Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

RT's 5: Redskins' decision on Flynn validated by Dolphins

Rich Tandler’s five thoughts possibly related to the Washington Redskins and other matters.

5. The key to the free agent class the Redskins have assembled thus far is Pierre Garçon. He is the only one signed for longer than two years and he was by far the most expensive. I don’t think he needs to be a No. 1 receiver, whatever that is, to make the deal worthwhile. He does need to be a very productive receiver, developing the same rapport with Robert Griffin III that the quarterback had with Kendall Wright at Baylor.

4. I may or may not do a full post on this juvenile Fox Sports article where columnist tries to tell RG3 to pull an Eli Manning and say he won’t play for the Redskins. But a couple of quick points need to be made. First, the Redskins are hardly the worst franchise in the NFL. That’s been part of their problem, they haven’t gotten to awful and thus they have to expend extra draft picks to move up to get a player like Griffin. And the writer says that the Redskins need a running game. She must not have been paying attention in Weeks 11-16 when rookie Roy Helu ran for over 100 yards three times and then fellow first-year player Evan Royster cracked the century mark in two games. And that was behind a makeshift offensive line.

3. By all indications the Redskins’ short list for their quarterback search never did include Matt Flynn. He was eliminated early in the evaluation process. It is telling that he never seemed to be a priority for the man who knew his abilities inside and out. Joe Philbin took over as the Dolphins’ head coach after being the Packers’ offensive coordinator the whole time Flynn was in Green Bay. After Peyton Manning eliminated Miami as a potential land spot, the Dolphins made a very tepid attempt to land Flynn. The reportedly made him a lowball offer and quickly moved on to talking to Alex Smith once Flynn started to lean towards Seattle. Certainly if Philbin thought that Aaron Rodgers’ backup was the answer he would have moved heaven and earth to make sure that Flynn was his quarterback. He didn’t.

2. Back to Garçon, when you hear that the Redskins guaranteed him $21 million that is nonsense. He got an $11 million signing bonus and that and his $2.1 million salary for this year are fully guaranteed. The other $8 million or so is guaranteed only for injury not skill. Agents like to get these sort-of guarantees put into contracts and then feed them to reporters to make them look better. But by the time the details come out and the numbers are corrected everyone has moved on so the original, inflated guaranteed dollars figure is what sticks.

1. To reply to a frequently asked question, it seems doubtful that any resolution that the Redskins and Cowboys might get to a challenge of the salary cap penalties slapped on them by the NFL will help them this year. It is possible that they could go out today and get a quick injunction to void the subtraction of cap dollars. But it would be foolish of them to go out and spend the money as any quick decision can be overturned. The best the teams can hope for is a decision that would let them get the cap money back and let them spread it over 2013 and 2014. But there is no guarantee that they would prevail in court despite the NFL’s dismal track record in court. As anyone who has been paying attention to the way of the world knows, something that is unfair is not necessarily illegal.

38 days until the NFL draft; 174 days until the first Sunday of the NFL season

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. 

 

RT's 5: Wallace to Redskins not happening

After a post-Super Bowl hiatus, the return of Rich Tandler’s five thoughts possibly related to the Washington Redskins and other matters.

5. The news that the Steelers are going to give wide receiver Mike Wallace a restricted free agent tender rather than the franchise tag should be of zero interest to anyone who follows the Redskins. If they made an offer Wallace and Pittsburgh declined to match it, they would have to give up the sixth pick in the draft as compensation. It makes no sense at all to give up that pick and a contract in the neighborhood of $8 million per year for Wallace, who is a very good receiver but not a great one. It’s just not going to happen.

4. About a week ago, I wrote that any deal for the right to pick Robert Griffin III would take place in the week or so before the draft and not much sooner. However, it does seem like the Rams want to get this done with or at least they are willing to complete a deal sooner rather than later. Although it might not happen soon enough for the legion of Redskins who are waiting impatiently to see what their team is going to do at quarterback, it’s looking now like a deal could interrupt March Madness.

3. After a year of moping about his contract situation, it looks like DeSean Jackson is doing an about face after the Eagles slapped him with franchise tag. “I am honored that the Eagles organization perceives me as a franchise player,” said Jackson. Reports are that he will sign the tender as soon as possible, thereby guaranteeing him a salary of $9.4 million for 2012. A happy, productive DeSean Jackson in Philadelphia is not good news for the Redskins or any of the other teams on the Eagles’ schedule.  

