Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Redskins eager to face Bills

Kyle Shanahan wants RG3 to just have fun

Jim Haslett expects big improvement this year in 3-4 scheme

Redskins rookies on their 'Welcome to Training Camp' moment

RG3 and teammates impressed with turnout of Redskins fans

Point-Counterpoint: The Redskins draft

We've had week to digest the results of the Washington Redskins' draft so Ryan O'Halloran and I look at what went right and what went wrong.

Should the Redskins have taken a quarterback? Rich Tandler: I think Shanahan may have been burned by trading back from the 10th selection. He probably went in with the intention of taking Jake Locker but the Titans nabbed him with the eighth pick. Plan B was to trade back and take Christian Ponder at 16. That backfired when Shanahan was no doubt as shocked as everyone else when the Vikings reached for Ponder at No. 12. Shanahan took the lemon he’d been handed and made some nice lemonade getting linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, wide receiver Leonard Hankerson and running back Roy Helu out of the picks acquired by moving back. Still, 2011 will be a year that is not spent developing a quarterback and that isn’t good for the long-term future. Ryan O’Halloran: Even though the Redskins likely found three immediate starters with their first three picks, once Locker and Ponder were off the board, Shanahan should have found a way to trade up into the top of the second round to get TCU’s Andy Dalton (to Cincinnati) or Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick (to San Francisco) because there was a steep drop-off.

Go here to read the article on CSN Washington.

 

What draft picks do the Redskins have?

In response to many inquiries and to correct some misstatements that are floating around out there: The Washington Redskins have at least six and probably seven picks in the draft Here is the breakdown: Round 1--Their own pick, the 10th overall. Round 2--Their own pick, 41st overall. Round 5--Their own pick (position of the rest of the picks to be determined) Round 5-- The Saints' pick from the Jammal Brown trade. Round 6--Their own pick Round 7--Their own pick Round 7--From the Colts for Justin Tryon A couple of caveats are in order here. I have read in some places that the pick from the Saints in the Brown trade was a sixth-rounder. That is in conflict with what I originally understood about the parameters of the trade. I'm fairly confident that it is a fifth but that could change. Also, the pick for Tryon could be a sixth or it could possibly be in another draft. The only information that anyone could find is that he was traded to the Colts for an undisclosed draft pick. We won't find out for sure until the entire official draft order is released. Most assumed at the time that the trade was for a seventh-round pick. But if there were any conditions attached they should be favorable to the Redskins. Tryon played in 12 games for the Colts, starting six. The third-round pick went to the Saints in they Jammal Brown trade, meaning that the Redskins acquired him for a swap of draft picks. Washington will end up dropping about 80 spots to get Brown. If he does not sign a new contract, the deal will end up being a one-year rental. The fourth-round pick will close out the Donovan McNabb deal. It is likely that the Redskins will, once again, see one of their draft picks used by another team that was traded away for a player who no longer is on the team. The Redskins could acquire more picks either by trading down or by trading away players such as McNabb or Albert Haynesworth.

What does Fisher ' s departure mean for Albert?

The Tennessee Titans have announced via Twitter that Jeff Fisher will not return as their head coach in 2011. The Titans had previously announced that Fisher, who was the longest-serving head coach in the NFL, would remain as their coach. This move has ripple effects, some of them involving the Redskins. One is the status of Albert Haynesworth. The Redskins will be looking to trade him and the Titans, Haynesworth's former team before he signed with Washington as a free agent, were considered to be a prime trading parter. Fisher had not changed the defense since Haynesworth left and the defensive tackle would fit right in. He went to two Pro Bowls and received All-Pro honors in that system. As a strong, tenured coach, Fisher was able to manage Haynesworth and get the most out of him. With Fisher gone, a new coach might not want to deal with a high-maintenance player such as Haynesworth despite his obvious talents.

