Tony McGee on the Redskins (GM move/play of late)

[Gmanc711]

Hello Everyone,

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks for the Redskins. After a heartbreaking loss to the Saints two weeks ago, to the first blowout victory for the Redskins in a log time, to the front office changes this past week… while it may not be a great time to be a Redskins fan, as they’re 4-9, its still an interesting time to be a Redskins fan.

Obviously the biggest news with the Redskins right now is Vinny Cerrato leaving the Redskins, and Bruce Allen coming in as the general manager for Washington. I found it very odd that the Redskins made this move at this time of the year, with three games left to play. I think they have a coach in mind and they may already have a coach in place. Obviously Mike Shannahans name has been thrown around, and while I don’t know what his contract says, I think Gruden has a real possibility of coming in as a package deal with Allen.

Looking at the departure of Cerrato first, I don’t think you miss anything with Vinny leaving. Marty Schottenheimer didn’t want him, and I think as they are likely talking to other coaches, they didn’t want him around either. It’s interesting that some of his picks are starting to work out now through the draft, but he still did too much wrong and while he may have just been a yes man to Snyder, the moves are a big reason the Redskins are 4-9 right now. You look at some of the moves he made as a “GM”, namely looking at the Jason Taylor trade, the Brandon Lloyd trade, three picks in the first four rounds for those two guys. Those are three picks they could have used to address the offensive line and not be in the position they are right now. Furthermore, I look at some of the things that he did not do as a general manager. In 2006, I remember talking with you all and saying that they needed to try to move Ladell Betts or Clinton Portis after Betts had such a good year in 2006. I said they were the same style of running back and while they’re both good, they don’t complement each other and one needed to be moved while there value is high. We sit here in 2009, and neither of those guys may play for the Redskins again, and they will not get anything in return. Snyder & Ceratto just never thought ahead, they were all about now and couldn’t build a football team.

How do I think Bruce Allen will work out? Obviously time will tell. I don’t know a whole lot about him, but he did a great job in Oakland, which makes me think he could be successful anywhere. I think some of his success in Tampa Bay is over-rated, because while he was there when they won a Super Bowl, that was Tony Dungy’s team for the most part. I’m not trying to take anything away from him, because I think this is a good move for the Redskins, but I do want to take the wait and see approach. I want to see who is brought in as a head coach, and where they try to go from here. Anything is better than what they had with Vinny running the show, though. This is a good move for the Redskins.

Taking a look at the team a little bit the past few weeks, who do I think can be here and contributing for the offensive line next year? I think Levi Jones is definitely a guy who will be in Washington and possibly starting for the Redskins next year. I don’t think Thomas or Samuels come back. I think someone needs to be brought in to at least push Casey Rabach, because he is not having a very good season. I think Mike Williams has really come on as a guard, and could be a good back up next season or possibly a starter at guard. I think it took him so long to be a player on the offensive line because it took his body so long to adapt to playing football after dropping over 100 pounds. I think the Redskins at least have some options on the offensive line going into next year, which is a lot more than you could say about the team 5 weeks ago. This is still an area that needs an upgrade, but they have some guys who can be a part of the puzzle in 2010.

Taking a look at Fred Davis and the way he has come on, while Chris Cooley is still on the bench. Can they have two starting tight ends in 2010, I say yes. You can use both of them, Davis does a better job of stretching the field than Chris Cooley does, but Chris Cooley is still the all around better tight end. I think if you believe you can use both of them effectively, the Redskins don’t have a problem. However, much like I said about Portis and Betts in 2006, I think you need to at least look and see what you can get for either of these guys. They seem to complement each other better then my example of Portis and Betts, but I think you should see what you could get. I’m not saying trade them for sure, but you should test the market. Unfortunately, if one of those guys were to be moved, it would be Chris Cooley as his value is much higher. I don’t see that happening, but think you should see what is out there.

My thoughts on a punt returner? I don’t know what happened to Antwan Randal El, he is just not doing a very good job back there and really has not since early in 2007. I would be surprised if he is in Washington next season given his contract (I can say that about a lot of guys). Right now, I like the idea of Devin Thomas going back and returning kicks, with Santana Moss doing it once and a while for a change of pace. The injury risk of returning punts is high as well, so I can see why you wouldn’t want to put Moss in that situation very often.

Thanks again everyone, I hope you all have a great holiday next week!

-Tony

[CRedskinsRule]

Good stuff, Thanks!

[Lotus]

Thank you so much, Tony. As always you offer an excellent analysis and I am grateful that you answered my question.

[davy]

Hmmm, blaming Cerrato for not shipping Betts or Portis and putting the Lloyd trade on him as well smells of kicking a man while he is down.

Unjust in my opinion.

[GTripp0012]

Casey Rabach was a much better player when JLC was covering him. Who knew?

[rbanerjee23]

How about bringing in a good offensive line coach... I understand that Buges didn't have a whole lot to work with but he could have been more vocal about drafting more young linemen and building the offensive trenches

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Casey Rabach was a much better player when JLC was covering him. Who knew?

He's a JLC all-star along with Derrick Frost, Demetric Evans, Ryan Clark, Rock Cartwright, James Thrash, Shawn Springs and Leigh Torrence.