Posts tagged Vinny Cerrato at FanHouse

Since Joe Gibbs announced his retirement, and Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato took a more prominent role in personnel decisions, the Redskins, surprisingly, have made a series of not-insane moves that should make them better heading into 2008.

The head coaching search was a little shaky early in the proceedings, but by all accounts, Jim Zorn, the guy who eventually got the job, is perfectly suited to run the team. There's still the little issue of implementing the West Coast Offense, which Zorn picked up while working in Seattle under Mike Holmgren.

Former NFL personnel dude Mike Lombardi thinks the WCO is the exact wrong fit for a team comprised mainly of Joe Gibbs players.

Some of the assets he has on offense, like Santana Moss and Clinton Portis are not best highlighted in the west coast offense. Moss is an explosive player, who is best running over routes and deep comebacks, not slants and snags. When the Jets ran the west coast with Paul Hackett, Moss was the change of pace wide receiver he was used for specific routes as Laveranues Coles was the number one wide receiver.

Portis is best when he can run the zone scheme and is not very effective when it comes to pass protection--something the west coast tailback will have to handle.

I agree that Moss is probably better as a deep threat, but the Redskins did draft pass catchers with their first three picks -- two wideouts (Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly) and a tight end (Fred Davis). There's no reason to think Moss couldn't take on the role he had with the Jets when he played alongside Coles.

Clinton Portis isn't one for practice, and he admits as much. But the Washington Post's Jason La Canfora writes that Portis is taking a more "mature and healthy approach" to the offseason, at the insistence of owner Dan Snyder, and GM of the Year candidate Vinny Cerrato.

Portis has obliged, partly because his contract has been essentially guaranteed through 2010, but also because the former Broncos second-round pick seems to have grown up at the ripe old age of 26:

"It wasn't [the new contract], it's just he simple fact that I'm now six years in," said Portis, who still has a distaste for practice in general. "How many good years do I got left? This is a golden opportunity, why let it slip away? They asked me to be here; I might as well be here. And I'm here, so I might as well work and take advantage of the opportunity.

La Canfora describes Portis as something of a polarizing figure, but despite the slip in productivity with the 'Skins after two jaw-dropping seasons in Denver, he can also be "as selfless as any runner in the NFL, sacrificing his body in pass protection, but his practice habits and comments have turned off some within the organization, too."

Hmm. The Vikings waived Erasmus James, rescinded the transaction, and then sent their 2005 first-rounder to the Redskins for Washington's first-round picks in 2009, 20011 and 2012.* Or maybe all the 'Skins had to give up was a 2009 conditional seventh-rounder.

Either way, this is the first time I've heard a team fake-waiving a player before trading him. Maybe Minnesota discovered there was a market for James, hence the change of heart, but a conditional seventh-rounder hardly seems worth the paperwork.

Washington, a team that has been looking to add depth to the defensive line for a few years now, gets a guy with an extensive injury history, but who also has some upside:

We really liked Erasmus coming out of college," executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato said. "He's young and talented, and he has a great deal of potential. We like the fact that his defensive line coach at the University of Wisconsin--John Palermo--is our current defensive line coach."

Said Palermo: "Erasmus is an every down player. He's tough enough to play on first and second down and fast enough to give you a good pass rush on third down.

Well, Erasmus is an every-down player when he's healthy, something he hasn't been throughout his three-year NFL career. He's appeared in just eight games the last two seasons, and has had three surgeries on his left knee.

Despite the health concerns, the Redskins continue to make shrewd personnel moves this offseason, which is, well, mind-blowing. If anything, it just reinforces the fact that Vinny Cerrato is much smarter than he looks.

*bald-faced lie

Hat tip: PFT

So, yeah, Redskins rookie tight end Fred Davis likes to sleep. Unfortunately, his raging case of narcolepsy struck during last weekend's minicamp. This is generally frowned upon, particularly when starting a new job.

The Washington Post's Jason Reid writes that "some draft evaluators reported that USC tight end Fred Davis exhibited poor work habits and made questionable decisions at times." The Redskins considered him too much of a talent to pass up, and three days into his NFL career, Davis missed practice. The team reported that Davis had overslept, and his brother, Kedran, confirmed as much ... before adding: that he overslept after a late night on Saturday.

Front-office bigwig Vinny Cerrato, the man responsible for drafting Davis*, isn't worried:

"The biggest thing is, as long as they learn from their mistakes, that's the biggest thing," Cerrato said. "The kid felt awful. Jim got a chance to talk to him and Jim's handling it internally. I've talked to his agents and the kid feels horrible, which he should.

"Anytime you miss anything, to me it's important. Especially when you're here to ... he's making his first impression. Do what's right. He made a mistake. Now, he's got to fight back from the mistake."

In the scheme of things, this is nothing. Of course, that's what people said when Brandon Lloyd first starting acting out. If there's a lesson in all of this, it's this: make Davis start a blog. It builds character.

* possibly not entirely true

Some people might consider this an intervention: the Dan Snyder-owned Redskins have a long history of trading draft picks for NFL players, and occasionally this personnel strategy has blown up in their face.

Snyder and Assistant to the Traveling Secretary Vinny Cerrato re-invented themselves this off-season, and the team has eschewed free agency and focused on building through the draft. But just like Pacman Jones and strip clubs, you can't keep the 'Skins and high-priced free agents apart for long.

The team's infatuation with Chad Johnson isn't news -- we've known about it for months now -- but they've also made inquiries about the Cardinals' Anquan Boldin. In both instances, Washington's offer was politely declined. So in a sense, the Bengals and Cards are keeping the Redskins on the wagon.