2. If LaRon Landry ends up hitting the free agent market, the Redskins won’t be able to bring in Tyvon Branch of the Raiders to replace him. Oakland has given Branch, who would have been the best strong safety on the free agent market, the franchise tag. He’s a very good player but he probably isn’t quite what the Redskins are looking for. They need takeaways and in four years in the league Branch has three interceptions and three forced fumbles.

1. Although all of the quarterback talk has shifted to RG3, decision day for Peyton Manning is three days away. Don’t be surprised if the Redskins bring him in for a look assuming that the Colts release him by March 5 rather than paying him a $28 million option bonus. Manning in DC is still a possibility but not a major one. I handicap the Redskins QB in ‘12 field now as Griffin as the most likely followed by Ryan Tannehill and Manning and Brandon Weeden tied for third.

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. 

 

RT's 5: Questionable play call on Bradshaw TD

Rich Tandler’s 5 things possibly related to the Washington Redskins and other matters.

5. Let’s start off this Super Bowl heavy edition of The 5 with a look at Ahmad Bradshaw’s “gaffe”. I get that he should not have scored a touchdown in the late going to allow the Giants to milk the clock. But I’m not sure why he was put in that position to begin with. The Giants were at the six yard line; they didn’t need to get any closer to have a chippie field goal. After getting the first down on the pass to Hakeem Nicks why not just go into victory formation, have Eli Manning work the ball into the middle of the field, and then kick the field goal. Instead you’re asking your running back to do something that’s against every fiber of his being, stop short of the goal line.

4. It would be dumb to say that the Giants were lucky to win but they did have some good fortune go their way even before they went to Indianapolis. This New York Times article outlines five key moments where things went their way during the season and helped them win games. One loss along the way, in the regular season or the playoffs, and the Giants are watching the Super Bowl on TV like the rest of us. And yesterday, the Giants put the ball on the ground three times. They recovered two of the fumbles and a Patriots recovery of the first fumble was negated by a penalty. There also was the Wes Welker drop with four minutes left. The Giants were just spectators on that play like the rest of us. The thing is, you have to be in a position to take advantage of those breaks. The Giants were good enough to cash in on their good fortune.

3. Hitting on the pop culture aspects of the game, while I appreciated the production aspects of the halftime show—given that the guidelines are the excess if best—I have now officially passed the target age for these extravaganzas. Just like with the Black Eyed Peas last year I didn’t know a single song that Madonna sang and the only “star” who took the stage with her that I recognized was Cee Lo Green. The highlights of a mediocre batch of commercials were from car companies, the dog working his way into shape to be able to chase the VW and Clint Eastwood’s “it’s halftime in America” speech for Chrysler. Most of them, however, were the equivalent of putting $3.5 million into a pile and throwing match on it. Great National Anthem by Kelly Clarkson, she made it about the song and not about herself.

2.  Some Redskins quarterback news popped up on Super Sunday and of course we’ll get into it in more depth on it in the days and weeks to come. But in preparation, I would suggest that you set aside what ESPN had to say about where the Redskins are headed and read what my colleague Ryan O’Halloran had to say about it. Nothing against the national folks but those of us who follow the team full time 365 days a year have a better grasp on the situation.

1. On a personal note, this Super Bowl marks the end of my first full season of covering the Redskins and the NFL as a full-time job for CSN Washington. I’d go back and count how many articles I’ve written in that year but that would take time away from moving forward and cranking out more great content this year. We don’t stop now; in fact, we barely even slow down. Keep a browser tab open right here all offseason as we will have multiple Redskins posts seven days a week.

Days until: NFL Combine 17; NFL free agency 36; NFL Draft 80; Start of NFL season 216

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. 

 

RT's 5: Another cliche bites the dust

Rich Tandler’s five thoughts possibly related to the Washington Redskins and other matters.

5. I’m hearing a lot of people who I normally think are smart when it comes to football talking about revenge being a factor in today’s Super Bowl. These folks don’t seem to realize that only seven players who will suit up for New England today were member of the team that had its perfect season ruined by the Giants four years ago. Yes, one of them is Tom Brady. But do you really think that he is preparing any harder or will be any more motivated than he would be if he were facing the Packers or 49ers today? The Patriots may win, but it won’t be because of a dish best served cold.

