Vision Quest: 2008 Redskin Cap Cuts & Free Agent Review

Now that the Redskins have a complete coaching staff, including brand new coach Jim Zorn, it is high time that we can turn our eyes towards the Redskin free agents. At the time of writing this article, the Redskins have an amazing 18 free agents. What is amazing is that none of them can really be described as anything more then role players at best.

This is a good thing. Our cap situation is still pretty bad. And although we have had a few restructures, some cuts will have to come as the Redskins are currently $13 million over the NFL Salary Cap of $116 million. However this is not a time to panic either. About 75% of the over cap amount is because of a large roster bonus due to Chris Cooley.

However before we address the Free Agents we need to look at cutting a few players. Here are my nominations (figures in parenthesis are post June 1 cut savings):

Salary Cap Savings

Cut List

Brandon Lloyd, WR Savings: -2.929 (2.405)

On the face of it Lloyd’s cut would actually be a salary cap hit, however under the new NFLPA labor agreement the team will be allowed to designate two cuts per year as post June 1 cuts yet do it at the beginning of the year. Mr. Lloyd, your time has come. A West Coast offense depends on precise routes and sure hands, two things Lloyd does not do well. A post June 1 like cut will give us salary cap space for our draft picks.

Phillip Daniels, DE Savings: 2.986 (3.100)

I know there are once again rumblings on the Defensive staff about keeping Daniels and moving him inside. I still think we are better off just cutting him period. He is ineffective, overpaid, and old. Three things that add up to Cap cut in my opinion.

Todd Wade, OT Savings: -.546 (1.686)

The second post June 1 cut should be Todd Wade. Stephon Heyer’s emergence as a reserve OT has made Wade expendable. Also Wade’s inability to stay healthy and effective will not help his cause.

Honorable Mention

These players will either need to restructure or could possibly be cuts.

Shawn Springs, CB Savings: 2.516 (5.000)

Shawn is always a tempting target because of his cap figure, and entering the last two years of his contract he becomes even more tempting. However circumstances (such as Carlos Roger’s injury) will most likely keep him in DC. I hope the Redskins offer him a true restructuring deal and not the pay cut they tried to force down his throat last year. Otherwise Shawn will most likely make them cut him and he can get paid somewhere else.

Marcus Washington, LB Savings: 2.404 (4.425)

Another tempting target, but once again will get saved because of injury to a young star. The injury to McIntosh means Washington is not as expendable as he once was thought to be. Unlike Springs though, Washington’s play has seriously declined.
Washington will not get a big contract somewhere else and is in less of a negotiating position.

Jon Jansen, OT Savings: -1.770 (4.980)

Jansen has a large $1.25 million roster bonus due this year and is in danger of not seeing it. 2 out of the last 4 years he spent most or all of the season on IR. Stephon Heyer’s emergence could put him in jeopardy as well, but most likely not yet. Jon gets one more year to prove he can be a viable consistent option on the right side of the line.

The Redskin Free Agents:

Once the cap cuts have been done here is how I would treat our free agents.

UFAs

Ethan Albright, LS

This is a must resign, and most likely will be redone soon. Usually big Red will go into Dan Snyder’s office and sign a 1 year contract for Vet minimum or a little above. However he deserves a decent raise since he was in the pro-bowl this year. He simply is one of the best at his position and underappreciated. Don’t break the bank but give him a 3 year contract with a $1 million bonus.

Ryan Boschetti, DT/De/Waterboy

How this guy keeps making the squad year in and year out makes my head hurt. 4 years on the team and not worth a dang. Let him go onto his next career.

Reche Caldwell, WR

I would love to see him in from training camp on. I think he will make plays and can be a decent NFL 3^rd or 4^th WR. But only at vet minimum would I bring him back.

Rock Cartwright, RB/KR

Rock Cartwright has no bigger defender on the web then yours truly. Each of the last 4 years some of the fan base fell in love with some flashy running back and I stuck with Rock. In 2004 it was Sultan McCullogh, 2005, Nemo Broguhton, 2006 Jesse Lumsden, and in 2007 Derrick Blaylock, none of whom could take the 3^rd RB spot from Rock. Rock also was a force on special teams and the last two years in kick returns. So it my come as a surprise for some of you to read that I do not think the Redskins should re-sign him. He simply will cost too much and wants to be involved in the offense. Neither of which the Redskins can offer. Also rock is roughly the same age as Betts and Portis, and the Redskins need youth to back them up. Rock has had 7 good years, more then most 7^th round draft picks could ever hope to have. It is time for him to find greener pastures elsewhere and time for the team to get a young RB to learn the new offense under Zorn.

Mark Brunell, QB

Brunell got 4 years at the end of his career here in DC. It has been a nice ride. We have an open QB coach position, maybe we could offer it to him. I wouldn’t be opposed to a vet minimum signing but Brunell is not a West Coast QB and really serves no purpose under the new regime.

