Well this is surprising. For weeks we thought Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne were a package deal. Today when I found out that they weren’t necessarily, some speculated that Arizona, Denver, or Miami could sign him in order to increase their chances of signing Manning. I don’t think anyone saw him going back to Indianapolis.

Wayne is an aging player who turns 34 in November, but he’s still a very talented wide receiver whose streak of 7 straight 1000 yard seasons ended last season when he put up 960 yards with Curtis Painter, Kerry Collins, and Dan Orlovsky, which is still impressive. He’s not going to get any better, but the Colts were so thin at wide receiver that they almost had to make this move otherwise Andrew Luck would have no one to throw to. Wayne provides him a reliable veteran target and is signed at a reasonable rate (3 years, 17.5 million, with 7.5 million guaranteed).

Grade: A

Nelson is a solid safety who rated 28^th on ProFootballFocus. 18 million over 4 years might be a slight overpay for someone who doesn’t tackle particularly well, but the Bengals don’t have a lot of choices in a weak safety draft class and free agency class.

Grade: B

Trade for New Orleans: They were likely just going to cut him for nothing so credit the Saints for getting a pick and a player in return. I don’t know much about Amaya, but if he can make the roster, he’ll be an added bonus in this deal.

Grade: A

Trade for Miami: All in all, the Dolphins are giving up 10 million over 2 years, a late rounder, and a reserve safety for Bush. I think they overpaid. Bush has never proven he can stay healthy and he’ll just be a backup running back to rookie Daniel Thomas. They gave up too much, particularly in terms of money, to get him.

Grade: C

By Eric Karkovack 

The news of Reggie Bush breaking his leg during Monday night’s win in San Francisco certainly puts a little damper on a 2-0 start to the season.  But, if any team is capable of moving on successfully, it’s the New Orleans Saints.

On this team, the talented Bush is just one of many options quarterback Drew Brees has at his disposal.  Still, Bush does fill an important role on this team and his loss will make some adjustments necessary.

Bush is known for his blazing speed and is very dangerous when given a little space.  His touchdown reception on Monday night against 49ers Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis was proof of that.  He faked out one of the best linebackers in the league and made it look easy.  Willis wreaked havoc against the rest of the Saints offense all night long.

The Saints simply don’t have another back who can do the things Reggie Bush can do.  For all of the criticism that he’s not a “between the tackles” runner, his abilities in other areas are what make him such a valuable contributor to this team.

He’s been famously called the league’s “highest paid decoy”.  But think about what that does for coach Sean Payton’s offensive scheme.  Bush is often used as a decoy, but the opposing defense must account for him on every play.  Leave him out in space just once and it could mean trouble.  Bush takes attention away from guys like Devery Henderson, Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey, freeing them up a little bit and allowing Drew Brees to find them down the field.

The decoy scheme won’t work nearly as well with Ladell Betts or Chris Ivory on the field.  Not to take away from their talents, but Bush presents a unique set of problems for an opposing defense.

I have no doubt that the Saints’ offense will miss Reggie Bush.  But I also feel like there is no team better equipped to handle such a loss.  Payton and Brees still have plenty of weapons available.  They’re just going to have to find some new ways to open things up for them.

One area where I don’t think that the Saints will miss Bush as much:  punt returns.  Reggie is certainly a threat in that area, but he’s often an all-or-nothing proposition back there.  If you watched Monday night’s game you saw both ends of the spectrum.  Receiver Lance Moore should fit into that role nicely.

The good news is that Bush should be back on the field this season.  When he returns, he makes the Saints that much more of a threat in the NFC.

http://www.nosreview.com/ 

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9/3/11: Holy crap Mike Shanahan has turned Rex Grossman into a passable signal caller. He’s done this before with Jake Plummer and while quarterback isn’t their only problem, I won’t pick them to be a laughing stock anymore. 

Rex Grossman predicts the Redskins will win the NFC East. Rex Grossman is wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I love that he made that prediction. I love unfounded confidence in sports. I love when a team down 3-0 in a series predicts a series win. I love when a team currently out of the playoff race predicts they will win the championship. I love when an underdog predicts a big upset. What else are they going do to? Admit defeat?

