So Long Brett Farve

Even though this is a Redskins blog site, I must give props to Brett Farve. Brett was easily my favorite quarterback to watch on any given Sunday. He provided the NFL with such great highlights and stories during his 17 years that mine and your grand children will know who Brett Farve is.

I know this is recent but my favorite memory of Brett Farve was the Monday Night game in Oakland back in 2003. Farve’s father had just passed away the before and Farve had a career game, throwing for 399 yards and 4 TD’s in a blowout win vs the hated Oakland Raiders. Of course I remember this game because I didnt start Farve that weekend in fantasy and I think I missed the playoffs because of him. But none the less, a truly great performance.

Farve will be missed greatly. For the first time in 253 games, the Green Bay Packers will have a new general at the helm next year. It wont be the same anymore. Although, there will be some doubters, you can compare the retirement of Brett Farve to the first retirement of Michael Jordan. The NBA was not the same the following year and the NFL will surely not be the same next year without Farve.

 Thanks for a good show Farve.

The Roster

Now that we have a head coach in place, the Redskins spent a majority of the week filling in some vacant coaching spots with the hiring of Sherman Smith and Stump Mitchell. Sherman will be our new offensive coordinator and Stump (I love that name) will be our runnings back coach. The Redskins have a little over 2 months to decide how they will ruin the 2008 draft but they also have a little salary cap issue to deal with in the meantime. We will take a look at the current roster and what they should do with this roster. This week will be the offensive side of the ball.

Quarterbacks

The only signed QB on our roster is Jason Campbell. As of right now, he is a $1.6 million cap hit for 2008. I do not expect that to change as that is a fairly low number. We all know that this is our QB for the future with the Skins. Last year was his first full year as a starting QB and he struggled at the beginning of the year. No doubt we saw what he is capable of and how strong his arm is. My concern is that he has to learn a whole new offense. However, although I do not care for Matt Hasselbeck, I will be pretty darn happy if Campbell were to have the same career outcome. Campbell is a smart individual and he will learn this offense but next year could be another learning curve, leaving us fans really wondering when the real Campbell will stand up.

The Washington Post reported that the team is looking to resign Todd Collins to a new contract and also looking to possibly sign Trent Dilfer as a FA to play the role that Collins has been playing for the past 3 seasons as the expert West Coast offense QB. Where is Jim Drunkenmiller? Cerrato drafted him to run the WC offense for San Fran, he isn’t available? Oh how I cant wait till this years draft.

Running Backs

Before the 2004 season, the Redskins traded the best cornerback in the business for the best RB (at the time) in the business, thus landing us Clinton Portis. This year, Portis will be a cost of $8.8 million in the Cap. Clinton is only 26 years old but he has a lot of mileage on that body of his. He has a total of 7,700 career yards with a total of 1,700 carries. His body is taken a beating and we know that he has issues with tendinitis in his knee. About this time last season, there were rumblings that the Skins were looking to trade Portis. I do not believe we will hear those rumblings this year. Portis, along with Campbell, is the face of this franchise. If healthy, Portis will greatly benefit from this new WC offense. Last year we saw how proficient he was out of the backfield and how great of a blocker he is. Although the WCO is known as a passing offense, we have seen multiple RB succeed in this format (ie. Roger Craig, Ricky Watters, Shaun Alexander, etc.) Portis has an opportunity to get back to the Pro Bowl here.

The rest of the RB’s are set. We have Ladell Betts, Mike Sellers and Cedric Mason. Betts is a very capable backup and a potientally a great starting RB. Personally, I think Betts made the wrong decision in re-signing with the Skins before last year but I am glad he did. If Portis were to ever go down, then I am more than comfortable with Betts are our RB. Sellers is a beast. He is up there in age, 32, but he isnt slowing down. He will be a great blocker for Portis/Betts this year. Betts has a salary cap hit of $3.4 Mil and Sellers has a hit of $905,000.  With the new trend in the NFL with two back committees, Betts is in no danger of losing his job with the Redskins, I hope.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

I believe the Smurfs are taller than our starting WR’s from last year. Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El were the only regulars in our starting line up last year. Next to the offensive line, our WR corps, I believe that they were the weakest link on our team. With no receivers standing taller than 6′1″, Campbell struggled to make connections during the game.

