Dancing Somewhere Else Next Year

Wrong again

A very short chapter in Redskins history has been completed, the Redskins cut defensive end Jason Taylor yesterday. He was here for a total of one seasons.

I thought this was a pretty good deal at the time, something needed to happen with two defensive ends, starter Phillip Daniels and backup Alex Buzbee, both going down on the same day, and Bill Parcells having put Jason on the trading block days earlier. Jason it seems was unhappy about the Dolphins heading into yet another year of rebuilding, Bill Parcells or no Jason was 33 last summer, starting to contemplate the NFL sunset and what he would do afterwards and wanted to win.

Bill Parcells, newly hired as Dolphins general manager, on the other hand was a bit miffed (op. cit.) about all the time Jason spent on Dancing with the Starts and in trying to break in Entourage style to Hollywood.

So it seemed like a good deal, Washington's second rounder in the upcoming 2009 draft and a sixth rounder in the 2010 draft was the cost.

But it never really worked out. As a number of people said and wrote, Washington already had a speed edge rusher in Andre Carter and trading Phillip Daniels for Jason Taylor was trading run stoppage for pass rush. Already tragically unable to stop the run lo these last few years, the team acquired a guy they already had and ignored what they really needed. To make matters worse they asked him to switch sides in deference to Andre Carter.

Then Jason sprained his knee in the preseason debacle against Carolina, that would have been only a minor setback, but then after getting kicked in the calf in game three against the Cardinals, Jason had pain overnight and then emergency surgery to relieve acute compartment syndrome, a buildup of pressure in a group of muscles in the arm or leg. The initial recovery time for the twenty minute surgery was projected at one week to seven months, Jason wound up missing two games but was nearly invisible for the rest of the season, totaling a whopping 29 tackles and 3.5 sacks for the year, down from 58 tackles and 11 sacks for the Dolphins in 2007, continuing a three season decline.

After the season Jason was unsure about whether to return and openly questioned himself as to whether he was worth eight million dollars to the Redskins in 2009. After a period of reflection Jason decided he was back in the game and was going to return and be ready for the season.

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The team though I think had other plans and I question how this whole thing looks. Apparently the show stopper was a workout clause the team wanted to add to Jason's contract that would have mandated Jason attend 75 percent of offseason workouts, beginning this month and going right up to the start of training camp. In exchange for attending these workouts the team was going to add a 500 thousand dollar workout bonus to Jason's contract.

Jason said no, he did not want to spend any more time away from his family than necessary, after spending the entire 2008 season in Washington by himself, his family makes their home in Miami, he wanted to be with his wife and three daughters.

Have a look at the mechanics of this situation.

Seventy-five percent of the workouts is 39 sessions. Fourteen of them would have been mandatory, between organized team activities (OTAs) and minicamps. That leaves 25 workouts to attend in thirteen weeks. To hear Vinny Cerrato describe it, Jason could have come in Tuesday, worked out Wednesday and Thursday and flown home Thursday afternoon. Seems reasonable to me, why would Jason not agree to this?

Then look at the flip side. After Jason agreed to honor his original contract with no changes and the team agreeing to that notion, the team now suddenly is asking Jason to come to town every week for the whole summer.

Me? I do not see a problem with that and was a bit disappointed when former coach Joe Gibbs agreed to let players work out on their own after the 2006 season, I would like to see year round gym rat football players that need to be shooed away from the facilities and not entitled pros that think February through July is their time.

Understanding that I know only what I have read in the last 18 hours, it seems a bit hypocritical for the team to let players cruise as recently as 2007, specifically Sean Taylor, Shawn Springs, Clinton Portis, Brandon Lloyd and Santana Moss, then suddenly decide Jason cannot be a part of this team because he is not willing to train here in the offseason.

My theory? Both parties were unhappy and not communicating all that well and this was the thing that the team could use to get rid of Jason.

Think about it, if Jason gets twelve sacks in 2008 no one gives a shit where he trains. Even if you say you are worried about his injuries and Jason rehabbing from them, look at his career. He has taken excellent care of his body over his whole career and as a football fan I have no reason to question his training regimen.

This smells like the team ginning up a bullshit excuse to bury a mistake.



Jim Zorn and Jason Taylor from Jason's introductory press conference in July: Getty Images from here.

