Redskins and Expansion Teams

Some quick thoughts about the Redskins:

1. I'm really pulling for Erasmus James. Not only because he's a former first-round guy who sits right on the brink of being labeled a total bust, but because, if he's healthy, the Redskins could have one of the NFL's great pass-rushes this season. Andre Carter and Jason Taylor are good enough, and most folks don't know that Anthony Montgomery, Demetric Evans, and Kedric Golston are pretty disruptive linemen. This Rob Jackson guy from Kansas State has been making plays from the defensive end position throughout the pre-season. But if you can add an impact guy with first-round talent to the mix, holy crap, all of a sudden the Redskins have a dominant pass-rush. It's been a long time since that's been the case here in Washington.

2. I will have no fingernails left by the start of the regular season if Laron Landry doesn't get healthy and play in a few pre-season games. I'm not totally convinced Landry is the best player on Washington's defense, but he's right up there at the top. So much of what the Redskins did last season was based on the ability to leave one super-athletic safety over the top to play center field. First it was Sean Taylor, now it's Laron Landry. For a while there, Taylor was the only guy in the NFL with enough ability to make it work, and now that distinction goes to Landry. If he's not healthy, suddenly you've got rookie Chris Horton or the underwhelming Vernon Fox holding it down, and that's not really the same thing, now is it? I'm sick of the hamstring injuries. There needs to be a doctor somewhere who has mastered the art of fixing hamstrings, and we need that person in Washington immediately.

3. I'm pretty sure if Rocky McIntosh can play this entire season healthy, he'll play at a Pro-Bowl level. Ol' Rocky has been a bit under the radar in his two seasons in the NFL, but this guy is a superb athlete and is pretty much always around the ball. He's a playmaker. One reason I'm not sure Laron Landry is the best player on the defense: Rocky McIntosh.

4. I'm feeling pretty good about rookie Fred Davis. Playing in parts of three pre-season games as the second tight end, Davis has 6 catches for 45 yards. Apparently he's getting extra work in with Rennie Simmons in practice. If the Redskins can put an offense out there with two difference-makers at tight end, that could do a lot to sort of hide what has turned out to be a very underwhelming receiving corps. Look, I like Santana Moss and Antwan Randle-El, but it turns out neither of those guys is really a number one receiver and probably only one of them would be worth a damn as even a number two guy. You can't quite quantify Randle-El's contributions to the team because he's an energy guy with a great attitude, he's a big-time special teams player, and he has a way of showing up in big moments. Moss has great speed and can be really, really dangerous, but we're past the point of being able to pretend this guy can produce like a number one guy. He's not Steve Smith. He's got the athleticism, but something is missing. It would be great if Fred Davis turned into another reliable option, and a relatively explosive one at that, to lessen the need for either Randle-El or Moss to show up and put up big numbers every week.

And now, just a quick little meditation on expansion teams:

It occurred to me, as I was thinking about the NFL this morning, that Lane Kiffin is essentially running the Raiders like an expansion team. Or rather, he's running them the way an expansion team should be run. There are only a few things you can count on in the NFL these days: 1. teams that run the ball a lot give themselves a chance to win football games; 2. guys with NFL-level talent can and will churn out more than 1,000 yards on the ground whenever they can complete a full season; 3. it's almost always better to sit a rookie quarterback (especially a really high pick) behind a journeyman veteran quarterback. Long term, a year or two of studying from the sidelines and learning from a veteran, even one who is struggling, is a better way to handle the investment than just chucking them out there in the fire and taking a chance on their confidence. Now I'm thinking if I were putting together an expansion team, I'd want to build it in the following way:

1. A young head coach, probably a brand-new head coach, preferrably someone who'd been a coordinator and had previously coached either an offensive line or a secondary. Offensive lines and secondaries rely more on communication and trust in their teammates than other units on a football team, and coaches who have been in charge of successful units probably understand concepts like team-building and chemistry pretty well. My head coach is guaranteed that, no matter what happens on the field, he will have a job as head coach of my football team for 4 years.
2. An offensive coordinator who likes running the football and teaching the game. We're going to be running the ball a lot, and our young guys are going to need a skilled, patient teacher. My offensive coordinator isn't going anywhere for at least the term of the head-coach. Teams, and especially young players, need time to grow into an offensive system, and changing schemes year after year can really damage a player's growth.
3. A proven defensive coordinator who isn't tied to a single defensive system. I don't want to waste 3 years getting the right personnel for his packages. I want a guy who can come in, see what we've got, and draw up a system that will put the players we have in position to make plays. This is non-negotiable. And I want his staff to be big and seasoned.
4. A tough old journeyman quarterback who doesn't mind getting knocked around. Give me somebody like Jeff Garcia or Jon Kitna or Kurt Warner, a guy who wants a little stability for a few years at the end of his career and a chance to be a starter. I'll promise him 3 years as my starter unless he's injured or just the worst piece of broken down shit at his position in the league. Behind him, I'm drafting the future, but not in the first round. A) First round quarterbacks chew up too much of your salary cap; and B) the fan-base gets too excited about them. Give me a second or third round guy, a sharp kid with enough ability who can stand around holding a clipboard for a few years. I don't need the golden child. Barring a series of huge injuries or consistent lights-out performances in camp and practice, this kid won't touch the field for at least his first two seasons, and won't be the regular starter until at least his fourth year in the league.
5. I'm drafting my franchise tailback right away, and he's going to get a lot of work. I'm also using the expansion draft to bring in a stable of serviceable backs for depth. I'm going to have the Raiders backfield. Since I have the first pick in the draft (as an expansion team), I'm either taking the blue-chip, Adrian Peterson-type back, or I'm trading down for multiple picks and getting him in the top 10. You can build a successful team around just a running game. Look at the 2007 Minnesota Vikings.
6. I'm using every other high pick in the rookie draft on offensive and defensive linemen, and I'm grabbing every lineman worth a damn in the expansion draft. That's a no-brainer.
7. I need one Jonathan Vilma. You give me a Jonathan Vilma, and I'll give you a competitive defense. He's in the draft somewhere. I'll settle for a Rocky McIntosh, but I want a Vilma.
8. To hell with corners. They take forever to develop and so much of their success is based on the success of the pass-rush. I'll take scraps for now. But the safeties are important. I need athletes back there, so I'm using those draft picks to find at least one big-time athlete.
9. I want only veteran receivers unless I can find a Calvin Johnson. Since my top picks are spoken for, that'll have to wait. Give me veterans. And at least 3 tight ends who can catch passes and run good routes.

Here's the deal: you've got one off-season to get ready to play a full season, and that's trouble. Winning isn't crucial that first season, but you do want to field a respectable team. That means running the ball an absurd amount of the time, from a lot of different looks and packages, and throwing only when you feel like the other team expects you to run. With a veteran quarterback running the show and veteran receivers, you should be able to make good on just enough pass attempts to get the occasional first down and the occasional touchdown.

Basically, that's kinda what Lane Kiffin has done in Oakland. He's put all his offensive energy into the running game, which also helps the offensive line. He sat his future QB as long as his crazy-ass owner would let him. Instead of trying to do anything fancy or take chances with shoddy play from his signal caller, he set his team up to just stay in games and give themselves a chance to win. Now, a season later, he's got a deep backfield, a tough, no-frills defense, and a young quarterback who hasn't had his confidence ruined by a season of having his ass kicked while he tries to learn his position.

Go Raiders!

Also, Go Skynards.