Nice guys finish last

Oakland.  Oakland?  Even after escaping the Redskins Jason Campbell can't catch a break.

Being Jason Campbell, he said all the right things and handled the situation with class.  But this is a guy who really needs stability, and now he's been sent to a franchise that makes the Redskins look well-managed.

The draft picks

1.4 - OT Trent Williams


I'll refer you to NFL Draft Countdown's scouting report on Williams:

"Ideal bulk --- Fantastic athlete --- Quick --- Agile --- Nimble feet --- Good balance --- Natural knee bender --- Moves well laterally --- Mobile with range to get to the second level --- Can hit a moving target --- Great strength --- Stout at the point of attack --- Gets a good push in the run game --- Able to adjust and recover when beat --- Understands positioning and excels at sealing off defenders --- Solid instincts and awareness --- Violent initial punch --- Tough --- Nasty with a killer instinct --- Has a lot of experience against top competition --- Versatile. "

The bold is added by me - I highlighted those traits because they are the reasons he was drafted instead of Russel Okung. That sounds like a guy perfect for Shanahan's running game.

Taking stock of the offseason

A brief recap of offseason activity, by position, to assess the situation going into the draft:

Interior Line - Kory Lichtenstiger and Artis Hicks were brought in to provide some nice versatile depth.  As such, and given that Casey Rabach and, I think, Chad Rinehart can play effectively in a zone blocking system, I am comfortable with the situation in the interior.

Offensive Tackles - Not a thing, aside from Stephon Heyer and Mike Williams apparently being brought back (I shivered when I wrote that).  Hicks has played all four non-center positions in the past, but if he was an effective tackle I figure he never would have been moved to guard.  We all hope that the first round pick is spent on a tackle.  In the absence of any sort of trade-down scenario that nets us extra picks, it looks like the starting RT job could be a competition between Heyer and Hicks, which I find pretty scary.

Quarterback - Yep, I'd say this one's been taken care of. The main question now is whether decent trade value can be found for Jason Campbell.  If Shanahan still intends to draft a quarterback, I assume it will be a strictly developmental guy in the later rounds, because McNabb should be around for a few years.  If Campbell can't be traded, does Rex Grossman survive and one of them gets stuck in the #3 job?

Lt. Robert Collins

Don't worry, I won't make a habit out of letting real life intrude into our little football blog here, but this seems like an appropriate exception.

Lt. Robert Collins was recently killed in action in Iraq.  His girlfriend, Nicolle, is a co-worker of mine.  They had been together since high school.  I never met the guy; all I know is that he's a West Point graduate, he went to Ranger school, he's gone, and that Nicolle is a really nice girl who doesn't deserve to be going through this.

So I'd like to ask you a favor - next time you're at your local bar, please take a moment and have a drink for Lt. Collins, and Nicolle as well.

More on McNabb. Because I HAVE to do more on McNabb, right?

- It took until 4pm today for season ticket holders to get the emails trying to sell them McNabb jerseys.  That's where the picture at left comes from.  What was the hold up, I wonder?

- I still can't imagine what the Eagles were thinking.  They have, of their own volition, significantly improved a bitter rival. Do they have such little respect for the rest of the Redskins roster that they think that even with a major upgrade at quarterback we wouldn't be a threat to them?

Holy crap McNabb is the Redskins quarterback

Well, this was unexpected.  It was one of the many rumors that had found its way into the press, but the fact is when you're 4-12, have a new coach, and an owner who is known for adding big-name players, you're going to be "linked" (whatever that means) with anyone who could possibly be on the market.

Some very preliminary and unformed thoughts below.  Come on, this happened fast and it's the best you're getting tonight:

The new old backfield

First of all sorry about the rather long silence – just been busy with some stuff. Also some things. Aaaanyway what exactly is the plan with these running backs?

When Ladell Betts got cut I just assumed that the intention was to go younger in the backfield, at least behind Portis. Instead, we added two more older players. I along with many others figured Larry Johnson in particular was completely washed up, and Willie Parker has probably always been overrated and was pushed out of Pittsburgh for a reason. The jokes are already out there about how the Redskins have a kick-ass backfield for 2004. I am not at all convinced that either of these guys is better than Ladell Betts (at this stage in their careers). Betts is by no means spectacular, but he is certainly reliable and very well-rounded. We knew what we had in Betts, even if it was rather boring. But if we’re going to make speculative acquisitions I don’t see why we couldn’t do it with younger players.