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ESPN: Redskins offer Bowen four-year, $6M deal


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Henry,

I'm with you on that. If he's a perpetual backup it's too much to have offered. I don't know that's it's a big if to think he's going to be our starter though. The team seems pretty intent on making him the starter. The big if is whether he'll be competent enough to keep the job. If so, this is one of those contracts we'll be glib over. It could turn out to be a stretch though.

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I don't think this will turn out to be a stretch. I work in an office surrounded by Wisconsinite Packers fans, and they're pissed that we could steal Bowen away. He may not have a ton of experience, but he's a team leader in the making.

Looks to me like he's a real upgrade. How much of one... we'll have to wait and see.

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Originally posted by RUready

I hope the FO is right on this one.

The packers only offered him a 1 year $605,000 contract. Was that just to retain the rights to him?

He's worth more to us than the Packers because the have Sharper, a promising Marques Anderson and a decent backup-type in Antuan Edwards.

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Guys, remember this from the other day?

18:20 PT: ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reports the Philadelphia Eagles have agreed to a five-year deal with newly acquired LB Mark Simoneau. The deal includes a $1.5 million signing bonus and will pay Simoneau more than $3 million over the first two-years.

These contracts seem pretty similar to me, as do the circumstances/roles of each player on their previous teams. I don't think this is a big deal. And obviously, you're not going to get away with ganking a RFA with a small contract.

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Originally posted by luckydevi

It Seems like the fo has really done their scouting. I find this encouraging

That's the point-they've obviously done their homework on the guy-and he sounds more promising to what we've had the past two years.

paired with Ohalete, that could be a pretty firery team of safties.

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I posted this on Dirk Diggler's thread about he and Morton

"Here is abit more on Bowens. Me likey....me likey a..LOT!

http://www.jsonline.com/packer/rev/...-mattbowen.asp

Extremely gifted athlete with impressive size, raw power and blazing speed...Former quarterback who has made a smooth adjustment to the secondary...aggressive hitter who throws his body around willingly...Finds the ball and reacts quickly in run support...Decisive reading moves, turning his hips smoothly in deep coverage...One of the fastest players in the Iowa program... Recently timed at 4.4 in the 40-yard dash.

And this from http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/footbal.../mattbowen.htm

Combine Numbers

Height Weight 40 yards Vertical Long jump Bench Shuttle Cone

6-1-1/8 201 4.50 33" 9'7" 12 4.09 7.06

Rugged safety has come off a fine senior season and postseason that has him rising up the draft charts going into April. Bowen is a physical defender who has prototypical skills for the strong safety position. He is tough in run support, showing the skills to keep blockers off his body and the instincts to get through traffic to drop ballcarriers."

We're not signing him as a back-up or special teamer. We're signing him to start. After reading Packer fans opinions of him, including his impressive starts subbing for Sharper, I think he's a real upgrade over Terrell. Read the above again, what in any of that description reminds you of Terrell. Terrell is marginal, a liability in our secondary. His best position is as a nickel back where he has one responsibility... covering the man in front of him. Terrell CANNOT view the field and get in position to make a play, most likely because he's a corner playing safety. We now have a pure FS who is coming into his own. I think it's a solid signing.

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This is easily the riskiest thing the team has done so far. I'm not too crazy about it. He's going to have to be really solid and a big improvement over Terrell for this to work.

Of course, you have to be impressed by the diligence required to target this guy. The FO might know a little more than me about the wisdom of this signing.:D

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This is the most eyebrow-raising signing, so far, and I think it will be the key one to watch.

This is the one that will tell us if our scouting staff really has an eye for rising talent, or if they just made a wild stab.

Somebody, somewhere, said these picks have the look of Joe Gibbs-type acquisitions, not Dan Snyder signings. Is Bowen another Brad Edwards? Brandon Noble another Matt Williams? Regan Upshaw another Freddy Stokes?

When's training camp? Damn, forget that. When's the regular season start?!?!?!

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I agree that this is a risky move. I would rather see anyone on the field than Terrell. From the above photo posted by Sashae, it appears that Bowen has a better "Stance" than Terrell when watching someone else make a tackle...that should give him a leg up in camp:rolleyes:

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More info from extremeskins.

Redskins Submit Offer Sheet for Safety Bowen

03/04/2003

The Washington Redskins today submitted an offer sheet for restricted free agent safety Matt Bowen of the Green Bay Packers. If successful in signing Bowen, the Redskins will relinquish a sixth-round pick to Green Bay in the upcoming draft as compensation.

