Boldly Hoping Where No Hope Has Helped Before, Vol 1

Welcome to the first installment of what should be a highly speculative, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey style of Redskins' offseason coverage. In this edition of Boldly Hoping, let's line up a dream scenario for the draft.

Forget for a moment that Vinny thinks teams should not draft for need. Forget for a moment that Vinny thinks drafting defensive linemen is dumb. Damnit...forget for a moment Vinny is our default-GM. Ahhhhhhhhhhh...

What if we were to attack an area in the same manner as we did with receiver in last year's draft? In this case, the line of scrimmage. In our fantasy scenario, we propose a few trades to better our draft position. I would like to see Carlos Rogers come back. I really would. But the rumblings are that he is unhappy with his spot on the defense (presumably behind DeAngelo Hall), and it looks like the money he thinks he should get is about to go to Hall. If the CBA situation comes to a head next year, he loses his unrestricted free agency. This offseason would be a good time for the Skins to get a pretty decent draft pick for him, and the team trading for Rogers could turn that frown upside down with a new long-term contract. Everyone wins.

And what about Randle-El? What would his trade value be? Surely it does not reside in his return abilities. But he is a decent receiver. On a team with a pass-happy offense, he could fill the Wes Welker-type role (albeit as a 3rd receiver). Small, fast, smart, hard to keep up with underneath. It's not that we can't use Randle-El, it is simply there is a MAJOR problem at Redskins Park that needs to be handled during THIS offseason. The team simply feels compelled to start older veterans that are healthy and getting paid. This past season, you wouldn't hear me argue that Devin Thomas was ready to supplant Randle-El in the lineup. But next year, he simply must be given those reps. You can't convince me that Chad Rhinehart couldn't have done the job Pete Kendall did for us on the line. You can't convince me that Stephon Heyer is/was not at least as craptacular as Jansen was all season (when healthy). A youth movement means going with younger guys. Bugel is notorious for his loyalty to the older guys. Now it looks like Kendall could be gone, and what do we really know about Rhinehart?

Rogers will get us our 2nd rounder back I would bet. Randle-El could get us a 4th or 5th rounder I hope. If we traded future picks this offseason, I would like to see them traded to acquire picks in this year's draft (as opposed to veteran players). Assuming we could net a 2nd rounder in this fashion, let's imagine a 1st day with one 1st rounder, two 2nd round picks, and one 3rd round selection. With those picks, here is what i want to see: 1 OT, 2 DE/OLB, 1 OG/C.

From what I am reading, it appears that there will be some pretty decent offensive line depth in the upcoming draft. If that ends up being the case, let's take the best DE/OLB prospect available at #13 overall. A Brian Cushing from USC or Aaron Curry from Wake Forest would be huge for us, since Marcus Washington seems to be on his way out the door. We missed the boat on Shawne Merriman and DeMarcus Ware...who knows if these guys can fill that mold, but I think that should be our goal.

In the 2nd round, we go for the best OL (preferrably Tackle) available. Given the rush of skill players into the draft this year (underclassmen QB, RB, and WR), a decent crop of otherwise first-round worthy offensive linemen are getting pushed into the 2nd round. If we can get someone to start opposite Samuels on Day One, we win.

With our remaining pick(s) in the top 3 rounds, I would love to see us go after a Center and another DE/OLB.

Let's face it, they are going to let Samuels and Fletcher play until their wheels fall off--and probably rightfully so. Jason Taylor has 1 more year with us, perhaps. We need some talent to be able to come in next year and solidify the right side of the offensive line and bolster a linebacking corps that will be heavily relied upon in the pass rush, both from the end (with their hands on the ground), as well from the LB spots.

FOUR impact players on the first day of the draft--at the area where we need it most in 2009? That is Bold Hoping indeed.

We will certainly refine the segment and focus harder on actual events and stategies either employed by the Redskins or woefully neglected by them. Please feel free to add your own thoughts as we have all come to realize, if Vinny can do it, it just can't be that hard.

