Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Need to Know: Is the market for Davis drying up?

Here is what you need to know on this Saturday, March 23, 33 days before the NFL draft.

Market for Davis drying up?

The Browns have announced that they have signed a tight end names Davis. But it was Kellen Davis, formerly of the Bears, not Fred Davis. According to many reports, Cleveland has been the Redskins’ main competition—perhaps their only competition—for Fred Davis’ services. 

So with his other options looking dried up, why hasn’t Davis signed? In short, it has become a waiting game.

The Redskins likely have an offer, or at least the outlines of one, on the table. As long as they are the only bidders for Davis they are not motivated to nudge from it. We are at a point in the football calendar where nothing is going on from a veteran player standpoint. As long as they have a feeling that Davis isn’t going anywhere they have no reason to raise their offer.

From the standpoint of Davis and agent Drew Rosenhaus, they aren’t losing anything by waiting either. In fact, if they wait, another team could become interested and that might motivate the Redskins to improve their offer.

It is the same thing we saw a year ago with linebacker London Fletcher. He and the Redskins played the waiting game for about a month after free agency started. Fletcher ended up signing just before the start of the offseason workout program in mid-April. Look for a similar timetable for Davis.

One thing the Redskins need to be of careful of, though, is taking advantage of Davis’ situation and forcing him to sign a lowball contract. If things work out like they hope they will and Davis thrives on the field, they will be looking to sign him to another deal, perhaps a bigger one, in a year or two. If they put the squeeze on him in this negotiation, future contract talks where Davis has the upper hand might not go as smoothly.

Biggers signs a one-year deal

At this stage of free agency it looks like most cornerbacks are singing one-year deals and new Redskins corner E. J. Biggers is no exception.

According to various reports, Biggers, entering his fifth NFL season, signed a contract with a $635,000 base salary, a $365,000 signing bonus and a $500,000 roster bonus. If it’s too early in the morning for you to do the math, that comes to $1.5 million for the year.

The deal gives the Redskins a chance to evaluate Biggers, who had a solid 2012 season after struggling in his first three years in the league. It gives Biggers a chance at a second contract year in 2014. If he can put on a solid showing in Washington he might be able to get the multi year deal with the security that every player wants.

In case you missed it

• Point-Counterpoint: Best and worst of free agency
• Davis keeps his options open
• Hits and misses in Redskins’ 2013 draft slots
• Despite suspensions, Redskins don’t have major character issues

Days until: Offseason conditioning starts 23; NFL schedule released 24; NFL draft 33

Tandler on Twitter

I've seen him a few times, says he's doing well. We'll know more when OTA's start RT @steveohhhh9: any word on how Roy Helu is doing?

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) March 22, 2013

Point-Counterpoint: Best and worst of free agency

By Tarik El-Bashir and Rich Tandler
CSNwashington.com 

Although the Redskins will sign some more players in the coming days, weeks, and month, the bulk of their free agency activity for 2013 is over. Although there was no big splash, they made some moves that will have a profound effect on the 2013 season and beyond.

What were the best signings the Redskins made? What mistakes were made? Redskins insiders Tarik El-Bashir and Rich Tandler look at the best and worst moves—and non-moves—in this week’s edition of Point-Counterpoint. 

Best signing

Rich Tandler: I’m going to go all the way back to Wednesday and the signing of cornerback E. J. Biggers. He’s a 25-year-old player who struggled early in his career but appears to be on the rise. At best he catches on and the Redskins have a solid cornerback in the prime of his career. At worst they have a good nickel back. 

Go here to read the rest of Point-Counterpoint on CSNwashington.com

Need to Know: RG3 still 'All in' for Week 1

Here is what you need to know on this Friday, March 22, 34 days before the NFL draft.

Is seven the lucky number?

When Rob Jackson of the Redskins sits out the first four games of the 2013 season he will be the seventh Redskins player to serve a drug-related suspension since August of 2011. The others are Phillip Buchanon (Aug-2011), Fred Davis, Trent Williams (both Dec-2011), Tanard Jackson (Aug-2012), Cedric Griffin, and Jordan Black (both Dec-2012). All but Tanard Jackson were suspended for four games; Jackson’s suspension is indefinite with his first opportunity to apply for reinstatement coming on August 31.

