hey jlc..
Alan Branch seems to be seriously slipping downward.. now # 24 on kipers list ! what's the scoop ? and does this now seriously jeopardize a trade with denver ??

I have heard that Branch was not that impressive in interviews at the combine, thee are some concerns about his explosiveness and worries he might not fit well in all systems. 24 seems a little low, but that's Mel's forte, and I am no draftnik, so I'll defer to him.
I don't think Branch slipping would impact the Skins trade talks about moving down with any club, though.

vpar,

Why would we trade with Denver? Those talks seemed to die down over a week ago. Trading #6 for #21 (when we do not need Bly) would be asinine.

lisa.. i'm with u.. i don't want to trade down at all, unless its only few spots so we can still bag a defensive stud.. which i think we need desperately.. but i thought denver was real interested in trading up for Branch (and the skins real interest in bly).. which was why they were willing (supposedly) to give us bly, their #21, second and possibly third..

JLC, I didn't know you could GET a transatlantic flight out of National. Are you sure its National and not Dulles or BWI? Also, Ireland seems like it might still be rather chilly this time of year. Still, your friend is a lucky bas...fisherman. I could use a break myself.

Another interesting, non-Skins fact. Dulles is the third option for the landing strip for the space shuttle (after the ones in Florida and California). The runways at Dulles are really, really long.

As for the Skins today, in the words of the famed blog scribe JLaC, "I got nothing" today. [See post season blog posts after the Ravens were out.]

Lisa - You'll say anything to keep Springs, huh? I agree we don't need Bly, though....

The flight is prob going to NY, then to Ireland......

We Should trade down, though. Maybe we can trade down to around the 20s and still pick up Branch and a gaurd in the 2nd??

4th, agreed that it OK to trade with Denver for picks, but only picks, not players. But think Skins should stick with the "plan" if they trade #6 for a lower 1st rounder plus a second/third rounder ... DE then CB. Work w/what we have at DT and LG (musical chairs at those positions during the preseason/after the preseason, if necessary).

good tidbit sween...

We absolutely NEED a 3rd CB. Springs, if he stays will be better served as the nickel so his body will hold up. When he is in the game he is great. But that is assuming Smoot is a #2 and rodgers is a # 1... which I do not think the skins are convinced of either.

So I think a trade is still a possibility based upon those assumptions... or we could just take a beast DE @ 6 and try later for CB depth....

With who we have now I would rank them like this:

1. Springs
2. Smoooot
3. Double Move

Springs says he's out Arizona training hard and is gonna be in tip top shape. If walks like he talks, he's #1

Double Move needs to demonstrate he improved himself in the offseason before the make him a starter again....

4th;

Here are my rankings

Springs (Healthy) = #1
Springs (oft-injured) = #3

With his history, which is more likely

Smoot (2004) = #2, #1.5 (with Champ)
Smoot (2006) = #3

Can he return to form?

Rodgers = #2

Depending on who is lining up opposite him

My problem is that each player is a question mark. Will Double Move grow into a player, is smoot done, not will, but when will springs get injured again. I think our team wants to know it has a legit #1. So maybe we stand pat for now, get into the workouts to see which if any are #1's and then maybe make a move later for a CB, if that is possible.

Yes, healthy Springs is #1 CB. Plus, I do not have doubts he will be healthy before the start of preseason. Benching 300 pounds? I love the sound of that for a CB.

Also agree with both of you guys about Double Move. He does need to demonstrate, but my money says he will. Said it before and I'll remind again, with two weeks rest and surgery to insert two screws into his thumb bone, he was forced into the #1 spot for Weeks 9 through 17. Admittedly, he was a first round pick and should have been up to it, but having to cover the #1 WR with a broken thumb has to be a challenge. Enough of my excuses for his dropped passes (but I think he would have dropped fewer if he was the #2 CB b/c fewer passes would have come his way ... the opponent would not be game planning on throwing to the #1 target covered by an injured second year guy).

Impressive PDSqrd.

May I point out that Smoooot went threw a lot last year.

There is the Love Boat thinggy. Didn't his brother die in a car accident or something? And he was in an accident where they had to wire his mouth shut.

That's too much to handle depending on what the organization thinking is. And for Minnesota - they wasn't liking what was going on in and around Smooot.

I just think he needed a change of scenery and where else better to go where you are pretty familiar. We can look past his problems and wish him well so he can return to his #1.5 mode he was in during Bailey's last year.....

