Niles Paul moves to tight end

For some reason I was initially caught off guard when I heard that Niles Paul was moving to tight end. But after only a moment's thought I was actually surprised by how obvious it seemed in retrospect, and in fact was sort of bothered that I hadn't thought of it beforehand.

Here's what he did well last year:

- Run block.

- Force fair catches as a gunner on punt coverage.

Here's what he didn't do:

- Get open on pass routes, pretty much ever.

Now if you know me, you know I like the guys who do the (so-called) little things like block and contribute on special teams. But the reality of the modern NFL and all it's specialized packages means that your entire depth chart is going to be forced to play from scrimmage at some point, so no one can get away with doing just the little things. As such, given the additions to the wide receiver corps Niles was going to have a hard time keeping his roster spot. So if you think he's a guy who can help the team, the challenge is to find a role which plays to his strengths and minimizes his weaknesses.

There remains the question of whether Niles has ever gotten into a three point stance in his life, and if he would be able to hold up as a blocker on the line. But in the modern NFL, including the Redskins offense, multi-TE sets often have a tight end flexed, lined up in the slot, or in backfield motion as an H-back. So there is a lot of flexibility in how to use him.

And as a tight end he would of course be more often matched up against safeties or linebackers on his pass routes, so just maybe he could contribute as a pass catcher too. But if his impact in the passing game still proves to be minimal, that's less of a problem if he's the second tight end on the field instead of a wide receiver.

Now this doesn't mean Niles is safe, necessarily. Fred Davis is still around, getting a one year trial to see if he is worthy of a long term contract. And Chris Cooley may not be ready for the glue factory just yet. But there are big questions about both of those guys, especially in a long term sense. So while Niles will in all likelihood be competing against others for the third spot, there's nothing wrong with looking at as many options as possible that could eventually replace Cooley or Davis if needed.

This move sure seems to give Niles Paul the best chance to a) make the team and b) contribute on the field, so I'm all for it.

Your assigned Wildcard week reading

I love playoff football. So, so much. January is my holy month.

Here's what I'm reading, and you should to, to prep for this week's games:

Smart Football

Start with Chris Brown's brief but useful preview post, and I strongly encourage you to click the the links to the older posts that get into the meaty scheme stuff.

Football Outsiders

Like every year, they use their unique stats to tease out the playoff teams' true strengths and weaknesses. NFC Preview, AFC Preview.

Pro Football Focus

These guys, of course, study individual player performances as closely as anyone. They identify three key matchups for each game that ESPN (excluding NFL Matchup of course) would probably never notice while fixating on which teams' veteran leaders want it more. Texans-Bengals, Saints-Lions, Giants-Falcons, Broncos-Steelers.

The Players' Page

Old friend Matt Bowen over at NFP gives us his usual brief but focused and substantive work, first with a "Five Things to Watch" post covering all the games, then with a diagram-y bit about how the Lions will attack Gregg Williams' defense when he goes into Cover-2.

Happy football everyone.

Update: Apparently circumstances didn't permit Shutdown Corner's Doug Farrar to do his usual podcast with Matchup's Greg Cosell this week, but when they return for the second round it will be a mandatory listen. It was great during the regular season, so I'm eager to see what they can do with only a few games to focus on.

Calling it quits

For now, at least. I could see myself getting the itch again after a hiatus, or doing an occasional post when there's something specific on my mind, but I think I need a break from the weekly analysis. It's hard enough to keep up with in the first place, and midway through my third season I'm honestly a little burned out on it. And the last thing I want to do is to disappoint you guys when I can't keep up with any sort of writing schedule.

I started this before training camp in 2009 thinking that I would probably experiment with it for a month or two, no one but my immediate circle of friends and family would read it, and then I would lose interest and move on. But then it sort of took on a life of its own. The fact that this thing actually got noticed, and that so many of you actually made it a point to read it regularly, is immensely gratifying. And of course it's been an enormous amount of fun.

I'll still be around. I'll certainly still be checking in on Twitter, as it has turned out a great way to keep engaged in the ongoing Redskins conversation. Like a sports bar but cheaper.

So... thanks for reading my ridiculous little football blog, folks.

The Redskins underwhelming defensive line

The defensive line was a disaster in 2010 and improving it was a pretty clear offseason priority. The Redskins did not disappoint, signing two free agents (Stephen Bowen and Bary Cofield) and throwing in a second round pick (Jarvis Jenkins, who looked outstanding in preseason before tearing an ACL).

The line is better than last year, but unfortunately that's not saying much. I had some doubts about how the free agent additions would fit into this defense, and so far they are unfortunately looking rather accurate.

