Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

The Week That Was: Fact or fiction on stopping RG3?

Here is what you need to know on this Sunday, May 12, XX days before XX

That was the week that was

—Around midday on Friday, a series of tweets from Jets writers started to pop up in my timeline. The big event was Geno Smith taking the reigns in a seven on seven drill during rookie minicamp. And they were actually tracking his completions. Against undrafted free agents and tryout players. Without a pass rush. We’re QB crazy here and a year ago we were specifically RG3 crazy. But I don’t recall any Redskins writers tracking his rookie camp seven on seven completion percentage.

—Ryan Clark told ESPN that the Steelers were able to contain Griffin during Pittsburgh’s 27-12 win over the Redskins by hitting him hard. “Our goal was to be physical with him at any opportunity we had, and I think it affected his play,” Clark said. But did it really? As John Keim notes, the Steelers hit Griffin 11 times, only once when he carried on the zone read. That’s the same number of times RG3 was hit against the Saints in the season opener and the results there were considerably different. One could argue that the 11 or 12 Griffin passes the Redskins dropped during the game had more to do with the Steelers’ win than did anything they did to RG3.

—I think that Jordan Reed could prove to be a big steal in this draft but it will be surprising if the Redskins see much out of him in 2013. Playing a hybrid sort of position, Reed faces a steep learning curve. His development track could follow that of a wide receiver and they are generally slow to develop. The Redskins could get a few highlight reel plays out of Reed this year but it will take a year or two before he reaches his full potential.

—One thing needs to be kept in mind when trying to analyze the Redskins’ safety situation—Brandon Meriweather is not an interchangeable safety. He is a strong safety, period. You don’t want him back as your last line of defense. The others may be better at one than at the other but Meriweather ended up getting released by the Patriots and Bears because he struggled when they tried to make him something that he’s not. If his two-plus quarters of action against the Eagles in November are any indication, the Redskins do have a role that suits him and as long as that is where the use him they should be fine.

—Chip Kelly is on record saying that he wants his quarterback to get rid of the ball in 1.5 seconds. In 2012 Michael Vick took an average of 3.07 seconds from the snap to get the ball out of his hands. It will be interesting to see if Vick, who will be 33 next month, can make the adjustment.

In case you missed it

Here are links to all 26 Redskins posts from here over the past seven days.

Sunday 05.05

• Rookie safeties shine in minicamp
• Shanahan has praise for Rambo and Thomas
• The Week that Was: Everybody’s favorite long shots

Monday 05.06

• Draft review: TE Jordan Reed
• Redskins announce training camp schedule
• Is offense more important that defense
• Interchangeable safeties

Tuesday 05.07

• Why a new deal for Orakpo should wait
• Santana Moss has high hopes for 2013
• History suggests the Redskins will have a tough time repeating
• Center Kevin Matthews signs with the Redskins
• Redskins can move on from Tanard Jackson

Wednesday 05.08

• RG3 raises $33K for charity, talks about his knee
• Redskins draft review: David Amerson
• Nixon looking for a fresh start
• Redskins ranked seventh

Thursday 05.09

• Chris Thompson expects to be ready for training camp
• Tweetbag: Mt. Rushmore, Reed’s role, and more
• What is Kevin Matthews’ role?
• We’re halfway through the offseason

Friday 05.10

• Point-Counterpoint: Which rookie safety will shine?
• Point spreads so soon? You bet!
• Rambo: “I can be the best”

Saturday 05.11

• Enemy Intel: Cowboys
• Enemy Intel: Eagles
• No draft picks signed, no problem for Redskins

Need to Know: Why haven't the Redskins signed any draft picks?

Here is what you need to know on this Saturday, May 11, nine days before Redskins OTA’s start.

Signing draft picks

News is beginning to come in that teams are signing their draft picks. Scrolling down Pro Football Talk I see that on Friday the Bills signed four picks, the 49ers inked some late-rounders, the Texans signed four of their draftees, and the Lions have all of their draft class under contract, including Ziggy Ansah, the fifth overall pick in the draft.

So, why haven’t the Redskins signed any of their draft picks? Is it a problem that they have none of their seven new players under contract? Can they afford to sign them?