Time Stamp - 11:05 pm EST

No matter what our CB situation is...we need to stay the heck away from Denver.

Of the three, Smoot is the one about whom I am most agnostic. Its been a while since I watched him play regularly so I don't know what he's done with his game since then. Our proverbial wild card. [And I just hope that, if I ever meet him, I don't get asked if I can break a twenty ... in singles. Cheap shot. Sorry.]

I still like the trade for Bly however. Springs is great when healthy, but benching 300 lbs is different than shoulder tackling a fast move 200+ RB who wants to hit you just as bad.

Cut ties with him, make picks out of it. Trade with denver for bly and the 1,2,3 rds picks. DE is very deep in this draft. Also, since others will be taken, our lack of scouting will hurt us less @ 21 since everyone kinda knows who should go in the 1st round as a DE/DT. Then we have less of a chance of F-ing up the pick.

That should give us 4 first day picks after both of those moves plus an extra one or two picks day 2. Start building that depth we desperately need.

DCSween - Yes you said Double Move WILL step up. I said I am giving him the benefit of the Doubt.

I think I did what you did with Gardner, Rod until he was shiped out......

PDSS, re: Springs, the only part about which we agree is that, if the Skins cannot keep him, it is better to trade him than to release him. Bly has been in the league only two years fewer than Springs, plus the Detroit defense he's played in is not the Cover-2 model used by Grilliams (don't know what kind of D was used by St. L when he played there).

4th, yes, I'm putting my eggs in the Rogers basket ... primarly b/c his housemate is Jason Campbell ... and inspiration/motivation/perseverance/success tend to be contagious.

I can care less how much Springs bench presses. He needs focus on stretching and strengthening his hamstrings and keeping those obliques/abs healthy. It would also be great if he could teach Carlos a thing or two about catching a football...

PDSquared...my brotha from anotha mutha.

Well said. Springs is still solid, but for how long? O and D line help can be had with a couple extra picks, need to get younger.

Seems to me that a little more pressure of the edge, will give less time for Double Move to get beat. I see a big leap coming this year.

Interesting trade rumor ... might affect the trade value of Skins #6. The rumor is that the Packers-Raiders are talking about Randy Moss for Aaron Rodgers. If Rodgers DOES go to the Raiders, then the Raiders not only free up JaMarcus Russell for someone else to pick, but also probably take Adrian Peterson or Calvin Johnson w/#1 (even though they SHOULD go for Joe Thomas ... the Raiders, Lions, and Cardinals really need to pay a LOT more attention to their O-line). Supposedly, Peterson has been trying to look like Reggie Bush during his Pro Day workout, esp. showing off his pass catching abilities.

Anyway, not sure who Denver wants so badly presumably Peterson or Johnson), but a Raiders-Packers trade might make a Donkeys-Skins swap in the first round less attractive to Denver.

Good point Chris, Good point K. D line that gets pressure makes everyone behind them better.

dcsween: awesome use of the word agnostic! Sent me scurrying to my Funk and Wagnalls.

Lol Donkeys

We should give each team a non-sanctioned nickname. I know one old post writer used to call the skins the Potomac Basin Indegenous Peoples. Cant think of his name...

I'll start

1)Ravens = Jail birds

PD, it was even better. I think it was the Potomac Watershed Region Indigenous Peoples. But I think I read that on Salon.com.

2) Vagiants.

dcsween - you are correct, no international flights out of R-squared. must be stopping in NYC before heading over the pond.

There's a sort of Portland supergroup (some Decemberists and others) who play in a fantastic Pogues tribute band called KMRIA, that's what I'm going to see on Saint Patrick's Day.

I saw the real Pogues last year in DC and SF, but couldn't make it to any of their US shows on the current tour.

And yes, I hope to enjoy several pints of Guaness. Slainte!

I was guessing either a connection in NYC or Boston. Lots of Ireland flights from both of those.

sween, I don't agree that we can make do with our current group of DTs. I love those dudes, they are warriors with lunch buckets, but I seem to remember opposing RBs running right through our line and then being waved at by Holdman and Marshall.

We need fresh legs in the middle, at least one big healthy dude to clog things up and last the whole doggone season. I don't care where we get him in the draft, as long as we get him in the draft. So I'm still thinking DT.

All right, if we trade down and have two day one picks, I would be happy with DE first and DT second.

Sorry to go off topic, but...