Redskins-49ers game review: Will Montgomery's tough day

After Kory Lichtensteiger went down for the year, Will Montgomery struggled so badly after sliding to left guard that he was moved right back to center. Unfortunately, his first day back in his old job was a rough one and he stood out on the screen as the most prominent weakness on the offensive line.

First quarter

1-10-WAS 36 (14:20) R.Helu left tackle to WAS 38 for 2 yards (I.Sopoaga, P.Haralson).

The DT keeps Montgomery from making solid contact and easily sheds him to fill the hole.

2-8-WAS 38 (13:43) R.Helu right guard to WAS 40 for 2 yards (D.Whitner; J.Smith).

Maurice Hurt at LG pulls and Montgomery does not compensate by picking up the RDT, who penetrates and redirects Helu in the backfield.

Redskins add Tyler Polumbus

So the Redskins signed fourth year offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus today. Unfortunately, this says more about the desperate state of the Redskins offensive line than it does about Polumbus.

What this move is: a signing of a warm body by a team whose offensive line has experienced mass casualties in recent weeks.

What this move is not: a meaningful part of some sort of long-term roster building program.

The good news:

- Observers seem to agree that his 2010 season with Seattle was somewhat less bad than his 2009 season with Denver. Granted, the Seahawks still cut him in the middle of this season after playing only three offensive snaps (in the opener) but these things are relative I guess.

- He has played both tackle spots and left guard in his career. Unfortunately he has played all three positions poorly, but there is something to be said for versatility in a backup.

- He was on the Broncos roster (as an undrafted free agent) under Mike Shanahan in 2008, so presumably Mike Shanahan has dug him up both times because he considers his skills to be a match to the offense.

The bad news:

- Bill Barnwell has repeatedly expressed an opinion that Polumbus was the worst starter in the NFL in 2009.

- Football Outsiders' offensive line analyst Ben Muth described Seattle QB's best chance for success this year to be Russell Okung's ability to stay healthy and keep Polumbus off the field.

- Pro Football Focus' grades (paywalled) also do not paint a pretty picture - he scored a -10.1 for 2010.

So the point is that this guy just isn't any good.

None of this means it was wrong for the Redskins to sign him. It's just that he's nothing more than the kind of guy who is unemployed in week 10 and available to a team who's line was weak to begin with and has suffered multiple injuries. 

With Jammal Brown still hurting, there is a good chance that Sean Locklear will have to start at right tackle this week. And there's not much behind him. Rookie Maurice Hurt took some snaps at tackle in the preseason, but even if he wasn't already needed at left guard (after Will Montgomery flamed out there) I wouldn't want to trust him on the outside. The only other option would be the ultra-green Willie Smith.

Trent Williams is already playing hurt, so there is an even greater chance than usual of having to put the third tackle on the field. Polumbus may be a poor player, but at least he has taken NFL snaps before.

There's some small chance that Polumbus could get into a game if Locklear performs poorly, but I doubt it. It is more likely he will make an appearance out of pure necessity. Let's hope we never see him.

I've seen enough of John Beck

After last week's total offensive failure I said that Beck deserves at least one more week. But he's had more than three games nowand he's not just struggling or making mistakes as the result of a learning curve; he's shown absolutely no ability to run a NFL offense. The argument before had been that we already knew Rex was a sub-par quarterback, and Beck at least offered hope as an unknown. He's not anymore.

After 3+ games, this is what we've learned about John Beck:

- He cannot progress through reads - if the first option isn't there he goes straight to the checkdown
- He's inaccurate
- He has a poor deep ball, on the rare occasions when he tries it
- His pocket presence is nonexistent, and this makes his "mobility" useless
- His decision making is painfully slow

The one thing Beck does well is that if his first read is open right as he hits the top of his drop (or as he comes out of his bootleg), he can hit the throw with good timing. That's it, and it's something that any professional quarterback should be able to do.

I am the sort who can be happy with a boring, game manager quarterback, especially given where this team is in it's development. If the offense was simply less than dynamic I could accept that to avoid Rex Grossman's turnovers. And if that means checking down a lot, I could certainly live with it. But this is out of hand.

We all know Rex's weaknesses, and I doubt anyone thinks he would set the world on fire. We can expect at least one or two dumb turnovers per game, and there will always be the possibility of a total meltdown like the one that got him benched against the Eagles. But he will at least give the offense a realistic chance of moving the ball downfield in a meaningful fashion. To resort to cliche, its pretty clear which quarterback gives the Redskins "the best chance to win."