Coast to Coast - Washington

Every week through the off-season NFL expert Mike Carlson will be putting each of the 32 NFL teams under the microscope, looking at their 2007 season and what the future holds. In this week’s Coast to Coast column, Carlson lands in the nation’s capital to review the Redskins.
read more>>

Webster's World

Former First Down editor Keith Webster writes weekly for nfluk.com, giving his thoughts on all matter of topics surrounding the NFL. This week Keith looks at the revolution in cricket with the IPL and asks if the NFL could face a similar challenge in the future.
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By The Numbers

nfluk.com columnist and Sky Sports pundit Neil Reynolds takes an early peek at the wide open race for the NFC title and re-visits some of the picks made in the NFL Draft.
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• Coast to Coast - Cleveland
• Webster's World
• By the Numbers

Coast to Coast - Washington

Every week through the off-season NFL expert Mike Carlson will be putting each of the 32 NFL teams under the microscope, looking at their 2007 season and what the future holds. In this week’s Coast to Coast column, Carlson lands in the nation’s capital to review the Redskins.

Click here to comment on this feature

So far this off-season, the Skins make me feel like Sherlock Holmes, explaining to Dr Watson that the odd thing about the dog was that his bark was not heard.  So too with Washington owner Dan Snyder.  A low profile by The Dan ought to be sending out some sort of warning signals.  But after last season, which saw living legend Joe Gibbs quit before his Hall of Fame statue was sold for scrap, and the tragedy of Sean Taylor's death, you might well keep a low profile too.

The story of Washington's season last year was Taylor's murder, the last straw which broke the back of Gibbs' return to the 'modern' NFL.  The irony was his team rallied courageously and played some good football in Taylor's memory, winning four in a row and making the playoffs, quarterbacked by Todd Collins, before reality hit and they lost tamely to the Seahawks in a Washington derby.  Taylor was their best player last year, and he and LaRon Landry were arguably already the best pair of safeties in the NFL.  When Gibbs left to return to Nascar, five million dollars of coordinators went too: Al Saunders and head-coach-in-waiting Gregg Williams disappeared, and Snyder raided the Seahawks for Jim Zorn as offensive coordinator.  Hiring a new coordinator (and 'promoting' existing coordinator Greg Blache back to his job) before hiring a new head coach might seem strange, and so it seemed to Snyder's target, Cowboys' coordinator Jason Garrett, who declined the job.  Not being able to choose your own assistants is a sign of potential control issues.  Whoops.  But luckily Zorn stepped up to fill the breach. A couple of weeks after signing on as coordinator, he was the head coach,

Zorn's background as QB coach under coordinator/head coach/failed GM Mike Holmgren reminds me a bit of Steve Mariucci when he became head coach of the Niners, except the Niners were a dynasty and the Skins are more a dysfunction.  Zorn's hiring means now 6.25 per cent of all NFL head coaches were scab quarterbacks in 1987's 'replacement' NFL, for whatever that's worth (and don't bother guessing, the other is Sean Payton). 

Speaking of dysfunction, the story of Washington's draft was the Snyderish trade that didn't get made.  At times it has seemed as if the team's owner is playing his own personal fantasy football with the Skins' roster: if he is he's probably playing in a pretty easy league.  You got the feeling he was coming into Vinny Cerrato's office every now and again and saying, a need a few more TDs from my running backs. Or receivers.  How else to explain chasing the talented but stable-as-a Sellafield reactor Chad Johnson, for whom the Skins offered the Bengals their first-round choice this year, plus a third next year (escalating as far as another first, depending on Ocho Stinko's performance).  The problem is, where Synder may play fantasy football, the Bengals, owned and operated by the off-spring of Paul Brown, play as if the team were a garage and they need to watch every drop of 30 weight oil to turn a profit.  I would've taken the deal in a minute, but faced with the choice between eventually getting CJ on the field at a bargain $3 million salary, or taking an $8 million cap-hit if they made the trade, the bottom line won out.  Plus, Johnson hasn't yet been arrested in Ohio, and I'm sure the on-site probation officers in the Bengals' front office wanted their chance.

Having said that, I think the Skins will, in the long run, be better off without Johnson, not that they drafted better players (though they might become so) but because with a new first-time head coach, installing a new offense,  it's good to put together a group of players with whom he can start from scratch.  And, having taken ends with their first three picks, it was nice to see one of them, Fred Davis, oversleep and miss an early mini-camp session.  Why spend big for Johnson when rookies can give you the same buzz?