Now Look Here...There's Only One Ball Coach

At Coach Zorn's press conference to explain why he called himself the "Worst Coach In America", shoes started flying. With Vinny on one side and Snyder on the other (you can't see him over the podium), the pool of reporters started stirring and out emerged the Ole' Ball Coach himself, Steve Spurrier.

As Spurrier hurled the first of two shoes at Zorn's head, he screamed, "If anyone's the worst coach in America, it's me! You wish you could have invented using the Fun N' Gun against the best defenses in the NFL! How dare you infringe on my territory of coaching crappiness!"

Zorn was able to avoid being hit by any of the shoes. Asked about the incident, Zorn said, "All I can say is that Steve's shoes are very, very, very small. We were able to trace them back to a local Stride Rite for Kids. He must have an incredibly tiny penis."

From his position alongside Zorn, Vinny Cerrato was able to provide this insight, "From where I stood it looked like what Spurrier was trying to do was to try and, you know, project...kind of toss, if you will, the shoes in Jim's direction. In that situation what you want to do is try and move your body...try and you know, kind of twist yourelf in such a way as the shoe kind of, you know, kind of fails to make contact with the body."

Snyder, as always, had no comment.

Scouting Punters for the 2009 Draft

Now that the Redskins are looking forward to the 2009 draft, Ahern thought it would be beneficial to help out Vinny in scouting this year's punters. Since punters qualify for 6th round picks, it only makes sense we do our homework. Here is this year's top class ranked in order:


#1: T.J. Conley - Senior (Idaho Vandals):
2008 ALL-WAC FIRST TEAM. Excellent distance and hang-time.

YEAR	PUNTS	AVG	LNG	YDS	NET
2005	28	40.0	65	1121	40.0
2006	67	39.4	66	2640	39.4
2007	68	40.3	67	2741	40.3
2008	58	47.4	74	2751	47.7

#2: Ross Thevenot - Junior (Tulane)

YEAR	PUNTS	AVG
2008	45	45.80

Thevenot, a Punter/Kicker from Lake Charles, in one game, averaged 56 yards per punt on three attempts for 168 yards, placing one inside the 20. He also connected on field goals of 32 and 43 yards while converting all four PATs. His 43-yard field goal with 4:01 to play was a season-long and his 71-yard punt was the longest by a Green Wave player since 2003.


#3: Justin Brantly - Senior (Texas A&M)

YEAR	PUNTS	AVG	LNG	YDS	NET
2005	46	43.2	80	1989	43.2
2006	50	44.3	62	2215	44.3
2007	56	44.2	67	2475	44.2
2008	51	45.7	63	2331	45.7

Learning from the Past (in all seriousness):
There is an amazing truth I discovered about last year's draft, which is rather sickening and I feel Vinny needs to explain. Like the Redskins, the Broncos had their eye pre-draft on landing a solid Punter.

There were 4 punters that finished with a higher average than Durant Brooks (45.06 avg on 65 punts) last year...the winner being Kevin Huber of CIN (46.88 on 57). The #2 overall punter of the NCAA last year was Brett Kern of Toledo. One of the reasons the Broncos liked Brett Kern was that he kicked in the MAC, your basic cold-weather conference. He thrived under those circumstances, leading the nation at one-point in average yardage as a senior. Playing patient, the Broncos got their guy. Guess what round the Broncos drafted him? FREE AGENT. They never had to use a pick. He is now ranked #6 this year overall in NFL punting with ZERO blocks or touchbacks. To me, that is as embarrassing as it gets.

Kern's stats for DENVER this year:

YEAR	PUNTS	AVG	LNG	YDS	In20
2008	44	46.9	64	2066	13

Note: Plackemeier is ranked #31 with a 41.5 average, an abysmal 7 touchbacks, and only 9 punts inside the 20. I find this an embarrassingly low number since Plackeybomber is forced to punt 9 times a game it seems.