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Washington Redskins By: Lester The Washington Redskins had a long, rough and sad season. They had lost their leader of the last 25 years in Jack Kent Cooke. Before his death, he was able to work out a deal for a new stadium located in Maryland. But, they didn't know if his son John Kent Cooke would be able to keep the franchise. The stadium would turn out to be the high point of the 1998 season. Washington was picked by many to win the NFC East or at least be a legitimate wild-card contender. Instead, the Redskins started the season off with seven straight defeats. Included in this losing streak was a 17 - 12 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles. The Redskins did manage to finish the season winning 4 of their last 5 games. They won four in a row before losing to the Dallas Cowboys in the season finale. Coach Turner may have saved his job despite the new ownership based on the way he kept his team playing towards the end of the season. So, in the end, the Redskins finished the season under .500 with a 6 win 10-defeat season. This was very disappointing after they had been projected too possibly win the NFC East. This prediction was made for the simple fact of the offseason free agent moves they made in acquiring DTs Dana Stubblefield and Big Daddy Wilkinson. These moves were supposed to beef up a defense that had done poor against the run in previous years. Just like in previous years, the Redskins had little trouble moving the football. They finished ranked 15th in total yards per game (313.1), 18th in rushing yards per game (105.3), 13th in passing yards per game (207.8) and 17th in points per game (19.9). One problem they did have on offense was their 3rd efficiency. They finished the season ranked 26th in this category. Coach Norv Turner and GM Charlie Casserly thought QB Gus Ferrote would be their savoir at this position and awarded him with a nice contract last year. Well, after Ferrote had a shaky start, Coach Turner switched back and forth between Ferrote and QB Trent Green. Green made the best of this situation and Coach Turner finally settled on him being the starter. Green was very productive finishing with a QB rating of 81.8. He threw for over 3,000 yards with 23 TDs and 11 INTs. Green did an excellent job of distributing the football amongst his receivers. WR Micheal Westbrooks and third down RB Brian Mitchell were the teams leading receivers with 44 receptions apiece. Westbrooks finished the season with 6 TDs. When he was on the field, he usually produced good numbers. WR Leslie Shepherd also had a nice year with 43 receptions and 8 TDs. The Westbrooks/Shepherd combination worked pretty well for the Redskins this year. Rookie TE Alexander finished with 37 receptions and 4 TDs and the teams third WR Connell had 28 receptions. TE Jamie Asher also had 28 receptions. RB Terry Allen began the season as the starter, then missed a few games due to injury. When he came back, he shared time with rookie RB Skip Hicks. Allen finished the season with 700 yards and 2 TDs. When Allen went down, Hicks made the best of the situation by gaining most of his 433 yards and scoring 8 TDs. Third down specialist RB Mitchell finished with 208 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Defensively, the Redskins thought the signing of Stubblefield and Wilkinson would help their defense, especially against the run. Well, maybe they will help more next year. In 1998, they finished near the bottom with a ranking of 24th in opponent's yards per game (334.6), 28th in opponent rush yards per game (152.3) and 28th in opponent points per game (26.3). The acquisition of the two DTs did start to come around late in the season. The secondary did their job as usual. They finished ranked 5th in opponent pass yards per game (182.4). The always consistent Darryl Green had his usual Pro Bowl type season. He only finished with 3 INTs, but he shut down some of the best receivers the league had to offer this year. He was the first to put the clamps on rookie sensation WR Randy Moss of the Minnesota Vikings. L. Evans also finished the season with 3 INTs. Even though Wilkisnon didn't have a great season, he still led the team in sacks with (8.0). Lang recorded (7.0) sacks and LB Marvcus Patton had (4.0) sacks. The special teams also had their problems. Coach Turner went through 2 FG kickers before settling with Blanchard. Blanchard finished 11 of 17 on FG attempts. Specialist Brian Mitchell handled all punt and kickoff returns. He averaged 11.5 yards per punt return and 22.7 yards per kick return. Punter Matt Turk did a great job punting. He did so well, they he earned himself a trip to the Pro Bowl. Turk finished tops in the NFC with a 39.0 net average. He also placed NFC high 33 punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. Free Agency and Off-Season Right now, the Redskins probably will not too much in until they find out the status of the teams ownership. Previous owner, Jack Kent Cooke died in April of 97. He did not leave the ownership of the franchise to his son John Kent Cooke. Instead, he instructed the seven trustees of the estate to sell the team and stadium and use the money to establish a charitable foundation for children. Jack Kent Cooke not leaving the team and stadium to his son was a surprise. It was said the he was worried that his son would not be able to pay taxes on the stadium and would end up losing it anyway. He didn't want his son going through these struggles. The team and stadium were sold for approximately $800 million dollars to the Milstein-Snyder group. This was a North America professional