4. After Cris Carter was again left out of the Hall of Fame despite a career that clearly warrants his inclusion, there has been the usual talk of revamping the selection process. I’m not sure what that would accomplish. Some advocate adding players and/or coaches to the selection process and that’s fine but don’t think that they will not carry some personal biases into the process just like some say that the writers do. I do think that the process should be more transparent and that how the selectors voted should be made public. Baseball’s Hall of Fame voters have to stand behind their votes and that hasn’t led to any grave consequences.

3. Back to the Super Bowl, I posted my prediction on Friday and I haven’t seen or heard anything in the past 48 hours that would change my mind. The Patriots are going to have a very tough time covering Victor Cruz in the slot. Combine him with Hakeem Nicks and you have a tough task for a weak New England secondary. And while Brady’s quick release will help him deal with the Giants’ pass rush he still will get knocked around. It will be close but the Giants will prevail. Giants 24, Patriots 20.

2. The old cliché that says that the healthiest teams will be the ones in the Super Bowl took another hit this year. Last year, the Packers won it all despite having 14 players on injured reserve. This year, the Giants enter the big game also carrying 14 in IR. Not all of them would have started and some might not have made the team but that’s still a pretty big number. On top of that, Justin Tuck missed four games, Osi Umenyiora missed seven, and Ahmad Bradshaw missed four and was limited in others. So it’s not really who’s healthy, it’s who can adjust to losing players to injury. Think about that before you advocate the Redskins trading away “excess” players.

1. I don’t normally wrap up this article with a promotional message but I do want to mention the Super Bowl chat I’ll be hosting during the game. Of course we’ll talk about the game but everything from the commercials to the halftime show to the draft and free agency will be fair game for conversation. We’ll get rolling at about 6:00 and keep it rolling until it’s done. So get your wings, nachos, and beverage of choice and come right here to join in the fun.

Days until: NFL free agency 37; NFL draft 81; Start of 2012 NFL season 217

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

 

RT's 5: Atogwe return seems likely

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

5. There is a lot of talk that the Redskins will part ways with safety Oshiomogho Atogwe. I’m not buying it. True, they did not get a lot out of him last year as he was often injured and ineffective. However, they did give him a $7 million roster bonus last year and $8 million in total compensation. They did not give him that money with the intention of tossing him aside after one year of struggles.

4. While the Redskins could do worse than having Will Montgomery at center, they could do better, too. Chris Myers represented the Texans in the Pro Bowl and he is easily the best center who will be a free agent in March. On top of that, he is perfect in the zone-blocking scheme, he was drafted by Mike Shanahan in Denver and he played for Kyle Shanahan when he was Houston’s offensive coordinator. The only monkey wrench in this scenario is that Myers will be 31 before Week 2 next year. That may knock him off of the Redskins’ radar but he’s still a name to keep in mind as the March 13 start of free agency approaches.

3. We did a poll recently and we found that a solid majority of you think that Roy Helu should be the Redskins’ starting running back in 2012. That seems like a sound decision based on the fact that he was the team’s leading rusher last year with 640 yards and a 4.2 average. But there are legitimate durability concerns. He was inactive in the 15^th game of the season against the Vikings and had only six touches in the season finale in Philadelphia due to knee and toe injuries. A look at his college scouting reports reveals that this was not an aberration. He either missed time or was limited in games due to injuries to his ankle, hamstring, and shoulder. The Redskins need to figure out how to limit his workload so that he will last the season.

2. I had a good Twitter discussion yesterday with a reader who favored signing Packers quarterback Matt Flynn over trading up for Robert Griffin III. While he liked Griffin’s ability, one of his concerns was his size and durability. I pointed out to him that both Flynn is listed at 6-2 and 228 pounds while Griffin is 6-2 and 220. While Griffin’s exact height and weight will be measured at the combine, it is safe to say that the two are in the same ballpark in physical stature. Griffin suffered a torn ACL in 2009 and Flynn has had some issues with his shoulder. While there are many legitimate reasons to argue for signing the veteran Flynn rather than drafting Griffin, concerns about size and injury should not be among them as the two are about equal there.

1. The Redskins’ second highest paid player is DeAngelo Hall and Josh Wilson will draw the fifth highest salary on the team in 2012. Given that, can the Redskins justify spending either major free agent dollars or a high draft pick on a cornerback? It is something that needs to be seriously considered given the presence in the division of such receivers as the Giants’ Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz, Dallas’ Dez Bryant and Miles Austin and the Eagles’ Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson, if the latter re-signs with Philadelphia.