None of this can make Johnson very happy, however, particularly since Snyder, as he is wont to do, was ready to open up the checkbook.

Acquiring Johnson has been the Redskins' No. 1 offseason objective and they are prepared to guarantee him about $21 million as part of a new contract, according to league sources.

Ouch. It's hard to argue that the Bengals come off looking particularly savvy in this situation; they've turned down a first-round pick to keep the team cancer on the roster. And if Johnson was a pain in the ass before, imagine how happy he'll be about losing out on $21 million guaranteed.

But, hey, sometimes it's about proving a point. So, um, yay for Pyrrhic victories!

I was pretty sure wide receiver Malcolm Kelly didn't run (even if slowly) himself out of the first round of the NFL draft after a poor workout for NFL scouts. But his explanation for why he wasn't very fast convinced me he wouldn't be among the first 31 picks.

Of course, it's pretty well established that I don't know what I'm talking about, so it makes perfect sense that the former Oklahoma star could very well be taken in Round 1.

Kelly bears particular attention. The Skins already brought him in for a visit recently and went out to Oklahoma for his workout. Now, they're going back again. It's looking more and more obvious that their dream scenario, where a tackle like Williams or Albert slips to 21, is out the window. And the ability to trade down out of the pick is largely out of their control, and there might not be a team willing to give up enough to trade up. So they might be stuck making a pick.

Welcome to the 2008 Washington Redskins: not only do they have a first-round pick, but they're trying to trade down in the draft.

At this point, I fully expect Branden Albert to be the first pick in the draft. He's gone from a late first-rounder to a middle-of-the-round pick, to now a potential top-five selection. And with each passing day, it seems like more teams are interested, particularly since he can play both tackle and guard.

The latest organization on the wagon is the Washington Redskins, who don't pick until 21st.

[Albert] would be a steal at 21, and, sources said, the Skins are very high on him, considering him the best of the O Linemen likely to be available and a player they would gladly pounce on here.

It's unlikely they'll have the opportunity to take Albert late in the round, but the Vinny Cerrato All-Stars are also very high on Vandy's Chris Williams, or maybe Virginia Tech's Duane Thomas in the second round.

And while Washington has all their draft picks for the first time in a long time, there's still a chance the team could trade for a big-named free agent.

No matter what you think of the Jerome Mathis signing, at least it won't cost the Redskins much. According to the Washington Post's Jason La Canfora, Mathis got a one-year, veteran minimum deal and no bonus. Which means he could earn $520,000 if he makes it through the season.

La Canfora, like the Washington Times' Ryan O'Halloran (and me), questions the signing, even suggesting that there "ain't no way Mathis gets in the building on [Joe Gibbs'] watch, not even for a workout. Not even to deliver the mail."

The Redskins may have had more players off their draft board last year for character issues than any club in the league. Gibbs blew it on Brandon Lloyd - and Vinny Cerrato, after all his years in San Fran, should have had the goods on that one - but otherwise proved that character and attitude mattered. Owner Daniel Snyder has a rep for reaching for players, and the Skins were never known much for their overall character and team-first ethos before Gibbs returned.

La Canfora throws out the obligatory "Is Chris Henry next?" reference before writing that the Redskins were apparently high on Kenny Wright before he signed with the Browns. The point, I think, is that the team is a more willing to take chances on players with character concerns now that Gibbs has retired.

I've always had grudging admiration for Dan Snyder. Sure, he seems like a smug little man who probably spent much of his high school experience stuffed in lockers, but he's self made and there's something to be said for that.

There's also something to be said for being able to by an $800-million professional football team when you're 34 years old. Snyder's owned the team for a decade now, and in that time he admits to learning some (mostly expensive) lessons.

"There are a bunch of things I wish I would have done differently," Mr. Snyder told The Washington Times yesterday at the annual NFL meetings. "I've made plenty of mistakes, but I've learned from my mistakes as a good entrepreneur, a good CEO would do. I've matured. I wasn't patient enough in certain areas early on. I didn't understand the game the way I do now. I didn't understand the agents, the contractual relationship with the salary cap, the importance of the age of players. Now it's easy for me, second nature."

I thought it was pretty impressive when the Steelers hired 35-year-old Mike Tomlin last off-season after he had only been a coordinator for one year. I imagine trying to run an entire organization would be exponentially more difficult. So in one sense, I can respect Snyder for taking on the challenge.

Headlines I thought I'd never read: "With Cerrato Now Calling Shots, 'Skins May Finally Have a Front-Office Game Plan". Look, I've spent countless hours making fun of the Redskins new Assistant to the Traveling Secretary, Vinny Cerrato, but I will admit no small about of shock at Washington's inactivity this off-season.

Usually, March is the time when the Redskins make enough hare-brained, high-priced acquisitions to bring home the point many of us may have forgotten over the course of the season: owner Dan Snyder isn't very good at putting together a winning football team and will pay ungodly sums of money to prove as much.

And with the latest front-office move -- promoting Cerrato -- I was convinced it would be more of the same. So far, though, it's been just the opposite. And CBSSports.com's Clark Judge is impressed.

It was Cerrato who swung the votes in favor of Jim Zorn. It was Cerrato who headed the search for the team's new public relations director, too. It was Cerrato who urged owner Daniel Snyder to avoid the free-agent frenzy. And it will be Cerrato who takes the wheel for the club's next spin around the NFL Draft.

"It's the first time in the Dan Snyder era," said one agent, "that there's a sense of a game plan. It's a good move for Washington because Vinny Cerrato is where he was in San Francisco and where he's been at his best, and that's the draft process."