Come Follow The Swinging Gate At It's New Location!

I know I haven't updated this space in a while, but Jack Anderson, my partner over at SBNationDC, Ed Sheahin and myself have teamed up for our new site, The Swinging Gate D.C. (yes, we kept the name of this blog). 

So while it's been fun starting my first ever blog on this space, I will now be taking my talents over to Wordpress, so come check out the new site at http://swinginggatedc.com . Thanks for all of your support!

- DShif

CBA Issues Put The Washington Redskins’ Favorite Time Of Year On Hold

A feature for SBNation DC

At the moment, it's going to be tough for these men to make big moves

 Mar 1, 2011 - The NFL free agency period is usually the Washington Redskins' favorite time of year. Over the majority of the past decade, Washington couldn’t wait for the end of the current league year to end and for the new one to begin, because that signaled the start of free agency.  

And that’s where the Redskins would shine. Year after year, it was commonplace to see Redskins One being flown out to a free agent near you to fulfill each and every one of his financial desires. If you were a big-name free agent, the burgundy and gold cross hairs were pointed directly at you and the money usually reeled you into the nation’s capital. The Redskins may not have won Super Bowl championships during those years, but they sure did earn a ton of ‘Offseason Championships’ trophies in that stretch.  

But this year? Not so much. The Redskins, as well as every other NFL team, are at the mercy of the current labor negotiations going on between the league and it’s players union. If a new Collective Bargaining Agreement isn’t done by this Thursday, we’re headed for a potential lockout.

I had a chance to speak with former Redskins salary cap analyst J.I. Halsell about how the CBA could potentially halt a very important offseason for the Redskins.   

"The CBA uncertainty makes it hard to plan right now about how to build your team in 2011 because you don’t what the rules or circumstances are going to be," Halsell said.

The mediated negotiations will resume this week, so NFL executives are still careful to reveal the progress that the NFL and the players union have made thus far. But according to Halsell, if you ask the player agents, it doesn’t look too good.

"The over arching theme with those guys was pessimism. [The agents felt that] this wasn’t going to get done any time soon, that this will be a long term chess match", he said.

That’s not what any NFL fan wants to hear.

The CBA will affect each team differently, with each team having their own set of issues as it relates to their roster. For the Redskins, one of the first things they need to do this offseason is resolve their two most dramatic situations from the 2010 season: The Albert Haynesworth and Donovan McNabb conflicts. Let’s take Haynesworth. How does the CBA uncertainty affect him?

"With the Haynesworth situation, he’s still part of the team. You’ve seen guys like Bob Sanders and Shaun Rogers getting released right now. Those are the types of guys that are getting released right now," Halsell said. "Particularly with a guy like Shaun Rogers on the market, who essentially is [direct] competition on the free agent market against a guy like Albert Haynesworth. If I’m a club, why would I give up a draft pick to trade for Albert Haynesworth when I can just find Shaun Rogers, without having to give that up?"

Great. So the Redskins, for now, are stuck with Haynesworth unless they finally decide to cut bait with him down the road.  

As for McNabb, his situation is a little more complicated. Even though his late-season benching signaled a likely end for him in Washington, with all the labor uncertainty happening at the moment, it’s not exactly time to send him out of D.C. just yet.  

"Contractually, they hold all the cards in [the McNabb] situation, and they don’t have to do anything with Donovan until they have to make a decision on his $10 million option bonus," Halsell said. "I read the reports that Donovan could be released pretty soon after the draft, but at the same time there’s nothing compelling the Redskins to do that."

Click HERE for the rest of the feature

A Simple Way Of Looking At The Washington Redskins' Offseason Needs

Phil Taylor/NT - Please draft him

Well, from all of the latest reports, despite the NFL and NFLPA are meeting vigorously in recent days, it looks like we could be heading for lockout city come next week.

Obviously, this hurts NFL teams from going after a lot of their needs in free agency. This year's free agent class is one of the largest and most talented in recent memory.

But should there be some resolution to the labor conflict, I've figured out a decent way of looking at the Redskins needs and how to go about addressing those needs. Let's take a look:

Tier 3 (least important) needs:

Running back (this is a Mike Shanahan coached team)

Tier 2 (mid level) needs:

Wide receiver
Cornerback (especially if Carlos Rogers leaves)
Free Safety
Right Tackle
Left Guard

Tier 1 (most important) needs:

Center
Right Guard
Right Defensive End
Nose Tackle
Outside Linebacker

If you notice, QB is missing from any of the lists. I'd say right now that's the most debatable need for the team. Depending on who you are, it's either the top it the 'Tier 1' needs or in the middle of the 'Tier 2' needs. It all goes back to the argument of 'If you're going to draft a QB, will he have the pieces around him to succeed?', if you think so, then sure, bring in a young QB. If not, hack away at the other needs.

As for me? I say you go into free agency (if there is one) with the idea of attacking as many Tier 3 and Tier 2 needs as possible. Try and get guys who fit the system(s), are upgrades over the current player manning that position, and come at a good value (a huge factor, in my opinion). You're not going to be able to address every single need this offseason, but bringing in quality players at good prices allow the team to have room to get more quality players. Bringing in 3-5 younger, quality players at good value is better than bringing in one player with a Haynesworth-type deal (thanks, captain obvious).

