Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

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.

Game changers 2010--No. 1, Shanahan hired

It's time to take one last glance back at the 2010 season. In this series, we'll take a look at the game-changing moments during 2010. Of all of the moments that will be detailed in this series, this one was the least surprising. Rumors that Mike Shanahan was bound for Washington started soon after he was fired by the Denver Broncos after the 2008 season. Dan Snyder did give Jim Zorn one more season but the coach was a dead man walking just a few weeks into the ’09 season. Shanahan was signed to a five-year contract worth about $7 million per year. As much as any improvement in defensive schemes and new offensive plays, Shanahan’s arrival ushered in a change in the culture of the Redskins. Even going back to Joe Gibbs tenure, Washington was a place to go to get a fat contract. Under Zorn, practices were rather lackadaisical and it was common practice to do an end run around the coaching staff to take complaints to Snyder. Shanahan also indicated that all players would be expected to participate in the offseason conditioning program. The program is voluntary, but now with Shanahan it would be “voluntary”, meaning that volunteering to attend would greatly enhance your job security. In response to a question at his introductory press conference, Shanahan talked about Clinton Portis, who was treated with kid gloves by Zorn and, to a lesser extent, by Gibbs.

Like all players, as they get older, the key is how they work in the offseason program, and what they do to make themselves better as veterans. I’ve been around some veterans that have been very successful, and all of the sudden they quit working out, and as a running back you can fall off of a cliff. If you make a commitment that you’re going to be the best that you can possibly be, or you’ve got the passion and the work ethic to be as good as you can possibly be, then you’ve got a chance to be something special. Looking at Clinton a year ago, in the first half of the season, you could see how well he played. To say that right now, with the injuries and what’s happened would be obviously premature at this time. I do love his toughness. He was obviously very productive when he was with Denver.

Time will tell if the culture around Redskins Park truly changes. It was tested when Albert Haynesworth failed to show up for the offseason conditioning program and then for the team’s mandatory minicamp. That season-shaping moment will come later in the series. Links:

• Shanahan introductory press conference transcript

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.RealRedskins.com.

3 members of 31st-ranked defense Pro Bowl bound

London Fletcher will be joining Brian Orakpo and DeAngelo Hall at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii on Sunday. Fletcher was added to the roster when Brian Urlacher of the Bears dropped out due to an injury he sustained in yesterday's NFC Championship game. Orakpo will replace Clay Mathews, who will play in the Super Bowl with the Packers, at outside linebacker. Hall was selected as a reserve cornerback when the NFC squad was announced in December. It may seem off that three members of the defense that was ranked 31st in the NFL are going to the Pro Bowl. There are a few possible takes here.

1. The defense wasn't that bad--They were in the middle of the pack in terms of points allowed and takeaways, which are left out of the picture when talking about the league's defensive rankings, which are based on yardage given up.
2. There were good players on the unit but some fatal flaws as well--In particular, the team couldn't find a nose tackle to plug up the middle, something that hurt them all year long.
3. Pro Bowl berths are based largely on name recognition--In the case of Hall in particular, you could easily make the case that he was not one of the top 15 cornerbacks in the NFC. But he had the six interceptions, four of them in one game, and he is a known personality and that greatly aided his Pro Bowl selection.

