Looking at the waiver wire
by Jason Paris on Sep 5, 2010 12:21 AM EDT
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Today is always one of the most interesting days of the off-season. Dozens of players stripped from each squad, leaving GM's and armchair GM's alike to pick through the remnants of players looking for a fresh start.
The Redskins have kept only 2 of their draft picks, a sign that Shanallenhan is in a win now mentality. From my vantage point he is looking to establish a new culture then bring some youth in to replace vets.
Here are three changes I would make to the current roster.
1 - WR - TJ Houshmandzadeh. First of all, he is not a "#1 Receiver", however he does add a target with some size and produced good numbers last year despite being in a system that didn't suit him. While his age may be brought up as an issue, he has never relied on speed - only route running ability and good hands. We can use him to take pressure off Moss and Cooley while being a mentor to Devin Thomas, who can learn from TJ (as well as Coach McCardell) how to lift his game and hopefully fulfill his potential.
2 year deal, cut WR Roydell Williams who would likely remain a FA throughout the season
2 - FS - Quintin Demps. While Demps hasn't contributed too much on defense, he is a terrific kick returner. Personally with Brandon Banks lack of ball security, I don't believe he can be trusted right now. Demps offers more as a special teamer and back-up FS with the oft-injured Moore out for another 5 weeks which explains carrying the extra safety.
2 year deal, cut WR Brandon Banks who goes to the practice squad.
3 - CB - Joe Burnett. Burnett is an interesting prospect. He was a playmaker in college and hasn't had the best adjustment into the NFL. His value though is as a punt returner and 5th Cornerback with potential. Besides, with Phil Buchanon being the nickelback, it is important that he not play the role of return man. He was surrounded by talented corners in Pittsburgh, and he would have a head start due to their similar defensive system. Joe needs to run more N-S, but his ability to break tackles and choose the right return lane will give Smith another weapon to work with.
1 year deal, cut CB Byron Westbrook who I believe has less upside
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sounds good to me.........
what about the runningback from new england jarvis green and an o-lineman redskins are doing good things they might just win 10 games this year if mcnabb stays healthy and the o-line can hold up
Housh I agree with
I don’t like the idea of cutting Banks. Kid is way too fast, and dangerous. He did not have fumble problems in college, so hopefully it was a fluke thing. Anyways, I believe that if the staff felt he was not ready, or capable of handeling the return duties, he would not have made the roster. I have to believe Shanahan thinks this kid can really help in the return game immediatly. If Shanny felt he was a developmental project, he would be a practice squad guy.
Don't ever let failure get you down. Remember, a very successful major league hitter failes 70% of the time.
Banks may have been too uptight given his circumstances of trying to make the pros. The bobble against the Cardinals may not of
even been touched by a slower player. Now that he has made the team a cooler head may prevail.
by Jefferson1935 on Sep 5, 2010 1:43 PM EDT up reply actions
No to any of them
TJ seemed OK in Cinncy but since he went to the Seahawks he’s come out as a diva and that’s one thing we don’t need another one of.
As for Demps and Burnett, if Banks went on the waiver wire he’d be snapped up before he ever had a chance to make the practice squad.l As for his fumbling that can be cured. Look at Tiki Barber. He was notorious for putting it on the ground but he was shown how to hang on to the ball properly. They’ve already got Moore penciled in as the FS and can hold out until he returns.
The CB slots are full. And I don’t think you’re going to see Buchanon anywhere near the punt return position.
Just my $0.02 FWIW.
What is this based off of, he's been there a year?
TJ seemed OK in Cinncy but since he went to the Seahawks he’s come out as a diva
Because..
“Now it appears Seattle not only decided Mike Williams and Deion Branch are better choices for starring roles in the offense, but that Houshmandzadeh is ill-suited to be part of the supporting cast or injury insurance. Seattle is poised to part ways with Houshmandzadeh, a receiver who averaged 93 catches the previous four seasons, rather than risk the possibility/fact he might not suffer silently if his opportunities are reduced.”
by DudleyDoright on Sep 6, 2010 8:15 AM EDT up reply actions
and...
