Hard Decisions: The solution to the $18MM offseason puzzle

[Schneed10]

I dunno. I think the tendency for us Redskins fans over the years has become 'what changes can we make to get better'. That made sense when we weren't very good, but that's not the case now. I think we're not used to it.

With the character of this team and the leader we have in RG3, personnel moves are not the #1 way to get better, in my opinion. It's just the opposite, it's keeping them together, and letting Griffin continue to inspire them through work and effort and grit to get better.

We complain about our line and sure there are ways it can improve, but we were one of the top offenses in the league this year. Our biggest problem was pass defense, and just by allowing Meriweather and Orakpo to get healthy, we immediately take some pressure off that problem.

Continuity, continuity, continuity. Change for its own sake is not the answer for me. We were 10-6, and if the season were longer I don't think our loss total would have changed. There's something about this mix of players we have, it just worked. I wouldn't be eager to let Kory L go, he was integral in a new franchise rushing record.

We can improve just by letting Griffin grow. Let's keep a long term view and keep the financial flexibility. Remember, in three years Griffin is going to command a contract in the Manning, Rodgers, Flacco tier.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Are you rolling with Hankerson as your #2?

Jones is interesting but I'm not sure I trust him. It probably makes the most sense for him and the Bengals if he stays there.

Toler is on our radar from what I've heard.

Not sure I like McClain's off the field drama.

Hankersons my no. 2, yeah, but I'm keeping Moss in the fold to play out his contract, which kind of limits Morgan's field time anyway.

[SFREDSKIN]

Not resign Alexander? Put the crack pipe down, he's the heart of the ST, a valuable jack of all trades and a respected leader/captain. Rather see Hall, Moss, Grossman, Brown, Carriker get cut. Alexander has earned the right to be a Redskin for life!!!!

[skinsfaninok]

Originally Posted by SFREDSKIN

Not resign Alexander? Put the crack pipe down, he's the heart of the ST, a valuable jack of all trades and a respected leader/captain. Rather see Hall, Moss, Grossman, Brown, Carriker get cut. Alexander has earned the right to be a Redskin for life!!!!

Zo also stepped up huge on D

[SFREDSKIN]

Originally Posted by skinsfaninok

Zo also stepped up huge on D

I'm shocked that people don't appreciate this guy, a class act just like RGIII, Morris and a great all around player willing to do anything for the team. He' s one my favorite Redskins and would be extremely pissed if he's not resigned.

[Ruhskins]

Given our cap situation, we can't afford to have an expensive ST player. Unless Zo becomes a starting ILB next to Riley, we should let him get paid somewhere else. Unless he REALLY wants to, I don't think is in the position of giving us hometown discounts.

[skinsfaninok]

Originally Posted by SFREDSKIN

I'm shocked that people don't appreciate this guy, a class act just like RGIII, Morris and a great all around player willing to do anything for the team. He' s one my favorite Redskins and would be extremely pissed if he's not resigned.

Yeah plus he has earned the chance to play for a winning redskins team, after all the bad years he's been through.

[Ruhskins]

Originally Posted by skinsfaninok

Yeah plus he has earned the chance to play for a winning redskins team, after all the bad years he's been through.

Zo has earned his chance to get a better contract period, I just feel that it won't be with the Redskins.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Ruhskins

Zo has earned his chance to get a better contract period, I just feel that it won't be with the Redskins.

How much better though? His last deal was 3 yrs for $3.8M. I wouldn't go above 3 yrs $5 or $6M max.

I don't foresee teams beating down his door to give him anything too significant. I can see him returning here with a reasonable deal.

[SBXVII]

I would file the law suit. See what we can keep or recoup.

Then I'd look at replacing the aged players. Out with the old in with the new and young. Keep getting younger and faster.

I'd look to rework some key expensive contracts pushing this years money into next year with the intent to free up more space to try and pick up some key FA's. I'd construct the contracts so that they get decent money this year and next year their payday kicks in. Then pray the FA accepts the offer.

I'd look for:

Tackle (RT)
CB
FS
WR- maybe if there is a viable one in FA

otherwise I'd look to the draft to pick up along with these... FS, CB, TE, RB/FB, RT, WR, DE, LB. Not in any specific order. Then bring in a few RT's, FS's, and CB's as UDFA's.

