It has been alleged that tomorrow evening both Rocky McIntosh and Carlos Rogers will take snaps in an actual pretend football game. This is quite miraculous given the gravity of their injuries. In McIntosh's case it was knee surgery that had the Washington Post (per ESPN at least) predicting he'd be out for at least two more weeks... that was 4 days ago. Rogers was in even worse shape:

Tests showed that Rogers tore his right anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in the 52-7 loss Sunday to New England. He will undergo surgery when the swelling subsides in a few weeks and Gibbs will consider signing a free agent cornerback or promoting a cornerback from the practice squad to replace him.

My soul has yet to recover from the loss.

At the time word matriculated about that Rogers might not even be back in time for the start of the following regular season given the injury was so totally serious. X-Rays were terrifying and really, really cereal you guys:

via i93.photobucket.com

And yet, via two reliable sources, Rogers and McIntosh are both returned healthy once more. Redskins Insider:

The Boys Are Back In Town: Blink and you may miss them, but they will be there. Linebacker Rocky McIntosh and corner Carlos Rogers are both coming off of major reconstructive knee surgery, both are well ahead of schedule, and both are set to make their preseason debut tonight [sic]. Now, they'll likely on be out there for a play or six, but even getting through that would be significant.

Redskins 360:

Redskins coach Jim Zorn announced that cornerback Carlos Rogers, whom the team thought might not get on the field until October as he recovered from reconstructive knee surgery last November, will see some action in Saturday's preseason game at the New York Jets.

I've had some serious questions for the training staff given the freakish amount of hamstring injuries this team accumulated over the past 12 someodd months, but paint me impressed by their ability (while giving due credit to both Rogers and McIntosh) to return two of our young defensive starters to the field.

Enough can't be said for the necessity of both players, especially with an eye towards the future. Rocky McIntosh represents the only starting LB under the age of 30. Indeed, at 26 he's still got a lot of mileage on him, especially if his life is modeled after that of superhuman London Fletcher, who remains one of the best (and most underrated) linebackers in the league at 33. And he ain't done. (But he will be eventually which is why I'm so slap happy Rocky's back.)

Although Carlos Rogers has some help from Smoot smack in the under 30 crowd, he's the heir apparent to take over for Shawn Springs, now 33, as the team's premier wide receiver one day. That is assuming he takes some strides forward this year, as many have questioned whether he has yet warranted billing as the third best cornerback of the 2005 NFL Draft (drafted 9th after Adam Jones and Antrel Rolle). I remain faithful -- which is to say, full of faith, and not to say I've ever cheated on Carlos Rogers by dreaming of a Redskins slash Adam Jones mixer.

Welcome back fellas.

Even as the rest of his teammates join him in injury daily, the word today from various places is that Carlos Rogers is making big strides towards returning to the field. Before we get to that, I just want to stress how important cornerbacks are for a defense. We've previously gone over the trials and tribulations of the 2006 Washington Redskins defense, but it's worth remembering. Shawn Springs goes down to injury and the entire thing collapses because we don't have the requisite depth in the secondary to survive that particular disaster. A great philosopher put it best:

I'm worried about the beer supply. After this case, and the other case, there's only one case left.

(Yea yea, Barney's right we should get some more beer.)

What's true of beer is also true of cornerbacks. I don't want to sound fatalistic, but if Carlos Rogers can't get back on the field, and Shawn Springs plays injured, and something bad happens to Fred Smoot, there's only Leigh Torrence left! I'm extremely confident in the abilities of Smootsmack to take out the opposing 3rd WR (that's our best lineup, maybe, as I might even put Smoot in front of Rogers) but less so when it is Byron Westbrook or even newcomer Justin Tryon.

Speaking of which, briefly, but I don't know if II'm reading the depth chart right, but isn't it putting Leigh Torrence in front of Smoot and Westbrook in front of Tryon? If not, injured Carlos Rogers has somehow supplanted Shawn Springs as the team's go-to cornerback.

And maybe he has from all the great print he's getting from camp. As per usual, I'm tipping a hat to the thousand eyes of Extreme Skins. First up is noted only because the frequently misprinted last name of Carlos Rogers as Rodgers is not just a problem with us amateur types, but with the legit-like news outlets. Here's the article (from a TV station or somewhers), here's the title:

Redskins camps: Carlos Rodgers looks strong

Sure does, he bulked up an extra d on his last name, effing hard core!