Redskins safety LaRon Landry led the Pro Bowl fan voting for strong safety and he likely would have been picked as a starter, but an Achilles injury landed him on injured reserve after he played in just nine games. The Redskins' PR press release is below. There may be a conference call with Orakpo and Fletcher later, will be back with quotes. LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA – The National Football League announced today that Washington Redskins’ linebackers London Fletcher and Brian Orakpo will play in the 2011 Pro Bowl. Fletcher will be taking the place of Chicago Bears’ linebacker Brian Urlacher, who is unable to participate due to injury. Orakpo will be replacing Green Bay Packers’ linebacker Clay Matthews, who will be playing in Super Bowl XLV. This will be Fletcher’s second trip to the Pro Bowl. In 2010, he led the Redskins in tackles, with 188 (135 solo). Fletcher also amassed 2.5 sacks, one interception, three forced fumbles and set a career-high with three fumble recoveries. He is currently tied for the longest consecutive games played streak (208) in the NFL with Tampa Bay’s Ronde Barber and Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning. With 167 consecutive starts, he is currently third among all NFL players in consecutive starts behind Manning (208) and Barber (183). Fletcher has the longest consecutive starts streak among active linebackers by 71 games over Dallas’ Bradie James (96). “I am extremely honored to play in the Pro Bowl,” Fletcher said. “I am very excited to make the trip to Hawaii. I would like to thank all of my teammates, coaches, fans and everyone else who played a part in getting me here.” In 2010, Orakpo led the team with 8.5 sacks. Coupled with the 11 sacks he had in 2009, Orakpo is the first Redskin since Ken Harvey in 1996-97 to register at least eight sacks in consecutive seasons. In addition, Orakpo totaled 78 tackles (62 solo), one forced fumble and 47 quarterback hurries. Orakpo also earned a Pro Bowl berth as a rookie last season. “It’s great to get to go to the Pro Bowl again in just my second season in the league,” Orakpo said. “I am excited about going to Hawaii, where the Pro Bowl has been for so many years. Last year was fun, but it will be special getting to play in Hawaii. I want to thank all my teammates and coaches for helping me get here, and I also want to thank all of the fans who voted for me.” Fletcher and Orakpo, will join teammate DeAngelo Hall on the NFC roster. The game will be played on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.

Redskins 2010 offense lacked drive time

You know that football is a team game but most think of that concept in terms of the players on offense meshing together to execute a play or each defensive player taking care of his assignment, flowing to the ball, and making the stop. But the performance of each unit cannot be viewed in isolation. Issues on one side of the ball can manifest themselves on the other side. A look at some of the numbers from the performance last year’s Washington Redskins reveals this concept. The Redskins’ defense in 2010 was one of the worst in team history in terms of yardage given up. In fact, the 6,228 yards they gave up is the highest single-season total in team history. The defense had its issues, from issues adjusting to the 3-4 defense to injuries to some players who just weren’t good enough. But to be that spectacularly bad you have to have some “help”. And there is some evidence that the Redskins’ offense helped drag down the team’s defense by making them work too much. A quick glance at the statistics would make you believe that the Washington offense was garden variety mediocre. They were 18^th in yards gained with 5,392. But the Redskins should have done better offensively given the number of chances they had. Over the course of the year, they had 200 offensive possessions (Note: Kneel downs at the end of the half and game do not count as possessions or drives). That’s second-most in the NFL, just behind the Giants who had 201. But the Redskins did not do much when they had the ball. They ran 1,002 plays, an average of five plays per drive. Only two teams—the Cardinals and the Panthers at 4.9 plays per possession—did worse. Washington also was among the league’s worst in burning off the clock in each possession. The Redskins averaged 2.3 minutes of possession per drive, again the second-worst number in the league just ahead of Carolina and Arizona who averaged 2.2 minutes per drive. The average NFL drive consumed 2.7 minutes. If the offense has a lot of possessions then it follows that team’s defense has to defend a lot of the other team’s possessions (since nearly every time an offensive possession ends the defense goes onto the field). The Redskins defended 198 possessions, second in the league only to the Raiders at 202. Once the Redskins defense was on the field, they did a pretty good job of getting back on the sideline. Opponents averaged 5.3 plays per drive against them, tied for fifth fewest in the league. The other team burned off 2.7 minutes per drive, tied for 15^th in the NFL. The bottom line is that the Redskins’ defense did OK each time it took the field. But they had to take the field so often that the average performance per drive added up to a ton of yardage being given up. Now, to be sure, the Redskins defense did not perform great in terms of yardage given up, even on a per drive basis. They gave up an average of 31.5 yards each time they took the field, 24^th in the league. This defense would not be the 1985 Bears unit if not for an inefficient offense. But football is the ultimate team game and any weakness will manifest itself in a number of ways. When looking at offensive and defensive statistics it is important to remember that each set of numbers does not result from performances in totally separate universes. You can reach Rich Tandler by email at RTandlerCSN@comcast.net and follow him on Twitter @RealRedskins. Join Rich for a chat during both of the conference championship games this Sunday, Jan. 23. We can talk about the games, try to figure out how the Redskins beat both of the NFC finalists, discuss the Redskins’ prospects in free agency and in the draft, and anything else you want to chat about. Things will get underway at www.RealRedskins.com when the NFC game kicks off at 3:00 and go all the way through Jets-Steelers whenever that may end. See you there!

