According to a report in The Providence Journal, the New England Patriots are going to sign former Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs sometime this week. The Redskins decided to re-up with DeAngelo Hall to go opposite Carlos Rogers on the outside, so the aging and injury-prone Springs was deemed expendable and released.
This could end up being a very nice signing for the Patriots. No terms of the deal have been reported yet, so we don't know if they overpaid. Assuming they didn't, though, the Pats have acquired a solid corner who still has a few years left.
"I'm not a backup to nobody," Rogers said. "I'm a starter in this league. Everybody knows that. There's a lot of teams that would give their right arm to have me on their team."
"In Cincinnati, I played [just] nine plays," Rogers said. "I'm used to playing 60 to 70 plays. All of a sudden, you're a backup, you're a nickel, you're a third corner. That don't sit well with me. I still haven't had answers to the questions I want to know."
Rogers had a great start to the season as the team's No. 1 corner, but saw his playing time reduced towards the end of the season. That coincided with the Redskins bringing in DeAngelo Hall -- who is also looking at signing a long-term deal with the team -- and the improved health of Shawn Springs.
Rogers plans on meeting with secondary coach Jerry Gray, who is a candidate for the Detroit Lions head coaching job. If Rogers doesn't get the answers he wants from Gray, he could request a trade.
The expectations were pretty low when the Redskins signed DeAngelo Hall to a one-year contract a few days after the Raiders decided to cut bait. Oakland forked over eight million bucks for eight weeks of substandard cornerback play, which had been Hall's calling card during his four-year career.
Despite the overrated label, several teams were interested in Hall's services, but he settled on the Redskins because the Virginia native wanted to be close to home. While the former Virginia Tech star and Falcons first-round pick hasn't been spectacular in Washington, he's been surprisingly steady.
So steady, in fact, that he replaced Carlos Rogers in the starting lineup a few weeks ago, and now, according to the Washington Post's Jason La Canfora, the 'Skins are trying to sign him to a new deal.
The common thought is that Redskins running back Clinton Portis is unlikely to play against the Cowboys tomorrow night. He has yet to practice this week with a sprained MCL and the team has been trying to get Ladell Betts ready to take his place.
Still, head coach Jim Zorn thinks Portis may actually play. He is still listed as questionable and is considered a game-time decision. Zorn even had him kind of practicing.
Portis was on the Redskins Park practice fields on Friday, but he did not participate in the session.
"Clinton got some mental reps just in case he has a chance to go," Zorn said.
Even if Portis is available to play against the Cowboys, he would be used in a "limited fashion," Zorn added.
Mental reps, huh? Portis' backup, Betts, was limited in practice yesterday as he is recovering from his own knee injury. That could mean former league MVP Shaun Alexander, who has carried the ball ten times for 23 yards this season, could see a lot of work.
Big game on Sunday night -- the Cowboys, who stumbled into their bye week at 5-4 and Tony Romo-less, will now have their fresh-faced, franchise quarterback under center and get about the business of pulling themselves out of last place in the division and making a playoff run.
They'll travel to Washington where the Redskins are sitting at 6-3 -- also coming off a bye -- and looking to rebound from their most recent loss to the Steelers (and the millions of Steelers fans that took over FedEx Field ... or so the legend goes).
Despite neither team playing a real live tackle football game, a lot has happened in the last week. Through the miracle of prayer and an intense rehab regimen, Romo's pinky has been declared healthy, and the 'Skins, forever looking to sign big-name, no-talents, rushed to ink DeAngelo Hall after the Raiders figured out he wasn't very good.
By most accounts, DeAngelo Hall is a loud-mouthed jerk, and not only that, he's awful at his job.
Apparently, neither mattered to Al Davis, who traded a second- and fifth-round pick to acquire Hall, and then signed him to a seven-year, $70 million contract.