Howeva:

The surgery was so extensive that the Redskins weren’t sure if Rogers would be able to do anything during the preseason. He was a likely candidate to begin the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list. That would mean he would be out for at least six games.

Healthy enough for preseason? Naw says Coach Zorn:

"Right now he's just practicing, with very limited reps," Coach Jim Zorn said. There are still no plans for him to play in a preseason game anytime soon, and caution remains the buzz word when it comes to Rogers, who underwent major knee surgery in November.

With our dumb luck this offseason, maybe the best of all possible worlds would be the one where Carlos Rogers miraculously or dishonestly recovers from his injury immediately after the last preseason game.

But Rogers wants a piece of the fake season nonetheless:

"It felt pretty good," Rogers said. "I thought I was going to be tired, but actually I'm in better shape than I thought. My knee isn't bothering me. No swelling."

Earlier this offseason, Rogers had targeted the Redskins' regular season opener on Sept. 4 for his return.

Now he thinks he could be available for one or two preseason games.

Careful what you wish for. The above link also says Rogers participated in 7-on-7s, but I've also got word from Zee Times that says he was in on 11-on-11s:

Cornerback Carlos Rogers was on the field for 11-on-11 practice today for the first time in his recovery from a torn ACL and MCL he suffered Oct. 28 against the Patriots.

Whatever it is he did, it was on the field which means he's that much closer to being on the field when it counts. A repeat of 2006 is unacceptable for any number of reasons, least of which being it would represent a cruel and perhaps unrecoverable indictment of a young coaching staff generally and Greg Blache specifically. I'm pretty blind but believe hindsight tells me that but for a disastrous '06 defensive effort, Gregg Williams survives the last head coach search.

Still on injury from The Times, unrelated to Rodgers Rogers:

Eric Shelton has been dealing with some numbness in his hands and legs. The team is trying to be cautious because it is a neck injury.

Very alarming news for Eric Shelton and he is wished the best from this space.

First off, sorry for my absence. I work. A lot. But, like General MacArthur said and Arnold paraphrased, I shall be back. Err, something like that.

Anyway, Training Camp is the place where we finally get to see the team that was put together in the offseason. Draft picks, veteran signings and trade-brought players (word up, Jason Taylor) alike will be together. And, hopefully, everyone remembered their alarm clocks.

So, without further ado... the three biggest camp battles as I see them:

#3. The Cornerback Position. This is going to be interesting. Springs and Smoot are set. Rogers is out for a while. Leigh Torrence filled in pretty well last year (as long as he wasn't covering Randy Moss... apparently that's a bad matchup.) Rookie Justin Tryon is in a great position to step in a be the #3 guy. This could be an important position, especially with Jason Taylor putting pressure on the opposing QB, because there might be more than a few balls thrown early and up for grabs. Tryon is younger and more athletic, Torrence has no learning curve.

Advantage: Torrence early, Tryon before the end of the year.

via media.scout.com

via cache.daylife.com

#2. The Wide Reciever Position. This seems kinda weird to be in the top 3, but the new West Coast offense, especially the variety that new Head Pooba Jim Zorn came from in Seattle, employs 3 and 4 WR sets frequently. If heathy, Moss and ARE are #1 and #2... for now. The interesting part come after those two. Rookies Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas are both the prototypical WR bodies that NFL GMs drool over. They are fighting for the 3rd and 4th spots. Anthony Mix has the 5th spot locked up so no need to even discuss the others (sorry Burl Toler, Billy McMullen, Maurice Mann, Horace Gant, and (regretfully) James Thrash.) James Thrash was a Gibbs guy, through and through. I just don't see him being a Zorn guy.

Advantage: Thomas over Kelly, Mix over the others, Thrash as the #6 guy, if Zorn keeps 6.

via www.nfldraftdog.com

via cache.viewimages.com

#1. The Safety Position. Newcomer Stuart Schweigert and old hand (despite going into his 3rd year) Reed Doughty are fighting it out to see who gets to line up next to LaRon Landry. Schweigert was a part of some very good Oakland defenses under Rex Ryan and has plenty of experience. Doughty stepped up big last year after the death of Sean Taylor and became a fan favorite... at least around these parts.

Advantage: Doughty.

via media3.washingtonpost.com

As I stated in SP's earlier post, the punting "competition" isn't a battle at all. Durant Brooks is the new punter. Get used to it (and better field position.)

