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***Official*** Washington Redskins 2014 Offseason Thread (1 Viewer)

Lots of cap space. If you ask me a personnel guy is a bigger decision than a coach. Bruce Allen and Snyder need to find a great talent evaluator. This team seriously lacks talent beyond garçon, griffin, Kerrigan, Williams, and Morris. Some older guys could play too, but they are also old. Need young talent to build with and FA is the best way to get it. Must make smart decisions.

 
hammerva said:
Is Shanny still blaming the salary cap for the Skins problems? for christ sakes even the blindest Kevin sheehan/Eric Bickel/Chris Russell like homer has given up on that theory
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Well, it's legitimately part of the problem, but it doesn't fully explain 3-13. If they had finished something like 7-9 with a recovering Griffin and the cap penalties, then I think it would be ok to conclude that he did a good coach coaching this year. But, to lose 8 straight in the fashion they did, there is more going on than a lack of talent caused by a restricted cap. They were mostly lifeless during games the last several weeks, other than the recent Dallas game.

 
I find that the people who are currently defending Shanny on social media are guys that barely hit the field if ever. And you can talk about being a "players coach" until you are blue in the face but there was one guy who doesn't agree with you and he is Richie Rich's best friend

Speaking of Subway Bob, it is a good thing he isn't talking now because he could put really put a foot in his mouth by saying the wrong thing. Just leave the stupid Griffith comments to his meal ticket needing father

 
I'd still like to see a more clearly defined role for Bruce Allen and where is A.J. Smith in all of this?

Establishing a front office structure is still a priority IMO.

Give me real football front office guys who go out and hire a young up and coming coordinator. I'm done with the coach who is also the defacto GM.

 
VaTerp said:
I'd still like to see a more clearly defined role for Bruce Allen and where is A.J. Smith in all of this?

Establishing a front office structure is still a priority IMO.

Give me real football front office guys who go out and hire a young up and coming coordinator. I'm done with the coach who is also the defacto GM.
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I agree. Think we need a defined Front Office. With all the cap space we have next season, it's important to get a good GM in there that knows how to identify personnel.

 
This is pretty weird.

Joseph White Jr. ‏@JGWhiteAP 10m
#Redskins taking "security" to ridiculous extremes. Putting Scotch tape on windows, shooing photogs away. Acting like a 3-13 organization.
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This team has a chance to turn it around quickly. If RG3 can make improvements, we get Reed back healthy, spend some FA money on secondary help and maybe draft a WR with our 2nd round pick. Would love to see Allen Robinson in a skins jersey. Big physical wr that can go up a fight for the ball and can also make a play after the catch. That could take some pressure off of RG3.

 
water1 said:
This team has a chance to turn it around quickly. If RG3 can make improvements, we get Reed back healthy, spend some FA money on secondary help and maybe draft a WR with our 2nd round pick. Would love to see Allen Robinson in a skins jersey. Big physical wr that can go up a fight for the ball and can also make a play after the catch. That could take some pressure off of RG3.
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I agree. Don't think this team is too far off from competing next year. You figure within the division, the Eagles are probably in good shape and that's about it. Giants have alot of older guys and Eli looked awful all season. Cowboys may have a new coach and Romo is coming off of 2 back surgeries now and their defense may be worse than ours.

We saw the Eagles, Chiefs, and Chargers turn around pretty quickly this season. Maybe we don't have 8 Pro Bowlers on the team like KC has, but Williams, RG3, Orakpo, Kerrigan, and Hall have all been recently and you could make a case that Morris and Garcon should have been in there the last 2 years. So it's not like this team doesn't have talent.

