CSN's Rich Tandler posted a column this week about the Redskins once again being among the oldest rosters in the NFL, right ahead of the Saints and Vikings (not bad company to be in, eh?).
Some critics might question why a new coach and GM are not tearing the team down to an even more basic level and building over again with the likes of Jimmy Claussen at QB and UDFA running backs and linemen.
What Shanahan and Allen bring to the Redskins for the first time in 20 plus years is pragmatism.
Rather than tear down in a year where the picks are limited and the free agent class is the thinnest in a decade to the uncapped year, the Redskins quite correctly decided that priorty #1 was to simply upgrade the talent, and not worry about the relative age of the players retained vs. obtained.
Mitigating the risk of signing older players who could have durability issues going forward is the fact the team is keeping most of these deals short-term and composed largely of performanced-based incentives.
Tandler's review noted the increase in age at several key spots, including QB, RT, RB, etc.
But the concomitant to that is the definite increase in talent now at those spots.
I haven't been able to find too many folks that would argue that McNabb for Campbell, Jammal Brown for Stephon Heyer and Larry Johnson for Betts/Mason/Ganther, etc. were good swaps for the Redskins.
I would also suggest that players such as the 38 year old Joey Galloway, 34 year old Chris Draft and 33 year old Mike Furrey might not be on the final roster as other players emerge in camp when the pads go on or as other NFL teams make key veterans available.
Once the Redskins found out that the Rams were asking for the the balance of the Redskins draft for the next 2 years to acquire the top pick and select Bradford, Washington figured out that path would only set the team back and put them in 3-13 or 4-12 range again for 2010 and perhaps 2011 as well.
The fact the other quarterbacks available were not considered to be franchise talents presented Washington with the choice of taking a high risk on a potential bust or trading for the best quarterback in the NFC East over the past 8-10 years in Donovan McNabb.
The acquisition of the veteran McNabb meant the team needed to make other moves to re-tool rather than rebuild the roster given McNabb's potential timeline in the NFL.
Once again, that was the practical and reasonable judgment.
The drafting of Williams and the trade for Brown represented a sea change in capability on the OL. Going from Levi Jones and Stephon Heyer to Williams and Brown is perhaps the greatest single season jump in talent at OT I have seen on this team since 1981.
On the other side of the ball, the Redskins took a good bet on Maake Kemoeatu and his ability to rebound from injury to play a significant role in 2010. He is on pace to be ready for camp and his presence as a true nose tackle for the 3-4 will elevate the defense with or without the presence of Albert Haynesworth. There were really no other potential front line starters at NT available in FA or via trade in the offseason.
The fact he has been playing out of position in a 4-3 the past 3 years in Carolina presents the opportunity for him to be more effective this year in Washington back at NT than he had been for the Panthers for $9M under John Fox.
I don't know whether Adam Carriker is an NFL starter or rotation player in the 3-4, but he was available and acquired for next to nothing by the coach that drafted him and started him as a rookie. It would appear Carriker is another guy that got caught in a 4-3/3-4 switch that went against his skill set as a DE. No one knows Carriker better than Haslett and as with Pierson Prioleau and London Fletcher under Williams the Redskins are likely to reap the extra benefits of acquiring players where the coaching staff is able to use them to the maximum of their talent.
After a 4-12 season Shanahan and Allen saw the most important thing going forward in 2010 was to get this team back to respectability and competitiveness in the NFC.
Once teams get down to 2-14 or 4-12 it can become the start of a sequence of years where teams develop the mentality of an also-ran.
I think the feeling within the Redskins organization is a return to a solid performance in 2010 will result in the team being able to recruit better free agents in 2011 (assuming a season will be played) and set the team up to move forward even more swiftly through the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
As I have posted elsewhere I think the Redskins will make several moves over the summer to add veterans for depth as they become available.
I also see one more major move left in the team, namely the acquisition of a playmaking wide receiver.
Vincent Jackson may or may not be the option chosen, but the team's interest in him shows they are clearly not comfortable tossing the keys to the car in the hands of Thomas and Kelly.
Jackson's value has been diminished by the 3 game suspension, his salary demands as a restricted free agent, and by the fact a third DUI could land him on a one year ban from the NFL from Roger Goddell.
AJ Smith may have been angling for two #2's or a #1 for Jackson, but the fact remains the Saints were originally looking for a #2 pick for Jammal Brown before the draft from the Redskins.
They ended up settling for less. And San Diego likely will as well.
That said, if not Jackson I believe Shanahan has a list of other WRs who fit his offense and could come in over the summer and be productive within a short period of time working with McNabb and Kyle Shanahan.
