Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Daniels out for the season —Taylor coming in his place?

According to Jason Reid at the Post, Washington Redskins defensive end Phillip Daniels is indeed out for the season.

John Clayton at ESPN reported that it was an ACL injury to his left knee.

Clayton also said that the phone lines between Ashburn and Miami have started to hum to try to work out a trade for the Dolphins' Jason Taylor. A Redskins source in the Post blog entry denied that the team is pursuing a trade for the Dancing With the Stars runner-up.

I generally don't comment much on pending trades because the wisdom of any deal depends on the details. Trading for Jason Taylor and giving up a conditional fifth-round pick and having him work his contract to a cap-friendly deal that would contain a big roster bonus to be paid on opening day of 2009 would be OK. Giving up a second-rounder and having to work around his $8.1 million salary this year, making him a very expensive one-year rental, would be dumb.

In either case, however, it would be highly discouraging for the Redskins to have to make a trade for Taylor or any other defensive end for that matter. Throughout the offseason, Vinny Cerrato has insisted that the Redskins did not need to expend a high draft pick on a defensive end nor did they need to pursue one in free agency. The team's personnel guru insisted that the Redskins were fine at the position.

My definition of "fine" would describe a situation where you should be able to anticipate that your 35-year-old starter may get injured and that you still should be "fine" after that happens without having to make a trade.

Of course, as of now, any criticism is premature. That can wait until if and when a deal is made what the details of that hypothetical trade turn out to be.

Back to Daniels, it's quite possible that he has played his last down for the Redskins. A defensive end who is closer to 40 than to 30 and who is coming off of a serious knee injury and carrying a cap number just south of $3 million isn't likely to be in the team's plans.

Daniels' fragility has been overstated. He has missed just 19 of a possible 190 regular season games in his 12-year career. In 2004, his first year with the Redskins, he played in just five games but since then he has appeared in 16, 16, and 15 games.

He was a reliable in the locker room as he was on the field. No matter what had happened, win or lose, he would be there to answer as many questions as we wanted to ask.

I hope all Redskins fans join me in wishing him well.

Daniels dinged

Washington Redskins defensive end Phillip Daniels was carted off the field during the team's first training camp practice today with what was described as a hyper-extended left knee.

According to various reports (WaPo, AP), he was hurt during the first play of seven-on-seven drills. This doesn't make any sense, as defensive linemen don't participate in such drills. They are passing game drills conducted without offensive or defensive linemen.

Regardless of what type of drill it was, Daniels was on the turf for several minutes before being taken to the locker room on a cart. He was seen after practice unable to put any weight on his left leg. He will be making a trip to the MRI machine sometime soon and after that we'll have a better idea as to how much time the 35-year-old will miss.

Daniels is one of eight defensive ends on the roster. Alex Buzbee, Andre Carter, Demetric Evans, Kevin Huntley, Rob Jackson, Erasmus James, and Chris Wilson are the others. His immediate replacement in the starting lineup will be Evans, who has started just a handful of games during his seven-year NFL career.

The injury also creates a void at defensive tackle. On passing downs, Daniels rotates inside and linebacker Marcus Washington puts his hand in the dirt and rushed the passer from the left defensive end spot.

Should the tests reveal that Daniels will be out for an extended period of time, we'll look at the ripple effects that could have on the rest of the lineup at that time.

Thanks

It's been a tough week for me and for my family. The difficulty has been eased, however, by the outpouring of sympathy that has come from all of you. Words can't really express the gratitude we feel to all of you for taking a moment to write us a note and for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.

As Mom would have wanted, things charge on. I'll be starting up camp coverage this weekend and I hope to be able to do a live blog from training camp later this week.

Thanks again,

Rich

Mom

Some of you reading this blog have met my father, Ty. He's been to Hogfest a time or two and some of you have met him at our tailgate.

Only a few of you have met my mother Mimi. She was the one who let Dad and I engage in all of these Redskins-related activities for 40+ years.

Mimi died suddenly on Friday.

She had been feeling a bit under the weather the past few days and she was in bed on Friday. Dad brought her breakfast late in the morning and after she ate it he let her go back to sleep. He came in to check on her a little while later and she was gone.

