The Redskins Blog

Casserly: 1999 Redskins In Similar Position

AP Image

Former Redskins general manager and long-time NFL executive Charley Casserly recently paid a visit to Redskins.com to discuss the upcoming draft with myself and Gary Fitzgerald.  Casserly’s thought’s on balancing great expectations for draft picks can be found over on the main site, and illuminates a strategy for turning an amateur pro.

Casserly was also kind enough to assess the state of the franchise on the eve of the draft.  The Redskins have the rare opportunity to pick a player that fits their No. 1 need at quarterback.  But how the team arrived at this decision–and how they proceed from here–sounded very familiar to Casserly’s Redskins in 1999.

“Where is your football team?” he asked rhetorically.  ”Your football team is a good quarterback away from taking a jump.  In ’99, we were 6-10, but we had the nucleus of a good team.  We wanted to retain quarterback Trent Green, but we couldn’t because of the sale of the team.”

Green signed with the St. Louis Rams as a free agent, leaving the Redskins scrambling for their next signal caller.  The Vikings made starting quarterback Brad Johnson available, but at a steep price: a first, future second, and third round pick.

For Casserly, the price was right. Read more »

NFL Experts Have Redskins Taking Griffin

AP Image

[Editor's Note: Officially, no Redskins official is talking on the record about Robert Griffin III or a potential trade, so any rumors and reports – in any publication – are speculation at this point.]

This just in: Baylor prospect Robert Griffin III is an exciting playmaker at quarterback, and the Redskins could possibly have interest in drafting him.

Last season, Redskins quarterbacks combined for 14th in the NFL in total passing yards and 26th in aerial scoring.  They threw for 3,773 yards, 19 touchdowns and 24 interceptions, and a rating of 73.3 yards.

For an unfair comparison, Griffin threw for 4,293 yards, 37 touchdowns and six interceptions.  He also rushed for another 699 yards and 10 touchdowns, deep in the heart of Texas.

To be clear, this is not groundbreaking stuff.  The Redskins are, and should be interested in any player that can help them upgrade their roster.  A player of Griffin’s caliber is going to attract attention from all corners of the league, and the main question remaining is who will give up the most to acquire his talent?

A majority of NFL.com experts are now predicting that team is the Washington Redskins: Read more »

Casserly: 40 Times Useful, But Overrated

AP Image

Yesterday on Redskins.com, Redskins.com’s Gary Fitzgerald discussed draft expert Mike Mayock’s emphasis on speed at the skill positions.  The piece boils down to one overarching theory: fast is good, and slow is bad.

But speed can also be deceiving, as NFL.com analyst and former Redskins executive Charley Casserly points out in his latest piece leading up to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis.  How fast a prospect can run in a straight line doesn’t ultimately tell you much about an athlete’s ability to play football:

To fans, the combine’s most alluring event is the 40-yard dash, but this can be a misleading measurement for team officials.

Players train hard for the combine and many of them post 40 times that make them appear faster than they really are in typical game settings.

How many times in a player’s career will he run in a straight line, wearing nothing but Spandex?

More often than not, the winner of the annual foot race is more bust than boom.  Here are the winners from each of the last five years: Read more »

Casserly: A Giant Dose Of Confidence

AP Image

Despite a disappointing finish to the 2011 season, the Redskins had very rare success against the conference rival Giants, sweeping the season series for the first time since 1999.

On Sunday, the Giants will take on the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC conference crown, leaving Redskins fans to wonder if this has any bearing on the value of the Redskins’s season.  Redskins.com’s Gary Fitzgerald felt one way about it, and I outlined another.  With so many variables at play in terms of roster composition and schedule, everyone is entitled to his or her own valid opinion.

Which brings us to former Redskins general manager Charlie Casserly, who approached the issue from the perspective of the players and the organization.  In a recent interview with Jennifer Williams of CSNWashington, he outlined the feeling in the Redskins proverbial locker room, following the Giants’ run of success: Read more »

Casserly: You Root For Guys Like Fletcher

AP Image

As a front office executive during the golden age of Redskins football, Charlie Casserly has seen tremendous players suit up in the Burgundy and Gold.