Haynesworth to the Eagles?

The Eagles have hired Jim Washburn as their new defensive line coach. Washburn came from the Tennessee Titans, where he was Albert Haynesworth's position coach. Putting two and two together, Reuben Frank of CSNphilly.com got to thinking that maybe another intra-division trade between the Redskins and Eagles involving a former Pro Bowl performer could be taking place somewhere down the line.

Now that Jim Washburn is here, could one of his most successful projects be next? Albert Haynesworth’s career is in tatters these days. He’s coming off a miserable second season with the Redskins, a year that started with him failing to pass the Redskins’ conditioning test and trying unsuccessfully to fit into the Redskins' 3-4 scheme and ended with him managing just 2 1/2 sacks and 13 tackles before being suspended for the final four games of the season by head coach Mike Shanahan for conduct detrimental to the team. Haynesworth has five years left on the seven-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Redskins just 23 months ago, but he does not appear to fit into the Redskins’ plans.

Click here to read the entire article.

Saunders to interview with Raiders

One former Redskins offensive coordinator is going to interview with another Redskins offensive coordinator about being the first offensive coordinator's offensive coordinator. The main player impacted will be a former Redskins quarterback. The one going to interview is Al Saunders, the OC for the Redskins under Joe Gibbs from 2006-2007. He will be talking to Hue Jackson, the Redskins' offensive coordinator in 2003 after he served as running back coach in 2001-2002. Jackson recently was hired as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Saunders currently is a senior offensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens. The quarterback is Jason Campbell, who was traded to Oakland last year. Another Raiders offensive player is longtime Redskins running back Rock Cartwright. I think that this reunion of sorts is more of a statement on the quantity of castoff Redskins players and coaches out there rather than anything about the quality.