Mom wasn't a big Redskins fan, but she always pulled for them. She paid attention; when we got home from a game she always knew if the Skins had won or lost and she would always chat a bit about the game. It meant something to her because she knew it meant a lot to Dad and me.

She had her favorites. Clinton Portis was one because of his impish personality and she appreciated the grace of Santana Moss' moves. And, of course, she recognized the special qualities that Coach Joe possessed.

Of course, this aspect just scratches the surface when it comes to Mimi Tandler. She was a special lady in many, many ways.

Redskins ink Reinhardt, release three

The Washington Redskins have signed their starting left guard for 2009 and beyond.

Chad Reinhardt, the team's third-round draft pick out of Northern Iowa, signed a four-year contract on Thursday. He got minimum salaries for the four years, as is typical for a third-round pick, plus a signing bonus of slightly over $600,000. There are escalator clauses based on playing time that could add an extra $700,000 in the final year of the deal.

This is succession planning at its finest. Reinhardt should slide right into the second string slot at left guard. Starter Pete Kendall turned 35 two days ago and he is entering the second year of a two-year extension he signed with the Redskins when they traded for him last year. Assuming that Reinhardt responds to Joe Bugel's coaching, he should occupy the starting job on opening day, 2009.

Reinhardt was drafted with the supplemental pick the Redskins received in compensation (primarily) for the loss of left guard Derrick Dockery to free agency prior to the 2007 season.

While adding Reinhardt, the Redskins cut three other players. They only had to cut one to create a spot on the 80-man roster for Reinhardt, so come other moves could be imminent.

Released were defensive end Tommy Davis, center Kyle DeVan and quarterback Sam Hollenbach.

The release of DeVan is somewhat interesting since, although he wasn't expected to make the team, he was the only center on the roster behind Casey Rabach. Since Rabach isn't going to make every snap with every unit during training camp, it seems likely that the Redskins have another option at that position in mind.

Davis spent some time on the practice squad last year but the Redskins are high on prospects Alex Buzbee and Chris Wilson at defensive end so he faced very long odds. There still are eight defensive ends on the roster and it's likely that only five will end up on the final roster.

The waiving of Hollenbach, who spent some time on the active roster last year after Jason Campbell got injured, means that Jim Zorn chose Derek Devine as the fourth QB. While that's not a great spot in which to be, should Colt Brennan have difficulty recovering from his hip injury or if it's demonstrated that his dazzling numbers at Hawaii were just a product of the offensive system and weak competition, Devine could land himself a roster spot. Devine spent last year's training camp with Zorn in Seattle after being signed by the Seahawks as an undrafted free agent out of Marshall.

Is Favre a good fit for the Redskins?

If Brett Favre was to enter the market as an unrestricted free agent, would the Washington Redskins consider bringing him in? Should they?

I didn't consider this at all when the news that Favre had inquired with the Green Bay Packers about the possibility of a return last week. Wake me when it's over, I thought then.

It's looking more and more, though, that Favre will end up playing somewhere in 2008. Peter King thinks that it will happen as does Pat Kirwin on Sirius NFL Radio.

If Favre does indeed want to play, all he has to do is tell the Packers that he is no longer retired and that he intends to report to training camp. They then will have three options: bring him back, trade him, or release him.

The pressure to bring him back would, of course, be overwhelming. Imagine if in July of 2003 that Darrell Green announced that he would like to return for another season and the Redskins said, no thanks, we're moving forward with the people we have. Now imagine the hue and cry of protest coming from Redskins fans in that situation and multiply it by a factor of about 1,000. That would be the reaction in Wisconsin and around the country if the Packers told Brett Favre to drop dead.

It's possible, though, that the Packers won't be so eager to welcome back the living legend. They have gone through the offseason preparing Aaron Rodgers for the role of starting quarterback. The word is that one of the reasons that Favre decided to retire in February is that the Packer organization gave him strong hints that they were ready to move on from the Favre era.

So, let's say that Green Bay is willing to take the PR hit in the short term and do what they think is best in the long term and let Favre walk.

