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John Clayton of ESPN checks in with:

• Most people around Indianapolis believe the Redskins will get a quick deal done with Bills middle linebacker London Fletcher. The Redskins were hurt a couple years ago by the loss of middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, who left for the Giants. Fletcher isn't expected to be re-signed by the Bills. The Redskins don't have the cap room to sign Clements, but most believe Fletcher will head off to Washington and reunite with former Bills head coach Gregg Williams, the Redskins' defensive coordinator.

• The interesting part of the Redskins' release of safety Troy Vincent is that Vincent requested it. Though it might have been considered a cap move to save the Redskins $1.54 million, Vincent asked to be let go. He wanted to move on to a different team that could offer him more playing time. Vincent is 35.

If they are going to let Springs walk and they are in cap hell. I hope they bring Smoot back. He will have something to prove and come at a cheap price.

Much like the possible new MLB star for the Skins, this blog is:

Foxtrot-Baker.

Jason, I'm listening to you on 980 right now!

As I've mentioned many times before, letting Springs walk away baffles me (as well as breaks my heart) - especially since they do not have the $$$ for Clements. Looks like we will lose a lot of defensive players (Springs, Vincent, Wynn, Holdman, Daniels)- will be almost starting over from scratch :-( And Dock will not be back as well.

I'm disheartened...

Lisa, don't give up girlfriends. Daniels and Wynn are in their plans for now, although one of them could get let go this offseason depending how things develop.
Warrick couldn't play.
Springs has one foot out the door, but not both. Maybe they figure something out at the last minute.

As for the Vincent thing, I can to you he wasn't in the Skins plans, either. They had 5 safeties they liked more than him. Case closed.

Smoot could very well be back if/when he's cut.

Any of you guys going to The Ugly Mug?

stevie, (from your question yesterday about our cap position relative to our pals in the NFC East) grabbed these stats from espn:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2762784

Obviously with all the stuff happening in the past few weeks (last update 2/9/07) these numbers won't be totally accurate, but useful as a guide.

Cowboys $18.2MM under cap (14th overall)
Giants $9.4MM under cap (22nd overall)
Skins $4.3MM under cap (25th overall)
Eagles $3.6MM under cap (27th overall)

Note: as we've learned from reading this blog, the Cowboys are already perfect, so they will donate all that extra money to charity.

Thanks, Jason. I'm not upset about Holdman but I would like to see Daniels and Wynn stay - even in backup roles. And you all know my feelings about Shawn Springs all too well :-)

Is it true Vincent asked to leave? Because Smokin Al and Doc Walker were going off yesterday afternoon about him being cut....acted liked it was a felony. I can only imagine how bad it's going to get on sports talk radio when the other cuts begin.

Foxtrot-Baker?

I love it! I can see it now - new Redskins jerseys in Desert Camo, with burgundy player names.

Wonder if (London) Foxtrot-Baker would like 'Devil Dog' as his new nickname.

Lisa, do not be disheartened by the loss of Holdman... he was very NOT good.

I hope Springs can stick around, but I understand the move if he is let go. It frees up cap space and will allow us to go after a couple of guys (hopefully). If we can get better all around at coverage, I'll be happy. It's great to have a shut down guy, but if it's at the expense of depth... I don't know if it works. I would rather have Rogers, Smoot and Bly than Springs, Rogers and Rumphtastic, ya know?

JLC and the blog-crawl, go make it rain... but don't smash anyone's face into the bar.

DCSWEEN - I've been waiting for this.

Happy now, your highness??

test

Another thing: Last night Ted Ginn, Jr. was interviewed on the NFL Network (actually it was clip from the combine) and he was asked where he thought he would go. He mentioned the Vikings expressing interest AND the Redskins. I thought that was strange as we only have one pick in the first round and I can't see us going for a WR unless it's Calvin Johnson.

Lisa - It's about the Team, not players. We are not getting Clements. We are getting Fletcher-Baker. WE are not resigning Dockery. We will promote from within or drafte somebody.

Usually it's the agents of free agents trying to drive up demand by mentioning the Skins, but draft prospects!?! ha ha

I will quit the Skins if they draft Ted Ginn (not really, but I want you to know how serious I am). He will not be any good in the NFL.

Mark my words... next Troy Williamson, maybe with more return skills.

The Redskins only carry 4 DEs and 5 DTs on the regular season roster.

How could they keep Daniels and Wynn if they plan to upgrade/get younger at the position?

Because I'm assuming Carter and Evans will be back.

Any word on going with Alan Branch of Michigan??? That seems like such a no-brainer to me I want to beat my head in the wall until I hear he is signed pre-draft!!

Leon,
My guess is they have already decided they can't keep both Wynn and Daniels, but they can't decide which one to let go until the draft... If they draft a DE, then Daniels is gone. If they draft a DT, then Wynn is gone. And, apparently, if they draft Ted Ginn, then Bucktown is gone, along with the rest of us.

Dockery can go survey the market; FA is pretty deep at guard, so we'll see what he gets. Keeping his contract off the books for the first few days of FA is a benefit to us, and I'm not convinced he couldn't be replaced for less money if push comes to shove. Depth in the offensive line is an ongoing concern, but Dockery is not the linchpin of the offense -- and we're paying a lot of guys some pretty good coin there already.

Ginn was just smoking something trying to push himself as a top ten prospect. I can only think of a million or so reasons that he would want to say that, and a couple of million reasons why he won't go till late-round.

I will be unable to attend the drinking thing, but I will hoist one in your honor. Although given the nature of the birthday party, I may be hoisting a "juice box".

You guys should all go meet JLC at The Mug! 723 8th St. SE. Eastern Market Metro. MB and Shannon will be bartending and the rock. Not hard to look at either! Have fun and play around the world with the taps of Smithwick's, Magic Hat No. 9, Newcastle, and Anchor Steam for me!

Ryan, we had a lot of success with Golston last year and Corn is still serviceable. I think we need an impact DE before DT.

And I went to Michigan... I love Branch. Don't listen to Kiper about him either. Kiper is hating on him for some reason.

I would be happy with him or Gaines Adams, but it's worthwhile to break both positional needs down.

I want to trade down and get a DE like Jarvis Moss and a 2nd round pick to get a MLB or another CB/S.

J-Lac-

Haven't you figured out the player cut early warning system yet? Just go to the Redskins store and see what jerseys have been put on clearance. That's usually the way the Redskins anounce who's getting cut...

Wynn makes more than Daniels. If they want him, they can renegotiate something, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him gone. Any of the top DEs are going to need someone like Daniels around, to take pressure off while they learn -- and he might fare better with fewer reps. I still think I would take Branch, because he can help on all three downs, but you can't underestimate the allure of a pass rusher.

Golston was part of our famed 'Maginot Line' -- ask Tiki Barber if it survived his Blitzkreig. I don't hate him as a role player, but starters don't slide to the sixth round.
Sixth rounders start after a few years of getting smart enough to play to their strengths and hide -- or eliminate -- their weaknesses.

It's not to Springs' advantage to renegotiate his deal with the 'Skins if it doesn't include guaranteed money that makes up for the cash he will lose by taking a cut in salary. That kind of deal doesn't make sense for the Skins. He's going to get the $5 mil he's due next season with or without the Skins. I'll miss the dude but it's time for some fiscal responsibility around here.

dealer, I got tickets to the UNC-MD game at face value.

Was wondering if we'd ever be able to blog our guts out again. jm220, good to see you back in the house.

Enjoy the pub crawl. Would be there, but I'll be taking Mrs. 4-12 out for our first nice dinner and bottle of wine since the baby was born! Thanks in advance to Grandma and Grandpa 4-12 for babysitting.

And how in the world is John Hall still on the roster? Is this joker gonna get a 4th chance?

I read some combine notes yesterday that several teams were talking to Ted Ginn not as a WR, but as a CB.

The Skins weren't mentioned specifically, but maybe we were one of those teams?

It never hurts to talk...

Bucktown -- I hear ya, I mean it certainly is not like they need only one player on defense.

I just prefer to see things strengthened from the inside out, and that starts with DT, stopping the run up the middle, and having serious talent and pressure in a position that is the shortest path to the QB.

