Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

How big a need is running back?

This is continuing along the luxury/necessity theme that we've been visiting here. Can the Redskins roll just fine at running back with Ryan Torain, Keiland [caption id="attachment_5620" align="alignright" width="100" caption="Ryan Williams"][/caption] Williams, and maybe a veteran free agent or a late-round draft pick? Or if a running back like Ryan Williams (right) is the top player on their draft board in the second round should they pull the trigger? Ryan O'Halloran and I debate the question in our weekly installment of Point-Counterpoint.

Go here to read the article on CSN Washington.

 

Real Email: The Campbell trade

I get a good amount of email and I do answer every one of them. However, sometimes I have an answer to a question that a lot of people might like to know. Or I have a take that some of you out there would appreciate. Or readers have interesting things to say. In response to this, I am going to do a regular mailbag article. Today is the first. I'd like to do it weekly but if the inbox isn't filling up I won't be able to. So please feel free to send me your questions and comments at RTandlerCSN@comcast.net. I'll still respond to the your email as soon as I can but I'll also take the best of them to post here. In response to my article about the 2006 draft, Mike asked:

I am not clear what did they actually trade to get Campbell - in one part of the article you say a 1st and 3rd - then later a 4th with teh 3rd going for Lloyd?  Not sure what the actual cost was for Campbell - of course one 2nd rounder would have been too much!

Just before the 2005 draft, the Redskins sent their third round pick in that draft and their first- and fourth-round picks in the 2006 draft to Denver. Washington got the Broncos' first round pick in 2005. That selection was the 25th overall and the Redskins took Jason Campbell. Also responding to that same article about the '06 draft, B said:

i dont think you need to wait four years to do 2008 - just give it the F now for going 1 for 10 (fred davis) in a draft that is so loaded with talent.  Remember, skins had the 21st pick and traded down - they passed up chris johnson and mendenhall there, not to mention desean jackson, ray rice, jamaal charles, mario manningham, mike jenkins, jermichael finley, peyton hillis, justin forsett...devastating

I crunched some numbers on the performance on the Redskins' special teams under Danny Smith. That prompted a passionate response from David, who said in part:

Finally someone has backed up what I have been saying (and feeling) for quite a while now.  DANNY SMITH MUST GO>>>  Al of his phony rah rah on the side line can only be taken for so long.  What is the fascination with this guy.  Every season you can find there are holes in the skins special teams that can be directly traced back to a hard headed coach.

Tyler is big supporter of Ryan Torain and he put his artistic talents to work: Ryan Torain will have a full offseason to work out and review game tape to see what he needs to improve on at game time. Should he stay healthy throughout training camp, there’s really no reason he won’t be our starting RB this year. If he can stay healthy/be healthier than 2010, as a starter (knocking on a bowling pin, the only wood here in my office), I believe he won’t have a problem rushing for over 1000 yards (400 receiving) AND reach the Pro-Bowl (it’s a stretch but I like what I see). With that said… (and should the season start out well) Torain needs a nickname. I submit… Finally, Eric sent in an excellent essay about Mike Shanahan. It's too long to post in its entirety, but here is a link: In Defense of Shanahan

Even the best card player can’t win every hand. Shanny picked up a hand that was growing progressively worse for years before he got here. There was and is a ton of impatience, frustration, judging, and condemnation going around Redskins’ nation. A winning team will change that. But which comes first, the winning attitude or the winning? And who has to pick up the winning attitude first? The fans? The local sports writers? The players? The coaches? Who knows? But once they start, they self perpetuate each other. The fans would do themselves a great favor, and the media would do everyone a great favor, by treating this coach supportively, and with dignity and respect. What are we trying to prove? That we can destroy any coach’s resume? If Gibbs can’t succeed again then Shanahan can’t either? We told you so!? Exactly what does that kind of thinking serve? I’ll tell you. It creates a negative air around the Redskins, and it is hard to create a winning environment in psychically tainted air.

