Player Spotlight: Malcolm Kelly

Malcolm Kelly was drafted with the 51^st Overall Pick (2nd Round) out of Oklahoma, in the 2008 NFL Draft.  Standing at 6’4” and weighing in at 226 lbs, this is a beast of a Wide Receiver (WR), at least in stature.  But not in production…. at least not yet.  I believe the young man is poised for a breakout season.  And when it happens, remember that you heard about Malcolm Kelly from me first.  If you don't believe me just ask his college teammate, Sam Bradford.

So far, Kelly has appeared in 10 games and has 365 yards on 28 catches.  So I guess there is no where to go, but up.  But he is more than just a big body.  We are talking about a WR that was an All-American, twice named all Conference (Big 12) and was name to the Big 12 All-Freshman team in college.  Kelly finished his college career with 144 catches, 2,285 yards and 21 TD catches.  What has been the issue with Kelly has been the same injury that's plagued him since his Senior year in college, and hampered him during the NFL Combine time.  He tried to workout during Oklahoma’s Pro Day, but the same injury hampered him and allowed him to run a disappointing time in the 40-Yard Dash (4.75 and 4.68).  Most categorized him as just a deep threat, but his route running has improved a bit since entering the NFL and so has his explosion.

The injury that Kelly has been hampered with is….  a hamstring injury.  See this injury is not as tricky as people make it out to be.  It is either a hamstring tendon strain, hamstring tendon tear, hamstring tendon rupture, hamstring strain (muscle) or hamstring tear (muscle).  I am not a doctor, nor a professional trainer, but this injury, unless there are other underlying health issues like I have experienced, should have been healed within a few weeks his rookie season.  But for some reason it lingered and carried over into last season.  And with the turnover of the training staff and strength and conditioning team, Kelly was poised to take the field last year, but an early decision to put him IR (injured reserves), didn’t allow him to play a down last year.  During that time Kelly healed and now he is set to take the field.  So what can you expect from him this season?

Expect a big-bodied target that will be able to run the short and medium routes.  Expect the production of a Possession Receiver (not a lot of down the field stuff, but a lot of catches 10-20 yards down the field.).  Expect a WR that will be called on to catch the jumpball in the Red Zone (the last 20 yards of the field).  When it is all said and done,  I expect 50+ catches, 900+ yards, and 7-9 TD’s.  Malcolm Kelly will be the #2 WR by the end of season.  Who will be the #1 WR on the Redskins?  Only time will tell, but if things hold to form, that will be Santana Moss.  And the Moss-Kelly tandem isn’t all that shabby.  I have seen worse.

I Wanna Be Like Mike..... Shanahan!!!

Just in case you have been living under a rock, Mike Shanahan is the new coach of the Washington Redskins. I have mixed feelings about this. It is a step in the right direction for a club that went 4-12. But, Shanahan struggled his last 3 years in Denver going 24-24. Hardly a record that is impressive. He is known as an authoritarian, and he has a ton more talent here in Washington, than he did in Denver. This could work out in his favor. But what should his first move(s) be? What should he do first? If I were a GM, I would start very simple. I want to be like Mike (Shanahan) for the next 7 months.

I have a sick obsession with the John Madden football game. Every year that it comes out, I am itching to get it. But, I wait for about a month to go buy it. Why, you might ask? Because, I have another sick obsession with the NCAA College Football game. And I have an Xbox 360 now so the game requires you to talk to the prospective college students to persuade them to attend your school, and even do in home visits/sit downs. You also have to schedule visits to your school and make promises to prospective students, if you so choose. It is extremely tedious, but once you have gotten your recruit and you see them through all four years of college and watch them develop into a pro prospect, you can export them to the Madden game. This is when the real fun starts. I love playing the Madden season and importing all of those college players that are pro prospects. I purposely get the worse team in the NFL, just so I can turn the team around. I love rebuilding a franchise. I love developing talent. I love the grind of Free Agency, the NFL Scouting Combine, The NFL Draft, and Training Camp. Most people want the pretty, well put together, teams. Give me the worst franchise and give me the power to make all of the final decisions. That to me is fun. It may be a bit crazy, but it gives me a chance to prove to everyone that I know what I am doing, and I can rebuild my franchise, my way. I do not like to follow others. I like marching to the beat of my own drum. This is where Mike Shanahan could take notes from me. I understand this is not a video game, this is real life. So here are my real life franchise moves regarding the Washington Redskins, if I were Mike Shanahan.