So for me, their guy needs to be Branch.

Even more so if the sign LFB and you have Branch and LFB up the middle of the defense which I think would allow Double G to go nuts on his corner blitzes with the middle sealed up.

Thanks 4-12.I had to take a break due to all the negative comments on here. But it's good to be back and I am wishing all positive energy today.

4th, not sure what you're referring to, but yes, I am happy (but not high, tho I'd like to be).

That's an interesting bit about Ted Ginn saying the Skins might be interested. At the Senior Bowl practices, the Skins scouts were spied talking to more than a few receivers (Andrae Allison? never heard of him either). Ted Ginn seems like ... Randel-El ... as a receiver and a return guy. Maybe the Skins have some buyer's remorse about ARE ... maybe thinking with trading the player for the pick where Ginn would last be available. Hmmm.

Would be good if Vincent really did want out ... better karma if he leaves on good terms. Skins need a karma mgmt. coach.

If not Clements and not Springs, I wonder whether the plan to draft DE/DT gets shifted over to CB...

Can't we exchange Dockery and Springs to Balt. for A. Thomas???

Also it's good that T Vincent doesn't want to come back. 2005 he was out with a hamstring injury and it happened twice last year. As soon as you have a hamstring injury, the more likely you are to have one again.

cload and daggar, ever heard of Tom Brady?

Tiki ran all over the place, not just over one player. I also believe they ran around the left side to expose Warrick TackleNoMan...

Golston was a great find, and I think he can be a starter. He dropped that far because of all the setbacks he had in college.

He played his guts out last year, and played well. Anthony Montgomery (our DT from Minnesota) is the one that I think will be the role filling DT. After watching Golston play, I really think he was a stud find.

dealer, I got tickets to the UNC-MD game at face value.

lh, now THAT's a felony! would you like to share your secret? i can't find anything reasonable. $50 per... or even $75 per...

i'm kinda excited about the game...btw, i never really paid attention before until last night (rooting against the dukies!)(about the makeup of duke's teams) but duke has FOUR white dudes starting!!!! FOUR!!! wow! is this normal for the dukies? what i'm trying to get at is if the whole lacrosse team fiasco had something to do with it. (black players not wanting to come to play for duke athletics).

not trying to start anything honestly, sincerely, just wanted to know if having more than 3 white starters is normal for duke. cuz for the life of me i can't say either way.

Mr. Wilbon, thank you for writing that article on gary williams. but WHO was criticizing gw? i really really find it hard to believe that anyone who isn't a student their right now (thus young and immature)/any of the alumns would question him. the guy single handedly built/re-built all of UMD's athletics department. to me he can F-up all he wants for the next 10 years and i wouldn't care.

The Springs issue still intrigues me. Cutting or trading him before June 1 makes no sense, cutting him after June 1 is only a minor help. Can you trade him for a pick in 2008? Maybe someone will be desparate for a CB at that point? For some other team, he'll have a three-year contract at $5M, $5M, $6M, with no bonus to worry about. The franchise amount for Samuels was $7.8M, so Springs isn't outrageously expensive...

"The Eagles think Dante Stallworth is a good player and would love to have him back next season, but only at a price that they deem market-worthy. If some team is willing to give Stallworth a $10 million signing bonus as part of a six-year, $31 million contract similar to the one that Antwaan Randle El received from the Washington Redskins last off-season, it's safe to assume that the receiver won't have wings on the sides of his helmet next season. The belief inside the NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia is that Stallworth will get that kind of money. The other belief inside the Eagles' offices is that the team can be every bit as successful as the Saints were last season after losing Stallworth."

Sween - About naming sources (read the name post)

Amen jm- it was out of hand with the negativity.

So, no Springs, no Clements. Maybe Smoot if the Vikes cut him. At that point, our #1 would be Double Move, #2 would be Love Boat Captain, and nickel guy would be *gulp* Ade Friggin' Jimoh. This is a problem. Unles Grilliams is planning to switch from a 4-3 to a, um, uh, 5-5-1?

steve p(?), i was at Xree Hip's first midnight madness and i (along with 1000 others) would like to think that i started the arm-cross sign for X whenever he made a play. "good times"!.

lisa, i have restate my theory about the negativity. i think they're just trying to out do eachother(these media outlets). season's over. no amount of us bitcihing changed anything. they're 0-0 just like everyone else heading into next season. let's move on. and all the jokes about the FO are cliche now...

the best punishment i think is to not talk about the skins in the offseason...talk about my terps and the zards who nearly blew a game last night after leading by 17 7 minutes to go.

someone needs to get fired if they don't make it to the eastern finals this year (with wade out and all)...

What about.......

"Remember North Carolina star defensive tackle Ryan Sims? An injury pretty much wiped out his 2006 season with Kansas City, and the Chiefs have no intention of bringing him back. Sims, 27 next season, could add depth to many defensive lines."

...o not talk about the skins in the offseason...

for some reason RI is exempt from this...cuz we're smart enough to know just the right amount of negativity...

4-12 I believe Rogers will improve. Champ and Green (not that Rogers in the same ballpark with them) wasn't great their first couple of years. Smoot is a good CB. (not great but good) The key is going to be the pass rush.

I won't be able to make the Ugly Mug, but Nate and I will be holding down the fort out here on the left coast.

Speaking of which, I'm extrordinarily hungover right now because I ran into Bob Seger and his band at a hotel bar. Who? Yeah, I didn't know either, but they held me down and forced tequila down my throat. I squirmed and tried to resist, but to no avail. In the immortal words of chris Larry: F Bob Seger, and seriously F his band.

leon - someone beat me to the punch, but yeah, depending on who they draft I think one of either Wynn/Daniels could still be cut in June, along with Springs.
However, they could keep both if they really wanted to/could afford to:
DEs (4): Carter, Daniels, Evans, Draft Pick To Be Named Later
DTs: Griff, Big Joe, Golston, Montgomery, Joe Sykes, Wynn

Also, if anyone is making a huge deal out of Troy Vincent being cut they are smoking something, this screamed of a cut (as loyal readers of the blog know).
a 35-year old safety who could not stay healthy and could save the team $1.3 million at a position where they believe ample depth exists at a time when they need to free up money to re-sign a key starter and upgrade their D in free agency - dude had no chance to stick here whether he wanted to go or not.
By early next week they'll announce Hall being cut, and probably two more guys, and then the March Madness will begin on the 2nd.

sfskin, hi, i had a dream about you. like a week ago. for some reason you were kicking my a$s.

4th, my weight is kinda misleading cuz unlike normal people i have chicken legs (below the knees)...so you can add about 10 Lbs. to that weight and that's me.

jm, are you going to that pub thingie...it's looking not so good for me...i gots daddy duties cuz the toddler has a party to go to...

Diddy- I hope the Silver Bullet Band at least "forced" good tequilla down your throat

"lh, now THAT's a felony! would you like to share your secret? i can't find anything reasonable. $50 per... or even $75 per..."

Got 'em from a season ticketholder who's also a friend.

And quite a few Maryland fans have been calling for Gary's head because of the two prior seasons, the team's play prior to their current streak and what they view as less than stellar recruiting (he hasn't been able to get the top guys in the state to come to College Park - well Lawson will be there Saturday) as if Gary was bringing down some perrenial Final Four contender. You, on the other hand, are a reasonable man - on this issue at least. :>)

Bucktown -- Brady didn't start immediately. I'd even be so bold as to count his time at Michigan as part of that maturation process -- since he got to hold the clipboard for a couple of years, then play in a pretty effective offense that promotes successful QBs.
As a bit of trivia, Adaliuas Thomas was picked about 10 spots above Brady, and our dear, departed Matt Bowen was right before Tom Terrific.
I'm not saying that sixth rounders are valueless, or that Golston isn't capable of playing and putting up some decent numbers, but the right side of the line -- with Golston and Carter backed by Holdman and Fox -- was where other teams like to run.
And even with Fletch (I would vote for ArrowCakes), we have a pretty light LB corps -- I wants me the beef in front to protect them.

sfskin, hi, i had a dream about you. like a week ago. for some reason you were kicking my a$s. LMAO!

