But how do you all feel about the defensive game plan? I know we did well against the run and only gave up 1TD and 3 FGs but is that enough? Is trying to stop the big play and stop the run enough to help our anemic offense? Eli did virtually whatever he wanted in the passing game, imagine if he had Plaxico Burress without the gunshot wound. I know the CBs didn't look anywhere near as good as we all expected them to, but I would have liked to have seen more man-to-man coverage from our defense, especially since that's our corners' expertise.

I want a defense that not only wants to stop the run and big plays, I want a defense that wants to stop the offensive opponents from gaining 1 yard the entire game. I want a defense that blitzes like the Ravens and Steelers and scares the crap out of offenses in the league.

Instead of our defense saying "well, at least we only gave up a FG" I want them to say "we shouldn't have given up those 25 yards, we have to limit them to 10 yards next time." I feel we are being too passive on defense and lack the aggressiveness that championship defenses have. Yes, the offense is a whole lot more passive than the defense and needs serious help, but I feel we can still improve on defense as well.

How do you all feel about the defense? More importantly, how do you all think Snyder feels about the defense?

I'm not trying to imply that Blache should be fired, but we all saw what Snyder invested into this defense. If it isn't getting the turnovers and pressure that Snyder wants he will make a change, and the change isn't likely to start with the players.

Vinny Cerrato was on ESPN 980 yesterday and spoke about the potential 53 man roster. Here's what he said:

Via D.C. Sports Bog

He said "there's a good chance" of the team keeping a fifth running back. His radio voice made it seem like a very good chance.

"I would say that's probably, there's a good chance of that," he said. "Because what you want to do Kevin, it'll probably be 25 on offense, 25 on defense and three specialists. So it's just how you want to divide your numbers. If you want to go less at one position then you make it up on the practice squad by adding more at that position and less at the position you keep more at. So it's probably the same number of bodies, but some may be on the practice squad and not on the regular squad."

Can anyone say Marcus Mason, 5th running back? (CJHutch has said it one or two hundred times lately)  

But Wait!... There's more! This is what Cerrato said in regard to there being a surprise move.

"I think there's a chance that you guys may be surprised about something," he said. "You'll just kind of wonder about it, but then you may say, 'Hmm, you know what, when you think about it, it's probably right.' "

Hmmmm... interesting...

I have no clue as to what the surprise move may be. Hopefully it'll end up being a "yes, finally he's gone!" surprise move and not a "what the hell are you doing?" surprise move. I'm not even going to try and think like Vinny Cerrato. I'll leave the guessing open to you all. How does this change your 53 man roster? Does this change it at all? Will Vinny Cerrato every be liked by anyone beside Snyder? Will Kevin and Sugar ever profess their love for one another? Will CJHutch's mancrush on Marcus Mason continue if Mason makes the team? How many times will this comment be posted on tonight's game thread?

I like being in the game against a good team. That speaks well of our starters. Need to see them keep it up coming out.

Most importantly, will Kevin be able to get Sugar to wear that yellow cheerleader's outfit he bought him?

All of this and more will be answered on the next episode of... just joking :-)

Oh, and when asked what Denver wanted in order to obtain Brandon Marshall, Cerrato said this: 

"I don't have the faintest idea," Cerrato said. "We like our locker room."

Tampa Offered Haynesworth More Money

"They offered me a whole lot more, and even with their tax situation, it could have been 20 percent more. But you look at Washington, they've got a lot of the pieces together. They're right there. They're in a huge market. It's one of the largest markets in the world. You've just got a large, huge media outlet and it can be life beyond football. Going to Tampa, I mean, great city. Looking at it from the off-season standpoint, I love the water. I love to be out in the sun. It's just awesome, but it would've been like another Nashville. Tampa doesn't have that big market and they don't have a huge fan base like the Washington Redskins do, so I think it was just a choice just to look at it that way."

It's nice to know (even though it's scary at the same time) that Snyder was actually outbid by another team for a marquee player. Haynesworth seemed to have a better assesment of the Redskins when he was being scouted than the so called "experts" do right now. I'm glad that Haynesworth chose the Redskins and I feel sorry for Romo, McNabb, and Eli this upcoming year.

According to profootballtalk.com and their sources, Clinton Portis has been giving Jim Zorn a hard time. 

