Preseason 09. Feel the pressure.

So, better late than never.

Still moving, and I didn't have any internet yesterday.

The Redskins announced their preseason schedule on Monday, and woah. Talk about a punishing schedule. Think about the hardest hitting teams in the league. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Now look at this schedule.

Dates	Opponent	Time
August 13	@ Baltimore Ravens	7:30 p.m. ET
August 20-24	Pittsburgh Steelers	TBD
August 28	New England Patriots	8 p.m. ET (CBS)
September 3-4	@ Jacksonville Jaguars	TBD

Ravens, Steelers, Patriots and Jaguars. At this point, I'm just hoping for no serious injuries.

Anyway, here's a quick breakdown.

@Ravens - The most interesting Redskins storyline in this game (other than the rookies) might just be backup quarterback Colt Brennan, who will no doubt play quite a bit (starters usually play a few series and then sit).

vs. Steelers - Super Bowl champs head to FedEx again. Hey maybe this time actual Redskins fans will buy tickets, and not be embarrassed by Terrible-Towel flinging Pittsburgh fans.

vs. Patriots - Tom Brady will get extended action (as most starters play at least a half in the third preseason game). I don't see this ending well.

@Jags - I really could care less about this game. Might be interesting for Jags fans since the Redskins were "the team of the South" not too long ago. Starters won't play long. Another Colt Brennan special.

Good to think about actual football again.

zorn: campbell our dude. seriously?

Sorry, I've been in the midst of moving and haven't been able to get into all of this, but Jim Zorn not only recently said that the team was not interested in Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, but Zorn has now committed himself to Redskins QB Jason Campbell.

If Zorn can get Campbell playing like he should be playing, everything will be all good. But my feeling is that Zorn has now attached himself to a sinking ship. Sadly.

I don't have great confidence in Campbell to do what he needs to do.

I hope I'm surprised this season. Because if Campbell doesn't play well, some fans will be calling for him to be replaced. And soon.

you can not win if you do not try

Since I need a break from the 24-hour "Will Cutler be traded" watch ...

The Redskins have been holding some offseason workouts this week, and it was reported this week that every single receiver was missing from the workouts.

Seriously, what the frak. Seriously.

I don't really care about Santana Moss and Randle El. Those guys probably don't need to be there. And James Thrash was off in Hawaii picking the new Players Association rep.

But guys like Malcolm Kelly, right, and Devin Thomas?

You both pretty much sucked it up last year, and now you're skipping practices?

Yeah, real nice, fellas. Real nice.

the (Cutler) story that will not die

So I wrote yesterday that there was no way in heck that the Redskins would go after Denver quarterback Jay Cutler. Absolutely no way.

Today, the Redskins seemingly want to prove me wrong.

It started as a rumor Tuesday afternoon on the rumor-crazy Bleacher Report. (For those that don't know, BR is sort of like Wikipedia, where anyone can post anything, so it can be a little untrustworthy). The BR headline:

Jay Cutler to DC: Three Way Trade Has Five Players Moving and Two Draft Picks

That got my internet ears perked up, no doubt. But the story involved such crazy trade speculation, there was no way it was true. I mean, Chris Cooley to Cleveland? Laron Landry to Denver? Redskins sending Jason Campbell to the Browns? No way, right?

Later in the day, Redskins defacto GM Vinny Cerrato said on the Washington Times' blog that "Jason is our quarterback" seemingly ending the rumors.

Except ...

DCExaminer posted late Tuesday that Redskins owner Dan Snyder definitely wants to get rid of Campbell and is trying to work out a deal to bring Cutler to D.C. In a three-way trade. DCEx isn't the Washington Post, or the Times even, but the article is written by John Keim and Rick Snider, two veteran Redskins writers. Keim, I believe, was at the Richmond Times-Dispatch for quite a while, and Snider is an ex-WashTimes columnist.

These rumors just won't end!

