While the season is over for the Washington Redskins, the playoffs will keep NFL fans busy for a while longer. The playoffs go throughout the month of January, the Pro Bowl is January 30 and the Superbowl is in early February (the 6th this year in Dallas).
Thankfully for professional football addicts like me, because of things like the NFL Network and the Internet, it’s true that the football season never truly ends anymore. There is free agency and the draft. Then shortly after, players reconvene in mini-camps and OTAs all throughout the league.
This year, that intense beauty pageant for top college football players that is called the NFL Scouting Combine starts on February 23 and goes through March 1, 2011. There is comprehensive TV coverage of this on the NFL Network.
(By the way, it’s interesting that the NFL uses the pronunciation of the word that is associated with a piece of agricultural equipment – i.e., a harvester - and uses the form pronounced com’bine as opposed to putting the emphasis on the second syllable as in com’bine… which means “to bring into a state of unity; to join forces for common purpose” which is the reason NFL teams and owners originally created the event - in order to ascertain medical information on the top draft eligible prospects in college football. I’m just saying… I guess the former pronunciation is cooler).
With the Superbowl being played on February 6, there is less than three weeks from that last game of the 2010 season until “it” all starts over again.
Free agent signings and movement will be interesting this off-season because of the situation surrounding the CBA. With the 2011 NFL Draft (thankfully, still) taking place on April 28-30 (at Radio City Music Hall in New York), top college football players will have the professional football world’s attention. They will keep minds occupied from the final whistle of Super Bowl XLV, through the combine until the end of the draft itself.
This off-season, the Redskins have some free agents with contracts expiring and what happens where they are concerned will garner a lot of attention. Key players about which head coach Mike Shanahan must make decisions are quarterback Rex Grossman, wide receiver Santana Moss, cornerbacks Carlos Rogers and Phillip Buchanon, right tackle Jammal Brown, defensive end Kedric Golston, linebacker Rocky McIntosh and safety Reed Doughty. Generally “free agency” ends about a week before the draft.
There was talk about what position(s) the Redskins need to concentrate on in the draft as soon as it was determined that they were not going to have a shot at the playoffs. With the situation unfolding around quarterback Donovan McNabb being benched there is speculation that he will not be back for the 2011 season. If not, the quarterback position must be addressed. By the same token, all season long we have lamented the neglect by the previous regime of the offensive and defensive lines. Additionally, many have opined that there are skill positions on which focus is important. Running back (will Clinton Portis be back? Is Ryan Torain a 25-carry-per-game back?), wide receiver (a taller end-zone threat to compliment Moss who rules in the slot?) and safety (ever since we lost Sean Taylor, fans have wanted to find a similar compliment to LaRon Landry… we’ll never have a pair like those two would have been but one can dream).
Also, with Shanahan saying he wants the team to "go younger," the draft will be even more important. At least since it is General Manager Bruce Allen and Shanahan running the organization rather than Vinny Cerrato, we can count on having some draft picks left when the event comes around.
Last year, many of the Redskins players stayed around for much of the off-season. McNabb was brought to the team in early April and he was often out in Ashburn working out and getting to know his teammates. If the players take the same initiative this coming season, there will be things to report on and discuss.
Shanahan had his players in mini-camps on April 16-18 (voluntary), May 7-9 (rookies; voluntary for veterans) and in June from the 16th to the 18th last off-season.
The team had also OTAs on May 17-19, 24-26, June 1-3, 7-8 and 10-11.
During most of those times, there were reporters present and stories being relayed.
Training camp was, of course, a huge deal by the time it arrived in late July. There were record numbers of fans in attendance on the days they were allowed and, in the case of this past year, with the abundance of interesting story lines, national media as well as the local press showed up in Ashburn.
The remainder of the 2010 season going into the 2011 off-season will likely go something like this:
Playoffs - Now through January 23rd, 2011 (division championships are that weekend)
NFL Pro Bowl - January 30th, 2011
NFL Superbowl XLV - February 6th, 2011
2011 NFL Scouting Combine - February 23rd through March 1st, 2011
Free Agency - signings begin in late February, early March and end approximately a week before the draft
2011 NFL Draft - April 28th through April 30th, 2011
2011 OTAsOTAs on March 29th and Seattle began the first voluntary mini-camp of the season from April 13th through the 15th)
2011 Training Camps Begin - Mid- to late July 2011 (the Cleveland Browns had the earliest training camp last season when their rookies had to report on July 23rd)
2011 NFL Preseason - Early to Mid-August 2011. In 2010, the Hall of Fame Game was played on August 8th
2011 Regular Season Schedule - Last year, the first game was played on Thursday, September 9th, 2010
There will be a few times during this off-season when things will seem dull in Washington. The players and coaches all need some time off and they will take it. But in these days of instant access to the news, there will almost always be something about the Washington Redskins to discuss.
Whew… that’s a relief. I thought it was all over.
Last year, many of the Redskins players stayed around for much of the off-season. McNabb was brought to the team in early April and he was often out in Ashburn working out and getting to know his teammates. If the players take the same initiative this coming season, there will be things to report on and discuss.
Shanahan had his players in mini-camps on April 16-18 (voluntary), May 7-9 (rookies; voluntary for veterans) and in June from the 16th to the 18th last off-season.
The team had also OTAs on May 17-19, 24-26, June 1-3, 7-8 and 10-11.
During most of those times, there were reporters present and stories being relayed.
Training camp was, of course, a huge deal by the time it arrived in late July. There were record numbers of fans in attendance on the days they were allowed and, in the case of this past year, with the abundance of interesting story lines, national media as well as the local press showed up in Ashburn.
The remainder of the 2010 season going into the 2011 off-season will likely go something like this:
Playoffs - Now through January 23rd, 2011 (division championships are that weekend)
NFL Pro Bowl - January 30th, 2011
NFL Superbowl XLV - February 6th, 2011
2011 NFL Scouting Combine - February 23rd through March 1st, 2011
Free Agency - signings begin in late February, early March and end approximately a week before the draft
2011 NFL Draft - April 28th through April 30th, 2011
2011 OTAsOTAs on March 29th and Seattle began the first voluntary mini-camp of the season from April 13th through the 15th)
2011 Training Camps Begin - Mid- to late July 2011 (the Cleveland Browns had the earliest training camp last season when their rookies had to report on July 23rd)
2011 NFL Preseason - Early to Mid-August 2011. In 2010, the Hall of Fame Game was played on August 8th
2011 Regular Season Schedule - Last year, the first game was played on Thursday, September 9th, 2010
There will be a few times during this off-season when things will seem dull in Washington. The players and coaches all need some time off and they will take it. But in these days of instant access to the news, there will almost always be something about the Washington Redskins to discuss.
Whew… that’s a relief. I thought it was all over.
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