Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Redskins again beat Browns to the punch

The Redskins will play the Cleveland Browns at the aptly named Cleveland Browns Stadium at some point during the 2012 NFL season. But Washington has beat Cleveland a couple of times already this year.

Much to the consternation of team president Mike Holmgren, the Redskins outbid the Browns to get the second overall pick in the draft. That pick is likely to become Robert Griffin III, leaving the Browns to conduct the Colt McCoy experiment for another year.

As it turns out, Mike Shanahan, Bruce Allen, and company again beat Holmgren and Cleveland GM Tom Heckert to the punch a few days later when free agency started. Washington signed wide receivers Pierre Garçon and Joshua Morgan within hours of the market opening up. According to a report, both of those players were targets of the Browns. 

This morning Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer tweeted the following:

#Browns pursued former Colts WR Pierre Garcon and former 49ers WR Josh Morgan, source told PD.  Both signed big $$$ w/ Redskins day 1

So, once again, the Redskins were one step ahead of the folks by the lake. Wonder how Holmgren will spin this on his next season ticket holder conference call.

This provides no guarantee that the Redskins will come out on top when they meet on the field. That is the only result that really will count.

 

RT's 5: Redskins, Fletcher running out of options

Rich Tandler’s five things possible related to the Washington Redskins and other matters.

5. It seems like both the Redskins and London Fletcher are running out of options. Inside linebackers just aren’t getting paid like they used to. At this point, Fletcher should be happy to match the $5 million/year average he received in the contract he just completed. That is what Stephen Tulloch got in the deal he got from the Lions and it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that Curtis Lofton got the same from the Saints. Of course neither one of those players is coming off of back-to-back Pro Bowls as Fletcher is but both are considerably younger. From the Redskins’ standpoint, there aren’t many alternatives out there. David Hawthorne of the Seahawks is the top inside linebacker left and the dropoff after him is precipitous. Fletcher and the Redskins need each other at this point and hopefully something can be worked out soon.

4. March Madness? It’s been more like March Mundane. With the notable exceptions of the wins by 15 seeds Lehigh and Hampton the NCAA tournament has been largely to form and lacking in buzzer beaters. Not many games have been compelling to the casual fan of college hoops (and I’m one of those). I’ve had it on TV the whole time but I’ve found my attention consumed by NFL matters and other things. It’s a blue blood Final Four and it looks like it will be Kentucky blue cutting down the nets in New Orleans. Hopefully one of the three remaining games will provide a memorable moment.

3. We’ll have plenty more on the salary cap penalty situation today and every day until it is resolved. But a lot of fans have been asking if the Redskins can expect to get a draft pick as compensation if the ruling is in their favor, something to make up for the lost opportunities they had in free agency due to getting the cap dollars subtracted. Although there is little precedent to refer to here, that is highly doubtful. The most they can hope for is to get the penalty removed and the money reinstated. They aren’t going to get flowers and a box of chocolates on top of it. 

2. Another frequently asked question is about the right tackle position. The ideal solution there is either a healthy Jammal Brown or an improved Willie Smith. We won’t know much about either until OTA’s start up in mid-May. If one can get it done then the job likely is his with the other one providing depth. If not and the draft does not produce a solution they could look to see who is left in free agency. It is not the ideal solution but given the salary cap hit and the lack of talent at the position in free agency it will have to do.

1. Even if the Redskins are able to add another player or two via the draft or in late free agency, the defensive backfield is largely set. DeAngelo Hall and Josh Wilson are the main cornerbacks, Brandon Meriweather, Reed Doughty and Dejon Gomes will see a lot of action a safety, Cedric Griffin could play safety or nickel corner and Kevin Barnes will fight for playing time. That is not the strongest group in the league by any means and a good pass rush will be needed to keep opposing passing attacks under control.

Rich Tandler blogs about the Redskins at www.RealRedskins.com. You can reach him by email at RTandlerCSN@comcast.net and follow him on Twitter @Rich_Tandler. 

 

Mara: "Penalties imposed were proper"

For the first time, someone from outside the Redskins and Cowboys organizations has spoken out on the salary cap penalty handed to the two teams. And it just so happened to be someone whose team could benefit greatly from those penalties.

New York Giants owner John Mara said, “I thought the penalties imposed were proper.” 

It is not surprising that Mara would be waving the pom-poms in favor of the penalties. He is the chair of the NFL Management Council, the group that imposed the penalties. And his team clearly is helped as two of the Giants’ division rivals are being damaged by the $46 million in salary cap penalties.