The advantage of having hired Zorn as a coordinator first was that it left their defensive staff (and players, as it happens) pretty much intact.  With Williams gone, Blache, who was the de jure coordinator, not becomes the de facto coordinator as well.  Or is it vice versa?  Offensively, Zorn brought in his ex-Seattle teammate Sherman Smith from the Titans to be the offensive coordinator, and his fellow Seahawks coach Stump Mitchell as assistant head coach, and already has taken advantage of Landover's proximity to the city whose name the Skins carry to have right-wing congressman Steve Largent, the great ex-Seattle receiver, address his rookie receivers who managed to get up in time, presumably not to explain to them how lucky they are to be millionaires in his world of laissez-faire freedom.

In fact, the drafting of Davis may indicate something about the way Zorn is going to proceed with Washington's offense.  If you agree their biggest need was providing targets for Jason Campbell, Washington did a pretty nice job, trading out of the first round and getting two top wideouts, along with Davis, in round two.  

I thought Devin Thomas was probably the top choice among the bigger receivers in the draft, and if there were no Calvin Johnsons, there was a lot of potential quality, so this was a good year to grab an extra guy or two.  The worry is that Thomas was a one-year wonder, but he could prove flexible enough to play anywhere in their offense; they need to keep Antwan Randle-El in the slot.  Kelly has his own touch of the Ocho Stinkos: blaming the surfaces he ran on for his poor 40 times which may have cost him a first-round pick.  Timed speed is not the be-all, and 4.65 is not awful when you play faster, as Kelly does, but when you're a big wide receiver it sends up red flags.  It's why Marcus Colston fell to the seventh round, and you do need to be able to get off the line of scrimmage and into your patterns before your quarterback gets sacked.  But in a west coast offense like Zorn is installing, foot speed is not the most crucial skill; the slant patterns help bigger guys get a better release.  Kelly could wind up starting ahead of Thomas because he's a natural to split out with Santana Moss on the other side, as if the Skins wanted their own Plaxico Burress, while Thomas becomes their Amani Toomer.  Moss, generally thought of as a deep guy, might find running over the middle unleashes some more ability.  Still, when I see Kelly I keep thinking about the other Oklahoma receivers from the Stoops era: Mark Bradley, Travis Wilson, Mark Clayton and Brandon Jones; like Kelly, all of them except Clayton are 'big' wideouts, and Clayton is the only one who's had a modicum of NFL success.  Gibbs favorite James Thrash could find himself squeezed out, especially as they added Jerome Mathis, though primarily as a kick returner, but he can provide some downfield speed.  Last season they also picked up Anthony Mix off the Giants' practice squad; he's a 6-5 235 pounder out of Auburn who was raw and may never get his chance to be cooked now.  I feel sorry for him, because Campbell has a chance to blossom in an offense he ran, more or less, in college, when Mix was one of his receivers.  The guy I feel more sorry for is Horace Grant (not the basketball player) a 6-3 218 free agent out of St Olaf.  Why an undrafted receiver would sign with a team that used two of its first three picks on wideouts is a mystery, except that the new quarterbacks coach is Chris Meidt, who last year was head coach at, you guessed it, St Olaf's. He could be the best receiver out of that league since Ryan Hoag from Gustavus Adolphus, but without NFL Europe this year, I'm unlikely to ever find out.

Davis is a pretty good match for Chris Cooley's skills, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them use two tight ends.  Todd Yoder is a blocker, but last year's draftee, Tyler Ecker, might be the odd man out: he's a Jerramy Stevens-seized target who might appeal to Zorn for goal-line work. 

Zorn's offense is also likely to like Mike Sellers, a running back turned tight end turned 270 pound fullback, who can be their of Mack Strongest.  Running behind him, Clinton Portis ought to be a good fit, and may well find his production closer to his Denver numbers once freed from the counter trey.  Zorn appears happy with Ladell Betts and my favorite bowling ball, Rock Cartwright (cue theme from 'Bonanza') as backups.  What Mathis' addition does to Rock's career as a kickoff returner is an interesting question: the Rock broke only one, but he's pretty consistent.  And I really like humming the theme to Bonanza during our shows.