“Houshmandzadeh turns 33 this month and he is nearly two years older than Branch. He’s also a strong personality and very much an independent thinker. He sometimes puts his own feelings ahead of the team in ways that create a negative impression. For example, he complained about not getting enough passes thrown his way last season and seemed to question the toughness of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. More recently, his body language conveyed sulking after Hasselbeck threw incomplete to Branch during a team scrimmage. "
by DudleyDoright on Sep 6, 2010 8:46 AM EDT up reply actions
I completely reject your notion that because we only kept 2 draft picks
we are in a win now mentality. Just because other FA’s and vets beat out drafted players does not mean we are in a win now mentality. Instead maybe it says something about the quality of players available in later rounds and about the difference between the NFL and other professional sports. How about the fact the three undrafted ROOKIE FA’s made the final 53. If you told me that these 3 shouldn’t have made the team because you know that there were others that were better, than I would say at least you were straight up saying what you believe. But, to make a sweeping argument that because we only kept 2 of our own draft picks, we are in a win now mentality is foolish IMO.
Shanahan has a duty to put the best team on the field each and every year regardless of where they come from. Not, put all the young players on the team and hope they develop into NFL quality. The NFL is entirely different in terms of development when compared to the NBA and MLB where the average career is almost double that of an NFL player. NBA and MLB development players could play almost year round now at full speed and not worry about injury risk nearly as much. NFL players play at game speed in only 4 preseason games and most of the starters play only a half or so in 3 of those games. That is a huge difference compared to other sports. This is why Shanahan values his conditioning camp so much, it weeds out players like Haynesworth. Value (in terms of professional football) clearly is a word many fans don’t understand.
Take this fact into account, according to the NFLPA the average career of an NFL player is 3.5 years. Combine that with what Shanahan has said about the draft, that if you keep half the draft class, you’ve had a great draft. If you can crunch those numbers and think ahead a few years, you start to understand why NFL coaches can’t wait around for 5 years or even 3 or 4 years to try and start winning. It’s because many of those players aren’t even in the NFL anymore, let alone players that are hurt or don’t live up to their potential. So you see, it almost seems foolish to wait to try and start winning after a few draft classes because that is not going to happen, EVER. We need to trust Shanahan, who has been around for over twenty years in the NFL and won TWO super bowls as a head coach alone. He’s walking the fine line of putting the best team on the field every year and getting better the year after. This is what this team needs and frankly I don’t believe there are to many coaches that are as good at it as Shanahan.
Many people have this misconception that rebuilding takes years and years and often confuse rebuilding with philosophy, stability and coaching. If your waiting around for the next Peyton Manning, you could wait for the next 100 years and not even come close. The bust % on picking QB’s is very high and could set your franchise back for years. I do not have to recite any examples here as there are many that come to mind. Instead, place Peyton Manning as the Redskins first pick that year and imagine where he would be now.
Shanahan is a win-now coach.
His track record says it, and in the past he’s stated he doesn’t believe in “rebuilding”.
Bruce Allen’s track record is similar.
Trading for McNabb is the hallmark of “put the most talent on the field in 2010 at the expense of adding blue chip prospects”.
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
matt leinart
He just got cut he could be a #2 or #3 QB
by Moe_Abdulkadir21 on Sep 5, 2010 10:32 AM EDT reply actions
Dan LeFevour....
he was waived by the Bears and looks like a stud. He is a rookie and could be a potential QB of the future to mold with McNabb. I would love to see them snatch him up and give Beck the boot.
Yeah
I am with you on that one. He was hurt a little bit and had his struggles, but I think he has good potential. As a 3rd QB, I’d definitely give him a shot.
Demps is hardly a 'terrific' kick returner
A 25yd avg is nice, but we’ll get the same production at KR out of Devin Thomas. Demps is probably a good backup, and it might be me being a bit of a VT guy, but I’d like to give Macho Harris a shot at FS. He is a bit slower of an athlete, but the guy is a good cover man with good hands and a legit FS. I would sign him, but that’s me.