Seven Shot, One Killed at LaVar Arrington's Restaurant

Bad things in a part of town that is supposed to be getting better

In a story that has not yet even made the Washington Post (ed. note, this story was reported Monday morning by the WaPo. -Ben), seven people were shot late last night outside Sidelines Restaurant, a sports bar in Largo Maryland owned by former Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington. The restaurant is located at The Boulevard at Capitol Centre, the town center style monstrosity that was built on the site of the Capital Centre / US Air / US Airways Arena which was demolished in 2002*

According to NBC 4 in Washington (just saw the report on the 6pm news) and MSNBC (op. cit.), an argument started between two groups inside the restaurant, when it spilled out into the lot guns were drawn and seven people were shot, one died. Two were treated on the scene for serious injuries and the other four, get this, drove themselves to the hospital. After getting shot.

According to this blog post from February 2008, men are not allowed to wear athletic gear into Sidelines, including tennis shoes, there is (or was) a pat down or other type of personal search of patrons entering the establishment and there was tons of security inside this cavernous sports bar.

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For those that need a refresher LaVar Arrington was drafted out of Penn State by the Redskins with the second overall pick in the 2000 draft. After making the Pro Bowl three straight years in 2001, 2002 and 2003, LaVar signed an eight year 68 million dollar contract extension intended to to keep LaVar in Washington for his entire NFL career. However a dispute over a 6.5 million dollar roster bonus that would have been payable before the third season of the new contract, 2006 that is, a bonus that did not make the final draft of the contract, and a knee injury soured LaVar's relationship with the team. Ultimately LaVar's agent was found responsible for the dispute and barred from representing NFL players for two years.

Gregg Williams, then the Redskins new defensive coordinator in 2004, managed to field a top squad without LaVar and got used to life without the star linebacker. LaVar was forced to buy his way out of his contract before the 2006 season, then signed a seven year 49 million dollar contract with the New York Giants, even admitting in an interview later that he kept the Redskins playbook after departing the team. LaVar was not spectacular in New York then blew out his achilles tendon midseason and was cut after the 2007 season. While still rehabbing from the achilles injury LaVar crashed his motorcycle in suburban Maryland and never came back to football. He has appeared on local media and, as we now know, owns a local business.




* The destruction of Capital Centre was witnessed over early morning beers by me and lifetime Eagles fan, season ticket holder and Curly R reader/lurker Wilbert Montgomery on 15 December 2002, we were on our way to the Redskins at Eagles game that day and the scheduling of the destruction was fortuitous for us, we pulled over at Redskins Stadium and stood on the nob overlooking Cap Centre and watched it go down, I saw many a Capitals game, Bullets game and Grateful Dead show at that venue. The Eagles game that day was the seventh in eight Eagles-Redskins games for us and the fifth rivalry game in a row for me, a streak we have continued and that now stands at nineteen of the past twenty and seventeen in a row for me.

LaVar Arrington in front of his retaurant: uncredited image from here.

2009 Free Agency Open Thread

2009 starts today

Saturday 28 February 2009
0700: when I left base and wandered to the Garage last night at about 9pm ET, Derrick Dockery was just leaving Detroit without a deal, I commented below that unless the Lions were ready to throw a pile of money at Derrick that he likely would not sign. Then when I woke up this morning I read that Derrick had signed with the Redskins just a couple of hours later, five years 27 million dollars with 8.5 million guaranteed and 11.5 million over the first two years. This signing reunites Derrick with the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2003 draft, Derrick was a solid left guard for Washington before leaving for a huge deal with Buffalo before the 2007 season, the Bills cut him unexpectedly this week. He becomes the immediate starter at left guard, rendering Pete Kendall as a backup if needed at all. After the debacle of trying to replace Derrick in 2006 it is likely the team will not take him as much for granted this time around.

Friday 27 February 2009
1230: Derrick Dockery is in Detroit right now but that does not mean he will sign with them, all things being equal Detroit will need to way overpay this year to get starting quality veteran talent off the street, unless they want to start shoveling money out the door the Lions will need to do a season's penitence before coming around.

Albert Haynesworth is in the Ashburn house, Redskins press conference scheduled for 5pm today, get in front of a TV, I will see if I can find it on the web, I would guess Redskins.com.

Something I have observed over the years that Jason La Canfora has covered the Redskins as the Washington Post's beat writer, many Redskins fans do not like him, my guess is principally because he is critic as much as scribe and if you get out there on message boards and chat rooms there are a whole bunch of Redskins fans that think any form of criticism of the team operation makes you a hater. I think it goes without saying but bears repeating that I do not agree with this position and now that I have made a straw man for Jason it can go ahead and hate on him for his first look at the 100 million dollar gamble, wherein Jason has the nerve to point out that in post season meetings Vinny Cerrato pressed coaches to explain 2-6 second half and the consensus was a need for three young, starter quality offensive linemen.

