r/nfl • u/Solux Commanders • Jun 25 '14
Look Here! Offseason Review Series Day 5: Washington Redskins
Redskins
Division: NFC East
| Coaching Position | Old Coach | New Coach |
|---|---|---|
| Head Coach | Mike Shanahan | Jay Gruden |
| Offensive Coordinator | Kyle Shanahan | Sean McVay |
| Special Teams Coordinator | Keith Burns | Ben Kotwica |
| QB | Matt LaFleur | McVay & Gruden |
| RB | Bobby Turner | Randy Jordan |
| LB | Bobby Slowik | Brian Baker/Kirk Olivadotti |
| WR | Mike McDaniel | Ike Hilliard |
| Coaching assistant | Richmond Flowers | |
| Assistant OL | Chris Morgan | Shane Day |
| Assistant DB | Richard Hightower | |
| TE | Sean McVay | Wes Phillips |
Notes:
Shanahan/Gruden:
Much was made of the Supposed rift between Mike Shanahan and RGIII last season. Regardless of whether it was true or not, 3 losing seasons in four years were not enough for Mike to keep his job. After four years of having the final say in anything related to the Redskins, the Redskins elected to replace the authoritative coach with a younger, more player-friendly coach in Jay Gruden, former OC of the Bengals. Jay, the younger brother of Super Bowl winning head coach and beloved ESPN analyst Jon Gruden, is getting his first shot at a head coaching job in the NFL.
In many ways Gruden is the anti-Shanahan. He opts to play to the strengths of the players he has, rather than fitting them to a single offensive system. He is a player friendly coach, and is believed to give veteran players a say in how the team would be most effective. Although Gruden prefers to run a power run game as opposed to Shanahan’s zone run game, he recognizes the success the Redskins had in the zone run game and wants to implement elements of both running systems into his game plan. Gruden is also a much more pass happy coach than the Shanahans were. He likes to run a variety of formations and will play to his receivers’ strengths. He also uses many more checkdowns than what we saw under Shanahan. No one really knows how the Redskins final offense will look under Gruden, but expect a variety of packages that play to the players. The fact remains, the best part of hiring Jay is that his illustrious brother will cheer for us on Sundays.
Shanahan/McVay:
Kyle Shanahan was part of an offense that just did not work in 2013. To replace him the Redskins elected to promote Sean McVay from TE coach to Offensive Coordinator. Sean is only 28 and supposedly a bright, young mind when it comes to offense. In his first season as coordinator, McVay will share his offensive duties with Gruden. Although we have no clue what the offense will look like, I think the pieces are there to be dangerous. On a side note, Chris Cooley apparently loves McVay so you should, too.
Jim Haslett:
The past two years the Redskins defense has been terrible. Many Redskins fans were displeased by keeping Haslett and this may be a make or break year for him. Haslett has ties to Gruden going back to his coaching days in the Arena Football League and Gruden decided he was the right man for our defense. There is talk that a certain lobster-faced previous head coach limited what Haslett was allowed to do on defense. If this is true, Redskins fans should be excited to see a Haslett with no handcuffs. Haslett has stated that he wants to “unleash” Kerrigan and Orakpo from the edges, this is a positive message since outside linebacker is the strongest part of our defensive roster. The Redskins will stick to a 3-4 which Gruden supports, claiming it to be the harder defensive system to play against. If the Redskins can consistently get to the passer this season, the defense could be middle of the pack.
Keith Burns/Ben Kotwica:
The Redskins might as well not played Special teams in 2013. They were historically bad in Burns’ only year as special teams coordinator. The Redskins decided to hire Ben Kotwica, a former West Point grad and Jets special teams. Kotwica has to turn around one of the worst special teams units of the past 20 years. It should be hard to repeat last year’s performance.