sports record. The group is comprised of brothers Howard and Edward Milstein and Daniel Snyder. There is word that they have contacted ex-Redskins Head Coach Joe Gibbs to see if wants a role in the organization. The Milstein brothers presently own 45% of the NHL's New York Islanders. Snyder is a chief executive of Snyder Communications in Bethesda. It was said the John Kent Cooke put up the third highest bid for the team and stadium at $680 million dollars. The sale must be approved by three-quarters of the NFL owners. It has been said that the NFL would like for the team to remain in John Kent Cooke's hands. The NFL feels that the Cooke's have a proven track record and that they would be a plus for the league. They are saying that even though John was not the owner, he was involved in day-to-day operations of the team for 20 years. He also represented the team at league meetings. The sale is not scheduled to be approved by NFL owners before February 16th. Many questions on what the Redskins will do depend on the outcome of the ownership. Many feel that GM Charley Casserly and coach Norv Turner jobs will be safe because of the timing on the final decision. There has been one coaching change for the Redskins so far during the off-season. QB coach Mike Martz has returned to the St. Louis Rams. He has been the QB coach for the Redskins the past two years. Prior to his two years with the Redskins, he spent five years with the Rams. He was the receiver coach for the Rams and has been given credit for developing WR Isaac Bruce. Martz will be the Rams and Head Coach Dick Vermeil's new Offensive Coordinator. No word is out on what the Skins will do in the free agency market as of now. This is an area that we will have to wait on and see. The Redskins do have 17 free agents. The biggest names are WR Leslie Shepherd, MLB Marvcus Patton and QB Trent Green. The Redskins have already begun negotiations with Green. They would like to have a deal done by Feb. 12 because the St. Louis Rams are showing interest in Green. MLB Marvcus Patton has told some of his confidants that he probably will not re-sign with the Redskins. The first question is how much money to spend this year. Last year, the Skins spent much money on free agents. They agreed on contracts worth more than $57 million for DT's Dana Stubblefield and Dan Wilkinson. They also spent another $52 million on re-signing OT Joe Patton, OG Tre' Johnson, OLB Ken Harvey and KR/RB Brian Mitchell. They signed these guys to long term contracts. The Redskins probably would like to re-sign QB Green, but the question is for how much. Green is an unrestricted free agent. The Reskins did put QB Gus Frerotte on the expansion draft list. If he stays with the Redskins and they re-sign Green, Frerotte will be the backup. Most likely, Frerotte will be traded or released if the Browns do not pick him up. WR Leslie Shepherd will probably be a top priority since WR Michael Westbrooks had to have off-season surgery on a herniated disk in his neck. They will also try to re-sign C Cory Raymer, S Leomont Evans and OLB Patton, who was probably the Redskins defensive MVP for the 1998 season. OG Rod Milstead maybe a possibility to resign. He came in and to a good job on the offensive line. The Redskins free agent list is as follows:
TE Jamie Asher Exposed to the Expansion Draft
RB Terry Allen Needs via Free Agency or the Draft Washington's main needs are a pass rushing DE; an offensive left tackle and a CB. They could get these players in free agency, but they also have to high first round picks. They have the 5th overall pick (from Carolina) and the 11th overall pick. It is rumored that the Redskins are interested in moving up to the second pick. With two first rounders, they may be able to move up high enough to take Kentucky QB Tim Couch. If they did get the second pick, they would acquire Texas RB Ricky Williams with this pick despite the good season that rookie RB Skip Hicks had in 1998. However, this scenario is unlikely. As of February 4, 1999, it has been rumored that the Redskins are talking to the New Orleans Saints about offering their 5th and 11th picks in the first round for DE Joe Johnson. If they can't trade up or get this deal with the Saints, their targets are Miami RB Edgerrin James or Georgia CB Champ Bailey. With the problems they have been having at QB, they could use a young one to be groomed behind Trent Green. The Redskins like what they see in Central Florida's 6'5'' 240lb QB Daunte Culpepper. The 11th pick will be dictated depending on what they can get in free agency. If they can get a left OT in free agency, they will probably use their 11th pick on a young CB like Arizona's 6'2'' 190lb Chris McAlister. A CB is much needed with Chris Dishman contemplating on retirement and Darrell Green aging. If they pick up a CB in free agency, then they would probably like to use the 11th pick on an OT like UCLA's 6'9'' 310lb Kris Farris or OT John Tait. Other needs for Washington are a go to WR and a pass rushing DE. If they use the draft to fill these needs, they may go after NC State's 6'1'' 195lb WR Torry Holt, Florida's 6'5'' 255lb OLB/DE Jevon Kearse or North Carolina's DE Ebenzer Ekuban. Ekuban is high on their priority list. Some late draft targets include QB Brock Huard, WR Tai Streets, WR Martay Jenkins, OT L.J. Shelton, OT Todd Frohbieter, OT Derek Smith, DE Patrick Kerney, DE Adrian Dingle, DE Brad Scioli, LB Wally Rainer, LB Johnny Rutledge, CB Daylon McCutcheon and S Brad Ware. Some potential FA targets are OT Richmond Webb, OT Blake Brockermeyer, DE Chad Bratzke and S Darren Perry.
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