Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Need to Know: Is RG3 'a lock' for Week 1?

Here is what you need to know on this Tuesday, June 11, 44 days before Redskins start training camp.

Is Griffin a lock to start the season?

When the Redskins held their OTA practice last week, reporters had to park on the grass outside of the gates as the team had a couple of events going on. As I was walking up towards the gates I saw Peter King of Sports Illustrated, who was headed inside also. I went up, introduced myself, and we chatted about the Redskins, Deacon Jones, and his new website.

As we got inside the complex, he said it was nice meeting me and he took a right into the main building at Redskins Park while I headed straight towards the auxiliary building where us media schlubs work.

I don’t think that King went into the building to say hello to Miss B. J. at the front desk (although he probably did do that). He went in to get information.

And here is what he came out with as posted yesterday in his Monday Morning Quarterback column underneath the headline, “RGIII a lock to be ready for opener”:

Griffin had major knee surgery 21 weeks ago. Washington's opener is 13 weeks from tonight. After watching him run sprints around the practice field Thursday, I agree with what Griffin said post-practice: "Without a doubt'' he thinks he'll be practicing with the team when it begins training camp in Richmond in late July ... and, of course, that he'll be ready to go Sept. 9 against the Eagles . . . I get zero sense that the team thinks he won't be ready to play Sept. 9. (emphasis added)

I think that King picked up a fairly good “sense” of the team in the eight hours or so he spent at Redskins Park last Thursday. To be sure, there could always be a setback and, as Mike Shanahan noted last week, the doctors will have the final say in clearing Griffin.

We’re just reading tea leaves at this point but a report like this adds to the belief that it is probable that Griffin will be in training camp early if not at the beginning and it is a near certainty that he will be lining up behind center when the season opens on Monday night, Sept. 9, against the Eagles.

Jenkins learning to trust his surgically repaired knee

Today's schedule

• 10:40--Minicamp workout, open to the media
• 12:30 (approx.)--Players availalbe coming off of the field, Robert Griffin III and Mike Shanahan press conferences.

In case you missed it

• Kerrigan looks to build on last year’s success
• Enemy Intel: Giants missing starters at OTAs
• Cofield feels at home at nose tackle
• Can Orakpo take it to the next level?

Days until: Training camp 44; Preseason opener @ Titans 58; Final cuts 81

Tandler on Twitter

My deepest condolences for everyone who covers the #Patriots. #TebowTime

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) June 10, 2013

Need to Know: Garçon says he could play tomorrow

Here is what you need to know on this Saturday, June 8, 47 days before Redskins start training camp.

Garçon says he could play a game tomorrow

During Michael Jordan’s heyday, a commercial featuring Spike Lee as a character called Mars Blackmon teamed up with Jordan to pitch Nike basketball shoes. The tag line, delivered by Lee as Blackmon came as he watched Jordan perform amazing feats on the court, was “It must be the shoes”.

That line could be revived this year if Pierre Garçon puts up some jaw-dropping highlights during the Redskins’ season. The team’s top receiver missed six games and was ineffective in two others after suffering a toe injury in the first quarter of the first game of the season.

The toe still bothered him after he got back on the field although he did not have surgery to repair it. Instead the prescription was rest and rehab and, apparently, a new pair of shoes.

“I’m getting some special shoes made by Russell so they’re helping me out with that, and continuing to go along with the process of rehabbing”, he told the NFL Network on Thursday.

Garçon did not say what was different about shoes. One would think that there is some support and padding under the second toe in his right foot, where he suffered a torn ligament while catching an 88-yard touchdown pass from Robert Griffin III in the season opener against the Saints.

He sat out the last three quarters of that game and all of the next two. Garçon tried playing in Weeks 4 and 5 but was ineffective, catching just four passes for 44 yards, and returned to the sideline. For a while there was talk of shutting him down for the season.

But he returned after the bye and he was an integral part to the team’s 7-0 finish. Over the season the Redskins were 9-1 with Garçon in the lineup and 1-5 without him.

Garçon said the foot is doing well and that he is well on his way to recovering for an injury he did have surgically repaired, a torn labrum. During OTAs he has been working off to the side, joining some other offensive skill players catching passes from Robert Griffin III.

But he said that him sitting out was more of a precautionary measure. “If there was a game tomorrow, I’d be able to play,” he said.

With the shoes, of course.