I have windows 2000, which after downloading all the critical updates, still won't change my clock. I tried doing it manually, but it doesn't stay...changes itself back after a few minutes. I tried taking of the DST after double clicking on the clock, but that doesn't work either. Any suggestions, or do I have to wait 3 weeks til the normal DST to have an accurate clock?

Thanks.

PDSquared, what are you drinking? You really think Denver would give us their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd picks for our #6??? Ain't happening.

One thing I hope the Skins have learned is that Denver always gets the best of us when we make trades....and that they do not drink the koolaid anymore.

It's COULDN'T/COULD NOT/CANNOT care less. It's not I could care less or I can care less.

Nice smack SMACK.

3)Cowpies

I do get the feeling that our FO is playing games at least a little bit. Lots of flirting with deals, lots of trade rumors buzzing around, and still we sit there holding the #6 with over a month 'til the draft.

I could care more about anonymous grammatical feedback up here.

Lisa;

Based upon the formula written on RI last week that just those 3 picks would still be short of equal value. So technically Denver would 'win' again. But realistically they cannot give us the 4th and 6th as the formula showed, since it would leave them with no picks, so getting away with 2 extra 1st day picks, plus a potential starting CB is fine by me.

And everyone keeps saying that denver hoses us. In the POrtis Champ deal... Champ did not want to be here. Portis did not want to be there. We gave up that extra pick which sucked at the time, but they used it on Tatum Bell who hasn't done S for them yet. And I think Portis is a great running back. We did well in that situation to get something we needed since we couldn't keep champ. It is definately better than letting him hit the free agent market with no compensation or opting out of his contract.

Let's not forget Denver actually outbid the Skins to acquire Courtney Brown, who at the time seemed like the shizzle.

Two years later, he is done next to nothing for them. The FO could have had Duckett without giving up the 3rd, Denver wasn't stupid to take it. They just know a sucker when they see one.

That's gotta be the first use of "shizzle" and "Courtney Brown" in the same...paragraph. The guy has never been more than an oft-injured NFL scrub.

And as for the Raiders getting Rodgers, that may actually help us. There is a better chance of one of the Ab's falling to #6, thus giving us a chance to make a trade with the Texans or Dolphins or whoever.

Most likely though, is that the top 5 picks are still Russell, Quinn, Peterson, Johnson, and Thomas, and #6 we get any DL we want.

I love Portis and have no problem with the Portis/Bailey trade....it's the fact that we also gave them another pick as well that bothers me.

look at our last years (embarrassing) stats.. 6 ints and 19 sacks.. league records for a season, i think.. DT or DE can be argued, but we need pressure on the QB..then springs(or)bly and smootie/rogers combo will hold up.. but we need a STUD.. and ur not going to get one w/the 21st pick unless u get darn lucky.. the talent falls off pretty quickly from the top to the bottom of the 1st round.. thats why the points fall from #1 3000pts to #32 590pts.. there's never a guarantee, but i think a 21st pick rookie is not going to get it done and may not even see much game time with GW... we need a top pick.. we have a bunch or guys with 2/3 years left in the tank.. time now to grab yourself a bruce smith, strahan, peppers, etc.. i think there's a strong correlation between having a stud D-lineman and getting to a Super Bowl !!

Hey, why dont we go out and get Strahan now!! It worked with Bruce Smith!

Really I am worried that our scouting department has no clue and we will mess up that pick. And @ 21, this draft will find you a very solid DE at that pick. Jarvis Moss, Carriker, there are a lot of them out there this year. That is why this is the only year we could accomplish this trade and get someone who should start relatively soon.

I'm with vpar, Moss and Carriker aren't half as good as Addams or Branch. Moss and Carriker could be good, but right now, you can't seriously think they will be the absolute monster we can get at #6.

So what is all the talk, Mel Kiper and others at the combine, that Branch is not impressing anyone? They said Gaines was a beast. Jamaal is the most complete.

So who do we take then @ 6? Gaines is thin, Jamaal can stop the run. Branch is huge but he lacks good footwork just relying on stregth against college C & G's. Sorry buddy, they are much bigger and better up here.

vpar, I don't think history bears you out on this steep fall off after the top ten in the draft. There have been lots of top ten busts (even #1 pick busts) and plenty of superstars elsewhere in the first round and even into the second round.

Jon, agreed on Moss. For size + speed + motor + durability, I am AOK to drop down for Carriker, who looks like less of a risk to me than Adams or Anderson (well, maybe less risk than Anderson, so sub out Adams for Branch). My value chart puts Carriker and Adams at the same level, and Carriker doesn't need to add the weight that Adams does.