Days until: NFL free agency 42; NFL draft 86; start of NFL season 222

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.

 

RT's 5: Making the smart move

 

Rich Tandler’s five thoughts possibly related to the Washington Redskins and other matters.

5. It looked like there was going to be an energy shortage when linebackers coach Lou Spanos left to become UCLA’s defensive coordinator. He was highly noticeable at practice enthusiastically and sometime profanely instructing his players. But it looks like the gap will be filled by new defensive backs coach Raheem Morris. At the Senior Bowl he has been seen not only loudly directing his players but delivering high fives and shoulder bumps when they make plays. Morris may not be around for long but it looks like it will be fun to have him while he’s here.

4. The contingent of Redskins fans who want Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn to come to the Redskins were hyperventilating when the Dolphins named Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin as their new head coach. Miami is in need of a quarterback and the assumption is that Flynn will automatically follow Philbin to South Beach. I’m not so sure about that. First, the assumption is that Flynn likes working with Philbin. That may or may not be so. Also, and most importantly, money, not loyalty to an individual, will be the primary driver in where Flynn goes. This is likely to be his one shot at a big contract and it is likely that he will go to whatever team will maximize the dollars.

3. There is a lot of debate as to whether or not the Redskins should trade multiple draft picks to move up and take Robert Griffin III. To me, it’s not making one type of move (trading picks) or another (spending money) to solve a longstanding problem (lack of a franchise quarterback). It’s about making the smart move. The Giants usually hold on to their draft picks. But in 2004, the smart move was to trade away their 2005 first-round pick for as part of a deal for the rights to Eli Manning. That worked out for them. It is possible for the smart move to be trading away picks to get your man, especially if you need a quarterback. They saw the opportunity and grabbed it. Something similar may be the right move for the Redskins and it might not be, but being smart and not stuck in a rigid mode of thinking is the key.

2. Devin Thomas said that the Giants knew that 49ers backup kick returner and NFC title game goat Kyle Williams had a history of sustaining concussions and they went after him. "We were just like, ‘We gotta put a hit on that guy,’” Thomas said. Thomas said that Williams “looked kind of dazed” after one hit and that this may have led to Williams having trouble handling the ball later in the game. I have never heard of this taking place before but that does mean it is unprecedented or even uncommon. Still, I think that an ethical line is being crossed here. If you target a player’s injured shoulder or knee that could cause serious injury but medical technology can repair or replace those joints. Once your brain is gone from too many concussions, it’s gone.

1. I looked at the Redskins highest salaries for 2012 and Trent Williams tops the list at $11 million. That makes him the second highest-paid tackle in the league behind Miami’s Jake Long, who will make $11.2 million. It’s an odd contract in that Williams is slated to make “only” $5 million next year. Usually salaries don’t go down this much from year to year. If you take his 2012-2013 average of $8 million per year, that puts him in the neighborhood of Levi Brown and Jordan Gross, who are sixth and seventh on the ’12 tackle money list. Williams was starting to play well before his suspension and if he keeps up that level of play (and, obviously, stays out of trouble) he will be a good value at that cost.

Days until: NFL free agency 46; NFL draft 90; start of 2012 NFL season 226

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

 

RT's 5: Thomas to Super Bowl, Shanahan to Senior Bowl

 

 

Rich Tandler's five thoughts possibly related to the Washington Redskins and other matters. 

5. What a way to lose. That could apply to either of Sunday’s games but let’s go chronologically here. The Ravens had their chances right up until the end but, well, they didn’t get it done. First, veteran receiver Lee Evans has to put away that pass in the end zone. And Billy Cundiff has to make a 32.yard field goal. Yes, the Patriots won but Tom Brady had a very pedestrian day and he was outplayed by the beleaguered Joe Flacco. At times I was wondering if Flacco should have been calling out Ed Reed to get the defense to make a stop. In the end, though, holding the Patriots to 23 points was a good enough effort to get to the Super Bowl.

4. Eli Manning is getting a lot of kudos and I suppose he deserves some of it. He was getting smacked around pretty hard by the Niners defense and he kept getting back up and pitching. But he averaged a pathetic 5.4 yards per attempt. And if poor, sad, sick returner Kyle Wi had not give Eli a short field by fumbling punts deep in 49ers territory not once but twice the Giants would have been shut out in the second half and overtime. He and Brady will both need to up their games if we’re going to have a compelling Super Bowl. That the two quarterbacks were credited with “wins” yesterday shows just how useless that concept is.