Dealer I won't be going to the pub crawl. I was in town last weekend and don't feel like making the drive again this weekend. If Lisa go that may change. (did I say that out loud lol)

Agreed jm. A much improved pass rush is key. Hopefully Rogers got the memo about not biting on the double move.

Yo I love me some Seeger....Rock and Roll Never Forgets!!!!!!!

i'll be at the mug by 7, any other early folks?

LH, you on the other hand should be calling for RW's head every year he doesn't bring in a national championship.

i'm willing to concede that not getting an NBA level player after the championship really hurt them. that and gilchrist going whacko and the senior who failed too many classes (forget his name).

season tickets huh? hmmmmmm i'm kinda digging this hayes/vasquez freshman combo. that ought to be entertaining for the next couple of years. unless one of them goes gilchrist on garry...

JLaC: Cant make pub crawl...to much to do in NYC

Keep Daniels, make Wynn a bench coach like Ray Brown.

As much as I would like to keep Dockery you knuckleheads have convinced me that it might not be bad if he is let go. I do widh we could keep our developed talent though and here is one way our drunken sailor approach to FA has killed us, b/c it skews the numbers for our own guys....

Springs...whateves...SMOOT SMOOT SMOOT! we need some characters...not character guys...

When the comments were down was anyone feeling itchy, achy, sweaty, always tired but can't sleep, shaking, constant headaches???...

I don't see any difference makers in FA or the draft this year(Clements is NOT a shut down corner; and other than Calvin Johnson, there are not any blue chips in the draft).
The rebuilding period began in mid-season last year, and needs to continue thru this year.
Time to cut the old guys (Hall, Brunell, Patten, Holdman, Wynn/Daniels, Springs, Vincent) and bring in some affordable youth (Harris at MLB, Smoot back at CB)
Keep trading down in the draft and use 2nd and 3rd round picks to get some depth at O and D-line, maybe another DB.
If Dock won't re-sign to a reasonable deal, he can be replaced.
Then, pay for a true #1 CB in FA next year and bring in a legit pass rushing DE.

I believe Gibbs when he says he will not leave until he gets us on the right track... the only way to do that is to grind out a 7-9 year this season and build a younger team for '08 and beyond.

dealer

1. 2nd lh's comments about many MD fans calling for Gary's head due to what they feel is poor recruiting and poor play. Maybe they'd like to bring back the good old days of Bob Wade; it would serve them right for being stupid idiots.

2. It's not uncommon for Duke to have a significant number of white starters on its team, but to make anything of that is silly. K recruits guys he thinks would fit well in his system. For every Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner, there is also a Jayson Williams, a Grant Hill, and a Shelden Williams.

You also want to double check your tv's color/contrast settings or upgrade to hdtv. Last night's starting lineup racial profile was the following

white: Greg Paulus, Jon Scheyer, Josh McRoberts
non-white: David McClure, DeMarcus Nelson

Adam

I almost took Mrs. Nate to see Bob Seger when he came through Portland. She listened to a lot of Seger, along with the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, etc. growing up in Cali in the seventies, and she actually kind of likes his stuff. Thank goodness we didn't get a sitter for that show. His music is like a rock hitting the back of the head.

I imagine he and the boys know their way around a tequila bottle, though.

Diesel we here. (picture Martin Lawrence pointing with two fingers between his and Eddie Murphy's eyes in Boomerang)

chris Larry, I kept trying to post "Mom! cload broke the blog!" in honor of what stood as the last post for a looooong time.

When I tried a little later last night, desperately hoping the dadblamed blog was working, I switched to trying to post "Aaaaarrgh."

Then I decided to spend some time with the family. Pretty nice, actually.

Nate: I have a soft spot for Seeger due to 70's youth as well.....

BUT you would appreciate the band The Briefs song "Silver Bullet" with the line "Kill Bob Seeger right now" check it out...it is funny and the Briefs rock...my fave track by them is my personal motto: "Poor & Weird"

Anyone rock the Office last night that is was a funny azz half hour right there!

Washington Times already has more:

Speaking extensively for the first time since his end-of-season press conference on Jan. 1, Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs answered questions from two reporters for nearly 40 minutes this morning at his downtown hotel.
Gibbs covered many topics, from the Redskins? sixth pick in this spring?s NFL Draft to the start of free agency on March 2 to the future of cornerback Shawn Springs to the impending free agency of left guard Derrick Dockery to the status of training camp and off-season activities.
A full report will be in tomorrow's Washington Times, but here is a sample of what Gibbs had to say:
• Salary cap/free agency: "Everybody knows our cap situation. ... Our game plan this year was to take care of the guys on our team and then look at free agency and say, 'What can we do there to help us in key spots?? ... For our team, you can probably say we?ll be more focused on defense."
• The draft: The Redskins have picks in Rounds 1, 5, 6 and 7. "The real important thing for us is, in case we decided that we?ll back out of [the sixth overall spot], we have to do a really good job down through the draft. ... There could be a lot involved with it. ... The reality normally tells me that we?ll be making that pick. ... At No. 6, you?re trying to pick a player that, regardless of what position he plays, will make a real impact and is somebody who will be around and go to Pro Bowls for you."
• Derrick Dockery: "I think we?ve worked really hard to get that done, and our expectations are that we don?t want [him to enter free agency] no matter what. We?re operating under the thought process that we can still get something done."
• Adam Archuleta?s return: "That?s our plan. That hasn?t gone the way we would have liked, but we?re hoping the end result will be a lot better than what we?ve gone through so far. After going through the first year, it was tough for everybody. Our goal is to find a way he fits for us and get him doing the things he does well."
• Clinton Portis? rehabilitation from shoulder surgery: "I think he?s doing really well. I?ve talked to him a couple of times, and what I?ve picked up from Clinton is he has a burning [desire] and he has a you-watch-me-type attitude. He?s excited about next year."
• Delaying the start of on-field, off-season activities: "I felt like what we did last year made absolute sense. We started early; went Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; and gave them long weekends. But what they kind of felt, and they are guys I trust, is that they would like to be more on their own from a conditioning standpoint further into the off-season. So we?re going to do that. We?ll probably start six [or] seven weeks later."
• Starting training camp early: "Training camp ... will probably be different for us, too. It will probably come earlier."

JLaC, since Gibbs' return, has there been any consideration or talk about returning to Carlisle for training camp?

Buck!?! Is that my MiniMe?

hahaha just jokes

I just want to be happily surprised come camp time when I hear JaLa report that our 7th round draft choice DT out of east bumfck texas tech vocational university college is an unblockable force.Can we one time out of the last twenty years find a guy or two that can make an impact. The top of the Draft we haven't really screwed up but the bottom is what seperates teams who can and cannot evaluate talent.

Adam,

I think you are right to a certain extent. Brand was a number one recruit and highly rated.

However, while not Bobby Knight he isn't like Carolina or Billy Donovan who just go after the top ranked players.

Many of his "top ranked" player become that as a result of his interest in them. All that scouting stuff is ridiculous anyway. If NFL scouts can't forecast how good players in the top 10 will be based on College (Where the elite players play vs. other elite players) then how accurate are those rankings anyway?

5 TCCLs for Buck not being confined to WasPo Blog

5 TCCLs for CP and his Show Me attitude witch he plans to show on the field

Seger is kinda cheesy, but you have to give him props for the line "I do respect her but, I love to watch her strut".

LH - not a word about going back to PA in a long time. I guess 08 would be the earliest at this point.

EaglesFan Does July 2nd -7th somthing that works for you? (New Orleans Trip)

Seeger GOT cheesy but wasnt always. He came out of the Detroit Rock City tradition at the same time as Alice Cooper, MC5, Stooges....His first band the Bob Seeger System flat rocked!

Man to have been to some of those legendary Grande Ballroom shows in Detroit circa 75-80....the legend is no national acts ever wanted to play Detroit b/c the local openers would destroy them every time!

Yo cL I was too embarrassed to admit I have two Seger System albums. Ramblin' Gamblin' Man is on one of them, and that is a smokin' tune indeed.

