Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Gaffney had top-10 hands in 2010

By Rich Tandler

We recently mentioned the fact that, according to the website Pro Football Focus, Santana Moss had some trouble holding on to the ball last year. But the PFF report was not all bad news when it came to veteran Redskins receivers.

Jabar Gaffney had some of the stickiest fingers in the NFL in 2011. There were 69 catchable balls thrown at him and he dropped only two. That drop rate of 2.9 percent was the seventh best in the NFL.

The article only lists the 20 best and 20 worst in the NFL when it comes to drop rate. A look at their premium stats can shed a little light on how well the other receivers were able to hang on to the ball. They list targets, not catchable balls, for all of the receivers. Obviously, a receiver can be targeted with a pass that is not catchable.

We can, however, get a rough idea of who has good hands by comparing targets to drops. Here are the numbers for the Redskins’ receivers and tight ends.

 

 

Don’t read too much into drop numbers for receivers who were targeted fewer than about twice per game. 

 

History says Flynn's performance not a fluke

By Rich Tandler

There is a lot of debate over the significance Matt Flynn’s performance in the Packers’ regular season finale when he passed for 480 yards and six touchdown in Green Bay’s 45-41 win over the Lions. Some say it is a sign that he can be a top quarterback in the league. Others are saying that such a performance could be a fluke.

You never know for sure, of course, but there is reason to believe that such a game is a solid sign that Flynn will be a very good quarterback.

Out of the thousands of NFL games played since 1960 there are only seven in which a quarterback has thrown for over 470 yards and for over five touchdowns. Two of those performances came in that Green Bay-Detroit game. The QB opposite Flynn, Matthew Stafford, passed for 520 yards and five TD’s.

You have heard of the other five quarterbacks. Four of them—Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, and Y. A. Tittle—are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The fifth is Peyton Manning.

Flynn’s performance does not guarantee that he will go to the Hall of Fame or even that he will be a quality NFL starter. He may or may not be the answer to the Redskins' quarterback woes. But if such a game was possible due to a fluke, doesn’t it seem likely that a run-of-the-mill quarterback would have done it by now? 

Just something to ponder.

 

Redskins do some addition by subtraction

The Redskins now have their two biggest potential distractions in the rear-view mirror.

Just hours after completing a deal to send Donovan McNabb to the Vikings, the Redskins shipped Albert Haynesworth to the New England Patriots. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Redskins will get a fifth-round pick in 2013 in exchange for Haynesworth.

A few days ago a report quoted a Redskins team source saying that they would trade Haynesworth for “a ham sandwich.” A fifth-round pick two drafts from now is the NFL equivalent of a ham sandwich.

Haynesworth might regain his old All-Pro form under Bill Belichick, who has taken reclamation projects like Randy Moss and Corey Dillon and has been able to get some good production out of them.

But it really doesn’t matter. Haynesworth was not going to succeed on this team in this system under this coach. They had to cut their substantial losses—they paid him $41 million for 20 games, 6.5 sacks, and 43 tackles—and move on.

It’s the same with the second- and fourth-round picks the Redskins invested in McNabb. The cost is sunk.

On the field and in the short term, the Redskins may be worse off without McNabb and Haynesworth, who are two talented football players. In every other way, the Redskins have done some serious addition by subtraction.

 

Redskins flying under the radar today

The team that was supposed to be among the most active in free agency, the Redskins, have been very much out of the limelight today.

The NFL’s schedule of events dictated that today would be mostly about undrafted free agent players and the releases of some veteran players as salary cap casualties (although such moves can’t be made official until 4 p.m. on Thursday). And the Redskins have been very quiet on both fronts.

No announcements or reports of pending releases have come from either the Redskins or from other sources. A number of players showed up at Redskins Park today as the gates for them for the first time since March and none of them left soon after arrival. The Redskins are about $26 million under the salary cap so they do not have to make moves to lower their cap number as some other teams do.

So far, we have just three reported signings of undrafted college players—Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell, North Carolina running back Shaun Draughn, and East Carolina offensive tackle Willie Smith. The Redskins now have 63 players under contract and 12 draft picks. The roster limit for training camp is 90.

Some are reporting that many teams are using today to start to feel out the market and to take a little time to digest the new rules contained in the just-completed CBA. 

 

Broncos may deal Orton quickly

In the free agency blog I have running over on CSNwashington.com, I have an item about a report that the Broncos want to trade Kyle Orton. The Redskins could be interested given their need at quarterback, but we have no solid reports that that is the case.

If the Redskins want to get in on Orton trade discussion, however, they probably need to do so very quickly. Orton's value will decrease as time goes on. He has just one year left on his contract, a deal that pays him $9 million this year. Whoever trades for him will be getting a one-year rental. Every day that goes by will be another day that Orton can't spend learning the offense for his new team.

If the Bronocs wait until later in camp to trade Orton, teams will be reluctant to deal for a quarterback with a $9 million contract who may not have the offense down until midseason or later and will then become a free agent.

Another factor is the salary cap. According to some reports, the Broncos are several million dollars over the $120 million cap. Unloading Orgon's salary would be an instant solution to getting under the number.

Trades OK today but don't look for quick McNabb resolution

Teams will be allowed to make trades starting today at 10 a.m. While there is a good chance that Donovan McNabb will be traded at some point, don’t look for anything to happen today.