However, Grossman is wrong. Hell, he might not even be the team’s starting quarterback if he gets beat out by John Beck. If that happens, that would be the most embarrassing moment of Rex Grossman’s career and that’s saying a lot. When Mike Shanahan first called Beck his starter in the offseason, before the team resigned Grossman, I assumed that Beck was only going to start to give the Redskins a better chance to get Andrew Luck. I mean if you were trying to get the #1 pick, starting John Beck would be what you would do right?

However, the Redskins spent a lot of money this offseason so it appears as if they’re not going to just throw the season. They didn’t really overpay anyone like they normally do and they added a lot of talent, adding guys like Barry Cofield, Josh Wilson, OJ Atogwe, Stephen Bowen, Chris Chester and resigning Santana Moss and Jammal Brown. However, given their quarterback situation, they won’t make the playoffs. All those signings can do is get them to 6 wins and blow their chances at getting not only Andrew Luck, but maybe Matt Barkley as well.

Of course, if they can get a quarterback next April, he is going to have a good supporting cast to work with after all of these financially smart signings. Moss, a veteran receiver, is 32, but had 1115 receiving yards last year when they didn’t have the best quarterback situation. He’s dealt with crappy to mediocre quarterbacks his entire career so this year will be nothing new for them.

Moss will line up across from either Anthony Armstrong, a decent player and their #2 receiver from last year, Jabar Gaffney, the Broncos’ #2 last year, acquired in a trade from Denver, or rookie Leonard Hankerson, drafted in the 3^rd round. Hankerson has the worst shot as getting the job, based on what I’m hearing right now. At tight end, Chris Cooley is a talented veteran, but he could miss the start of the season with an injury which means Fred Davis, who played well in Cooley’s absence in 2009, would get the start.

At running back, another offseason acquisition, Tim Hightower, is expected to be the lead back. Hightower is not a great running back or anything, but he fits the scheme and I think he’s very underrated. He’s also a good pass catcher. Behind him, the Redskins have Roy Helu, a 4^th round pick rookie, and Ryan Torain, the incumbent starter who can’t stay healthy. Keiland Williams, who started some games last year, is also in the mix.

On the offensive line, they resigned Jammal Brown to start opposite Trent Williams. Williams, the 4^th overall pick in 2010, allowed 11 sacks in 2010, but figures to be better in his 2^nd season. He’ll once again be the left tackle, while Brown, who played better down the stretch as he recovered from a hip injury that cost him all of 2009, will start on the right side. Chris Chester is a solid free agent signing at center, but they once again figure to get poor play from their guards, Kory Lichtensteiger and Will Montgomery.

On the defensive line, two more free agent acquisitions, Barry Cofield and Stephen Bowen, will play next to Adam Carriker. Carriker, after struggling for 3 years in St. Louis in a 4-3, after being drafted high in 2007, did alright in a 3-4 in Washington last season. However, like Cofield and Bowen, he doesn’t offer much pass rush. Bowen and Cofield are studs against the run, though. They will both be upgrades over Albert Haynesworth and Vonnie Holliday.

However, there are questions with each. Bowen played well last year, but only has 11 career starts. Meanwhile, Cofield has never played in a 3-4 and players often have trouble adjusting to a new scheme, particularly at first. He won’t be helped by a shortened offseason as he tries to adjust to a new scheme.

The pass rush will be coming primarily from the rush linebackers. Brian Orakpo had 8.5 sacks last year after 11 sacks as a rookie in 2009. However, the Redskins only managed 29 sacks as they couldn’t get a consistent pass rush besides Orakpo. No one else on the team had more than 2.5 and their other starting rush linebacker Andre Carter really struggled in their new 3-4. The Redskins will hope Ryan Kerrigan, the 16^th pick in April’s draft, can be an upgrade, but he’ll be hurt, at least right away, by the lockout and the fact that he’ll have to learn a completely new position, rush linebacker. He also wasn’t graded as a good fit for a 3-4 coming out.

Inside at linebacker, the 36 year old London Fletcher is an ageless wonder. He had 136 tackles last year and should post a similar total this year. However, Rocky McIntosh really struggled in their new 3-4 last season. He was still resigned and is expected to once again start next to Fletcher, a questionable move. 2010 4^th round pick Perry Riley was supposed to step into the lineup this season, but he’s apparently disappointing. He’s listed as a 3^rd stringer.

