SB Nation - Rob Jackson

Pour Some Sugar On Me - Preseason Wrap-up: Can We Build a Team That Can Beat the Raiders? Yes We Can!

Sugar — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:00:22 -0000

I understand how important this last preseason game was for roughly 20-30 players per team. I do. For some it was the difference between making the 53-man roster or getting cut. For others who were relatively certain of their impending unemployment, it was a chance to get on tape for potential future employers. For coaches, it was one last look at a few players they may try to retain on the practice squad. But for just about everybody else (in the world) these games were simply painful to watch.

As a Redskins' fan, I of course watched the game against the Jaguars intently and hung on most every play. But as I watched the games around the league, I found myself losing interest quickly as penalty flags rained down on my living room as if Pacman Jones himself were throwing them.

To write a recap of each game would be worse than having to read Peter King rate every latte he has ever drank. So instead, this week I thought I would put my preseason watch-a-ton to the test. Every team has made their final cuts. I will attempt to build a 53-man roster from all the players released by the Saturday deadline. This may include some players who ended up on the practice squad, but you'll have to excuse that. After all, even though I did watch pretty much every preseason game played in the last month, my knowledge of certain teams' backups probably doesn't go much further than guys who should rightfully land on the practice squad. This already feels like a poor man's version of Madden fantasy draft. I get to decide who I am going to keep and at what position they will play. My ultimate goal: a 53-man roster capable of beating the Oakland Raiders final 53-man roster. Our team name: Sugartime Ballers. At the end, you'll get to vote on whether you think the Ballers can take down the Raiders. The first picks after the jump...

QB (3): Jeff Garcia, Joey Harrington, Chase Daniel

This team is going to have a questionable offensive line, so I am going to need a veteran quarterback capable of escaping pressure and getting rid of the ball. I watched as much of the Raiders' preseason as I could stomach and to me it seemed like Jeff Garcia was the quarterback that gave them the best chance to win now. My guess is that they sensed that too and decided that going with a guy staring down 40 years old would be the nail in the coffin for the JaMarcus Russell era, at least from a confidence perspective. Joey Harrington (cut by the Saints) is experienced in the art of art of hand signaling, which is what I want in my backup QB. Plus he is a great pianist so he can play getaway music on the piano as Jeff Garcia is running fro his life behind whatever offensive line I can put together. Chase Daniel gave it a good run in D.C., but failed to be named as the 3rd quarterback when the team decided to go with nobody instead (ouch).

RB (5): Dominic Rhodes, Anthony Alridge, Ian Johnson, Fui Vakapuna, Isaac Redman

It struck me as a little odd when the Bills jettisoned Rhodes. With Lynch out for the beginning frames of the season and Fred Jackson a little dinged this preseason, I figured a veteran like Rhodes would have value for that team. Alridge just barely missed being the last running back kept by the Redskins and adds speed out of my backfield. Ian Johnson is a young buck that got bounced by the Vikings. I have a soft spot in my heart for this guy after watching him have such a great career at Boise State, not to mention the now famous Statue of Liberty play against Oklahoma a couple seasons ago. Vakapuna is a guy I picked because I need a blocking fullback and I have been watching HBO's Hard Knocks this season featuring the Bengals. He is a big, athletic dude, and we are going to need a Samoan presence in the backfield on this team. Redman had a great preseason in Pittsburgh but the numbers game beat him. We are lucky to have him and Vakapuna muscling up in our backfield.

TE (4): Leonard Pope, Alex Smith, Bear Pascoe, Garrett Mills

The Cards cut Pope and the Pats cut Smith. Both are capable receivers that understand the position well. Bear Pascoe was on the 49ers squad and I remember hearing his name for the first time late in the game against the Raiders I think. He was described by his college coach at Fresno State as the "most devastating blocker" they had ever seen. He started out there as a quarterback. He blocked 6 kicks on special teams, and keeps his edge by participating in rodeos. He's an old-school kind of player and on my team he will play an old-school role: Iron Man. At 6'5", 250+ lbs, he will never leave the field. Our wildcat offense will be called the "Wild Bear" formation and we will direct snap it to him. He will rush the passer on defense and he will line up all over the field on offense. His importance on this roster almost necessitated adding a 4th tight end to help carry the load at the position, and Mills, fresh off the Vikings roster, will fit in nicely. The Raiders will not have a chance.