The problem is that there are a lot of moving parts to a potential deal. Not only do the Redskins and a potential trading partner—the Vikings seem to be the most-mentioned destination for Mcnabb—have to agree on compensation but McNabb’s camp also has to get involved. No team is going to trade for McNabb’s contract, which calls for him to get a $10 million roster bonus in the first week of the regular season. The Redskins will have to give McNabb permission to speak with a potential trading partner to work out a new deal before pulling the trigger on a trade.

Getting this done will not require an inordinate amount of time but it probably will take more than a day or two. Although all parties would like to get something done quickly, it will take at least a few days and perhaps longer.

 

Looks like a quiet but perhaps productive day

Just as yesterday was an explosive day on the NFL labor front, it appears that today will be very quiet.

Kevin Mawe, president of the NFLPA, issued the following statement this morning:

"Player leadership is discussing the most recent written proposal with the NFL, which includes a settlement agreement, deal terms and the right process for addressing recertification. There will not be any further NFLPA statements today out of respect for the Kraft family while they mourn the loss of Myra Kraft."

While the public statements and activity will be muted for the day, much will be going on behind the scenes. As Mawe said, key people on the players side will be meeting today and perhaps they can isolate exactly what their issues with what the owners voted on yesterday.

Meanwhile, both Roger Goodell and De Smith are on Boston for Mrs. Kraft's funeral. It would seem logical that following a respectful wait after the services are concluded the two principals will talk and figure out how they are going to close a deal. It is likely that Goodell has the authority of the owners to do just about anything necessary to close the deal. It will be up to Smith to sell it to the executive committee and the player reps.

Meanwhile, Redskins player rep Vonnie Holliday is making the rounds on the radio afterhis "tricked, duped, led astray, hoodwinked, bamboozled" tweet in reaction to the owners' actions last night. On SiriusXM NFL radio, he continued to rail against the owners:

We were tricked. This was not expected. We’re frustrated. But at same time, we’re going to get through this . . . I would still assume that even after yesterday we are closer now than ever and can get a deal done shortly."

The next 24 hours to 48 hours or so are critical here. If a deal is not done by Sunday afternoon, the first week of preseason games will be in danger.

 

Vonnie Holliday lets us know how he feels

We're not sure what the status of the CBA is right now. The owners passed something and the players have not. Not only that, some players are angry about what has transpired.

Here is a tweet from Redskins player rep Vonnie Holliday (@therealholliday):

Look guys I have no reason to lie! The truth of the matter is we got tricked, duped, led astray, hoodwinked, bamboozled!

There are a lot of accusations and cross accusations going on right now. It's probably not wise to spend much time going through all of it right now as it is changing by the minute. Check back in the morning when perhaps cooler heads will prevail.

 

Will the Redskins have even more to spend in free agency?

A report by a Houston NFL blogger indicates that the Washington Redskins, along with every other NFL team, will be able to spend more money in free agency than originally thought.

Most reports of the details of the proposed CBA have said that the salary cap will be around $120 million. But an article by Lance Zierlein of the Houston Chronicle's website suggests that the cap might not be as firm as it was in the past. In fact, there might not be a cap at all.

I’ve learned from people close to the negotiations that we may not see the massive cap casualties that we’ve expected.  In fact, there may not be any penalties for teams who are over the $120 million dollar threshold.  What that would allow teams to do is hang onto veterans, if they so choose, without penalty.  What was less clear to me was whether or not we’ll actually even see a salary cap.  It is my understanding that for the first few years of this deal, the “cap” on spending could be soft or even non-existant.

"Non-existant" salary cap would seem to be music to the ears of the Washington Redskins and other high-income teams. The players, of course, also would love to have bidding wars for their services between deep-pocketed owners with no limits.

Of course, if the provision is for just the first few years of what is expected to be a 10-year deal, there would have to be some restraint. But, certainly, you could expect to see the Redskins, Cowboys, and some other teams take full advantage of there being no limits.

There is not too much of a point to go into this much further until we get more details on it. But the report is from a fairly reliable source. Zierlein is not well-known nationally but he does seem to be fairly well wired. He was the first one--and as far as I know the only one--to have a solid report that Albert Haynesworth would sign with the Redskins when free agency began in 2009. That doesn't mean that this report is necessarily true but it does come from someone who seems to be in a position to know.

 

Redskins minicamp on Saturday?

According to a report on Pro Football Talk the Green Bay Packers will be reporting to their team facility on Saturday for a three-day minicamp. Jason Wilde, who reports on the team for ESPN Milwaukee confirmed the report, saying it was "100 percent true."

This is not the only report of NFL teams getting back to work this weekend. Jeremy Shockey, who signed with Carolina before the lockout, told BustedCoverage.com that the Panthers also will be reporting to its headquarters on Saturday.

Multiple reports have said that the players will vote to ratify the proposed CBA, which apparently still has a few details that need to be ironed out, on Wednesday and the NFL owners will vote to approve it on Thursday. The lockout could end at any time after the owners vote.

It would be safe to assume that the Redskins will be having some sort of get-together over the weekend if such gatherings are permitted. Stay tuned for news on this as it becomes available.

Update: This from the Twitter feed of John Keim of the Washington Examiner:

#Redskins have heard nothing about a possible minicamp this weekend. doesn't mean won't happen; but if there r plans for 1, not advanced