Moss is our most talented and dangerous WR, too bad he isnt 6″3″. Moss is going to count for about $5.8 Million in the cap room next year. Personally, I think its time that we see Moss leave. He has had one good year with us and that was in ‘05, his first year with the team, when he had 84 catches and 9 TD’s. Yes, he has battled through some tough injuries, but how long can we count on him for? With all that said, I still think he is the best choice that we have RIGHT NOW to be the most effective in the new WCO. He isnt too much for our cap, so I think he survives one more year in DC before we release him next off-season.

Antwaan Randle El is reportedly on the trading block and I dont know why. The El, as we will call him from now on, is possibly the most talented athlete in DC. He is also our second best QB right now. Despite being injuried last year, The El still was able to reel in 51 catches, almost 20 more than the previous year. I hope he is around next year because the more involved in the offense, the better he will become. However, the one request that I have is to have him STOP returning punts. He is no good at that.

We have a few other WR’s that should be considered in our offense next year. James Thrash, just a shy under a Million in the salary cap, is a very good special teams player. Although, he is a little old in age, he is still a lot better than most special teamer’s  in the NFL. Anthony Mix was signed late last year. Mix was considered a surprise player during the pre-season when he was with the Giants, but he was released. Luckily the Skins decided to take a chance on him and now he will cost us $370,000 in salary cap. Mix has size (6′5″) and he has good hands, however, scouts think that he is not a good route runner. If the Skins can get him to work on being a decent receiver, Mix has the tools to be a good slot WR in the new WCO. 

Yes the Skins do need another WR in the draft, but more on that to come in future blogs. To the Tight End situation- The Skins have a Pro-Bowl TE in Chris Cooley. During the regular season, the Redskins were able to lock up Chris Cooley to a contract extension and then they had him re-work his contract so they can get under the salary cap limit. Cooley will cost the Skins roughly $3 million in salary cap space. A $3 million well deserved. Cooley is as tough as they come. Great hands, good route runner and good blocker. Hopefully the Skins can find some offensive line up so Cooley can be freed up to go catch the ball.

Todd Yoder was a nice surprise last year as he was able to contribute in a few games. He will be brought back next year to help out Cooley and may very well be a great additional TE in the 2 TE sets.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Our worst depth position last year was the offensive line. Due to the injuries that came within the first 3 weeks last year, our line became a shuffling of cards on any given week. Losing Jon Janson in the first week and then Randy Thomas in the 2nd week, added a lot more wrinkles to Joe Bugel’s face. It seemed that each week, the coaches were bringing him someone new to try out for the team. We definitely need to draft alot of OL in this years draft.

Jansen, Samuels and Thomas are all getting up there in age as well as cap space. Once again, both Thomas and Jansen re-worked their contracts this off-season to allow the Skins to come close to being under the cap amount. Samuels was once again a Pro-Bowl Tackle but I do not feel 100% comfortable with his cap amount. I will say that he has one more year with the Skins before he becomes a Salary Cap casualty next year.

A nice surprise in Stephen Heyer last year. Heyer played all but the Center position last year and gained some valuable experience. I do not think he is the answer but I do think he is a very good back up. Todd Wade is old and too injury prone to be bought back. If we can keep him as a backup OL, then I will be content but the Skins can find someone better to take his place as the other guard. Someone like Alan Faneca, the FA guard from the Steelers. He may end up being a very good pick up for the Skins this off-season.

A nice late off-season trade last year with the Jets allowed the Skins to acquire Pete Kendall. This proved to be a very good pick up and while we traded away a draft pick, we will not see that pick lost until the 2009 draft. Kendell is 34 years in age, so the Skins must draft OL to help our aging line. Of course there is Casey Rabach as our center. I believe that Rabach is one of the most underrated centers in the NFL. Casey was able to truly help out Jason Campbell see the defense but also had the OL playing well all last year. I truly believe that Rabach should been in the Pro Bowl.

That is the offensive side of the ball. Next week, I will tackle the defensive roster and their salary caps. The offensive needs to get younger in all positions, except for QB, and the fact that we have all 7 picks this year, we can only hope that Synder and Cerrato use those picks on young OL and a WR.

Finally, a new Head Coach

A month and a day from Joe Gibbs retirement announcement, the Washington Redskins have hired their 27th Head Coach, Jim Zorn. Who? Who is that?

I must say, this does come to some surprise, although not a total surprise. The Daniel normally goes after the big names for head coaches but there were not any out there this year. Bill Cowher was not going to come to DC or any other team this year, Bill Parcells was hired as the Dolphins President, Joe Gibbs already retired (again), no-one in DC wanted Jim Fassel and he ran Gregg Williams right out of town. What, Vince Lombardi couldn’t come back for a second term with the Skins? But none the less, Jim Zorn joins the list of some great coaches for the Washington Redskins. Coaches such as Lombardi, Gibbs, Otto Graham, Jack Pardee, Spurrier (ah, nevermind). Zorn has a chance to become this generations Joe Gibbs.