Another free agent acquisition is Josh Wilson, a cornerback. Wilson came out of nowhere to become one of the best cornerbacks in the league last year. I’m curious to whether or not he can keep that up now that he’s switching teams and now that he’s gotten paid. Wilson allowed just a 46.9% completion percentage and 3 touchdowns to 3 interceptions.

He’ll start opposite DeAngelo Hall, whose 2010 stats are inflated by a 4 interception game against Jay Cutler. He allowed 8 touchdowns and a completion percentage of 73.7%. At safety, another free agent signing OJ Atogwe, a solid free safety, will start opposite LaRon Landry, an overrated player who struggles against the pass, though he’s a beast against the run.

As I said earlier, the most all of these free agent signings can do is get them maybe 6 wins and blow their chances at Andrew Luck. They were, for the most part, financially smart deals, but in the grand scheme of things, they could end up looking very stupid. Rex Grossman and John Beck at quarterback are both terrible and they don’t protect their quarterback or get after the opponent’s quarterback very well either. They also lack continuity with a new starting quarterback and so many new free agents coming in. Their defense will be better, but not that great this year and the offense will be stagnated by poor quarterback and offensive line play.

Quarterback: C-

Running backs: C

Receiving corps: C

Offensive line: C

Run defense: C+

Pass rush: C

Pass coverage: C+

Coaching: B

Projection: 6-10 4^th in NFC East

By Anthony Brown 

The Redskins are 3.5 underdogs to the Colts Sunday night. That’s expected.  But beating the Eagles in Philadelphia and Washington’s eye-opening win over the Packers last Sunday has the smart guys reassessing.

Stat-master Paul Bessire at Predictionmachine.com upped his assessment of the Skins. After accounting for Mike Shanahan’s tendencies and the performance of Redskins players, Bessire has the “Skins winning 44 percent of the 50,000 simulated games of the Colts. That would be unremarkable except that Bessire’s simulation had Washington winning 30 percent of those simulations.

Football Outsiders once projected the ‘Skins for nine wins and a playoff make. Their game simulations now projects 8.1 regular season wins for the Redskins. Confusing, huh?

An 8-8 record is the benchmark performance for a coach in his first year with a team. Marty Schottenheimer did that five times in his career, once with Washington (2001). Mike Shanahan is on that pace. If the Redskins upset the Colts, Football Outsider’s nine-win scenario gains currency. An upset is entirely possible. 

While the Colts have out-performed the Redskins in passing yards (1586 to 1243), Donovan McNabb’s passing yards-per-attempt is slightly higher than Peyton Manning’s (7.7 to 7.4). For all of Washington’s troubles in the passing game, they, like the Colts, rank in the NFL top 10 in net passing yards (Redskins 7th, Colts 4th).

The Redskins out-performed the Colts in rushing yards (443 to 399). Both, however, are in the bottom half of the league in rushing.

The Redskins are seriously scoring-deficient in comparison to the Colts (136 to 89). Washington overcame that in other games by playing close and running enough big plays to pull out a win. That’s the point here. We don’t want to see any big leads by the Colts.

Houston and Jacksonville needed 34 and 31 points to beat Indianapolis. Washington is not yet the scoring juggernaut we hope they become next season. Washington’s defense has to win this game.

Two weeks ago, Washington handled Michael Vick (mostly) by controlling his run to force him to pass. We don’t want Manning to pass. We want him to run. Manning is too wily to do that, but he might be pressured enough to make dumping the ball the smart thing to do. Doing that contains WRs Reggie Wayne and Austin Collie.

Do that and Washington can win this game the old fashion way: run the ball; stop the run; knock the snot out of Peyton Manning.   

http://redskinshogheaven.com/

By Anthony Brown 

The Washington Redskins finished the first quarter of the NFL season the way they will likely end the year, hovering around .500. What do we know from that?

Wins over Dallas and Philadelphia tell us the ‘Skins will play competitive ball. The loss to St. Louis (apparently better than we thought they were) tells us the ‘Skins are inconsistent. This team is likely to upset either the Packers or the Colts and lose to the Lions (apparently better than we think they are).

We are still figuring out what Mike Shanahan is making of this team. He is still building the roster.