Are the Redskins shoppers in a market for Favre? And, assuming that he has considerable say over where he goes, would he be interested in coming to Washington?

I've heard in a few places that the Skins would be in the picture. As far as I can tell, this was nothing more than speculation, an attempt to connect the dots. Whenever a big-name player is on the market, there are those in the media who will speculate that Dan Snyder will make a play for him.

This, however, might go beyond the usual kneejerk reaction. There are a few reasons why Favre would be a good fit for the Skins and vice versa:

• He would need to play for a team that employs the West Coast offense. With limited time to prepare, Favre would have to be able to get up the speed in a hurry. That would mean going to a WCO system, one that he could operate in his sleep. Jim Zorn is bringing a West Coast system to the Redskins. He's from the Mike Holmgren school and Favre had his greatest success
  
• He would want to play for a contending team. Favre doesn't want to come back if he doesn't have a realistic shot of contending for a title. The problem is that most perennial playoff teams have an established QB. The Redskins have made the playoffs two of the last three years with two different starting quarterbacks in the playoffs and a third playing most of the last year and a half. That's hardly a settled situation.
  
• The Redskins are willing to take a risk. While this offseason has been rather quiet, don't forget the deal that wasn't made—the offer of two draft picks for Chad Johnson. If there is an opportunity, the Redskins will listen.
  

There are very, very few teams that meet these criteria. The Vikings would fit the bill, but the fact that Favre might not want to join a team in the same division as the Packers works against that (certainly, if he gets traded, this destination is out of the question). Baltimore probably was better than its 5-11 record last year and could be called a contender but they don't run the WCO. There has been talk of Favre going to Carolina but, again, no West Coast offense.

I might be missing another team with the right combination of scheme, quality of surrounding talent, lack of an established QB, and aggressive style to fit the mutual needs of Favre and a new employer, but it's certainly a short list.

Should they look into bringing Favre aboard, of course, the Redskins would face the same dilemma as do the Packers in regards to the development of their young quarterback. Jason Campbell was drafted just a few picks after Rodgers, as a matter of fact. While Campbell has shown promise, enough for Zorn to anoint him the uncontested starter, he hasn't played well enough to cement his role. If you're offered the chance to bring in a Hall of Fame quarterback who has another couple of seasons left in the tank you have to take a serious look at moving Campbell back to the bench.

I have no doubt that Snyder and Vinny Cerrato would kick Campbell to the curb to bring in Bret Favre. Snyder has stated that he won't bring anyone on to the roster that Zorn does not want.

So, if it comes down to Zorn making the call to OK a deal or spike it, what does a rookie head coach do? Does he cast his lot with Campbell and sink or swim with the untested QB? Or does he go for the Hall of Famer for two years and perhaps start off his head coaching career with a bang?

I don't mean for this to come across as something that I think should happen or will happen. At this point, it's an intriguing possibility but as is the case in any deal the devil would be in the details.

But I do think that, in the very near future, there is a very good chance that the Redskins will have to make a choice as to whether or not they will make a play for Brett Favre. It seems likely to me that they will seriously consider the possibility.

Campbell mixes the good, the bad, and the ugly

The world just wants to see the baby; nobody wants to hear about the labor pains.

That is the take that many have when it comes to Jason Campbell. They are not interested in the bumps and bruises, both mental and physical, that many young quarterbacks experience on the way to becoming solid, competent, NFL quarterbacks. They just want to see tight spirals over the outstretched fingers of cornerbacks nestle into the arms of receivers, clutch two-minute drives pulling Washington Redskins victories from the jaws of defeat and triple-digit quarterback ratings.

In 2007, we saw a mixed bag from Campbell, often in the same game. The back to back November contests in Dallas and at Tampa Bay were the prototypical Campbell games, the ones that defined his season. In both games he led furious comebacks from late deficits only to make fatal mistakes to spike potential winning drives.

In Texas Stadium, the Redskins fell behind 28-16 midway through the fourth quarter. Working without a huddle and taking snaps in the shotgun, Campbell completed 10 pass to account for all of the yardage in a 74-yard TD drive to get the Redskins within striking distance at 28-23. The defense did its job, forcing Dallas to go three and out, getting the ball back into Campbell's hot hand with 2:51 left.