Old School... I hear you. Finding talent in the later rounds seems to be the key to success. I know I always bring this up, but Bobby Bethard was money at finding quality in the late rounds. My point is that our FO needs a dedicated GM to find these guys ... oops, did I post this under Diesel... maybe I should have used Captain Obvious.

jm220

I've got a slight preference for 7/2-7/7, but at the moment, either June 25- July 1 st or July 2 nd - July 7 would work for me.

Adam

EaglesFan the July 2nd date works for Sfskin as well. Scott is going to let me know next week if it works for him. If so we will go with July 2nd

jm220

sounds good to me.

since much of the organizational details probably aren't going to be of much interest to those not attending, is it time for those who plan to attend to swap e-mails for planning update purposes?

Adam

I was hoping to make it to the bar crawl but I don't think it's gonna happen. Maybe on the next skins Hiatus in July.

Have fun.

HAY SKINNY FANS WHAT IF I SAID I WANTED TO GO WITH YOU BOZOS TO NEW ORLEANS AND HELP OUT YOU SKINNYS BUILD SOME HOUSES SINCE I KNOW YOU BOZOS MIGHT MESS UP LIKE GIBBY DID TO YOUR SKINNYS HOPE YOU GOT YOUR BOOHOO BOX READY

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

BOOFER it's not a skins thing. It just a group of people going down to do what they can. And you are more than welcome to come.

etrod doesn't do bar crawls. bar crawls do etrod

if they're lucky

4th, I get it now. Sorry, didn't mean to insult. Not royalty here though.

On the draft, there's a little overreaction here about inability to draft quality depth. Skins drafted six guys last year ... four made the team (RockyMac, Montgomery, Golsten, Doughty) ... two got cut (Lefotu and Simon), but one of those has been re-signed. From the previous year, another six guys: Double Move and Jason Campbell (first rounders) are now starters. Nemo and Manuel White (I think ... not sure what happens to guys are IR) are back, McCune almost made it, Newberry nothing. Of the four the year before that (not sure how much that was Gibbs' accountability), Sean Taylor, Chris Cooley, as starters, Molinaro as depth, and the other guy gone.

Those numbers seem about right for the hit-or-miss draft chances. Yes, the Skins could rely more heavily on the draft, but the odds presumably end up about the same proportionately.

Odds are, if the Skins end up staying with the four picks, the first rounder will start, and two of the other three will make the roster.

Btwn starter and depth, now that RockyMac starts, the Skins' first three rounds end up with starters.

The Skins need Branch from Michigan.

Archelta sucks. Holdman sucks. Rumph sucked. Springs is always hurt and sometimes sucks. But our defensive line let them run on us and that sucks the worst.

Defense is the problem. Draft Branch.

-And I want to party with Bob Seger.

Speaking of Derrick Dockery, I remember Clinton Portis speaking about him on the John Thompson show saying that he's great when the do the "40" gut in yo face plays but when it comes to "pulling" plays... he is somewhat of a casualty.

Portis exposed him early on and if that's the case, then we need somebody who is just as quick as Portis is when pulling to either side so he could create a hole for Portis to run through. Remember the key for Portis's success is "zone blocking"

Maybe we shouldn't be gettin 300 pound gaurds then! Dockery was not the greatest experiment, you know!

Sween - It's cool. I just felt like being petty at the time, but now regret it after I posted it......

They said the same thing about MArk May, you know......

There's nothing wrong with the way we draft, it's just we never have a lot of draft picks.....

Hear, Hear 4th!!

There's a problem with the way we trade...

We may be doing an average job of drafting in the lower rounds lately... but as Skins fans, we're spoiled by the 80s when we got guys like:
Charlier Brown (8th rd)
Manley (5th rd)
Mann (3rd rd)
Walton (3rd rd)
Rypien (6th rd)
Gouviea (8th rd)
Mitchell (5th rd)

London Fletcher-Baker just what the doctor order.

a 32 year old line backer. Trotter verson 2.2. Haven't they learned yet that signing OLD players is not the direction to go?

With you 100%, dc.
Might as well bring Monte Coleman back if we're looking at guys like werewolves of London

You are on point DC. You have to look at who is requesting these players. Double G must go!

I think they'll draft a MLB to prep for whenever Fletcher's done.

Since it's Combine weekend, you might as well take a Wonderlic test sample and see why low scores are a cause for concern.

http://espn.go.com/page2/s/closer/020228test.html

I think that Trotter was 26 when we got him.

Isn't Fletcher Baker 28 or 30??

Okay so I'm a total novice here. I had no idea there was a Redskins blog! This is so very cool. I am a diehard Redskin 4 lifer. LOL to everyone!

Boof, if you come with us to NO, I promise to teach you how to use/not use a caps lock key.

Or maybe you don't realize you can type without holding down Shift.

Either way, I'm sure we can straighten you out.

Adam

Jason, if I can convince a buddy, we will be there for the beer and comraderie. However, I will have to rely on my buddy for all trivia...I will just nod approvingly at everything that people say...that is as long as they argue against Monk getting in the HOF.

Thanks.

Trotter was young. He was before Gibbs 2.0

Gibbs signed old man Mike Barrow, who never played a down for the team and took up cap space for 3 years.

Welcome Linda!

I am cool with Fletcher, not at all like the Trotter deal. Not to mention Trotter had like 3 good seasons after here....man was he bad for us though....

Lightwieght Fan...huh?

Welcome Linda...its a good time up here...can get rowdy though

I charted Fletcher as a member of my fantasy team and the dude is a stats beast...considering we had no INT/FUM/SACKS/TKL last year that cant be a bad thing....

sween

Don't set the bar so low. I want an impact player found once in awhile. Your 1st 2nd and 3rd rounders should be starters. I understand more than anyone the draft is crapshoot, and you are going to miss,but the best we can do is say Reed Doughty montgommery INACTIVE. Nemo, what are kidding ourselves. Maybe doughty and montgommery develope. You miss my point. while we draft these kinda guys practice squad euroupa kind of foder teams like the bears find some roojie DE named anderson who doesn't even F-ing start, has 12 sacks! 6/7th round. Do I have to mention A. thomas for the Ravens an absolute terror, how bout KJB,coleston, derrick burgess I could go on and on. Your team is so much better when a guy you draft late or find as undrafted,doesn't just make your team but makes an impact.

Just think of this as an example, how much better would we feel right now if the redskins had drafted the anderson guy the bears took in 6th instead of Goleston. Instead of a guy who made a contribution and I could be wrong, looks like he will be a decent player, we get a pass rushing terror off the edge.Now we look squarley Alan branch and boom you have a d-_line

To tell you how sad this story is, in my opinion the last 2 impact players we drafted late, Dexter Manley and Brian Mitchell

It's a drinking blog with a football problem. Linda, make sure to tune in around midnight Portland time.

The Redskins talked to Buster Davis, the Florida State MLB, at the Senior Bowl.

He strongly resembles Fletcher if you ask me.

You can read up on him here:
http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingreports/ilb/busterdavis.html

That's why I think they're looking at drafting a MLB to have in the pipeline for whenever Fletcher's done.

Linda - Welcome to RIA (Redskins Insider's Anonymous) where we waste our time at work tlaking about Redskins/24/and Music you would only know if you were 40 and older.........

J-La great stuff on the predictions yesterday.

Everyone is BYGOT on football woo!

I've been busy shaving my head and getting some tats because according to the news that is what matters.

When the blog broke yesterday I wrote numerous posts that I will now subject all of you to. . . is that grammatically correct?

dealer - nice on the dream. It couldn't have been me though. I hate violence, I have a visceral reaction to it in real life (hollywood style I loves). The one time a girl tried to get in a fight with me in h.s. I started laughing because I couldn't believe she thought that was an option. She was stunned at my reaction and at the fact that I turned around and walked away. Ah me I'm a laugher not a fighter.
Okay here come my deeply insightful posts . . .

As I've been reading the plethora of insightful posts I keep thinking a few things.
1. Based on our schedule next season it is entirely possible we could be a worst to first and while I'll be drunk and high with joy it may also be a bad thing for us in the long run. We need to build for years ahead not the year ahead.
2. I echo the sentiments of moving on from Springs and Wynn etc. I know Lisa, Springs is a great guy. a hot guy and a great player but if we keep him and he's out in the first few weeks with an injury which is as likely as not then what?
3. If we move on and look for a youth movement it gives us some momentum. I think our division is all in transition right now and if we play our cards right we'll be on the upswing along with most everyone else.

