ESPN: Mosley - Tap The Breaks On Redskins Playoff Talks

A bit of a reality check...

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/21139/tap-the-brakes-on-redskins-playoff-talk

Pardon me for not getting caught up in the apparent playoff euphoria that is sweeping Redskins Park. My esteemed colleague and pal John Clayton has elevated the Washington Redskins to "co-favorite" status, along with the Dallas Cowboys, to win the NFC East.

Sorry, but I'm not there yet. Clayton points out that the addition of Brett Favre to the Vikings added 5.7 points per game and took them from 10 to 12 wins (and an NFC title game appearance).

My issue with that comparison is that McNabb won't have anywhere near the talent surrounding him that Favre enjoyed. The Vikings had the best running back in the league heading into the 2009 season. The Redskins counter with a stable of running backs who each peaked about four years ago (yes, I realize Clinton Portis was good in 2008 but he faded late).

And let's not act like drafting Oklahoma State left tackle Russell Okung in this month's draft is going to completely fix one of the worst offensive lines in the league. What, did you guys get excited about that Artis Hicks signing? He couldn't start for the Vikings last season but I guess he'll get the Redskins to the next level.

By trading for McNabb, Shanahan's acting as if the Redskins are prepared to win now. You don't pay an aging quarterback $11.2 million in 2010 to be a stopgap player. To me, this smacks of the old Dan Snyder way of doing business. McNabb is a blockbuster name like, say, Deion Sanders or Bruce Smith. It sounds like another expensive shortcut, albeit a highly-intriguing one.

But let's not forget McNabb finished up his '09 campaign by playing miserably in back-to-back losses to the Cowboys. Are the Redskins a better team with McNabb at quarterback? Of course they are. But it's hard to imagine him making a seven-win difference -- and that's what it would probably take to challenge for a division title. Clayton immediately has the Redskins leap-frogging the Eagles with this move.

"As for the Eagles, who were 11-5 last season, the pressure falls on the unproven quarterback Kevin Kolb," writes Clayton. "With this being his first year as the full-time starter, we can expect a two- or three-win drop in the Eagles' record because first-year starters have difficulty winning close games. The Packers experienced that after they traded Favre to the New York Jets for a second-round choice in 2008. Even though Aaron Rodgers threw for more than 4,000 yards in 2008, he struggled in the fourth quarter of close games, and the Packers dropped from 13-3 to 6-10."

Again, the good news for Eagles fans is that McNabb isn't exactly inheriting the Fun Bunch. Santana Moss still has breakaway speed, but he needs time to get open. And let's not act like McNabb's the same guy who once kept a play alive for 14 seconds on "Monday Night Football" against the Cowboys. In Philadelphia, McNabb played the majority of his career with offensive tackles Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan. He'll likely be breaking in a rookie on his blindside in 2010 and the pedestrian Stephon Heyer will man the right side.

This is certainly a fascinating trade in terms of its impact on two franchises, but to say that Washington and Dallas are the co-favorites in the division is a pretty big stretch.

Mosley being negative about the Redskins. Nothing new here...

Mosley is pretty much spot on. It makes us a better team now yes but it's really not a trade that a rebuilding team should be making.

Mosley being negative about the Redskins. Nothing new here...

I would say being realistic.

The offensive line is still atrocious the secondary depth is still spotty and there are 3 running backs that are past their primes and on the wrong side of their careers. And the defense is switching over to a 3-4 which usually takes some time. I can't see the Redskins being more than an 8-8 team and that won't win the division.

I think he hit the nail on the head... We were never 1 player away from the playoffs... I think that all this does is let Dan Snyder go along with drafting an O lineman in the draft, so that in the future if Clausen does become an elite QB, he can say "well we drafted McNabb before the draft, so we couldn't take a QB"

It does feel like a move/fix for now and not for the future at all, and this teem has needs. Will wait and see how it all unfolds. No doubt he improves the QB position for us by a bit...but we have to protect him an the O line is seriously lacking.

He's just jealous

Not going to comment on making the playoffs or our ranking. But it's possible McNabb elevates his receivers in the same way Favre or Manning do. Maclin and Jackson had combined for one pro season prior to '09, Celek two. If McNabb does make his receivers better, Moss/Cooley/Davis/Kelly/Thomas aren't a bad lot.

Also, Zorn's playcalling stifled all of them, apparent when Lewis took over. Not only is McNabb a better QB, but Shanahan is a better offensive mind. There should be improvement...playoff-level though? Not likely with our O-line, but it's possible. And the off-season has plenty of room for more moves.

I am all for this trade. On that note I don't think it puts our Skins into any elite status. But with McNabb and Shanny we won't be embarrassed on Sundays like last year. I also think if McNabb gets a running game he has 3 or 4 years left and years 2-4 the Skins could be competing for a Super Bowl.

Disclaimer: I am a huge kool-aid drinking homer who might be getting a McNabb jersey for my birthday next month.

Still puzzled after all these hours.

McNabb is a considerable upgrade at QB, but this team won't be an analogue to Minny unless we can fix the OL and that will take 1-2 years.

He's right. This move (assuming it's not a prelude to a bigger move for Bradford) reeks of bad Skins moves of the past. This new regime just lost it's honeymoon period as far as I'm concerned.