Young secondary coming together in OTAs

In case you missed it

•  Experience is Doughty’s edge
• Point-Counterpoint: How much will the offense change?
• Shanahan slams the brakes on RG3 camp talk

Days until: Minicamp starts 3; Training camp 47; Redskins @ Packers 99

Need to Know: 100 days to Redskins' 2013 opener

Here is what you need to know on this Saturday, June 1, 54 days before Redskins start training camp.

100 days to the opener

Just as the calendar flips over to June, we reach a milestone in the countdown to the Redskins’ 2013 season opener. Exactly 100 days from today the Redskins and Eagles will line up under the Monday night lights for the first game of the 2013 season.

A lot has happened in the 146 days since the Seahawks rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat the Redskins in the first round of the playoffs. The most significant event of the offseason came three days after that playoff loss when Robert Griffin III underwent reconstructive surgery on his right knee. That knee will continue to be the most heavily scrutinized joint in all of Western civilization over the next 100 days and beyond.

There is much more to be sorted out between now and Sept. 9. There are about a dozen roster spots up for grabs and that number could grow as we head through the end of the offseason program and into training camp. And once the final 53 is determined, some roles have to be sorted out.

• Do the three defensive backs the Redskins drafted, David Amerson, Phillip Thomas, and Bacarri Rambo, earn a shot at making an immediate impact?
• Is the right tackle spot Tyler Polumbus’ to lose? Or will Tony Pashos, Jeremy Trueblood, and Tom Compton get a true shot at beating him out.
• Will there be a new crew backing up Alfred Morris? It looks like drafted running backs Chris Thompson and Jawan Jamison have legit chances of knocking Evan Royster and Roy Helu Jr. off of the roster.

Here is what is scheduled to take place over the next 100 days:

• June 4-6—Last week of OTA’s (open to media on Thursday June 6)
• June 11-13—Minicamp, attendance for players mandatory, all days open to media
• July 25—Training camp opens in Richmond, VA
• August 8—Preseason opener @ Titans
• August 30—Final roster cut to 53
• September 9—Eagles at Redskins, 7 p.m.

The wounded doing more than just walking

In case you missed it

• Point-Counterpoint: Can Morris do it again?
• Richard Crawford wants to be a playmaker
• Jordan Reed on the road to recovery
• RG3 loses mobility, gains knowledge

Days until: Minicamp starts 10; Training camp 54; Preseason opener @ Titans 68

Need to Know: RG3 lost mobility, gained knowledge

Here is what you need to know on this Friday, May 31, 53 days before Redskins start training camp.

A benefit to being hurt?

Robert Griffin III played in 16 games last year including the playoff loss to the Seahawks. He was fully healthy for most of the first 13. Other than a concussion that cost him about the last quarter of the game against the Falcons, Griffin was fine until late in the fourth quarter of the 13^th game. Haloti Ngata hit him as he went to the ground after scrambling, causing his right knee to whip sideways and straining his lateral collateral ligament.

After sitting out the next game he was back against the Eagles but it was a different RG3. He played the last three games with a heavy brace on his right knee, and the injury and the restraint took away much of the mobility that had helped make him one of the NFL’s brightest new stars.

It appears that Griffin took the situation and made lemonade out of it. He said yesterday that the limited mobility forced him to be a more patient quarterback.

“I was talking to the guys towards the end of last year, being slowed down by the knee kind of slowed the game down for me because I had to slow down and it made me have to get through a lot of my reads,” he said.

So he had to play like Bob Griffin, a typical NFL quarterback who can’t rely on turning on a burst of jaw-dropping speed when he needed to make a play. He had to stay in the pocket and go through his progressions. The dynamic RG3 had left the building.

Griffin said that he plans on putting what he learned to use this year.

“That is what I am looking forward to doing this upcoming season is getting through every single option that I need to get through and while at the same time still being able to use my legs as a weapon,” he said.

It should be noted that Bob Griffin did not play all that well while he was confined to the pocket. Before his injured knee gave way in the fourth quarter of the Seattle game, he completed 35 of 61 passes (57.3%) for 382 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. That’s a passer rating of 84.1, which would have placed him in the middle of the pack among NFL quarterbacks but far below the NFL rookie record 102.4 rating he posted during the regular season.

It should be noted that the injury itself was a major factor—perhaps the biggest factor—in Griffin’s diminished passing stats. But as Griffin noted, staying in the pocket and going through his reads was a different experience for him and he should improve in that area and put it to use this season.

What are 2013 expectations for Morris?

