McNabb is a Redskin

[purplepoe]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5055346

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/04/04/donovan-mcnabb-is-headed-to-the-washington-redskins/

Stunning.

PP

[RavenScallywag]

damn it, my mock draft picks are totally ruined now.

This is an insanely interesting move if it's just for the 2nd round pick. Being that McNabb is now going to be playing for a division rival, got to think that means all other offers were significantly lower. I don't like the Redskins, but it would be pretty funny if Donovan goes on to torch them next year.

[Dade]

Wow!

I think McNabb is still a pretty damn QB, so WTF are the Eagles thinking trading him within the division. They really didn't respect McNabb there, traded him to a team that went 4-12, and has no O Line. He's gonna get killed next year. What happened to all that talk about trading him to a contender. What are the Skins gonna contend for, besides 4th place in the NFC East?

[purplepoe]

Wow!

I think McNabb is still a pretty damn QB, so WTF are the Eagles thinking trading him within the division. They really didn't respect McNabb there, traded him to a team that went 4-12, and has no O Line. He's gonna get killed next year. What happened to all that talk about trading him to a contender. What are the Skins gonna contend for, besides 4th place in the NFC East?

Well, all the talk about trading him to a contender was just talk.

It seems pretty obvious that the Skins were offering by far the best deal considering the Eagles were willing to trade him within the division.

It also says that the Eagles don't fear him too much.

I agree that the Eagles didn't handle the situation well with the media leaks etc...

But they owe it to themselves to get the best deal possible from whatever team offers it.

It's an extremely wild trade on a lot of fronts. Besides the obvious stuff, I wonder what the Skins are gonna do with him after this season. He's in the last year of his deal.

PP

[RavenScallywag]

I'd argue that the Skins will be a contender before the Raiders will. The Redskins are a much better org. But yeah, kind've funny because if they are sending him to a contender there, means that Philly wouldn't be winning NFC East. Sends a kind've odd message.

I've just got to think the offer includes some kind've extra compensation. Unless everyone else pulled their offers off the table, I never make a divisional trade that's equal to another offer.

EDIT - After further reading, there is a 2011 pick as well, 3rd or 4th round. I guess the Redskins just pushed their chips in and made sure they made the best offer.

[purplepoe]

I'd argue that the Skins will be a contender before the Raiders will. The Redskins are a much better org. But yeah, kind've funny because if they are sending him to a contender there, means that Philly wouldn't be winning NFC East. Sends a kind've odd message.

I've just got to think the offer includes some kind've extra compensation. Unless everyone else pulled their offers off the table, I never make a divisional trade that's equal to another offer.

EDIT - After further reading, there is a 2011 pick as well, 3rd or 4th round. I guess the Redskins just pushed their chips in and made sure they made the best offer.

I disagree.

I would argue that the Raiders with McNabb become much more of a contender than the Skins do with McNabb.

Part of it has to do with the divisions the teams are in.

IMO the Raiders would've been a playoff contender with any sort of adequate play from the QB position. But Cable was saddled with Russell until even the old man relented a bit. They beat some good teams with Gradkowski at the helm.

The Skins continue to ship picks away even with a new regime run by some guys who have won before.

Must be something in the water down in Raljohn.

PP

[Jeremiah W]

The NFC E just real interesting again.

[purplepoe]

The NFC E just real interesting again.

You can bet the NFL is real happy the schedule was delayed in coming out.

If the Skins/Eagles weren't in primetime before, they will be now.

The atmosphere in Philly when McNabb comes back to town will make TO's return look like nothing. It will be different but it will be a huge event.

PP

[StingerNLG]

I am not so sure I am really surprised by this on Washington's side. Once a Danny Snyder, always a Danny Snyder.

It's the Philly side I'm not getting. What do the Eagles know about McNabb's playing ability at this stage of his career that we don't? Because this wasn't traded for Washington's 1st round pick. Philly took their second this year and 3rd/4th in 2011.

ESPECIALLY to a division rival.

