10 team was a major disappointment to him and the fans, one can assume he has learned enough about his players, coaching staff, his boss, the salary cap and front-office personnel to be the right person running the operation.

That, of course, is the key question--is Gibbs the right guy? Time will tell, but Solomon leaves with one thought:

Choose a side on this Gibbs stuff, if you must, knowing once the race begins you can't cross the track.

Special Signing

The Redskins signed former Buffalo safety Pierson Prioleau to a contract. He'll provide depth at the position behind Sean Taylor and Matt Bowen, but that won't be his primary role. It's no secret that Prioleau (just when I no longer have to write about "Laveranues" along comes another impossible to spell name) was brought on to upgrade Washington's special teams. From the Washington Times:

Prioleau, 27, led the Buffalo Bills in special-teams tackles (30) last season and has experience with three former Bills assistants now on the Redskins' staff: assistant head coach for defense Gregg Williams, safeties coach Steve Jackson and special teams coach Danny Smith.

Although the coverage units on special teams don't gather many headlines, coach Joe Gibbs made it a priority to upgrade that area. Last year Smith was forced to piece together units with inexperienced players.

The result was inconsistent play on the kicking units including numerous fouls that could only be characterized as "dumb". Gibbs said that Prioleau was just the first of "three to five" veteran types who would be brought on to bolster the special teams.

This has to make some of the team's returning players, those who don't start but also are liabilites on special teams, a bit nervious. Note to Andre Lott, Rock Cartwright, and Darnerien McCants: Don't go singing any long-term leases around DC; go month to month through August if you can.

Courtney Brown

Back in 2000, the Cleveland Browns had the top pick in the draft and were focused on two Penn State players to choose. One was linebacker Lavar Arrington, the other was defensive end Courtney Brown. The Redskins wanted no part of Brown, clearly preferring Arrington. Playing the draft game to its fullest, Cleveland tried to bait the Redskins into trading up into the number one slot to ensure that they would be able to snare the stud linebacker. The Skins didn't blink, Cleveland took Brown first and Washington got its man.

While Arrington has yet to develop into a consistent monster performer, it's clear that he's been better than his old Nittany Lion teammate through his career. Brown has been bothered by injury and inconsistency to the point where Cleveland released him last week. The Skins brought him in for a visit and a physical on Thursday. While they're was talk that the team wanted to get his signature on a contract before he left town, Brown departed still a free agent.

Said Gibbs, quoted in the Post:

The best way for me to say it is we just had a good visit and [he] took a physical, and kind of went through a process there. We'll just work through the rest of it. I don't think there's anything imminent.

This means that Brown came in hoping to get one of those offers the Redskins have made in the past few years, the ones where they bid against themselves and drive the price up so high that he couldn't even think of leaving without signing. Apparently, that didn't happen. Gibbs is not going to break the bank on a player who will be in a regular rotation at defenisve end at best. And if Brown won't come on at his price, well, it will just leave a few more dollars to spend on those special-teams guys.

Coles is developing a pattern

A Sports Illustrated article by Jeffri Chadiha dealing with the Coles issue warrants some scrutiny here:

It all will be over soon for Laveranues Coles.

Once he passes a routine physical Wednesday, his trade from the Washington Redskins will be consummated and he'll officially be a New York Jets wide receiver again. Given how much we've heard about Coles' frustration this past season, there shouldn't be a more delighted player in the NFL. There's no question he lucked into the best opportunity he could find after his time in D.C.

"His time in DC" makes it sound as though he had been in prison, not collecting some $18 million for playing two seasons for an NFL team. It really gets good when Coles goes on to say that his complaint in Washington was Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs (emphasis added):

Coles' main complaint about Gibbs was the coach's inflexible nature. "I didn't feel respected as a player," Coles said. "I know everything changed [when Gibbs succeeded Spurrier] but when you feel like you're one of the best players at your position, you'd think you could talk to a coach about the play-calling. We didn't have that situation. He called the plays. We ran them. That's where things fell off with me. I realize it's a dictatorship but there's only so much you can take."

Coles sounds like Leon in the Bud commercials here, an egotistical, whiny jerk.

Let's see, how many Super Bowls have been won with Laveranues Coles calling the plays? Right, that would be none. And how many have been won with Joe Gibbs calling the plays? Let's see here, XVII + XXII + XXVI = three.

For that matter, what business would Coles have telling any head coach or any offensive coordinator, regardless of his record, what plays to run? Has new Jets offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger promised him partial control of the offense?