Both the BleacherReport rumors and the DCExaminer rumors involve 3-team trades. BR says it's with Denver and Cleveland, DCEx says it's with Denver and Kansas City.

Not sure that either BR or DCEx are very trustworthy. The Washington Times is usually a bit more reliable, and it's the only one with a real person quoted (Cerrato).

ESR take: Stay tuned. Something smells fishy.

Cutler wants out of Denver. Would you want him?

unhappy in denver

So Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler wants to get out of Dodge (Denver).

There has been some discussion about whether or not the Redskins would be interested in the Pro Bowl QB.

While the Redskins have Jason Campbell, and Campbell performed adequately last season, some Redskins fans have been fairly vocal in wanting to upgrade the position.

You can check out the stats for Cutler and for Campbell. Here's a breakdown:

Cutler
Years: 3
Yards: 9,024
Pct: 62.5
TDs: 54
INTs: 37

Campbell
Years: 4
Yards: 7,242
Pct: 59.7
TDs: 35
INTs: 23

Cutler has more of everything in one year less than Campbell (though Campbell didn't play at all his rookie year). The only thing that Campbell seems better about is not throwing as many interceptions as Cutler.

Statistics, however, can often be misleading. For instance, Campbell has played in mostly run-oriented offenses. Cutler, in Denver, played in offenses that threw the ball a lot, especially last season.

ESR take: While I do think that Cutler has way more potential in coach Jim Zorn's system than Campbell does, I don't think the price the Broncos would charge for Cutler would be worth it.

The Broncos would want either some serious draft picks or some serious players. The Redskins can afford to give up neither.

If the Redskins really want a new quarterback (and I'm not sure they do -- yet), they should first look at Colt Brennan, who they already possess. He's raw, but I thought he looked pretty excellent last preseason.

The Cutler-to-the-Redskins talk should end. It's not going to happen.

Other Redskins news

• Clinton Portis, who was not expected to work out with the team this offseason, is working out with the team.
• A few restricted free agents have signed or are about to sign offers from the Redskins.

• UPDATE: Renaldo Wynn, former Skin defensive end, agreed to terms. I have to say, I don't really like this signing much. The team had been talking with Phillip Daniels, another aging defensive end, and I had no problem with that. But two aging defensive ends? Not sure about that.

From the "OF COURSE!" file:

Albert Haynesworth has been indicted on traffic charges in Nashville.

Not sure what this really could mean quite yet, but suffice to say that it's fairly embarrassing for the Redskins.

I wonder if the team knew this was coming down the pipe?

UPDATE: Doesn't look great for Haynesworth. Here's a copy of the police report about it. Props to Hogs Haven.

3rd party witness says that Haynesworth was basically driving recklessly.

Owens a BILL?!

While not strictly Redskins oriented:

I can not imagine what possessed Terrell Owens to sign with Buffalo.

I don't care. I do know that the Skins don't play Buffalo next season, and that makes me glad to not have to face Owens.

Not that I think that Owens will be successful with the Bills. In fact, I think it might be one of the worst pairings ever.

But Owens seems to have good games against the Skins (remember that 38-yard run Owens had as a 49er in 2003, or that game in 2007 where Owens had four touchdowns? Yeah.)

But seriously.

If Owens couldn't get along with Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo, can you imagine what he will do with one Trent Edwards? Should make for some good laughs, at least.

By the way, here's what Owens said after he signed with the Bills:

"I'm leaving America's team [for] North America's team."

Don't ask me what that means. If he's referring to Canada, I think Canadians like the CFL more than the NFL. (I think.)

Other Redskins news

• The team has offered a contract to free-agent defensive end Phillip Daniels. As I've said, I'm all in favor of bringing him back. Good, solid player.
• This video below involved Chris Cooley and Antwaan Randle El. And Washington Capital (that's hockey) Alex Ovechkin. Pretty funny commercial in the making:

Destruction on Set from Tanner Cooley on Vimeo.

"no interest," you say?

Eating popcorn, teams' souls

The Redskins say they have no interest in recently released Terrell "Team Cancer" Owens.