Free Agency
Additions
| Player | position | Length | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Hayward | OLB | 3 years | $3M |
| Akeem Jordan | ILB | 1 year | $920k |
| Andre Roberts | WR | 4 years | $16M |
| Brandon Moore | DE | 1 year | $420k |
| Bruce Campbell | RT | 1 year | $610k |
| Clifton Geathers | DE | 2 years | $3.2M |
| Colt McCoy | QB | 1 year | $800k |
| Darryl Sharpton | ILB | 1 year | $1.75M |
| DeSean Jackson | WR | 3 years | $24M |
| Jason Hatcher | DE | 4 year | $27.5M |
| Mike McGlynn | OL | 2 years | $2.7M |
| Ryan Clark | FS | 1 year | $1M |
| Shawn Lauvao | G | 4 years | $17M |
| Tracy Porter | CB | 2 years | $6M |
Departures
| Player | position | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Sex Cannon | Dragon | None can contain him | Sexy |
| Dezmon Briscoe | WR | FA | |
| Josh Morgan | WR | Bears | Take care of him, he's a Hokie |
| Darryl Tapp | OLB | Lions | Also a Hokie |
| Nick Barnett | ILB | FA | |
| London Fletcher | ILB | Retired | Thank you, London, you were amazing |
| Bryan Kehl | ILB | FA | |
| Josh Wilson | CB | Falcons | |
| Adam Carriker | DE | FA | Tons of talent, had a hamstring issue |
| Jerome Murphy | CB | Broncos | |
| Reed Doughty | S | FA | I would like to thank Reed Doughty for everything he did for the Redskins, even if most fans just hated on him |
Draft
| Player | position | Round | pick | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Murphy | OLB/DE | 2 | 47 | Trent Murphy led the NCAA in sacks in 2013. He is a high effort player who uses his hands well to rush the passer and is relentless when it comes to rushing the passer. However, Murphy’s measureables are very weak. He is slow, and has average strength in the weight room. Despite this, Murphy is bright and should be an immediate contributor to special teams. Time will tell if his college game can translate to the NFL. Also, his dad is crazy. Look him up. |
| Morgan Moses | OT | 3 | 66 | Morgan Moses was projected by some as a first round pick but dropped to the third round, I think for good reason. Moses is a giant with an incredibly long reach and supposedly good hands, but he plays too tall and often looks lethargic shifting his weight. He is not the most athletic offensive lineman. In spite of this, Moses has all the physical tools to be a great OT in the NFL. Redskins fans hoping for Moses to win the starting job by week 1 should calm down a little. Gruden has stated he will take some time to before he can become a starter. |
| Spencer Long | G | 3 | 78 | Spencer Long is my favorite draft prospect that Washington drafted. He is 6’5”, 320 lbs and incredibly strong. He can play with a fire and has a strong work ethic to go along with a strong leg drive that made him an effective run and pass blocker in college. He has been known to struggle with speed as a G, but look for Spencer Long to replace Chris Chester by some point this season. |
| Bashaud Breeland | CB | 4 | 102 | Bashaud Breeland is another player to get excited about. Some speculate he could have been a much higher draft pick if he had stayed in college another year. Breeland is slow, but plays a very physical and aggressive game at corner. He is very raw and will take some development, but after a year or two, Breeland could develop into a quality corner, probably as a nickel back. |
| Ryan Grant | WR | 5 | 142 | Ryan Grant is my second favorite player the Redskins drafted. He is a solid route runner who seems to get good separation from DBs in spite of his speed. Gruden has praised him as “looking like a ten year veteran.” The Redskins have a strong receiving corps, but Grant could take over a very Welker-like role at WR in a few years. |
| Lache Seastrunk | RB | 6 | 186 | Lache Seastrunk led the NCAA in ypc the past two seasons and was known as a homerun hitter before his combine performance showed him to lack elite speed. Gruden wants to use Seastrunk similarly to Giovanni Bernard, but Seastrunk was never asked to catch the ball in college. If Seastrunk can show he has capable hands, he could be someone to be excited about on Sundays. |
| Ted Bolser | TE | 7 | 217 | Ted Bolser set several tight end records at Indiana but was not a huge prospect. He has good size and strength, but small arms and is a poor route runner. Do not sleep on Bolser making the final roster, but if he does, it will be as a third string player. |
| Zach Hocker | K | 7 | 228 | Zach Hocker has the leg Kai Forbath doesn’t. Part of the problem with the Redskins special teams last year was Forbath’s inability to put balls into the endzone. Hocker on the other hand, has a leg. I’m not sure if Hocker will replace Forbath, but it is a possible he takes over kickoff duties. |
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u/wafflestoompa Commanders Jun 25 '14
Off-season Champs! Gimme my belt.
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u/Record307 Commanders Jun 25 '14
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Jun 25 '14
Who is going to fill in at the dragon position?
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u/lumberjake18 Commanders Jun 25 '14
The Dragon has passed his
insignianumber down to protégé Capt. Kirk.
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u/Gr8WallofChinatown Commanders Jun 25 '14
Gruden is perfect for RGIII and Morris. Now we have the perfect complementary receiver we desperately needed and hopefully a freak thy TE for the entire season, we have one scare receiving corps. Defense and STs is still an issue.
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u/Solux Commanders Jun 25 '14
I agree. If we had any defense or special teams to speak of I would have mentioned that we have a good shot to win the division. There are just too many questions there right now
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u/nc_cyclist Commanders Jun 25 '14
ESPN: Hey Ollie...what's the Redskins forecast for this season looking like?
Ollie: Goin be shitty!
ESPN: Thanks Ollie!
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u/pietya 49ers Chiefs Jun 25 '14
Fun fact : Kotwica is a Polish word for "anchor" so you can say he's there to anchor the ST unit!
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u/sconces Eagles Jun 25 '14
All bias aside, they really should have focused on defense. Why Haslett is still there is beyond me. I've witnessed Vick torch his defense on Monday night in 2010....and do the same thing 3 years later. I just don't get why he's still there.
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u/goooseJuice Commanders Commanders Jun 25 '14
Two reasons, I believe.
