***OFFICIAL*** Washington Redskins 2011 Off-Season Thread (2 Viewers)

[fatness]

Listed at 6 feet 5 and 285 pounds, Holliday is one of the lightest linemen on the roster, but he said he can take advantage of technique and speed in certain situations. Holliday also said the team has asked him, and most other lineman to put on pounds.

"All the D-linemen even the big guys, everybody is putting on weight," he said. "So they definitely want a big, big defensive front and I'm going to do my best to put the weight on but at the same time be able to compete at a level I'm used to playing at.

"It seems like all the guys, once they gain 10 pounds, they...gain five more, so I'm going to try to put on about 10 more pounds."

Link

 

[fatness]

Redskins nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu said he is "at 90 percent" in his recovery from a torn right Achillies' tendon, but his biggest concern is getting down to his listed playing weight of about 345 pounds. Kemoeatu said he needs to drop 15 to 20 pounds.

"The faster I can get my weight down, the faster I can recover," Kemoeatu said Wednesday at an organized team activity at Redskins Park, adding: "That's where I was playing at my best at Baltimore, playing at that weight. I've played at 380; playing at 340 is a lot different."

Link

 

[fatness]

Jim Haslett likes Lorenzo Alexander

Alexander is nicknamed the One-Man Gang because of his versatility. Haslett plans on further expanding his roles as he moves to linebacker.

"I think he’s been awesome. The guy is awesome. The guy is unbelievable. He’s a better athlete than I would have guessed. If you told me last year that he played three technique [defensive tackle], I would never have guessed it. If you said he played linebacker, I would have thought that he’d played linebacker. He’s 275 pounds, he’s the ideal size for the position, he has good rush ability, he’s unbelievably smart, he’s tough as nails. I love the guy. I think the guy’s outstanding. He played so many positions last year. He’s played tight end, he played defensive end, he could probably play inside linebacker. He’s unbelievable. I think the transition he’s made has take us by surprise more than anything. I think the guy is outstanding at what he does, and he could play any position. He plays nickel, he can be the spinner [a linebacker who moves from side to side] on third down."

Alexander has lost some weight in order to make the transition. He was listed at 297 last year. As an aside, few reporters recall having heard such lavish praise for a player from a coach.

 

[fatness]

OTA report from Wednesday. Good stuff.

 

[buster c]

OTA report from Wednesday. Good stuff.

It is good. I like this part:

11:30—Larry Johnson just looks better than any running back out there. He hit the line hard, he zipped through the hole and he finished off all his runs 20 yards downfield. Johnson plays like someone with nearly $10 million in incentives in his contract.

11:35—On the other hand, there’s Willie Parker. He is slow getting to the corner, and he doesn’t finish his runs. According to Shanahan, the team still is interested in Brian Westbrook. Bring him in.

 

[Sidewinder16]

OTA report from Wednesday. Good stuff.

It is good. I like this part:

11:30—Larry Johnson just looks better than any running back out there. He hit the line hard, he zipped through the hole and he finished off all his runs 20 yards downfield. Johnson plays like someone with nearly $10 million in incentives in his contract.

I think Terl had something on this from an earlier camp/OTA. Johnson apparently finishes every run he makes in practice in the end zone. Something he picked up from Priest and Vermeil in his early years and he still does it. I like it, too.

 

[Sidewinder16]

Listed at 6 feet 5 and 285 pounds, Holliday is one of the lightest linemen on the roster, but he said he can take advantage of technique and speed in certain situations. Holliday also said the team has asked him, and most other lineman to put on pounds.

"All the D-linemen even the big guys, everybody is putting on weight," he said. "So they definitely want a big, big defensive front and I'm going to do my best to put the weight on but at the same time be able to compete at a level I'm used to playing at.

"It seems like all the guys, once they gain 10 pounds, they...gain five more, so I'm going to try to put on about 10 more pounds."