Need to add some OL help for sure, especially if we get away from the ZBS. Williams is probably the only guy that will be starting on the OL next season. Need to add another WR. Morgan is probably gone, Hankerson has been hit or miss and Moss is probably gone too. If they can add a solid #2 guy like a Decker or Maclin, I'd be pretty happy. Definitely need to address the defense with some DL, LB, and DB help. That's where we need to focus are FA and draft efforts. Will be looking for a new punter too.

 
hammerva said:
Is Shanny still blaming the salary cap for the Skins problems? for christ sakes even the blindest Kevin sheehan/Eric Bickel/Chris Russell like homer has given up on that theory
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In the other thread, fatness posted an article from the Washington Post. If that is true, Shanahan basically self destructed after seeing Snyder and Griffin getting too close. He felt like he lost control of the situation and blew up.

 
“One of the questions that’s been asked of me the last couple weeks, ‘Is this a better place today than it was when you came here four years ago?’” Shanahan said. “That one is probably asked of me more than any other one. So I’ll answer that: When we first came here, we knew that we were in a tough situation relative to the salary cap, and when we first came here as a staff, we knew we had to make some tough decisions. And any time that you release $100 million worth of players, you’re talking about a lot of football players, a lot of players who have been very successful, and that’s always hard to do. And to do that, a lot of people are involved. You watch a lot of film, you make some tough decisions, and we felt we had to do that relative to the salary cap. And the thing we felt pretty good about was that not one of those players played a full year the next year. So we did make some good decisions, relative to getting back to a base, relative to the salary cap, because we had made some mistakes in the past.”

Shanahan then noted that the team was hit with a significant salary cap penalty before the 2012 season because the league office determined that the team violated the spirit of the salary cap with its payroll structure during the uncapped year in 2011. Shanahan said he takes pride in the fact that the team won the division despite those cap penalties.

“When we got that $36 million hit, we weren’t able to get some of those players we wanted to get,” Shanahan said. “We were still able to win the NFC East.”
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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/12/30/as-he-exits-shanahan-points-out-he-inherited-a-tough-situation/

 
So is the feel-good, "this can be turned around quickly" vibe because this is essentially the same team that was 10-6, in the playoffs and could pull off a 7-game win streak just 12 months ago? Is everyone really sold that the team is closer to that than the 3-13, 8-game losing streak and arguably the worst team in the league that we just watched for the last 4 months? $30+ million doesn't seem like enough to me to overhaul this roster for whatever new schemes are coming down the pike.

 
Sidewinder16 said:
So is the feel-good, "this can be turned around quickly" vibe because this is essentially the same team that was 10-6, in the playoffs and could pull off a 7-game win streak just 12 months ago? Is everyone really sold that the team is closer to that than the 3-13, 8-game losing streak and arguably the worst team in the league that we just watched for the last 4 months? $30+ million doesn't seem like enough to me to overhaul this roster for whatever new schemes are coming down the pike.
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Closer to the 3-13 record, even with the significant cap space...too many changes will take more time to gel (chemistry) and add new coaching staff (new system). We need some better starters and some serious upgrades in the depth dept.

I think we (Redskins and fans) were fooled the past two times we made the playoffs by thinking we were that good. Both times we over achieved and instead of thinking we are just a player or two away, we needed to think of ourselves as an aspiring team and not a top team.

 
Sidewinder16 said:
So is the feel-good, "this can be turned around quickly" vibe because this is essentially the same team that was 10-6, in the playoffs and could pull off a 7-game win streak just 12 months ago? Is everyone really sold that the team is closer to that than the 3-13, 8-game losing streak and arguably the worst team in the league that we just watched for the last 4 months? $30+ million doesn't seem like enough to me to overhaul this roster for whatever new schemes are coming down the pike.
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It's at best an 8-8 team now, with significant roster, depth, and coaching weakness and with 2 young QB's who are still learning.

 
It all hinges on Griffin. That's what happens when you trade all those draft picks. If he's the player we got in year one, this can be turned around quickly, if he's not, God help us.

 
Ouch

However, just four years into their run with the Redskins, it appears like things should be over for both men. The Redskins are struggling through a 3-10 season, their 3rd losing season under the Allen/Shanahan team. The success of the two is pretty much the distant past. Shanahan is now 48-61 in his last 7 seasons as a head coach. Allen is 59-71 for his career since being given the General Manager position in Tampa Bay. The team has been nothing short of a disaster for four years and the front office track record is close to the bottom of the NFL.