My friend Jimmy at Blogging the Beast tracked down all of the NFL’s drug-related suspensions since August of 2011 and he found that, not surprisingly, the Redskins have the most such issues in the league. The Seahawks are second with five, the Giants and Broncos have four each while the Rams have three. Eight teams have two suspensions and nine teams have one.

So the question is why they have all of the drug-related issues. It is not as though the Redskins have had major character issues in other areas. The only arrest of a Redskin since that first drug-related suspension in August of 2011 came when Brandon Meriweather, was arrest for DUI on April 26, 2012.

So, in those 20 months, 67 NFL players have been arrested and one of them was a Redskin. In that same time period 48 players were suspended for drugs and seven of them were Redskins. Washington players account for 14.6 percent of all drug suspensions but just 1.5 percent of the arrests.

The Cowboys have had no players suspended for PED’s. But since last December they have two DUI arrests and one of the players arrested is also being charged with his teammate’s death in the incident. Now, which organization has the worse substance abuse problem?

It’s also not as though the Redskins have been importing trouble on the drug front. The players who have been suspended have little in common. Davis and Rob Jackson were already on the team when Mike Shanahan came in as coach. Williams was Shanahan’s first draft pick. Buchanon had been on the team for a season when he was suspended while Tanard Jackson, Griffin, and Black had been Redskins for less than a year. There certainly were reasons to be wary when T. Jackson came in; he had already served two suspensions when he was with the Bucs. But none of the others had any major red flags, drug-related or otherwise.

The Redskins need to decide how they will handle the issue. But it doesn't appear that they need to overhaul the way they examine players' character as that is not the problem.

RG3 is still “all in” for opener

Another month, another RG3 adidas ad about being ready for Week 1. This doesn’t seem to be quite as dramatic as the “blow up” ad that caused a stir last month. Both Griffin and Mike Shanahan have said that the pace of Griffin’s rehab is tied to his long-term career and not to being ready for the first game in early September. But ads like this don’t do much to change the perception of some that the rehab is being rushed.

In case you missed it

• Shanahan says RG3 will make “drastic” changes in order to protect himself.
• Biggers addition just a part of revamping cornerback position
• Will Carriker be ready to start the season?
• Overreaction to the “helmet rule”?

Days until: NFL schedule release 24; NFL draft 34; Minicamp 80

Tandler on Twitter

@tomcblock Sorry, but it's all on Rob. He knows the rules and consequences. Don't take anything unless you're sure it's approved.

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) March 21, 2013

Need to Know: Overreaction to 'helmet rule'?

Here is what you need to know on this Thursday, March 21, 35 days before the NFL draft.

Overreaction to helmet rule?

The reaction to the NFL’s passage of the so-called “helmet rule”, which prohibits a player from delivering a forcible blow with the crown of his helmet outside of the tackle box, has been swift. From the media side we have NFL Network’s Mike Mayock (via Pro Football Talk).

“I look at this rule and I say, at some point I think we’re crossing a line,” Mayock said. “To me, a running back has got to be able to drop his pad level. And when a running back drops his pad level, his head goes with it. That’s just the way you play football.”

Bears running back Matt Forte tweeted that he was preparing to get fined:

Wow so they really passed that rule...last time I checked football was a contact sport. Calling bank now to set up my lowering the boom fund

— Matt Forte (@MattForte22) March 20, 2013

It’s good for Forte to save his money but he might be able to put it to another use.

The league reviewed all of the games during Week 10 and Week 16 of last season to see how many times the penalty would have been called if the rule had been in effect last year. They found 11 instances where a flag should have been thrown. That comes to about one flag every three games.

But, wait. The effect on running backs’ style will be even less than that. About half of the would-be infractions were against the defense. So we have once every six games, or two or three times a season, where the running back would draw a flag.

Nobody ever accused Jim Brown of being anything less than the toughest of tough guys and he has no issue with the rule. He thinks that using your head as a battering ram is a bad idea.

"I didn't use my head,'' said Brown, who led the NFL in rushing in eight of his nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns. "I used my forearm. The palm of my hand. And my shoulder. And my shoulder pads. I wasn't putting my head into too much of anything. I don't think that's a good idea. At least it doesn't sound like a good idea to me if I'm not guaranteed that my head is going to be strong enough to hurt somebody else and not hurt myself."