Coaches, teammates did stand behind Campbell

Jason Campbell was traded to the Oakland Raiders last year but he still makes his offseason home in the Washington area and on Tuesday night he talked with Chick Hernandez on Comcast SportsNet. The Redskins starting quarterback from midway through the 2006 season through 2009 started off the interview being philosophical about the trade to the Raiders. “You understand that in this business that decisions are going to be made whether you agree with them or whether you don’t,” said Campbell. “You have to be able to move forward and count your blessings as they come.” But when Hernandez asked if he thought he got a fair shot, Campbell said, “I feel like no one ever stood up for me. “I felt like I was out there fighting and scrapping hard, I never really complained when we lost players and even when we plugged guys in off the street to come in and have to block for you. Not one time did I complain, not one time did I go off the record and say anything.” Let’s examine what Campbell said here. The statement that nobody stood up for him doesn’t really hold water. Joe Gibbs stood up for him. Despite some rough spots in 2007, including a four-game losing streak that dropped them from 5-3 at midseason to 5-7 and on the verge of elimination from the playoffs, Gibbs stuck with Campbell until he suffered a dislocated kneecap against the Bears. That put Campbell out for the rest of the year. Todd Collins came in at quarterback and the Redskins won that game to start a four-game streak that got them into the playoffs. Exit Gibbs and enter Jim Zorn. The head coach’s support for Campbell did not waiver one bit. Despite Collins’ stellar finish in ’07, there was no open competition for the starting job. There wasn’t even secret competition for the job. Campbell was the unquestioned starter for all 32 games under Zorn despite a 12-20 record. Zorn did bench Campbell once, after going scoreless in the first half of a Week 6 game against the then-winless Chiefs at FedEx Field. The next week Campbell was back in the saddle as the starter. Other than that one half, Campbell took virtually every snap. Not only did his coaches stand behind him, his teammates did, too. Never on or off the record did any Redskins player ever throw Campbell under the proverbial bus. By the way, Campbell was benched by Raiders coach Tom Cable after two games in Oakland last year and there was a quarterback controversy involving Campbell and Bruce Gradkowski that did not end until Gradkowski’s year ended with a shoulder injury. But we hear no complaints about nobody standing behind him from there. Were Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato not standing behind Campbell in 2009 when they tried to trade for Jay Cutler and seriously considered moving up in the draft to draft Mark Sanchez? Yes. However, things like that happen frequently in the NFL. As Campbell said, “Decisions are going to be made whether you agree with them or whether you don’t.” The mistake that Snyder and Cerrato made was not in trying to upgrade the most important position on the team, it was in letting their interest in Cutler and Sanchez become general public knowledge and handling it in the ham-handed way that has been the trademark of the franchise ever since Snyder bought the team in 1999. Now let’s move on to the part where Campbell talks about never complaining when the team lost players and when they “plugged guys in off the street” to block for him. His statement is mostly true, although after the Giants thumped the Redskins 45-12 at FedEx Field in December of 2009, CSN’s Kelli Johnson asked Campbell if he thought that some of his teammates quit during the game. “I’ll be honest. I used to be one of those guys who tries to beat around the bush a little bit,” Campbell said. “But I’ll be honest, I think some guys have [quit].” By and large, however, Campbell did take the high road while handing off to Quinton Ganther and having Levi Jones protecting his blind side. But, so what? Very, very rarely do you hear any NFL quarterbacks complaining about who is blocking for them or to whom they are handing off or about the quality of the targets of their passes. It’s just part of the code. You focus on your job and do the best you can with what you have. I don’t think that Jason Campbell is in line for any special awards or accolades for doing what most professional quarterbacks—make that most professional players in any sport—do on a routine basis. I’m not trying to make this in a Campbell-bashing session here. He is as good a person as I have ever met. But I also don’t want to let him revise history as he has and have everyone accept it as the truth because he is a good man and, to some extent, a sympathetic one.

Both studs and duds picked 10th in draft

The Washington Redskins never have selected tenth overall in the NFL draft as they are scheduled to do in April. What kind of player is available at No. 10? As you might expect a wide variety of players from Hall of Famers to utter busts. Here is a look at the players selected with tenth pick of the draft since 1960. Hall of Fame Three players selected tenth are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. CB Rod Woodson (Steelers 1987), RB Marcus Allen (Raiders, 1982), and OT Ron Mix (Colts, 1960) have busts in Canton. RB Jerome Bettis (Rams, 1993) could well join those three this year or at some point in the future.

Go here to read the entire article

Zorn now a ' hot ' OC candidate

This just came out on Adam Schefter's Twitter:

Another OC candidate the Seahawks are considering is Baltimore's Jim Zorn, a choice that would be popular in Seattle's locker room.

