Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

The timing of Jansen ’s release

Jon Jansen's release, a move that the Redskins announced earlier today, came as a surprise. Dan Snyder flew Redskins One to Michigan to pick up Jansen so that Jim Zorn could deliver to news to him in person.

By releasing Jansen the Redskins took a cap hit of some $6 million. On the surface the timing is somewhat puzzling but once you dig a little deeper it makes more sense.

Apparently this is a move that Zorn has wanted to make since the end of last year. However, had the move been made at the start of free agency it would have been very difficult to fit the contracts of Albert Haynesworth, Derrick Dockery and DeAngelo Hall in under the cap.

Also, at that time, Jansen was the only experienced depth the Redskins had at the tackle spot. Even though, in the view of Zorn and just about anybody who watched more than five minutes of the 2008 Redskins' offense with Jansen in the lineup, his skills had slipped considerably from his prime seasons it would have been foolhardy to release him and leave nothing in reserve. The fact that the penciled-in starter is Stephon Heyer, who still is a work in progress, make it even more important for the Redskins to have a solid reserve at right tackle.

Then, just before the draft, one shoe dropped for Jansen. The Redskins signed Mike Williams. The fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft was about 70 pounds overweight and hasn't played since 2006. He's a veteran project but a warm body (actually, Zorn said that he was as big as two bodies) nonetheless.

The other shoe fell when the team signed Jeremy Bridges. The Southern Mississippi product has started 39 games in six seasons with the Eagles, Cardinals, and Panthers. At his low end he represents quality depth and at the high end he could beat out Heyer for the starting job.

So the Redskins had two potential replacements for Jansen. During minicamp and OTA's they tried him at backup center but he failed to impress there.

They may have given him a shot in training camp but he was due a $1.5 million roster bonus in July. If they had him participate in the second round of OTA's starting on Monday to give him a last shot they would have been gambling. If he were to sustain a serious injury during the OTA's the team would have been on the hook for the roster bonus and his 2009 salary.

Some have asked why they didn't wait until after June 1 to spread the cap hit out. Since 2010 currently is an uncapped year, June 1 doesn't exist. Well, it's on your calendar but there is no cap hit break for releasing a player after June 1. They don't want teams prematurely dumping dead cap in next year.

Jansen, of course, is the longest-tenured Redskin. He never quite got his play up to a Pro Bowl level but he was a solid a tackle as there was in the game from about 2000 through 2003. Although he repeatedly expressed frustration with Steve Spurrier's blocking schemes he resigned with the Redskins prior to becoming a free agent in 2002.

That contract made sense. The one that didn't make sense was the one that Joe Gibbs signed him to in 2007. The $23 million deal carried $10 million in guarantees and it is the leftover money on that deal that created the nasty cap hit the Redskins sustained today.

Redskins are the NFL ’s most mediocre team

The 2009 Washington Redskins will be about a .500 team.

I say this with confidence and not because I possess a crystal ball that allows me to peer into the future and see events to come with clarity. It's because I can see the past and recognize that a .500 team is what the Redskins are.

From 1995 through 2008, a span of 14 seasons, the Redskins have been within two games of the break even mark every year but two. Those two years, 2003 and 2006, they were just three games off the mark of mediocrity, finishing 5-11.

The Redskins are so average, in fact, that they are distinctively mediocre. Since 1995 every NFL team has either lost 12 or more games in a season or has won 12 or more at least once. Every team, that is, with the exception of the Redskins.

They are the NFL's perpetually half-full, half-empty glass.

They have tried to break out and either fill or empty the glass but the fates work against them. The '06 team could easily have dropped a dozen games but Troy Vincent blocked a late game-winning field goal attempt against Dallas and Sean Taylor's brilliant scramble—and a face-mask penalty committed in the process—set up a Nick Novack game-winning field goal on an untimed down.

On the other side of the coin the 2005 team won ten and could easily have won two more but they suffered close, frustrating losses to Denver, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Oakland, and San Diego.

It's clear that the Football Gods have determined that the Redskins of the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries are a middling team. There is no compelling evidence to suggest that they will escape that fate this year.

Defensively they added strength to strength with the additions of Albert Haynesworth and Brian Orakpo. Those two could move the Redskins D from good to great.

But there is little chance that the offense will be even good. Jason Campbell is in his make or break year and even if he makes it he won't be anything approaching an elite quarterback. Was Clinton Portis' slump at the end of last year an indication that his career has hit the wall?

