Washington Redskins NFL Odds

The Washington Redskins were at the bottom of one of the NFL’s most competitive divisions, but are looking to this offseason to bring in a game breaking rookie and some solid skill guys around him to help this club contend.

The Redskins are another team that has a lot going for them, but it is still a mystery how well Robert Griffin III will react to his first few NFL games. The Redskins still have a stellar defense, but a Week 1 matchup against the Saints in New Orleans is not at all what the doctor ordered for RG3’s first real game as a pro.

The Saints are the big favorites in this one, as New Orleans is laying -9, with a total of 50 ½ points. While the under looks intriguing at first glance, there is a chance the Saints take out all of their offseason frustrations on the Redskins. This one is subject to change, because of the contract talks with Drew Brees, but assuming that Brees is under center in Week 1, the Skins don’t stand a chance. Lay the points.

My Pick: Saints -9

The Redskins beat the eventual Super Bowl champions twice last season, and that is quite possibly the only thing they had to be proud about from last season. However, there is a nice buzz surrounding the Redskins this season, and some seem to think they might just surprise a few people in the NFC East. RGIII is gearing up for a great rookie season, and the improvements the Skins made on defense last season, along with the emergence of Roy Helu will make for a nice building block.

The Skins also still have Santana Moss, who was injured a lot last season, but still put up big numbers. There are some questions surrounding Moss, as not everyone is sold on him being the Skins’ number one option. Washington brought in Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan, and drafted Leonard Hankerson, an eventual number one. Although I think Moss will prove his doubters wrong this upcoming season, with all the help around him, it might be tough to get the looks he was getting last season. I think Moss’ “demotion,” has been blown out of proportion, however. He will still be getting almost double digit targets, and with the new faces in town, it might just free him up a bit too.

It comes as no surprise that the Redskins decided to take RG3 as their first pick, and Mike Shanahan has stated that Robert Griffin will be starting this season. It looks as if Rex Grossman and Fourth-Round pick Kirk Cousins will be placed second and third sport on the rotation.

In a recent interview, Coach Shanahan stated that “He’s the starter. Period.”  Everyone could sense the urgency in the Redskins camp leading up to the draft, as this was a team with one goal in mind, and it was clear they were going to do whatever it tool to land Griffin.

“"We're going to adjust our system to what he feels comfortable with, and we'll watch him grow and we'll do what we feel like he can do and what he does the best: said Coach Shanahan. “One thing the NFL is not used to is a quarterback with his type of speed and his type of throwing ability, so I think we can do some things that people haven't done."

There is no doubt that opposing teams are eager to see how both RG3 and Andrew Luck live up to the high expectations. It looks as if the Redskins are putting all of their eggs in one basket, and after the McNabb experiment, this is one basket that the management cannot afford to drop. 

Washington Redskins NFL Odds to win Super Bowl XLVII - 50/1

Much like other NFL teams, the Skins have been quiet this past week, as they gear up for this month’s draft. As I mentioned in last week’s update, the Skins will almost certainly target Robert Griffin III with the 2^nd overall pick, but there are multiple other needs with this team. This draft has a bit more intensity surrounding it, because of the salary cap hits that the Skins will almost certainly have going into the next two seasons. Let’s take a look at some of the targets that the Skins will be looking at come draft time.

Draft Buzz

Just go ahead and ink in Robert Griffin III into the two hole for the Redskins, but who will be after him? The Skins have made some good offseason moves so far, but they still need help in the skill area and in their secondary. 

The secondary is an area I think they will address after Griffin III. The problem is, they don’t have a second round pick this season because of the trade to move up in this year’s draft, and they don’t pick again until the third round and 69^th overall. 

Safety will be the major concern after the departures of both Oshiomogho Atogwe and LaRon Landry. The Skins did sign an aging Brandon Meriweather, but if they don’t draft a safety in the third or fourth round, it would surprise me a lot. 

Free agent/trade news 

One concern I see for this team is their veteran middle linebacker London Fletcher. Fletcher is still unsigned and he might be looking for a little more money then the Skins are willing to shell out for a soon to be 37 year-old. Fletcher had another great season for the Redksins last year, and had 166 tackles, (league leading) 1.5 sacks, two FF and 2 interceptions. If the Skins don’t resign him, it may be a big hit to their defense. 

A season of beating the Super Bowl champs and no one else for the Redskins looks to be behind them, and there is actually some limited optimism surrounding the Redskins this season. Some free agent signings and one big trade has brought upon both skepticism and optimism surrounding this NFC East team.

This offseason blog will cover offseason news, transactions and buzz surrounding this team for April’s upcoming draft. We’ll start with the biggest news surrounding Washington this offseason, which happens to be a transaction and draft news combined.

It was quite evident that the Rams were going to shop the second overall pick in this season’s NFL Draft and the Redskins jumped on it. For the low, low price of three first round picks and a second round pick, the Redskins were able to move up four slots to second overall in the draft, where they will draft either Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III.

It is almost certain that the Skins will get Griffin III, after the Indianapolis Colts take Andrew Luck #1. This does a few things for the Skins. First, it handicaps them just a little bit in the next few years, because they don’t have a first round pick until 2015. However, the upside is very high if they will have Griffin III taking the snaps.

Griffin III is one of the fastest players in the draft, and under center for the Skins, he will pose a huge threat to opposing defenses. He is the first real quarterback drafted by the Shanahan crew, and if he is able to live up to expectations, the Skins could be one of the best turnaround stories of the NFL next season.

I am under the school of thought that he might be just as much upside as downside. We all saw what happened to a small Michael Vick this past season, and Griffin III is of a similar size and skill set. He may be fast, but everyone in the NFL is fast and can hit hard. I am hoping Griffin III can play his style and remain healthy and on the field. 

Offseason trades/free agent signings 

Other then the big trade for moving up the draft board, the Skins have been steadily trying to help out their offensive skill positions. This team wasn’t a bad defensive team last season, so trying to improve upon one of the NFL’s worst offenses last season is a top priority.

Robert Griffin III will help out a lot if he is ready to start week one, but he also needs weapons around him. He will already have Santana Moss, but the Skins have also signed receivers Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan. This will only help take some of the pressure off of a potential rookie quarterback.

The Skins have also done a little work on their defense, signing free agent cornerback Cedric Griffin and they also brought back their own defensive end Adam Carriker at the tune of four years and $20 million ($7 million guaranteed). 

General News

The one other big news surrounding this team is the penalties brought down by the NFL in regards to the salary cap front loading before the lockout. Just a month before the draft, and an hour before free agency began, the Redskins were informed by the league that they would be hit with a $36 million cap space penalty, which they can spread out throughout the next two seasons.

The Cowboys are also named in the infractions, but their cap space hit is only $10 million (chunk change, right). Both teams allegedly pushed spending into the uncapped year to save money last season. 

Both the Cowboys and Skins have filed a joint grievance against the NFL, but the owners voted Tuesday to uphold the penalties against both teams. The team and head coach Mike Shanahan have been silent in this issue, but once the appeals are done, I’m sure we will have a more concrete view of how the cap situation for the Skins will end. Keep an eye out for next week’s blog to cover just that!