Redskins Mailbag: AskJohn

John: I’m much more calm now & I did stay away from all sharp objects. HaHa. …I did not want a quick fix anyway. I would gladly take 3 losing/non playoff seasons if it meant that we were an elite team by his 4th year as coach & not a team that hopes to luck into a playoff birth with an aging lineup. I have always wanted the REDSKINS to groom a young franchise QB & just because they mishandled/misfired on both P. Ramsey & Jason Campbell that doesn’t mean you stop trying because as you said this regime is not at fault for any of that. … My question to you is can you please tell me the SKINS # of draft picks & which rounds they are in for the 2011 & 2012 draft as of now.

Thank you John.

Mike Souza

HOLLISTER, CA.

Mike: Glad to hear it. They do need to start hitting on more draft picks, for a change. Anyway, in 2011, they’re missing their third- and fourth-round picks. But they’ll also receive a fifth-, sixth- or seventh-round choice from New Orleans as part of the Jammal Brown trade and they’ll receive a late-round choice from Indianapolis as part of the Justin Tryon deal. In 2012, they have all their picks and have added a fourth-rounder from Oakland as part of the Jason Campbell trade. However, if Jammal Brown is still in Washington and participates in 90 percent of the offensive snaps or makes the Pro Bowl, then the Redskins will send a pick to New Orleans (not sure yet which one).
JK

John: Granted he couldn’t even make it in the UFL with Connecticut or Hartford or whatever they were called, but couldn’t have a big body like Anthony Montgomery (well over 3 bills) helped the Redskins at nose tackle at some point this year?

Jason
Baltimore

Jason: You’re not the only who misses Ol’ Monty. Probably sitting on a porch somewhere in a rocking chair, just moseying along through life. Good thing is, he’ll be well-rested for some team next year. What’s too bad is that Monty has the body type to play over the nose; just too inconsistent with his leverage. Was always a problem.
JK

John: Do you think that some of the younger players, namely Cook at center instead of the Rabach who has been horrible all season, Austin (particularly instead of the the hopeless Roydell Williams), Rob Jackson, Jarmon, and Riley will get a chance to have some significant playing time in the last 2 games. As Shanahan has stated, the Redskins are out of the playoffs, so why not see what they can do for the future. He is doing this with Grossman, so it would certainly make sense to do the same for these players.
 
Charles Silberberg
North Tustin, CA

Charles: Shanahan doesn’t want to just hand playing time to guys; he still wants them to earn it. If a guy isn’t ready, no reason to play him. Injuries have forced him to do so in certain cases. I can’t imagine Cook is ready to play; he looked very far from it all summer. If they want to evaluate the QBs, better to do it with your best linemen. Jackson will start Sunday because of injuries. The one I want to see more of is Riley because he could factor in the future. Hard to see Jackson being much of a factor other than on special teams. But we’ll get a feel for him Sunday. I’d like to see a little more of Jarmon, who did play last week, and we probably will Sunday. Austin has played sparingly – though he has been on the field the past two games — and there are only so many packages calling for three small receivers (along with Santana Moss and Anthony Armstrong). Roydell Williams’ size gives him an edge over Austin. I’d like to see Austin get a few passes thrown his way.
JK

John: Seen a lot of places saying Shanahan really liked Locker from Washington and obviously Luck, Mallet, Newton, and Gabbard could all be possibilities. My question is do you think its a given they take a QB? Especially if Rex plays well the next two weeks? In my humble opinion a big time receiver in round one and either a nose tackle or a strong interior o-lineman in round two helps this roster a lot more than a young QB.

Thanks!
Jack Rash

Jack: Yeah, it’s a given. Do not be fooled by what Grossman shows; can you really hand him the keys to the job next season – and bypass drafting a QB – based on a couple games? My take is they’re trying to see if Grossman can be a bridge to the next QB. So, yes, they will draft a QB and they should. You shouldn’t reach for one, but if there’s a QB you like, then take him. You don’t draft interior linemen as high as they will be picking in the first round. They need a receiver, but the great majority also take time to develop. They need a nose tackle, but I’m not sure any rate that high in this draft. I would not bypass someone you think can be special at another spot just to take a QB, but they do need to find one. This team hasn’t won in a long time for many reasons, but the inability to solve the QB position is chief among them.
JK

John: Last week I e-mailed about the potential turnover percentage (we both estimated high turnover, 40-50%) and value of some players on the roster.  This week I was thinking about more specifics on who of our starters may return next year and wanted your thoughts..  By my assessment, on offense only T. Williams, ‘Stieger, J. Brown, Cooley, Moss and Torain are sure return starters and on the other side of the ball, looking at Carriker, Rak, Landry and Hall.  Not to say that others (Fletcher, Rabach, Rex, K. Moore, Rocky, Rogers) might not return but better fits and/or better players may be available in free agency.  What are your thoughts on who is assured a return (as much as 5-9 assures anything!) and who should be shopping for realtors?  Merry Christmas!
 
John A. Little
    
John: Hard to say who is guaranteed to return; it’s not just 5-9, it’s 11-27 in the past two and a half years. Nobody should feel safe. Offensively, the guys I’d definitely want back are Cooley, Trent Williams, Santana Moss and Torain (though he still needs to prove his durability). I’m not sure I’d list ‘Steiger as a sure starter. On a good line he’s a versatile backup. And I still wonder about Jammal Brown, though his play has stabilized. Carriker would be a better backup as well. I like London to return, just because in the end he’s been one of the most consistent players and he’s good to have around. Still want a bigger inside ‘backer, as a 3-4 requires, but you can do worse than Fletcher. The Redskins have a lot of good backups/role players, like Lorenzo Alexander, Kedric Golston, etc. I’d want them back, but in different roles.
JK

Hi John: …Thanks for all you do. Is there a financial advantage for McNabb and his agent to be trashing the Shanahans? From my perspective it looks like they are burning a bridge. I hope Rex has a good game, so McNabb’s value will continue to plummet.

Chris Day
Richmond

Chris: Thank you very much. The advantage is that it could push the Redskins to release McNabb sooner rather than later, allowing them to negotiate a deal with another team. If that happens, McNabb would likely have to pay back some of his signing bonus. My guess is they’d rather have a release than a trade, simply because they can get a new contract and land more bonus money. I also can’t imagine another team would want to pick up his current contract, which would guarantee him $16.25 million if he’s on the roster in 2011. I don’t think Grossman’s play will impact McNabb’s value; his first 13 games will say more about him, good and bad.
JK

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