[donofriose]

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blo...gton-redskins/

Undervalued

1. Alfred Morris, Halfback

In the battle between the Redskins star rookies, Morris wins this time as his sixth-round money was significantly lower than Robert Griffin III’s second overall pick money. His 51.0 Elusive Rating was fifth-best among all halfbacks. While a lot of people worry about players hitting a rookie wall, Morris actually improved late in the season with four straight games with five or six missed tackles caused to end the regular season.

2012 Cap Hit: $420k
2012 Performance Based Value: $9.8m
Value Differential: +$9.4m

2. Robert Griffin III, Quarterback

Throughout the 2012 season everyone let you know just how good Robert Griffin III is, but in case you need another stat to back it up, he averaged 10.8 yards per pass attempt when blitzed. The Redskins will enjoy these next few years getting great value for their star skill players. The only question that remains now is which of the rookie quarterbacks was most undervalued in 2012.

2012 Cap Hit: $3.8m
2012 Performance Based Value: $11.3m
Value Differential: +$7.5m

3. Ryan Kerrigan, Outside Linebacker

With Brian Orakpo injured, the Redskins counted on Kerrigan for all of their pass rushing needs. He ended up with nine sacks, nine hits and 51 hurries, which is fairly good even though it was on a high 611 pass rushes. While he isn’t yet in the same category as the best pass rushers in the league, Kerrigan is certainly an asset and worth more than his rookie contract.

2012 Cap Hit: $2.0m
2012 Performance Based Value: $7.7m
Value Differential: +$5.7m

Overvalued


1. Trent Williams, Offensive Tackle

The problem here is not that Trent Williams is a bad offensive tackle. In fact, he allowed just four sacks, two hits and 18 hurries which is very good, and he also had the seventh-best run block rating for left tackles, at +7.5. The problem is that his cap hit was ridiculously high in 2012. While it will go down in future years in his contract, it is still higher than the $6.9m he should have made in 2012. If he wants to live up to future years of his contract, he will have to do more to set himself apart from the other tackles.

2012 Cap Hit: $14.0m
2012 Performance Based Value: $6.9m
Value Differential: -$7.1m

2. DeAngelo Hall, Cornerback

Hall is a high risk, high reward cornerback. He allowed 1,045 passing yards this year, the second-most for all cornerbacks, which is a huge concern. On the bright side, he did have four interceptions and nine passes defended, which explains why his Performance Based Value is as high as it is. The bad news for Redskins fans is his cap hit is just going to get higher as we get further into his contract.

2012 Cap Hit: $6.5m
2012 Performance Based Value: $1.9m
Value Differential: -$4.7m

3. Stephen Bowen, Defensive End

The Redskins used Bowen more than any other defensive linemen in 2012, but the problem was he wasn’t very effective on his snaps. His raw numbers of three sacks, six hits and 20 hurries look decent, but it came on a very high 531 pass rushes. He had some good games against the run to somewhat make up for it, but with so many of his snaps being pass rushes that’s not enough to justify $4.5 million.

2012 Cap Hit: $4.5m
2012 Performance Based Value: $1.2m
Value Differential: -$3.3m

[RGIII]

Alexander needed to take over Fletcher's spot...

[Meks]

he's certaintly worth that ^

[firstdown]

I have a hard time worrying about the cap because we have one of these threads each year and each year it seems we find the cap money we need.

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Originally Posted by firstdown

I have a hard time worrying about the cap because we have one of these threads each year and each year it seems we find the cap money we need.

"Find the cap money we need" - thats interesting. We made the playoffs last year while dealing with an 18MM cap hit. Yes, we were under the cap and made a nice run... but how much further could we have gone if we'd spent that 18MM on some better offensive linemen to protect griffin. Or 2-3 really good starters in the secondary. Do you think, if we had a better secondary, we would have one 2 more games? I do. and that would have resulted in a 1st round bye. 3 more wins and we'd have clinched homefield throughout the playoffs.

The issue is not "finding the cap money we need" to get sign 53 players under the salary cap. The issue is how much less talented of a team we will to put on the field in 2013 because the NFL took 15% of our cap away.