FanHouse LondonFletcher

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

The Redskins stormed out of the gate in Jim Zorn's first season as head coach, running their record to 6-2 at the halfway point. The second half of the season, unfortunately, was perfectly symmetrical -- they went 2-6 to finish 8-8.

They could have won three of those games in best-case scenarios, but the best teams come through instead of talking about what could have been. The reality is that the Redskins only played a half-season in '08.

It was a bit of a surprise when Redskins linebacker London Fletcher did not get selected for the Pro Bowl. Despite consistently being one of the most reliable linebackers in the NFL, he has yet to make a Pro Bowl in his 10-year career.

Fletcher has decided to let loose on his frustrations.

"I don't know if it was because I wasn't a first-round draft pick, I don't do some kind of dance when I make a 10-yard tackle, I don't go out and get arrested. I believe in playing the game the way it's supposed to be played. You line up each and every week, each and every play and you go out and get the job done. You look at my body of work and I've done that for 11 years. But because I'm not going out causing a lot of controversy, holding a private meeting with the coordinator saying this, this and this, causing a lot of strife on my team, I don't garner a lot of attention. But when you turn the film on each and every week, each and every play, I'm gonna show up. That's what I do.

Of course, there was a Terrell Owens blast thrown in there (Owens failed to make the Pro Bowl as well).

Fletcher's career has been amazing. He went undrafted out of John Carroll University in 1998. The Rams brought him in for a look-see and he turned into one of their defensive leaders. His leadership helped bring the Rams a Super Bowl in his second season with another appearance two years later. He has played in all of his teams' games for the last eight seasons.

He is currently fifth in the league in tackles.

The crew at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch put the bye to good use, compiling an extensive account of how the Rams, who in three years broke records, dominated the NFL, and won a Super Bowl, became the team -- term used liberally -- we see today.

There are the five most damaging decisions, all the money tied up in injured players this year (btw, Leonard Little is on the IR), Jim Thomas' lengthy and fascinating document on how Dick Vermeil's first retirement began the degradation of the franchise, and a few draft-day gambles that didn't pay off. Yeah, that about covers it.

Speaking of those draft-day gambles, here's what I found most damning from Thomas' must-read:

Only one player remains from the '00, '01, and '02 drafts - the three drafts that followed the Greatest Show seasons.

Even factoring in the rapid turnover rate of players in today's NFL, there should be four or five current starters from those drafts now in the prime of their careers, helping to form the backbone of the 2007 Rams. Instead there is just long snapper Chris Massey, a seventh-round pick in '02.

Fast forward through the '03 and '04 drafts, and only running back Steven Jackson, and linebackers Pisa Tinoisamoa and Brandon Chillar remain. So out of the five drafts following the Super Bowl XXXIV championship season, only four players remain: three starters and a long snapper.

Jackson is the only Rams Pro Bowler produced from any draft since Super Bowl XXXIV - that's a 1-for-63 batting average over the past eight drafts.

A five-year, $25 million deal was enough to get London Fletcher into a Redskins uniform. He visited Washington yesterday, and took in a Wizards game last night. I suppose the 1-point victory over the Hawks was enough to convince London that Washington is the place to be.

There's something magical about the Wizards' power of recruitment, I guess ... the AP article mentions that last year, Antwaan Randle-El, Andre Carter, Adam Archuleta, and Todd Collins all went to Wizards game on Washington visits, and all ended up signing with the 'Skins.

Fletcher gets a $10.5 million of Dan Snyder's money in the form of a signing bonus.

Fred Smoot also says that he's close to a deal with the Redskins. Starting corner Shawn Springs isn't expected to return to the team, and the other starting corner, Carlos Rogers, isn't expected to be very good. Smoot also took in the Wizards game, and the team also gave him a ground tour here.