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When was the last time a team picked up a 24-year-old Pro Bowl player basically for free? Honestly, if it’s happened before we certainly don’t remember. But that’s what’s happened now that the Washington Redskins have signed free agent cornerback DeAngelo Hall for the remainder of the 2008 season.

Hall, a two-time Pro Bowler, was available because the Oakland Raiders (really, need we say more?) decided to move in a different direction – this after trading multiple draft picks to acquire him and signing the former Virginia Tech Hokie to a seven-year, $70-million deal this past offseason. Hall’s time in Oakland basically comes down to eight games for eight million dollars, which is why he was probably willing to accept a prorated $1 million deal with the Redskins for the second half of the season.

Let’s address the elephant in the room first. Hall is overrated. He is. We promise. He’s good, but he’s not the second coming of Deion Sanders or Champ Bailey. According to Matt Mosley, who covers the NFC East for ESPN.com:

“Hall has given up more yardage this season than any cornerback in the league. And regarding his reputation, he did get along with Jim Mora in Atlanta. The problem was that he got along with him too well. The other players resented the coach’s friendship with Hall, and that signified the beginning of the end for Mora.”

Others have said that Hall was uncoachable on the field and a pain in the ass off it in Oakland. So why would the Redskins risk ruining their fourth-ranked defense by bring in a talented, but troubled player? Because the positives outweigh the negatives.

Depth is an area of concern for the ‘Skins secondary. Cornerback Shawn Springs is simply unable to stay on the field for any length of time at this point in his career. Cornerback Fred Smoot manages to play, but he’s often banged up as well and Carlos Rogers is back from a major knee injury one year ago. Adding Hall to the mix takes pressure off of everyone involved – especially if he comes in with something to prove, since he’ll be a free agent after this season.

At safety, the ‘Skins have LaRon Landry and Chris Horton … and that’s it. If (and that’s a big if) Springs can actually get back on the field, then we could see him used as a safety more often. If the team was willing to put together packages to get Landry, Horton and Reed Doughty on the field at the same time, then they certainly would jump at the chance to utilize Springs in a similar fashion.

But here’s the biggest reason ‘Skins fans should like this move – it shows the Redskins front office is getting smarter. Just a season or two ago, management would have jumped at the chance to acquire a Pro Bowl player like Hall in his prime. If multiple draft picks were used to acquire wide receiver/malcontent Brandon Lloyd or rental running back T.J. Duckett, it’s scary to think how many picks Hall would have been worth in their eyes.

And once here, without ever having played a down in D.C., Hall would have a signed (at a minimum) the same five-year, $25-million contract that was standard with players like Lloyd and safety/bust Adam Archuleta. This time around, management locked him in for roughly half a million bucks. And the best part is, if internet reports are true, ownership spoke with defensive captains London Fletcher and Cornelius Griffin prior to making the move. This is a veteran team with great locker room leadership. Players talk to friends throughout the league, so checking in with those guys to ensure Hall won’t be a disruption or that the risk is outweighed by the potential reward shows a maturity – a willingness to admit management might not have all the answers – that some would say we’ve never seen before.

This isn’t fantasy football anymore. This is (hopefully) another sign that the Redskins front office is learning from past mistakes and looking at both the short-term and long-term ramifications of their decisions. For the first time in recent history, a free agent didn’t choose the Redskins over teams like New England, Pittsburgh and New Orleans simply because the Redskins outbid everyone else (truth is the Chesapeake, Virginia native is happy to come back home). They made a fiscally responsible decision to bring Hall in for eight games and see if he fits. If not, no biggie. They still have their draft picks and don’t do anymore damage to their salary cap situation. That’s what we in the business like to call a win-win.

(courtesy photo)

(photo by Brian Murphy)

When the Washington Redskins acquired defensive end Jason Taylor on the first day of training camp, ‘Skins fans immediately began to compare the team’s defensive end duo of Taylor and Andre Carter with the NFL’s elite. Both had double digit sacks last season, so folks assumed that visiting quarterbacks would spend the bulk of the season running for their lives. As we’ve seen through the first half of the season though, that simply hasn’t been the case.

Taylor has been in and out of the lineup thanks to a left calf injury and something called acute compartment syndrome. He’s spent more time on the sidelines (standing next to oft-injured cornerback Shawn Springs) than actually pressuring QBs. The 11-year veteran has played in six games this season, registering 12 tackles and just one sack. Meanwhile, defensive end Demetric Evans, who has been with the team since 2004, has assumed Taylor’s role – both as a starter and in terms of generating constant pressure – racking up 14 tackles and a team-best 3.5 sacks. It should be noted that the Redskins, as a team, have just 15 sacks through eight games.