If you’re a regular reader here you know the answer to the last question. This post I wrote a month ago shows that because of the Rule of 51, the Redskins will need about $200,000 in cap space to sign their draft picks. As of Friday afternoon they had some $1.9 million available so they have plenty of cap space.

The other non-problem is the possibility of a holdout. Since the Redskins didn’t have a first-round pick the chances of prolonged negotiations were slim even under the old system as players picked after the first rarely held out. But the new CBA sets up what is essentially a slotted system.

Last year, Jerel Worthy, the defensive tackle the Packers took with the 51^st overall pick, got a four-year contract worth a total of $3,948, 203 with a signing bonus of $1,311,420. Since the cap went up a couple of percent since then, David Amerson will get slightly more than that. That’s it, take it or go work someplace else.

So with the money to work with and wrangling over dollars and terms a thing of the past, why the delay? Could be a few things. For one thing, the rookies aren’t at Redskins Park. There are 26 teams having their rookie camps this weekend (the Redskins had theirs a week ago) so the draft picks are in town and able to sign the contracts. The Redskins rookies can’t go to the team facility until next week.

Perhaps the players’ agents are too busy dealing with the Lions, Bills, and the others to get to the Redskins just yet. Maybe the legal types on the team’s payroll have yet to look over the contracts.

It could be any number of things, none of which matter. Just as in the past, if a rookie has not signed a contract he can sign still participate in OTA’s and minicamp. It doesn’t make any difference until training camp starts, which is two and a half months from now. You can rest assured that all of the draft picks will have signed their contracts well in advance of July 25.

Also, while we are on the subject, the Redskins won’t have to release anybody when a draft pick signs his contract. Up until a couple of years ago there was an 80-player offseason roster limit and unsigned draft picks did not count towards the limit. If a team was at 80 when a draft pick signed his contract a player would have to be cut to make room for him.

Last year the league went to a 90-player limit and unsigned draft picks count towards the limit. So as of Friday the Redskins had 83 players under contract plus their seven draft picks for a total of 90. The status quo is maintained when a draft pick signs.

Orakpo getting back in shape after injury

(h/t @DCSkins21)

In case you missed it

• Point-Counterpoint: Which rookie safety will shine?
• Point spreads so soon? You bet!
• Rambo: “I can be the best”

Days until: OTA’s 9; Training camp 75; Redskins @ Cowboys 155

Point-Counterpoint: Which rookie DB will shine?

As you may have heard, the Redskins took two rookie safeties in last month’s draft and both of them are considered to be steals. Many figured that fourth-round pick Phillip Thomas would be a solid second-round selection and if Bacarri had been able to stay on the straight and narrow path, he would have gone much sooner than he did as well.

Both of these players could play key roles in 2013. But which one of the safeties is more ready for prime time? And which of them will become a regular in the lineup sooner and have a greater impact this season? Rich Tandler and Tarik El-Bashir debate the safeties in this week’s edition of Point-Counterpoint.

Go here to read the post on CSNwashington.com

Need to know: Point spreads out for first 15 games

Here is what you need to know on this Friday, May 10, 91 days before the Redskins preseason opener against the Titans.

Point spreads already? You bet!

If you should find yourself in Las Vegas you might want to know that you can now bet in any of the Redskins’ games in Weeks 1-16 of the season. The bookies at Cantor Gaming have released point spreads for all of the NFL games in the first 16 weeks of the 2013 season.

In all, the Redskins are favored in eight of the 15 games, are underdogs in six and one, their Week 11 game in Philadelphia, is a pick ‘em.

The Redskins have their biggest spread as favorites, 4.5 points, in home games against the Eagles in Week 1 and vs. Kansas City in Week 14. The bookies think they will have the toughest time at Denver in Week 8 when they are six-point underdogs.

The Broncos are one of three teams who are favorites in 13 games. They are only underdogs when they visit the Patriots. The Seahawks and 49ers are the other two who will give points 13 times; they are only underdogs when they visit each other.

The Cardinals and Jaguars are not favored in any of their games. Around the NFC East, the Giants and Cowboys are favorites six times and the Eagles give points in five games.