Game changers 2010--No. 2, switch to the 3-4

Mike Shanahan decided very early on in his Redskins tenure that the team would convert from the 4-3 defensive scheme to a 3-4 alignment. However, it took a while to get that fact out of him. Shortly after he was hired Shanahan brought in Jim Haslett as the defensive coordinator. Haslett is not a 3-4 specialist by any means as he ran the 4-3 as the defensive coordinator for the Rams and, before that, as head coach of the Saints. But he did run the Steelers 3-4 as their DC from 1997-1999. Word did leak out that the team was planning the conversion but there was no confirmation. At the NFL Combine in late February, Shanahan spoke of running a “Redskins” defense but he wouldn’t be more specific. At a pre-draft minicamp in April, Shanahan was asked again if the defense was a 3-4 “Our base is off of a three-man front,” he said. “Now, we also do a lot of things with the four-man front, so we’re using a combination of different things. I’m just saying we’re using a three-man, we’re using four-man, a lot of people in different positions, and that’s why we’re calling it the Redskins defense.” The main goal in changing the defensive scheme was to increase takeaways. “That’s one of our big emphasis is turnovers,” said Haslett at the April minicamp. “If you take a look at some of the defenses that have used the three-man front, it’s a big change so hopefully those turnovers will come, but as you mentioned that will be our big emphasis.” Over the last four years we were dead last, 32^nd in the NFL.  For us to be the type of football team we want to be, we’re going to have to make some big time strides in that area and hopefully we will.” By then, the Redskins had signed Maake Kemoeatu to be their nose tackle. He was coming off of a torn Achilles that had cost him the entire 2009 season with the Panthers. His work during much of the offseason preparation was very limited. For the rest of the line, they took some of their defensive tackles such as Kedric Golston, and moved them outside to end. A trade with the Rams brought in Adam Carriker to be the left end. Vonnie Holliday came in as a free agent and holdover end Phillip Daniels already had the requisite size to play end in the 3-4. There was talk of moving Albert Haynesworth to nose tackle or defensive end, or of having him spend some time at both positions. The Redskins had given him a $100 million contract before the 2009 season but his position, the traditional 4-3 tackle, was gone. There will be more about developments there later in this series. The linebacker corps, however, was put together with duct tape. Rocky McIntosh moved from outside 4-3 linebacker to the 3-4, joining holdover middle linebacker London Fletcher. Several defensive linemen were converted to linebackers. Defensive ends Brian Orakpo and Chris Wilson had played a hybrid linebacker position the year before so they had some experience playing on two feet. Andre Carter had some experience doing that in San Francisco but he struggled mightily there before he signed with the Redskins as a free agent in 2006. Now, he was going back to linebacker. Lorenzo Alexander and Rob Jackson also made the move. They didn’t bring in many reinforcements in the draft. The only defensive player they selected was linebacker Perry Riley, who was taken in the fourth round. He spent most of the season on the game day inactive list. Regardless, the Redskins were going down the path to the 3-4 even though there clearly were some square pegs in round holes. Links:

• 04.18.10 April minicamp: M. Shanahan, K. Shanahan, Haslett, Portis, McNabb

You can reach Rich Tandler by email at RTandlerCSN@comcast.net and follow him on Twitter @RealRedskins. Rich also writes about the Skins at www.CSNwashington.com.

Personnel policy in 140 characters

A few weeks ago, I posted over 300 words on why the Washington Redskins should stay away from Raiders cornerback Nmamdi Asomugha. Tuesday morning on Twitter, Colts owner Jim Irsay said why his team will stay away from bidding for possibly the best corner in the game when free agency opens up.

I'm not signing asomugha,we play cover 2 n develop and keep r own thru the draft..its worked well 4 us (and the Steelers) The cap restricts @JimIrsay

In less than 140 characters, Irsay says it all:

• Asomugha doesn't fit their defensive system.
• Spending that much money on a free agent does not fit with their organizational philosophy.
• Their philosophy works.

Mike Shanahan would walk barefoot through a mile of broken glass before he would let the Redskins intentions towards a potential free agent become known, even if he had zero intention of signing that player. It would be a competitive disadvantage, don't you know. By the way, if you are on Twitter and not following Irsay, you're missing out. He gave away Super Bowl tickets, he quotes rock lyrics for no particular reason (at least not any reasons that are evident to me) and drops occasional news as he did above. Check out his feed, @JimIrsay.