The very first thing that I would do, is grab Jason Campbell by the facemask, and tell him, "You are my guy. You are a Franchise Quarterback and I am going to get the best out of you over the next 4-5 years." My next task would be to grab Santana Moss and tell him, "You are my #1 receiver. You are a dynamic player. You are going to be a big part of what we do here, so please be ready for a great year." I would then go to Devin Thomas and Fred Davis and tell them, "You two will be my #2 Wide Receiver and #2 Tight End respectively." My next move would be to grab Clinton Portis and tell him, "Look, you have about two good years left in you before you really start to decline. I am going to milk you for everything that is left in your tank. So you'd better get with our Strength and Conditioning Team and get to work." My next move would be to go to Albert Haynesworth and ask, "How bad do you want to be the best Defensive Tackle in the game? Because if you want it bad, I want to know what Tennessee asked you to do. Whatever they asked you to do there, I want you to do here. No more of that asking you to occupy two blockers on 95% of the plays." My last move, before the draft, would be to go to Bobby Crumpler and Harrison Bernstein, the Strength and Conditioning Team, and tell them, "Hop in the next flight to Columbus, OH, to see my friend and Godfather of the Conjugated Method, Louie Simmons. Louie Simmons is going to break down the Russian style of training that made his gym, Westside Barbell, so popular. Westside is probably the strongest gym in the world. An 800 lb Squat, 500 lbs. Bench Press, and 700 lbs. Deadlift is a joke at Westside. They have 19 year olds doing that. Louie is also good at conditioning. His lifters are in such good shape it makes no sense. If you have to ask who Louie Simmons is, you do not need to be in the Strength and Conditioning field." By the way, if you were paying attention, this is the style of training that players like Donald Brown, Tiki Barber, Miles Austin, Deon Anderson and Brian Cushing used to get to the NFL. With that said, we will be off to the 2010 NFL Draft.

With the 4th Pick (4th selection, 1st Round) in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins select..... Taylor Mays, Free Safety from Southern California (U.S.C.). This will allow us to move LaRon Landry back to Strong Safety and fill a void left by the death of Sean Taylor. (R.I.P. Sean) Chris Horton will be used in certain packages during the season and Reed Doughty would be traded for a future (2011) Draft pick.

With the 36th Pick (4th selection, 2nd Round) in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins select.... Bruce Campbell, Left Tackle from the University of Maryland. Just in case Chis Samuels cannot finish his career, we are prepared.

We have no 3rd Round Pick because we used it on Defensive End, Jeremy Jarmon in the Supplemental Draft in 2009. I think it was a pick well spent. I just hope he recovers from his ACL injury.

With the 100th Pick (4th selection, 4th Round) in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins select.... Mike Johnson, Offensive Guard from the University of Alabama. We need a back up for Derrick Dockery. Although Dockery is a beast, and durable as hell, we have learned injuries are not predictable. So this is just in case.

With the 132nd Pick (4th selection, 5th Round) in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins select.... Sherrick McManis, Cornerback from Northwestern University. I have been following this young man his entire career at Northwestern. With Carlos Rogers' tenure up in the air and Fred Smoot aging (and doing nothing about it to try to slow it down), I have to build for the future. McManis and Kevin Barnes would be my featured Cornerbacks for years to come.

We have no 6th Round Pick because we traded it away on Jason Taylor, and then we released him. So what do we have to show for it right now? Good move Vinny "The Dipstick" Cerrato.

With the 196th Pick (4th selection, 7th Round) in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins select.... Stevenson Sylvester, Outside Linebacker from the University of Utah. I have been following this young man for the past two years. And since the Brian Orakpo Project is not working out at Linebacker, and Marcus Washington is not walking through that door, I think we need a Linebacker to play Strong Side and handle some of the speedy Tight Ends and Halfbacks that we are going to face, especially within our own division. This will allow me to use Brian Orakpo the way he is supposed to be used, as a Defensive End.

That would be it folks. There will be no big name signings in the Free Agency period(s). There will be no big re-signing of any of our Restricted Free Agents. They are getting 2 year contracts that have options to be picked up in the second year, and will be loaded with incentives. So they can play around if they want to. I would have no shame in going back out on the market to replace them. You have to be a bit indifferent towards the players. Once they feel that you have no backbone, you are done. It is like dating. You can't let someone walk all over you, and then think that you are going to get your power back later. It is a pipe dream. I hope Coach Shanahan shoves his foot so far up some players asses that they have to open their mouths to tie his shoe. You cannot sugarcoat anything. We were 4-12 in 2009 and it WILL NOT happen again, while I am on the job. I guess this is why I am not the coach. I would have a radical approach. But, what if.... what if my approach worked? Would it be the blueprint for others to follow. Because if you know me personally, then you know that I am not going to follow anyone else. But I will blaze a trail. And I hope Mike Shanahan is the same way. Good luck coach.