"Just think of this as an example, how much better would we feel right now if the redskins had drafted the anderson guy the bears took in 6th instead of Goleston. Instead of a guy who made a contribution and I could be wrong, looks like he will be a decent player, we get a pass rushing terror off the edge.Now we look squarley Alan branch and boom you have a d-_line"

Worse... imagine we had drafted Anderson in the fifth, instead of Montgomery and drafted Golston in the sixth like we did... ouch

I hate this game.

Insightful post #3 - aren't you riveted?

Thoughts on our division continued. . .

The Eagles are due for a downward slide. Andy Reid (class guy) has to cope with family struggles. McNabb is a great QB but has injury issues. I think he's got another superstar season or two left but that's about it. Westbrook is excellent. The rest are slowly wearing down. They've had a phenomenal run for what 6 years minus one.

Giants - if they don't hit a winning season and go deep into the playoffs I think you can wave bye bye to Coughlin next year. LBM needs to get his head into it or he'll be in the same sentence as Sexy Rexy. Right now I think they're in some disarray and if they don't gel soon I think this could get ugly for them.

Cowpaddies - biggest unknown frankly. Can Romo get past the Seattle horror? With the owner created coaching staff will there be a cohesive unit? I think they have as much chance as we do of taking off or crashing and burning.

With all this said, if we don't build for the long term, I think we'll end up in our division cellar 2-3 years out again. Bear in mind teams like Philly, Indy, Seattle, Pitt and others have had great teams in the last 6-8 years but didn't make it to the show consistently.
The FOs of our division rivals are generally pretty good as much as I hate to say it. Right now I think the NFC East is poised to become what it was in the 80s or we'll be the AFC West of the 80s. Hopefully we'll be in the mix of the good and not the bad.

I realize I am all over the place in my thought process here.

To tell you how sad this story is, in my opinion the last 2 impact players we drafted late, Dexter Manley and Brian Mitchell

Hey Old School, Gus Frerotte was a 7th round pick and he was an "impact" player.

Hmmm more "interesting" stuff from me. . .

Archdeluxe does deserve another shot I agree. We paid him the $ now let's get him in the game and ask him to stand up and play. I think he wants to and I think he will. We need all the bodies we can get on D.

BLloyd is another matter. We'll keep him but I'd take him out to the woodshed if there is even a hint of him getting one letter off the team page. If he thinks he's all that and a bag of chips then tell him to shut up and play.

I've been thinking about QB a lot. It seems to me that having a strong back-up is increasinly vital in this league even with the rules that basically allow the QB the field equivalent of the pope mobile. I don't even want to say it out loud about Soups and what could happen. But thinking it makes me think that we need a back up who could go 3-4 games. I don't think Brunell is that guy. He's a 1-2 game guy at most. What about Collins?

Okay that's it from yesterday. Thanks if you took the time to read my verbal vomit.

Cowboys will not crash and burn! The all Wade all the time team will doubtlessly prevail. Look at the great work Wade Wilson did with Rex Grossman and Chad Hutchinson, and apply that to Romo.

Dealer, how could you dream about sfskin when you've never seen her? Or have you met her? I know dreams can be weird, though.

Also, Dealer, the Wiz scared me last night....they had that game sewn up and then almost lost. Chicago will be a big cha a big challenge for them tonight.

"On Friday, the New York Giants coach told reporters during the NFL's annual scouting combine he wished Barber hadn't used the media to voice his strong opinions and wasn't sure why Barber blamed the coaching staff for pushing him into retirement.
Barber's latest comments came during a news conference when he was hired by NBC.

"I do not know what this is all about," Coughlin said. "I was under the impression he was having a press conference to announce his new role with NBC, and then to find out that he turned around and talked about something like this ... I think to give the illusion that I had something to do with his retirement, I don't quite follow that."

Barber, who retired after last season and will now work on the "Today" show and Sunday Night Football broadcasts, criticized Coughlin recently for not giving him enough rest during the practice week. He said there were days he couldn't move and that Coughlin was upset he could only go half-speed, which forced him into what some considered an early retirement."

I don't understand it either. You rip the guy that helped your career. Sounds like some backstabing to me......

Mike&Mike said something that I actually agreed wwith for the 1st time - Tiki is not a HOFer..

4th,

I disagree with what Tiki said while a player. Now that he's a commentator i don't have a problem with him saying whatever he pleases.

It's a bit murky because he's using "inside info" garnered while being a player but now he's paid for his insight not by the Giants.

It's a drinking blog with a football problem. Linda, make sure to tune in around midnight Portland time.

Posted by: SMACK | February 23, 2007 03:53 PM

Well said SMACK. From a Dallas fan too. That doesn't happen very often. lol

Speaking of Portland, Nate did you survive the night without being able to blog your guts out?

RE: Vincent

I thought I read somewhere that Vincent asked to be cut because he wanted more playing time and it amde sense for the 'Skins????

JLaC - Can you confirm???

Are we all forgetting that Double G doesn't play rookie defenders? We might as well assume that there will be absolutely no impact next year from whoever we draft. Talk about depressing...

And why are we going to let Dock leave town when he's the youngest guy on what we all should admit is a very aging O-Line?

As I mentioned a few entries before, there is simply no one-year fix for the Skins, at this point - I'm rather heavily convinced of it the further I go along. At this point, there isn't a magic formula to work off of, so best we put that notion in the cupboard right now, and hit the road to rebuilding. We need to work on getting some meat in our depth charts before we start woofing about the post-season.

As far as London Shakyer-MoneyMaker, he'd be a decent addition. Despite his 30 years, he's got another year or two left in him, and I don't think he's had any major injuries (unlike Mike WheelBarrow). He'll bide us over until we have had enough time to be in a position to draft a quality MLB. Dre Bly might be another aquired player, though he's more than likely to demand a premium in a seller's free agency in the CB position, so all bets are off.

One thing I'm concerned about right now is just what the coaching approaches will be on offense and defense this year. On offense, I'm hoping the playbook starts looking a lot more balanced, now that we have a decent arm to go with the running game. Hopefully we don't ever see 3rd and Long (the official Down and Distance Of the Washington Redskins) come up anywhere near as often as it did under Brunell.

And what about Greggilligan? Has he perhaps gone towards a simpler system that doesn't make your corners drop back 6-10 yards, place your safeties and linebackers completely out of position for the play at hand, and the other shabingus that happened last season? Or will he stick to the 'Learn My System Or Else' method that completely gummed up things, and made him assume that he could live without above-average guys like Antonio Pierce?

Better yet, will he ever trust his players to play, rather than give them so many sets of rules that the play's already gone by before the player can react? Even though all the guys that supposedly couldn't play within the system have been let loose, like Lavarr 'I.E.D.' Arrington, there hasn't been much improvement - hopefully, Greggilligan took that lesson to heart.

Many questions, never any answers.

I have to agree with Coughlin - I heard Tiki make those comments and wondered what the heck he was doing. He also kept saying "we" referring to the Giants. While Coughlin certainly has his personality/coaching problems, Tiki should have just moved on. Tiki is full of himself.

The Skins can talk to as many potential picks like Buster Davis, Ted Ginn, etc as much as they want to. Problem is we only have 1 pick in the first 4 rounds. Defensive Line needs to be addressed.

Even though our 5th, 6th and 7th round picks in the past few years making the roster that is great. But are they making the team because we have no quality depth and no picks from earlier rounds to compete against???? I do think we found a quality player in Golston but the rest could be out of the league soon.

As far as next year goes I really think if the 2 backs and Santana stay healthy, we can make huge strides with Campbell in there at QB. The defense is another story but hopefully whichever guy we draft on the d line has an immediate impact and forces teams to be in 2nd, 3rd and long situations to help out the secondary. Not real excited about London Fletcher but is an upgrade and knows the scheme. Hopefully we can get 2 solid years from him. Here to things moving on the up and up for 07 and beyond. Hail.