OL (9): Damien McIntosh, Tony Pashos, Andrew Crummey, Kynan Forney, Jeremy Bridges, Scott Burley,Justin Geisenger, Mike Butterworth, Mark Wilson

McIntosh (Chiefs), Pashos (Jaguars), Crummey (Bengals), Forney (Chargers), and Bridges (Redskins) are my starting five. Burley (Redskins), Geisinger (Panthers), and Butterworth (Falcons) are my backups. Burely went to University of Maryland and has been hanging around the league the last two years. Geisinger is a journeyman lineman who spent a season with the Redskins but has also been a member of the Bills and Titans. The Raiders gave Mark Wilson his walking papers, but he has had steady employment as a backup since 2004. Mike Butterworth made this team because I simply ran out of guys that I really knew much about...and I love maple syrup on pancakes.

All of my starters would likely be welcome on most squads in the league after a few weeks when teams are all of a sudden hit by injuries and become starved for guys who have played before. Forney was a huge shock getting cut by San Diego. He might be one of the two or three best players on the Ballers.

WR (6): Keary Colbert, Robert Ferguson, David Tyree, David Patten, Trent Shelton, Steve Sanders

Ferguson (Falcons), Colbert (Lions), and Patten (Browns) have all been unfortunate members of previous unfortunate fantasy teams of mine. So they owe me. Hard to argue against Tyree (Giants). He can start on special teams and catch balls with his helmet. With Bear Pascoe behind center, he might have to catch a few wild pitches. Shelton (Redskins) should make their practice squad and Steve Sanders (Cardinals) was great on Beverly Hills, 90210.

DL (8): Shaun Smith, Alex Buzbee, Ryan Boschetti, Darryl Richard, Rob Jackson, Tommie Hill, Matthias Askew, Terrance Taylor

The Patriots drafted Richard last April, and that is pretty much good enough for me. I recall Tommie Hill made a huge play late in the first Monday Night game against the Panthers, scoring a touchdown with no time left on the clock. Not being good enough for the Giants defensive line does not necessarily make you bad. Rob Jackson and Alex Buzbee both got cut from the Redskins so I have seen plenty of them and are comfortable with them as backups. Boschetti got dumped by the Raiders--can't remember anyone listing their personnel decisions as better than...well, anyone's. Shaun Smith was a shock to get sent home by the Lions. He is definitely good enough to anchor the Ballers' defensive line. And Terrance Taylor was a 4th round pick for the Colts. I am little surprised to see him gone from there, but we will not ask too many questions and scoop him up.

LB (8): Tim Crowder, Zach Thomas, Rocky Boiman, Khary Campbell, Bruce Davis, Jeremy Leman, Robert Thomas, Cody Glenn

Crowder should have cracked the Broncos' Final 53. Our squad will benefit from the veteran presence of Zach Thomas, who might not really have ever been realistically in the Chiefs' plans. Rocky Boiman has been around, most recently ending his second stint with the Titans. He has a ring from the Colts' Super Bowl victory and his experience will be put to good use for the Ballers. Khary Campbell is a special teams standout that did not make the last cuts in Houston. Bruce Davis was a huge underachiever for the Steelers. Here's hoping he can turn it around for the Ballers. Leman (Panthers) was a guy who I thought played well enough in the preseason to stick. I guess that is why my phone isn't ringing off the hook to become anybody's GM. Thomas and Glenn were both waived by the Skins. Thomas has plenty of experience in the league and Glenn (while still an odd draft choice by Vinny Cerrato--read: "wasted draft choice") is a raw player from the Nebraska Cornhuskers' program.