Link

I really hope everything turns out fine with Haynesworth, because he could make the front 3 in this defense elite. If opposing OLs have to double both Haynesworth and the NT almost by default, that gives the LBs alot of opportunities to make plays.

 

[fatness]

I really hope everything turns out fine with Haynesworth, because he could make the front 3 in this defense elite. If opposing OLs have to double both Haynesworth and the NT almost by default, that gives the LBs alot of opportunities to make plays.

That's exactly the way I see it, too.

 

[TobiasFunke]

Mandatory reading for any Redskins fan over 30

 

[fatness]

Mandatory reading for any Redskins fan over 30

Bostic: Trust me, we solved a lot of world problems. And if you know the old Redskins Park, there was a building, bless that building. It had no heat, it had no electricity, but it had us.

 

[buster c]

Mandatory reading for any Redskins fan over 30

Damn, Bostic is wasted

 

[fatness]

It's a busy month for the Redskins, with four final OTA dates scheduled for next week and then their final minicamp spread over three days the following week, June 16-18.

Rick MaeseThings should pick up a little this month. Rogers and McIntosh will probably sign some contract, the last OTA's will be held, and at mandatory minicamp the press will only pay attention to Haynesworth.

 

[fatness]

Rich Tandler looks at the QB's and RB's

On the other hand, the expectations for Rex Grossman are quite low. True, the Bears did make the Super Bowl during the one season that Grossman started every game. But even in that year he threw 20 interceptions and had a completion percentage just under 55 percent. If he should have to come into a game, anything short of a complete disaster would be a relief for most Redskins fans.

Speaking of lost steps, to a few observers at minicamp it looked like Willie Parker did not have much burst in his game. He probably looks a lot like he did the last two years in Pittsburgh when he averaged 3.8 yards a carry. Since Parker is not a power runner by any means, and since he doesn’t play special teams, it’s difficult to envision him sticking around unless he, literally, gets back up to speed.

If any of the three veterans don’t make it, the likely third back would be Ryan Torain. In fact Torain, who Mike Shanahan drafted in the fifth round in 2008, might stick around as a fourth back even if all three stay.

After signing a contract extension early in the year, Mike Sellers’ performance seemed to go downhill as he missed some blocks and dropped some passes. He will be 35 by the time that training camp starts, and he may be near the end.

 

[DCThunder]

After signing a contract extension early in the year, Mike Sellers’ performance seemed to go downhill as he missed some blocks and dropped some passes. He will be 35 by the time that training camp starts, and he may be near the end.

Oh noes...The Caveman can't be near the end. Doc Walker says he's the best player on the team...and that's a manhood issue!

 

[fatness]

After signing a contract extension early in the year, Mike Sellers’ performance seemed to go downhill as he missed some blocks and dropped some passes. He will be 35 by the time that training camp starts, and he may be near the end.

Oh noes...The Caveman can't be near the end. Doc Walker says he's the best player on the team...and that's a manhood issue!

Sounds just like Doc.

 

[fatness]

June 1 10:23 ET

DL Maake Kemoeatu has been rehabbing from Achilles surgery, but said he is now at about 90 percent and is aiming to be back in the trenches by the Redskins' minicamp later this month.

CBS Sports

 

[fatness]

Get over it, Jon Jansen.

A day and a year after being released by the Redskins, Jon Jansen wrote about the experience for the Detroit Free Press last week. Sounds like he still isn't quite over the shock. The veteran tackle, who will be writing stories and answering questions for the Freep all season, opened his first piece by recapping the end of his Redskins' tenure:

It's not personal. It's just business. These are the words that kept repeating in my head almost exactly one year ago today. I was being released from the Washington Redskins after 10 years of service.

Not personal? After giving so much of myself, physically and emotionally, to an organization, how was I supposed to see myself as a business transaction? I had survived six head coaches in those 10 years, battled through a season with two broken hands and recovered from an ankle injury that had twisted my foot 180 degrees. None of that was viewed as having a personal connection to the organization or the city.

Plenty of people across the state of Michigan can attest that no matter what the circumstances are, when you lose your job, it is very personal for you and your family.