Todd Collins, QB

Thank you for the playoff run Todd, but Papa Al awaits you in St. Louis. Perhaps you can teach the system to Bulger and then try and take his job there as well. Buh Bye.

Rick DeMulling, OL

Never could get on the field even with all the injuries we had on the line. Cya.

Jason Fabini, OL

Jason stepped in for Randy Thomas when he went down, and although he wasn’t horrible, he is not an NFL starter. If he wants to sign for vet minimum fine, but I rather get younger OL guys that can learn the new offensive system and have fresh legs out there.

Derrick Frost, P

Inconsistency, thy name is Derrick Frost. I have no problem with resigning him because he does show flashes of brilliance, but please bring in real competition for him this summer if for no reason other then to save his leg for the season.

Randall Godfrey, LB

Just too old to be of service anymore. We need youth on the defense, especially at LB. I don’t see him coming back.

Brian Kozlowski, TE/Lump on a Log

The best thing Zorn could do is lose this guy’s phone number. Let some youth get a chance at being the worst player on the team. Koz has held this title each of the last 4 years under Gibbs.

David Macklin, DB

We need depth at CB but Macklin never showed anything on the field. Vet minimum resign only.

Keenan McCardell, WR

The WR position needs to be made over and there is no room for an ancient Wide Receiver like Keenan on our squad right now.

Pierson Prioleau, S

If we did not lose Taylor I would risk letting Prioleau go. But we will need depth and though P-squared did not play well, the injury he was recovering from may not get better till this year. Vet minimum and let him compete for a spot in camp.

Mike Pucillo, OL

I like Pucillo but the emergence of Lorenzo Alexander took away his goal line TE role. Right now he is just a backup center and maybe guard. I say resign him, but only at vet minimum.

Omar Stoutmire, S

Omar is the red-headed step child of the Washington Safety corp. He was re-signed and cut so many times last year I think Charlie Brown feels sorry for him. Let’s not torture him anymore and let him go find work somewhere else.

RFAs

Nehemiah Broughton, FB

I wouldn’t mind tendering the absolute minimum one year deal to Broughton and letting him compete for a backup FB spot. Sellers is not getting any younger and Broughton was a draft pick and showed flashes of potential. But if someone else wants to sign him, let him go and get our 7^th round draft choice compensation.

Shaun Suisham, K

Suisham was undrafted so no compensation for him if he is signed by another team and we tender him at the lowest option. However that is exactly what we should do. If another team tries to sign him we could always match their offer. I am not totally sold on Shazaam though he did kick a few game winning kicks this year. I would still like training camp competition for him as well.

So that is it, as Free agency approaches I will take a look at some of the expected free agent targets of the Redskins. Until then may the Zorn be with you.

Hail to the Redskins!

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Vision Quest: Give Me Spags!

It’s been well over a month since my last Vision Quest article. I admit that I have been in a funk with all things Redskin related. It was a hard season with brief moments of optimism. But I have to admit even the most fervent optimist had to be down at the way the Redskin season ended. It was not just the loss once again to Seattle after riding a 4 game winning streak into the playoffs. It was the realization that 2 of our young stars on defense Rogers (injury), McIntosh (Injury), will not be back with the Redskins in top form and Sean taylor will never come back being the victim of a senseless crime. And lastly, iIt was the sudden and shocking retirement of our coach Joe Gibbs.

Say what you want about Joe Gibbs, and many of us did just that during his 4 year return, no one could argue that the loved the Redskins and wanted to bring glory back to this franchise. He brought our team to the playoffs in 2 out of the 4 years he returned. In the 13 years he was gone the Redskins managed to get into the playoffs just once. On that basis alone his return was a success, or as much a success as anyone could hope for with this flawed organization.

At the end though it was time for Joe to go, He just could not coach at the level he wanted to. The death of Sean Taylor and the obvious coaching mistakes, especially the two timeout debacle against Buffalo weighed on his heart. Age was also taking a toll and the constant threat of his health deteriorating from his Diabetes. And the cold hard fact is the NFL Head Coaching gig is a young man’s game. The pressures and the constant round the clock schedule is just not meant for a 67 year old grandfather of six.

Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Joe and this was the day I was dreading for several years. Sure Joe’s coaching talents had waned in the final days, but his mere stature and legendary presence was all that was preventing the manipulative and incompetent hands of owner Daniel Snyder and lackey Vinny Cerrato from taking over the franchise in every way, shape, & form. Coach Gibbs was the thumb in the dyke of incompetence and not that water is flowing freely, and we are drowning in it.

Look at what has happened in the last month during this coaching search. First there was the press conference where Snyder all but ruled out ever getting a GM with his now infamous “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” routine. Then there was the promotion of Vinny Cerrato to vice president and de-facto general manager. As if that was not bad enough a poorly worded press release revealed that Vinny would be given “roster” control. The Redskins quickly issued a clarification on the subject however it remains to be seen whether that clarification was only meant to detract from the immediate negative reaction that such a duty would be given to anyone other then the head coach.