[Aces2Bluff]

when donovan was healthy, i thought he was a top 10 qb in the league. Doesnt scramble as much as in his prime but still has pretty big gun for an arm.

I cant remember the last time a starting qb was traded to a division rival.. I think Philly botched this move Donovan was the single reason Andy Reid is still employed with the Eagles.

[purplepoe]

I am not so sure I am really surprised by this on Washington's side. Once a Danny Snyder, always a Danny Snyder.

It's the Philly side I'm not getting. What do the Eagles know about McNabb's playing ability at this stage of his career that we don't? Because this wasn't traded for Washington's 1st round pick. Philly took their second this year and 3rd/4th in 2011.

ESPECIALLY to a division rival.

Oh, the stunning part is definitely on the Eagles side.

It tells me that a. this was easily the best offer they had and/or b. they have no fear about playing him twice.

The Eagles basically painted themselves into a corner and were past the point of no return as far as having to deal McNabb. I gotta believe they would have preferred to have dealt him to an AFC team and at the very least a team in the NFC besides an NFC East team. Obviously Dallas and NYG were never involved.

I have some friends Eagles fans and some who are Skins fans and all of them are stunned right now and don't really know what to make of it.

PP

[Dade]

You can bet the NFL is real happy the schedule was delayed in coming out.

If the Skins/Eagles weren't in primetime before, they will be now.

The atmosphere in Philly when McNabb comes back to town will make TO's return look like nothing. It will be different but it will be a huge event.

PP

Yeah that game will be on Monday Night Football. It'll draw huge ratings.

[chicagoravensfan]

I wonder where Jason Campbell winds up. He showed flashes at times but never seemed to be in a good situation. He deserved better.

[RavenScallywag]

John Clayton says adding McNabb, in addition to bringing in the Shanahan family, two aging RBs, and the eventual restocking of the OL with Artis Hicks and a draft pick, suddenly makes them co-favorites for NFC East this year.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=5055486

In other related news, I want to know where to get some of the stuff Clayton is smoking nowadays.

Ok great, maybe the Redskins can score 24 points a game. But how good is that defense right now? Eagles are re-stocking a bit, I get that, but the Giants are still in it, and the Redskins were 4-12 last year!!!! I'd say they just moved out of the basement of the NFC East into contention for 2nd place. Can't see them as "favorites" right now. They cite when we brought in McNair, but we were 2nd at the time and QB play was the ONLY thing we were missing.

[Flipping Birdie]

John Clayton says adding McNabb, in addition to bringing in the Shanahan family, two aging RBs, and the eventual restocking of the OL with Artis Hicks and a draft pick, suddenly makes them co-favorites for NFC East this year.


I keep rereading the article and try to convince myself that he just meant that the Redskins eclipsed the Eagles, but it really does seem like he's saying the Eagles and the Redskins will be vying for #1 in the NFC East in 2010. WTF? I swear I haven't read anything that indicated the Giants or the Cowboys are expected to be garbage this year, or that either Vick or Kolb are guaranteed to blow the division's socks off. It just seems like a wildly premature comment to make.

[Purpleguy]

I honestly think the Redskins can compete next year. This is the NFL and there are huge surprises every year. The Redskins QB situation has been absolutely putrid, as bad as ours during the Boller/Wright era. McNabb is still a very good QB, much better than McNair was when we got him. Shannahan is one of the best coaches in the business. The Redskins could surprise a lot of people next year.

[psuasskicker]

I am not so sure I am really surprised by this on Washington's side. Once a Danny Snyder, always a Danny Snyder.

I don't really buy this, I think this was a really good move for that team. McNabb's got a couple good years left. It's insane no one was willing to give up anything for the guy...starting QBs don't simply grow on trees. At least, not good ones.

This could have MASSIVE draft reverberations. With the Skins no longer a threat to take a QB at #4 overall, and the Seahawks highly likely out of the bidding as well, it means that if the Rams want Bradford, they can play a little game of chicken with a few of the top-of-draft teams. 2, 3, 4 and 5 all could want and use Suh. Their only fear would be a move to 5 and then Clev moving to 4 to steal Bradford, which isn't particularly likely.