Mosely is a hack hes nothing more than a cowboys homer working at espn. I believe if the skins went out and got Adrian Peterson. Brandon marshall and every stud offenseive lineman you could think of we would still be slated by him to finish dead last and get embarrased by the cowboys.

In other words Matt Mosely Can stuff it

Who was floored by the Vikings receiving corp prior to Favre's arrival. The great S Rice had about 150 yards receiving the year prior. So don't give me that crap about talent. Favre might have made the super bowl if not for the great running back the Vikes have in the backfield developing a serious case of the fumbles.

BTW - The best running back in the league plays in Tennessee and they didn't make the post season. It's a QB league the smash mouth days are long gone. Even the Jets needed some crazy performances from their rookie to advance... only Baltimore seems to win in the post season with bad QB play.

He is right about one thing. The Skins need TWO (as in more than one) STARTING tackles. Do you people have any idea how hard that is to come by? One is a problem. Two requires such poor planning that you rarely see it happen. Our line is missing the two most important players on it. (friggin Vinnie!!!) Come to think of it he's right about another thing... this does look like the same old thing from the skins. Put it to you think way the 2010 draft hasn't happened and we've already lost a 2011 pick. I wonder if we'll ever keep them all or, dare I say it, have more than 7 picks.

Clayton may be showing the love but it's not like Redskins fans everywhere are proclaiming playoffs so I'm not sure what Mosley is even taling about here.

McNabb is a turd. Even Shanny won't be able to polish it. The odds Shanny stays 5 years just got smaller when McNabb busts out, gets injured and flames like an old sucky QB.

I think he hit the nail on the head... We were never 1 player away from the playoffs... I think that all this does is let Dan Snyder go along with drafting an O lineman in the draft, so that in the future if Clausen does become an elite QB, he can say "well we drafted McNabb before the draft, so we couldn't take a QB"

Yup, that's exactly what Dan Snyder is thinking about right now, what he's going to say just in case it doesn't work out since it's extremely important to have a quick reply on the ready for fans such as yourself. Yup.

I thought we were passed the whole "blame Snyder for everything" responses.

The trade is worth it just to see McNabb getting "The Treatment". The way we have done business (and failed) over the last xx years means that there is a huge amount of skepticism for our team. With good reason.

Suddenly McNabb will be human in the eyes of the media. Five years too late.

Yup, that's exactly what Dan Snyder is thinking about right now, what he's going to say just in case it doesn't work out since it's extremely important to have a quick reply on the ready for fans such as yourself. Yup.

I thought we were passed the whole "blame Snyder for everything" responses.

Nah, people were just waiting for us to get a big name, any big name so they could proclaim nothing changed.

Yup, that's exactly what Dan Snyder is thinking about right now, what he's going to say just in case it doesn't work out since it's extremely important to have a quick reply on the ready for fans such as yourself. Yup.

I thought we were passed the whole "blame Snyder for everything" responses.

Yeah, I wouldn't look to Snyder for this move (Outside of the fact that he allows bold moves like this), but it isn't too far away from what Gibbs did when he got here. Certainly McNabb is better than Brunell when we traded for them, but we also gave up a hell of a lot more for McNabb.

It is one of the things I was nervous about when Shanahan was hired and was given a lot of control that he wasn't going to look out for the future of the franchise. Coaches typically think about next year and not really about the long term.

McNabb = Jake Plummer v2.0

He will be the starter for a few years until the OL and RB situation are fixed and the QB of the future drafted.

All of this may or may not be true, but if the Redskins are now able to unload Jason Campbell for a second rounder to the Raiders, Browns, Seahawks, Bills, or Cardinals I will be happy with it. It would also be nice to move Andre Carter for a second or third. If that happens that would mean the Redskins recouped all of the picks they had lost because of the McNabb trade and the Jarmon pickup in the '09 supplementary draft. The team would have upgraded their QB situation and also have a young defensive end who was given a second round grade while at the same time unloaded some no longer useful players.

HTTR

I have no problem with this move. McNabb is a proven QB and we can still draft a QB to groom behind him next year or in '12. When I look at the team we have I don't think damn this is a horrid team, I think man this team could be pretty good if our line were better, if we had a better QB, and if we had a coach that had half a clue of what he were doing. Guess what, we got the coach and we just got the QB. Now with a couple of moves we could strengthen the o line as well.

This could turn out to be a hell of a move, and I don't place this with the Deion and Bruce Smith moves because those players were CLEARLY on the down side of their careers and were nothing but nostalgia pick ups by Danny, he fell in love with the big name. McNabb is absolutely still playing at a high level and is still considered to be one of the top ten QB's in this league. I don'tknow about the "division favorites" thing but we should definately contend this year if we can make a couple of moves to fill in some gaps on the O Line.

I know that our O line is pretty bad, but I think that the new system and McNabbs ability to throw on the run paired with his quick decision making instantly makes our O line and entire offense look a little bit better. He also manages to makes his receiver fairly productive regardless of who they are

Mosley's an idiot. Plain and simple. I'm not saying we'll be in the playoffs, but you have to look at this from so many different points of views. Zorn isn't our coach, Shanahan is. Who knows what he'll get outta the players we have, especially with McNabb here. Chances are we'll have a nice running game. He won't overlook the O-Line either. Our defense should be solid...hopefully. It's a new year as well. Mosley covers the NFL so he should realize just how much things change from year to year. Playoffs, maybe. But we will be a problem for everyone we play and Mosley will eat his words. Bank on it