As always, hit up the comments. What's your biggest position battle?

First, though, I'll open with my closing thoughts on TC from yesterday. I'm trying not to pilfer too much from the fine works of Gary Fitzgerald over at the Official Site, but he identified some compelling camp battles that deserve additional discussion. Moving along to...

Third Cornerback: Springs is number one, Fred Smoot is number two. If all goes well this is really just a battle for the temporary 3rd cornerback, as ostensibly Carlos Rogers occupies that spot (or pushes Smoot down into it) when he returns. I will be watching Rogers' rehab and subsequent return more carefully than whether Byron Westbrook can outmaneuver enough people to stay on the roster or whether Leigh Torrence ends up beating out newcomer J.T. Tryon (Note: I've also seen it spelled "Tyron" a non-trivial amount of times elsewhere; why can't we get this guy's name right?). Speaking of him, he represents a huge source of entertainment for the blogging community as heaping-big word thus far is he has a black belt in Fred Smoot style karate smacktalk.

Fifth Wide Receiver: Gary calls Moss, Antwaan Randle-El, and our two draft picks Devin Thomas and Michael Kelly as the locks. I would be extremely disappointed if it hashed out any other way. That leaves a lot of guys (six as of this writing) competing for one final receiver spot, though teams do carry six wide receivers sometimes, don't they? (Gary says prolly not because we'll have too many TEs.) Especially in this kind of offense? Anyways, I love James Thrash but I think with each passing year the likelihood he still has gas in the tank decreases, and he was a beloved man by the former offensive staff, now largely departed. However, a guy like Thrash is unique from, say, Burl Toler (who Gary Fitzgerald likes, and he'd know more about this battle than I would) because I think Toler can be tucked away on the practice squad, but unless we add Thrash to the lineup he's not going to be with the team in any capacity. I'll throw my support for Anthony Mix, perhaps irrationally. We got pretty worked up for no apparent logical reason earlier this offseason simply because Anthony Mix represented the largest receiver we have on a unit that lacked as much both in perception and actuality. Let's not discount his size: 6'5, 235 pounds, making him closer to Chris Cooley's size than he is to Malcolm Kelly's (our 2nd biggest receiver). That also gives him 35 pounds on any cornerback on our team, which should give you a somewhat good indication of how he matches up against cornerbacks in Re: size generally in this NFL. Burt Toler, on the other hand, is the 3rd lightest person listed on the roster, heavier than only Leigh Torrence and Cedrick Holt. Let me repeat, though, that Gary Fitzgerald would know a lot more about this battle than I would, and if he likes Toler than I'd suggest you pay attention to that guy through TC as well.

Finally, Punter: I have no hate for Derrick Frost and feel bad that it's come to this, but my position is that this ain't no jockeying for position. Teams invest resources into punters infrequently, and our team invested substantial -- for a punter at least -- resources into Durant Brooks. You don't draft a punter to give your current guy something to think about; you draft a punter to punt for you come Sunday. Derrick Frost is a decent NFL punter who will likely find a home after this battle plays out, but Brooks is loaded with potential and talent and should have little difficulty earning the spot on this team. If he doesn't, that will reflect poorly on the team's decision  to draft him, duh. If this battle drags on too long, then I'm going to be flustered.

As intriguing as positional battles are every year, the biggest story, in my opinion, will be the new offense. Coach Zorn is the newcomer here and although he has no competition for head coach, yet, he is still measured by the past moving forward. If this offense shows up equal to or better than Gibbs and Saunders offenses of the past few years, all hail Jim Zorn. If we flounder it will be all eyes on him. The word out of training camp this coming week is going to provide much insight on just how near or far this team is from getting the new offense, and that's going to matter towards the W-L department down the road.

Jason Campbell likewise has no (real) competition for his position heading into camp, but he could a year from now, or much sooner. If he can't take the next step this coming season (and this all assumes he doesn't end up watching his idol throw fooballs for us instead) then the team will begin the move in a different direction, as we are now four years into the Jason Campbell experiment. He'll have much latitude this year, from me at least, but by 2009 I'm going to need to see some improvement to remain behind him. Many of you have expressed perfectly reasonable concerns with or committment to JC and I very much look forward to seeing those two camps of fans argue over him this coming season. Whatever position you may inhabit on that issue, let's all hope he develops into a star.

