Washington wizardry

Redskins are setting the pace in free agency

MONTCLAIR, N.J. -- Redskins gone wild!

Print the Super Bowl tickets!

Let me start by saying that I like Washington owner Dan Snyder's excitement and verve about the NFL's Hot Stove League. In acquiring eight free agents and a ninth player (Trung Canidate) via trade since the free-agent signing period began last Friday, the Redskins have taken steps toward catching one division foe they're close to (the Giants) and another they haven't been able to touch recently (the Eagles). But let me also say that only two of their acquisitions are rock-solid, risk-free picks: Randy Thomas, an above-average NFL guard, and one my favorite defensive tackles, ex-Cowboy Brandon Noble. Washington is about to lose its best defensive lineman, the quixotic Daryl Gardener, and as much as I like Noble, he's no Gardener in terms of stopping the run. The Redskins still are thin at receiver (and it's a good thing the Giants saved them from acquiring the unreliable Ike Hilliard by re-signing him on Sunday) and might sign Rocket Ismail, but he's hardly Mr. Impact. Ismail will be 34 this year, and he hasn't had a great season since 1999. What Washington did was summed up best by Tony Kornheiser in Monday's Washington Post: "These are the best of times for the Washington Redskins -- when the games are being played on paper."

The three most interesting storylines of the Redskins' splurge:

CANIDATE. A strange trade, and a risky one. I've thought about this a lot, and I like the move -- but only if the Redskins don't start imagining that Canidate, acquired from St. Louis on Friday for guard David Loverne, is Tiki Barber. As excited as Snyder gets, I'm sure he has visions of a similarly productive back dancing in his head. Because Washington cut Loverne, the Rams receive a fourth-round pick for Canidate, essentially, with Loverne thrown in. The upside: Canidate is signed for the next two years at very nice cap numbers of $840,000 and $922,000. He also runs a 4.3 40-yard dash.

Now that Washington head coach Steve Spurrier isn't an NFL rookie anymore, he enters the 2003 offseason knowing what he wants: speed, and lots of it. He feels his was a plodding offense last year, and he has an explosive question mark of a running back. "We've got a home run hitter in the backfield," said Washington offensive coordinator Hue Jackson. The downside: Canidate was known almost as much for being injured and fumbling the ball as he was for his 40 times in St. Louis. Third-round pick Lamar Gordon also passed him on the Rams depth chart last fall. In three seasons, Canidate had one great day, a 195-yard rushing performance against the Jets.

The Redskins are leaning internally toward starting Canidate, which I might do, too. But I certainly wouldn't rely on a guy who has averaged 32.6 carries a season through only three years in the league. Look for Washington to pair Canidate and Ladell Betts in a running back-by-committee plan to replace the masher they released last week, Stephen Davis. Why do I like it? Low risk. They can let go of Canidate at some point, if need be, without hurting the cap.

THE MONEY. Not including Sunday's haul of four lesser lights -- Rob Johnson, John Hall, Lennie Friedman, Tre Johnson -- Washington spent $12.3 million in bonuses (future possible cap-eatings, I mean). I guess if they were going to get Thomas, they had to pay dumb money -- $7 million to sign, $28 million over four years; most NFL folks will tell you it's too much to spend six percent of your salary cap on a guard, no matter how good he is. If Reagan Upshaw is a good starting defensive end, he's worth the $2 million to sign; if he's the hot-tempered, oft-hard-to-handle guy he was in Oakland, he won't be worth it. Noble, the hardest-working player on anyone's roster, is a great signing for the money ($1.8 million bonus, four years, $6.5 million total). Guard Dave Fiore will be a good fit at guard if he can stay healthy, which of course is the reason the 49ers let him walk. They didn't think he could. In all, the Redskins spent a lot of money on players with questionable futures. But at least they spread it out over a lot of players. The Giants and Cowboys gave $10 million apiece to sign to good, questionable but promising left tackles Luke Petitgout and Flozell Adams.

JOHN HALL. The Redskins are investing about $1.5 million per year in Hall. I don't like this signing. Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff is one of the best in the game. I ran into him at the NFL scouting combine last week, and I asked him about kickers available in the draft (he was mostly unimpressed). When we started talking about Hall, he asked me a rhetorical question that I didn't have to answer: "When John misses a kick, are you surprised?" That's the thing about Hall. He has a better leg than anyone the Redskins have had, but he's a lifetime .733 percent kicker. Last season, 23 NFL kickers had a better percentage. I don't care if he kicks off the 4-yard line consistently, or whatever he'll do. In the long run, here's how you measure a kicker: Five times a year, they have a huge kick in the fourth quarter or overtime, a 46-yarder from the right hash with the game on the line. He had better make four or five of those. Hall's history is that he misses too many makeable ones.