So now the real question to me seems to be, what happens at the top of the draft? If I were StL, I'd be aggressively lobbying with both Det and Tampa to give up their 2nd round pick in order to lock in the DT of their choice, and see what shakes out.

Unless StL shocks and doesn't take Bradford, 100% that the Skins will take Okung, which also means they won't be trading for Gaither...

- C -

[Sephy]

The Redskins still won't contend. They are in the AL East of divisions, they traded for a rapidly aging (but still decent) QB, signed not good Willie Parker, have no WRs, Cooley coming off a broken leg, no OL, and less and less on defense every year.

Wouldn't fear them at all.

[RavenScallywag]

Clayton's co favorites are Dallas and Washington

Matt Mosely bring expectations down to earth, reminding people that your OL is still going to be built around a rookie, Casey Rabach, Artis Hicks (who didn't start for the Vikings last year) and Stephon Heyer. And while the receiving situation is getting SOMEWHAT better with the emergence of Malcolm Kelly and Fred Davis, their options don't scare me as much as a Cooley-Austin-Williams or Jackson-Avant-Maclin or Manningham-Smith-Nicks. And then there's the RBs...granted, Shanahan was known for the zone blocking, plug and play RB for 1000+ yards. But is it his system or his son's? And do they even come close to having the personell to make that work? They compare this move to the Vikings bringing in Brett Favre or Baltimore bringing in McNair. But you have to give that the Vikings and us in those situations HAD everything else we needed to be in contention. Our D held it's own, we had a good running game. Our ONLY weakness was QB play. Same with the Vikings. So a better QB DID instantly add more wins because that was the only missing piece.

Plus, the Redskins did some house cleaning on D too, getting rid of Cornelius Griffin and Fred Smoot...so it'll be interesting to see if this works out for them.

[Mista T]

The Redskins still won't contend. They are in the AL East of divisions, they traded for a rapidly aging (but still decent) QB, signed not good Willie Parker, have no WRs, Cooley coming off a broken leg, no OL, and less and less on defense every year.

Wouldn't fear them at all.

:iagree: They still look like a losing team to me. I would be surprised to see them pick it up to be a contender. Their OL still hasn't improved.

McNabb was great five years ago, but right now looks to be closer to just average. He looked pretty bad against us the previous season, when he was benched. He also looked bad in the final two games last year against the Cowboys. He may be an upgrade over Campbell, but not big.

I predict, however, that the McNabb trade will spark yet another off-season of Super Bowl predictions from the Raljon fans.:laugh:

[CRZA938]

I don't really buy this, I think this was a really good move for that team. McNabb's got a couple good years left. It's insane no one was willing to give up anything for the guy...starting QBs don't simply grow on trees. At least, not good ones.

- C -

I agree with Stinger on this one. Redskins continually try for the quick fix, trading away high draft picks for instance success. While this may work from time to time, it is definitely not the model for NFL success.

[Carey]

Well, all the talk about trading him to a contender was just talk.

It seems pretty obvious that the Skins were offering by far the best deal considering the Eagles were willing to trade him within the division.

It also says that the Eagles don't fear him too much.

I agree that the Eagles didn't handle the situation well with the media leaks etc...

But they owe it to themselves to get the best deal possible from whatever team offers it.

It's an extremely wild trade on a lot of fronts. Besides the obvious stuff, I wonder what the Skins are gonna do with him after this season. He's in the last year of his deal.

PP

Actually its better then trading him to the Raiders who i heard was willing to give up a little more, In that type of offense Philly runs accuracy is extremely vital. If your gonna throw it that much and have the short passing game act as your running game then you better have a super accurate QB and we know Mcnabb's accuracy can be shaky at times. He was at 60% completion percentage last year, i think Kolb gets into the mid to high 60's this year. They did all they could do with Mcnabb, it was time to move on, good trade for both teams.

[Jeremiah W]

Washington is a contending type team every year. They flopped last year, but have been at least an 8 win team and have a couple recent playoff appearances. There is too much talent on the team to be bad without bad luck and bad coaching.