Their first major personnel decision was to trade for a 34 year old, washed up Donovan McNabb to be Shanahan’s QB in 2010. The Redskins surrendered a 2nd round draft pick and a 4th round pick in 2011 for McNabb. McNabb had been paid a $6.2 million roster bonus and was set to earn another $5.5 million in compensation for the year. McNabb struggled so the team signed him to a contract extension giving him another $3.5 million thinking it would get him to play better. Just four weeks after the extension was signed McNabb was benched by the head coach. The season was uncapped so the salary cap consequences were not as dire as normal, but they still wasted a large sum of money and two draft picks on McNabb. They would recover some 6th round picks when they traded McNabb in 2011 to the Vikings.

Allen would also make a decision that would end up haunting the Redskins organization for two full years. During his time in Tampa, Allen would insert voidable clauses into contracts that would cause their bonus money to all accelerate into the current league year. Allen called this the “I-4 Off Ramp” and was a creative method to use up cap space in a time when salary cap spending was a CBA requirement plus make it easy to release or trade a player later in his career. The League had “advised” all franchises to not explicitly use the 2010 uncapped season as a method to create cap room in the future when the salary cap returned. Allen and Shanahan failed to heed the warnings of the league and used the “I-4 off Ramp” on two overpaid players signed by the former regime.

The Redskins would go on to take a $21 million salary cap charge and $15 million salary cap charge all at once for DT Albert Haynesworth and CB DeAngelo Hall by using this clause to modify their contracts. in addition the team accelerated $3.9 million of old bonus money for the two players by utilizing these clauses. Because the year was uncapped future prorations of $8.5 million per year were avoided for the Redskins. Furthermore the move allowed them to trade Haynesworth in 2011, since his dead money had been reduced to $0 with the clauses. Had they picked up his option as intended the dead money charge on that trade would have amounted to $19.8 million.

Though the NFL allowed these restructures to take place they internally noted how they violated the spirit of the uncapped season to create an unfair advantage in future years. Washington would suffer a $36 million dollar salary cap penalty split between the 2012 and 2013 seasons. It was a devastating blow to the Redskins who had begun planning in 2011 as if their contracts put them free and clear and sent their salary cap back on a downward spiral. While some can argue the merits of the penalty, it is a situation that 30 other GM’s were able to avoid and many of them had bad contracts on their teams as well.
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The draft process has met with mixed results at best. Ryan Kerrigan, Trent Williams, Alfred Morris, and RGIII are keepers that would start anywhere. Morris is clearly the teams’ best value pick coming in the 6th round of the draft. Beyond those 4 their drafts have produced just 4 starters for the Redskins- WR Leonard Hankerson, LB Perry Riley, CB David Amerson, and S Baccari Rambo, none of whom would likely start on most clubs in the NFL.

The bottom line is that after four seasons the Redskins are right back to square one.
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Hang 10 said:
It all hinges on Griffin. That's what happens when you trade all those draft picks. If he's the player we got in year one, this can be turned around quickly, if he's not, God help us.
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What I can't wrap my head around is that Griffin was successful doing read option plays, but doesn't want to be that type of QB according to reports. So how confident can anyone be that he can be successful being a prototypical NFL QB?

 
Sidewinder16 said:
So is the feel-good, "this can be turned around quickly" vibe because this is essentially the same team that was 10-6, in the playoffs and could pull off a 7-game win streak just 12 months ago? Is everyone really sold that the team is closer to that than the 3-13, 8-game losing streak and arguably the worst team in the league that we just watched for the last 4 months? $30+ million doesn't seem like enough to me to overhaul this roster for whatever new schemes are coming down the pike.
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I think we're closer to 10-6 than 3-13. Will we automatically be a playoff team next year? No. But I don't see why we couldn't improve on the 3-13 record. If you look, we had a bunch of games where we blew a lead in the 2nd half. Denver, Dallas, Minnesota and New York. They could've been 4 more wins and a 7-9 record.