The Redskins are better this morning. Good for Snyder. He has been proactive, and not stupidly, the way he was with Deion Sanders and Jeff George and some of his memorable early gaffes. But my only prediction about his franchise's haul is that there are still two better teams in the NFC East.

"'The cause [of death] was stomach cancer,' said David Newell, a family spokesman who also portrayed Mr. McFeely, of the Speedy Delivery Message Service."
--Paragraph two of the New York Times obit on Mister Fred Rogers, who died last week

... With Arizona coach Dave McGinnis, who was hard at work Sunday trying to rebuild a sad defense through free agency when I interrupted him:

MMQB: Well, you sure have a lot of money to spend in free agency. [The Cardinals are a reported $36 million under the NFL's $75 million cap for 2003.] Do you have to overpay because you guys have been down?

McGinnis: We've got cap room, and we need some football players, that's for sure. We've got to be smart how we spend, and we've got to be aggressive, too.

MMQB: What are your priorities?

McGinnis: Well, we won five games with a depleted roster. We've got to have a different look next year. We absolutely have to rush the passer better. That's why we've got Chike Okeafor [of the 49ers] and Rosevelt Colvin [of the Bears] coming in this week. That's our priority.

MMQB: Looks like Jake Plummer is bound for Denver. Your thoughts?

McGinnis: I don't know about that. Jake's agent, David Dunn, has told us if he gets an offer out there, he'll definitely call us back and talk to us. There's certainly a lot of smoke out there about Denver right now, though. I'd really like to have Jake back. I think a lot of him, and I think it would have been hard for any quarterback to play really well with our problems last year. We had four of our five offensive players go down, and we were playing receivers we never thought we'd be playing. It was a tough year.

In six NFL seasons, Plummer has never reached the 60-percent passing percentage mark, and only once did he throw more touchdowns than interceptions.

I'M NOT BUYING IT, RICK. From Rick Bywater of Indialantic, Fla..: "Just wanted to throw my two cents' worth in on the overtime rules. It seems to me that a simple rule change would make overtime play much more equitable. I would suggest outlawing field goal attempts on the initial drive of overtime. If a team cannot stop another team from driving for a TD on the initial drive, they deserve to lose. Also, coaches would really have to think twice about taking the ball under such an arrangement."

Interesting, Rick. Very interesting. But I'm opposed to any rule in overtime that bastardizes the game, other than the one that says both teams should have one possession. If a field goal can win the game in regulation, it sure should be able to win it in overtime.

THE CHIEFS ARE TRYING. THEY REALLY ARE. From Jason Peters of Hays, Kan.: "I have to get some info on my Chiefs or I'm gonna go nuts. The defense has several holes that need to be filled, including pass rush, linebacker and defensive backfield, but which of these does the front office see as the most important for this offseason? And how do they plan to address these needs? Any chance they'll sign Hugh Douglas?"

I do know that the Chiefs are very interested in Douglas, and you're right -- he'd be good in their scheme right now. Don't forget the signing of Mike Maslowski, a guy the Patriots had their eyes on for the second straight year before the Chiefs got him back last week. I have asked around about Priest Holmes, and I hear nothing that leads me to believe he will be adversely affected by his late-season hip injury.

HERE'S A SHOUT-OUT TO SEAN, IN WARWICK. YO. From Sean Sullivan of Warwick, R.I.: "You are one of my favorite sportswriters. I am a 17-year-old high school senior, and if I go to NYU (where I applied), I will try to become a writer. Give me a shout-out, yo. Will the supposed QB controversy between Tim Couch and Kelly Holcomb necessitate some sort of intervention from the powers that be (i.e. a trade)? Finally, since you've done so much for my Mondays over the past three years, I'll do my part for you, regarding your rotisserie team. Keep Jim Thome. You'll miss Ichiro, but Thome's average, RBI, runs and homers will go up. Trust me on this. Tell Mary Beth I said hi, keep walking your dogs (RIP Woody ... seemed like a great dog), and good luck shoveling the snow."