The lines for the Redskins’ first 15 games:

• Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins (-4.5)
• Washington Redskins at Green Bay Packers (-4.5)
• Detroit Lions at Washington Redskins (-2.5)
• Washington Redskins (-4) at Oakland Raiders
• Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys (-1.5)
• Chicago Bears at Washington Redskins (-1.5)
• Washington Redskins at Denver Broncos (-6)
• San Diego Chargers at Washington Redskins (-3.5)
• Washington Redskins at Minnesota Vikings (-1.5)
• Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles (PK)
• San Francisco 49ers (-1.5) at Washington Redskins
• New York Giants at Washington Redskins (-1.5)
• Kansas City Chiefs at Washington Redskins (-4.5)
• Washington Redskins at Atlanta Falcons (-3)
• Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins (-2.5)

Go here to see the lines for all NFL games Weeks 1-16.

Redskins offseason on and off the field

In case you missed it

• Chris Thompson expects to be ready for training camp
• Tweetbag: Mt. Rushmore, Reed’s role, and more
• What is Kevin Matthews’ role?
• We’re halfway through the offseason

Days until: Minicamp 32; Training camp 76; Eagles @ Redskins 122

Tweetbag: Mt. Rushmore, Reed's role, and more

Welcome to the Tweebag, where you send questions in 140 characters and I answer them in as many characters as it takes. We have a lot of good ones here so let's get rolling:

@rich_tandlercsn which veteran is most likely to lose his job in camp?

— Steven Gininger (@SGininger) May 8, 2013

I got a few variations of this so I'll take this one first. As far as the starters go, I don't see any of them losing their jobs in training camp. Perhaps at some point during the season Tom Compton could displace Tyler Polumbus at right tackle or Davis Amerson might send Josh Wilson or DeAngelo Hall to the bench. And maybe a Kedric Golston or Bryan Kehl is in jeopardy during camp. But check with me after OTA's, thinngs could change.

@rich_tandlercsn #Skins Mt Rushmore.I got Green,, Baugh, Gibbs, then Sonny.Who do you have?

— MJ_TWISI (@MJ_TWISI) May 8, 2013

You hit mine on the nose there. Sammy Baugh and Joe Gibbs are automatic and Green nearly is. A lot to choose from after that and there are strong cases to be made for John Riggins, Art Monk, and a few others. But Sonny was one of the best pure passers of all time and he was setting NFL passing record in the 60's with no running game and no defense to speak of. The fact that he's still around the team doing the radio broadcasts is a helpful tiebreaker in my view.

@rich_tandlercsn Why did Shanahan have C. Thompson rated above Kenjon Barner when most scouts would have it the other way?

— Micah Nile(@MicahNile) May 8, 2013

This type of question comes up frequently this time of year--just fill in "player Redskins drafted" for Thompson and "player I liked" for Barner. I don't know the specifics here but I do know that "most scouts" do not work for the Redskins and they are not looking for the specific traits, both on and off the field, that the Redskins' scouts are. In this particular case, I would add that since Barner was not drafted until the sixth round, the marketplace, as represented by the 32 teams drafting, has judged Thompson (a 5th-round pick) to be a better prospect than Barner. 

@rich_tandlercsn with the addition of Amerson.. What does the future hold for Minnifield and Crawford?

— ⚡Rémy LeBeau⚡ (@Lil_Tem) May 8, 2013

Right now, I'd say it looks like Richard Crawford is the dime cornerback and possibly inactive most game days and Chase Minnifield is headed to the practice squad. That, of course, will be subject to change as they will compete during OTA's and in training camp. The deciding factor may be the fact that Minnifield has practice squad eligibility and Crawford does not.

@rich_tandlercsn What are the rules regarding poaching a player off another teams practice squad?

— Greg Barackman (@Flybear2Greg) May 8, 2013

It's pretty simple, really. A team can sign another team's practice squad player as long as it is at least six days prior to the next game of the team losing the player. And the signing team must keep the player for at least three weeks (alternately, they can remove the player from the roster but they must pay hiim for a minimum of three weeks).

@rich_tandlercsn Reed's (TE) flexibility might mean a lot of playing time.Odds he has the most TE receptions?