DB (8): Deltha O'Neal, Brian Russell, Brian Williams, Bernard Pollard, Corey Lynch , Deangelo Smith, Corey Ivy, Lendy Holmes

O'Neal (Texans), Williams (Jaguars), Russell (Seahawks), and Pollard (Chiefs) are my starting defensive backs (first two are CB's, second two will man the safety positions. Smith (Cowgirls), Lynch (Bengals), Ivy (Browns), and Holmes (Redskins) round out our scrappy secondary.

P: A.J. Trapasso - Any guy who takes aim for a $40 million video board in a preseason game, ESPECIALLY one bought by Jerry Jones, gets a spot on my team.

K: Brandon Coutu (Seahawks) - The 'Hawks kept this guy on their roster all season last year behind Olindo Mare in the hopes they could trade him. He has a hell of a leg and will get a shot from another team very soon.

Give Me the Numbers, Stat!

27-17, Ballers over the Raiders. Bear Pascoe has 78 yards rushing, 2 rushing touchdowns, 1 blocked field goal and 3 sacks. Jeff Garcia runs in for the other TD and throws the ball straight into the owner's box where Al Davis is sitting. Davis sues the NFL.

Next week at this time, we will be through the first weekend of meaningful football. Imagine...four quarters without any fourth-stringers (God willing). The season of excessive penalty-calling is over. Let the games begin. We'll see you back here on Tuesday--with nary a mention of any battles for the backup long snapper position.

Poll

Can this team I have constructed beat the Raiders today, on a neutral field, with a run-heavy offensive philosophy behind the Iron Man Bear Pascoe?

Yes, handily

164 votes

Maybe 51 times out of 100

142 votes

Maybe once in a 100 tries

51 votes

Not a chance

42 votes

399 votes | Poll has closed

Hogs Haven Predicts Redskins Final 53

Ken Meringolo — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:32:30 -0000

More photos » by Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP

Robert Henson and Cody Glenn may both benefit from being drafted by Vinny Cerrato. He HATES to cut players he drafts!

Browse more photos »

First, the obvious: Sugar has been shelved for the time being. I will be tackling a new writing assignment within SB Nation and I was asked to come up with a cooler name to write under. The best I could come up with was "Ken Meringolo". I know what you're thinking...sounds too much like an undercover secret agent of international intrigue. I guess you could say I followed the lead of one my heroes, Lt. Frank Drebin, and decided to use my maiden name.

Not that many tears (besides mine) will be shed over it, but Sugar will most assuredly be back. I will keep you guys posted on when and where my other writing assignments will end up. But on to the issues of the day.

Here is our crack at predicting the Redskins "Final 53". We have all been watching the preseason closely--there won't be many surprises. But we are picking a couple. Have at it (after the jump):

QB (3): Jason Campbell, Todd Collins, Colt Brennan

RB (5): Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright, Mike Sellers, Anthony Alridge

WR (5): Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle El, Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly, Marko Mitchell

TE (3): Chris Cooley, Fred Davis, Todd Yoder

OL (9): Chris Samuels, Derrick Dockery, Casey Rabach, Randy Thomas, Stephon Heyer, Chad Rinehart, Mike Williams, Jeremy Bridges, Will Montgomery

DL (9): Phillip Daniels, Albert Haynesworth, Cornelius Griffin, Anthony Montgomery, Kedric Golston, Lorenzo Alexander, Andre Carter, Jeremy Jarmon, Rob Jackson

LB (7): London Fletcher, Rocky McIntosh, Brian Orakpo, H.B. Blades, Chris Wilson, Cody Glenn, Robert Henson

DB (9): Carlos Rogers, DeAngelo Hall, Fred Smoot, Kevin Barnes, Justin Tryon, LaRon Landry, Chris Horton, Reed Doughty, Kareem Moore

P: Hunter Smith

LS: Ethan Albright

K: Dave Rayner

I put Rob Jackson in over Renaldo Wynn, Robert Henson in over Robert Thomas, Rayner over Suisham, and Anthony Alridge in over whomever you want to call the 53rd man to make it.