In case you missed it

• RG3 gelling with injured teammates
• Mo Hurt is, well, hurt
• Griffin looks to take rehab to next level
• Forbath looks to improve kickoffs
• Shanahan among highest-paid sports coaches

Days until: Minicamp starts 11; Preseason vs. Steelers 80; Final cuts 91

Need to Know: Redskins' cap tight but manageable

Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, May 29, 57 days before Redskins start training camp.

Cap situation still tight

The Redskins have signed all of their draft choices with record speed, thanks both to the new CBA, which sets very tight permissible parameters for rookie deals, and the fact that they didn’t have a first-round pick. They have now added all of the players they have to add to the payroll so let’s take a look at where they stand in regards to the salary cap.

They are currently about $1.55 million under the cap according to the latest NFLPA figures. Their unadjusted team cap is, of course, $18 million lower than that of 30 other NFL teams and $13 million lower than the Cowboys’ cap due to the penalty imposed by the league.

Right now that $1.55 million figure counts only the top 51 cap numbers on the roster. After the final roster cuts in late August the cap number will include the 53-man roster, any players on injured reserve, and the practice squad.

The practice squad is not a huge expense but when a team is as tight to the cap as the Redskins it is consequential. The minimum salary for eight players the practice squad is $5700 per week. Multiplying that by 17 weeks comes to about $775,000 for the season or half of the remaining cap space.

What happens when there are 53 players counting against the cap instead of 51? If you add the next two highest cap numbers onto the total you add $1.1 million and so, with the practice squad charges they would be over the cap.

But that is static analysis. There are some players with cap numbers that are lower than those of the current top 53 who are going to make the team, players like Alfred Morris, Phillip Thomas, and Jordan Reed. Depending on who the lower-priced players replace, the Redskins could find themselves with more cap room.

For example, if Jawan Jamison, who has a cap number of about $418,000, makes the 53-man roster and Keiland Williams ($630,000) does not, that saves about $212,000 against the cap. There could be six to 10 such “exchanges” of lower-priced players with cap numbers not big enough to count under the Rule of 51 now. In some of them the savings could be greater than the Jamson-Williams swap and in some cases far less. It’s too soon to try to figure out the big picture with any precision but that gives you an idea of how the Redskins could remain under the cap with 53 players on the roster.

However that ends up, the team does not want to go into the season just under the cap. When a player goes on injured reserve—something that is bound to happen at some point—the team continues to pay that player and it must pay a replacement on the active roster. Ideally, a team would like to have somewhere between $3-$5 million set aside for injured players.

The Redskins could decide to create any needed cap room to get that cushion by restructuring a contract or two. Or they might wait and redo some deals during the season if it turns out they need the money.

In any case, the Redskins’ cap situation is tight but manageable. That’s not ideal but given the cap penalty that the league imposed, it’s not a bad spot to be in.

RG3 on Memorial Day

In case you missed it

• Theismann: RG3 is “a more refined quarterback”
• NFL draft moves into May
• RG3 excited about camp in Richmond
• Orakpo low on list of injury concerns

Days until: Minicamp 13; Training camp 57; Preseason Monday night vs. Steelers 82

Need to Know: Defenses will dictate offensive changes

Here is what you need to know on this Friday, May 24, 64 days before Redskins start training camp.

What will the offense look like?

If you want to know what the Redskins’ offense is going to look like next year it looks like you’ll have to ask the 13 defensive coordinators they will be facing.

When asked what the offense would look like this year and whether he would be called upon to run less, Robert Griffin III told the assembled Redskins media, “Going forward I think it’s whatever the defenses want us to do.”

When Mike Shanahan was asked about the shape of things to come, he also said that it was up to the other team.

“We really don’t know what defenses are going to do to us. I can’t tell you for sure,” he said. “You know, you adjust a game plan during the game. Defenses are going to be more ready for different things we did last year and we’ll be able to adjust.”

The number that everyone seems to be concerned with is 120. That is the number of rushing attempts that Griffin had last year.

The thing is that Griffin running the ball did not lead to success for the Redskins. He had nine or more rushing attempts in seven games in 2012. His team’s record in those games was 2-5.

Of course, it’s not that simple. This doesn’t account for planned rushing attempts vs. times he took off scrambling when the play call was a pass. And it doesn’t account for how the threat of Griffin running the ball helped open up things on offense even when he didn’t carry the ball.

The one thing we know is that we won’t know much about the Redskins’ 2013 offense until they line up against the Eagles on Sept. 9. Even if Griffin plays during the preseason—and the chances of him doing that seem better after what we saw yesterday—the offense will be kept under wraps until then.