Anyway, that leaves you to go into the draft just hacking away at all your Tier 1 needs. I would love to see the Redskins simply go to town drafting the top D-Linemen/O-Linemen/Outside Linebackers coming out of college. If you can throw in some quality skill position guys/ a developmental QB later in the draft, that works too. I just hope they spend their top picks on their top needs, and everything else comes in the later rounds of the draft, if not free agency.

Obviously this is just one persons opinion. Different fans have different thoughts on the Redskins offseason needs.

Feel free to comment on which needs belong in which category.

Should The Washington Redskins Re-Sign Carlos Rogers?

A feature for SBNation DC

Feb 15, 2011 - Over the last few weeks, we have been going through some of the key Redskins free agents, who they should keep and who they should let walk. Last week, we talked about Rocky McIntosh and Jamaal Brown. This week the subject will be on cornerback Carlos Rogers.
  
Carlos Rogers’ 2010 Season

Before we go into his 2010 campaign, let’s go back in time a few years:

It’s January of 2006. The Redskins were in the divisional round of the playoffs (I know, right?), and were facing Matt Hasselbeck and the eventual NFC champion Seattle Seahawks. Then-MVP Shaun Alexander was knocked out of the game from a concussion he received early via a hit received from Marcus Washington and LaVar Arrington. The Redskins had the early momentum, forcing Seattle to put the game in the hands of Hasselbeck without his star running back. One of the games’ forgotten critical plays came early in the second quarter, on a Hasselbeck attempted pass. As he dropped back, Hasselbeck threw a pass late into the flat, and a young rookie cornerback named Carlos Rogers got a tremendous break on the ball. It looked like the youngster had a great shot to intercept the pass and in all likelihood, take it to the house.

But it wasn’t to be. Because he dropped it. He was in great position and he was unable to come up with what could have been a game changing play.

Moments like that would go on to define Rogers’ six-year career in Washington. He was always able to get in position to make plays, but more often than not, he was unable to come up with that game-changing interception. It happened so often that it became a common topic of discussion among Redskins fans over the years. The burgundy and gold faithful wondered if Rogers would ever put it together and pair his solid coverage skills with some consistent playmaking ability.

Flash forward to 2010, Rogers’ contract year, and Redskins fans were treated to, well, more of the same.

As the season started, new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett seemed to be a big fan of Rogers’ strengths, and didn’t focus much on his weaknesses:

"I'm a fan of Carlos Rogers," Haslett said. "He's got really good cover skills. I think he's a special type of guy. I can see why they drafted him in the first round. Here's a guy that's big, long, fast, tough. You don't find too many guys like that."

Haslett saw the sixth-year cornerback as one who is physical with receivers at the line of scrimmage, can tackle well and can even come on some cornerback blitzes. Rogers was able to do a good job at excelling in those areas during the season.

There were moments where he was able to take receivers out of the game, and forced opposing quarterbacks to rely on other options. And when it was time to get physical, he did. The best example was in Philadelphia when he and the rest of the secondary were tasked with stopping the small but speedy Eagles receiving corps that featured big play threats DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. He was able consistently put his hands on receivers and jam them at the line of scrimmage throughout the game, and as a result, effectively took them out of the contest. 

Click HERE for the rest of the feature.

Is It Too Early To Start Talking About A Laron Landry Contract Extension?

He's a beast. But how much is he worth?

The past week or so has been much to do about the Redskins free agents, potential free agent signings, and who they might want to take with the 10th pick in the 2011 draft.

But could one of their biggest investments this offseason be an extension for strong safety Laron Landry?

I know that the Redskins have much more important issues right now than whether or not to extend a current member of the roster. They have to gear up for the scouting combine, evaluate their own free agents, potentially re-sign some players, and finally, figure out who they like in the upcoming free agent class.

Laron's walking into his final year on his contract, and the Redskins will have a choice to let the season to play out to see if he can stay healthy and improve on last year's success. That's certainly a good way to go if you're the Redskins, but given their current cap situation (once there is a cap again), they have plenty of room right now to extend the guy, and potentially at a better price.

There are two scenario's that could play out if the Redskins choose to play out the season without extending Landry:

The first scenario is that he plays lights out, even more than he did in 2010, while showing he can stay healthy for a full season. That in turn would skyrocket his value and force the Redskins to either pay him big or be forced to let him walk (highly unlikely).

The second scenario could be that Landry doesn't get over his achilles heel issues, still plays decently, but not to the level he was playing at in 2010. His value would obviously be lowered a bit, and the Redskins re-sign him to a fair long term deal.

So the question is, which of these scenarios is more likely to happen? That's always the gamble when you are in a situation like this. Pay him huge if he breaks out, or pay him less if he levels off. Obviously, the Redskins aren't going to hope his play levels off, they'd hope he improves on his 2010 campaign. And even tough they don't know how the upcoming season will play out, if the Redskins believe he is about to have another breakout season, you gotta lock him before the season starts to get good value.