"What they did was in violation of the spirit of the salary cap,” Mara said. “They attempted to take advantage of a one-year loophole, and quite frankly, I think they're lucky they didn't lose draft picks."

Of course, it is hard to violate “the spirit of the salary cap” during a year when there is no salary cap. In addition, it’s hard to figure out how the two teams could have lost draft picks since that is done for rule violations and the two teams didn’t violate any rules.

Both Pro Football Talk and SI.com are reporting that the Redskins and Cowboys have filed a grievance over the action. Arbitrator Stephen Burbank will rule on the Grievance. 

Dallas owner Jerry Jones responded to Mara, saying, “That’s John’s opinion. That’s not my opinion.”

The Redskins have no comment. It appears that they will be content to let their actions speak for them. 

 

Cap trouble in 2013?

I usually don’t make multiple posts out of a single tweet. However, after addressing the first part of what Alex Marvez of Sirius NFL Radio had to say about his talk with the Redskins’ Lorenzo Alexander it became obvious that the second part needed a closer look. 

Here is what Marvez tweeted on Friday:

 

What veterans is Alexander referring to who could be leaving in 2013? Here are the current Redskins who are slated to be unrestricted free agents in 2013:

• Cedric Griffin
• Fred Davis
• Jabar Gaffney
• John Beck
• Kentwan Balmer
• Kevin Barnes
• Kory Lichtensteiger
• Lorenzo Alexander
• Rex Grossman
• Rob Jackson
• Sav Rocca
• Tyler Polumbus

On this list, the projected 2012 starters are Griffin, Davis, Gaffney, and Lichtensteiger plus the punter Rocca. If Davis continues to progress and, of course, steer clear of the substance abuse policy, he should be in line for a contract extension. Lichtensteiger, if he is recovered from his knee injury, should sign a relatively inexpensive extension. Griffin and Gaffney could be replaced by draft picks or free agents.

Of the non-starters, Alexander himself is the key contributor. It is hard to see the Redskins having insufficient cap space to work something out with him. Beck and Balmer might not make the team this year. As of now, Barnes, Jackson, and Polumbus appear to be easily replaceable. 

You can reach Rich by email at RTandlerCSN@comcast.net and follow him on Twitter @Rich_Tandler.

18 of 22 starting spots look set

We are about 169 days from the start of the Redskins season. We don't know who or where they will play but we have a very good idea of who will be in the starting lineup on offense and defense. As of right now, it looks like 18 of the 22 positions are locking (barring injury or other issues).

Offense

WR Pierre Garçon
WR Jabar Gaffney
TE Fred Davis
RB Roy Helu
FB Darrel Young
QB Robert Griffin III
LT Trent Williams
LG Kory Lichtensteiger
C Will Montgomery
RG Chris Chester
RT Jammal Brown

The major question marks here are Brown and, to a lesser extent, Lichtensteiger due to injuries. Lichtensteiger is recovering from a torn ACL and MCL and his rehab seems to be on target but we really won’t know until training camp. Brown recently told the Washington Post that his recovery from hip problems was coming along well but, again, we won’t really know if he’s doing better until training camp. Even then, it remains to be seen if he can get healthy and stay that way. In addition, the Redskins reportedly are trying to find a free agent right tackle so that could change the whole picture.

Defense

DE Jarvis Jenkins
DE Stephen Bowen
NT Barry Cofield
OLB Brian Orakpo
OLB Ryan Kerrigan
ILB Perry Riley
ILB London Fletcher (?)
CB DeAngelo Hall
CB Josh Wilson
FS Cedric Griffin
SS Brandon Meriweather

Of course the question mark is next to Fletcher’s name because he still is a free agent. The team will have to find a starter if Fletcher does end up leaving as nobody on the current roster seems to be a good fit. The safety position could be shuffled if the Redskins sign or draft one and move Griffin to nickel corner.

You can reach Rich by email at RTandlerCSN@comcast.net and follow him on Twitter @Rich_Tandler. 

 

Why the Colts will draft Luck

The possibility that the Colts could draft Robert Griffin III has been all the rage after the Baylor quarterback aced his pro day. And while the possibility that the Redskins could be “stuck with Luck” exists, the chances are slim.