Enough of me, now to the blognets:

First and foremost, a gigantic welcome to Mark Newgent, newest member of the Redskins internet chattering class and lifelong fan. His new blog, DC Redskins Examiner, is going up on the blogroll to the left here shortly and I'm looking forward to visiting his site daily. Kudos to the DC Examiner for diving into this whole "internet" thing. He also linked here, which makes him good people. This blog is comma will be big time and I encourage you to make it a daily stop. Mark Newgent is no joke; assuming his work out of the gate is any indication, he can write.

Big news for me personally is that Ben is back and all makes sense now. He's been all over the potential Brett Favre to Redskins story, more more more:

I bet if you ask Jason Campbell if bringing Brett Favre onto the Redskins would hurt his development as a quarterback Jason would say hail no son. Wouldn't you like to learn a thing or two on the job from your idol before he retires?

That's an interesting take but I think a debatable one. I think Ben would be 100% correct if JC were younger than me but, alas, he turns 27 this December. The time is now for Jason, imo. (Elsewhere, check out Sportz Assassin's take on Favre here, at Fanhouse.)

I thank Lee Gibbons of The Redskin Report for his grace in not embarrassing me.

Greg Trippiedi talks defensive backs at Hog Heaven and notes, among other things:

Reed Doughty

Reed Doughty was the biggest surprise of the season last year. He’s got a reputation as a run stuffing safety, and the numbers certainly suggest that’s his craft: No. 2 among all safeties in yards allowed per rush attempt (3.8). The team probably feels he can be a run stuffing dynamo (thanks, Mel Kiper) for the next ten years for them.

Where Doughty was more surprising was against the pass, where he actually had the numbers of a top no. 2 safety. Doughty ranked 26th in stop rate last year and 29th among safeties last year with 6.6 yards per attempt against the pass.

The training camp battle for Doughty's safety spot will be an interesting one to watch, but something to keep in mind throughout: no matter how it shakes out, Doughty will remain with the team. If he's the backup, if the defensive staff is convinced we have someone better, injury there won't kill the secondary. We know we can trust Reed to come in and play reliably, and that should never be discounted. It was circa 2006 when the defense was in shambles that an injured Pierson Prioleau necessitated the Adam Archuleta disaster, which turned into Troy Vincent into Vernon Fox into serious discussions of putting Shawn Springs at safety (even though we really didn't have the depth at corner to cover such a move). You're not going to win much of anything -- see, for example: 2006 -- unless you have injury insurance, and it's a good problem to have when your very capable starter from last year is being pushed for his position.

Over at Chris Cooley's blog (hat tip: Dan Steinberg), and I'm about a week late to this show, BEARD GROWING CONTEST:

I'm ready for a new adventure...Greatest facial hair of training camp is going to be this years motif. After leaving Wyoming for my summer vacation I came home with quite a start on my new project. It's been a little over two weeks since I've shaved and I'm as proud as I can be! One thing about my little endeavors is that it is much more fun if I can have a partner in crime, or as many participants as possible. So I've decided to start the Chris Cooley Beard Growing Contest.

Check the site for more details, all of which are awesome. I've already told my girlfriend (she said whatever, I suspect she doesn't take me seriously) that I intend to grow a mustache by the end of 2008, making me the only 25 year old in the continental United States with one. I look absolutely hideous without 1970s era facial hair, but with? Even more hideous, and it will be glorious. Pictures will be pending. In the meantime, I encourage all to participate in Cooley's Beard Growing Contest. Tickets can be won.

Speaking of tickets, CptChaosSidekick won the Redskins Rides contest. The good Cpt needs to email me so I can hook him up with those. For those of you who would likewise like to attend, perhaps with CptChaosSidekick, I'm told that more tickets will become available in the near future. Stay tuned, but while you wait you might keep an eye on Riggo's Rag, since free tickets will also be available there at some point. It is the blogosphere's position that no one should have to pay for tickets.

Homer McFanboy has an interview with Washington Times and Redskins 360 writer Ryan O'Halloran, who I read daily. Here's a teaser than I'll force you to go read the entire interview:

5. If you had to pick one Redskins player, who is most likely poised for a breakout season? Why?

Safety LaRon Landry. I got ripped pretty good for this last year but I think Landry is light years ahead of where Sean Taylor was at the same point of their career. Landry is athletically gifted like Taylor but, entering his second season, is already excellent at anticipating plays, making up for a teammates' mistake/blown assignment and sending messages with physical play. He might not make the Pro Bowl this season but he'll turn out to be the defense's best player.