And those opposing defensive coordinators will keep their plans for stopping what the Redskins ran in 2012 hidden until the games count as well. As you can see from the countdown below, that means we have 108 more days of conversation and speculation before we start to have some answers.

Redskins looking fit

Part of the purpose of the offseason program is to install the offense and defense; the other part is strength and conditioning. It’s too early to tell how well the first aspect is going but the results of the conditioning program were evident yesterday. Several readers here noticed it and Doc Walker and Brian Mitchell did as well.

In case you missed it

• RG3 learned of ACL after surgery
• Morris: Bad taste from end of last year motivating team
• Josh Wilson, Garçon had offseason surgery
• OTA practice report 05.23.13
• Are the principals on the same page?
• RG3’s goal is to start week 1
• How many roster spots are up for grabs?

Days until: Minicamp 18; Preseason opener @ Titans 76; Eagles @ Redskins 108

Tandler on Twitter

Didn't mention this in my report but Hankerson seems to be catching the ball better, doesn't fight with it like he did last year. #Redskins

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) May 24, 2013

Need to Know: Is Orakpo 100 percent healthy?

Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, May 22, 64 days before Redskins start training camp.

Rak ready to roll?

It looks like Brian Orakpo has been given the all clear and he should participate fully in OTA’s and minicamp over the next month.

In Richmond on Monday Bruce Allen was asked about Orakpo and the condition of his left pectoral muscle, which he tore for the second time in less than nine months last September. The general manager said that Orakpo was practicing in the OTA’s that were taking place that that very moment, presumably in the right outside linebacker spot he has occupied since the Redskins drafted him in the first round in 2009.

This dovetails with Orakpo’s pronouncements that he is “100 percent” and that he is “ready to wreak havoc” around the NFC East and the league in general.

Still, some remain skeptical that Orakpo is fully healthy. The uncertainty probably stems from the fact that he seemed to be ready to roll last year after suffering the first torn pec in the 2011 season finale. But after just one game plus a few plays he was done for the season.

Orakpo said that the second tear was not related to the first and that it was just a “freak accident”. He now has had nine months to recover and he appears to be ready to go.

There is no need to tell anyone who has been paying attention how important a big season by Orakpo would be to the Redskins. Even though they brought some new talent into the secondary and are getting Brandon Meriweather back from a knee injury, the unit is likely to remain shaky for at least part of the year. A strong pass rush from Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan will go a long way towards helping the pass defense while the back four gets set.

Theismann confident in RG3’s recovery

In case you missed it

• Expert: RG3’s timetable hard to predict
• Tiger is pulling for RG3’s recovery
• Richmond training camp site taking shape
• Some clarity from RG3?

Days until: Minicamp 20; Training camp 64; Preseason opener @ Titans 78

Need to Know: Penn State QB McGloin in for tryout

Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, May 1, 2 days before the start of rookie minicamp.

McGloin’s a scrapper

At first, former Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin would only say that the had an invitation to try out at and NFL camp but he wouldn’t say which one:

For members of the media who are asking me what rookie camp I will be in, please contact my agent for that information. Thanks.

— Matt McGloin (@McGloinQB11) April 30, 2013

But yesterday he let the cat out of the bag:

Rookie camp with the Washington Redskins Thursday.

— Matt McGloin (@McGloinQB11) April 30, 2013

In Washington the quarterback in for a rookie camp tryout is going to draw more interest than your garden-variety minicamp body. So I set out to find out something about McGloin and I ran into this post in a blog written by a Penn State alum.

In a series of interesting bullet points, he said laid out the good and bad of McGloin.

Among the good:

• He is motivated by the doubts of others.
• He does not lack in confidence
• He beat out several highly recruited quarterbacks over and over again
• He performed very well in a pro-style offense his senior year

Some of the bad:

• He’s short
• His arm is not a Division-IA (okay FBS) arm
• He has a temper and missed a bowl game after getting knocked out in a fight with a teammate during the worst month in his university’s history

Teams usually like to have four quarterbacks for OTA’s and training camp and with Robert Griffin III on the sideline for at least the spring there may be an opportunity for a QB like McGloin to stick around for the summer.

Shanahan talks about the draft

In case you missed it

• Balancing the Redskins’ roster
• Draft review: Jawan Jamison
• RG3 talks about trashing the Cowboys
• Oddsmakers don’t like Redskins

Days until: Rookie minicamp 2; Training camp 85; Redskins @ Cowboys 165

Tandler on Twitter

So Duck Dynasty beat #NFLDraft in ratings. So next year, long hair, beards, and bandanas worn on ESPN set and analysis by Uncle Si.