That lasted eight weeks, which, generally, is how long it takes the blatantly obvious to dawn on the Raiders organization. Davis kindly sent Hall on his way, but not before having to pay him $8 million for one being the NFL's worst cornerback. I'm not exaggerating. Just ask the all-knowing Peter King:
One of the ancillary story lines to come out of Pittsburgh's convincing win over Washington on Monday night wasn't the suddenly impotent Jim Zorn offense, or the sight of Carlos Rogers dropping another interception. It was the fact that FedEx Field had been taken over by Steelers fans. So much so, in fact, that the Redskins offense used a silent count for part of the game. That's unheard of.
Today, the Washington Post's Michael Wilbon expects more of the same on Nov. 16, when the Cowboys come to town. But he also explains why it happened in the first place, which says more about the owner than the fan base, I think. (When in doubt, blame Dan Snyder. It's just easier.)
There are a few people in the Cowboys locker room who should complain about their loss to the Redskins yesterday. They didn't get the ball enough to help their team win.
"Everybody recognized that I wasn't really getting the ball in the first half," Owens said. "I'm pretty sure everybody watching the game recognized it, people in the stands recognized it. I think my team recognized it."
I watched every snap from that game and thought that statement was ridiculous. The Cowboys ran 58 offensive plays. Twenty of those plays went to T.O. On many of them, Owens wasn't open yet Tony Romo forced it to him.
Romo threw 18 passes at T.O. and completed just seven. The Redskins' Shawn Springs and Carlos Rogers did an outstanding job being physical with Owens and getting their hands on those passes. Dallas also used T.O. on two end-around runs. He may think we all forgot about how he dropped a TD pass late in the game, too.
Training camps are underway, the NFL season is right around the corner, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
Quarterback: The young Jason Campbell made some nice strides last year ... but had a huge problem holding onto the ball too long. His fumbles, unnecessary sacks and bad decisions led to some poor end-of-game situations. Now with Jim Zorn calling the shots, Campbell will be in his 7th different system in eight years (counting his time at Auburn). Now he will be learning the West Coast offense that takes QBs a while to learn. Backup Todd Collins was golden in his duties last year and it was a bit of a surprise that he re-upped in Washington again. Colt Brennan is a project as the No. 3. Heat Index: 5
Running Back: Heading into last year, many people figured that the Redskins would go to a dual-back system. Didn't happen. Clinton Portis (who is always nicked up) brought it all season long, taking his place near the top of the yardage and TD rankings. Ladell Betts wasn't bad or anything -- he just didn't get the opportunities to shine as he did in 2006. Still, Betts is a very serviceable backup who could get more touches if Zorn really does want to run the football. Heat Index: 8
Cornerback Pacman Jones (No. 6) and receivers Troy Williamson (No. 7) and Mike Williams (No. 10) are already with their second teams. Meanwhile, quarterback Alex Smith (No. 1) is in a battle to hold down the starting job in San Francisco, while Antrel Rolle (No. 8) is being moved to safety in Arizona after failing to excel at cornerback.
Reiss rightly gives Ronnie Brown (No. 2), Cadillac Williams (No. 5) and Carlos Rogers (No. 9) passes because of injuries, but if nothing else, Benson, Brown and Williams reinforce the theory that using high-round picks on running backs is a waste of time and money.
Two things: A.J. Smith is obviously a genius, and nothing like having a tight end as a top-five selection -- Kellen Winslow couldn't even do that, and he's a soldier.
According to a report in The Providence Journal, the New England Patriots are going to sign former Redskins cornerback Shawn Springs sometime this week. The Redskins decided to re-up with DeAngelo Hall to go opposite Carlos Rogers on the outside, so the aging and injury-prone Springs was deemed expendable and released.
With the Redskins' season ending unceremoniously with a loss in San Francisco, thoughts of the 2009 season have already begun.
The common thought is that Redskins running back 
By most accounts, 
There are a few people in the Cowboys locker room who should complain about their loss to the Redskins yesterday. They didn't get the ball enough to help their team win.
As the 2005 draft class continues to be dismantled one underachieving pick at at time -- most recently highlighted by 32 teams wanting nothing to do with fourth-overall selection 