David Elfin is also a Redskins 360 writer, and he has his take on Don Breaux retiring. I'm going to try and get an Ode post to Don up here later this week, as I think he's deserving of much more praise and admiration than he's received, given what he has done for/and thus what he means to Your Washington Redskins.

Finally, Chris Mottram is cool.

I've run out of time. Enjoy Training Camp; I'll be around to keep you updated to the extent that's possible, but don't be shy about posting FanShots or FanPosts. You never have to wait on me to get the word out on a story here at Hogs Haven. What I'm saying is, explore this space, register, comment, etc. This place is so much more entertaining when it isn't me talking to myself.

I'm going golfing. Enjoy all these tags.

Phillip Daniels is strong.

Is that what passes for a lead/lede (the debate rages on!) around here? I'm just following the big dogs, as USA Today's Inside Slant demonstrates:

Phillip Daniels is 35.

That is hot off the presses, nine-minute old news, I'm told.

But, unfortunately, very true. Phillip Daniels is old. USA Today might as well have substituted his actual age for a descriptive adjective like elderly, ancient, or antediluvian if they were feeling especially saucy. On the let's-keep-smiles front, battle-tested, seasoned, or familiar would have worked.

Or just old.

The reality in the NFL is that actually quite young human beings can be approaching their professional twilight by their mid-30s, especially when that person's job description says something like: Must outrun or out power a large, probably younger superhuman.

At 35 I'm not certain how much success Daniels will have outrunning his younger opponents, but on this latter challenge there is some reason for optimism. Because though Phillip Daniels might be old in football years -- he's the third oldest on the team, behind Todd Collins and Ethan Albright -- he's strong even by football standards. Really strong:

And Daniels is certainly stronger. In his first competitive powerlifting event since 1999, the 6-4, 290-pound Daniels won his weight class with a 633-pound squat and a 600-pound dead-lift at the American Powerlifting Federation Nationals in March.

"That was in March so who knows what I can lift now?" Daniels said. "I took two weeks off (after the Jan. 5 wild-card loss at Seattle) and I went right into powerlifting. I hadn't done this since just before my last year in Seattle.

Not so coincidentally, that's when Daniels had a career-high 9.0 sacks, which resulted in a hefty, four-year deal with the Bears. And Daniels had 8.0 sacks with the Redskins in 2005, the healthiest of his first four seasons in Washington.

You've hooked me, USA Today, but I learn best with pictures. Six hundred pounds, huh? Consider:

via www.all-creatures.org

I'm told the feller on the left weighs 600 lbs. (Fat ass on the right is beyond even the comic strength of Daniels; he's a 700 pound tortoise.) There are no 600 pound offensive linemen in the NFL. As of this writing, I should add.

I must acknowledge that Daniels hasn't exactly been the sackmaster recently. His sack totals have steadily declined since 2005 from 8 to 3 to 2.5 last season. His tackles haven't moved in the right direction, either, from 48 total in 2005 to 37 in both '06 and '07. But tackling and sacks (and the latter requires the former) is not the only thing a defensive end can do to help the defense.

Sacks aren't some glorious end in and of themselves, even if fans love watching them. They're great because they kill the opponent's down while also taking from them some yards. Even when they fail to accomplish the yardage decrease by any substantial amount, sacks are still extremely valuable for the defense. A negative inches sack is still a useful means towards the ultimate end of forcing the other poor bastard to die three times then punt. Another, comparably debilitating means towards that end is swatting the ball down. It doesn't get the yards, it isn't nearly as sexy a stat as the sack, but it always kills the opponent's down and sometimes leads to an immediate possession change; batted passes sometimes get intercepted.

Phillip Daniels is a ball-hawk. At least in so far as the term can be used for defensive linemen.

See for yourself: Daniels can claim that he had more passes defensed than LaRon Landry last year. Only Shawn Springs, London Fletcher, and Fred Smoot had more. If you combined all the passes defensed by other defensive linemen last season it would be nine, or, the same amount Daniels had. Nine passes defensed.