Either way, Landry's gonna get his money eventually. He is arguably one of the big cornerstone players on this roster along with Trent Williams and Brian Orakpo, and will probably be paid like one. Whether it's before the season starts, during the season, or just after, Laron's pockets will be getting fatter thanks to the Redskins (at least, it better be thanks to the Redskins).

Should The Washington Redskins Re-Sign Rocky McIntosh And Jammal Brown?

A feature for SBNationDC

Feb 8, 2011 - Last week we started going through some of the key free agents the Redskins will have to make tough decisions on. I went through why the Redskins should bring back Santana Moss, and it looks like the Redskins decided to listen to my advice (NOT). This week we’ll look through two more intriguing names on the roster that also happen to be free agents: Rocky McIntosh and Jamaal Brown.

Rocky McIntosh’s 2010 season:

McIntosh was one of the players who was probably hit the hardest when Mike Shanahan made the decision to go from a 4-3 base defense to a 3-4. There was some confusion early about whether McIntosh was better on the inside or the outside. The decision was made that he would man the inside along with middle linebacker London Fletcher.

The decision yielded mixed results. On the bright side, McIntosh finished second on the team in tackles with 110 and even had two sacks to his credit. He had moments where he showed flashes of his prior successes in the 4-3, particularly when it came to applying pressure on the quarterback.  

Unfortunately for McIntosh, when he struggled, it wasn’t always the most pleasant thing to watch. There were several moments in games this where he was caught out of position repeatedly. Whether it was covering a tight end or a running back coming out of the backfield, McIntosh looked a step slow at times in the new scheme. Whether that was because he was adjusting to the 3-4 or because he was simply put in a position that exploited his weaknesses (specifically coverage), there were some moments during the season where he looked bewildered.

What may be the most ironic thing about McIntosh’s 2010 season was that while he finished second in the team in tackles, he may have actually have been the second worst tackler on the team this season behind Kareem Moore. He was far more consistent in years past, but for some reason, he had a hard time wrapping up ball carriers this year. That’s not a good sign for any linebacker.

So Should He Stay Or Go?

The 28 year old linebacker walks into free agency on iffy ground. He's still a solid player, but he probably is more suited for a 4-3 scheme rather than Jim Haslett's 3-4. There were some real struggles this year for Rocky, some of which may be too glaring for the coaching staff to believe he could improve next season.

Not only does a so-so performance this season hurt McIntosh, but the potential emergence of his replacement could be one of the main factors as to why he could be a goner. Rookie linebacker Perry Riley didn't get much playing time at that inside linebacker spot this season, but when he was in there, he showed some flashes of someone who could eventually start somewhere down the road. I wouldn't be surprised if the Redskins truly view Riley as the long term option at that position. That, along with spotty play from McIntosh, may be enough to convince the Redskins front office to let McIntosh walk in free agency.

Given that the Redskins need more players who can effectively play in this 3-4 scheme, letting McIntosh go is probably the right move to make.

Click HERE for the rest of the feature.

No Matter Who Wins the Snyder vs. City Paper War, Washington Redskins Fans Have Already Lost

And everyone's right back to bashing you, Mr. Snyder

At this point, everyone is aware of Daniel M. Snyder's case against the Washington City Paper. And judging by the fervor that the Snyder camp is attacking this issue with, this situation only looks to get even uglier than it already is right now.

But I don't want to talk about the actual case here. The big point to me is this: it doesn't matter who's right or who's wrong. Even though it looks like Snyder will be the biggest loser from all of this, in truth it might actually be the Redskins fanbase that are actually hurt most.

Remember, over a year ago, the fanbase had a revolt against ownership, and demanded that he hand over control to real football people who know what they were doing. Well, everyone got their wish when Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan were hired. And with Snyder's relatively quiet 2010 season, it looked like all things were peachy when it came to owner involvement (or lack thereof).

Then, of course, this happens. All this incident does is brings back old wounds and pours salt on them. The (relatively few) Snyder apologists will take his side, saying the City paper needs to get their facts straight and stop attacking the owner to promote their agenda. For the Snyder bashers (and there still are plenty of them), all it does is add more fuel to the fire. 

It's a shame, because for most of the 2010 season, the conversation was starting to shift away from ownership. Yes, there were certainly some down times this past season. However, all the frustration, anger and vitriol went Mike Shanahan's way, and that's usually the way it's supposed to be in an NFL franchise. Fans usually take it up with the coach, especially when he has the kind of power that Shanahan does.

But now we're back to talking about Snyder, and that's really unfortunate. We have to sit here and talk about how he hasn't changed at all and how he's a still a thin-skinned jerk and how his PR people are tools and yadda yadda yadda. To be honest, I'm quite sick of it. The entire episode in a way reverts the conversation to what it was prior to the new regime coming to town, and that's a place I don't want to go back to.

Is the owner a good owner? No. Until he wins, he will never be considered a good owner, and incidents like these don't help his cause either. But I do wish this thing can get resolved as soon as humanly possible so that the focus can be on what's the most important thing to the fans: this regime successfully rebuilding the Redskins into a contender.