A runner hitting with force with the top of the helmet is dangerous both for the player delivering the blow and the player receiving it. If a penalty every month and a half is the price for helping to reduce the danger here, that seems to be a pretty low price to pay.

The one caveat I’ll add here is how it’s officiated matters. If the refs get more flag-happy than the wording and intent of the rule says they should, the new rule has the potential to be a major detractor. Also, it was mentioned that the referees would confer to make sure that they all saw the play as a penalty. A major increase in zebra huddles would also be a detractor.

If the rule is properly enforced, we shouldn’t see a flurry of flags affecting Alfred Morris’ game.

Redskins sign Biggers, still eye Davis

In case you missed it

• Rob Jackson suspended four games
• Redskins 2014: Money to spend, needs to fill
• Shanahan: Still working to sign Fred Davis
• Shanahan reports on RG3’s progress
• Redskins sign CB E. J. Biggers
• A breakout year for Hankerson?

Days until: NFL draft 35; OTA’s 55; NFL kickoff Sunday 171

Tandler on Twitter

@jukempnukem Might have. 38 receptions for over 500 yards in first 16-game season not bad for a 3rd-rounder. Should improve more this year.

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) March 20, 2013

Need to Know: A breakout year for Hankerson?

Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, March 20, 36 days before the NFL draft.

A breakout year for Hankerson?

For most, fantasy football is a dead topic this time of year save for some discussion of what impact a wide receiver changing teams or a draft pick ending up in a particular offensive scheme might have.

But for others, it’s a full-time business. A lot of their time this time of year, evidently, is spent trying to figure out what players who are staying with their current teams will have breakout seasons in 2013. 

A site called Rotoviz.com tried doing the crystal ball thing with wide receivers, specifically those who are entering their third seasons. They took some statistical benchmarks such as yards per target and compared them to those accomplished by other second-year receivers who broke out the following year.

The third-year receivers they compared were Austin Pettis of the Rams, Greg Little of the Browns, Greg Salas of the Eagles, Jon Baldwin of the Chiefs, Torrey Smith of the Ravens, and Leonard Hankerson of the Redskins.

They ran them through the various statistical criteria and the two left standing at the end are Smith and, drum roll please, Hankerson.

Go check the post for the specifics but thinking that Hankerson will break out in 2013 passes the eye test as well as the statistical test. His rookie year was mostly a washout with the offseason program being cancelled by the lockout and him sustaining the season-ending hip injury just after he had broken into the regular rotation at midseason. The injury cost him the offseason program last year.

Hankerson has looked like a receiver who needs some polish. He frequently seems to fight with the ball before he secures the reception. And while he has a reputation for having bad hands, the folks at Pro Football Focus said that Hankerson had four drops while being targeted 59 times. By comparison, Santana Moss had six drops in 64 targets.

He told me after his rookie year that when he started out he didn’t have an appreciation for the amount of work it took to make it in the NFL. If he truly has it and will work on polishing his game, he could well be the team’s top wide receiver.

RG3 on the mark

One more quick one from Pro Football Focus while we have it open. In just his rookie season, Robert Griffin III was extraordinarily accurate with his passes.

PFF calculates an adjusted completion percentage that takes into account drops, batted passes, and passes that were off the mark because the quarterback was hit as he threw the ball.

So RG3’s official NFL completion percentage was 65.6 percent, good enough for fifth in the NFL. But when adjusted for drops (Griffin suffered from a 8.9 percent drop rate, the worst in the NFL), etc., his completion percentage was 79.6 percent. Only Aaron Rodgers had a better mark, 80.2 percent.

Not that you needed to be told that RG3 was pretty darn good but to be able to put the ball on target like that as a rookie is remarkable.

In case you missed it

• Is Ronde Barber a fit?
• A five-man battle brewing at right tackle
• If not Rex, who?
• Redskins meet with agent for Davis, Grossman

Days until: NFL draft 36; Minicamp 82; Training camp 127

Tandler on Twitter

@sportsyack And they went 10-6 and won the NFCE with Madieu Williams starting at free safety. Guess they should leave that alone, too?

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) March 19, 2013

Need to Know: Redskins meet with agent for Rex, Davis

Here is what you need to know on this Tuesday, March 19, 37 days before the NFL draft.

Redskins still working on Davis and Rex

A week into free agency, the Redskins are still trying to get their top free agent signed as well as their third-string quarterback.