Fresh legs, big healthy DT ... on the roster ... Anthony Montgomery, 6'5" 312 pounds, plus he's had a year under Greg Blache.

Also, re: Montgomery, didn't matter where we got him, as long as it was in the draft ... we did ... last year.

Have people watched all the DL's? I'll try to keep it short, but...

Gaines Addams is an absolute monster, Dwight Freeney is a pretty fair comparison. Our problem is that Carter is small too, and our run D could suffer with 2 small ends. That said, Addams is the best defensive player in this draft.

Haven't seen much of Anderson, he's bigger, and as was said, more of an all around player. He came on the scene this year, whereas Addams has had at least 2 excellent seasons in college.

Branch is a big upside guy. An athletic DT, only problem being that we need a DE more than DE, because we need to rush the passer

Okoye is also really raw and only 19. I like him and wouldn't mind dropping back a few picks as long as we can still get him.

Carriker is good, but not great. He is not risky, but also lacks the upside of the other 4 players mentioned.

i don't think anyone can guess which d-lineman will really pan out the best.. and unfortunately, that includes our scouting dept.. yes, there are some great picks in the lower half, and busts in the top half.. but there has to be a reason the chart runs from 3000 all the way down to 590.. the odds have to be better you get a premium player at the top.. lets face it, thats where most of your big time players come from.. you know, the ones we don't have because we give all our picks away.. and to me, its pretty much luck you get one in the lower half.. i don't know how we do it, but we need to make this draft count.. w/players that are make an big time impact.. especially with all the screw up from last year.. another year of screw ups and we're done for a long time.. and let face it, this defense stunk last year.. and has to make a big time jump.. we don't have the money or extra picks to grab a no-brainer pro bowler (ie samuel f/patriots, etc).. so this player or players have to be it.. has to make a big impact.. then with fletcher running things, carter stepping up with the added help.. we'll be a lot better.. i truly believe jason campbell (unlike brunell) will actually move this offense down the field and score points... if we can get the defense back to wence it was, we can get into the picture again..

i don't think anyone can guess which d-lineman will really pan out the best.. and unfortunately, that includes our scouting dept.. yes, there are some great picks in the lower half, and busts in the top half.. but there has to be a reason the chart runs from 3000 all the way down to 590.. the odds have to be better you get a premium player at the top.. lets face it, thats where most of your big time players come from.. you know, the ones we don't have because we give all our picks away.. and to me, its pretty much luck you get one in the lower half.. i don't know how we do it, but we need to make this draft count.. w/players that are make an big time impact.. especially with all the screw up from last year.. another year of screw ups and we're done for a long time.. and let face it, this defense stunk last year.. and has to make a big time jump.. we don't have the money or extra picks to grab a no-brainer pro bowler (ie samuel f/patriots, etc).. so this player or players have to be it.. has to make a big impact.. then with fletcher running things, carter stepping up with the added help.. we'll be a lot better.. i truly believe jason campbell (unlike brunell) will actually move this offense down the field and score points... if we can get the defense back to wence it was, we can get into the picture again..

That's why I think we have to get one of those top 4 guys, not Carriker, Moss, or some pu-pu platter from Denver

All combine indications, and that is all they are, is that Anderson is the safe pick. Gaines (Ht: 6-5 Wt: 258 40: 4.64) needs to gain more weight than anderson (Ht: 6-5.5 Wt: 288 40: 4.80) but has the speed.

So it really comes down to who will not get pushed around and who will not be a liability in the run game. Grilliams can bring pressure from everywhere to get the QB, as long as teams dont run on us. If they do, they get short down and distance. Then the blitz is out.

Oh, forgot to mention that I read a from the combine that the Skins didn't particularly like Addams, were so-so on Branch, but were intrigued with Anderson.....I think these judgements were based on interviews

This blog is Shabingufied (how many TCCLs for that usage?)

And we all know the redskins judge of talent, don't we.

Actually, the Redskins really had nothing to do with indigenous people. They were named after the 'redskins' that dumped the tea in Boston harbor in 1773.

So we could refer to them as the Washington Tea Dumpers.

PSF -

Regarding your daylight time issue, wouldn't it just be easier to temporarily change your time zone in Control Panels? If you live in the East, change your time zone to Atlantic. It fixes the problem for now. You can change back to the correct setting in April.