The receiving corps could be good if at least one of the two receivers drafted in the second round last year, Malcolm Kelly or Devin Thomas, has a breakout year. That could happen, but holding your breath waiting for it is not advised.

The offensive line has potential—the potential to be a train wreck. The ten that they keep on the roster mostly will be a combination of the old and injury prone and the young and untested.

If the Redskins are to finish on the upside of the fated limit and win 10 games the defense must provide the offense with short fields. Haynesworth needs to collapse the middle and allow the defense to increase significantly its sack total from the 24 it posted last year. The pressure needs to make the opposing quarterback throw the ball up for grabs to force turnovers.

Should Campbell and company get opportunities to make some 14-yard touchdown drives or, better yet, watch from the sidelines as the defense records a pick six, life will be a lot easier and the Redskins could record a double-digit win total.

But if the defense merely remains strong but is of limited help to the offense in terms of providing highly favorable field position, the Redskins are likely to trend towards the down side of their potential. They simply aren't strong enough offensively to drive 80 yards to score every time they get the ball.

Where will the 2009 Redskins fall within the range of six to 10 wins? It says here that Haynesworth is enough of a difference maker on defense that the team will be able to overcome a leaky offensive line and score enough to post a 9-7 record.

Redskins ’ fate will be in Goodell’s hands

The Washington Redskins are in line to take a slap on the wrist for possibly jumping the gun in signing free agent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. According to a Yahoo! Sports report, the NFL is investigating the Tennessee Titans' complaint that the Redskins tampered with Haynesworth prior to the start of the free agency period.

From what we know, the evidence that negotiations started prior to the permitted hour is mostly circumstantial. Dan Snyder had dinner with Chad Speck, Haynesworth's agent, at the combine and some players made some comments indicating that they had knowledge of early contact that could constitute tampering.

The fact that Haynesworth signed about six hours after the start of the signing period, by the way, is meaningless. It's possible to get it done that quickly if both sides are motivated to do so. The team has the numbers loaded into a spread sheet and, as negotiations commence, all of the "what if" scenarios can be run immediately.

The Redskins came up with numbers that Haynesworth liked and, rather than risk the Redskins taking their money elsewhere, Haynesworth and Speck agreed to the deal. The actual paper contract gets drawn up as the player travels to Ashburn and he signs on the line in the afternoon.

Although the actual evidence may seem to be somewhat flimsy, there doesn't have to be a smoking gun for the Redskins to get nailed here. This isn't a trial where a jury has to find them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Roger Goddell can do whatever he wants. He can decide that there was enough smoke to deduce that there was a fire.

Goodell's discretionary power can work in the Redskins' favor, too. He could reasonably conclude that the Titans were not going to sign Haynesworth under any circumstances. Their final offer just wasn't close.

But if Goodell thinks there was tampering it's not likely that his call will be, "no harm, no foul". If the wide receiver lines up too close to the line and covers the tight end, they throw a flag and walk off five yards even though the infraction has no material impact on the result of the play. A fifth-round pick is about the equivalent of a five-yard penalty.

The guess here is that it's 50-50 that Goodell sees enough to bust the Redskins for tampering and if he does the Redskins will get hit for their fifth-round pick and Snyder will have to write out a check for about $100,000.

PFW “Whispering” to itself

Last week, in its "Whispers—NFC" section, Pro Football Weekly "reported" the following:

Would the Washington Redskins take a chance on Michael Vick? Don't rule it out. Owner Daniel Snyder loves the big splash and might be willing to gamble on Vick, who grew up in nearby Newport News, Va. There's no question that the Redskins would like an upgrade at quarterback with Jason Campbell entering the final year of his deal, and they likely would be willing to gamble on players with questionable character, given the $54 million deal they gave to CB DeAngelo Hall.

Where to start with this nonsense? First of all, there is no source cited. The title "Whispers" implies that the content is some sort of inside information that was discreetly passed along to an investigative journalist. This is "Voices in My Head". This is a writer sitting at his keyboard just dreaming stuff up. He is connecting dots that he drew.

Also the thought of jettisoning Jason Campbell in favor of a quarterback whose career rating is five points lower than Campbell's is questionable at best. Add in the fact that said quarterback will have accumulated at least two and possibly three years of rust and the notion that Vick would be an "upgrade" is just plain stupid. Yes, Snyder likes the "big splash" but putting the quarterback postion in the hands of Vick would not be a splash, it would be lunacy.