3. No matter what the outcome of the NFC game, there was going to be one ex-Redskin that Mike Shanahan let go playing in the Super Bowl. The 49ers Carlos Rogers did not look good in the first half. It’s hard to say who got burned without knowing the nuances of the coverage but as Victor Cruz caught 10 first-half passes for 142 yards, Rogers sure did seem to be in futile pursuit a lot. New York’s Devin Thomas recovered both of Williams’ fumbles setting up a touchdown and the winning field goal. Some people on Twitter were suggesting that this shows that Shanahan made a mistake when he cut the 2008 second-round pick during the 2010 season. But with Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, and Mario Manningham, the Giants can afford to keep an unproductive wide receiver (Thomas had three catches for 43 yards all year) as a punt coverage gunner. The Redskins don’t have that luxury.

2. Senior Bowl practices start today and will be televised on the NFL Network. Shanahan and crew will be coaching the South team. Ryan O’Halloran is covering that for CSN Washington, be sure to check out his coverage.

1. And the NFL Combine kicks off one month from today in Indianapolis. The Redskins will sift through the prospects in hopes of making the team playing in January rather than discussing draft prospects in January.

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

RT's 5: Haz, Kyle likely to fill in at Senior Bowl

Rich Tandler's five thoughts possibly related to the Washington Redskins and other matters:

5. Although the Patriots are one of the best teams in the NFL, their path to the AFC title game has been highly suspect. They went the whole year, including the playoffs, without beating a team that finished with a winning record. Their defense ranked 31^st in the NFL. They are a one-trick pony although that trick is pretty impressive with Brady throwing to Gronkowski and Hernandez and Welker. The Ravens have played nine games against teams that finished with a winning record and they went 8-1. Their offense is middle of the road but they were 15^th in yards and 12^th in points. That ranking is due at least in part to the difficult slate they faced. I’m going to say that Baltimore finds a way to contain Gronk and heads to Indianapolis (presumably not in Mayflower moving trucks). Ravens 24, Patriots 21

4. They’re saying that the Giants are the hot team in the playoffs but the last time I checked the 49ers also have won four in a row. While New York’s defensive front four may be the single strongest unit in the game, I’d take the Niners’ defense from front to back in a heartbeat. I’m certainly on the offense can win championships bandwagon but I think that the 49ers have enough offense and the better defense and that will give them the win today. 49ers 19, Giants 14

3. Earlier this week in this space I mentioned that there were some issues with 49ers fans crossing the line from good-natured ribbing of Saints fans at last week’s playoff game at Candlestick Park to harassment via screamed threats and obscenities. The police have come up with a clever plan to do something about it. They will have undercover cops dressed as Giants fans and they will be slapping the cuffs on Niners fans who cross the line. They also will have additional security cameras and security in the stands. Kudos to the San Francisco police for responding to what happened last week.  

2. It appears that the Redskins coaching staff will go to the Senior Bowl short a couple of coaches but it probably won’t be a problem. I figure that former Bills linebacker Jim Haslett will have no problem coaching the LB’s in place of Lou Spanos, who has left to become UCLA’s defensive coordinator. And Kyle Shanahan, who played wide receiver at Texas, will fill in for the departed Keenan McCardell coaching the receivers. There isn’t a lot to coordinate in these all-star games; the rules and short preparation time keep the schemes very vanilla on both sides of the ball.

1. The NFL is holding voting for its play of the year. One of the 20 plays nominated is Roy Helu hurdling a hapless Seahawk on the way to a 28-yard touchdown run. And it’s OK if you don’t want to be a homer and you want to vote for, say, the Bengals’ Jerome Simpson’s head-over-heels touchdown leap. You can rank the top 10 plays so that you can put Helu’s jaw-dropping run in its proper place. 

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

 

 

RT's 5: Risk involved in all QB options

 

Flynn has never had the pressure of leading

Rich Tandler’s five thoughts possibly related to the Washington Redskins and other matters.

