Looks Like Someone Has a Sixpack of the Mondays

1. It just goes to show you that if you wait one day to do the Sixpack, the whole world up an changes on you. Before we get into the obvious news of the day, I just wanted to comment on how we have finally made it to a pretty huge event in Redskins Nation. The draft is here...already. The time has come for Scot McCloughan to put his stamp on this roster. We have all waited (somewhat) patiently for this moment. If there was ever a chance for a completely legit start to something great, it was always going to have to be under the direction of a man like McLovin'.

2. Just hearing McLovin' talk about players and positions and what he wants here and needs there and why he would do this and what would cause him to do that...putting it as nicely as I can: this all looks and sounds VERY different from what our experience has been.

3. We have spent months beating each other up over who we think the Redskins will pick, who they should pick and what their strategy should be on Thursday. Regardless of what the Skins front office is not telling the rest of the world, we can be sure of one thing: at #5, there will be multiple players available that can come in and make a meaningful impact to our team immediately. Those same players that are available for us to select will also be tempting other teams to move up for a chance to add their services. That means that the realm of possibilities for us on Thursday is as large and compelling as Westeros.

4. I think that the Redskins will be willing to take slightly less than what the Trade Value Chart suggests is fair in a transaction. The reason I do think this is because of how badly it seems McLovin' wants to acquire more picks. He won't take a bad deal, mind you. It won't be the kind of terrible deal that one would expect from, oh, I don't know...Vinny Cerrato. In the league today, general managers and head coaches have become more concerned with "looking good" in these kinds of deals. Taking risks gets you fired. The beauty of McLovin' right now is that he is smack dab in the middle of his honeymoon here, and it is nowhere close to being over. He can afford to take a risk or two that other more tenured guys may would not.

5. I am not, by any means, suggesting we allow ourselves to be taken advantage of in the draft. It is probably important to make that clear. All I am saying is that if trading back is that much of a priority, there will be deals available to us that might be fail to make us look like geniuses...initially. McLovin' believes that a draft pick in his own hands is worth more than in anyone else's hands. That kind of confidence can cause you to make a bad deal can inspire you to bet on yourself...just a little bit. At least for my part, I am willing to bet on Scot in this manner. I am willing to see what happens when he has the chance to make two or three extra selections, even if the slotting of those extra selections is cause for debate.

6. Well, I figured I would get to it eventually. So we exercised the fifth-year option of Robert Griffin III's contract, eh? I will first say that I was not in favor of the move PURELY from the standpoint that it is guaranteed for injury, which has been kind of a problem for this player. I think that most of us agree that Griffin can be a very good player in this league. He is not a bust, and he has not washed out of the NFL by any means. There is plenty of reason to hope he can play well enough for us to win in this league. If I wanted to argue that exercising the option was the right thing to do, I might say that the Redskins have been arguably directly responsible for at least some of the injury issues with Griffin. I need not remind you all about the soap opera that took place here over a two year span, and the crazy amount of fingers that were pointed at the organization for its handling of Griffin and his knee. Maybe they feel like they owe him at least the injury guarantee. In the back of my mind, I feel like there is a strong possibility that this move was made in advance of the Redskins drafting a quarterback in the third or fourth round of this draft. Griffin can feel secure knowing that the team is showing some level of commitment to him, and McLovin' can go out and bring in the development project I have been calling for since December: Garrett Grayson.