Just reading some stuff on Redskins.com. Anybody got a way we can go back in time and never trade for BLloyd or Duckett, have a 3rd and 4th round pick this year plus all that money wasted on the crybaby wannbe rapper.

CDubb - That's a 2nd and 4th This tear for the artist (Isn't that why we go rid of McCants?!?!?!) and NEXT YEAR's 3rd rounder since we gave this years away to Denver (if memory serves me correct) or something close to it.....

Is the blog actin funny again...I just posted a huge diatribe and it aint postin!

I get NYC media 24/7 up here, and let me tell you....Tiki is dead on. Coughlin is a moron. He nickled and dimed the Giants to death, was old school to the point of negative impact and lost his veterens pretty much from day one. You gotta an undersized dude who play gutz out like Tiki does and your gonna kill him in practice (que AI)? Look at Gibbs 1.0 with Riggins, an over 30 player who balled on sunday...Did he ever practice? Who cares? You gotta keep RB and their bodies happy. Do you think if Barry Sanders hadnt had Bobby Ross as his last coach he would have quit...HECK NO!

And don't tell me Coughlin made him better. Tiki was always good he just had to quit fumbling, pure coincidence that he improved on Coughlin.

Before Coughlin Strahan and Tiki HATED eachother and the NY Post would be filled with them lobbing insults...Coughlin gets here and they unite in their mutual hatred. The giants have/had the talent to be in championship games and they stinkk!

And enough of this Mike and Mike just shut up, atheletes cant talk garbage! Freedom of speech up in here. Football literally takes years off your life and we want these dudes to "shut up and play" like ignorant chattrel, please. He is a grown azz man (que Cedric the entertainer) and if he wants to be honest about why HE BELIEVES he retired early So F'in be it! Us sports obsessed fans biach when we hear player/coach speak and when someone brings it honest we want them to act like 8 year olds at the kiddie table at thanksgiving!

And us Skins fans are gonna snicker that some dude aint a HOFmer after we know about the selection sham that is that fat guy club? Please! F the Hall of "Fame"

Tiki, speak on brutha!

F blog technology

Part of me hates to ever consider drafting a kicker in an early round, BUT if the skins were to trade down and acquire more picks...drafting Mason Crosby from the U of Colo might not be a bad idea. No earlier than the third round mind you but the kid has a helluva leg and is accurate. Just think someone who can force touchbacks and make long FG's what a concept. And don't tell me Swissham is a long term answer.

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_5285586

4th - think you are pretty close on the picks. Here is the breakdown I think it is but tough to keep track with the dealings of our FO braintrust:

For #85 - 3rd last year and 4th this year
Duckett - 3rd this year

We lost our 2nd this year as part of the trade to move up and get RockyMac. This along with the number of other picks we gave up over the last few years.

Man, I gotta go grab a beer after thinking about this one more time.....

I think I actuall had to clean up my language in my diatribe thats why it wouldnt post....

Everyone you talk to off the air at the combine will tell you the same thing -- the Bears and Lovie Smith aren't even in the same universe in terms of a new contract.

The more birdies you talk to, the more you hear that the Bears aren't even close to offering what first time NFL head coach Bobby Petrino got with the Falcons. Frankly, I love Petrino, but Smith has an NFL body of work, which includes a Super Bowl appearance.

from http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6497314

As much as we get down on the skins FO at least Snyder's not scared to spend money. Maybe Smith gets so sick of the McKaskeys (sp?) he decides to play out his contract and become the top FA coach out there (along w/Cowher).

CL - WTF are you talking about?!?!?!

Tiki use to be Tiki 'FUMBBBLE' Barber. The very next season when Couglin came in, he started holding the ball high and to his chest and he started getting national accliamm. I'm sure it wasn't Coughlin, but one of his boys HE hired to coach the RBs up there. ALL COACHING STAFF BRUH!!

As for the early retirement thing. From a FO position, I would say, SO? We paid ya, didn't we?? So you gonna do what's asked of you.

Dick Vermeil had this same problem in St Louis where EVERYONE WAS GRIPING. All that griping calmed down once they made it to the SB....

Also, Tiki was Tiki 'Fumbbbble' Barker for 7 WHOLE SEASONS. You can't tell me he did a complete 180 in the same season Couglin came in...

4th,

If you remember St. Louis won a SB after Vermiel acknolwedged he chilled out....

I live in NYC and never did the media conncet advice Coughlin gave Tiki to his fumble problem going away, a position coach maybe. And Tiki was only really a abnormal fumbler for that one year.

Modern NFL players respond to coach who know how to balance discipline and a players coach mentallity, its a new breed and a new era. Why do you think coaches are getting so young? B/C the younger coaches get that. And you dont have to be a softie, Cowher didnt kill Bettis when he got older, he was smart with him....and SB. You have to treat players different.

Is Mangini a softie? No but he also knows when to hit the gas and when to ease off same goes for Lovie, Dungy, Del Rio...no one ecuses them of being weak but you also don't hear the insane rules, the locker room rebellions and the complaining players.

Coughlin is a dinosaur and an idiot. OK so maybe somebody on his staff helped Tiki with fumbling but I don't doubt for a second if he was handled better on the human level and not as a football robot, he be racking up 1200 yards for them again next season....

But hey I m glad he is gone, I am no Tiki lover just sick of this my way or the highway 1950s buzz cut mentallity oc coaching, and it don't work now adays anyway....

And I hate the atheletes should shut up stuff to....

I hate, there for I am...

F me

wow! we allover the place today. kool!

sfskin, i can't believe none of your interesting, riveting thoughts had anything to do with your vacation, shtilock's column on the nba, your girl pelosi laughing at the dems in the senate, prince harry going to iraq, CHIMPS MAKING WEAPONS!!!...should we crygencially freeze marky mark...or charlton heston....but i'm "feelin" you on the QB thing...i just didn't want to say it to upset anyone's dreams (mine) about the SB run next year...

jason, would you like to wager something(for fun cuz i'm forbidden to gamble) that skins will at least make it to the NFC championship game next year?

chris larry, why do you listen to them when you have mr. tony now?

lisa, no never met her before that was my first time in my dreams. tough cookie.

adam, i wasn't getting at anything. i was just asking sincerely cuz for the life of me i couldn't rember if that had been the case...always...and you're right i was watching the game on a 21/27" 12 year old tv from 8-9' away.

Honestly, why don't the Redskins get a general manager so they can make long range, intelligent, strategic personnel decisions? Joe Gibbs in the 80s was phenomenal and still could be, but don't forget about GM Bobby Beathard who got and kept the outstanding talent together. OK, they don't need a GM to rule over Joe, just someone of ability and stature who can work with him. Dan and Vinnie Cerrato aren't cutting it and every second Joe spends with Danny on football matters is wasted and harmful to the team.

did you guys know that tiki and NE dude(RB who also retired yesterday) played the same amount of years(10) and the other dude has more yards rushing, more YPG, more TD's than tiki?

no mr. tony on nyc airwaves............sniffle........

did Dillon officially retire? Dude was beast....

F tiki

I recently read somewhere that Coughlin watched film of Tiki and diagnosed the problem but I can't find that article.

This is from the Sporting News in '04:

"The most important statistic for Barber, though, is a zero--as in zero fumbles. In both 2002 and 2003, Barber fumbled nine times and lost six of them. Something had to change.
When Ingram and new Giants coach Tom Coughlin first met with Barber, they talked to him about changing the way he held the ball. It's not as much about ball placement as elbow position... Ingram and Coughlin wanted Barber's elbow in, with the ball up against his chest. It wasn't comfortable at first, but Barber didn't argue. He held the ball that way when the team ran drills and when he ran on the treadmill, and eventually the new style became second nature...
Coughlin had two goals for the running back: 'He wanted to change the way I held the ball and lessen my workload,' Barber says. 'He's gotten half of those.'"

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_43_228/ai_n6272242

CL,

TK is on Washington Post radio. Log on to this website at 8:30 am and click listen live. I think you can listen to a podcast. Go to Washington Post radio on this site.

Thanks LEARNED Hand...