Campbell remains a work in progress, and now one coming off an injury.  He's bounced between systems, but he ought to like Zorn's emphasis quicker reads, shorter passes, and mobility.  On paper, Campbell ought to be able to fit.  Backup Todd Collins played strongly at the end of last season, helped by his familiarity with the complexities of Saunders' offense.  Maryland guy Sam Hollenbach was the number three, but they drafted Colt Brennan out of Hawaii.  Brennan's nursing a hip injury, and may slide through the season on injured reserve; his 44mph pitching at the combine dropped his stock considerably - his was the weakest arm there by a huge margin.  But he played well in June Jones' wide-open offense, and remember folks thought Matt Hasselbeck's arm too weak when he came out of Boston College.

A lot depends on the offensive line, which depends on how well Jon Jansen recovers from his broken ankle and Randy Thomas comes back from the myriad injuries which have plagued him in recent years.  The Skins' MVP last year might have been Pete Kendall, whose loss was certainly a body-blow to the Jets; Kendall was a perfect fit for Joe Gibbs' offense, and if you think about the pulling Steve Hutchinson did in Seattle (not the same as the pulling Bryant McKinnie did in Minnesota) Kendall might well be just as good for Zorn.  He and Chris Samuels make a superior left side, and if Jansen and Thomas are 100%, they are a solid right.  Casey Rabach is the center, and there is plenty of veteran depth with guys like Kevin Sampson, Rick DeMulling, Ross Tucker, and Todd Wade, all of whom have been starters somewhere, sometime.  Still the best reserve might be last year's undrafted Maryland guy Stephon Heyer who actually proved their best fill-in for Jansen and has a lot of potential.  Considering their depth on paper, it may seem strange that they used their third round pick on Chad Rinehart, but the tackle from Northern Iowa looks to me like the natural replacement for Thomas at right guard.  Whether DE Jeremy Thompson might have been a better pick will depend on whether my guess is right.  Undrated Devin Clark is a strong mauler type who was injured last year, or else he might've been drafted.

The absence of picks addressing their defense must mean Zorn (or Cerrato, Dan Snyder's representative on earth) is content with the defense as it stands.  To me that seems a huge risk. I thought they might be looking for another tackle or a run-playing end (or both), but Philip Daniels, Demetric Evans, and Andre Carter will man the ends.  Seventh round pick Ron Jackson is another undersized pass rusher, but without a big burst, as are two undrafted guys, Alonzo Dotson (who does have NFL blood lines) and Dorion Smith.  Inside Cornelius Griffin has never really matched his 2004 season; injuries have held him back; while Kedric Golston and Anthony Montgomery both need to be spotted carefully.  Ryan Boschetti is one of those high-motor over-achievers you love to watch.

They really could use some depth at linebacker, where London Fletcher played young last year but isn't getting any faster.  HB Blades is built like Fletcher, and could be his successor.  Marcus Washington and Rocky McIntosh are a decent pair outside, but McIntosh is another injury worry, and behind them are only Khary Campbell, a special teamer, and Rian Wallace, who was a Steelers' special teamer.  Wallace could surprise.  Former NFL Europe all-star Matt Sinclair is smart, but lacks physical skills.  One surprise could be undrafted Curtis Gatewood from Vanderbilt, a 6-2 248 defensive end who projects to the strong side and might be another Hunter Hillenmeyer.  I had him rated among the top guys who didn't get picked.

The real question mark in the secondary is at safety, but the Skins used their fourth round pick on a corner, Justin Tryon, who could play as a nickel right away and also returns kicks.  It gives them some cover behind their top three of Carlos Rogers, Shawn Springs, and Fred Smoot, since Rogers is coming off a serious injury and Leigh Torrance is their only other reserve, apart from undrafted Matteral 'Girl' Richardson, from Arkansas, where he played behind some NFL draftees before starting.  At safety, Landry will be an all-pro, but right now Reid Doughty is the starter opposite.  They used a sixth round pick on Kareem Moore, who might've gone higher had he not been injured, but he's unlikely to help right away.  Seventh rounder Chris Horton is a box-type hitter, while undrafted Justin Scott and Kevin Mitchell will battle it out for depth, tweeners between the free and strong positions. 

They were happy with Shaun 'the Sheep' Suisham as a kicker, but drafted the draft's best punter, Durant Brooks, to challenge Scott Frost for the punting duties.  Punting is what Skins' fans have had to do for a while now, and with the Giants coming off a Super Bowl and the Cowboys resurgent, they really have to hope that Zorn can turn them in the right direction.  Joe Gibbs is a tough act to follow, but sometimes it's better to move forward than revisit the past. 

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