 

[fatness]

Jacoby (and Bostic later in the article) about the current offensive line.

The Hogs, though, are still paying attention up front. "Unproven talent in there," Joe Jacoby recently observed in an interview with ESPN 980's Sports Reporters. "You've got a first-round draft choice you're sticking at left tackle. I hope he pans out....Hopefully this kid is scared to death and he will play well....Right now the only one I know that's back is the center -- Rabach -- and Dockery."

Someone pointed out that there was also Mike Williams, who was sitting on a couch at this time last year.

"He WAS a couch," Jacoby said. "I'm not sitting here, I'm not gonna take shots, and I don't want to take shots. It does no good to sit here and criticize and beat on them, but until they show something on the field that is consistent, week in and week out, I don't know how we can sit here and jump up and down because they brought Bruce Allen in, Mike Shanahan in. Yeah, they've got a great resume, but that's in the past."

 

[fatness]

Interesting strategic game-planning.

The Packers had more than just Favre. They also had a top-10 defense, and the combination of the two was supposed to overwhelm Shanahan’s Broncos. But Shanahan, who by then was being referred to as “The Mastermind” in the media, had a plan for dealing with the Green Bay defense. The key, Shanahan decided, was keeping LeRoy Butler, the Packers’ strong safety, out of the box to give Davis some running room. He discovered that by lining up in a slot formation, with two receivers on the same side of the field, he could control Butler’s positioning and assignments.

"LeRoy was killing people in the run game," Mike Heimerdinger, the Broncos' wide receivers coach at the time, said later. "Nobody ever really accounted for him. Mike's idea was to get him isolated and get him out of there. Once we had him on Shannon (Sharpe), we could go the other way and do some things."

Butler ended up with eight tackles, but most of them were well downfield, preventing long Davis runs from turning into gamebreakers. Davis rushed for 157 yards and three touchdowns, earning game MVP honors.

 

[Sidewinder16]

ESPN reporting that Shanahan has announced a contract offer made to Westbrook.

ETA: RI also reporting.

 

[dgreen]

FWP.

 

[DCThunder]

FWP and CP

Fixed!

 

[Sidewinder16]

FWP and CP

Fixed!

Sounds like it's Clinton's job to lose. Personally, I don't see how he doesn't make the roster. The other options aren't that much better.

 

[dgreen]

FWP and CP

Fixed!

Sounds like it's Clinton's job to lose. Personally, I don't see how he doesn't make the roster. The other options aren't that much better.

Yeah, not sure why Portis would be gone, other than from some people's personal hate.It's been reported that FWP hasn't looked good so far. I've heard no similar reports regarding Portis.

 

[fatness]

Yeah, not sure why Portis would be gone, other than from some people's personal hate.

There are no football-related or coaching-related reasons Portis would be gone. The other guys were brought in to replace Betts, Cartwright, and Mason who didn't even deserve backup spots on the team.Funny how it works. A team is grossly mismanaged, paying high prices for free agents year after year, getting rid of draft choices, and compiling a losing record for a decade. And because of all the losing some fans forget the mismanagement and blame players with the highest salaries, as though they failed and kept the Redskins from being a winning team each year.Just watch. If Johnson or Westbrook pans out and gets a big new contract, they'll be hated by some fans who will want Rock back instead. BTW, I don't think Westbrook will sign the offer, but will use it for leverage in negotiations with another team.

 

[fatness]

FWP.

Yeah, I agree. If it's so early in the year and there are already negative reports about him, he must be looking really bad.

 

[fatness]

Know anything about A. J. Atogwe? He's a safety who's available.

Atogwe, a five-year veteran, became an unrestricted free agent Wednesday when the St. Louis Rams chose not to extend him an offer.

"Well, even if I did [have interest], I wouldn't share that with you, for obvious reasons," Shanahan said. "But we're always interested to upgrade our football team and if it helped us with the right situation and the price is right and somebody's available, we're always going to look into it."