Now as an analyst for the NFL on CBS, Casserly still keeps a close eye on the Redskins, and has been very impressed with the play and demeanor of No. 59.  With Fletcher’s recent invitation to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, Casserly told CSNWashington’s Jennifer Williams that a wrong had finally been righted:

Oh, I think the guy’s had a terrific career–he really has.  I mean, when you think about it, this guy’s 5-foot-9.  How many times do you walk through one of the malls here in D.C. and see people that are 5-foot-9 and they’re not a Pro Bowl linebacker?  How about that?

As a fan and promoter of obscure analogies, I like your angle, Charlie.  The point is that Fletcher is an under-sized, under-valued, under-appreciated guy from a Division III school in Ohio.  All that he’s done since then is become one of the best professional players in the league, and exhibit world-class consistency and character.

You won’t find that in your average shopping mall. Read more »

Casserly On The ’82 NFC Championships

Earlier this week, we had a chance to hear from former Redskins executive Charley Casserly on the quarterback matchup in tonight’s Redskins-Cowboys game.

Today, he sheds a little light on the single greatest game that he witnessed as part of this storied rivalry: the 1982 NFC Championships at RFK.

“The ’82 Championship was the one that, to me, that is the No. 1 in the rivalry,” Casserly remembered.  ”We had lost five straight to them, we were playing for the championship, we had only lost one game all year–they were the team that beat us.

The Redskins faithful were well aware of that fact, and anticipated the matchup weeks in advance.

“I think it was the crowd reaction of the game is what sticks with you, because leading up to that game in the first playoff game, we beat Detroit,” Casserly said.  ”In the fourth quarter, the fans–on their own, they had never done this before–they started chanting ‘We Want Dallas!’  It was sort of a spontaneous thing.”

The Redskins crushed the Lions at home that week, 31-7.  The next week, the Redskins hosted the Vikings:

“Then we went and played Minnesota, and we scored on the first possession,” Casserly said, “and the fans started chanting ‘We Want Dallas!’ and the game’s not even half over yet!

The Redskins easily disposed of the Vikings, 21-7, and looked ahead to hosting the arch rival Cowboys.  But it was the fans of Redskins Nation that made the game exciting: Read more »

Casserly On ‘Skins-’Boys QB Matchup

I recently had the opportunity, along with Gary Fitzgerald of Redskins.com, to catch up with former Redskins general manager and CBS/NFL Network analyst Charley Casserly.

Casserly has made a name for himself as a keen evaluator of NFL talent for the last 24 years, and seemed like the perfect person to ask about the upcoming quarterback matchup in the Redskins-Cowboys game.

First he broke down the success that Grossman is having so far this season as the Redskins starter:

Films report – Grossman – Best thing he is doing is reading def and throwing to right guy. Reads thru progression well.—
Charley Casserly (@CasserlyCBS) September 22, 2011

“I think the thing about Rex is it’s consistency, and he’s running the offense,” he explained. “What I mean by that, is he is going through the progressions on the reads. He’s getting to the second receiver and he gets to the third receiver.”

Casserly explained how consistency this season has allowed him to unlock his true potential.

“He always had enough throwing talent but he had too many lows along with too many highs,” he said.  ”In other words there wasn’t as much consistency in there, so I see a more calmness about him. He understands the offense so he understands where the receivers are. He’s been accurate and I think he’s executing the offense without the negative plays he’s had at times in his career by forcing things and trying to do more than he needs to do.”

He also tweeted an explanation of Grossman’s rough start in last week’s game against the Cardinals:

NFL Films report – Def Pass Int and Ill contact is being missed too often. ERxample is Grossman's 2 INT.—
Charley Casserly (@CasserlyCBS) September 22, 2011

Additionally, Casserly described where he thought Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo fit into the quarterback rankings, going into his ninth season in the league:

“Well I think he’s about in the middle, but I think he’s a winning quarterback,” he explained.  ”I think he can take a team to the playoffs. I think he’s got the throwing talent as far as quickness of release, arm strength, that he can move around well, he can be an accurate passer.”

But Casserly also attributed Romo’s knack for bad-luck-mistakes to his struggles so far: Read more »