— Derek Childress (@Poker_Donkey) May 8, 2013

I would suggest tapping the brakes on Reed being a big factor in 2013. He has a lot to learn about the NFL and the Redskins have a lot to learn about what he can do. I'm looking at him as though he is a rookie wide receiver and they typically take time to develop due to the complexity of the job. This isn't to say that Reed will have no impact this year, just that I wold look at him contributing more later in the year. Fred Davis should be productive all year long and is likely to be the TE receptions leader for the year.

@rich_tandlercsn who needs to step up the most in the interior of the dline? Any fresh faces?

— Evan (@Redskins_FTW) May 8, 2013

I think Jarvis Jenkins needs to step up some this year. A defensive end in a 3-4 is not supposed to rack up a bunch of sacks but a 16-game starter should have more than zero. It remains to be seen what role Adam Carriker will play; we will not see him until training camp as he had a setback in his injury rehab.

@rich_tandlercsn Why havent Skins brought in Dominick Reyes for a look?

— WDH (@wdhart3) May 9, 2013

Perhaps, like the other 31 teams in the NFL, they have decided that he is not an NFL-caliber player. I'm not sure why Reyes has developed some sort of reputation as a hidden gem but no NFL team has deemed him worth of one of the 2880 roster spots available around the league. That's good enough for me.

@rich_tandlercsn Likely Opening Day depth chart, cuts at Right Tackle among Compton, Polumbus, Pashos, Trueblood, Nixon? #RedskinsTalk

— taradavi (@d_taradavi) May 9, 2013

I wrote posts about the depth charts last week (offense, defense). I think Pashos and Nixon are the long shots to make it at right tackle. I wrote about Nixon yesterday and I have him ticketed for the practice squad. I don't think Polumbus is going anywhere, we'll have to see if there are two roster spots for Compton and Trueblood or if they will compete for one job.

@rich_tandlercsn Is Bernstein eligible for practice squad?Injury prevented him from getting credit for a full season right?

— Rett Copple (@RettCopple) May 9, 2013

Yes, just like Minnifield, Bernstine qualifies for the practice squad since he has not been on an active roster for six or more games. His 2012 season ended after one game when he was injured against the Saints. 

@rich_tandlercsn Q: will chris thompson or someone else get chance to return punts and kos? not a te again i hope.coach have any favs ?

— Paul S (@theoxtalls) May 9, 2013

It will be interesting to see how things shake out in the return game. If healthy, you have to think that Thompson does have a shot at punts. Although you don't seem to like the prospect of Paul returning kickoffs again I wouldn't rule it out. They will do some special teams during OTA's and minicamp, we'll see who is back there on returns and let everyone know.

Need to Know: We're halfway through the offseason

Here is what you need to know on this Thursday, May 9, 33 days before the start of Redskins minicamp.

Offseason at its halfway point

We’ve made it halfway.

We are finally at the midpoint of the Redskins’ offseason. The playoff loss to the Seahawks happened 123 days ago. The Monday night season opener is 123 days from today.

What has happened since the Redskins’ last game?

• Three days after the game, Robert Griffin III underwent reconstructive surgery to repair an injury to his right knee that he suffered during that playoff game.
• Griffin wins the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award and walks up to the stage to accept it, three and a half weeks after having surgery.
• The Redskins try to persuade the NFL to lower or remove the $18 million salary cap penalty they were hit with a year earlier. Ultimately the efforts are unsuccessful and the Redskins had to deal with a severely reduced spending cap for the second year in a row.
• They went on a free agency signing binge but, unlike years past, it was mostly their own players—Darrel Young, Logan Paulsen, Kory Lichtensteiger, among others. They had to release DeAngelo Hall due to the salary cap and they were unable to re-sign Lorenzo Alexander.
• After Fred Davis explored free agency for a few weeks, he came back to the Redskins on a one-year deal. Hall also returned for a considerably lower salary. In all, 21 of the Redskins 22 starters from 2012 are under contract for this coming season.
• In the draft, the Redskins get three defensive backs plus some potential weapons for the offense. They did not have a first-round pick due to the trade for Robert Griffin III.