Instead on the first day of free agency the Redskins went out and spent a spaceship full of money on a guy that has never played sixteen games in a season, never takes 100 percent of the snaps at his position, has had anger management problems, may have motivation and or weight problems and by virtue of a five game suspension for stomping his now twice yearly opponent in the face will be a repeat offender next time Mr. Goody Goody Goodell has to weigh in on a discipline problem...

... to play defense.


1045: the Redskins will release cornerback Shawn Springs today, Shawn was headed into the final year of his contract and was imminently cuttable, something he was not two years ago when the team first began to tire of him. Washington will save six million dollars in salary cap room with this cut which I am sure they will sign right over to Albert.

Matt Terl over at the ORB (Official Redskins Blog) sums up Vinny Cerrato's interview on state owned radio ESPN 980, he talks about signing DeAngelo and Albert, as well a reference to creating more cap room. I got a hilarious bacn mail message from the state owned ESPN 980 yesterday, beat reporter Frank Hanrahan is a guest on every show all day so clearly the team knew they were going to make big news and wanted to be sure they controlled the message on the radio outlet where they control the message.


0900: are the Redskins trying out Cleveland Browns veteran safety 6-3 210 30 year old Nick Sorenson? Bob Pappa and Randy Cross on Sirius NFL Radio just did a segment with Nick, they asked how things were at the Browns' Berea Ohio facility on the morning of free agency, Nick responded that he was in a car in Virginia heading for a workout. Could be a private workout for anyone I suppose, or is he at Ashburn right now? With Reed Dought likely gone this could be a third tier free agent the team was talking about.

Also, as I read the morning reporting on Ashburn's dealing I note that Cowboys free agent defensive end Chris Canty (Wahoowa!), what with the Redskins landing Albert Haynesworth, has canceled his trip to Redskins Park and the team is no longer pursuing him.


0800: the Redskins Insider story on the signing of DT Albert Haynesworth has been updated, looks like his deal is seven years, 55 million dollars, more details to come...


0700: I go to sleep with the knowledge that the Redskins had locked up a young and skilled cornerback and awake to the news that Washington in fact did manage to land the prize of the free agent market, Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Barring a complete Dana Stubblefield class flameout the Redskins defense suddenly got a lot better. No word yet on Albert's deal, we will hear about that later today.

The team also continues to talk with free agent and former Redskin left guard Derrick Dockery and free agent defensive end Chris Canty (Wahoowa!) is expected to visit today, Chris is arriving on Dan Snyder's jet.


1220: so it begins, at seventeen minutes past midnight Jason La Canfora reports on Redskins Insider than the Redskins have signed cornerback DeAngelo Hall to a six year 55 million dollar deal with up to 23 million dollars guaranteed. Wowzers. That is huge bad news for Shawn Springs.

Stay with Curly R as we follow Washington's free agency splurge.


Other Curly R Free Agency Open Threads: 2007 :: 2010



Free Agent BMX logo purloined from here.

Calm Before the Storm

Midwifing new material

Update 11:30 pm:  the Bills cut Derrick Dockery?  And Robert Royal?  Two years after signing Derrick to a seven year 49 million dollar contract?  What happened there, how did he fall out?  Jason La Canfora and the cast of thousands at Redskins Insider tell us that Washington is gunning for Derrick, I say bring him back, Pete Kendall is still solid and looks better as an affordable backup.  And if I might be so bold, former Redskin Robert Royal might be a better backup tight end than Fred Davis and Todd Yoder combined.

At one minute past midnight tonight the NFL's 2009 free agency period begins, what will be the Redskins play? Albert Haynesworth, DeAngelo Hall, Chris Canty, a quote second tier unquote offensive linemen?

Looking back to the first hours of free agency in 2006, the Redskins pulled down Brandon Lloyd, Antwaan Randle El, Andre Carter and Adam Archuleta, in retrospect (Curly R did not start up until training camp of 2006) where the fuck did the Redskins get the money to hand out four 30 million dollar contracts?

Before free agency midnight 2007 there were a bunch of names out there, only London Fletcher in the top tier and Fred Smoot in the second tier emerged from the pack to join the team. Left guard Derrick Dockery was the major loss.

Come free agency midnight 2008 the Redskins had decided they would not be big players in the market, with Todd Collins and Ryan Boschetti the major signings. There were no major losses after 2008 unless you considered Reche Caldwell or David Macklin key players.

Now with 2009 on deck the team has said it will be a player in free agency. The prime targets appear to be cornerback DeAngelo Hall and Titans defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth, and a second tier offensive lineman.