As for players just shutting up, I didn't mean to infer that. I was talking about Tiki biting the Hand that made him who is was. I believed he led the league in fumbles at least 2 years, if I'm not mistaken.....

BOOBS

I think we already had that convo already...

JUICY BUTTS

Here's good thread of note worthy late rounders:

http://www.goteamsgo.com/forum/football-forums/7386-best-late-draft-picks-all.html

Of course pre-1998.

I know I'm late but thanks for the welcome fellow peeps! This looks like a really fun and crazy board. I thinks I will like it here. :) Did you guys see the press conference announcing Tom Brady was joining the Redskins? Oh, wait--that was a dream I had. Along w/the marriage proposal. Darn. :

Linda, meet dealer. Dealer, meet Linda.

Lovely.

Wuz up Doc? I couldn't resist. I'm in real silly mode right now. Is Dealer also a Skins fanatic in love w/the beautiful one? If so, nice to meet ya Dealer but hands off! LOL

I'm sorry Doc. I almost forgot to say it is also nice to make your acquiantance. :D

chris Larry, I kept trying to post "Mom! cload broke the blog!"
Posted by: Nate in the PDX | February 23, 2007 01:43 PM

And as I sat there at lunch, rapid-fire tossing out the coarse invective I pass off as analysis, and the f'ing thing breaks on my previous post, I was thinking "Mom, I didn't do it!"

F Loseable Type - get a real content mgmt system that will let us put in tables at a minimum. oh, and doesn't crap out every 16 seconds.

Welcome to the insanity that is Redskins Insider Linda. 95% of the time it is an awesome place and you'll find it sucks up large swaths of your time and you'll feel guilty and weird but you won't be able to tear yourself away.
The other 5% we have some ugliness which leads many of the regulars to bow out for a few days. Don't get discouraged we always seem to pop back on track.
It's nice to have another lady join the fray. Lisa is a stallwart who knows more about football than 99% of football world as does Megskin who is more of a regular season contributor. Me I'm just a huge fan who likes to state obviousness and because I'm on the west coast restate and repeat what others have said. I try to make up for that by being occaisonally witty.

Your life is never gonna be the same now that you're here.

OMG I forgot the leader of the (lady) pack and our fearless editor Cindy also known as Cyn Cyty!

I prostrate myself in apologies.

has anyone checked out the SportsBog's post "We Are the Redskins"?!?!?!

oh my. it's..... it's just, wow

I'm actually really curious to know what others think about the QB situation.

Obviously Soups is our guy and seems poised to go on to do great things. But are we satisfied with our backups?

I know we have way more pressing needs at the moment i.e. Defense but I can't help but having flashes back to dink and dunk or 2 seasons ago when we had a monster D but sputtered around like a Soviet car on offense.

sf,

You forgot *SallieMae*.

SALLIE MAE *NOOOO*
My only excuse is I'm in a fog of antihistemines due to the worst allergy attack in years.

I send you big *HUGS* from my prostrated position of apologies!

I need to go sit in the RI penalty box for these infractions.

*sigh*

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2007/02/we_are_the_redskins.html

Right now, with the cupboard kinda bare, we're just going to have to "plan optimistically" regarding injuries -- QB being the prototypical example.
Collins has proven nothing, ever, but with Brunell coming off a serious injury you probably can't let him go. Knowing the offense is apparently very important(!).
Brunell is the interesting case. Given his injury, rehab, and overall health upon his return, I'm not sure he's an answer. But he has a $6M cap hit this year, and appears ready to renegotiate to minimize it. So I think you do that, get his cap number way down, then when you reach midseason and he's "fully healed" you take a look at him vs. Collins and make a call. Then you've got a full year of Campbell to assess as well as at least one vet backup slot.
That means that in 2008 you might have a QB set of Campbell-Brunell-Bramlet, Campbell-Collins-Bramlet, or even Campbell-{QB who loses the Brees/Rivers war for his team, whoever that is}-Bramlet.
Bottom line is that QB depth is a concern, but not one we're in a position to do much about this year.

Now I know why Gibbs retired...
O .....
M .....
G .....

LMAO Someone has got seen that D Green. LMAO

Welcome to the blog Linda.

Still LMAO!! Damn where did they locate that video

Sorry that should be show D Green.

and to Mr. Bostic as well.

"We sincerely thank you"

is the 1983 version of

"this is sewious"

(After surviving the week from hell at work)

The QB situation for 2007 may not be as dire as it seems.

Brunell's shoulder is the key. If the surgery works, he can be a workable #2. No illusions about his skills, but the Skins offense should be run-oriented anyway. In a run-oriented offense, throwing downfield occasionally keeps the defense from pressing (8 in the box). With a healed shoulder, even Brunell can accomplish that. If Brunell's shoulder doesn't heal, then the cap situation will probably send him to the IR list for the season.

Collins knows the offense, and might also be a workable #2 if Brunell's shoulder doesn't rehab properly. No, he hasn't shown much since he arrived, but he also hasn't had much work with the #1 offense. If he doesn't have the basic skills anymore, the Skins will probably cut him this year, since the offense will be much less of a mystery than it was last year.

Worst case scenario (Brunell doesn't recover from surgery and Collins doesn't have basic skills): every year, there are any number of "decent" quarterbacks who are good enough to be short-term backups at #2. For every new QB drafted out of college into the NFL, another veteran QB gets unceremoniously "retired".

Watch the cut list in the next week and again after June 1st to see who will be the available free agent QBs for 2007. There are always a few high-profile surprises on this list who can often be had cheaply for veteran minimum salary + incentives. Look for familiar names like Patrick Ramsey and Joey Harrington to be in this group soon.

Long-term, the Skins will either need to get lucky with a cheap Ramsey-type (late bloomer) free agent pick-up, be surprised by some unexpected talent and performance from Bramlet, or draft another rookie late-round hopeful and hope they find the next Tom Brady.

If all else fails: 1) ARE was a QB in college; and 2) find Brett Elliot and sign him if he's available.

i just had an ephiony after reading all the tiki quotes on here. doesn't it seem like tiki lost the "it's either him or me" bluff??? it seems like he would've been back if coughlin had been let go.

hi, linda you can have mr. brady all you want. it's when the peeps are anointing and worshiping "the smartest player ever to put on a uniform" or arguably smartest human being ever aka archie's boy aka peyton manning. that's when i HEART mr. brady. and yes, i do wish he played for the skins. but then again there's no such thing as picking a HOFer in the 6th round. i think you have to trade at least 10 first rounders to get an HOFer QB.

For those who have never heard of Brett Elliot. He did make the Chargers' initial roster in 2006 but got bounced off during the season. I believe he is a free agent currently.

http://www.chargers.com/news/headlines/news_20060513.htm

Jason,
Why did the Redskins let Troy Vincent go? Salary cap? Right! Ingratitude, if you ask me and no one did!

He's the guy who made the big block of the kick that one one of the few games the Redskins won all of last season.

Thanks.

dealer -

That whole Tiki business is ugly. You may be right about the "calling their bluff" deal. Maybe Tiki hinted during the season that he was thinking about retirement and no one (Coughlin, Accorsi, whoever) tried hard enough (or begged long enough) to keep him around.

That being said, Tiki may have realized that his window to a big career in broadcast "journalism" was open now and would never get better while he was still in the headlines as a top RB in the NFL. Combined with his years in the league and the wear-and-tear he was probably starting to feel, his retirement may have been a foregone conclusion.

Still, it seems strange he decided to take the low road. He could have just kept his mouth shut and moved on. It feels more like a personal vendetta by him towards Coughlin than a push by his new employer to get the "insider" point of view.

I can't imagine the Giants locker room will be a very happy place to be in 2007. It will be interesting to see if Tiki says more, or just stays quiet and smiles at the camera next season, when asked about it.

On a side note, the comparison of Tiki's numbers to Corey Dillon up above was pretty humorous. It will be fun to see how the NY media spins that at HOF time, and also if the Patriots release Dillon from his contract, now that more has been said on the subject. (Dillon may want to continue playing - elsewhere. Sounds like another possible compensation fight for the Pats.)