Wow. Lots in that letter, big fella. Re: the Browns, I think they'll bring Holcomb and Couch to camp, and Butch Davis will bend over backward trying to justify Couch winning the job. Maybe he will. But I don't understand after see what we all saw at the end of last year how you pick Couch over Holcomb. Just another case of the man keeping someone down.

AND ON THE SUBJECT OF MY ROTISSERIE DILEMMA OF WHETHER TO PROTECT ICHIRO, THOME OR GARRET ANDERSON ... From Paul Kipfstuhl of Medina, Ohio: "Keep Ichiro. Was Garret Anderson a fluke last year? Regarding Jim Thome, how many players were successful in making the transition from the AL to the NL?"

Thanks.

... OR ... From Joe Marnikovic of Quincy, Mass.: "Protect Thome, and you'll be able to pick up either Anderson or Ichiro in the draft."

Thanks.

... OR ... From Jerry Pawlak of Oak Creek, Wis.: "Garret Anderson. I like his durability and the fact that he has a better lineup surrounding him."

Thanks. I'm serious. This was a pretty even response, with at least 25 percent support for each player. Tough call, still. I'm leaning toward Ichiro, though I can't quite get out of my mind his two-month slump to end the season. I'm chalking it up to poor health.

On the road again this week out in collegeville, making stops at Bowdoin and Colby colleges in Maine with high school junior Mary Beth King. ... Sign on I-95 not far into southern Maine: "CAUTION: Watch for Moose on Highway." ... Felt a little like Tony Soprano taking Meadow to Bowdoin, with two exceptions: I whacked no one, and Mary Beth didn't get drunk. ... Met the charming and charismatic field hockey coach at Bowdoin, Nicky Pearson (See? I can brown-nose these coaches with the best of 'em), who was forthright about the challenge of getting into Bowdoin and playing for the fine Polar Bear 11 if admitted. I thought: I'd love my daughter to have the chance to play for this woman. ... "Our players don't miss classes for hockey," she said. How about that -- academics wagging the dog! ... Terrific tour with Ellie Doig, a senior from Somers, Conn., who I'm pretty sure is going to save the world. What a great kid. ... Cute Bowdoin dorm custom: All shoes stay outside dorm rooms in winter. Don't want to be tracking in the snowy muck. ... Sat in on the New England Small College Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament game between Wesleyan and Bates. Walked in, sat in the front row near midcourt. What a country. ... Off to Waterville, an hour up 95, and the Hampton Inn, which I'm quite sure skimped on the sheetrock and used toilet paper between rooms 326 (ours) and 328 (the bronchitis/tuberculosis victim in the next room). ... I worked Saturday night while Mary Beth slept 11 hours. Isn't that always the way? ... Watched Colby softball coach Dick Bailey, an efficient, tireless and cheery ex-Marine, run 8 a.m. practice for an hour and thought: I'd love my daughter to have the chance to play for this man. Learned how tough it will be for Mary Beth, whose fastball was clocked at 57 mph recently, to pitch at this prestigious level. The White Mule hurlers throw 60. ... "I think I'd like to play the outfield," Mary Beth revealed in an exclusive. ... Melissa Mullen, sophomore field hockey player from Andover, N.J., gave us our second great tour in as many days. She's a dual major. Chemistry and Spanish. What a kid. What a country. ... Traveling home, all I could think was two things: It'd be an honor to go bankrupt sending Mary Beth to one of these schools. And I wish we'd gotten to see a moose.

1. I think the free-agent stars who can call their own shots are increasingly scarce these days. This year, I'd say there's only one: linebacker Rosevelt Colvin, who could sign Monday for $6 million a year with a ridiculous signing bonus ($12 million, maybe), or could wait for two weeks and sign for the same thing. That's power. But rarely does a double-digit sacker who can play over the tight end ever get to the free market, you see. Colvin stopped to see the Giants on Sunday and will visit Detroit and Arizona by Wednesday, with eight or nine more teams ready to join the fray when/if asked. Why only one of these this year? Too many teams signing their own guys before they ever hit the market, or tagging them with the franchise or transition label, limiting their mobility.