The coaching situation was the biggest problem, then O line, but that is one area I expect Shanahan to fix. Denver was great at throwing any RB out there because they were able to find and build an O line that gets the zone cut blocking done and can protect a mobile QB. McNabb is a lot better than any QB Big Mike has had since Elway. Cutler has close to the talent, but no where near the efficency.

[trailhiker85]

Redskins continually try for the quick fix, trading away high draft picks for instance success. While this may work from time to time, it is definitely not the model for NFL success.


This is my impression as well. It's almost as if Bruce Allen is following in the footsteps of his dad -- good ol' George "The Future is Now" Allen. On the other hand, this does seem like the kind of flashy, big name move so loved by Danny Snyder.

McNabb may have something left in his tank. But unless there is improved O-Line play in DC this year, he might take a real beating. And his receiver corps won't be as good as what he had in Philly.

I don't see this move as making the lowly Redskins into contenders. That's fine by me, as I don't like them. But it will make for some more interesting games in that division.

[Jeremiah W]

Do you think they are going to get McNabb and not get an O line? There is no cap. They spent way over it anyway, but there are linemen out there and they are going to get some. I hope they do not look too hard at our roster or they may try to get 2 or 3 of our guys. They may not go after Gaither, but Yanda and Chester could help them. Guys like Flozell are out there, but they have the 4th pick and will be able to get at least the #2 LT in the draft. They have plenty of skill guys and talent on D. They needed to upgrade the O line and Qb play, and they just did and will continue. They were not as bad as the 4 win record would indicate, sort of like our recent 5 win season, a lot of crazy stuff happend to a pretty good team in a competitve division.

[Mista T]

Washington is a contending type team every year. They flopped last year, but have been at least an 8 win team and have a couple recent playoff appearances.

:229031_confused2:

You've got me scratching my head on that one, Jeremiah. Since 1992, the Redskins have been in three playoffs out of 17 seasons: one division championship, three second place finishes, and 13 seasons as 3rd, 4th, or 5th. And they have been fairly consistent at losing ever since the first Joe Gibbs era: their record last 5 seasons = 36-44, 10 seasons = 60-80, and the last 17 seasons = 114 - 145.

They are no more a "contending team" than the Browns or Raiders

[trailhiker85]

Do you think they are going to get McNabb and not get an O line? There is no cap. They spent way over it anyway, but there are linemen out there and they are going to get some. I hope they do not look too hard at our roster or they may try to get 2 or 3 of our guys. They may not go after Gaither, but Yanda and Chester could help them. Guys like Flozell are out there, but they have the 4th pick and will be able to get at least the #2 LT in the draft. They have plenty of skill guys and talent on D. They needed to upgrade the O line and Qb play, and they just did and will continue. They were not as bad as the 4 win record would indicate, sort of like our recent 5 win season, a lot of crazy stuff happend to a pretty good team in a competitve division.


I never said they wouldn't do something to upgrade their O-line. What I said was if they don't improve it, McNabb will pay the price. That organization has mystified football fans on more than one occasion.

I disagree with you on how competitive these guys have been in recent years. Don't see how you can say they're competitive every year. They may have suffered a Perfect Storm last year, but I don't think you can write it off as a mere fluke.They've been pretty crappy overall during Snyder's reign.

[Jeremiah W]

I never said they wouldn't do something to upgrade their O-line. What I said was if they don't improve it, McNabb will pay the price. That organization has mystified football fans on more than one occasion.

I disagree with you on how competitive these guys have been in recent years. Don't see how you can say they're competitive every year. They may have suffered a Perfect Storm last year, but I don't think you can write it off as a mere fluke.They've been pretty crappy overall during Snyder's reign.

I would not say they were very good over the last 4 or 5 years, but I think they were pretty competitive and not an easy win. They had 8 and 9 wins before the 4. They rank pretty high in defense and rushing.

The coaching thing was really bad even with Gibbs back in the mix. Shanahan should be a major upgrade and they got a good GM that will not do everything the owner tells him to.