Zorn was the quarterbacks coach for the Seahawks from 2001-2007 before coming to the Redskins and he is a legend in Seattle for his play as the team's first quarterback. So after being pumped as a possible candidate for the offensive coordinator's job in Cleveland this morning, he appears in the afternoon as the candidate for another job. This is not saying that Zorn is necessarily a bad candidate for an OC position and that teams should run away from him screaming just because he failed as the head coach of the Redskins. He certainly didn't have the best talent to work with or the best management structure in place. Zorn had his plate overloaded as quarterbacks coach, de facto offensive coordinator and head coach. Quite a load for someone who hadn't been a coordinator before. But nobody had mentioned him as a coordinator candidate before this morning and now, according to reports, he has two teams that want to talk to him. Have to wonder if his agent is working the phones and trying to stir up some a promotion for his client.

East-West game draws late-round prospects

The Senior Bowl in Mobile is the premiere postseason college all-star game for NFL draft hopefuls. However, only about 75 players are invited to participate in that game and preceding week of practices that occur under the watchful eye of NFL scouts, coaches, and personnel executives. There are many more draft prospects that that so this week many of them will be participating in the East-West Shrine game in Orlando. While it is a second-tier bowl—nothing screams that like the fact that the coaches are Dan Reeves and Wade Phillips—many of the players there will be considered by the Redskins in the later rounds of the draft, which is where most of Washington’s draft picks are located. Since the Redskins will be fishing in these waters it’s worth a glance to look at some of those who are playing and what they have to show scouts in Orlando. There also are some local players of interest playing in the game so we’ll take a look at some of them as well. You can view the entire roster here. Tyrod Taylor, QB, Virginia Tech—Taylor suffered his first defeat before he even took the practice field as he measured just a shade over six feet tall (6 ft., 0.6 inches to be exact). The list of successful NFL quarterbacks who are vertically challenged is, well, short. While his eventual future in the NFL may be showcasing his speed and elusiveness as a wide receiver and returner rather than as a quarterback, he will try to impress the coaches at the position where he earned ACC Player of the Year honors in 2010. Ricky Dobbs, QB, Navy—Not only does Dobbs face challenges as a quarterback as he measured shorter than Taylor (5 ft., 10.7 inches), he will have to fulfill an obligation to serve in the Navy before he can start an NFL career. Like Taylor, his leadership ability would be welcome at the quarterback spot in the NFL but difficulties throwing over onrushing 6-4 linemen likely will require him to find another position. Pat Devlin, QB, Delaware—Now we’re getting to someone who could be on the Redskins’ radar if they decide to address other needs early in the draft and go for a quarterback in the later rounds. Devlin stands tall in the pocket at 6-4 and he demonstrated great toughness by playing last year with a broken wrist. Although some have said that there are concerns about his accuracy issues in the pocket Devlin, who transferred from Penn State, completed 68 per cent of his passes in 2010. Da’Rel Scott, RB, Maryland—Here is a local player who may be of interest to the Redskins. Scott is a late-round running back prospect and if Washington does go for a back it will be on Saturday, in the latter phase of the draft. He impressed scouts with his lower body, with powerful-looking legs. If you’re looking for Scott during the game (Saturday at 4:00 on the NFL Network) you might get confused as he is playing on the West team. Taylor and Warren of Virginia Tech, which is west of College Park, will be on the East squad. Beau Warren, C, Virginia Tech—The son of Joe Gibbs-era tight end Donnie Warren is probably looking for a shot as an undrafted free agent. At 6-3, 292 he could be a zone-blocking prospect if he has enough mobility. Will Rackley, C, Lehigh—The good things about these games is that they give some players from small schools a chance to show their stuff. Rackley, 6-3, 307, was impressive in one on one drills as practice started on Tuesday. As with all of the small school prospects, Rackley wants to demonstrate to scouts that he can thrive while stepping up a level in terms of competition. Join Rich for a chat during both of the conference championship games this Sunday, Jan. 23. We can talk about the games, try to figure out how the Redskins beat both of the NFC finalists, discuss the Redskins’ prospects in free agency and in the draft, and anything else you want to chat about. Things will get underway at www.RealRedskins.com when the NFC game kicks off at 3:00 and go all the way through Jets-Steelers whenever that may end. See you there!