Hey Rick -

Football is a business, like it or not. Players get paid for performing and staying healthy. For most players, performance goes down and injuries/lost time goes up as they get older. Jerry Rice would be under contract somewhere today if he could still run 4.6, evade defenders, catch 100 passes/year and score touchdowns at will.

Troy Vincent's key play in 2006 will always be appreciated by Skins fans. But he is 35, not in the team's long-term future, and expensive at a time when cap consideration is important.

Time marches on.

One last comment for the evening -

This new blog efficiency is disconcerting. I used to be able to get a lot of other work done after pressing "Submit" on a post. Those long wait times were great!

Guess I'll have to alter my schedule again.

UM...throw up in my mouth...thanks that video ruled! I remeber when it first aired......loved it!

cload, the losers of this year's Brees/Rivers war includes: Plummer, Leftwich, Aaron Brooks (anticipatory loser of the Brooks/Brees war), Joey Harrington, David Carr, Brad Johnson, Kurt Warner, Damon Huard, Brooks Bollinger, Patrick Ramsey ... who else am I missing?

Anyone there seem like someone you want to stick btwn Campbell and Bramlett OTHER than Brunell or Collins?

[Personally, I'm thinking Leftwich and Plummer will find starting jobs ... Warner might be the highest rated second stringer after Vick's back-up, Matt Schaub.]

I think the list of those-soon-to-join-the-heap starts with Culpepper, Charlie Frye, and J.P. Losman.

My point is that, other than Brunell, the next best guy the Skins could put behind Campbell is Trent Green himself. For what I remember about the severity of his head bonk last year, I'd advise Green to get off the field and think about the future of the jelly between his ears.

I am starting. Quit dogging me dcsween

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/football/pro/jaguars/orl-jags2307feb23,0,476247.story?coll=orl-jags

okay i might be a bit foggy but i think "never scared" show by chris rock will stand the test of times. i put it up there with richard pryer's stuff, raw, and george karlin...

" and janet with her 40 year old bitty on a SUNDAY afternoon" "that's not your bitty, that's your man's bitty"...LOL!

and his political shtuff was/is(watching now) is humorous too.

dc -- I'm not even thinking about 2007; as I said, Collins is what we think he is (or maybe he's not), and I think we're stuck with Brunell from a cap perspective pending a renegotiation.
So the crystal ball question is, who will emerge by the end of next season as a decent backup QB prospect?

Ok, I'm making one last comment about Tiki and that's it. I'm sooo sick of hearing and seeing Tiki - even though he is very easy on the eyes - he knows it all too well.

His Coughlin "comments" were made at the Pro Bowl while he was being interviewed by the NFL Network guys. They specifically asked him about Coughlin. Maybe he came out and repeated his words later as well. But that is how/where it started so it was not like he just came out and attacked his former coach. That being said, he should have said nothing derogatory and just moved on....

lisa, i don't rember the probowl thing but he "attacked" his coach (again) at the presser where nbc paraded their top "brass" to announce tiki's hiring (in nyc).

anyways...to state the obvious...so much is depended on JC for the skins. if he plays well then he'll hide lot of the skins deficiencies on offense and defense.

how you feeling sfskin?

An interesting article:

http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=24911

Looks like the Redskins coaches and scouting staff have been reading RI:

http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=24937

(I may be slightly biased, but I believe the core group here at RI is a better scouting staff than the staff that works out of Ashburn.)

At this hour, no one else is blogging except me. Yes, that last post was mine.

(Please remember that Nate is wandering around Diddyland* this weekend.)

*Diddyland is near Puget Sound, in the state of Washington, and not to be confused with Disneyland, which is in the O.C.

That theory about the Redskins Store discounting jerseys for players on the way out of town had better be wrong:

http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=24937

Why doesn't the Redskins Store sell a Skins hoodie in black with "REAPER" on the back?

And people think the Zebra gang are Marketing geniuses?

Regarding Ted Ginn, Jr. as a possibility to switch to CB, and, the CB/Springs/Clements/Smoot issues:

As I (and others) have said here before, if BLloyd can't catch the ball reliably as a wide receiver, switch him to CB. He's got decent size and speed, he could still intercept more reliably than Double Move, and he's already paid like a CB.

He won't have to worry about running sharp routes anymore. He will just have to learn backpedal and cover techniques.

It sounds like a stupid idea at first, but it addresses lots of key issues.

Gibbs might have to find a better CB coach, however.

What if?

Ryan Leaf, the Washington State standout, reportedly showed up at the combine overweight and then blew off his meeting with the Colts, who were interested in taking him No. 1 overall. Indy chose Peyton Manning and Leaf went No. 2 overall to the Chargers. Leaf is considered one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history. (SI.com)

Here is a link for a good quick info source on every player in the league, including contract and cap info, as well as annual and career performance stats.

http://www.rotoworld.com/Content/Depth_NFL.aspx?sport=NFL

I found this while researching Napoleon Harris of the Vikes. Someone keeps mentioning him as a UFA to grab for MLB. After seeing his stats, I am definitely NOT impressed. Obviously, the scheme makes a lot of difference, but MLBs usually make lots of tackles in a 4-3. Harris doesn't. (Compare to Fletcher-Baker or Pierce in 2006.)

Specail note to Redskins FO:

"JUST SAY NO" to Patrick Kearney

Okay, that's it for me - typos are the first sign of impending sleep.

For those who do the pub crawl with Jason: have a blast, and have one for me. (It's just a bit too far away for me to drop in. Unlike P Diddy, I don't own my own airplane/airline.)

Ocho Ocho, great to have you drop in as the bookend on the evening.

This AM, I finally watched the "We Are The Redskins" video. The word WOW doesn't really capture how I feel ... all the nostalgia from 80s music week last week evaporated in a flash. Now I remember why I'm glad I left that decade. :) Also, there is a speed metal cover remake of that tune ... takes about half as long ... its a workout video for hamsters on coke. Bring the automated emergency defibrilators.

Ocho x2, I still agree on CB being a way to get good value out of Blloyd. He knows about routes and fakes (including the deadly "double move" ... there's no way to stop that). Plus, he has enough bad attitude that I bet it translate into something akin to Jack Tatum before his morning coffee.

WOW. Did I just read Brunell and 2008 in the same sentence? I am annoyed he'll be back this year. There is a better arm on the chair I am sitting in right now. Here's an article from the washtimes. Lots of repeats, but I had not really heard about Portis radio interview before.

http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20070224-123707-6394r.htm

After reading HB story this morning. There is no way they should keep Springs at a $7.35 hit. Sorry Lisa but with his age and injuries no way. I won't say anything bad about Brunell (don't want Lisa upset with me lol) But hell no! $6.71 hit for a back up.

Springs is as good as gone. He has absolutlely no motivation to rework his contract. Even if he is only be asked to lower his salary to say $5M for next year, he should be getting at least that as a signing bonus in the open market.

Even though I'll badmouth Brunell because of much of the pain he has inflicted over the last 3 years, I don't have a major objection to him coming back as a backup with a minimum salary. If he has any illusion that he can start or make more than like a million bucks next year somewhere, then good riddance. But I will say this...every hit Campbell takes next year I will be begging for him to bounce right back up. I only wanna see #8 on the sideline with a clipboard.

All that pent-up blog energy from what will hereafter be known as The Outage led to a terrific day up here... but it's a shame things couldn't continue apace after J-La's "predications" post. We were hot as a pistol.

Great work above by everybody, especially Ocho-Ocho on the night shift.

Yes, we're in Seattle AKA land o'Diddy. It's cold and rainy (gasp) but our spirits are not dampened.

Hope a bunch of you DC folks join J-La at the Ugly Mug tonight.

skinswest, (getting caught up from above) wouldn't a kicker playing half his games in Boulder (and a lot of other games in the mountainous west) benefit from the high elevation... the Coors Field effect?

I'm not hating, just legitimately wondering if we couldn't expect the kicker's leg to be a little less impressive closer to sea level. Especially when the elevation change is added to the deeper pro kickoff.

I know I should submit this to "Ask a Kicker" but I thought I'd start with you.

cdubb, Springs' salary next year is about $5 mill. The Redskins would like to drop his salary well below $5 mill. His cap number reflects his salary plus a prorated portion of his signing bonus.