There is definitely talent on this team: RG3, Morris, Williams, Garcon, Reed, Kerrigan, Orakpo (if he comes back), Hall (if he comes back), and Amerson. Still will need to build both lines and add depth, but I don't think this team is that bad going forward.

 
fatness said:
The draft process has met with mixed results at best. Ryan Kerrigan, Trent Williams, Alfred Morris, and RGIII are keepers that would start anywhere. Morris is clearly the teams’ best value pick coming in the 6th round of the draft. Beyond those 4 their drafts have produced just 4 starters for the Redskins- WR Leonard Hankerson, LB Perry Riley, CB David Amerson, and S Baccari Rambo, none of whom would likely start on most clubs in the NFL.

The bottom line is that after four seasons the Redskins are right back to square one.
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I don't get this at all. Who wrote this? There is a reason why every other team passed on Morris for just over 5 rounds. His skills/abilities were great for Shanahan's ZBS and there's reason to believe he could have success in a power running scheme. But how many coaches run a power running scheme or the ZBS as heavily as Shanahan (I know just about every team uses elements of it at times, but my impression is that few use it as exclusively as Shanahan)? Is that going to be a prerequisite for incoming coaches? IMO, a new coach very likely means a new RB will be needed before too long.

 
Sidewinder16 said:
fatness said:
The draft process has met with mixed results at best. Ryan Kerrigan, Trent Williams, Alfred Morris, and RGIII are keepers that would start anywhere. Morris is clearly the teams’ best value pick coming in the 6th round of the draft. Beyond those 4 their drafts have produced just 4 starters for the Redskins- WR Leonard Hankerson, LB Perry Riley, CB David Amerson, and S Baccari Rambo, none of whom would likely start on most clubs in the NFL.

The bottom line is that after four seasons the Redskins are right back to square one.
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I don't get this at all. Who wrote this? There is a reason why every other team passed on Morris for just over 5 rounds. His skills/abilities were great for Shanahan's ZBS and there's reason to believe he could have success in a power running scheme. But how many coaches run a power running scheme or the ZBS as heavily as Shanahan (I know just about every team uses elements of it at times, but my impression is that few use it as exclusively as Shanahan)? Is that going to be a prerequisite for incoming coaches? IMO, a new coach very likely means a new RB will be needed before too long.
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I don't agree with you at all about Morris. He follows his blocks extremely well, makes great cuts, and is very difficult to bring down.

 
Sidewinder16 said:
fatness said:
The draft process has met with mixed results at best. Ryan Kerrigan, Trent Williams, Alfred Morris, and RGIII are keepers that would start anywhere. Morris is clearly the teams’ best value pick coming in the 6th round of the draft. Beyond those 4 their drafts have produced just 4 starters for the Redskins- WR Leonard Hankerson, LB Perry Riley, CB David Amerson, and S Baccari Rambo, none of whom would likely start on most clubs in the NFL.

The bottom line is that after four seasons the Redskins are right back to square one.
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I don't get this at all. Who wrote this? There is a reason why every other team passed on Morris for just over 5 rounds. His skills/abilities were great for Shanahan's ZBS and there's reason to believe he could have success in a power running scheme. But how many coaches run a power running scheme or the ZBS as heavily as Shanahan (I know just about every team uses elements of it at times, but my impression is that few use it as exclusively as Shanahan)? Is that going to be a prerequisite for incoming coaches? IMO, a new coach very likely means a new RB will be needed before too long.
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I don't think you have 2 1,300yd+ seasons on accident. He's a tough runner. Look at his YAC. He's been up there with AP both seasons so far.

 
Qb RG3 Rb Alf Fb Young Wr Garcon Wr? Wr? Te Reed Logan Lt Trent LG? C? (Mack FA from Browns?) Rg? Rt?

We need a lot of help on the Oline Would also like another Wr Emmanuel Sanders Tate and Decker are FA's

Defense I dont have all day, and it depends on scheme we go.