5. Anthony Armstrong was targeted 78 times in 2010 and only 28 times in 2011. Nobody can really figure out why he fell out of favor to the extent that he did. Perhaps it is a comfort level with Rex Grossman. In 2010, Armstrong was targeted five times per game when Donovan McNabb was the quarterback. In Grossman’s first game against Dallas he threw to Armstrong six times but then in the last two games, Armstrong was targeted a total of seven times. It’s a small sample size but it may be as simple as there being no chemistry between Rex and Amrstrong.

4. Wow, the Rams are going to play games in London not just this coming season but after the 2012 and 2014 season we well? That last season just happens to be the year that the Rams can terminate their lease at the Edward Jones Dome if they don’t have either a new or vastly improved stadium. Well, that Gateway Arch is all about going west, looks like the Rams could be L. A. bound again.

3. I have a full article on this subject brewing for sometime in the next week or so but I need to point the fact that there is risk involved in every option the Redskins have when it comes to finding a quarterback. Robert Griffin III would entail the expenditure of multiple high draft picks and he has never taken an NFL snap. Matt Flynn will command a hefty salary, he has seen only limited NFL action and we have no idea how he will perform with the Redskins’ receiving corps and in the pressure cooker that comes be being and NFL starter. Even if Peyton Manning’s neck is OK the Redskins would have a maximum of three years to win a Super Bowl. There are reasons why quarterbacks taken later in the draft are still there and if you invest two years in developing one of those guys and he doesn’t work out you are back to square one. There is a downside to all options and if you pretend otherwise you’re fooling yourself.

2. Like any other team, the Redskins are not going to give you their honest, unvarnished opinion of any player on their roster. However, there are ways to find out about some players. If free agency and the draft end and the Redskins have not either signed or drafted a big-play wide receiver, we will know that they have a very high opinion of Leonard Hankerson.

1. All of a sudden, there are only three NFL games left in the season and then we embark on the longest offseason in sports. It’s not that there is not plenty to write and talk about between now and when training camp cranks up in late July. But the games are the real attraction and I’m going to miss them.  

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

RT's 5: Can Moss rebound from tough 2011 season?

Rich Tandler’s five thoughts possibly related to the Washington Redskins and other matters:

5. Santana Moss did not have one of his better seasons in 2011. True, he missed four games with a broken hand. But if you project his totals of 46 receptions for 584 yards in 12 games out over a full 16-game season, you have 57 catches for 730 yards. That would be his worst season since 2002, his second year in the NFL when he was primarily a punt returner. Recently, Pro Football Focus posted drop numbers for wide receivers and revealed that Moss dropped over 13 percent of catchable passes thrown his way. That ranked 73^rd in the NFL. He will be 33 before training camp starts and you have to wonder if he can rebound.

4. Check out this letter by a Saints fan who attended the playoff game in San Francisco on Saturday. It’s pretty disturbing stuff. Good-natured ribbing of visiting teams’ fans is one thing, screaming obscenities in the faces of teenage girls is quite another.

3. I’ll have my picks for the conference championship games up at some point over the weekend but I just want to say that I don’t get people who are already putting the Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Ravens went 12-4 against a tougher schedule. Tim Tebow and company were unable to exploit a very soft New England defense in Saturday’s rout. While Baltimore is not an offensive juggernaut, they will be able to move the ball and stay in the game. The Ravens can’t win a shootout but their defense will prevent Brady and Gronkowski from going wild.

2. Peter King of Sports Illustrated tweeted out some words for the wise on Tuesday: “For all the questions about the draft and who's picking whom and who's trading up for whom: I don't know. Teams don't know. Honest.” The key part of that is “teams don’t know.” Anyone who tells you that a team has decided that it “has to have” a particular player is just speculating. It is very early in the process. Don’t get me wrong, I’m more than happy to talk about the draft in the comments here or on Twitter (@Rich_Tandler). But between here and the draft there is a lot of film study to be done, the combine and free agency have to take place, and there are workouts and visits. Nothing is even close to being etched in stone.

1. I’m already getting a lot of push back on an article I posted wondering if Rex Grossman could turn around his career in Washington like Alex Smith did in San Francisco. Some are confusing me presenting facts with me advocating a point of view. If I’m giving my opinion, you will know it. But part of my job is to throw things out there for discussion and consideration. I did some research, found that Smith and Grossman had remarkably similar career statistics, and wrote the article even though my view is that the Redskins should not even re-sign Grossman, much less give him a key role in 2012. Unlike some others, I’m not afraid to post information that might run counter to my point of view. Just thought you should know.  

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.