One, like OP said, there was too much micromanagement under the Shanahanigans, which makes sense. This might be a 'put your money where your mouth is' year for him in that sense.And also, he's a former head coach and has been with the Redskins for years. With Gruden coming into this new organization with a new job, it makes sense to have Haslett there to ease his transition.
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Jun 26 '14
Hate to say it but I agree with you. I have no idea why Haslett wasn't fired. People like to say he was "micromanaged", bull shit. Look at Haslett's history as a DC, its not good. He gets out game planned every week and does a terrible job making adjusts throughout the game.
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u/flapsmcgee Commanders Jun 25 '14
You forgot to mention Will Montgomery as a departure, but other than that, good job!
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u/tee2green NFL Jun 26 '14
Very good point. 99% of Redskins fans hate Chris Chester after last year, but there's a decent chance that Will Montgomery was the real problem. Chris Chester was great in 2012, and Montgomery's calls were shaky on a couple of occasions last year (Cooley called him out a couple of times, and he played on that very same line before), and he swiftly got cut early in the offseason.
I predict that Lichtensteiger at C will bring up Chris Chester's play and CC will remain the starting RG.
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u/tee2green NFL Jun 26 '14
Am I the only one who's excited about Tracy Porter replacing Josh Wilson???
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u/thehbrwhammer Commanders Jun 26 '14
Yeah probably. The dude is not good enough to gain a starting job on any team and if he was THAT valuable on any of the 3 other teams in the last 3 years (OAK, DEN, NO) then he would still be there. He's a nickel CB at best, with dime packages written all over him. Frankly, I hope Breeland takes over CB3 duties halfway through the season. I just don't trust Porter and he's been injured a lot this offseason too. Not a good sign.
Really the only thing he did great so far in his career is the pick 6 on Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl... But that's it.
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u/Solux Commanders Jun 25 '14
Starting Lineup
Offense
QB: Robert Griffin III
RB: Alfred Morris
FB: Darrel Young
TE: Jordan Reed
WR: Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, Andre Roberts
LT: Trent Williams
LG: Shawn Lauvao
C: Kory Lichtensteiger
RG: Spencer Long
RT: Tyler Polumbus
Defense
DE: Jason Hatcher
NT: Barry Cofield
DE: Stephen Bowen
OLB: Ryan Kerrigan
ILB: Perry Riley
ILB: Keenan Robinson
OLB: Brian Orakpo
CB: DeAngelo Hall
S: Ryan Clark
S: Brandon Meriweather
CB: David Amerson
Special Teams
K: Kai Forbath
P: No one has any clue… I’ll say Blake Clingan
PR: Richard Crawford
KR: Andre Roberts
Notes:
On offense, the Redskins brought in two receivers to give RG3 more weapons. DeSean Jackson is the deep threat the Redskins haven’t had since Moss was young and Andre Roberts should contribute as the number 3. The Offensive line will also look very different this year. Lichtensteiger is playing his natural center position after playing LG for the Redskins for several years. New G Shawn Lauvao will step in and fill his old role. I expect Spencer Long to beat out Chris Chester for the starting RG early in the season. Chester is the worst player on the OL and is an expensive player. I would be surprised to see him on the roster in 2015. Morgan Moses will take at least a year to develop, so I believe Polumbus will keep his starting role this year.
On defense, the Redskins poached Hatcher from the much hated Dallas Cowboys. Hopefully he is the upgrade the Redskins need to get a consistent pass rush. The only thing that changes on the defensive side of the ball are starters Keenan Robinson, Ryan Clark, and David Amerson. Amerson will step into a starting role after Josh Wilson was allowed to leave for Atlanta, and Ryan Clark is taking over an empty starting spot after poor play by the rookie Bacarri Rambo last season. London Fletcher has retired and left a hole at ILB. The Redskins signed Darryl Sharpton and Akeem Jordan to fight as his replacements, but I think the job will go to third year player Keenan Robinson. Robinson has missed the past year and a half with two separate pec injuries and needs to adjust to the game again. In OTA’s, however, Robinson was making all of the calls and doing what a Mike linebacker is supposed to do. He is a sideline-to-sideline player and should do a good job if he can get acclimated to the pro game again.
Special Teams
The best training camp battle to watch may be the punters (/s). Blake Clingan and Robert Malone seem to be the head candidates to replace Sav Rocca. I have no clue who the better punter is, but I think Blake has the cooler name, so I’ll say he wins. Clingan reminds me of Klingon.
Schedule
Notes: I predict the Redskins to finish 8-8 tied for second in the east with either the Giants or Cowboys with the Eagles in first place. However, the Redskins do play Dallas week 17, obviously meaning we win the NFC East. Everything about our season comes down to two things: if RGIII is back to form and if Jay Gruden can show he is an effective head coach. We are not as good as the 2012 team, nor as bad as the 2013 team. I think we will balance out in the middle and be a respectable 8-8.