The Packers have seven days to match the Redskins’ offer for the defensive back, or accept the compensation and allow Bowen to play in Washington.

Bowen, 6-1, 210 pounds, played in all 16 games for Green Bay in 2002, starting six. He played a key role as back-up safety and a valued special teams contributor. He earned the starting position at strong safety for Weeks 4 through 7 and at free safety in the Packers' regular-season finale.

Bowen made his first career post-season start against Atlanta in the NFC Wild Card playoff contest, recording a career-high 15 tackles (10 solo) and two passes defensed. He ended the season with a career-high 42 tackles (27 solo), finishing second among reserves.

Bowen, 26, was selected by St. Louis in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft and earned the team’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ award. He played in all 16 contests as a rookie, starting two, and finished the season with 21 tackles (15 solo) and two passes defensed. He added 21 tackles on special teams to tie for the club lead. He suffered a broken foot in the first game of the 2001 season and was placed on injured reserve. After being waived off injured reserve on November 6th, Bowen joined the Packers in Week 12, and played in the club’s last five games.

Bowen was a four-year letter winner at Iowa (1996-99), starting his final two seasons and earning second-team All-America recognition and first-team All-Big Ten Conference honors as a senior. He posted a career-high 109 tackles (76 solo) and two interceptions as a senior, and led the team with 92 tackles (57 solo) and two interception as a junior. He earned a BA degree in journalism and mass communications.

A native of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Bowen was an all-state, all-area and all-conference selection at quarterback for Glenbard West High School. In his final season, as team captain and the team’s most valuable player, he passed for 1,533 yards and 17 touchdowns and gained 1,329 yards on the ground. He also lettered in baseball and basketball.

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And this, from a Ram fan very familiar with Bowens....

"I remember Matt Bowen very well. He was a stellar player at the University of Iowa and somehow slipped to the Rams in later part of the draft in 2000. Despite the draft disapointment, Bowen started his first two games as a rookie (subbing for an injured player) and played very well. In his rookie year he was one of the teams top special teams players, played well at both safety spots and was voted the teams rookie of the year in 2000.

In 2001, the speedy Bowen was supposed to really help the Rams as a top reserve and special teamer. However, he broke his foot and was placed on IR after game one. Bowen made a fast recovery, and by NFL rule (a team can not keep a healthy player on IR who wants to play) the Rams were forced to release him. The next day the Packers grabbed him.

He played very well for the Packers this year as a starter. The Packers staff even hinted they felt "bad" not starting him when the starting safeties were healthy; that's how well he played. He also did all the teams defensive play-calling for the Pack

The Packers could use Bowen this season. However, the right thing to do is let him go and be the starter he deserves to be. Forcing him to return as a "top backup" would be futile for both sides....And yes, Martz made a huge mistake placing him on IR with a "non-season ending" injury.

Honestly, I figured the Redskins would either go after Todd Johnson of Florida in the draft, or bring in a talented, young safety like Bowen. Don't buy into the BS that Bowen "lacks speed". That's just unimformed people guessing. The Rams felt he had the speed of a corner at times. Downside of Bowen's game is his size. He's not a big dude at all.

Great job for the Redskins. Congrats Matt and I hope he does great in DC for coach Steve, except versus the Rams"

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Let's think about this one for a moment. The front office likes his talent, and he's certainly athletic and apparently smart. (I doubt I'm the first to think that this converted QB might be a little like John Lynch . . .)

Anyway, how does one explain the fact that he's mostly been a backup despite the praise given to him. I think the answer's simple. He converted from QB to FS late in college, and he's learning on the fly. He also seems to be a heady player, and they tend to develop later anyway.

If he starts for us, 1.5M/year over four years and a 6th rounder is worth it. And if he can tackle, he's already an upgrade over Terrell. When was the last FS we had who you liked? I'd say it was easily more than a decade ago. And the beauty of it is that even if this falls through, we've forced GB - a conference rival - to sign him for our price, not theirs. I like the move, but I'm putting faith in our front office's assessment of his talent.

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I like it. Sounds like at least a little bit of an upgrade at least with good potential upside at a reasonable cost. If its a gamble, it's a smart one.

One by one the holes are getting filled. Hmmmmm. I wonder what they are gonna do on draft day? :drool:

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From seeing what Packer fans think. I think he might be their version of Ohalete. If some other team was doing this to Ohalete do you think they would know who he was???? I doubt it.

Its a risk cause he hasnt had a lot of experience but you have to take risks to win. I like this deal. If he has fire and throws his body around and hits hard. That is a whole level above Terrell.

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