Training camp officially kicked off yesterday, and what a mixed bag of emotions it left behind.
The Redskins were the first team to report to camp, losing two defensive ends by the end of practice and adding one by the end of the day.
Starting DE Phillip Daniels went down on the first play of the first drill with a torn ACL, leaving him out for the season. Reserve DE Alex Buzbee ruptured his Achilles tendon in the afternoon session, putting him out for the year as well. However, executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato started gameplanning as soon as Daniels got hurt and landed future hall of famer Jason Taylor from the Dolphins for a 2009 second rounder and a 2010 sixth rounder.
Obviously, the loss of Daniels was a huge blow to the Redskins, who had all of their defensive starters returning from last season. Daniels was a strong, run-stopping end and a leader in the locker room. His loss also caused us to give up our second-round pick in next year's draft, acquiring Jason Taylor.
Taylor is a quality sack master, who is practically guaranteed to get you 10+ sacks a season. However, he'll be 34 when the season starts and has publically stated he only wants to play one more season. If he goes one-and-done in DC, the Skins have really short-changed their future growth as they now have no second-, fourth- or seventh-round pick in next year's draft and have taken on the $17 million left on the final two years of Taylor's contract.
On the flip side, the immediate future looks bright for Washington. Put simply, the NFC is wide open this season. The Packers are a young, talent-stocked team, but now have an unproven quarterback in Aaron Rodgers and who knows what the Brett Favre fiasco will do to the team's psyche. The Cowboys have loaded up on talent, but they haven't won a playoff game in over a decade and have some locker room problems waiting to explode. Terrell Owens has always been known to be a threat to shake things up, add Pacman Jones and his problems, Terry Glenn's unhappiness with being asked to take an injury buyout and Roy Williams' displeasure with the organization. Let's keep in mind coach Wade Phillips isn't exactly authoritative. The Super Bowl defending Giants have lost starting defensive end Michael Strahan to retirement, starting linebacker Kawika Mitchell and starting safety Gibril Wilson to free agency and, as of today, tight end Jeremy Shockey to the Saints in a trade. If there is a time for the Skins to make a push, it could be now. Jason Taylor could be good for a win or two in the division and his veteran leadership should help come playoff time.
Right now, the deal looks good for both teams. Taylor should provide immediate help for the Skins decimated defensive line and the Dolphins unloaded a huge contract and picked up some nice draft picks as they rebuild for the future. Only time will tell how this plays out, but it appears as though both teams got what they wanted. I'll reserve judgement, but I'll say this, I'm skeptical.
The Redskins were the first team to report to camp, losing two defensive ends by the end of practice and adding one by the end of the day.
Starting DE Phillip Daniels went down on the first play of the first drill with a torn ACL, leaving him out for the season. Reserve DE Alex Buzbee ruptured his Achilles tendon in the afternoon session, putting him out for the year as well. However, executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato started gameplanning as soon as Daniels got hurt and landed future hall of famer Jason Taylor from the Dolphins for a 2009 second rounder and a 2010 sixth rounder.
Obviously, the loss of Daniels was a huge blow to the Redskins, who had all of their defensive starters returning from last season. Daniels was a strong, run-stopping end and a leader in the locker room. His loss also caused us to give up our second-round pick in next year's draft, acquiring Jason Taylor.
Taylor is a quality sack master, who is practically guaranteed to get you 10+ sacks a season. However, he'll be 34 when the season starts and has publically stated he only wants to play one more season. If he goes one-and-done in DC, the Skins have really short-changed their future growth as they now have no second-, fourth- or seventh-round pick in next year's draft and have taken on the $17 million left on the final two years of Taylor's contract.
On the flip side, the immediate future looks bright for Washington. Put simply, the NFC is wide open this season. The Packers are a young, talent-stocked team, but now have an unproven quarterback in Aaron Rodgers and who knows what the Brett Favre fiasco will do to the team's psyche. The Cowboys have loaded up on talent, but they haven't won a playoff game in over a decade and have some locker room problems waiting to explode. Terrell Owens has always been known to be a threat to shake things up, add Pacman Jones and his problems, Terry Glenn's unhappiness with being asked to take an injury buyout and Roy Williams' displeasure with the organization. Let's keep in mind coach Wade Phillips isn't exactly authoritative. The Super Bowl defending Giants have lost starting defensive end Michael Strahan to retirement, starting linebacker Kawika Mitchell and starting safety Gibril Wilson to free agency and, as of today, tight end Jeremy Shockey to the Saints in a trade. If there is a time for the Skins to make a push, it could be now. Jason Taylor could be good for a win or two in the division and his veteran leadership should help come playoff time.
Right now, the deal looks good for both teams. Taylor should provide immediate help for the Skins decimated defensive line and the Dolphins unloaded a huge contract and picked up some nice draft picks as they rebuild for the future. Only time will tell how this plays out, but it appears as though both teams got what they wanted. I'll reserve judgement, but I'll say this, I'm skeptical.
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