Multiple sources have advised us that Portis shows little or no respect to coach Jim Zorn, and that the situation bubbled over at least once during the team’s OTA sessions, with Portis telling the coach off in front of other players.

Said one source:  “Portis totally has no regard for [Zorn] and thinks he’s above everyone.”

I seriously hope this isn't true, but I think it's a high possibility that they may have been feuding in some way during the OTAs. We all saw what happened with Zorn and Portis last year so I could definitely see something similar happening again. Also considering the fact that Portis didn't want to be at the OTAs, I could imagine Portis not doing what he was asked and Zorn confronting Portis for it, only for Zorn to be disrespected and blown off by Portis. 

We all know that Portis is held on a high pedestal by Snyder so even if he's is in the wrong, Zorn will be the one that is disciplined, possibly by being fired. I like Portis and his high productivity on the field, but if this is true he needs to know that no one is above the team. He needs Zorn and Zorn needs him in order to accomplish our goal of winning, I just hope Portis eventually realizes this.

The Redskins were taking headshots today, but there was one picture that stood out to me. This picture stood out even more when I looked at the photo right below it.

Redskins Headshots

Scroll down to the fifth pic (after clicking on the above link) and look at how big Mike Williams is. I said "wow, he's big" when I first saw the pic. Then I looked at the pic of Chris Samuels right below Williams' picture. I then looked back up at the picture of Williams and then I realized that Williams isn't just big, he's gigantic. Williams seriously makes Sameuls (who is 6' 4" and over 300 pounds) look small.

Am I the only one who thought that Willams was going to have an enormous sized belly and man boobs twice the size of Andre Smith's when I found out he was 400 pounds? Yes Williams is out of shape but I thought he had a bujumic. 

Williams was the fourth overall pick in the 2002 draft for a reason. Maybe he's learned not to take the NFL for granted and will work his tail off in order to stay on the team and earn a starting spot, which is what we all want him to be able to do. However, he's also been out of the NFL the past few years for a reason, hopefully that reason is based more on laziness than lack of talent.

Also, I seriously didn't know that Santan Moss cut his hair.

Well, the guy in question is Mike Williams, a first-round draft choice of the Buffalo Bills back in 2002. Williams never fully developed as Buffalo hoped, and he's been out of football for two seasons, but I saw him in the hallway just minutes ago, and -- at the very, very least -- he is still absolutely enormous. 

Does this mean that we won't be drafting an o lineman tomorrow? At least the team recognizes that it needs help with the o line. Who knows, maybe he can revert back to what caused him to be the 4th overall pick. It's not realistic to think that he'll be that good all of a sudden but you never know. Williams has been out the past two years and he says that he has a new love for the game so maybe he'll bust his butt and start playing like a 4th overall pick. At 6'6" and 360 pounds he shouldn't get pushed around by many people. Personally I like the signing, what do you all think?

Mike Williams Signs

Pro Bowl fullback Mike Sellers has not been participating in the Redskins' voluntary offseason program, according to league and team sources, and is seeking a new contract. Sellers signed a four-year, $4 million deal in March 2007, which included a modest $700,000 signing bonus, and reached the Pro Bowl for the first time in 2008.

Unhappy Sellers

I'm hoping and assuming that we'll gladly give him a new contract without any problems. If the Redskins FO wants to begin to turn the corner, one of the things they will have to do is sign this guy like right now, there's no need for any drama that can be averted if the Redskins just give Sellers the money he deserves. Do any of you think that the Redskins would actually be hesitant to give Sellers a new contract? I surely hope not.

Redskins Insider/Outsider actually did some work and had a conversation with Mark Sanchez, speaking about his visit with the Redskins.

Sanchez and Snyder sitting in a tree...

"It felt like USC -- a very tight-knit family, like more than a team. They're a family. It's tough to figure that out on such a short visit, but it was obvious. It was great area, very beautiful. We drove by Georgetown. It was so nice. It was an unbelievable visit."

 "All of it was awesome, and I had a great time with every team. Every time you walked through a locker room it was like, 'Man, I can see myself here.' But all I can say is I had a blast with the Redskins, and I felt at home there and I felt great about being there, and obviously I would wear their colors. I love their colors."