Washington has the edge with DeAngelo, he is a Redskins player and the team could sign him for any amount at any time, that deal may come down tonight before free agency starts, we know he wants to play in Washington so the question is simply what would other teams be willing to pay DeAngelo given his flameout in Oakland eight games after signing a seven year 70 million dollar deal then his stellar performance in Washington, seven games, four starts, nineteen tackles, two interceptions. DeAngelo does something Fred Smoot does not and that is challenge the ball and also does something Shawn Springs does not and that is play every game.

Albert Haynesworth, well there is no question he is the best defensive tackle available, if not the dominant DT in the league right now, although I will get much mileage out of Albert stomping Cowboys center Andre Gurode then serving a six game suspension, it would seem that Albert has put his troubles behind him and is focused on football and damn if the Redskins do not need a dominant defensive tackle.

As for the modest offensive lineman, I confess I have no idea what that means in the NFL anymore. Jacksonville left tackle Jordan Gross signed a six year deal for 60 million dollars with 30 million guaranteed, I think that is not what the Redskins are looking for. With the modern reflecting the rest of the country with a shrinking middle class, a small number of elite earners and a crapload of people at the margins.


As a Redskins fan I will say this, I am not sure Albert Haynesworth would be a great fit and DeAngelo Hall needs to be signed. That the two top free agents we are taking about are both on the defensive side of the ball when the Redskins had a top five defense last season and a top 20 offense is a serious concern for me.



Watching the storm roll in from here.

Thank You Rennie Simmons

Long tenured and a part of Redskins history

Please join me and the entire staff of The Curly R as we wish longtime and former Washington Redskins tight ends coach Rennie Simmons a happy birthday, Rennie turns 67 today.

Rennie stepped down as Redskins tight ends coach and retired last month on 7 January, of Rennie's 27 years as an NFL coach he was with the Redskins for 15. Among the tight ends Rennie coached here in Washington are Chris Cooley, Clint Didier, Don Warren, Frank Wycheck, Jimmie Johnson, Ken Whisenhunt, Robert Royal and Touchdown Terry Orr.

Rennie was a high school football teammate of Joe Gibbs and both went to play for legendary coach Don Coryell at San Diego State. When Joe got the head coaching job in Washington before the 1981 season Joe found Rennie and brought him aboard. And over his career Rennie coached exactly the way the offense dictated. During his first run in Washington from 1981 to 1992 Joe Gibbs did not run a tight end heavy offense, the tight end was usually an extra blocker, look at Don Warren, he played his entire NFL career from 1979 to 1992 with Washington and never caught more than 29 passes in a season while Joe Gibbs was coach. By contrast Chris Cooley has never caught less than 37 in a season, his first year in the NFL, and last year led the team with 83 receptions!

Rennie Simmons coached the talent the team had to the scheme the team used. Given the variation in productivity of the position players coached by over the years Rennie was as much a tight ends coach as he was an offensive line coach and a receivers coach.

Which turned out to be convenient for the Redskins who moved Rennie to offensive line coach for the 1992 and 1993 seasons after Joe Bugel had left for the Phoenix Cardinals, Rennie shared the offensive line duties with another long serving Redskins coach, Jim Hanifan.

After leaving the Redskins before the 1994 season Rennie joined Chuck Knox's Los Angeles Rams staff as tight ends coach where he worked with former Redskins colleague special teams coach Wayne Sevier and quarterbacks coach one Mike Martz, then still in his first pro gig, three years later in 1997 Mike would join Norval Turner's staff in Washington as quarterbacks coach.

Rennie spent 1995 on the Vanderbilt University staff before joining Jeff Fisher's Houston Oilers staff in 1996 as offensive line coach where he coached with future Redskins offensive coordinator Sherman Smith, then still in his first pro job.

Before the 1997 season Rennie joined Dan Reeves' remarkably stable staff in Atlanta as receivers coach, where he was reunited with former Redskins quarterbacks coach Jack Burns, as well as future Redskins quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor. Rennie stayed with Dan Reeves all seven seasons in Atlanta.

When Joe Gibbs returned to Washington before the 2004 season, Joe brought Rennie back. All he did here was help turn Chris Cooley into a Pro Bowl tight end and a team leader.

As a Redskins fan I say thank you to Rennie Simmons for your 15 year contribution to Redskins football. Now go enjoy yourself.