According to a report in the Washington Post, team representatives met with agent Drew Rosenahus, who represents both Fred Davis and Rex Grossman, on Sunday night in Phoenix.

Even though there don’t seem to be any other serious bidders for Davis, a deal has yet to be done. Determining Davis’ value is complicated by the fact that he suffered a torn Achilles in Week 7 last year and he didn’t finish the 2011 season due to a four-game suspension for violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

Goodell: No modification to Redskins' cap penalty

If there was any question that the Redskins might be able to get back some of their $36 million salary cap penalty, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell removed it during a press conference during the league meetings in Phoenix.

When asked about if any removal or modification of the penalty was possible, Goodell said, “I’ve told the Redskins directly that there will be no modification to their cap.”

“Their cap” already has been “modified”, of course, to the tune of $18 million less to spend on player salaries in each of the past two years.

Goodell said that he has talked to the Redskins about the matter twice in the past 30 days. He would not address either the comment that Bruce Allen made last week saying that the penalty was a “travesty of fairness” or reports that the Redskins were considering taking legal action in the case.

Don't expect any compensatory picks for the Redskins

Update: The NFL did announce the comp picks on Monday night and, as expected, the Redskins did not receive any.

The NFL will be announcing compensatory draft picks today and the Redskins are not likely to receive any. This is despite the fact that they lost LaRon Landry as an unrestricted free agent to the Jets.

No, this is not due to more of Roger Goodell, John Mara, and the rest of the powers that be in the NFL conspiring against the Redskins again. It is simply because of the way the NFL’s formula works.

Although the exactly formula is a secret (if you want some of the nitty-gritty details check out this great post), one of the known elements is that each player signed cancels out a pick a team may get for losing a player. So while the Redskins lost Landry they signed free agent wide receivers Pierre Garçon and Josh Morgan. They cancel out the departure of Landry.

So while the Redskins won’t be on the list of those awarded picks today, is a chance that they will get a compensatory pick a year from now due to the loss of Lorenzo Alexander to the Cardinals. They could sign some free agents and still get a comp pick as long as the free agents were released by their former teams. Only players who played out their contracts count in the compensatory pick formula.

 

Need to Know: Redskins can't count on Tanard Jackson

Here is what you need to know on this Monday, March 18, 38 days before the NFL draft.

Redskins can’t count on Jackson

Ever since the Post came out with an article saying that suspended free safety Tanard Jackson is still under contract to the Redskins I have occasionally had fans ask me if he could fill the Redskins hole at free safety.  

The answer is that he might be able to be part of the solution but the Redskins can’t count on him.

The former Buc is serving his third suspension for violation the league’s drug policy and his second indefinite suspension. Jackson is eligible to be reinstated on August 31, after all of the offseason program and training camp are over. Until he is reinstated he can’t have any contact with the team and he can’t set foot on team property.

He could be reinstated on time or the suspension could go on past August 31 and ino the season. Remember this is his second indefinite suspension so the bar for reinstatement could be higher than it was before.

The bottom line is that there is no guarantee that Jackson will be reinstated before the season starts and even if he is he will have missed all of the offseason program and training camp. The Redskins simply can’t go through the offseason with him penciled in on the depth chart. They need to proceed as though he will not be with the team this year. If he can come back and they work him out under a roster exemption and they determine that he can help, that will be a bonus.

Jackson’s contract, which calls for a salary of $700,000, does not count against the salary cap as long as he is under suspension.

Despite free agent drought, odds remain steady

The Redskins have been one of the least active teams in free agency but the folks in Las Vegas don’t think that the inaction has damaged their Super Bowl chances.

Prior to the start of free agency the Redskins were listed as having a 30/1 chance of taking home the Lombardi Trophy. That tied them for the 12^th-best odds in the NFL.

After the Redskins retained some of their own core players and signed offensive tackles Jeremy Trueblood and Tony Pashos, their odds remained at 30-1 as of yesterday. They are now tied for 11^th. The defending champion Ravens had their odds decrease from 18-1 to 30-1. Yes, in the judgment of the wizards of smart in Vegas the Redskins have just as good a chance of winning the Super Bowl as do the Ravens.