Even if Snyder was prone to engage in lunacy he isn't likely to make a move that would take cash out of his pocket. Vick is a lightning rod and Washington is the political correctness capital of the world. It appears that the Redskins are having difficulty selling season tickets (I've received two phone calls offering me non-premium seats in the past month) and Snyder would be risking disaster from the backlash that would come from the convicted dog killer taking snaps for the home team at FedEx Field.

PFW isn't the first media outlet to talk about Vick going to the Redskins and they won't be the last. What makes this little entry so ridiculous, though, is the last part equating DeAngelo Hall's character to that of Vick.

Certainly Hall is not angel and a case can be made that the Redskins took a gamble in giving him some $23 million in guaranteed money. He whined and pouted his way out of two organizations and had some noteworthy clashes with coaches. In 2007 he was fined $10,000 for showing support for Vick, his teammate both with the Atlanta Falcons and at Virginia Tech, by displaying "MV7" in the black shade under his eyes. The "MeAngelo" moniker is well earned.

Hall is not, however, has not been convicted of multiple felonies. He has not spent two years in the federal pen. He did not drown dogs. To compare his character to that of Vick, who has all of that on his character resume and much more, is an outrage.

Let's say I hired someone who had been convicted of picking pockets. By PFW's logic, I also would hire Bernie Madoff. Both the pickpocket and Madoff stole money, right?

PFW used to be a reliable source for NFL news and views. Made up hit pieces like this one have brought it down to the level of the National Enquirers of the world.

Robert Henson could be a “special” player

As the Washington Redskins' sixth-round draft choice, linebacker Robert Henson knows that he will have to wait his turn to play with the defense and contribute on special teams in the meantime. He has been down that path before.

For three seasons at TCU he got three starts on defense and played on virtually every special team unit. He performed so well that he received honorable mention All-Mountain West honors all three years.

Finally, his senior year his chance to start came up and he made the most of it. Henson recorded up 73 tackles, nine of them for losses, and intercepted two passes. His performance earned him first-team all conference honors. It also propelled TCU's defense to a #2 national ranking and the Horned Frogs to an 11-2 record and a final ranking as the #7 team in the country.

Robert went back home to Longview, Texas (getting some nice local TV coverage while he was there) after the Redskins' minicamp to prepare for OTA's in June. He was good enough to answer a few questions about his minicamp experience and his adjustment to the NFL:

Rich Tandler: Which are you finding to be more challenging, the physical aspect of the NFL or the mental, playbook aspects of it?

 Robert Henson: Honesty the physical game was easy to adjust to, of course we have not put on pads just yet. I have struggled a bit with the mental aspect of the game, for example getting everyone lined up with only seconds before the ball is snapped.

 RT: Last year Coach Zorn commented that some of the rookies came into training camp not physically or mentally ready to handle it. What will you be doing in between now and the end of July to make sure that you're not one of "those guys"?

 RH: I really believe in the weight room and so far it has not failed me yet, so I am sure preparing my body for the rigors of the NFL is a must. Then second of all I believe you have to be mentally tough in order to be successful, it's a long season and you have be prepared in every way possible.

 RT: Is there a current Redskins player who you think has a game similar to yours? Or, if not, who in the NFL is your game modeled after?

 RH: I have always tried to model my game after two current NFL linebackers. I have always tried to play with a high emotion and motor like Ray Lewis. He is always wired up and in attack mode. I also love the way that Brian Urlacher prepares mentally. He is rarely caught out of position and studies the game so well he always knows what is coming.  

 RT: What linebacker positions are you learning with the Redskins? You said in your Facebook update that you're moving up the depth chart—any details you can share?

RH: Right now [linebackers coach Kirk] Olivadotti has me playing "Mike" Linebacker, which is the middle linebacker in the defense, it is very good position I feel very comfortable playing there. Ultimately I will have to learn all three linebacker positions. I also know in order to make the team better I will have to contribute as well as focus on my play in the in the kicking game. So because of my effort on special teams I have moved up a little on the depth charts for these teams.

 RT: What is the main thing you need to work on as far as technique goes?

RH: The things I need to work on technique wise are footwork and learning how to approach and take on blockers. Coach Olivadotti has done a great job tearing down my bad habits and rebuilding technique to make me more effective and productive. I am constantly asking veteran London Fletcher how I can improve also, so between two great influences like them I can do nothing but learn and reach full potential.

RT: What special teams units did you play at TCU? What do you enjoy about playing special teams?

RH: When I was at TCU I played on all special teams units, except extra point and field goal. I love the special teams phase of the game for 2 reasons. It can change the momentum as well as the outcome of the game very quickly Also it is man to man most of the time and there is nothing like beating another person and making a play, it gets the whole team pumped and motivated.

Three-way battle looms at tackle

The hay is in the barn for the Washington Redskins.

Free agency essentially is over and the draft is done. They went into the process with holes a defensive tackle, defensive end, guard, linebacker, and right offensive tackle. The hole at offensive tackle remains.

They could have chosen Michael Oher of Mississippi with their first pick in the draft to plug that hole but instead they chose Brian Orakpo. He actually will be used to fill two of those needs, defensive end and linebacker, so it's hard to argue against that selection.

However, that means that an aging veteran, a third-year player who hasn't been able to hold on to the job, and a former top-five draft pick who hasn't played a snap since 2005 will be battling it out for the starting job.

The aging vet is Jon Jansen, 33. The Redskins took him in the second round in 1999 and plugged him in at right tackle from Day One. He didn't miss a start for five years, gaining the nickname The Rock. Then an Achilles' tear cost him the entire 2004 season and in '06 a broken ankle knocked him for the season before halftime of the season opener.

Jansen lost the starting right tackle job before the season opener, gained it back due to an injury, and kept a tenuous hold on it the rest of the year. His play against the run was passable but speed rushers went by him like cars through the EZ-Pass lane at rush hour. There was talk of cutting him during the offseason but the $5 million cap hit for doing so was prohibitive. He lives to fight another year.

Stephon Heyer, 25, is in his third year after making the Redskins as an undrafted free agent out of Maryland. As a rookie he found himself pressed into action much sooner than he or anyone else thought after Jansen went down early in the year. His performance in 2006 was good enough to earn him a hard look last year and Jim Zorn named him the starter over Jansen at right tackle just before the season opener. A shoulder injury knocked Heyer out of the lineup, however, and he was in and out of the lineup the rest of the year.

If you tried to predict Mike Williams' career path when he was drafted fourth overall out of Texas in 2002 you probably would have guessed that in 2009 he'd be a perennial Pro Bowl performer working on a lucrative contract. Instead, he finds himself in a battle just to make a team and get a veteran minimum deal. After getting cut by Jacksonville early in the 2006 season, Williams, 29, was unable to latch on with another team. His weight ballooned well north of 400 pounds.

Earlier this year he began to work out with fellow Longhorn alumnus Derrick Dockery. As Williams shed the pounds, he began to get the itch to play again. Dockery recommended him to the Redskins and he signed just before the draft.

Williams has a shot at making the team as a reserve but he won't be the starter unless disaster strikes in the form of injuries or utter ineffectiveness on the part of Jansen and Heyer. The former is a matter of luck; it isn't completely out of the question that the latter situation will happen.

Since the Redskins want to get younger on the offensive line Heyer goes into camp as the favorite. But if Jansen is fully healthy, his pride will make him push Heyer hard.

The most likely scenario is that the two of them will end up splitting the starts. And if you have two—or three—starting right tackles, well, you don't have a right tackle.

Flashback Friday: The 1986 Redskins

It's one thing to climb the mountain and win the championship once. Many teams have done that.

The hard part is getting knocked down and then winning it all again.

In 1986, Joe Gibbs and the Redskins showed that they could get back to the top. No, they didn't win the Super Bowl; they had a Giant obstacle in their way. But they set the table for their Super Bowl XXII championship the following season. And that's why the 1986 squad is one of my favorite Redskins teams.

After winning the championship in 1982, the Redskins started a slow roll downhill. They lost the Super Bowl the next year, lost in the first round of the playoffs in '84 and missed the postseason in 1985.

The Redskins went into 1986 without two of the mainstays of their Super Bowl teams. John Riggins was released in March and Joe Theismann, unable to recover from the horrific broken leg he suffered the previous season against the Giants, flunked his physical.