Though Gregg Williams, the Assistant Head Coach Defense, was widely thought to be the front runner and heir apparent, he was eventually passed over. Though that made this blogger personally happy, as I do not hold Williams in as high esteem as some Redskin Fans, the way in which the matter was handled. Snyder had 3-4 interviews (depending on what you believe) to determine whether someone who has already been in the organization for the last 4 years. Finally after several “leaks” indicating possible reasons (Williams was arrogant, disrespected Gibbs) the redskins would not hire Gibbs they finally decided to release Williams from his contract and officially deny the leaks from earlier.

Then there was the Mora & Fassel mess that was in the middle of the Williams mess. That is right we are so incompetent that we can actually balance 3 head coaching messes at the same time. Widespread rumors were abound that the Redskins were going to offer Jim Mora Jr. the HC spot. So widespread were the rumors that Mora felt he had to officially withdraw his name from the process to avid confusion. And then it looked as if Jim Fassel was going to be hired, so much so we were talking to his 2 top choices for OC (Jim Zorn) and DC (Rex Ryan). But when the latter seemed to fall through, so did Fassel’s candidacy, apparently.

But hold the phone, because flash forward a week and Jim Zorn was hired anyways to offensive coordinator and Greg Blache was promoted to defensive coordinator. Al Saunders and Gregg Williams were dismissed and the only thing that could come next would be a head coach signing…yet the Redskins announced that they would wait until after the Super Bowl to decide, a full two weeks later. Then rumors went to Steve Mariucci who just happened to have a contract ending with the NFL network after the Super Bowl and wanted to return to coaching, and just interviewed last Sunday.

And thrown away in all of this is Jim Schwartz (DC Tennessee) and Ron Meeks (DC Indianapolis) who were also interviewed by the brain trust that is Snyderrato (not my term but an apt description of the amorphous 2-headed form that now runs the Redskins). Bill Cowher was wooed both publicly and privately. Pete Carroll was brought in for nine hours before he then declined to be interviewed.

So among all those names who do I want to be the next HC of my beloved but troubled football team?

None of them. Give me Spags.

Steve Spagnuolo, defensive coordinator of the Super Bowl XLII Champion NY Giants, is simply the best choice to launch a new era for the Washington Redskins. I admit this is largely in reaction to his Super Bowl performance, as I had reluctantly been for Mariucci before this column. Yet, the more I analyze this move, the more In hope that after his interview on Tuesday he will be announced as a member of the Burgundy and gold family. And here are just a few reasons why:

Spagnuolo is the hot assistant HC in the NFL. Just for once I would like to be ahead of the NFL then reacting from behind. No I know we have been burned here before, yes Norv I am looking at you. Yet this is different. Spags is a player’s coach but also a tough SOB. He knows what to expect from his players and pushes them to excel. We need that with the talented yet underproductive players we have on contract here.

His biggest asset is our biggest need. Spags understands that winning football games starts on the line, especially the defensive line. Sure he had talent, but Usi and Tuck were there last year and did nothing before Spags came on board. The Giants leapfrogged to the best sacking team in the NFL from one of the worst in just one year. Our defensive line needs a makeover and a HC who understands that.

He understands the importance of developing a young QB. Sure he is a defensive coach, but he saw the growing process of Eli Manning this year. The NY Fans were ready to kill him as late as 7 weeks ago. However he witnessed what can be done when you give a young QB the freedom to grow and learn; sometimes they rise to the challenge. Jason Campbell will benefit from that more then anything.

The game and season is not over until it’s over. Spags was the leader of the defense that not only won the Super Bowl for the Giants, but got them into the playoffs and through the playoffs as well. This is despite being on the road the entire time. This despite playing icons like Romo, Favre, and Brady. It was the defense that bottled up Dallas. It was the defense that got the interception to set up the game winning FG in Green Bay, and it was the defense that held the record setting Patriot offense to 14 points. I want the guy in charge of that defense to be in charge of our team.

Addition by subtraction. I admit it; I am scared of the looming problem that is the NY Giants. They are relatively young and Eli Manning is blossoming. Taking away one of their best assistants will not only give us insight to their organization but perhaps hurt them as well. And since Spags started his NFL coaching career as an intern to the Washington GM office in 1983, let’s bring him back home.

He has a history of not choosing assistants. Spags inherited the entire defensive staff and many veterans when he became DC of the Giants this year. He focused on making them better then on demanding wholesale changes. We need a HC who will do the same with the redskins if we hope to be competitive at all next year or beyond. Will changes be made eventually, probably, but with this late start this may be the best opportunity for Spags to step in and start picking up the pieces.

Danny and Vinny, I implore you not to let Spags leave Redskin Park without a contract offer tomorrow. The very future of our franchise depends on it.

Give us Spags!!!

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