 

[fatness]

Decent article by John Keim on the offensive line.

For now, everything looks ... well, it's hard to say. They have a rookie left tackle in Trent Williams who will get beat but who has quick enough feet and long enough arms to compensate when he does. They have a veteran center in Casey Rabach whose better days have passed but whose brains make him a vital piece in the transition to a new offense. They also have a right tackle, Artis Hicks, who hasn't been a full-time starter since 2006 and a right guard, Mike Williams, who is still adjusting to a new position after being out of the league for three years. So some days this group looks good, and other times they look like what they are: a work in progress.

But the Redskins have tweaked their protection scheme, using different protections and getting more help from the backs. On Wednesday, they threw downfield a bit, including once to Devin Thomas on a bomb.

I'm unfamiliar with this "throwing downfield" concept. Do other teams do that? Is it legal?

 

[fatness]

OTA notes from Wednesday, worth reading.

LaRon Landry, Josh Bidwell, Rocky McIntosh and DeAngelo Hall all missed Wednesday's workout. Oh, yeah, so did Albert Haynesworth. Shanahan would not say which players were excused.

The defense is definitely ahead of the offense. Saw a number of interceptions today. Saw Lendy Holmes, Chris Wilson and Alvin Bowen pick off passes -- Andre Carter dropped one -- and a number of others bat them down. Rex Grossman was the most victimized. He did not look sharp.

I smell "disaster" coming if Grossman has to play this year.

The Redskins worked on more deep passes today, especially the 25-yard outs.

Colt Brennan did not have much luck on his outs.

Shanahan said again today that he'd like Clinton Portis to weigh around 215 pounds, which is 15 less than he's weighed here in recent years. He was around 205 pounds when he played for him in Denver.

 

[fatness]

OTA report, John Pappas

One more tight end to watch — Lee Vickers. The rookie gets open and around defenders.

Clinton Portis may start, but Larry Johnson looks the closer down at the goal line. Been practicing very strong up the middle.

Joey Galloway is no pity signing. Looking good in practice.

 

[buster c]

Yeah, not sure why Portis would be gone, other than from some people's personal hate.

Just watch. If Johnson or Westbrook pans out and gets a big new contract, they'll be hated by some fans who will want Rock back instead.

I'll bite:What sort of "big new contract" would you find appropriate for two backs towards the end of their career if they "pan out?"

 

[jbz]

Know anything about A. J. Atogwe? He's a safety who's available.

Atogwe, a five-year veteran, became an unrestricted free agent Wednesday when the St. Louis Rams chose not to extend him an offer.

"Well, even if I did [have interest], I wouldn't share that with you, for obvious reasons," Shanahan said. "But we're always interested to upgrade our football team and if it helped us with the right situation and the price is right and somebody's available, we're always going to look into it."

Atogwe is a play maker. He always seems to be around the ball. That being said, I think he's more of a SS type and the Skins seemed to be overloaded with those.

 

[fatness]

I'll bite:What sort of "big new contract" would you find appropriate for two backs towards the end of their career if they "pan out?"

You'll be one of the complainers.

 

[buster c]

I'll bite:What sort of "big new contract" would you find appropriate for two backs towards the end of their career if they "pan out?"

You'll be one of the complainers.

I think your premise is ridiculous. Shanny/Allen are smart enough to not give a past-his-prime RB a big new contract.

 

[fatness]

Reed Doughty broke his hand.

The injury occurred during Wednesday's OTA session and prompted Washington's medical staff to fit Doughty with a cast on his right hand. But Doughty, who has impressed the new coaching staff with his toughness and intelligence, practiced after the injury occurred. He's expected to wear a cast for a couple of weeks. Contacted Friday on his cell phone, Doughty acknowledged only that he practiced Wednesday. "I'll be fine," Doughty said.

Andre Carter is ahead of schedule.