He's Moved On, But Have We?

Anyone that knows me understands that I am very biased when it comes to Defensive Players, especially Cornerbacks. I think it is extremely hard to draft Cornerbacks. I also think that it is extremely hard to find a cornerstone at Cornerback. I am really a fan of bigger, more athletic Cornerbacks. Nnamdi Asamougha, Al Harris, Ike Taylor, Cortland Finnegan, Mike McKenzie, Antonio Cromartie and Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie are all favorites of mine. But I am leaving one guy out, and it hurts me to admit this, but it’s been about 5 years now and I still miss him. I am selfish, I wanted him to stay and work it out. I know we got Clinton Portis in the trade, but if you ask me, I have always said that Denver got the better end of that deal.

Roland “Champ” Bailey was not your average Cornerback. This was the guy that any franchise would have used a 1^st round draft pick on. I would venture to say that he could have easily gone #1 overall in just about any NFL Draft, but thank goodness he went #7 to the Redskins. Standing at 6’0”, weighing in at 192 lbs., he may not be a giant, but he is big enough to cause some problems for the other teams passing game. His blazing speed (4.28 40-Yard Dash Time) and ridiculous vertical (44”), made it extremely hard for the Redskins to pass on him. And, although I hate the damn test, he scored a very impressive 25 on the Wonderlic (a good score for a Cornerback is an 18). I guess you can be athletic and smart after all huh? But all of the workout numbers pale in comparison to what he as done on the field.

Just look at what Champ’s done in his career. He has 547 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 43 Interceptions including a season in which he had the fewest passes thrown at him, but he led the NFL with 10 INT’s. He is also a 1998 Branko Nagursky trophy winner (awarded to the best college Defensive player in the nation), 8-time Pro Bowler, 3-time All-Pro 1^st team, and 3-time All-Pro 2^nd team selection. Probably one of the most decorated Cornerback in NFL history. And probably the closest thing you are going to get to a “Shutdown Corner” (a term that I hate because it is impossible to completely shutout any Wide Receiver). If you can’t see why I was heartbroken when he left, you don’t know football.

Don’t get me wrong, I am biased but, I am also greedy. I wish that it was some way that we could have gotten Clinton Portis without giving Champ Bailey. Can you imagine that? But I know we had to give something to get something. And although I love Clinton Portis, I still say that Denver got the better end of the deal, because we have yet to replace a guy that would have been a cornerstone for years. Well this Sunday he comes back to FedEx field for the first time since the trade. I know he is filled with anxiety and anticipation. But he will also be a bit nostalgic. For a long time I thought he wanted to leave. Well the story was, that the free spending Daniel Snyder, who usually never spares any expense, didn’t want to pay Champ Bailey. I am no scout, I am not even close to being considered an expert, but I know one thing. This is one guy that I would have been locked up in a contract for a VERY long time. There is no way Champ would have ever left. In any event, I will enjoy seeing him come back to FedEx field, even if it with another team. I will always remember the time that he played here in D.C. I can look like an expert right now stating the obvious, that Champ Bailey was, and probably still is a Top 5 Cornerback. But use your own two eyes in evaluating talent, especially the young men coming out in the draft. Tell me if you think that guys like Champ Bailey grow on trees. I can sure as hell tell you that they don’t and this is one mistake Daniel Snyder will always have to live with. Imagine if you will, for a minute, a starting lineup featuring:

Brian Orakpo – Defensive End

Jason Taylor - Defensive End

Cornelius Griffin – Defensive Tackle

Albert Haynesworth – Defensive Tackle

London Fletcher – Middle Linebacker

LaVar Arrington – Weakside Linebacker

Marcus Washington – Strongside Linebacker

Sean Taylor – Free Safety

LaRon Landry – Strong Safety

Sean Springs – Cornerback

Champ Bailey – Cornerback

I know it is a fantasy, but you can’t blame me for thinking it.

The Safety

I have been a Redskins fan for over 25 years. I have watched a lot of games and I have liked a lot of players. I can remember wanting to be Joe Washington, or Charlie Brown. I can even remember thinking I was going to be the next Art Monk, Darrell Green, or Gary Clark. But, when I went to college in the mid 1990’s, especially after Art Monk left, I lost a bit of interested in the Redskins. I loved football and I loved the home team, but past Michael Westbrook, there was no player on the Redskins that could catch and hold my attention. And that all changed in the Spring of 2004, when one Sean Michael Maurice Taylor of the University of Miami was drafted #5 overall. I had not seen him play in college, but just watching his highlights at the NFL Draft that year caught my attention enough for me to look forward to the 2004 NFL Season.