Why do I continue to keep Renaldo Wynn off my final 53 list? If you think like me, then you think Wynn is not really a guy who is going to get a lot of snaps anyway unless there is an injury. Rob Jackson is still a little young and raw, and I have not heard his name a ton but if you are going to keep a guy around to caddy for the rest of the defensive linemen, why not keep a young guy who has a shot to develop into a serviceable backup instead of a guy at the end of his rope who has played all of his best football already? This is the pick I will most likely be wrong about, as Renaldo Wynn is a pro who knows how to play the game, and was brought in for his leadership and experience this offseason. But I had to stay true to what I have been saying this summer.

The Robert Henson/Cody Glenn/Robert Thomas decision at linebacker is a little more straight-forward. I think Cody Glenn is at the head of the 3-pack. The decision between Henson and Thomas is not so hard when you remember one thing: Vinny drafted Henson. He hates to be wrong about his draft picks. And lucky for him, he is in the position to pronounce his rightness! Henson has made a few mental blunders during games this preseason, and dropping that sure interception against the Ravens hurt him (coming out of TCU, he was actually graded as a sure-handed linebacker.) But in the end, the team will keep the guy they picked in the draft, and drop the guy they signed off the street. Regardless of who is better--though let's not make that out to be a huge deal. Neither Henson nor Thomas factors huge for us this season, and if Henson can figure out to stay on the field for special teams by mid-season, he will be worth the investment. Finally, it says here that Robert Henson will pull off an Alfred Fincher kind of performance against the Jags and earn the spot.

Anthony Alridge...really? Vinny brought him in this offseason and the word from the inside of the building is that Vinny loves him too much to let him go. What's not to love? He is one of those "yards-per-touch" guys. He is going to get the ball in the flat on screens, pitches, and dump-offs and he is going to get upfield in a hurry. I know Marcus Mason has been a fan favorite to make this squad multiple times, but the fact of the matter is he does not give us something we don't already have. Alridge gives us a scatback, speed option off the bench that will prove very useful this season.

I went with Rayner over Suisham even though there seems to be a resounding consensus that Suisham will retain his position. I FEEL LIKE I AM TAKING CRAZY PILLS! How do you hold any benefit of the doubt in a kicking competition when you were last in the league in field goal percentage? Rayner has had the better kickoff leg and neither has blown the roof off with their field goals. If anything, I would be tempted to keep Rayner and then bring in either Mike Nugent (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) or Brandon Coutu (Seattle Seahawks)--helps to watch every preseason game!--to compete with Rayner in the week leading up to the regular season. Coutu has a good chance to make the Seahawks' roster, but if he doesn't, we wouldn't be the only ones trying to sign him.

Practice Squad Predictions: Edwin Williams, Scott Burly, Keith Eloi, Robbie Agnone, Chase Daniel, Eddie Williams

WaTimes 53-man roster [Redskins 360]
WaPost 53-man roster [Redskins Insider]
Redskins Blog [Terl took his link down...I swore it was there?]

What do you guys think?

Poll

Which player that I put in do you think is most likely NOT to make the team?

Robert Henson

113 votes

Anthony Alridge

226 votes

Rob Jackson

263 votes

602 votes | Poll has closed

Jason Campbell Set To Reverse the Curse and One Veteran Defensive Lineman Who Might Be In Trouble

Ken Meringolo — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:59:17 -0000

More photos » by Anonymous - AP

Is Renaldo Wynn on the outside looking in to make the 53-man roster?

Browse more photos »

I am pretty confident that we have all talked about it this week--the "SI Jinx". Jason Campbell is featured on the August 10th issue of Sports Illustrated and the first I heard of it was from a Ravens fan that thought it was simply too funny. Since then I have received countless emails and phone calls from friends who root for other teams, wishing me luck this year now that the jinx was officially on.