Carter had surgery in January to repair the torn biceps he played with in December and was not expected to take part in drills until the mandatory three-day minicamp that begins June 16. But Carter, who is making the switch from defensive end, participated in the first two days of this week's organized team activities (OTAs). "Just working, man," Carter said Wednesday. "Like everything you do, it's always an adjustment. But my arm is feeling great."

Trent Williams is coming along fine.

After organized team activities Wednesday at Redskins Park, Williams, the fourth overall pick in the April draft, worked individually on field-goal blocking with special teams coordinator Danny Smith. Williams is steadily becoming more comfortable with the Redskins' zone blocking scheme and the speed of the NFL, teammates said, and having Samuels's support has helped his transition.

On his first play as a Redskin, Williams remained in his stance after the ball was snapped while the other linemen were already blocking. He took some good-natured jabs from teammates, but said he's "almost close to being off sides now. "That was embarrassing. I've [come] a long way. It's still a long way to go, but I feel like I'm right where I need to be," he said.

 

[fatness]

I think your premise is ridiculous.

My premise is that you'd root for a guy being paid low money, but if he gets a lot of money you'd look for things wrong with him so you can call him human excrement. It's all about the money and resenting it.

 

[buster c]

I think your premise is ridiculous.

My premise is that you'd root for a guy being paid low money, but if he gets a lot of money you'd look for things wrong with him so you can call him human excrement. It's all about the money and resenting it.

chris samuels was one of the top paid guys of the decade. loved him. it was not about the money and there was no resentment. answer my question: what "big new" contracts for LJ/Westy would you like to see if they have good years in 2010?

 

[fatness]

Rich Tandler looks at the linebackers

The Washington Redskins linebacker corps is undergoing a dramatic revamping this season as the team transitions from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4. Several players who were defensive linemen last season are trying to make the transition from playing in a three-point stance and attacking to playing standing up and reading. The success of these transitions will go a long way towards determining the success of the Redskins’ defense this year.

I wonder if there's ever been a team that has asked so many different players at one time to learn a new position. Defensive line play was a strong point last year, with Haynesworth drawing so much attention from offensive blockers that Orakpo and Carter had excellent years. Now the new staff is re-making what was a strength. I still don't think it's a good idea, but I guess we'll see how it works out.

Can London Fletcher make it back to the Pro Bowl? After 12 years of playing in the middle in a 4-3 setup, he’ll have to get used to having to share the territory there with another player. He will have to take on guards on a consistent basis, and that could take its toll on his 35-year-old body.

 

[fatness]

answer my question: what "big new" contracts for LJ/Westy would you like to see if they have good years in 2010?

I haven't thought about it and don't care much. I care how they play, not how much they make. Since this is so important to you, and it'll determine whether you like those players or not, why don't you just say what you think they should make if they have a good year? How much would they have to make next year to get you to hate them?BTW, the 2 RB's on the team who I think will have the best years are Portis and Johnson. I think Parker is shot. I don't think Westbrook will sign with them, and if he does I don't expect much from him. Barring injuries of course, Portis/Johnson/Torain looks like a significant upgrade over Portis/Betts/Cartwright/Mason.

 

[fatness]

Redskin running game rated 30th this year.

Years of O-line neglect will do this.

 

[fatness]

Redskins ranked 11th out of 32 this year.

Any team getting rid of Vinnie Cerrato and Jim Zorn has to receive a bump in the rankings, but ranking them 11th seems over-optimistic.

 

[fatness]

Lots of people predicting the Lions will beat the Redskins this year: http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...howtopic=534529

 

[fatness]

You need take only a passing glance at the Redskins' roster to realize that some big-time changes were made these past few months. But ESPN.com's Mike Sando has put together a nifty chart that quantifies just how much turnover the Redskins and every other team in the league have experienced since the 2009 season concluded. So where do the Redskins rank? Sando found that only three teams have a lower retention rate than the Redskins: the Cardinals, Lions and Seahawks.

Link

 

[fatness]

Cooley may see an expanded role in the offense this season; he said he is running "everything all the receivers run." His ability to become comfortable with McNabb could be crucial, especially with few proven receiving threats other than Santana Moss.