I am not certain that all nine were swatted balls, but it's doubtful that the Redskins were often putting a 276 pound, thirty-something linemen into coverage. I also know that many of those passes defensed were balls swatted at or near the line of scrimmage, because I watched him do it. (CNNSI says 8 of them were, in fact, batted down at the LOS.)

Would I trade every sack for a ball swatted at the line of scrimmage? No, but it's close, or at least a lot closer than most fans would be willing to admit. And if you counted them as comparable than Phillip Daniels goes from an over-the-hill defensive end in steady decline in 2007 to similarly disposed towards ending the opponent's play as Andre Carter. Carter had 10.5 sacks and 2 passes defensed. Daniels very nearly swapped, with 9 defensed passes and 2.5 sacks.

Admittedly, none of that takes into consideration hurries or pressures or simply presence. At some point trying to turn Phillip Daniels in 2007 into Andre Carter in 2007 is asking reader(s) to deny what their eyes told them; Carter was the better defensive end. But I'm saying it's close, or at least closer than your eyes said.

Phillip Daniels is old. He does have twelve years, almost certainly his best years, of NFL experience behind him. Somewhere in the future a younger player is going to have to supplant him as the starter. But that doesn't mean he's finished tomorrow; the man still knows how to rush a passer with his head up, focused on the only really important thing in dispute, which has been, and always will be, the actual football. Also:

Phillip Daniels can lift a hippopotamus.

Hat tip to ReggieBullits for posting the news in this FanPost, but in case you weren't aware, Erasmus James is now a Redskin and, pending his physical, his former Vikings are now the proud owners of the Redskins 7th round draft pick in 2009. Per the Official Site:

"We really liked Erasmus coming out of college," executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato said. "He's young and talented, and he has a great deal of potential. We like the fact that his defensive line coach at the University of Wisconsin--John Palermo--is our current defensive line coach."

This quote tends to confirm my suspicion that Palermo was the driving force behind this move. The article quotes Palermo as well, who calls James "an every down player." That's high praise for a player who has spent the majority of his young career not playing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd down; James has been plagued by injuries since joining the league. His best year, as the article notes, was by far his rookie season in 2005. Numbers (per NFL.com) in '05: 15 games, 9 starts, 23 solo tackles, 5 assists, 4 sacks, 2 passes defensed.

Numbers remainder through '06 and '07: 8 games, 3 starts, 7 solo tackles, 2 assists, 0 sacks, 0 passes defensed.

The concern with James' injury history is what prompted the team to condition their traded 7th round pick on the successful passage of a physical by Erasmus. That said, there really isn't much of a concern of James failing the physical here, at least per Redskins Insider:

The Redskins are not concerned about his ability to pass the medical tests and are viewing the deal with the Vikings as a completed trade even though James failed his physical with Minnesota. They aren't worried about it, and these physicals are often highly subjective as well with the standards varying by team. If you really want a guy to pass a physical and he has all his limbs then it can pretty much happen

The physical was supposed to take place yesterday but was moved to today. You'll only read about the physical here if Erasmus James fails the test, which I consider unlikely.

The good news on James is that he has a huge, huge upside. The former Big-Ten Defensive Player of the Year was the 18th player selected overall in the 2005 draft by the Minnesota Vikings out of Wisconsin. He's still just 25 years old and, despite missing two years to injury, has a lot of football in front of him so long as he recovers. His experience under new defensive line coach (formerly DC Greg Blache) John Palermo is also a big positive, as Palermo understands -- indeed, understood at Wisconsin -- how to get the most out of Erasmus. This is a good opportunity to revisit Palermo's bio:

Palermo spent the majority of his coaching career at the University of Wisconsin where he earned the title of assistant head coach-defensive line (1991-2005).

He produced four first-team All Americans, and his players were named first-team All-Big Ten nine times.

In addition, all four defensive linemen from Wisconsin's 2004 season were chosen in the 2005 NFL Draft.

And James was the first among them. The others? Jonathon Welsh, Anttaj Hawthorne, and Jason Jefferson. Haven't heard of them? Me either; Jonathon Welsh is no longer in the NFL, in any capacity as far as I can tell. Anttaj Hawthorne fell in the draft because of a positive test for marijuana, but he probably didn't fall far. His professional career included some actual game time but ended last year when the Raiders cut him; he's currently a free agent. Jason Jefferson is currently with the Bills but his days could be numbered. Lest it concern you that these last three all turned out to be fizzles, none of them were drafted 18th overall. Wels, Hawthorne, and Jefferson were all selected after the 5th round, which hardly guarantees a player a roster spot, let alone a successful NFL career.