My response has been steady since the outset: What exactly are we worried about? Listen, I have been a staunch supporter of JC's all off-season, and I continue to be extremely excited about the upcoming year. But what would constitute a "jinx" here? We didn't just sign him to a multi-year, multi-jillion dollar contract. Our team is led by our defense. And the truth is that there are 3, maybe 4 starters on the offensive side of the ball that you would list as more important to our season (Samuels, Portis and Sellers, if you believe my last post). Toss in Cooley, Dockery and Moss and you have an offense that, minus Campbell, is probably going to be able to help our defense enough to win games.

Please don't mistake this post as me making the anti-Jason Campbell case. I am just trying to make the argument that there is a better chance Campbell will buck the trend of the SI jinx. After all, he has a career record of 16-20 as a starter, has thrown all of 35 TDs in 3 years, and is south of 60% in career accuracy. This year is his chance to change the way people view him. Remember, this is a player that Josh McDaniels rejected because he liked Kyle Orton better (it still hurts.) What could the SI jinx do to Jason? It is make or break for him this season, but not necessarily for the Redskins.

Campbell will be given the best possible chance this season to get the most important stat for a QB: wins. He won't be asked to win games all by himself. He will be in charge of keeping the offense on the field, moving the chains, and converting inside the red zone. He'll be handing the ball off a lot in the hopes that we will be able to control the clock. I don't think he will be relegated to full-fledged "game manager", but between Clinton Portis and our defense, the pressure should not be resting squarely on his shoulders to put up crazy numbers. For all of these reasons, I believe that Jason Campbell is safe from this particular superstition (there will be plenty of other excuses available, right?)

On to the second issue of the day: is Renaldo Wynn really going to make this team? This is something I floated around right when he was signed. He was immediately valuable as a guy who had just spent time with the New York Giants defensive line. I remember speaking to him at Chris Cooley's event and hearing the respect in his voice when he told me about the way they did things up there on defense (and the complete lack of respect that unit had for our offensive line.)

If you look at the way this roster could come together, he could very well be one of the last guys to make the 53-man roster. Are you ready to believe Cerrato will jettison a young, developing player like Rob Jackson to keep Wynn, if that is what it comes down to? More importantly, as this camp drags on, and the offensive line continues to show its age, will they be forced to carry an extra offensive lineman? I hear Wynn has been having a good camp. I am interested in hearing what you think on this. There are a lot of young players on this team, and the drafting of Jeremy Jarmon added yet another young defensive lineman that in my opinion, is going to make it very hard to carry Renaldo into the season.

Poll

Will Renaldo Wynn make this team?

Yes

363 votes

No

436 votes

799 votes | Poll has closed

Redskins' Offensive Line Not Impressing Out of the Gates

KevinE — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:42:20 -0000

via redskinsblog

View full size photo »

Here is a summary of all the reports from the reporters/bloggers that were at camp yesterday. I will be attending camp on Tuesday and possibly tomorrow (Saturday), so I should be able to add some concrete insight as well. Obviously things will not be perfect on day one.

From the warpathconfidential:

Stephon Heyer was badly beaten by rookie Jeremy Jarmon on one snap and had to resort to grabbing Jarmon's jersey to prevent a complete whiff on the block. Nor was it limited to the tackles, with Albert Haynesworth displaying deceptive quickness against Derrick Dockery in getting penetration on a few plays.

At one point the line had back-to-back false starts.

Probably the most spectacular play of this drill was a double-move by Malcolm Kelly on Justin Tryon. Kelly was running a crossing pattern when he cut once towards the post, and then cut again to run towards the middle, leaving Tryon 10-15 yards out of position. Kelly caught the pass all alone in the middle of the field.

From the Redskins Insider:

[Mike Williams and Jeremy Bridges] encountered problems against ends Renaldo Wynn and Rob Jackson, but Coach Jim Zorn said he was not discouraged. The Skins have a long way to go before things need to be set along the offensive line, and Zorn preaches patience.

"It's hard to block that second move" of the ends, Zorn said. "You think you got 'em, then you start to punch, and then the guy comes back underneath. That's what we're working on. That's why we're out here. There's a lot of practice time that has to take place before these guys can get enough experiences to feel like we can block all the moves that our defense is going to show us."