Not sure if Sanchez told Snyder exactly how he felt about becoming a Redskin, but if Snyder knows or finds out how Sanchez feels about coming here then I think it's pretty much a done deal, but that's IMHO. Who knows, maybe the Redskins are actually turning the corner and this is a bluff so the Redskins could get some more draft picks. However, the Redskins would most certainly have me fooled because it's starting to seem more and more likely that we trade up to get this guy.

You have to respect the fact that Snyder wants to win and is willing to do almost anything to do so, but the fact remains that he isn't going about this process the correct way. Why couldn't Snyder use his money wisely and get Scott Pioli?

I guess Snyder hasn't changed as much as we may have thought during last offseason. We all have to realize that our owner could be Al Davis instead of Snyder. Granted, it's not a huge difference between them but that's what gets me through all of this.

We can now put Brian Cushing back on our draft board for those of us who may have took him off just in case. Also, for those who are seriously into college football who's the better linebacker, Ray Maualuga or Brian Cushing? I know that Hogs Haven selected Cushing, but is that because of the linebacker position they play or is Cushing better than Maualuga?

Cushing Cleared

The doctor who administers the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs told highly regarded USC linebackers Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews Jr. on Friday that neither tested positive for banned substances, including steroids, according to sources close to both players.

 The Broncos have agreed to trade Cutler to the Bears. I thought the Redskins wasted draft picks, but the Bears gave up their 2009 first round pick, 2010 first round pick, a 2009 3rd round pick AND Kyle Orton. The Bears receive Cutler of course, and a fifth round pick. Redskins probably would have given up 10 draft picks in year's past.  I'm glad for Campbell that all of this is over and he can concentrate on leading this team to some wins. Now, who else is available for the Redskins to go after?

Cutler to Bears

The Bears acquired quarterback Jay Cutler today for No. 1 draft picks in 2009 and 2010, a No. 3 pick this year and Kyle Orton, the Sun-Times has learned.

The Bears receive the Broncos' fifth-round draft pick this year.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm feeling a lot better about not doing any type of trade involving Larry Hughes. For some reason he just can't stay healthy no matter where he is. I feel sorry for him personally.

Hughes Injured

New York guard Larry Hughes injured his right ankle and had to leave the Knicks' game Monday night at Utah.

The Knicks said Hughes had a strained right ankle and would not return. Hughes injured the ankle and stayed down on the court after New York's Al Harrington was called for traveling with 6:17 left in the quarter.

Wynn agrees to terms

 

Veteran defensive lineman Renaldo Wynn has agreed to terms on a one-year deal according to a league source. The Redskins have been interested in him for a while, and Wynn was a team leader prior to being cut before the 2007 season. Since then he's played with the Saints and the Giants.

He provides a wealth of wisdom to a group of defensive ends that is pretty young overall, and he might end up reunited with his good friend, DE Phillip Daniels, as the Redskins hope to re-sign him to a cap friendly deal as well.

 

Brendan Haywood has been cleared for full contact practice. I don't see why he wouldn't or shouldn't play the final few games this year, in order to gain a little bit of confidence and to get back up to the NBA standard of play. The same goes for Arenas in my opinion. What do you all think?

Haywood cleared for full contact.

Ivan phoned in earlier this evening -- from a Caps game, no less -- with an update that might be of interest. A team source tells Ivan that Brendan Haywood has been officially cleared for full-contact practice. That means it's possible, if not likely, that we'll see Haywood back on the court before the end of the season. Either that, or he's going to have to come up with a pretty good reason not to play.

I'm not good with contracts and all of that, so I don't know if this really makes a difference to anything or to anyone (Besides Campbell and Rogers), but if you were sitting around wondering if these millionaires needed anymore money, you now have your answer.

Increases Earned

Carlos Rogers's base salary has increased from $602k to $1.403m due to an escalator.

Jason Campbell's base salary has increased from $783k to $2.858m for the same reason.

The increases come from playing time clauses in their contracts, according to sources with knowledge of the situation, with those escalators negotiated into the rookie contracts they signed in 2005.

Sounds good to me, as long as we don't overpay him, even though I'm confident we won't do that with him.

Daniels gets offer

The Washington Redskins made a contract offer to veteran defesive lineman Phillip Daniels, who wants to return to the team.
"Yeah, my agent has been talking to the Redskins and they're trying to work out something," Daniels said. "There are some other teams calling, so I'm still just trying to take it slow and see what happens, but I'm hoping we can get something worked out and I can be a Redskin next season.