He often commiserated with Rod Gardner, another Redskins receiver in search of a trade. "We'd shake our heads and wonder where we fit in every time we saw a new game plan," said Coles, who became a Pro Bowl receiver while playing in Steve Spurrier's pass-happy system a year earlier. "People say we're leaving now because we're selfish, but how are you supposed to be happy as a receiver when you go from a passing offense to a running offense? This wasn't what I signed up for

Obviously, these guys weren't chatting on the way to Mensa meetings. One receiver Gibbs coached, Art Monk, has strong Hall of Fame credentials. Another, Gary Clark, had an outstanding career just short of Hall consideration. Ricky Sanders, Charlie Brown, Alvin Garrett and others also prospered under Gibbs' "conservative" offensive system. Gibbs' teams set a scoring record in 1983 and set a record for scoring margin in 1991. Monk was the first NFL player to catch over 100 passes in a season and retired as the career receptions leader.

Sorry, but if you're a receiver and you don't think that you can prosper under Joe Gibbs, you're just ignorant of history.

According to Coles, his main issue with Gibbs was a matter of trust.

When the season ended, Coles met twice with Gibbs in order to air grievances. Neither session led to any positive results. "We concluded that it was best to go our separate ways," Coles said. "I don't want to get into the details but he basically said he didn't trust me, and I said I didn't trust him."

Not everyone who played for Gibbs liked him; that can be said of every other player and every other coach who ever coached in any sport. A few have accused him of not being straight with them. Notably, Stan Humphries didn't feel as though he's been treated fairly by Gibbs when he was traded in 1992. But most players who have played for him, the overwhelming majority, have praised Gibbs as a trustworthy and honorable man to deal with.

Now, not having been a fly on the wall in all of the various interactions that took place between Gibbs and Coles over the past year, it's impossible judge if Gibbs said or did anything to warrant distrust. All you can do is look at Gibbs' record over the years and look at that of Coles. From the SI article:

Coles was bitter when New York didn't try harder to retain him as a free agent two years ago.

He blasted coach Herman Edwards on the way out the door then. When he was kicked off of the Florida State football team for shoplifting he expressed anger at Bobby Bowden. Fast forward two years and he's received another substantial bonus check, he's bitter, and he's taking pot shots at the coach on the way out the door.

You decide.

Smoot Still Shopping

Fred Smoot was suppoed to be one of the hot commidities when the NFL free agent market opened up last Wednesday. The Redskins have had a contract offer that includes a $10 million singing bonus on the table since last year. Smoot, and others, thought that he's be able to get considerably more up front from another team.

So far, however, he's waiting for the phone to ring. From Len Pasquarelli on ESPN.com:

Another player we love in free agency, and who appears to be generating just tepid interest in the first week of the signing period, is Washington cornerback Fred Smoot. The four-year veteran has become a topflight corner over the past two seasons and has grown up off the field, but isn't getting nearly the play some lesser cover guys have experienced in the opening days of the market. Smoot turned down an extension offer during the season that would have paid him a $10 million signing bonus. Lesser-known cornerback Anthony Henry of Cleveland got $10 million to sign as an unrestricted free agent in Dallas. Seattle's Ken Lucas received a $13 million to $14 million bonus when he signed Thursday with Carolina. Those deals, one would assume, should help establish the market for Smoot, but first there has to be a market for his services. Let's be clear: There is interest in Smoot but not yet to the level everyone felt there would be.

This begs the question: Why not? It's possible that Smoot has over estimated his market value. Markets can differ from year to year, but last season Shawn Springs signed with the Skins for a $10 million signing bonus. Springs is considered to be the Skins' number one corner, so why should Smoot think he's worth more?

Smoot has made it known that he would prefer to remain a Redskin and the team's $10 million offer is common knowledge. By making that offer know, Washington has set Smoot's market value and it's up to another team in increase it. So far, it appears that none are willing to do so and, as a general rule, prices go down as time goes on. Should be Redskins be in a hardball mood, they could deduct $100,000 from the signing bonus for each day that Smoot doesn't accept it. Not that such a thing would be a good idea for future happiness, mind you, but financially the Skins could probably get away with it.

It's far from certain that Smoot will end up returning to the Redskins, but as each day passes the chances of that happening improve.

Coles Traded: It must be the toe

The on again, off again Laveranues Coles for Santana Moss trade finally happened on Saturday as the Jets ceded to Coles demand for a contract extension. From the Washington Post:

The intermittently on-and-off trade between the New York Jets and Washington Redskins has been finally completed, shipping unhappy wide receiver Laveranues Coles to his old team, the Jets, for wideout Santana Moss, sources familiar with the development said today.