"There's going to be a learning curve," Zorn said. "It's going to take some time, [but] he's got a great attitude for it."

As for Bridges, "we're looking for a guy who can play multiple positions," Zorn said. "I'm looking for him to keep going. He wants to earn a starting spot. So, playing him in different spots, we're going to find that right spot for him. And whether he starts or becomes a swing guy, that's down the road a ways."

It's only day one, so obviously there's no need to throw up the red flags. However, it takes some kool-aid drinking and a few prayers to assume that offensive linemen that have been out of the league a couple years can contribute at a high-level when pre-season begins in 2 weeks. Can they be ready in a month? Time will tell, but they are practicing against one of the best DL's in the league. That certainly counts for something.

Jason Taylor prepares for surgery by playing violent sports

Skin Patrol — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:19:20 -0000

You don't typically expect, in a story titled "DE Taylor will have second surgery" predicting medical procedure next week, to read:

Taylor did not practice but still hopes to play Sunday against the Detroit Lions. He is listed as questionable on the injury report.

At least that's the word from Dr. Taylor:

"There has been talk about it, but to be honest, I don't even know what the gameplan is right now," Taylor said. "I'm going to the hospital now to find out what we're going to do. The only thing I'm really focusing on right now is hopefully playing the game on Sunday and try to help this team beat the Lions. The rest of it doesn't really matter right now. I've been hurt for a month and it hasn't changed. There's been a slight change and that's part of the reason why we're doing all this talking. I really don't know any details."

Coach Zorn said the problem was something like, uh, playing football isn't conducive to healing stabby-like wounds.

“He’s trying to play football on it, but that may not be allowing it to heal fast enough,” Zorn said.

Who'd have thought? To get an idea of how that plays out on the field, apparently Taylor has bloody sock syndrome and is bleeding out all over the football field week by week:

"Yeah, that was hot, did you see his sock?" Casey Rabach asked me. "It was all red. Kind of like Curt Schilling, but amplified. It was cool."

"We had quite a bit of blood come out," Taylor said. "It's still bleeding. It's been a month and it's still bleeding, but there's nothing I can do about it."

The "cool" oozing red goo is simply necessary and we're full of it, so Jason Taylor is absolutely right. You can't take any magic pill to cure "Blood." But one thing he can do about it would be... rest a bit, don't expose a leaky valve to the wear and tear necessarily resultant in violent sports. That would be the easy way out, and the question to readers: Does Jason Taylor need to walk this one off for a week or two or should he instead force it and play, with the added potential of this thing dragging on for, per him, a month now and leading to new surgery next week? I love his attitude about it, it is obvious mutant/hybrid Jason Taylor wants to play something fierce, so I hate even suggesting that maybe the medical staff needs to get in his face about healing up.

But we need him. Our pass rush is currently about as bad as anyone in the league besides Kansas City. Football Outsiders pegs us with a 4.8% adjusted sack rate. That puts us well below the 6.6% league average and higher than just Jacksonville, Cincy, and the aforementioned Chiefs. As skinsider pointed out, Taylor draws double teams that free up Andre Carter to go do harm and pain to the opposing quarterback. We don't have enough starter-quality defensive ends. If Taylor isn't on the field, Carter gets the double team and Demetric Evans or whomever on the far side isn't capable of defeating a single blocker with any sort of consistency. Chris Wilson, Rob Jackson, Demetric Evans and Erasmus James have combined for one sack. Someone please step up.

I won't fence sit, I want him to play. While a part of me almost thinks -- and this is crazy considering what happened two weeks ago -- if ever there was a game to miss, it's tomorrow, I appreciate too much the attitude exhibited by a player's willingness to fight through the pain. That's the kind of thing that makes me love football, and I'm certain that it impresses teammates. Leaving human gore on the field is leadership, man. Get out there and hurt them Jason.

I may not feel the same way three weeks down the road if/when we're still talking about this damn calf injury.