TJ
he would be a great complement to Moss, and finally give the redskins reciving corps a decent threat in the red zone
by Nayeem JohnWall Chowdhury on Sep 5, 2010 12:52 PM EDT reply actions
I think it's clear he would be a big help
But can we get him? How much would it take in salary to sign him? Other teams want him. His salary (I heard on HH) is about $8 million – is he worth that?
Wow! That is amazing
If money is not a factor to him, he can just go wherever he wants to play. You’d think we’d have a pretty good chance to get him.
a seatle paper reported that housh is picking between the raiders and redskins at this point. anyone know anything about the center from pittsburg that was relesed? from what i have seen pouncy outplayed him and he just got booted because of money issues
by oklahomaskins on Sep 5, 2010 10:48 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Justin Hartwig
Sep 5 C Justin Hartwig, a two-year starter at center, lost that job to rookie Maurkice Pouncey and was released because he carries a salary of $2.08 million.
Sep 4 Hartwig, the Steelers’ starting center the last two seasons, has been cut after the team failed to work out a trade for him.
Advice: Hartwig, due to make $2,080,000 this season, was beaten out by first-round draft pick Maurkice Pouncey. Pouncey was expected to play right guard this season, but settled in at center sooner than anticipated.
We definitely need to find a replacement for Casey Rabach soon. I think he (and Hicks) is our weakest link on OL and a big part of our run blocking deficiencies. The only problem with this Hartwig guy is he was part of an OL last year that gave up 50 sacks. That’s worse than the 2009 Redskins line! Maybe he wasn’t the issue though.
Hartwig is not that good
plus he wants to start somewhere. Why risk loosing the chemistry our o-line already has built. I don’t believe he is an upgrade to Rabach.
Don't ever let failure get you down. Remember, a very successful major league hitter failes 70% of the time.
Hartwig rated lower than Rabach in the 2009 Professional Football Focus stats and was rated last of all starting centers.
http://home.comcast.net/~fwroy/version%202%20NFL%20OL%20talent.html. If he didn’t want to start he might have been able to stay in Pittsburgh. The Steelers also released Kraig Urbik, G, a 2009 3rd round draft pick since signed off of waivers.
by Jefferson1935 on Sep 6, 2010 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions
Why?
Unless you are a huge VTech fan, I don’t see where he would contribute to this team. He is too slow in both his speed and reaction for S, and he is no where near the return guys we already have in Banks and Thomas.
I don’t see how he would help us at all.
Don't ever let failure get you down. Remember, a very successful major league hitter failes 70% of the time.
Replies:
@Skinsymets – We are on the same wavelength. Instead of keeping the draft picks on the roster allowing them to develop, Shanahan is in a BPA regardless of age/status scenario. First step – build a winning roster. Second step – Add youth to challenge and succeed these players.
@Tiller56 – If you can’t hold onto the football, you won’t hold onto your job. Time will tell. However, Banks would pass waivers in my opinion.
@BigOLineman, @WizardsFan – Demps has done it in the pros at a high level, he lost his job to Ellis Hobbs – a star return man. Demps > Thomas and he fills a position of need FS depth. As for Harris, I like Macho, however he lacks ideal speed. Another alternative is to sign Clifton Smith and carry only 1 fullback.
Jason - Banks fumbling problems
Someone on here made a reference to Tiki Barber, and how his fumbling problems were corrected. Hell, even LT had a year where I think he fumbled like 5 times. Banks’ problem could be always trying to make a play, instead of making a fair catch, or letting a punt, that most players in this league wouldn’t even get to at all, simply hit the ground. As I said before, he didn’t have a problem holding onto the ball in college. Now I know the college game is different from the NFL in terms of speed and physicality, but holding onto the football remains the same.
Someone else mentioned too that he may have been pressing a little to impress the coaches, and now that he has secured a roster spot, he can just relax, and let his natural abilities take over.
I believe you can correct fumbling issues through good coaching, but you sure as heck can’t coach up speed like this kid has.
Don't ever let failure get you down. Remember, a very successful major league hitter failes 70% of the time.
Or the fact that he has....
hands the size of a 5’7" guy! Harder to hold the rock with little lady hands!
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