As a side note for you long time Redskins fans, Matt Terl at the ORB (Official Redskins Blog) went and found both former Redskins tight end Don Warren and current tight end Chris Cooley and talked to them both about Rennie, it is amusing if not surprising that two guys separated in their playing careers by twenty years would describe their position coach in such similar terms. Rennie apparently remained the same.



Rennie Simmons in 1984 uncredited image from here.

Chris Cooley Finds a Way to Hang Out with High School Girls

If I had the money I'd be doing the same thing

But seriously, this is a great story.  For a while there we were used to seeing Redskins tight end Chris Cooley in the Washington Post Reliable Source gossip column for getting drunk, getting his girlfriend fired, getting a divorce or photgraphing his dick and not for his community service and dedication to education.

Chris is working with the DC College Success Foundation to identify eight area high school students worthy of a twenty five thousand dollar college scholarship, from the article it sounds like Chris will give it away if he cannot raise it.

It seems Chris is a little deeper than I thought, having been an excellent student and on his way to being an educator before turning into a man giant and getting good at catching a football.

This is good for kids, good for the community, good for the team and good for Chris.  Great work Chris, I will be following the award of scholarships.

Something else I did not know about Chris, he is an artist?

Chris Cooley and a bunch of Montgomery Blair High School girls:  Washington Redskins from here.

Liberty Media Salvage Operation - Part Two

Deal with the devil

Sirius XM CEO Mel Karmazin took his big combined company right to the brink, played chicken with billionaire media barons and came out with his job... for now. Curly R concludes its two part series on the Sirius bailout.

Part One: Not Even Close
Part Two: My Enemy's Enemy

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Mel Karmazin is a smart business man and a man who knows how to play with a weak hand, and a man also so proud that he does not want to out like dat. Instead of letting Sirius XM, the company he rode into the ditch get yanked out from under him, Mel did a deal with his enemy's enemy. Rather than permit Charles Ergen and EchoStar gain control of the company, possibly to suck the spectrum out of the business and cast aside the husk, Mel went to John Malone at Liberty Media, operator of the DirecTV satellite TV network and Dish Network's arch rival.

Did I forget to mention that Dish Network and DirecTV tried to merge back in 2001 and were rejected? Since then Charles and John have not been, er, close.

So to save himself from a takeover, getting fired and possibly seeing his company vanish as the spectrum was repurposed to mobile video, Mel gave up what eventually will be 40 percent of Sirius XM, two seats on the Sirius XM board, for the cash to get the company through this crisis, but not even necessarily the next one. Details:

Liberty Media will invest up to 530 million dollars into Sirius XM. The money will be split across current debt obligations (that pesky 170 million), the purchase of XM's debt (as defined separately from Sirius'), cash for operations and another future 150 million dollar loan, presumably insurance for the next two tranches of debt that come due in May and December of this year.

The loan portion of the deal, 280 million dollars, carries a whopping fifteen percent interest rate and is due in three and a half years.

In exchange Liberty Media gets two seats on the Sirius XM board of directors, twelve and a half million shares of preferred stock that are convertible to a forty percent of Sirius XM common shares. That means that once Liberty elects to convert the stock, they control forty percent of the voting shares. This is clearly set up for a future takeover.

As the New York Times points out today, the total value of this investment, 450 million to 530 million depending in how you calculate it, is more than the market capitalization of the company at the time of the deal, which was 372 million dollars last night, already up to 560 million as the market adjusts to the deal and nearly doubles Sirius XM's price (from ten cents per share to sixteen).

So then what was the point? Why did John Malone do this? Possibly with the ultimate goal of taking over the company. Possibly for the quote synergy factor unquote of a satellite TV and satellite radio conglomerate, cross marketing, and such. Possibly just to cockblock EchoStar from obtaining the property. But football fans think of this:

Sirius XM has the NFL's satellite radio licensing contract, a dedicated 7x24 channel and all the games, and DirecTV has the NFL's satellite TV licensing contract, NFL Sunday Ticket. I get the sense that this is going to be extraordinarily good or extraordinarily bad for us.


Here is a hilarious sidelight to the story (op. cit.), EchoStar's Charles Ergen bought that 170+ million dollar tranche of debt that came due today on the cheap, and now even though he will not get control of the company he will make a profit as the debt is repaid at face value. With rival John Malone's money.

Two billion dollars in annual revenue, twenty million subscribers and they cannot run the company. Think about that.



I am dating myself here and proud of it with the logo from the Vulture, Harry Broderick's (as played by Andy Griffith) cobbled together space ship from the too short lived and incredibly entertaining to a nine year old Salvage-1 that ran 14 episodes plus a two hour pilot on ABC in 1979, from here via here.