In Tampa, a barrage of early turnovers had the Redskins down 19-3. A third-quarter touchdown pass, a 39-yarder to Chris Cooley, got the Redskins back into it. Early in the fourth quarter they got a step closer on a Shaun Suisham field goal. Again, the Washington defense stepped up, the Bucs went three and out, and Campbell took over with his team down by six with nine and a half minutes left to play.

From the Cowboy 40, passes of 11 yards to Keenan McCardell and 10 to Antwaan Randle El moved Campbell and the Redskins into the Red Zone at the Dallas 19 with 1:50 to go.

With plenty of time left at Raymond James Stadium, the Redskins were able to mix in the running of Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts along with Campbell's passes as they moved smartly from their own nine to a second and five at the Tampa Bay 32 with just under four minutes left.

One chance to move closer to the Dallas end zone went awry when Campbell misfired on a short pass to Portis. On second down, Campbell threw the ball right into the gut of Cowboy cornerback Terence Newman.

Veteran Bucs corner Ronde Barber played possum with Campbell, pretending not to see that the QB was going to toss a quick sideline pass to Moss. As soon as Campbell committed, Barber jumped in front and made the interception.

Again, the defense stonewalled Tony Romo and company giving the Redskins one last shot at a miracle from their own 30 with 34 seconds left. A couple of completions set up a Hail Mary from midfield, but the ball was batted away as time expired.

The final shot at Tampa Bay wasn't up against such long odds. Starting from the Washington seven with 3:05 left, Campbell completed seven straight passes to get to a first and ten at the Tampa Bay 16 with 31 seconds on the clock. On second down from there, though, Brian Kelly stepped up in front of Santana Moss in the end zone and picked off Campbell's pass to end the game.

Two November games against eventual NFC division winners. The Redskins aren't in either game at the end without some impressive heroics on the part of Jason Campbell. But if Campbell protects the ball better in critical moments, the Redskins have another couple of chances to pull out the game (all three of the picks came on second down plays).

These games were the final impression of Campbell that we carry into training camp. Sean Taylor was shot just hours after the Bucs game and he died a day later. The Buffalo game that followed is a blur created by shock, sadness, and disbelief. Four days later against the Bears he went out in the second quarter with a dislocated kneecap and didn't play again the rest of the year.

So that has us wondering—who is the real Jason Campbell? Or, more importantly, who will Jason Campbell become? Will he forever be the guy with the big arm who can make jaw-dropping plays in desperate situations only to fizzle when it comes to finishing off those drives? Or, will he learn to avoid the killer mistakes and be the hero week after week?

Time will tell us whether or not the labor pains are over or if they ever will go away.

Flashback Friday —Arrington’s return sparks Skins’ win

Yes, it's only Thursday but with the Independence Day holiday and most everything coming to a standstill as far as the Skins are concerned for another couple of weeks, here's FF a day early.

On October 21, 2001 the Redskins were 0-5 and staring 0-6 right in the face until LaVar Arrington made a play that turned around not just a game but the season as well.

From the pages of The Redskins From A to Z

FedEx Field—After three and a half quarters of football that strongly resembled the first 20 quarters of a dismal season, lightning struck twice for the Redskins in the final period as they tied the game on big plays by Lavar Arrington and Rod Gardner. Brett Conway's 23-yard field goal beat Carolina in overtime.

"You hate to say you don't believe it, but I really don't believe we won," Arrington said. "There were a lot of crazy turns and twists in that game."

Perhaps his ability to comprehend was somewhat affected by the concussion he had suffered in the first half. He went back into the locker room, rested until he regained his senses, and then went back into the game.

"I didn't think it would take this long, but it did," Marty Schottenheimer said. "We are growing. I'm more delighted, frankly, for the players than myself because they're the ones that had to endure in the circumstances that unfolded in the ballgame [today] and they wouldn't give up."