Darn, and Redskins' fans were going crazy to sign him.

It's good that Redskins owner Dan Snyder knows that just because he's a big name doesn't mean that he should be signed.

But, do the Redskins need help at receiver? Santana Moss is excellent, but is he truly a No. 1 guy? What about Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly? Are they ready to be NFL receivers? Not last year.

My prediction is that the team will take a look at a veteran receiver, but it probably won't be a well-known guy.


Other Redskins news

• The team signed punter Dirk (yes, Dirk) Johnson, who ranked near the bottom of the league in punting last season. Woo-freaking-hoo.
• Seattle OT Ray Willis visited Redskins Park Thursday.

Evans is outta here

Gone, baby, gone

Demetric Evans signed with the 49ers. Since the link goes to ProFootballTalk, it's probably wise to take the news as a "probably" signs.

But, anyway, that leaves the team with just four defensive ends on the roster:

• Andre Carter
• Alex Buzbee
• Rob Jackson
• Chris Wilson

Uhh. So ... is Jason Taylor available?

Just sayin'.

Other Redskins stuff

• Phillip Daniels wants to be back, and says he's ready to go. I say bring him back.
• Brian Dawkins is no longer an Eagle. I'm dancing in the streets.
• Terrell Owens is apparently cut by Dallas. Where does he go? Giants might be a good fit, them missing Burress and all. Tired of him.

A free-agent look

The release of Jason Taylor got me thinking about defensive ends. The Redskins now need one.

And, if the Redskins were smart, they'd take a long, hard look at free agent Kalimba Edwards.

He's still young (29), tall (6-6) and hungry (He's played for Oakland and Detroit - anyone who wins looks good).

Don't know anything about Edwards?

Think about Dwight Freeney. Edwards is similar. Speed rusher. Situational, maybe. But the Redskins were 28th in the league last season in sacks and can use all the help they can get.

Taylor exits, stage right.

Another year, another second-round draft pick thrown to waste.

Jason Taylor was released by the team Monday. Should anyone be surprised? I'll be honest and admit I was.

At the start of the offseason, I figured he was a goner, but the team said they wanted to keep him, and he said he wanted to stay, and then everything seemed hunky-dory. Then came Monday.

It's disappointing.

I'm disappointed in the Redskins for showing their usual brashness in signing him seemingly without thought as to whether or not he fit in their defensive scheme (20/20 hindsight, eh?).

Disappointing in Taylor for not living up to his potential. Injuries, yes, but even when on the field, Taylor never looked comfortable.

Disappointing in the Redskins again for not working with Taylor to be able keep him. Expensive, yes, but dude has game. No doubt. Gotta figure out how to make it work with a player like that.

The reason the team finally gave up on Taylor, they said, is because he didn't want to work out with the team in the offseason because he lives in Miami. Taylor also didn't want to take a pay cut.

The decision leaves the team with yet another hole to fill.

Draft implication

The signings of Haynesworth, Dockery and Hall kind of had me feeling like a "best possible athlete" type of pick at No. 13. Now, though, there is a big hole at defensive end to fill. And offensive line. And linebacker.

Feels like the Redskins kind of took one step forward and two steps back.

Until next time.

winner or loser?

The first few days of free agency brought the Redskins a needed defensive tackle and a needed guard (a back-in-B&G Derrick Dockery). The team also brought back DeAngelo Hall.

What's not to like?

Let's take a look. USA Today makes us winners, but Yahoo.com makes us losers on two counts. But Yahoo also has Haynesworth and Hall as winners.

What's your opinion?

I think it would be nice to go back a year later and see how a team did in free agency. Sure, the Redskins spent a heck of a lot of money on Haynesworth, but if the team wins some playoff games, is it worth it? If they win the Superbowl?

The Dolphins, for instance, were a huge winner last season in free agency with Chad Pennington.

Now, if the Redskins are worse off next year at this time, Yahoo may just be right.