NFL Draft time is here-- and that can only mean not just one or two days of coverage, but three full days of anticipation on ESPN. This remains progress in my mind--I'd rather have three days of action as opposed to last year where there was nothing but massive mock drafts leading up to the actual selection process.
As of Tuesday, the Redskins have just four picks-- their first rounder (4th overall), fourth and fifth rounders, plus a seventh. In theory they'd be collecting picks for players like Jason Campbell (irrevelant with Donovan McNabb in town), Albert Haynesworth (not an ideal fit for the 3-4) and anybody else they can shop around (Portis? Cooley?)... but that hasn't happened yet. I've heard the Campbell to Oakland rumor-- his arm works well with Al Davis' vertical game-- but would Davis/Shanahan deal with the other with all of their bad blood? I don't know if ex-Raider front office man Bruce Allen's on speaking terms with the corpse, either. The hot rumor for Haynesworth has been dealing the DT to Detroit-- where his former coordinator Jim Schwartz (who got the most out of him in Tennessee) would coach him up. There may already be deals in place, and both teams just waiting until draft day to announce.
Still, four picks doesn't seem to leave much room for error-- or even a minor mistake. The problem with the Cerrato regime wasn't that they chose badly... it's that over the long haul the Skins didn't have as many picks-- which meant less quality from quantity, less diamonds in the rough, and less salary-cap back-breakers. Unfortunately the Allen/Shanahan era begins with a sense of deja vu.
This franchise has long neglected its offensive line- since the drafting of double bookends Chris Samuels and Jon Jansen a decade ago. That doesn't mean they'll take Russell Okung or Trent Williams, but with the team replenishing skill positions in free agency and bringing in defensive help last year they'd look to revamp the OL this April.
Keep in mind when the Skins were taking three receivers in 2008, they passed on USC's Sam Baker, Virginia Tech's Duane Brown, Arizona State's Mike Pollak and my favorite-- USC OL sparkplug Chilo Rachal. All were taken in the first and second rounds of that draft and all have started for their respective NFL teams.
There's nothing quite like playoff overtime hockey-- and the Capitals enjoyed famine and feast in games one and two against Montreal. The third period rally Saturday was a postseason saving surge-- and credit coach Bruce Boudreau for pressing the right (Semyon Varlamov) buttons to turn the series around. Hello, Niklas Backstrom! Four goals and two assists over three games takes a little attention away from Alex Ovechkin; if the center stays hot Ovie will have a little more room to work as the postseason proceeds.
Nationals notes-- instead of last year's disastrous April, the Nationals are actually playing above .500 ball to start the season. Granted, thirteen games does not a season make, but they could be the sinkhole that is the Orioles. The steady hand and hot bat of Pudge Rodriguez is paying dividends (.450!) while Josh Willingham is turning in another solid year. The pitching might be suspect-- Jason Marquis guilty to the tune of a 20.52 ERA-- but at least the bullpen is better than 2009's cheap cigar.
O's woes-- ouch. Add an April west coast trip with late-night losses, an early season 12 game streak against Boston and the Yankees... and you have the recipe for an early season managerial change. At least that's the new Oriole Way.
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2 comments:
Is that the same Bruce Boudreau who as head coach in Manchester could not win a playoff round if his life depended on it.
Boudreau also had a cameo in "Slapshot" and will star in the Mickey Rooney Story II-- the later years.
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