Here is what will happen between now and the Sept. 9 opener:

• Offseason workouts continue over the next week and a half. Organized Team Activities (OTA’s) start on May 20. Starting then they can run plays offense vs. defense under the watchful eye of the coaching staff.
• The OTA’s end with minicamp, which runs June 10-13. That is the only mandatory phase of the offseason program.
• Training camp starts in Richmond on July 25^th. Two and a half weeks of camp, four preseason games, the roster cut down to 53 and we are there.

Four months is a long time to wait. But we’re over the hump and it’s downhill from here.

A look at rookie minicamp

In case you missed it

• RG3 raises $33K for charity, talks about his knee
• Redskins draft review: David Amerson
• Nixon looking for a fresh start
• Redskins ranked seventh

Days until: Minicamp 33; Training camp 77; Eagles @ Redskins 123

Why an Orakpo extension should wait

Brian Orakpo spoke to the media prior to teeing off in his charity golf tournament on Monday and he said that all was well with the rehab of the pectoral muscle he tore last September.

He said that he is 100 percent and that he tore a different area of the pec than he tore in January of 2012. That injury happened in the last game of the 2011 season so he only missed only about a half of action but he had to spend his offseason in rehab.

Orakpo is in the last year of the five-year contract he signed after the Redskins made him the 13^th pick in the 2009 draft. He made it clear he’s like to remain in Washington well beyond 2013.

“That’s something that’s on the back of my mind right now. It’s hard to discuss,” he said. “We know what’s at stake, coaches know what I mean to this organization. That shouldn’t be a problem once it’s all said and done.”

“I would love to be a Redskin for life,” he added.

Read the rest of this post on CSNwashington.com

Need to Know: Rotoworld ranks Redskins seventh

Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, May 8, 34 days before the start of Redskins minicamp.

Redskins seventh-best

During the summer, Redskins fans are used to opening up preseason publications and hitting websites and seeing dire prediction for the team’s fate during the upcoming season.

They may have to get used to something different this season if some early analysis holds up.

The ESPN post-draft power poll ranked the Redskins 11^th in the NFL. That’s not great but it’s not in the mid-20’s like we have been seeing most years. Plus it’s in playoff position (12 teams make the playoffs) and it’s the best ranking in the division (the Giants are 14, the Cowboys 18^th, and the Eagles are 26^th.

But there are even higher opinions of the Redskins out there. Evan Silva of our corporate cousins at Rotoworld ranked each team’s lineup, defined as each one’s first-string offense and defense. And the Redskins were ranked seventh.

The ranking assumes that the right knee of Robert Griffin III will be sound by Week 1 or very soon after that. This seems to be the growing conventional wisdom, although it remains far from a certainty.

Silva is particularly impressed by the potential for Pierre Garçon to have a breakout season. He notes that Garçon plays the X receiver spot, a position manned by Andre Johnson under Kyle Shanahan in Houston and by Brandon Marshall, Rod Smith, and Javon Walker under Mike Shanahan when he coached the Broncos. All of those receivers had 100-catch and/or 1000-yard seasons in the Shanahan offense.

The hope on defense is that the pass rush, bolstered by the return of Brian Orakpo, will help compensate for what Silva calls “one of the shakiest back fours in football”. That could change if the rookies gel quickly but until that happens the Redskins’ secondary is suspect.

Again, the Redskins are ranked higher than any other NFC East team (Giants 11^th, Cowboys 21^st, Eagles 25^th).

Rak is ready to go

In case you missed it

• Why a new deal for Orakpo should wait
• Santana Moss has high hopes for 2013
• History suggests the Redskins will have a tough time repeating
• Center Kevin Matthews signs with the Redskins
• Redskins can move on from Tanard Jackson

Days until: OTA’s 12; Minicamp 34; Eagles @ Redskins 124

History say Redskins will have a difficult time repeating in NFC East

I have, on occasion, suggested on Twitter and in other media that the Redskins are not a slam-dunk pick to repeat their NFC East title in 2013. An on those occasions I take some heat for suggesting that the Redskins are not yet at the point where they can be handed anything before the season starts.