The main obstacle had been Coles's request for a contract extension from the Jets, partly because he believed that he initially had an agreement with Washington to be released, making him a free agent. But after fruitless talks over the past several days, the Jets and Coles's agent, Roosevelt Barnes, apparently made enough headway.

According to broadcast reports the Redskins will not get any salary cap relief from Coles in this transaction. By not making this deal until after last Tuesday, it was already determined that the Redskins would take a 2005 salary cap hit of nearly $6 million if they traded or released Coles before June 1. Had Coles agreed to forgo part or all of $5 million payment on his original $13 signing bonus, they could have had that credited to their 2006 cap number. However, if the reports are correct--and that seems to be the way the deal has been heading in recent days--that won't happen.

So on April 1, the Redskins will have to cut a $5 million check and forward it to the Jets' facility. Ouch.

The question being asked is, of course, why? Why take such a big hit to trade a guy that the Skins just gave up a first-round pick and a ton of money for just two years ago? And why for Moss, who hasn't done much of anything special for the Jets?

To address the second part first, Moss doesn't suffer horribly in comparison to Coles. A first-round pick (16th overall) by the Jets, Moss has less tha half as many career catches as Coles (342-151), but has scored just one fewer touchdown (20-19) and has averaged 16 yards a catch for his career. Coles hasn't averaged that much for as much as a full season (save his rookie year when he had 22 catches). And Moss is two year younger than Coles is.

Still, even if you concede that Moss and Coles are roughly equal as players the fact is that this wasn't just a player for player trade from the Redskins' standpoint. There is the little matter of the cap hit and the wasted first rounder.

Coles' reported unhappiness with Joe Gibbs' offense was certainly the team evern considered the trade in the first place. But even is someone is desperately unhappy, you don't toss a first-rounder and five million bucks in the trash because of it. Nobody in the world, probably not even Coles, would have blamed the Redskins if they had told the receiver that they gave him big, big money so shut up and play. Coles, being the professional he is, probably would have.

Based on the facts we know, there is really only one reason that the Redskins would make this deal; they must think that Coles is damaged goods. His injured toe, the one on which he refuses to have surgery, has cost him much of the speed and explosiveness that led to the Redskins dangling the $13 million to lure him from the Jets in the first place. Rehabilitation without surgery didn't nearly do the trick to heal the toe last offseason. It was admirable that Coles gutted it out this past year, but it's safe to say that Gibbs' scheme wasn't the only factor at play in his 10.6 yards per catch average. The toe must have been a big issue as well.

Faced with diminishing returns, it appears that the Skins decided to cut their losses, get what they could for Coles, swallowed the bitter pill of the money and the first, and move on.

This is all speculation, mind you. But so was the notion that David Patten would be a good target for the Skins and, well, we know how that turned out.

Marshall to replace Pierce

I negleted to mention that in Elfin's times artile he says that Lemar Marshall is penciled in as the replacement for Pierce at MLB. Michael Barrow's status remains in limbo.

Marshall played well in place of Lavar Arrington at weak-side LB last year after Arrington went down with an injury. He is some 15 lbs. lighter than Pierce so he may be asked to pack on a few pounds during the offseason. Pierce also moved inside in 2004 after having played exclusively OLB, so one would have to think that Gregg Williams can figure out a way to make it work.

One important factor is that Marshall just signed a three-year contract.

I guess that makes him a Redskin for Life.

Beware of Redskins for Life

It used to be that the franchise tag was the kiss of death for the future of a player for the Redskins. The first Redskin so designated was linebacker Wilbur Marshall, who was traded to Houston for a third-round draft pick. Then there was defensive tackle Sean Gilbert, who sat out a year with the tag before going to Carolina (at least the Skins got better compensation for him, two first-round picks). After that it was Stephen Davis who received the kiss of death; he did stick around two seasons after being tagged before being waived. Finally, a year ago, Champ Bailey was the team's franchise player for about 15 minutes before being shipped to Denver for Clinton Portis.

Now, however, there is another class of players whose departure is guaranteed, those who declare themselves "Redskins for Life" or give some other oath of allegiance to the team when approaching their free agency period. The implication is that they will grant a substantial home town discount to the Redskins because they love playing here so much.

The first one to talk this way was defensive tackle Daryl Gardener. The Redskins virtually rescued him off of the trash heap in 2002 and he responded with a Pro-Bowl calibre season. After vowing to return, he took a little more money to go with Denver.