So who is this Jim Zorn? As you know, Zorn was hired as the offensive coordinator for our Washington Redskins about 2 weeks ago. He was brought here from the Seattle Seahawks, where has been the QB coach for the past seven seasons. He helped develop Matt Hasselbeck into a top tier QB in the NFL today. Along with Steve Mariucci, Andy Reid, John Gruden, and Marty Mornhinweg, Jim Zorn comes from the Mike Holmgren coaching tree. That list isn’t a bad list to be a part of. Like Reid, Zorn becomes a head coach with no prior head coaching experience. I am pretty sure that if Zorn has the same success that Reid has brought to the Philadelphia Eagles, then the Redskins faithful will be pretty darn happy.

Zorn started the Seattle Seahawks franchise as their first QB. He had the honor of throwing TD passes to Congressman Steve Largent. However, before Seattle became a recognizable franchise, Zorn was replaced by Dave Krieg in Seattle. Zorn then went to Green Bay to become their QB for one season. He had a short stint in the CFL for one season before returning to the NFL with Tampa Bay, where he retired following the 1987 season. Zorn began his coaching career at Boise State where he was their QB coach. He then went on to become Utah State’s offensive coordinator for two seasons. Zorn made the jump to the NFL with Seattle when was hired by Dennis Erickson as their offensive assistant. After a 2 year stint in Detriot as a QB coach, he returned to Seattle to work for Holmgren.

Zorn brings with him, the West Coast offense. This offense will have a different look to it again. This means a lot of shorter routes for the WR’s and alot of passes coming out of the backfield, you remember Roger Craig don’t you? As far as the running game, I don’t know how that will affect Portis or the style that the Skins are used to but the one thing I do know is that Shaun Alexander had a pretty nice career in Seattle under Holmgren and the West Coast offense. The defense will be the same under Greg Blache but probably not as dominant with Gregg Williams. It may be a bumpy ride the first year but for the long haul, it could look very nice.

I have a good feeling about this head coach. It doesn’t worry me that he doesn’t have any prior experience. The Redskins once hired a head coach with no prior experience and they won 3 Super Bowls with him. I have been saying along that the Skins needed a coach that doesn’t bring much Zing with him. This franchise has been downright pitiful for the past 15 years and its about time that we have a bit of fresh air coming into town. But, if Zorn fails, we can not blame him. This is the Cerrato Era for the Redskins, one in which I am not happy about but will have to deal with. If Zorn succeeds, the Cerrato will be looked as a genius, and if he doesn’t succeed, I will be celebrating along with the rest of you Skins fans as we watch Cerrato leave town.

Art Monk/Darrell Green HOFers/Coaching search update

On Saturday, February 2nd, at 4:30, the NFL HOF announced its 2008 inductees. Among them, Darrell Green (1st time on ballet) and Art Monk (finally making it after 8 tries). What a great day for the Washington Redskins. The only thing that would have made it truly unforgettable was if Russ Grimm was elected as well.

I remember growing up and watching both these players on Sunday Afternoon’s during the 1980’s through 90’s and for Green, the earlier part of the present decade. During their careers, Monk and Green were known for their greatness at their respective positions. I always remember Monk as being one of the three members of ”The Posse”. To this day, I would like to believe that ALL true Redskins fans will want to see another “Posse” on the field. I remember watching Darrell Green playing every Sunday. He was truly a fan favorite. Besides John Riggins and Sonny Jugerson, he is one of the first players I will mention in regards to the Greatest Redskins Player of all time.  Back in the day when the NFL had their annual Skills Competition and Darrell Green would consistently win the fastest man in the NFL challenge. In his prime, Green ran the 40 yard dash in a unheard of time of 4.125 seconds. Being a 7 time Pro Bowl Cornerback and Monk being the all time league leader in Receptions at the time of his retirement, both of these All-Time Great Redskins, they truly belong in Canton. Congratulations!

 The Redskins coaching search goes on for another week. Among the candidates this week, the rumors have it that Jim Fassel, Steve Mariucci, Ron Meeks and Steve Spagnuolo are the finalists with Fassel being the front-runner. Ron Meeks came back for a 2nd interview last week and in my opinion was bought back solely to ease the fans anger over Fassel, although, it would be nice to hear a little bit more of what Meeks can bring to the table.