All 4 teams there are good so it is pretty easy to have a bad year or 3. With the ability to dump contracts and buy new players with no cap issues, it should be pretty easy to plug the rest of the holes in the O line or defense for them from here.

[ravenwoman]

This was an excellent trade for Philadelphia. They are revamping and getting younger. They are doing it at a time when they are still winning, still competing. That is what smart teams do. They let a player go when there is still above average value, before its too late. The Redskins may get 1-2 good years out of McNabb, but giving up a high second and a possible 3rd for next year was a very high price for a QB who may be well past his prime.

Yesterday's performance is no guarantee of future performance. I think this is a lesson the Ravens need to learn.

[Jeremiah W]

This was an excellent trade for Philadelphia. They are revamping and getting younger. They are doing it at a time when they are still winning, still competing. That is what smart teams do. They let a player go when there is still above average value, before its too late. The Redskins may get 1-2 good years out of McNabb, but giving up a high second and a possible 3rd for next year was a very high price for a QB who may be well past his prime.

Yesterday's performance is no guarantee of future performance. I think this is a lesson the Ravens need to learn.

Denver made an exellent trade of Cutler to the Bears.

This one is a wait and see, but I like the confidence to trade him to a rival. Not sure it is going to work out though.

[Rxdoxx]

This is my impression as well. It's almost as if Bruce Allen is following in the footsteps of his dad -- good ol' George "The Future is Now" Allen. On the other hand, this does seem like the kind of flashy, big name move so loved by Danny Snyder.


A little late to the thread, took me a while to think and distill my thoughts on this.

Trailhiker definitely has a piece of the puzzle, this is George Allen's son, and I do feel we are seeing Over The Hill Gang part2, modern day version. (Larry Johnson, Maybe-fast Willie Parker....)

Gotta believe their draft pick is now LT, and then they wait until the 4th to pick again, so OL is an area to watch, they will still need help, especially on the R side. (Flozell and shift Heyer to RG?).

I'm not fully convinced that Portis will be in the picture, remember we found Peerman late and there should be a number of RBs who fall that far or further with this deep draft. Remember that Denver discarded RBs kinda quickly.

How they finish, nobody really knows at this point. It is very hard to really see because it depends on production from age and an OL rebuild, so could go either way.
At least there is some solid football brain trust strongly in the picture, and not foolish wanna-bees. Snyder is still in the mix and while he has ultimate control, he now has ideas/consepts being generated from good football minds instead of fantasy league thinking. So we will have to wait, watch and see, and won't really know until well into the season how smart getting McN was.

The other side of the coin is why did Phila trade him within the divison?
Possibly enough goodwill/respect for McN to not Al Davis him.
Possibly they feel that McN's skills and durability are eroded enough that they are hoping they have planted a Trojan horse time-bomb in a divison rival. If you can see 4 games or more without McN, and the assumption that Campbell will now be traded, then you just hope that he is out for his game(s) against you and the skins eat enough losses to keep them a non-threat in the divison. Not a totally off-the-wall assumption with a rookie LT and seeing the insane beating Campbell endured in games last year.

If nothing else it is interesting to watch.

I'm not sure Ravens would match a nice offer for Chester, but if we can come up with a blocking TE (Byham did visit here), but Yanda is a definite concern of mine, course they don't have their 2nd rounder anymore...

[trailhiker85]

I'm not fully convinced that Portis will be in the picture ...

... and the assumption that Campbell will now be traded ...



Despite being someone who's always rooted against Washington, I couldn't help but be fascinated by last year's soap opera down there. Kinda like rubbernecking at a bad accident scene.

Portis and Campbell, of course, were two of the prime actors in the aforementioned soap. I'll be curious to see if Portis returns (he's a lot more popular with Danny Boy than he is amongst his teammates), and also to see where Campbell ends up. The latter took a real beating (both physically and in the DC press) last year. Campbell won't be a franchise QB for anyone, but even so I think he deserves better than what he's gotten up until now in DC.

[Lee Van Cleef]

Just a note:

Flozell Adams is past it.