I would be VERY surprised to see Thomas, Kelly, Galloway, Furrey and Armstrong being the depth at WR behind Santana Moss heading into the opener.
Some critics might question why a new coach and GM are not tearing the team down to an even more basic level and building over again with the likes of Jimmy Claussen at QB and UDFA running backs and linemen.
What Shanahan and Allen bring to the Redskins for the first time in 20 plus years is pragmatism.
Rather than tear down in a year where the picks are limited and the free agent class is the thinnest in a decade to the uncapped year, the Redskins quite correctly decided that priorty #1 was to simply upgrade the talent, and not worry about the relative age of the players retained vs. obtained.
Mitigating the risk of signing older players who could have durability issues going forward is the fact the team is keeping most of these deals short-term and composed largely of performanced-based incentives.
Tandler's review noted the increase in age at several key spots, including QB, RT, RB, etc.
But the concomitant to that is the definite increase in talent now at those spots.
I haven't been able to find too many folks that would argue that McNabb for Campbell, Jammal Brown for Stephon Heyer and Larry Johnson for Betts/Mason/Ganther, etc. were good swaps for the Redskins.
I would also suggest that players such as the 38 year old Joey Galloway, 34 year old Chris Draft and 33 year old Mike Furrey might not be on the final roster as other players emerge in camp when the pads go on or as other NFL teams make key veterans available.
Once the Redskins found out that the Rams were asking for the the balance of the Redskins draft for the next 2 years to acquire the top pick and select Bradford, Washington figured out that path would only set the team back and put them in 3-13 or 4-12 range again for 2010 and perhaps 2011 as well.
The fact the other quarterbacks available were not considered to be franchise talents presented Washington with the choice of taking a high risk on a potential bust or trading for the best quarterback in the NFC East over the past 8-10 years in Donovan McNabb.
The acquisition of the veteran McNabb meant the team needed to make other moves to re-tool rather than rebuild the roster given McNabb's potential timeline in the NFL.
Once again, that was the practical and reasonable judgment.
The drafting of Williams and the trade for Brown represented a sea change in capability on the OL. Going from Levi Jones and Stephon Heyer to Williams and Brown is perhaps the greatest single season jump in talent at OT I have seen on this team since 1981.
On the other side of the ball, the Redskins took a good bet on Maake Kemoeatu and his ability to rebound from injury to play a significant role in 2010. He is on pace to be ready for camp and his presence as a true nose tackle for the 3-4 will elevate the defense with or without the presence of Albert Haynesworth. There were really no other potential front line starters at NT available in FA or via trade in the offseason.
The fact he has been playing out of position in a 4-3 the past 3 years in Carolina presents the opportunity for him to be more effective this year in Washington back at NT than he had been for the Panthers for $9M under John Fox.
I don't know whether Adam Carriker is an NFL starter or rotation player in the 3-4, but he was available and acquired for next to nothing by the coach that drafted him and started him as a rookie. It would appear Carriker is another guy that got caught in a 4-3/3-4 switch that went against his skill set as a DE. No one knows Carriker better than Haslett and as with Pierson Prioleau and London Fletcher under Williams the Redskins are likely to reap the extra benefits of acquiring players where the coaching staff is able to use them to the maximum of their talent.
After a 4-12 season Shanahan and Allen saw the most important thing going forward in 2010 was to get this team back to respectability and competitiveness in the NFC.
Once teams get down to 2-14 or 4-12 it can become the start of a sequence of years where teams develop the mentality of an also-ran.
I think the feeling within the Redskins organization is a return to a solid performance in 2010 will result in the team being able to recruit better free agents in 2011 (assuming a season will be played) and set the team up to move forward even more swiftly through the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
As I have posted elsewhere I think the Redskins will make several moves over the summer to add veterans for depth as they become available.
I also see one more major move left in the team, namely the acquisition of a playmaking wide receiver.
Vincent Jackson may or may not be the option chosen, but the team's interest in him shows they are clearly not comfortable tossing the keys to the car in the hands of Thomas and Kelly.
Jackson's value has been diminished by the 3 game suspension, his salary demands as a restricted free agent, and by the fact a third DUI could land him on a one year ban from the NFL from Roger Goddell.
AJ Smith may have been angling for two #2's or a #1 for Jackson, but the fact remains the Saints were originally looking for a #2 pick for Jammal Brown before the draft from the Redskins.
They ended up settling for less. And San Diego likely will as well.
That said, if not Jackson I believe Shanahan has a list of other WRs who fit his offense and could come in over the summer and be productive within a short period of time working with McNabb and Kyle Shanahan.
I would be VERY surprised to see Thomas, Kelly, Galloway, Furrey and Armstrong being the depth at WR behind Santana Moss heading into the opener.