As mentioned, the game started out as though it would be no different from the futile experience of the first five games. The Panthers drove to a touchdown on their second possession after an exchange of punts gave them good field position at their own 47. It took them six plays to move the 53 yards and Wesley Walls caught a two-yard scoring pass from Chris Weinke to account for the score.

While the Redskin offense was utterly ineffective, the defense did step up with a pair of second-quarter interceptions by defensive linemen to snuff out Panther drives deep into Redskin territory. First, with the line of scrimmage at the eight, linebacker Antonio Pierce smashed into Weinke, forcing a fluttering pass that tackle Kenard Lang picked off. Then, with time running out in the half Carolina had the ball at the Redskin one. Out of timeouts, Weinke had to pass. Tackle Dan Wilkinson tipped the ball, however, and rookie defensive end Otis Leverette got the pick with eight seconds left.

No inspiration was drawn from the clutch defensive plays, however, and a sense that another loss was inevitable began to grow. An 83-yard drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters ended with Tim Biakabutuka's one-yard touchdown run to make it 14-0. Washington went three and out and a 27-yard Biakabutuka run had Carolina in Washington territory at the 31. Two plays later, it was third and seven at the 28.

It wasn't a particularly risky play that Carolina called, a little toss in the flat to Chris Hetherington. Arrington was nearby and zeroed in on the fullback as the ball came into his hands. The ball bounced out, though and, in a flash, Arrington went from tackler to pass defender, snatching the ball out of the air and taking off for the goal line. He cruised the 68 yards unchallenged and the game, perhaps the season, took on a new complexion.

Another play was needed, however, for Arrington's to do any good and the Redskins got it in short order. The Panthers failed to get a first down and their punt rolled dead at the Washington 15. On first down, Tony Banks, who had been booed lustily for most of the game, saw that rookie receiver Rod Gardner had worked his way past the Carolina zone. The quarterback delivered the ball on target and the receiver easily coasted into the end zone to tie it up midway through the fourth quarter.

The Panthers were clearly broken and meekly went three and out. The energized Redskins would eventually score the winning field goal, but it would take them two tries to get it. First they drove smartly to the Panther 13, but Conway missed a 32-yard field goal with 36 seconds left in regulation. After winning the toss in overtime, it took the Redskins just four plays to end it.

From the Washington 14, Stephen Davis carried for two yards and then Banks threw to fullback Bryan Johnson for 32 yards to the 48. On the next play, Banks connected with Gardner again. The rookie made a diving catch at around the five, bounced up and bolted into the end zone. A wild celebration was cut off, however, when replay revealed that Gardner had been touched while he was on the ground. The festivities resumed shortly as Conway came in and kicked the game-winner from 23 yards.

Shaun Suisham 100-yard FG revealed

It was a fake.

I hate to break this news to the 30% of those who commented on a DC TV station's video of a 110-yard Shaun Suisham field goal who actually believed that the Washington Redskins' kicker booted a football through the goal posts from the opposite end line.

WUSA, channel 9 in Washington, will be carrying the Skins' preseason games and the marketing department was charged with finding a way to draw attention to that fact. Late last week a video that appeared to show Suisham stepping into the ball on end line and launching a rocket that split the uprights on the far end of the field. They posted it on their website with the following paragraph:

Shaun Suisham may not look like an intimidating guy at first glance. At 6' tall and 200 lbs. Shaun is considered small when it comes to NFL players. However, when it comes to leg strength and kick accuracy, he's in a league of his own. Check out this video captured at Redskins Park and tell us what you think.

Of course, tongue was planted firmly in cheek as this was written, but perhaps many of today's web surfers need an emoticon of some sort to point out things like this.

Rich Haber, sports director of WUSA, said, "We've had a ton of e-mail on this, and about 30 percent of people think it's real, which is frightening," Haber said.

So frightening, in fact, that the WUSA marketing department decided to put out a "making of the Suisham field goal video" video.

It was a pretty simple cut and paste job. A cutout of a ball in flight was superimposed on to a shot taken by a camera that followed an imaginary 110-yard arc from end line to goal post. It probably took some tweaking to make it look realistic and, bingo, Shaun Suisham is Superkicker.