The problem that I see about this whole coaching search is the fact that the Redskins have already hired their coordinators. So which ever candidate they decide to bring in (Fassel is my guess) will have to work with the coordinators that have already been hired. Lets look at the picture here- Meeks is a Defensive Coordinator for the Colts, if they hired him (which is doubtful), Greg Blache’s philosophy is thrown out the door cause you know Meeks is going to want a say on how the D is run. Steve Spagnuolo is a Defensive of guy too. He has a major task tonight to stop the Patriots in the Super Bowl. If, and its a BIG IF, the Giants were to some how stop the greatest team EVER in the NFL, he would easily become the fan’s favorite and the #1 choice for the Daniel. BUT, that will lead to more issues with Blache as being coordinator. Steve Mariucci is an offensive guy too. He has ties to the West Coast offense, as he implemented that while a HC for the 49ers, and go figure, Jim Zorn’s a West Coast offensive guy too.

So in my opinion, the likely next HC for the Redskins will be Jim Fassel. Jim was the favorite for the job before Joe Gibbs Era II began and now he is the favorite again. As a true fan of the Redskins, Fassel is going to be a decent hire, although not a “Sexy” hire. Fassel was the odd guy out in Baltimore when he got fired because Steve Bisciotti did not want to axe Billick during the season. Fassel didnt have any control of the situation there because Billick was stone solid on his offense working in Baltimore- and we know how that played out. While in NY, Fassel led the Giants to the Super Bowl and had a record of 58-53-1. He deserves another chance of being a HC and I believe he’ll get that here in DC. Be careful though, this could be a one year deal with Bill Cowher coming in next year, which will be fine with me!!

Redskins Coaching Search continues

Welcome to the Redskins Red Zone. This blog is soley about the Redskins and nothing else related to the NFL. I was inspired by a friend of mine who decided to blog about the Washington Nationals. You will find a link for his blog in the links section below. I will cover topics that surround the Skins on a weekly basis. This week, its the Head Coach search. Back on January 8th, The almighty Joe Gibbs decides to call it quits once again. For the past 4 seasons he has tried to pull a 180 for this franchise and bring it back to the promise land. 2 out of the 4 seasons he came close to obtaining his goal by putting this team in the playoffs. Note, that both of the seasons they came in as the 6th seed AND they had to win 5 and 4 games in a row respectively in order make the playoffs. Thank you Joe for your time again. Much appreciated.

 Now three weeks after his annoucement, the Skins are still searching for their next Head Coach. During these three weeks, one of the worst franchises in the NFL, the Atlanta Falcons, were able to get a head coach AND the new Miami Parcelphins were able to get their head coach as well. Why cant the #2 most profitable franchises in ALL of sports hire a freakin head coach?

 It starts at the top. Mr. Daniel Snyder has once again gone back to his roots of being a laughing stock among the NFL owners. He interviewed the fan and players favorite candidate, Gregg Williams, 4 times for the head coach and then he goes and fires him. Why interview Williams 4 times and then wait a week to fire him? Teasing the fans and just getting them more aggrevated is not good for support there Dan.

Dan also interviews Jim Schwartz, Tennessee Titans DC, but does not bring him in for a 2nd interview. Interviews Ron Meeks, Indianapolis DC, but NOTHING came about that except for the Skins following the miniority rule. Way to get pissed on there Meeks. Next, The Dan, decides to interview Jim Fassel. Fassel was the “secret” candidate that interviewed in the first week of Gibbs retirement. After Fassel’s second interview, he immediately became Dan Synder’s first choice. Thank goodness for the best fans in the NFL for speaking up. The huge outcry on various message boards and fan interviews, Daniel Snyder, for now, has decided NOT to offer the position to Fassel. So where does this leave the Skins?

In my opinion, the Skins needed to hire Gregg Williams. He was the only candidate that should be have been considered. Even over Bill Cowher. Gregg had our defense ranked in the top 10, 3 out of the past 4 season. He had the respect of every player on the team, even the offensive players. Gregg knew how this organization operated, he knew how important this franchise is the city of DC. I will go as far as saying, He was the next Joe Gibbs of our organization. Throw that all out the door now.

The Redskins reported that they wont make a decision until after the Super Bowl. I guess they will bring in Josh McDaniels (NE Patriots OC) and Steve Spagnuolo (Giants DC) and interview them both.