2. I think there's a new chapter about to be written in the Parcells-Patriots feud. Call it Grand Theft Tuna. Since Parcells left New England, there has been a teeth-gnashing rivalry between the two -- one that Parcells doesn't acknowledge, but is deep under the skin of the Pats' braintrust. The latest juice is happening right now. New England head coach Bill Belichick and vice president Scott Pioli -- Parcells' longtime former defensive coordinator and son-in-law, respectively -- thought they had a deal for just under $1 million a year with Jets free-agent fullback Richie Anderson Friday. Not so fast. After they failed to get the other Jets free-agent Parcells really wanted (Randy Thomas), the Cowboys rushed in and told Anderson he should make a visit to Dallas. That's what he's doing Monday. The Patriots were not pleased. They weren't ticked at Parcells, but rather at Anderson for using them. Stay tuned.

3. I think the Cardinals are saying all the right things about Josh McCown entering training camp as the starter, but put yourself in Dave McGinnis' shoes. You think he'll really open the preseason without serious competition for that job? I say he signs Brian Griese before it's all over, unless Chicago beats him to him.

4. I think the most amazing thing of the first weekend of free agency is this: Terry Glenn actually sounds mature. Glenn went from Green Bay to Dallas for a 2004 sixth-round pick, a steal even if Glenn stinks. Glenn, you'll recall, had 90 catches as a Patriots rookie in 1996. Of his reunion with Parcells, who showed him tough love in New England, Glenn said: "The most feared receiver in the league is one with a chip on his shoulder, who feels he's got something to prove. That's me."

5. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. The week was marked by an uneven performance from "The Lettermen" in the Montclair (N.J.) All-Adult Spelling Bee. That's the name of our three-man team of Charlie Bagli of the New York Times, book writer John Manners, and me, all softball nerds from way back. We were on stage in the Hillside School auditorium, competing against six other teams in round five. (The surviving team from each of the five rounds comprises the championship playoff contestants.) The word-caller announced the words, and a representative of each of the seven teams wrote it on a small dry-erase board. Then we were asked to show the word to the audience. Miss one and you're out. We were fine, and should have been, on the early gimmes of "encore," "orchestra" and "scrutiny." Then came "arcing," which we were tempted, but not strongly, to spell "arching." Three teams spelled it "arching" and were out. Four left. The next word was a scientific term that utterly baffled us: "oersted." We spelled it "orstad." We were gone. Literally. To a nearby watering hole.

b. When I had to cut short a cell conversation with the nose-to-the-grindstone Don Banks for said spelling bee, he said: "Your life is so Rockwellian." You available for the '04 Bee, Donnie Brasco?

c. Coffeenerdness: If Mary Beth does end up in college in the wilds of Maine, we're going to have to do something about the coffee up there. The House Blend at the Hampton Inn in Waterville was passable, but there wasn't much else to choose from in a day and a half there. I'm sure I missed a formidable latte or two in Brunswick and Waterville, which I'd enjoy hearing about, but I saw none of the good foam up there.

d. Patrick Ewing Night. Yawn.

e. Lloyd Ward out as USOC CEO. Yawn. Sports fans don't care.

6. I think, speaking of non-football thoughts, that Fred Rogers was one of the great Americans of our time. He was the Mother Teresa of the male species. Rogers and his show babysat my kids maybe 200 times during their formative years, and his patience and goodness will never be forgotten by millions of parents grateful for his presence in our lives. This is a sports column, sort of, but you need to know, if you don't, what a great and patient and important man this was.

7. I think this is my final non-football thought of the week: I applaud Toni Smith, the Manhattanville (N.Y.) College basketball player who will not face the flag when the National Anthem plays. I do not applaud because I agree with turning her back on the flag, which I would not do and which I disapprove of. But I applaud because it is her right as an American citizen to express herself, within reason, the way she sees fit. Smith is not doing this blithely, obviously. She has given it great thought, unlike many of the knee-jerkers who automatically condemn her out of hand for refusing to line up in lockstep with the opinion they think she should have. The reason this is the greatest place in the world to live is because a Toni Smith can protest in her own way without being shackled or muzzled. Like it or not, this is the American way. I like it.

8. I think if I had a need at tackle right now -- and what NFL team other than Washington doesn't? -- I'd be trying to get Kyle Turley from New Orleans for a second-round pick. Right now.

9. I think Jake Plummer is a natural for Denver and will be signed by the Broncos by Wednesday.

10. I think a week from today Jake Delhomme is going to have a really interesting job. I'm just not sure where. An awful lot of important people like him.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Monday Morning Quarterback appears in this space every week. Click here to send him a comment.

 

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