We had a chance to talk with Evans after the Redskins’ 23-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Evans has flown under the radar for much of his seven-year career, so naturally one might think that being the team’s best defensive player on the field Monday night would cause Evans to seek a little attention and/or glory. That simply wasn’t the case.

“It was one of those games where the stage was set and as a D-line we wanted to go out and make plays,” he said. “Unfortunately, the ball didn’t fall in our favor.”

But you seemed to have a solid game with 2.5 sacks, right?

“Stats are for losers,” Evans said bluntly. “I’ll take winning any day.”

So much for his strong outing going to his head.

“We want to win games around here,” Evans said. “We want to play total team football. That’s Redskins football.”

While Demetric wasn’t in the mood to pat himself on the back, we’ll gladly show him some love anyways. If he continues to play at this level the rest of the season, then the ‘Skins defensive line might do just fine without Taylor. You can have all that Dancing with the Stars attention. Evans just wants to win.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

PRESS RELEASE

ASHBURN, VA – The late Sean Taylor will take his place among Washington Redskins greats when he is inducted into the franchise’s Ring of Fame in a ceremony prior to the team’s contest against the New York Giants on Nov. 30, 2008 at 1 p.m. It will be the first game following the anniversary of Taylor’s tragic death at the age of 24, which occurred on Nov. 27 of last year in Miami.

“It’s appropriate that Sean joins our Ring of Fame after a stellar career cut short far too soon,” said Redskins Owner Daniel M. Snyder. “His life touched so many of us in such deep and lasting ways. His presence is all around us, in our organization and among our fans.”

Executive Vice President of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato added, “Sean was developing into one of the best to ever play the safety position, as well as becoming a role model to those who knew him. He still touches us every day in some way on and off the field.”

Taylor will be the 43rd member admitted into the Ring of Fame, which honors those who have made distinguished contributions to the team. He is the first since Gary Clark entered on Oct. 7, 2007. The ceremony will feature a tribute and messages from former teammates as well as the presentation of a commemorative plaque to members of Taylor’s family.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early at FedExField for the pre-game ceremony.

With his incredible combination of size, speed, athleticism, ferocity and instincts, Taylor was one of the most unique and dynamic athletes the game has ever seen, despite playing less than four seasons. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection after the Redskins made him the fifth pick of the 2004 NFL draft following an All-American career at the University of Miami.

(photo by Eric Leichter)

We play hockey with a guy we’ll call Price. He’s an all-around good dude except for one thing – he loves to tell everyone how great he is. We might lose a game 7-1, but if he scored our lone goal, he’ll be sure to let everyone know about it after the game. While we still like the guy, we’ve always preferred to fly under the radar (especially when it comes to our favorite sports teams).

The Washington Redskins, in recent history, are a team that is at their best when flying under the radar. As soon as the nation media jumps on the bandwagon this team inevitably stumbles. This season it was the loss to the winless St. Louis Rams. Last season, they fell apart against the winless New York Giants. The year before, they gave Vince Young his first win after starting his Tennessee Titans’ career 0-5. And we won’t even mention the loss to the pitiful Oakland Raiders in 2005. You get the point.

When the schedule first came out, this week’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers was what stood out most. Since 2000, the ‘Skins haven’t put their best foot forward on Monday Night Football – going a pedestrian 3-7. And while the 2005 game ended in dramatic fashion with two highlight-worthy touchdowns by wide receiver Santana Moss, the first 58 minutes of that game in Dallas was awful. Meanwhile, the Steelers are 5-2 on Monday Night Football since 2004. They typically show up when Hank Williams Jr. sings them into town. The ‘Skins, well … not so much.

So if you’re a Redskins and/or John McCain fan, then you’ll undoubtedly be sweating it out tonight, hoping to see the maroon and black pull out a victory before heading into the bye week. Here’s the breakdown of their last 10 Monday Night Football games:

Sept. 17, 2007: Redskins win at Philadelphia Eagles, 20-12
Sept. 11, 2006: Redskins lose vs. Minnesota Vikings, 19-16
Sept. 19, 2005 Redskins win at Dallas Cowboys, 14-13
Sept. 27, 2004: Redskins lose vs. Dallas Cowboys, 21-18
Sept. 16, 2002: Redskins lose vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 37-7
Oct. 15, 2001: Redskins lose at Dallas Cowboys, 9-7
Sept. 24, 2001: Redskins lose at Green Bay Packers, 37-0
Nov. 20, 2000: Redskins win at St. Louis Rams, 33-20
Oct. 30, 2000: Redskins lose vs. Tennessee Titans, 27-21
Sept. 18, 2000: Redskins lose vs. Dallas Cowboys, 27-21