There was some incoming talent to compensate for the losses. The United States Football League folded and the Redskins bolstered their receiving corps with USFL refugees Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders. Multitalented running back Kelvin Bryant also came on board along with quarterback Doug Williams. The acquisition of Williams would not become significant until 1987, when he finished the season as the Super Bowl MVP.

The starting quarterback was Jay Schroeder and although he had led the team to a 5-1 finish after Theismann went down the Redskins still weren't quite sure what they had in him.

As it turns out, Schroeder was pretty good, at least in 1986. He passed for 4,109 yards, a team record that still stands, and earned a Pro Bowl invitation.

The job of filling Riggins' shoes fell to George Rogers, who the Redskins had acquired from the Saints a year earlier. He turned in a solid season with 1,203 yards on the ground.

Most of the original Hogs were in place on the offensive line with Joe Jacoby, Russ Grimm, Jeff Bostic and Mark May starting most of the games. The strength of the defense was the defensive line with Dexter Manley and Charles Mann at end and Dave Butz clogging things up at tackle.

The Redskins started off 5-0 but kicker Mark Moseley was on shaky ground, hitting less than half of his field goals. Although his missed extra point in a 30-6 loss to Dallas didn't have an effect on the outcome, Moseley was waived the next day.

Two weeks later they lost to the Giants, something that would become an all-too familiar happening. The next week the Redskins rallied from 12 points down in the final seven minutes to send a thriller against the Vikings into overtime. A touchdown pass from Schroeder to Clark won it in OT.

That sparked another five-game winning streak that thudded to a halt at the hands of, you guessed it, the Giants.

Despite winding up with a 12-4 record, the Redskins were relegated to a Wild Card spot as New York won the division with a 14-2 mark.

A home playoff win against the Rams set up a trip to Soldier Field to face the defending champion Bears. Schroeder threw two touchdown passes to Art Monk and the Redskins outscored Chicago 20-0 in the second half to shuffle out of the Windy City with a 27-13 win.

The dream season ended when the Redskins faced their worst nightmare in the NFC Championship Game. The Giants were much more dominant than the 17-0 final score would indicate.

Still, the 1986 Redskins proved that they were in the class of teams that could retool rather than rebuild. They would make it all the way back in 1987.

My upcoming book The Redskins Chronicle has a detailed account of every game of the 1986 season. In fact, you can read about every game the team has played since it came to Washington in 1937 through the 2008 season. The book also has a unique scrapbook woven throughout that recalls what was happening off the field a well. For a preview and to sign up to get notified when the book comes out go to RedskinsChronicle.com.

Minicamp quick hits

A few observations from today's Redskins minicamp:

• As most of you know, I'm not much of a Colt Brennan guy but I have to say that I was impressed during seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills. He fired a few intermediate passes over the middle with great accuracy and authority and showed good touch on deep passes. I'm not ready to anoint him as a future star or anything but after today I'll be a lot less surprised if it does happen.
  
  
• Brian Orakpo worked with the linebackers earlier in the session and with the defensive line later on. In the 11-on-11 he displayed a quick first move and good speed around the edge from a three-point stance. I'm a bit concerned about throwing too much at him with the two positions.
  
  
• D. J. Hackett, the former Seahawk and Panther that the Redskins tried to sign as a free agent last year, was in for a non-roster tryout. He looked sharp, although he did have the advantage of having a good base of knowledge of Zorn's offense.
  
  
• The best-looking receiver out there was Devin Thomas. He certainly seems to be in excellent shape and he's running sharp routes. It appears that, unlike last year, he "gets it".
  
  
• I had a good chat with Zorn with just a couple of other reporters after the main media session had broken up. He walked us through the process of sorting out the tryout players. "First we identify the ones who are going to hurt themselves or hurt someone else. They're gone today," he said, smiling. "We didn't have any of those," he added.
  
  In his hand was a laminated version of the tryout roster that had been given to us. "It's kind of hard to sort them out when they just got here," Zorn said.
  
  He said that everyone probably would stick around until after the second session on Saturday and then they will probably thin some out before Sunday's single practice.
  
  
• And, don't worry, the swine flu is under control at Redskins Park. The fist bump has replaced the handshake as the official greeting and hand sanitizers are all over the place.
  
  
• If Phillip Daniels' knee holds out, he could contribute this year. He is in terrific shape. When I first glanced at him up close I thought he was wearing shells but, no, his upper arms are just that big.