General Manager Me

So this is my final fanpost on "what I think the Redskins should do." Not that anybody cares, there are scores of these but I wanted to set this in stone for myself as much as anyone. So here is what I want to see happen:

1. Get Robert Griffin III . . . whatever it takes. I've read all the names - Orton, Flynn, Manning, Garard, Grossman, various lower tier draft picks. My problem with signing a free agent is that its someone's player, someone else's draft pick. By drafting Griffin we get a chance to bring a true face of the franchise into the fold, someone we draft and craft and build ourselves. Someone who the entire NFL looks at and says "he's a Redskin." Honestly, we haven't had that since Joe Theismann. The QB needs to define his team . . . Brady and the Patriots, Rogers and Packers, Manning and the Giants, Stafford and the Lions, Brees and the Saints, Schaub and the Texans. On and on. (PS - I get that Brees wasn't drafted by the Saints but the great point still stands). Griffin, for the first time since ever, will give the Redskins a dynamic, strong, athletic, face of the franchise. We've tried the free agent QB (Johnson, George, Banks, the various Florida Gators backups, Grossman, Beck) and we've tried the mid-round draft pick (Ramsey, Campbell). Griffin has it all, we need to go get him and get him now. Two first and a 2nd? Done. Whatever it takes.

2. In Rounds 3 through the end, draft nothing but offensive lineman and defensive backs. Okay, maybe its a slight overstatement, but O-line and D-backs are for me the two parts of a team that can be best addressed in the draft and can be addressed in later rounds. We can sign a few free-agents here and there, but depth and talent are available in later rounds for these positions (especially o-line).

3. Sign a wide-receiver. Something not talked about much are the bevy of high-quality WRs available in free-agency: DeSahun Jackson, Dwayne Bowe, Vincent Jackson, Wes Welker (maybe), Robert Meachem, Marques Colston, Stevie Johnson, Mario Manningham, Reggie Wayne. My vote goes to Dwayne Bowe because he doesn't have the problems that Jackson comes with, he's not small like Jackson and Welker, has proven he can stretch the field on a bad team with not-great QBs. Manningham would be a nice fit, too. Get a big field stretcher, move Moss into the slot where he's best, develope Hankerson and keep Gaffney, then toss in Davis and Cooley and suddenly we have a lot of options.

4. Re-sign London Fletcher. This team does not have a ton of leaders who go all out and with such a young squad, I believe Fletcher is key to moving the entire team forward. Losing him would be a huge blow for the intagibles he brings and the fact that he is still one of the best players on the team.

5. Get rid of both Grossman and Beck. The disgrace of '11 needs to flushed away for good and forever. I think Grossman and Beck might have been the absolute nadir in the post Gibbs I era when it came to our QB situation, and that is saying something. It has to be forgotten and forgotten for good. If we draft RG3, I'm still okay with bringing in an Orton or a Garard, professionals who have excelled in the league and not had teams win in spite of them.

6. Re-sign Tim Hightower. While many may argue that this is a passing league, I would argue that the new norm is having a running-back by committee set-up. Backs stay healthier and these complicated offense work better with different backs who can come in and do different things. Off the playoff teams, nearly all had at least two major backs that contribute. The days of the one back dominating I think are either a) dead, or b) exist because those teams have no other talent. A running back trio of Tim Hightower, Roy Helu, and Evan Royster is a good group to enter next season with, combined with MIke Sellers and Darrell Young as FBs there are a lot of things that can be done.

So there it is, my blueprint for the Redskins.