That is the opinion here and the opinion of Colts writer Nate Dunleavy.  The longtime observer of the franchise explains that the Colts have just gone through the ordeal of releasing Peyton Manning and other veterans. They did this knowing exactly what they were going to do next, which is draft Andrew Luck. 

Dunleavy lists four reasons why the Colts will do that, here is the first:

1. There is zero question Luck already knows how to run a pro offense.

Forget the whole athlete/intellect debate. The intellectual and athletic gaps between Griffin and Luck are negligible. Each one is hyper-intelligent and athletic. The only difference is in experience level. What Luck did in college translates immediately to the pros. What Griffin did in the spread requires some work to decipher. The numbers were amazing, but spread numbers can lie (check out Colt McCoy on that link).

Take a look at the rest of the article here. 

Update: Might as well include the thoughts of Don Banks of SI.com, one of the most well-wired of insiders especially when it comes to the Colts (remember his story on the unknown fourth "procedure" that Peyton Manning had done on his neck). He put Luck first in his mock draft posted on Friday and he wasn't just taking a shot in the dark:

As head-turning as Baylor's Robert Griffin III has been at the combine and on his pro day, I haven't heard anything from the Colts to make me believe they're wavering on their intent to take Luck. With Peyton Manning a Bronco, and Indy's purge of veterans complete, all that remains is the formality of handing in the card on draft night, and making official the very fitting marriage between The Horseshoe and a QB named Luck.

Redskins fan has predictive plate

I don't know how long it takes to get a personalized license plate but I have to think that it's longer than the two weeks it's been since the Redskins traded for the draft pick that likely will end up being Robert Griffin III. So this Virginia Redskins fan either had some inside information or great faith that the team could pull off a deal for the Baylor quarterback.

h/t to @BurgundyBlog who gives h/t's to @kellypelle and @EBJunkies

Alexander: Cap penalty hurting efforts to sign Fletcher

Alex Marvez of Fox Sports apparently spoke with Redskins linebacker and special teams captain Lorenzo Alexander and tweeted out the following:

 

It makes sense that it will be difficult to fit a contract for Fletcher under a salary cap squeezed to the extent that the NFL squeezed that of the Redskins. With younger players a cap guru has more flexibility to squeeze a high-dollar package under the limit. But Fletcher is probably going to play only two or maybe three more years so more of the money must be eaten up front.

It may turn out that Fletcher will have to take less money than he wants and the Redskins may have to eat a little more in dead cap at the end of the deal than they want to.

Even with the difficult cap circumstances, there is a way to get this done.

 

Should players be able to come off of IR?

Yesterday we looked at some of the on-field rule changes that the NFL owners will consider at their upcoming meetings. The NFL Competition Committee also recommended some changes to the bylaws. Here is a look at the major changes being discussed (via our friends at Pro Football Talk) with the thumbs up or down.

1. Moving the trade deadline from Week 6 to Week 8--I’m not sure why they even find it necessary to cut off trades at the midway point of the season. Making it Week 10 or even 11 would be better but Week 8 is progrss. Thumbs up

2. Expanding the roster limit for training camp and the offseason to 90 players, with unsigned draft picks now counting toward that limit.--I’m not quite sure why you need 90 players in camp, especially with the new rules limiting time on the field and getting rid of two-a-day contact practices. Thumbs down

3. Adding an injured reserve exemption so that if a player was on the roster through the first regular season weekend, that player can be placed on injured reserve and designated for return--Making injured reserve a season-ending deal has never made any sense to me and the only thing wrong with this proposal is that two or three moves off of IR should be allowed. Thumbs up

4. Allowing one roster exemption per team per week for a player who is inactive with a concussion--I thought that the inactive list was for players who will miss a few games with a concussion. If you sign a player off the street or from the practice squad to take the roster spot of a player with a concussion, that player is likely to be a game day inactive anyway. Thumbs down

 

How much do pro days mean?

So Andrew Luck proved to be every bit as impressive in his pro day performance on Thursday as Robert Griffin III was in his on Wednesday. What does it mean?

Not much. About 95 percent of player evaluation, perhaps more, comes from film. You know, what the players did in actual, competitive football games. It’s great to show off your arm strength and accuracy when throwing against air. But just like a 40-yard dash rarely gets run on an actual football field (and when it is it’s done in full pads), throwing to a receiver with no defenders in shouting distance is a rare opportunity for a quarterback.

How tenuous is the connection between a great pro day and a great pro career? Here is what Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted yesterday: