Just for kicks, I went through as many mock drafts as I could find to see the different positions NFL draft gurus are predicting the Washington Redskins will take with their 10th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. The list was actually pretty long. As usual, there are a lot of opinions out there but with the needs of the team being so long, this is no surprise.
The issue of what happens with quarterback Donovan McNabb will play a part in who the Redskins select in the first round as will needs for depth along both the offensive and defensive line. There is popular thinking that the wide receiver corps needs additions though I haven't thoroughly bought into that thinking... yet. The Redskins have some hard decisions to make.
Most Redskins fans already know that Mel Kiper, Jr. of ESPN believes that Auburn’s Cam Newton from Auburn University is the man for the job. He is not the only one who thinks so but he is one who people watch.
"I think [Redskins head coach Mike] Shanahan needs to address this position with a young quarterback”, Kiper said according to the Washington Post. “He went the veteran route with [quarterback Donovan] McNabb. It didn't work," Kiper said. "I think he needs to bring in -- as he did in Denver [where] he drafted [Jay] Cutler out of Vanderbilt -- to get a young quarterback that he can mold."
Newton ended the year with a 66.1% completion ratio.Strong points for him are his size (6’51/2”) and ability to run. In terms of a body of work from which to evaluate, there isn’t much on the Tiger because he only played one full season as a senior. But, with his size and raw talent, I can see why Kiper thinks Newton might work for the Redskins.
It would be strange if the Redskins took another quarterback from Auburn in the first round but it could happen. Hopefully, Newton would have a better career in the nation’s capital than now Oakland Raiders’ quarterback Jason Campbell, who former Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs picked in the first round of the 2005 draft.
WalterFootball.com has the University of Missouri's quarterback Blaine Gabbert as a good match for the Redskins at number 10, saying his is the best quarterback available and suggesting that he could fit into head coach Mike Shanahan's offense.
One of the problems with Gabbert according to some is his inaccuracy. The Missouri offense is “gimmicky,” he has a 63.4% completion ratioand he has reportedly not always been motivated enough to stay in shape. Maybe this would not be such a good fit. Redskins fans know how Shanahan feels about his players being in ‘football shape’.
He is another big guy – 6’5” - which is helpful but the Redskins do not need another player – especially in a high-profile position like quarterback - with any sort “issues.”
Jake Locker of the University of Washington is anothername in the mix for the Redskins at number 10. Matt Millen, of the NFL Network, thinks highly of Locker. He said the other day during a Senior Bowl pre-game show that Locker’s abilities are off the chart. Millen agrees with Mike Mayock (NFL Network) that he has amazing skills. At a 55.4% completion ratio, he is another one that needs to work on his accuracy but his rating is 124.2. Millen thinks he will measure well at the combine.
Like anything, opinion runs the gambit on this young man and, while Millen thinks he is raw enough that he would do well to be mentored for a year or two behind a veteran quarterback, others believe he is NFL-ready – perhaps the most ready in this year’s class.
A couple of mock draft groups have explored whether the University of Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett would be a good fit for the Redskins at number 10 but none have stuck with him that I can find. The Razorback looks more like a pro-style quarterback than Locker or Newton. His completion ratio, at 64.7% is comparable but at 6’6”, he is bigger than the other quarterbacks. At that size, you’d think he’d be hard to bring down. I love his rushing statistics: Mallett rushed 44 times this past year and logged -74 yards. Hmm.... He did make 4 rushing TD’s though, even with a -1.7 yards-per-attempt average.
I looked at 20 mock drafts and a few had the Redskins taking other positions besides quarterback. Footballsfuture.com has the Skins takingJulio Jones, a wide receiver from Alabama. At 6’4”, here would be the big wide out that many feel the Redskins need to round out their receiving corps and compliment standout receiver Santana Moss. Jones is considered to be a brave player, unafraid to get hit, who caught 78 passes for 1,133 yards and an average-per-catch of 14.5 yards and seven touchdowns. Being tall helps a lot as long as you concentrate on catching the ball and it is in this regard - the concentration - that some folks have concerns.
Another mock draft has the Redskins taking a much-needed defensive end and, in this case, it is Cameron Jordon out of the University of California. According to his college bio, the first-team All-Pac-10 player finished the season with 175 tackles (88 unassisted, 87 assisted), including 34 tackles for loss, and 16.5 sacks. He has one interception that he returned for three yards, five pass breakups, four forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries that he returned twice for touchdowns.
According to mockingthedraft.com, Jordan is ahead of many of the DE’s in this year’s draft class because he has so many powerful pass rush moves and because he is quick off of the snap. While these are great attributes, this group feels he isn’t particularly fast on stunts. If this is the case (I haven’t yet watched any game film on Jordan looking for this) this will give him trouble with the speed he finds once he gets to the pros.
The other defensive player I found being picked for the Redskins was OLB/DE Aldon Smith from the University of Missouri. What bothers me about the 6’5” Missouri Tiger is that he will be going into the NFL straight from his third year of college. Apparently a gifted athlete, the redshirt sophomore feels he can handle the pros. Obviously that doesn’t mean he can. Time will tell.
In all, I looked at 20 drafts. A lot of them predicted first a quarterback and then allowed a “but… if they don’t take him, they might take this guy.” These "but maybe's" were all either wide receivers or defensive linemen – the defensive positions especially a real need in Washington.
I did not see any mock drafts with offensive linemen predicted or suggested. The Redskins addressed this last year by selecting left tackle Trent Williams in the first round (4thoverall). It's a Catch-22 situation... there are so many other areas on the team needing help, I would suspect the O-line will not be addressed in the first round this year. By the same token, one of the reasons the team is hurting so badly on the line is because the offensive line positions have been so badly neglected in the draft in the last 10 years.
What's a team to do?
Even if Nate Solder (offensive tackle, University of Colorado) were still available at number 10, the Redskins already have their talented, young left tackle with Williams.
But since depth along the line has always been an issue, it would not make me mad if they went after someone like Michael Pouncey (guard/center, University of Florida) to compete with – and possibly win the job of center or right guard with the Redskins.
Not an offensive lineman but an interesting thought is A.J. Green (wide receiver, Georgia) who unfortunately will not still be around at number 10 (the Cincinnati Bengals could use him at #4). Having had to sit out of the first four games of the 2010 Georgia season because of a suspension, he drops down a notch in the “character guy” department. His forced hiatus was because he sold a jersey to a person in the NCAA classified as an “agent”. The infraction does not seem like a serious locker room problem… it’s only that he didn’t “think things through” according to Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I don't think this is as bad as refusing to talk to a head coach, driving drunk or any other number of violations that have been known to be committed by Washington Redskins’ players.
As is the nature of the beast (the NFL beast), the mock drafts will likely change many times before the Big Day arrives. On the assumption that Mike Shanahan and Co. will have done their homework, let us hope that this April 28, they fulfill the head coach's mantra and select for "what's in the best interest of the organization."
It apparently is true that once a player gets to the NFL Pro Bowl, it is easier to get there again. It is great that Washington Redskins standout middle linebacker London Fletcher is going to go to Hawaii again and it doesn’t matter to me that it is because Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher has pulled out of the game due to an undisclosed injury. I say, the Fates (and yes, Fletcher’s play) made it so.
Even if Fletcher hadn’t had another good season – playing in all 16 games with 136 combined tackles, 87 solo and 49 assists, 2.5 sacks, 11 passes defended and one interception – he should go for the next five years just to make up for all the years he should have gone and didn’t. Not to take anything away from Urlacher, but Fletcher should have gone to the big game several times already. Look at his 2005 season when he logged 157 tackles, 104 of which were solo. And all of this is notwithstanding the fact that he has 208 consecutive starts in the NFL, tied with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and Tampa Bay Bucs’ cornerback Ronde Barber.
What I don’t understand is why Redskins safety LaRon Landry was not even an alternate for the fun-in-the-sun game. Before he got hurt, Landry was having a great year. I’ve heard people say that (the alleged) nose tackle Albert Haynesworth was the best defensive player on the team. I disagree. LaRon Landry was a better player than Haynesworth this past season.
Second year linebacker Brian Orakpo and cornerback DeAngelo Hall are also going to Hawaii, Hall having been voted in as a first stringer and Orakpo going in place of Green Bay Packers’ linebacker Clay Matthews. Matthews isn’t going because he’ll be a tad busy. Green Bay is, of course, playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Superbowl on February 6. That should be a good game.
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My son was born in Johnstown, PA; not too far from Pittsburgh. Because of that, I have a sentimental attachment to the Steelers. But I have hated those terrible towels ever since they took over FedexField last time the Steelers came to Washington (November 2008). You hear me? I’m not alone in this hatred.
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The mantra of head coach Mike Shanahan this past season has been that the staff is “going to do what is in the best interest of the organization.” Apparently, the head coach traveling to Alabama to attend the Senior Bowl to scout possible draft picks isn’t part of the equation for what’s best for the team.
No problem. That’s why the Redskins employ people like Director of Player Personnel, Scott Campbell, and he will be there evaluating the young NFL prospects.
“The Senior Bowl tends to tell a little more because it’s coached by NFL coaching staffs and is run in a way we’re familiar with,” Campbell said according to redskins.com, “with the one-on-one type drills with an NFL staff coaching it. It’s catered to our needs and the best players come to that game. It’s going to be the best product from a college standpoint.”
General Manager Bruce Allen will reportedly be at the Senior Bowl. I guess that means that he isn’tjust the Director of Pants and Alumni (joke!).
Even with the Head Coach/Executive Vice President (Shanahan) not being there, his “system” will undoubtedly be to make sure he has all kinds of game film and reports for every single coach on the Redskins’ staff to view before the draft. And Allen will come home from the game with either glowing praise - or the opposite - of players like the University of Washington’s quarterback Jake Locker and Colorado tackle Nate Solder.
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I am still bothered by the events that transpired with current Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb. Between his being benched in the last two minutes of the game against the Detroit Lions, the lack of sincere verbal support by the head coach and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan during the season and the subsequent demotion to third string quarterback during the last games of the season…. I just hope Shanahan and McNabb have had the necessary discussions to bring it to a point where McNabb can live with it. The quarterback has a lot of class and talent and I think he's gotten the raw end of the deal - at least from this perspective.
I hated to have to qualify my first statement about McNabb with the word “current.” The word of course indicating that we don’t know how long he is going to be in Washington. I can’t believe he would want to stay here with everything that has happened. One can’t help but wonder how much better he could have become in Kyle Shanahan’s system had he been given both more time and more players - like Malcolm Kelly (if he is who some think he could be) or say, San Diego’s 2011 free agent, Vincent Jackson.
I am not taking anything away from Washington wide outs Santana Moss or Anthony Armstrong. They both had good years… especially Moss. There is some public thinking that McNabb didn’t have enough weapons in his arsenal to have a great year but I don’t whole-heartedly agree with this. Moss is a great receiver and his lack of height is surpassed by his effort and talent. Just look at his stats for this year.
I just think McNabb could have done more than he was given a chance to do… but that’s just me.
OK. I’m not going to get sappy here. But after talking to Washington Redskins quarterback John Beck and then thinking back on my own personal experience with the ones that I know, I have decided that most professional football players are extraordinary people.
I interviewed Beck to talk about his foundation, Friends for Football, www.friendsforfootball.org. He is the second Redskin with whom I have had an in depth conversation about their personal charities (Lorenzo Alexander was the first) and it wasn’t just the fact that so many professional players invest a lot of time and effort into giving to others that makes them so special. There is evidence that to even play the game, one has to be pretty amazing.
Beck and I sat outside behind the training facility in Ashburn to talk. Northern Virginia was enjoying one of those rare, beautiful days late in the season and it had to have been 70 degrees outside. Warm weather, bright skies, no humidity... it was nice outside in the sun. The green, empty practice fields were down below us and, in front of us, players came and went because practice was over. Some of the guys were working out in the equipment room with the door propped open, some were talking to each other or on their cell phones. All appeared relaxed.
The quarterback was, of course, happy to talk about his foundation. Friends For Football has existed for a couple of years and was started in Arizona where John grew up. While many of the beneficiaries are from Utah where he went to Brigham Young University (BYU), Beck’s foundation has helped kids from as far away as Hawaii. His organization helps kids aged seven to 14 play football for their local or school leagues by helping them buy things like cleats, pads, membership registrations, uniforms and the like when their parent(s) can’t otherwise afford them. For a family with a couple of boys, those types of things can run into hundreds of dollars for a single season and the funding makes it possible for them to join a football team.
“We have it set up where the first year we did it, we helped out 67 or 68 kids from disadvantaged homes where, like I said, a single mother may be raising two or three boys,” John said. “Sign up fees [for football in schools or leagues] might be $225 and that’s not including anything else that goes along with it like a pad rental fee. They have to buy cleats. The first year we did it, we helped out 67 kids buy cleats as well.
“We have helped out families that had three boys. That’s almost $1,000 and a lot of families just don’t have $1,000 to put towards their kids for football.”
Beck holds an annual golf tournament at Red Ledges Golf Course in Heber, UT as well as a couple of football camps and dinners to raise funds for his foundation. He invites other players to participate and has had players such as former BYU teammates Nate Meikle, Johnny Harline and Cameron Jensen according to The Bleacher Report. Some of his former college teammates now also play for NFL teams and a few who have participated in his tournament or football camps are Brian Kehl and David Nixon (St. Louis Rams), Max Hall (Arizona Cardinals), Austin Collie (Indianapolis Colts), Dennis Pitta (Baltimore Ravens), Naufahu Tahi (Minnesota Vikings), Ty Detmer (former Heisman Trophy winner, last played for the Atlanta Falcons), and Harvey Unga (Chicago Bears). His 503.C organization was blessed enough to have received a grant from the Baltimore Ravens when he played for them and every year he has been able to increase the number of kids to help.
There is a lot to consider when Beck decides to whom help will be given. There have been families that needed something besides money. They might be in a situation where a couple of boys could use a good role model in their lives.
“A lot of the kids we help out come from single parent homes... especially just a single mother raising two or three boys without a father figure,” Beck said. “We believe that that’s important in their lives. Where can they find that father figure? Well, one way is through a coach.”
As John’s foundation has become more well-known, he has had to become more discretionary about whom to give funding.
“The first year it was open on a kind of first-come-first-served basis,” Beck admitted, “but there were so many people. We helped out 70 [families] and we still had to tell 20-30+ people that we were out of funds for the year. So we felt bad because we felt like some of those people that we’d already helped were just in a way like, 'Hey... times are tough. Can you help me out?'"
The QB described how he makes the hard decisions now.
“They submit a paragraph or two about their situation,” he explained. “Either the kid or the parent can contact us.
“We’ve had some fathers [that have written], ‘Hey, I’m a single parent. I have two boys [and] I got into this car accident [that required] leg surgery. I was out of work for so long that when I came back from the injury I was released from work. I've been out of a job rehabbing and I have no way to pay for my kids.’
“So they contact us and what we do is we go directly through their league. They say, ‘I play in this league in this area,’ and we send a check directly to the league for them for their pads and everything. Then they go and weigh in and the only thing we ask is that they send us back a picture with a note about what they’ve learned during the season.”
Beck loves hearing back from the kids and families that Friends For Football has helped.
“It’s been great,” he said. “We’ve had so many kids that write back. One of the best stories we’ve had is a kid that wrote and said, ‘I always wanted to play football but I never knew if I could do it and I never had the chance to because my parents didn’t have the money. I played football this year and I scored my first touchdown. I learned how to tackle.’”
As I spoke with Beck, it was increasingly clear to me that there was something about the game of football that made it more than just a job to him. He played different sports as a youngster and I wondered why he focused solely on the pigskin with his charity. In answering, the BYU grad showed a surprising amount of passion about the game he plays and I began to understand why football was the chosen activity for his foundation. He spoke of the hard work that it takes to be fit enough to play a very tough game. He spoke of the trust players are required to have in each other, the self-esteem that a kid could develop by being trusted by his teammates and the value of every single player on the field doing his job the way it’s supposed to be done.
“When I first learned how to play quarterback,” Beck described enthusiastically, “one of the things I loved most was throwing a pass and getting wacked as I threw it.”
I just about fell off the bench!
‘Huh...?!?This guy loves getting hit???’
I understood however, as he pushed on: “And I just trusted that, where I threw that ball, even though I’m not going to see it because I’ve gotten hit, it’s going to go and the receiver’s going to catch it, I’m going to get up and shake off the hit and go on to the next play. I loved that about the game… I still do.
"A quarterback throws the ball before the receiver gets to the spot… I’m trusting [the receiver] to be where he’s supposed to be to make the play. Now, take a kid from a disadvantaged background. How many people is he going to trust? If he’s gotten into a little bit of trouble, how many people are going to trust him? You’ve got to learn trust in football. You’ve got to learn that when you line up, you’ve got to trust this guy, you’ve got to trust that guy. And he learns that people can trust him and it does great things for his self esteem.
"People have said for years that ‘football is the ultimate team sport’. A basketball player… he can grab a rebound, go down the court, shoot the ball, make it and he can do that by himself. A baseball player? It’s him and the pitcher until the ball is hit... the fielders don’t get involved. It’s a one-on-one duel. You can go through so many sports like that, where it’s all about the one guy. But in football, you cannot - as a quarterback - take the snap and run for a touchdown. There's no way (unless you’re a kid doing a trick play in a Youtube video). And on every play, all 11 people on offense are involved. Ten people can do the thing right but if that one person messes up, that hinders whether for instance, the running back succeeds at his job. If he can’t get that block from that 11th guy, he’s not going to get the most yards that he can. In football, on every play, 11 people have to be involved and do their jobs.”
On the Friends For Football website, it states that the organization was created to give youth from underprivileged circumstances the opportunity to gain valuable lessons that are taught from participating in organized football leagues. It goes on to assert that when a person is committed to a team environment it teaches them about discipline, accountability, and how to strive after your goals.
After speaking with Beck, I have a new and different perspective on the activity he loves so much and the players who are involved with it professionally. The mission of his foundation includes a short narrative on some of what makes football different from any other sport and it touches on why I take my hat off to the professionals in the NFL.
Unlike any other sport, football is the ultimate team sport. Not every player on the field touches the ball. On each play you are dependent on your teammates as they are dependent on you. No sport has more people on the field at once all executing their role for a single play and one purpose.
Beck was as inspired as anyone I’ve ever spoken to about his profession and it made me want to run and put on some pads and a helmet myself. His enthusiasm was contagious. Not only does he love the game itself, he loves the lessons it can teach kids and the character that is required to play the game well.
Here are some of the other things that he said about both his sport and what it can do for the kids he helps.
“During the week, their buddies may be going to go ride bikes or whatever… well, two or three times a week they’ve got to sacrifice that time to put it into football and try to get better.”
“Another thing about the game of football is you’re going to get knocked down and you’ve got to learn to get back up.”
“Another cool thing is that many kids get to see encouragement from their parents. I mean, kids are smart. They know, ‘my family doesn’t have a lot’. They see the situations around them. Maybe they see Billy’s parents giving him everything that his parents can’t. Well, the great thing is that when they’re out there playing football, their parents are on the sideline supporting him.”
“It’s not about, ‘Hey, this kid is missing out on football and he might be a football star someday down the road’. No… that is not it. The majority of the kids that we help play football are not going to play football past junior high – high school maybe. But the thing is what it’s going to teach them. It’s going to teach them principles; it’s going to teach them to have that character that they need to be successful in whatever field they choose.”
“I also want to teach them what to do so they can accomplish their goals even if the road becomes bumpy so they can succeed. Instead, of saying ‘I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been knocked down before,’ - and turning to drugs, crime, stuff like that - they think, ‘I’m trying to make this path happen. This is how I’ve got to do it.’”
“In order for a majority of us to get here, we have to take a path of a lot of determination and no path is ever that easy. So all of us have had to go through things to get here and you want to do something for the kids – you want to alleviate [some of the obstacles they might encounter on] their path.”
Football is a tough game. As John says, on any given play, it requires 11 individuals to focus on one goal. Not only must these individuals do their jobs, the game is so violent that, in doing their jobs, at least some of the time, they will be hit and hit hard - especially when the opposition is focusing hard on their goal.
Some would say, “Yea, well… for that kind of money, I will let someone get violent with me, too.” But one cannot ignore what these professional football players went through to get to the National Football League. They did not just wake up one day and say to themselves, “Hmmm… I don’t mind getting hit… I think I’ll be a professional football player!”
They, for the most part, spent years and years honing their skills. Many began playing in a Pop Warner “TINY-MITE” league at five-years-old. Think about it: a 25-year-old running back – one of the most battered players in the game – might have been playing football for twenty years by the time he is in his prime in the NFL. It’s no wonder that running backs have a 4.5-year productive life span in the league.
Beck went on an overseas mission to Lisbon, Portugal just after high school. He spent two years in abject poverty, giving to others without the basic comforts that most of us here in the United States enjoy. Things like restrooms, actual flooring (most structures had dirt floors), clean water and medicine were either hard to find or non-existent. During those two years, he had one day per week to do things for himself like laundry, exercise, housecleaning, shopping, etc. When he returned to the States, not only did he have a new-found appreciation for carpet, he realized how difficult it was going to be to get back into the physical shape required to play football again. Getting back into football shape after those two years was one of the most difficult things he has ever done.
We know that these days there is not much of an off-season for many athletes, both at the college and the professional level. Constant physical fitness training is necessary in order to stay strong and be competitive. Many NFL players have been working out hard year-round since high school.
Additionally, most schools require a minimum GPA in order for the players to remain on the active roster. While there is evidence that exceptions have (perhaps underhandedly) been made for a select few over the years, the majority must study in the little free time they have at the higher college levels to maintain that GPA. This continues on the professional level as they learn and evolve with their NFL play books.
Football players' injuries must be rehabbed at an extraordinary pace – much more quickly than a typical person's and there is some pressure to 'play hurt.' The sacrifice they make with their bodies is extraordinary, hence the pressure for strength and being in “football shape.” I have always respected players who have won the Ed Block Courage Award for whatever reason. Some of the physical rehabilitation that they have accomplished after serious injuries to then come back and play the game is amazing. Redskins nose tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu was the most recent Washington winner.
Considering how hard Beck had to work to get back into shape after his mission makes his accomplishments in college even more amazing. He attended BYU from 2003 through 2006 and in his first year, he played in eight games with four starts, becoming only the second true freshman to start a game at quarterback (Factoid: Marc Wilson was the first in 1977 – he later led the Oakland Raiders to victory in Superbowl XVIII in 1984).
While at BYU, Beck was a four-year letterman and started at quarterback his final three seasons. During his senior year he was All-American (2nd team) for Sporting News, All-American for Sports Illustrated and Mountain West Conference (MWC) Offensive Player of the Year after putting together six 300-yard passing games. Beck was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, a Davey O’Brien Award semi-finalist, a Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week and 2nd in NCAA passing efficiency (169.05).
The former Cougar started 12 games as a senior, leading BYU to a record of 11-2 and the MWC crown. He completed 289 passes out of of 417 pass attempts (69.3%) for 3,885 yards with 32 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions.
On the BYU website, a short narrative about the 2006 BYU vs. University of Utah football game (this is a huge rivalry and is dubbed “The Holy War”) states:
2006 may have been one of the greatest games in the history of the rivalry. With the lead switching hands several times in the final minutes, BYU drove 75 yards in 10 plays in the last 1:19 to win the game, responding to a nine-play, 83-yard Utah drive. All-American John Beck connected with wide open tight end Jonny Harline in the end zone on the game’s final play in what has been deemed "the 13-second miracle” for Cougar fans. The 33-31 victory sealed a perfect league record for BYU and their first victory over Utah since 2001.
Even though I’ve decided football players are extraordinary and deserve more respect than they get from people who don’t understand or love the game, they do have their “moments.” I came across this video on YouTube of Beck at one of his football camps. He is, of course, great with the kids and is shown teaching them different fundamentals of quarterbacking. However, watch and see if he is really doing all of the right things all of the time! (It starts with a short clip of Beck quarterbacking a game... keep watching...)
John Beck came to the Washington Redskins from the Baltimore Ravens in a trade for cornerback Doug Dutch on Aug. 2, 2010. He was a second-round draft pick (40th overall) to the Miami Dolphins in the 2007 NFL Draft and stayed in Miami until he went the Ravens in 2009.
Beck played in three pre-season games against the Buffalo Bills, the New York Jets and the Arizona Cardinals last season for the Redskins. He completed 20 of 39 passes for 235 yards (51.3%) and one interception..
I don’t mean to paint a picture of professional football players as of a bunch of saints playing on any given football team. There are certainly many other highly regarded professions which require greater sacrifice. The point is that because of the huge amounts of money, celebrity status and entitlement that come with the profession, many people forget about the sacrifices that these men made and continue to make to get to and remain in the National Football League.
A large majority of NFL players use the fruits of their labors to help other people. Many of these guys have families, go to church, have their own charities and spend money and time giving to their teammate’s or team’s charities. Their hard work over the years and the giving back that they do cannot and should not be ignored. In fact, it should be celebrated.
The football season came and went quickly this year. It seems like just the other day I was standing down on the practice fields during the Washington Redskins’ Organized Team Activities (OTAs) wishing I’d remembered to put on sun block. Larry Michael from Redskins Nation was saying, “Only 30 more days until the first preseason game, folks!” and we were grumbling about defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth training down in Tennessee rather than with the team.
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.
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.