Link

 

[fatness]

The defense is ahead of the offense.

Anyway, from what we're hearing, Haslett is a big-time hit with the players. Veterans have quickly embraced his aggressive, Pittsburgh-patterned-3-4 scheme, and are very excited about Haslett's big-play mentality. His eagerness to put linebackers, safeties and even corners in position to make plays on blitzes, and his ability to disguise coverages out of the 3-4 has re-energized the defensive players, from what we've been told.

Things have not been running as smoothly for the offense. The Shanahans (head coach Mike and offensive coordinator Kyle) are in the process of rebuilding the offensive line, purging former coach Jim Zorn's unproductive West Coast offense from the minds of players and trying to determine whether they have the right wide receivers on the roster.

Devin Thomas has a great opportunity to seize top billing among the wideouts, but he has been slowed by a hamstring injury at times. And when the chiseled third-year player has participated, he hasn't displayed the type of play-after-play consistency the Shanahans like to see from that position. Malcolm Kelly, hasn't distinguished himself yet, but he's really only beginning his second season.

 

[fatness]

Rich Tandler - 10 Redskin Topics of Interest (By the way, I'm glad he's writing regularly for CSNWashington. He writes more frequently and it gets him more exposure.)

1. Reed Doughty will be starting at free safety by midseason, if not sooner. That is not necessarily based on anything I have seen wrong with Kareem Moore, who has been lining up with the first team for most of the offseason. Doughty, however, is too smart to keep on the sideline. He’s the kind of player who doesn’t look very impressive coming off of the bus, but the coaches love him.

2. When I first talked to Trent Williams at the Combine, I thought he was cocky, bordering on arrogant. Perhaps that was due to him being a little tight in the high-pressure environment of the Combine, or maybe I just got the wrong vibes. But that first impression was wrong. Certainly, he is confident—a rookie who is going to be starting left tackle in the NFL has to be. But he is far from arrogant. At his first minicamp, he told the story of his very first play when the rest of the offense was moving while he was still in his three-point stance. A player with too healthy an ego does not tell that tale. By all indications he is working hard and fitting in.

9. The depth on the offensive line is not a whole lot better than it was last year. As of now, the backups from left to right are Stephon Heyer, Paul Fanaika, Will Montgomery, Rinehart, and William Robinson. Unless players like Fanaika, Kory Lichtensteiger, and rookie Selvish Capers show some promise quickly, Allen and Shanahan will be perusing the waiver wires in search of quality depth up until the start of the season.

 

[buster c]

"near unblockable"

"There is one overwhelming compelling reason [Haynesworth] should be kept as an under tackle -- he is nigh near unblockable in a one-on-one situation," writes Joyner. "To illustrate this, consider that he was single team blocked 49 times and won 22 of those blocks, or a single team win rate of 44.9 percent. That by far is the highest single team POA win rate I have seen thus far (the double team blocking review is my summer tape watching project). To put it in perspective, consider that it ranks higher than Casey Hampton (17.1%), Vince Wilfork (29.6%) and Kris Jenkins (44.4%). Teams simply cannot leave Haynesworth in a one-on-one situation if they want to run the ball his way."

confirming what my eyes have told me

 

[fatness]

Good article. This part was interesting also:

"In the two seasons prior to signing with Washington, Haynesworth posted point of attack (POA) win totals of 32.3 percent (2007) and 23.8 percent (2008)," writes Joyner. "Those totals are the baseline against which Haynesworth's 2009 run-stuffing performance should be gauged.

"Let's check out his POA numbers from last season. He had 81 POA attempts and 27 POA wins. That equates to a 33.3 percent POA win rate, or a total that was actually higher than both his 2007 and 2008 figures."

 

[dgreen]

Yeah, I'll never get the "Haynesworth wasn't that good" comments. He's their best player.

 

[fatness]

I hope Haynesworth is there this weekend for the mandatory minicamp, and I hope he's in good shape.