 
I'm confused. Who was the real the problem in WASH? Shanahan or Snyder?

From what I'm reading it appears Shanahan was the problem, not Snyder. I don't get the outrage at Snyder, but I'm not real close to the situation so maybe I'm not seeing it.

 
I always look at Synder as that drunk relative at the holiday party who does something stupid every time. You knew he was going to do something stupid and yet you still let it happen so it is your fault. Shanny claimed to be the boss of things and yet every time he let things get out of hand whether it be McNabb or the RG3 injury situation and after effects

If the Red Lobster had the same energy to talk to his buddies like Adam Shefter that he did with the team then maybe it wouldn't have been that bad.

 
MaxThreshold said:
I'm confused. Who was the real the problem in WASH? Shanahan or Snyder?

From what I'm reading it appears Shanahan was the problem, not Snyder. I don't get the outrage at Snyder, but I'm not real close to the situation so maybe I'm not seeing it.
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The outrage at Snyder stems mostly from his past (deserved) reputation for meddling, and not from the last 4 years where he basically left Shanahan alone. It comes mostly from people who don't follow the Skins much, and from a few people who are Shanahan fans.

 
Sidewinder16 said:
So is the feel-good, "this can be turned around quickly" vibe because this is essentially the same team that was 10-6, in the playoffs and could pull off a 7-game win streak just 12 months ago? Is everyone really sold that the team is closer to that than the 3-13, 8-game losing streak and arguably the worst team in the league that we just watched for the last 4 months? $30+ million doesn't seem like enough to me to overhaul this roster for whatever new schemes are coming down the pike.
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I agree with Hang 10 that much of it relies on Griffin. For the most, on paper, the 2013 team was the same as the 2012 team. The largest variable was likely Griffin's play. So, if he gets back to his 2012 health and has a full offseason of quality coaching, I think that is a huge factor in their 2014 record. And, speaking of coaching, obviously these next few weeks are the other large variable affecting 2014 (and beyond). I'm a big believer in the value of coaching in the NFL. In some leagues, it's not as important, but it's hugely important in the NFL. Having said that, in no way would I say Shanahan is a bad coach. He's potentially a HOF coach. Kyle has put together some quality offenses both here and in Houston. However, many stories have implied that much of this staff is not qualified. I really don't have an informed opinion about how good the coaching has been here. But I'm sure it could be better. I think much of the feel-good vibe comes from the hope that the next hire is the right hire. I have more confidence Griffin will return to form.

Having said all of that, asking if they are closer to the 10-6 or 3-13 is putting the o/u at 6.5 wins. Barring a catastrophically bad coaching search, I wouldn't think it's crazy to take the over. Of course, there's also plenty of evidence saying to take the under.

 
And $30M seems like plenty to make large, positive changes to the roster (assuming good coaching).

 
Rich Tandler with some good questions to ask Allen.

Here are five questions that Allen will be asked:

—Why was the decision made to pull the plug on the Shanahan regime four years into a five-year contract? The 24-40 record was certainly a factor but perhaps the media leaks over the past several weeks had something to do with it.

—What will the power structure look like going forward? Shanahan both coached the team and picked the personnel. On most NFL teams, those duties are divided. The Redskins could look for one man to do both jobs again or move to the more traditional structure.

—What will they look for in a new head coach? The might make experience as an NFL head coach a necessity to be considered and the could have college coaches on their list.

—What is the status of the assistant coaches? The team announced only the dismissal of Shanahan but the status of the coordinators and other assistant coaches are up in the air.

—What is Allen’s status? Although he has the general manager title he is unlikely to be the guy who is responsible for personnel; that’s not his strong suit. Some have speculated that Allen will give up the GM title or will be become team president.
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fatness said:
Pros and cons of taking the Skins coaching job.
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Seemed like the pros outweighed the cons to me. Sure there is no 1st rounder this year, but we still have the rest of our picks and plenty of money to spend. Out of the current HC vacancies, only the Skins and Lions have their QBs of the future on their teams.

 
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