Vote for Redskins comeback player of the year

Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Michael Vick was named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year on Wednesday. It is difficult to argue with the selection, although one could say that most of the adversity from which he had to come back was self-inflicted. There are no official team awards for individual team comeback players but that doesn’t mean that we can’t award one. Below are my thoughts on who might be a worth recipient of the award and a poll for you to vote on your choice. If you’d like, explain your choice in the comments. If you think that anyone else deserves the award, hit the comments section and let me know. OT Jammal Brown—He watched his Saints win the Super Bowl from the sideline last year as he was on injured reserve with a hip injury. While Brown didn’t regain the form that earned him two Pro Bowl invitations, he did start 14 games and improved as the year went on. RB Ryan Torain—After spending the 2009 season out of football, Torain led the Redskins in rushing with 742 yards. The total was impressive considering that he was not on the roster the first two games of the year and that he missed four and a half games due to a hamstring injury. TE Chris Cooley—A broken ankle knocked Cooley out for the last half of the 2009 season, the first games that he had missed during his NFL career. Cooley rebounded to catch 77 passes for 849 yards. QB Rex Grossman—After starting one game in a span of three years, Grossman got his chance the last three games of the year and acquitted himself fairly well. He may have turned his three-game stint into a starting job for at least part of the 2011 season. DE Adam Carriker—The 2009 season was lost to Carriker due to a shoulder injury. After being traded to the Redskins he started all 16 games a left defensive end, recording 59 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 14 QB hurries, 3 passes defensed and recovered a fumble. [polldaddy poll=4384367]

Player evals: Offense

After the Washington Redskins regular season ended on Sunday, the players scattered to their offseason homes, and fans got into their usual January mode of contemplating next year. The coaches, however, barely took a breather before returning to work. “What we do for the next few days, is coaches go back, write up their position players, and they will put them in a pecking order; strengths, weaknesses, starters, backups, ascending player, descending player,” Mike Shanahan said. We think that we can give the coaches a few days off. Today and on Monday we will go through the Redskins’ roster and put players into the proper spot on the matrix of ascending/descending and starter/backup. Today, we’ll take a look at the offense.

Go here for the rest of the article.

Join me for a live chat during the Eagles-Packers game on Sunday. Kickoff is at 4:30, we'll get going at around 4:00. We can talk about the game, try to figure out how the Redskins beat both of the teams involved, go over the draft and free agency, and anything else you want to chat about.

Torain travels to Meadowlands

We still don't know if Ryan Torain will play on Sunday against the Giants but we do know that he has a chance. According to ESPN 980's Chris Russell, Torain did make the trip north with the team. Presumably, his injured hamstring is doing well enough to at least have him give it a go during pregame warmups and to put him on the active roster if he can go. Torain's return could provide a boost to the Redskins' rushing game, which has suffered all year and hit rock bottom against the Vikings when Keiland Williams and James Davis combined for just nine carries.

Someone on the Redskins is going to be cut

As the Redskins have not signed a running back to the active roster, it is likely that Keiland Williams will be promoted from the practice squad to the active roster. The Redskins are not going to go into the game against the Packers with just Ryan Torain and Chad Simpson at running back. The team probably won't make a move until late on Friday or Saturday morning. They would hate to make a move and then have someone get injured during practice. When all of the preparation is done the move will be made. While we're pretty sure about one end of the move, we're not sure about the other. If Williams is promoted to the 53-man roster, someone will have to be released. The most likely candidates to be cut are tight end Logan Paulsen and fullback Darrel Young. Paulsen has been inactive for three of the four games and played very sparingly in the other. Young has seen some special teams action but none on offense. Another thing that the Redskins could do is release a veteran such as Roydell Williams and have him sit at home for the weekend. Williams salary is guaranteed since he was on the opening day roster so he probably would be willing to stay at home and work out until he is needed. But a move like that usually is when there is a short-term issue. Since Clinton Portis will be out 4-6 weeks, a longer-term solution is needed. That would point to someone like Paulsen or Young getting released and then resigned to the practice squad.

CSN Video: Ryan Torain 10.06.10

Presenting Ryan Torain, "one of the top backs in the league" per Mike Shanahan.