Running back Ryan Torain signed as a free agent in April; was dropped by the team at the end of training camp; signed to the practice squad September 5; re-signed to the team roster September 25; carries seven times in the St. Louis Rams game September 26; carries 18 times against Philadelphia; will start against the Green Bay Packers Sunday.

Running back Keiland Williams made the team roster and appeared in the first two games.  He was waived October 2; signed to the practice squad October 6; re-signed to the team roster October 9, replacing wide receiver Devin Thomas who was dumped after a disappointing two years in Washington.

Undrafted free agent Brandon Banks was released by the team at the end of training camp; signed to the practice squad September 28; signed to the team roster October 2; returns the opening punt 53 yards to give the Redskins excellent field position to score.

Shanahan can speak of winning now, but he’s retooling the team. Meanwhile the rest of the league can’t quite make him out. The 3-1 Packers, who hung six sacks and about 100 quarterback hits on the Eagles, are a mere 2.5 point favorites over the Redskins. 

When the Vegas sharps can’t figure out the Redskins, what chance do the rest of us have? I’ll tell you what chance the Redskins have–a chance to beat the Packers. That’s what. There is no chance I can tell you which running backs will be on the active roster for that game.

http://redskinshogheaven.com/

Quarterback

I feel like this doesn’t even need to be said, but the Redskins cannot start Rex Grossman or John Beck at quarterback next year, unless they want to go 5-11 again. The Redskins are always aggressive in the offseason, so expect them to either sign Peyton Manning or trade up for Robert Griffin.

Wide Receiver

Santana Moss managed just 46 catches for 584 yards and 4 touchdowns last season. Sure, they had quarterback problems and he missed 4 games, but he’s also a declining player. Turning 33 this offseason, I don’t think he’s capable of being a #1 guy any more. Jabar Gaffney had a solid year last year, but is probably best off as a #2 receiver. They drafted Leonard Hankerson in the 3^rd round last year, but he tore his labrum in his hip after one good game. He’s no sure thing going forward so if a receiver makes sense, I expect them to take one fairly early, especially if they take a quarterback in the first round. Teams that draft quarterbacks in the first round often draft a pass catcher with their next pick. Meanwhile, if they sign Peyton Manning, they would also be the top contender to sign Reggie Wayne.

Middle Linebacker

London Fletcher continues to defy age, playing at a Pro Bowl caliber level even though he turns 37 this offseason. However, he won’t be around forever. In fact, he’s a free agent this offseason. Even if he’s resigned, they need a successor for him inside next to the promising young Perry Riley.

Guard

Right guard Chris Chester really disappointed in his first season with the team after getting a sizable contract in the offseason. Meanwhile, left guard Kory Lichtensteiger was playing well before he tore both his ACL and MCL. He’s expected to be ready for week 1, but obviously he’s no sure thing after a major injury. Maurice Hurt was decent at best in his absence. Mike Shanahan has always had good offensive lines so this could be a priority of his this offseason.

Cornerback

DeAngelo Hall continues to be one of the best overrated and overpaid cornerbacks in the league. Meanwhile, nickelback Kevin Barnes struggled last year. Given how frequently 3 wide receiver sets are being used in the NFL, they probably want more cornerback depth.

Safety

The safety position is a major question mark for them next season. Reed Doughty struggled last season, especially in coverage. LaRon Landry is better, but he’s a free agent with questionable long term health. They need someone else in the mix.

Offensive Tackle

Trent Williams is a promising young player when he’s not being suspended for marijuana use. However, right tackle Jammal Brown really struggled last year. He hasn’t been the same since a major injury in 2009. They signed him to a large contract and are expected to keep him at right tackle next year, but they probably want someone to push him at the very least.

Center

Will Montgomery is a mediocre player at center. This is another place where they could look for an upgrade on their offensive line. They should find at least competition in the mid to late rounds or in free agency.

3-4 Defensive End

The Redskins’ two big money signings on their defensive line, Stephen Bowen and Barry Cofield, played pretty well this season on their 3 man defensive line. Adam Carriker was the weak line on the line. He wasn’t awful or anything, but he could be upgraded. He’s also a free agent. Jarvis Jenkins was their 2^nd round pick last year so if he’s healthy, he could be the guy here.