Now we have Antonio Pierce, who said as recently as last week that he wanted to return to Washington. Instead, he signed with the Giants. From the Washington Post:

Pierce signed a six-year, $26 million contract yesterday, but kept his promise of providing the Redskins an opportunity to match New York's offer. The Redskins felt that the deal -- which included a $6.5 million signing bonus -- was too expensive and would damage their offseason plans even more.

So much for that.

Actually, there are conflicting reports as to how close the Redskins were willing to come to the Giants' offer. From that same Post article by Nunyo Demasio:

According to a source with knowledge of negotiations, the Redskins declined to go any further than offering Pierce a $3.5 million bonus. Pierce did not return messages seeking comment yesterday.

This differs significatnly from the account offered by David Elfin in the Washington Times:

Although coach Joe Gibbs said the Redskins couldn't meet Pierce's contract demands, a club source said Washington matched almost all of the Giants' six-year, $26 million deal, including a $6.5 million signing bonus, but offered less during the first two years.

Don't construe any this, by the way, as criticism of any of the players for deciding to take the money. Their careers are short and most of them have just one chance for a big payday. Far be it from me to say that they should take a million or two less here and there in order to stay in Washington.

The flip side of that coin is that the players need to forgive us if we are quite skeptical of their nice-sounding pronouncements of undying devoution to the Burgundy and Gold.

Coles Trade Revived?

It appears that the Coles for Moss swap is still alive, if only slightly. It began to show a weak pulse yesterday, according to several new sources inclucing Newsday.com :

But talks aimed at swapping fourth-year receiver Santana Moss for Coles remained alive yesterday, and there is a decent chance the teams will be able to make the deal. The Jets have kept in contact with the Redskins, as well as Coles' agent, Roosevelt Barnes, since the talks heated up last Friday at the NFL scouting combine.

The discussions have bogged down, mostly over Coles' insistence that the Jets give him a new contract. At one point Saturday, Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said he considered it 'not very likely' that a deal would be consummated.

But talks continued yesterday between Barnes and the Jets.

It's not clear whether or not the Redskins are going to insist that Coles pay back any of his original $13 million signing bonus as a condition for letting the unhappy wideout go to another team. Regardless, any cap relief that would come from such a move would not come until next year per NFL rules. So the 2005 cap impact of Coles' departure is now fixed. For the exact numbers, I turn to PC, the redsident capologist at WarpathInsiders.com:

Right now Coles counts $3.357m against the cap, made up of $1.5m in base salary, and $1.857m in 2005 prorated signing bonus

If Coles is traded we add the other 4 years oustanding SB prorations against the cap $7.428m (thats 4 x $1.857m) then we deduct Coles base salary $1.5m. That means that the net effect on the cap above what he's counting right now is an additional $5.928m

The Skins currently have around $7.2m under the cap (a REAL rough stab at present) after the Patten signing, so we cover that extra $5.928m hit for Coles.

In taking the $6 million hit this year, the Redskins will clear Coles' $7 million cap hit for next year even if there is not payback of Coles' original signing bonus.

Still, it's difficult to imagine the Redskins making this move unless they are very concerned about Coles' health, particularly his injured toe. Coles refuses to get surgery on it, a move that the Redskins seem to believe is necessary if it is ever going to be near 100%.

From Coles' point of view, it appears that he is wary of playing for just $1.5 million next year and being in a position where the Jets could cut him at any time with no bonus accelleration to worry about.

David Patten to Redskins--Again, Not News Here

This isn't just yesterday's news, it's news from a week and a half ago.

From the Washington Post:

Wide receiver David Patten, a free agent from the New England Patriots, agreed to terms with the Washington Redskins this afternoon at Redskins Park, a club source said, and a press conference has been scheduled for tomorrow.

Details of the Patten deal were not disclosed.

You may be saying to yourself, "Patten to the Skins, Patten to the Skins, where did I hear that before? In fact, where was the one and only place I heard that suggested before."

Why, it was right here at the blog, of course. From the entry posted on February 19, before there was even the first report of Coles being unhappy, there was this:

Clearly, since the team has announced that it is seeking to trade Rod Gardner, receiver would have to be considered a need. With Muhammad and Burress apparently out of the picture, who does that leave? Perhaps David Patten could be persuaded to leave the Patriots and give the Redskins a solid, blue-collar performer who could be had for a blue-collar price.

Obviously, I like the signing, assuming that the blue-collar price part comes to pass as well. All is wish is that somebody would start patting me on the back so that I don't have to do it myself all the time.

Just kidding, I'll find a way to remain humble!