Even if one granted the argument that James is sufficiently similar to Welsh, Hawthorne, and Jefferson, and that he was probably coached over his ability at Wisconsin, he happened to be coached up by current Redskins defensive line coach John Palermo. So, with James, we either have a steal at defensive end for a 7th round pick (that, as often as not, doesn't pan out anyways) or a chronic underachiever who happens to prove that our defensive line coach really knows what he's doing. Not a bad spot.

In the good-for-print version of this trade, Dan Steinberg has the notes on James' interesting past:

2) His father, Erasmus Williams, is the longtime press secretary for the prime minister of St. Kitts, leading to this excellent 2004 sentence issued from the Office of the Prime Minister: "BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, NOVEMBER 9TH 2004 (CUOPM) - St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas has congratulated Kittitian-born Erasmus James for his achievements in the Big Ten College Football Conference now underway in the United States." I'm pretty sure Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas is in line for an ESPN.com writing job.

He also plays Madden, probably as himself, as James is a respectable 82.
That would make him higher than all Redskins defensive ends but Andre Carter on our '08 Madden roster, thus supplanting Phillip Daniels at end. So we've got that going for us.

As good as this deal was for us, though that's only one man's opinion, I can't say it was bad for the Vikings. They were ready to cut James but ended up getting a 7th rounder for it, which helped us avoid having to duke it out on the wires for him in free agency. Per The Daily Norseman:

[T]he Vikings were able to recind their waiving of Erasmus James and, instead, trade him to the Washington Redskins for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2009.  The "condition," apparently, is that he makes the team.  Well, it's better than nothing. . .I don't see how he's going to pass another team's physical if he couldn't pass Minnesota's (you would think they'd be similar), but that's not for me to decide.

Though I disagree about the physical, if I were told that we were effectively ready to cut a player but instead got a 7th rounder for him, I'd be of the same tune; it is better than nothing. Which is precisely what the Vikes got for former Redskin turned former Viking turned current Redskin Fred Smoot, when they cut him last March. One year later, as CptChaosSidekick pointed out, Fred Smoot was considered the fifth best cornerback in the league last season ($) by KC Joyner. That's a precedent: give us your tired, your poor, your physical failing, your Vikings.

In sum, the bad news is that he certainly didn't do much in Minnesota to convince the peanut gallery that he had or ever would meet expectations, but then again he wasn't with the man who made him an 18th overall pick. Now he is. Even if he does fizzle out, it only cost us a 7th round draft pick. I think it's a great move to shore up a need position.

This is where soundbites are made. Dan Steinberg sets us up:

So in this dream, we're talking about an early June charity basketball game at UDC featuring Clinton Portis, Fred Smoot, Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson, Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens, Gary Payton, Braylon Edwards, and all the rest, with the promise of celebrity halftime entertainment even better than the game itself. Yeah, that'd probably be good for a few days of blog copy. If only, right?

And indeed, it is on like donkey kong (who I played as on the new Wii Mario Kart yesterday, which was fantastically awesome):

Washington, DC (PRWEB) May 13, 2008 -- BET host and internationally syndicated radio personality Big Tigger will assemble an impressive line-up of iconic athletes and celebrities for the All-Star Basketball Game during Big Tigger's 7th Annual Celebrity Classic. The game will be held Saturday, June 7th at 6:00pm at the University of the District of Columbia. Presented by the Street Corner Foundation Inc., the 3-day charity weekend is designed to both raise funds and heighten public awareness of HIV/AIDS.

As you know, I'm a sucker for the charity thing:

The Street Corner Foundation, Inc. (SCF) is committed to empowering and strengthening diverse urban communities through proactive, innovative programming. Based in the belief that knowledge is the key to improving issues affecting the community, SCF's focus is two-fold - to increase public awareness of HIV/AIDS by funding educational initiatives targeting prevention, and to improve quality of life for youth by supporting programs that focus on literacy and self-esteem.

I don't know how tickets are had, but someone, anyone, from this site needs to figure out the how and be there. I'll be setting my calendar in anticipation of bloggable stories galore that will naturally result. Fred Smoot and Clinton Portis will not be able to restrain themselves from being their always profound selves.