The “experts” had Sean Taylor as possibly the best player in the draft. Keep in mind, that same year, players like Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and even Phillip Rivers were available in that draft. This just further illustrates the kind of talent Sean Taylor possessed. Taylor’s 2003 season in college was a very decorated one in which he garnered All-American honors, Big East Conference Defensive Player of The Year, and was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. At the NFL Combine, Taylor was clocked running a 4.51 40 Yard Dash, which is good for a Defensive Back, especially a Safety. He also weighed an astounding 231 lbs., which is almost the size of a Linebacker. But the most impressive thing about him was his unheared of Vertical leaping ability (39”) and the range he had in coverage. So needless to say, I was a bit upset that I never saw him play college ball, but I got to see enough of him in pro’s, and he did not disappoint.

One of the things that I liked about Sean Taylor, was his team approach. I know he never really participated in voluntary workouts (if it is voluntary, there should not be a big stink about him not participating), but when he did show, I never once heard or saw him take any plays off. His teammates loved him and more importantly, the Redskins fans adored him. He was never one to do things to thrust himself into the spotlight. He always let his play do his talking for him. From his bone crushing hits, to his timely interceptions, to his willingness to lay a lick on a defender from the other team on Special Teams, this guy showed people how you should approach the game of football. You would be hard pressed to find too many Redskins fans that do not miss Sean Taylor. We all knew that he was going to bring it every game, every play, every year.

I knew he was a special talent when he would take time out to talk to children. He was so gentle and compassionate when it came to kids. It surprised me that someone so ferocious could have such a soft spot for the little people. But, of all the things that I have seen him do, one particular play of his stands out to me the most. In a game in 2007 against the Detroit Lions, the Redskins were thoroughly dominating. There was a 4th down in which the Lions were punting the ball. James Thrash was back to return. As Thrash caught the punt and started to make his way up the field, he was doing his best to avoid defenders. Thrash catches the sidelines and has a defender from the Lions in hot pursuit of him. In a split second, I saw the defender from the Lions disappear as I heard a loud pop. It happened so fast that I had to wait for the replay to be shown so I could see who had just delivered this timely, but vicious block. When the replay was shown, it was not that much of a surprise that Sean Taylor was the man. And when the cameras caught him on the sidelines, a guy that never smiles during a game had a smile on his face from ear to ear. He was just as happy to block on Special Teams as he was to run down and smash a Running Back or Wide Receiver on Offense, or to intercept a pass. Trust me, this guy could have play numerous positions on the football field, but he chose Safety. This was the icing on the cake for me.

Sean Taylor, could have played Wide Receiver, Running Back (which he did in High School), Tight End, Cornerback, or Linebacker (trust me at 230 lbs. he wasn’t too far off). But he chose to play Safety, Free Safety at that. If you don’t know there is a fair amount of intelligence that a player needs to posses to play Free Safety. You have to have a feel for the game and anticipate, before the ball is snapped, what the other team is going to do. I know the fashionable thing to say is he has good instincts, or he is such a good athlete with natural ability, but let’s be honest people. At his position you have to be smart. This is an attribute that is not mentioned when people discuss Sean Taylor and it is bit disturbing, but I’ll save that for another post. It says a lot to me for a guy with that kind of ability chose to do an unselfish thing and play a position that doesn’t necessarily attract a lot of attention for the benefit of the team. This is the real reason why I liked Taylor.

I thought I was alone in my grief and sorrow to receive the news that Sean Taylor had passed away. But, as I made my way around Washington, D.C. I saw t-shirts, hats, jerseys, even cars, sporting Sean Taylor paraphernalia. At the next home game at FedEx Field, there was an inordinate amount of #21 jerseys, and hand towels, pictures and signs honoring the life of Sean Taylor. But nothing stuck out more to me than a train ride home one day on the Red Line here in D.C. in between Brookland and Fort Totten train stations. A concrete wall displayed how deep our cities grief went. Someone took the time to spray paint Sean Taylor’s name on the wall. To me this is a sign of respect. Sean Taylor had respect in the ‘hood. Everyone old enough to watch football loved him, and we still miss him. I don’t ever think we will see another player like him in a long time. I think it’s only fitting that he was inducted into the Ring of Honor at FedEx Field, because we all know, he would have been taking a trip to Canton, OH had he had the chance to play out his career. But as much as I, the fans, his family and his teammates miss him, the real loser in this situation was his precious little girl, who will never know her daddy. This to me is the real tragedy. And for all of us, he is irreplaceable.

R.I.P. Sean!!! God made you for us, but he needed you for much bigger things.