As of yesterday, the Patriots were the favorites at 5/1 followed by the 49ers and Broncos at 6/1. The longest odds belong to the Jaguars and Raiders, both at 200/1. Among the other teams in the NFC East the Giants have the best odds at 18/1. The Cowboys are tied with Washington at 30/1 while the Eagles, despite the most active team in the division in free agency, slipped from 50/1 before free agency to 60/1 after.

In case you missed it

• It looks like Fred Davis or bust at tight end
• The free safety market is diminishing
• That was the weeks that was; a look back at the week and links to all 32 of our Redskins posts

Days until: NFL draft 38; Minicamp 84; Training camp 129

Tandler on Twitter

@rao_afna Extending Williams may give 2013 cap relief but likely bigger numbers in 14-15. Don't sense any desire by either side to do it.

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) March 17, 2013

Need to Know: The week that was--Stability at WR key for RG3

Here is what you need to know on this Sunday, March 17, 39 days before the NFL draft.

That was the week that was

—We heard on Tuesday that Santana Moss took a pay cut in order to stay with the Redskins. That was an actual cut he took and not a restructure where the same money is just moved around in the contract. While a case could have been made to move on from Moss, who will be 34 in June, the team is apparently committed to stability in the receivers to whom Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins will be throwing. We don’t know if RG3 will be ready for the season opener but we do know that his offseason preparation will be severely curtailed. By bringing back all of the 2012 receiving corps, he will not have the burden of needing to get down his timing with new receivers. And for as long as Cousins has the helm, he will be in familiar surroundings in the wide receiver corps.

—It seems likely that the Redskins will eventually bring back Fred Davis to give their young QB’s one more level of familiarity. They also will find an experienced cornerback (who may be very familiar as DeAngelo Hall could come back) and a free safety. That will let them fill in depth in the draft; That’s a good thing since they don’t have a first-round pick so getting even one sure-fire starter will be difficult.

—It looks like the battle for the right tackle job is set. It will be veterans Tony Pashos and Jeremy Trueblood, both signed by the Redskins this week, and 2012 draft pick Tom Compton battling it out. OTA’s, which start in about two months, will probably cut the field down to two and the competition will resume in Richmond in August. While the list of candidates for the job may not exactly be inspiring, remember that the Redskins led the NFL in yards per play and in rushing with Tyler Polumbus at right tackle. It is not a premium position in Mike Shanahan’s offense. They can pay less there so they have more money to spend at other positions.

—Lorenzo Alexander is headed to Arizona. It wasn’t a move he wanted to make but they chose not to step up their final offer to come close enough to the Cardinals’ offer of three years, $9.5 million with $3 million guaranteed. Don’t buy the line that the team couldn’t afford to keep Alexander; they could have restructured another contract to find the extra million or so that would have kept Lorenzo in a Redskins uniform. The Redskins offered what they thought he was worth, not what they could “afford” to pay him. They may be right and they may be proven to be wrong but that is the cold, hard way of looking at it.

In case you missed it

Last week’s links in case you need to catch up with the 32 original Redskins posts from this past week:

Sunday

• Four-year deal for Sundberg
• Lichtensteiger is back, but for how long?
• That was the week that was: Finally, some free agent movement

Monday

• Redskins release Hall
• Allen says lawsuit “never contemplated” in cap case
• OT Pashos signed
• Shanahan pleased with RG3’s progress
• Carriker and Baker will stay, Banks will not
• Eric Winston may be a good fit for the Redskins but money likely not there

Tuesday

• Golston’s back
• So is Rocca
• Is Zo headed for ‘Zona?
• Fletcher is not taking a pay cut
• Redskins free agent one liners
• Moss restructures, will stay with Redskins
• Another “interesting” offseason for the Redskins
• The news was that there was no news

Wednesday

• Zo is headed to ‘Zona
• Hall’s departure leaves a hole
• Meriweather takes one for the team
• Stability has come to Redskins Park
• Playing the waiting game

Thursday

• The Redskins have options at cornerback
• Reskins sign OT Trueblood, bring back LB Kehl
• Davis narrowing down his choices
• Holes need to be filled prior to the draft

Friday

• Point-Counterpoint: Did the Redskins make the right call on Hall?
• Lorenzo Alexander can’t be replaced but Redskins will move on
• NFL will “vigorously” police field conditions

Saturday

• Redskins roster reset
• Options at cornerback are dwindling
• What’s taking so long?

Days until: Offseason program starts 29; NFL draft 39; OTA’s start 59