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) April 30, 2013

Need to Know: Could a QB spur a trade down?

Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, April 24, one day before the NFL draft.

QB on board the ideal scenario?

Our friends and Pro Football Talk did a post on the Redskins’ draft needs. While there was nothing earth shattering reported, there was an interesting thought dropped in the last paragraph.

Oh, for a team to be in love with a quarterback when the Redskins are on the clock in the second round. Here’s a team that could use another couple picks.

The idea is that a team is more likely to overpay for a pick if there is a quarterback that it wants on the board. The thought of Landry Jones or maybe Matt Barkley sliding down the board to where one of them is there when Washington is on the clock is a good one for the team. The Redskins could move down and score some extra selections, more and/or better picks than it would if there was, say, an offensive tackle a team wanted.

It’s a great scenario but what are the chances of this happening? Not very good.

It doesn’t look like any of the 11 teams drafting behind the Redskins in the second round are in need of a quarterback, or at least not so much in need that they would be willing to overpay to move up and get one. That’s because, like the Redskins, they all are playoff teams and such teams usually have their houses in order at the most important position on the field.

If you want to go a little ways into the third round, the top five teams there are the Chiefs, Jaguars, Lions, Raiders, and Eagles. I think we can eliminate any deal that would give the Eagles their quarterback of the future. Kansas City and Detroit are set. Nobody seems to know what Jacksonville and Oakland are up to at quarterback so they would have to be considered potential candidates to move up for a QB. And both of them do have early fourth-round picks, which are in the top 100, to offer as part of a package.

So there are a couple of possibilities but they could either address QB earlier or not at all. There is always a possibility that one of the teams in the latter part of the second round will trade up and that pick could belong to a quarterback-needy team who will want to deal up. A lot can happen and things just could fall in the Redskins’ favor. But the odds seem to be against it.

What positions are in need?

In case you missed it

• CSN draft board: Cornerback
• Redskins draft outlook: Offense
• The sound of silence from Redskins Park

Days until: NFL draft 1; Rookie minicamp 9; Redskins @ Cowboys 172

Tandler on Twitter

.@burgundyblog Sorry, just can't justify bringing in Honey Badger to a team with 6 drug suspensions in last 16 months. Irresponsible.

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) April 23, 2013

Need to Know: Redskins must make the most of early home slate

Here is what you need to know on this Saturday, April 20, 5 days before the NFL draft.

No place like home

In Mike Shanahan’s first two years in Washington, the Redskins won a total of four home games. The futility at home helped create fan unrest and some impatience with the regime of Shanahan.

But things changed last year. Shanahan traded for the rights to draft franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III and, not coincidentally, the team posted a winning record at home.

Going 5-3 at the suddenly friendly confines of FedEx Field was good but if they are going to join the ranks of the NFL elites they will need to do better.

That 5-3 home mark was the second-worst among the 12 NFL playoff teams. Of the 11 teams that went 6-2 or better at home, 10 of them made the playoffs. Only the Bengals, 4-4 at Paul Brown Stadium, made the playoffs with a worse home record than the Redskins.

If the Redskins want to improve their home record in 2013 they would be best advised to get off to a hot start. In the first half of their home slate the Redskins face three teams that posted losing records last year, the 4-12 Eagles and Lions and the 7-9 Chargers. The Bears did go 10-6 but that so impressed the team management that they fired the head coach. The Eagles and Chargers also will have rookie head coaches at the helm.

The meat of the home schedule—or the meat grinder part—comes from the Monday after Thanksgiving on. In a six-day span they face the NFC champion 49ers and the Giants. After that they get a third consecutive home game with the Chiefs coming to town on Dec. 8. That could be a breather but we don’t know how Andy Reid will have his boys playing at that point. Then they finish up with the Cowboys on Dec. 22. The Redskins did go 2-0 at home against those two NFC East rivals last year but they were severely tested in both games.

The obvious formula here would be to sweep the September and October games and split the tough slate later in the year to build a 6-2 home mark. Of course, this is all on paper now and some of the games that look easy now will be far more difficult when they are actually played and vice versa. But looking at it right now, the Redskins need to make hay before the weather turns cold.

Draft for need or best available?

In case you missed it

• Morgan feeling more confident every day
• CSN Draft Board: Inside LB
• Six pack of schedule observations
• More weapons for RG3?

Days until: NFL draft 5; OTA’s 30; Redskins @ Cowboys 176