There are two historical trends that work against the Redskins repeating this year. One is fairly recent. In the last four years, all four NFC East teams have won the division. The round robin started with the Cowboys winning the division in 2009. The next year it was the Eagles, then the Giants and finally the Redskins last year.

The last team to repeat was the Eagles, who won four straight from 2001-2004. Since then, NFC East division titlists have been one and done.

The other trend stretches back for as long as the team has been in Washington. In 1943, the Redskins successfully defended their 1942 NFL Eastern Conference title. They took the NFC East back to back in 1983-1984.

And those are the only times in the history of the Washington Redskins that they won their division two years in a row.

The response to these historical facts is likely to be something along the lines of “but the Redskins have RG3 now.” And that also is a fact. None of current Redskins were on any of those teams that failed to repeat.

But when something has happened just twice in the last 70+ years I have a difficult time saying that it’s automatic that it will happen this time. And the fact that the divison seems to be balanced, with a different team jumping up to take the title in each of the last 10 years gives the long-term trend some more recent support. 

Need to Know: Redskins can move on from Tanard Jackson

Here is what you need to know on this Tuesday, May 7, 35 days before the start of Redskins minicamp.

Not counting on Tanard

Are the Redskins putting Tanard Jackson in the rear view mirror?

A few weeks ago it appeared that the suspended safety might have a role with the 2013 Redskins. While that is still possible that he plays some for the Redskins this coming season, the actions and words of the team indicate that they are not counting on him.

Jackson is serving an indefinite suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. It is his third suspension for drugs.

The big action was, of course, drafting Phillip Thomas and Bacarri Rambo last week. While it is always risky to count on a rookie being ready to start, especially fourth- and sixth-round picks like Thomas and Rambo were, respectively, the game does not appear to be too big for either player.

Shanahan hinted that the Redskins don’t have Jackson in their plans when asked about the safety situation after the conclusion of the team’s rookie camp on Sunday. He did mention that they had planned on Jackson starting last season but his name did not come up when discussing the picture for 2013.

There was some concern prior to the draft that since the team did not have a starting free safety and that none of the team’s very limited free agency resources were being devoted to solving the problem, they may have had to rely on Jackson out of necessity.

That would be a very risky proposition. The one-year anniversary of Jackson’s suspension is Aug. 31 but that is a Saturday, Monday is Labor Day so the earliest the NFL could consider reinstating him would be Sept. 3. That is just six days prior to the Redskins’ season opener. Before that he can't participate in OTA's or training camp; he can't have any communication with the team at all. 

If the Redskins are interested in bringing back Jackson they would get a roster exemption of a few weeks. They could then work him out and see if they think he’s better than what they have on their roster at the time.

They are likely to carry five safeties into the season including Brandon Meriweather, Thomas, Rambo, Reed Doughty and one from the group of Jordan Pugh, DeJon Gomes, and Jordan Bernstine. One of them would have to be cut to make room for Jackson.

Jackson will be 28 by the time the season starts. Since the end of the 2009 season he will have played in a total of 12 games. The rest have been lost to injury or suspension. He will get what amounts to a two-week tryout. If he is in shape and proves to be better than someone they have on the roster he might get a shot.

If the Redskins give him that shot they will have to wonder if he will stay on the straight and narrow for the entire season. He already has three strikes in the program; what are the chances that he will get a fourth at some point? The absolute worst thing that could happen to the Redskins would be for them to bring Jackson back, see him establish a key role in the defense and then have him ripped out of the lineup due to another drug-related issue.

But the important thing is that after acquiring Rambo and Thomas they will have the ability to move on from Jackson if they think that is the best option—if one can say that you can “move on” from a player who never played a down for you.

Rookies look forward to competition

In case you missed it

• Draft review: TE Jordan Reed
• Redskins announce training camp schedule
• Is offense more important that defense
• Interchangeable safeties

Days until: OTA’s 13; Training camp 79; Preseason opener @ Titans 93

Tandler on Twitter

"The sad truth about pre-draft visits: They are a completely, utterly useless indicator of who a team will draft." sportsonearth.com/article/467182…

— Rich Tandler (@Rich_TandlerCSN) May 6, 2013