Offseason on the brink

By Jason Bacaj

A disappointing, yet constructive year has led into a make-or-break offseason for the Washington Redskins.

The offseason is the best time to be a Redskins fan. There are no more games to be lost. No more cringing when the offensive linemen get into their pass sets. No more convincing yourself that LaRon Landry is an elite defender. No more watching the game on a bootleg Spanish-language broadcast because I live in Montana now.

But this offseason is a little more special than a typical Redskins offseason. They're close to being a team. After last year's 3-1 start, and before the injury bug bit, I believed the 'Skins were a 10-win squad. I was even able to convince a few friends of that too. And this offseason they have an opportunity to make a significant leap forward as a team, by either building up through free agency and the draft, or trading it all to the St. Louis Rams for a chance grab Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. I'm so excited about it that I'm wearing my Super Bowl XXII Champions shirt while writing this.

However, to fully grasp the significance of where the Redskins are right now, we have to rehash where the Redskins have been during the Daniel Snyder era.

As soon as Snyder bought the team in 1999, following Jack Kent Cooke's death, he signed Vinny Cerrato to run personnel matters. The two then went on a spending spree. Jeff George, Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Mark Carrier and Adrian Murrell were among their first signings. Shortly afterward, 1998 Redskins starting quarterback Brad Johnson signed with the Buccaneers and won the Super Bowl in 2002. From there, Redskins fans found the team caught in a pattern of giving up draft picks to overpay veterans. In 2003, they gave the Jets a first-round pick for Laveranues Coles. Washington had just three picks in that draft. Then there were the signings of linebacker Jessie Armstead, defensive end Jason Taylor, safety Adam Archuleta, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd (bombed with the 'Skins, killed with the Broncos afterward), Antwaan Randle El and tight end Christian Fauria. Last, but certainly not least, was the $100 million Albert Haynesworth debacle.

Then there was the coaching carousel. The Redskins went from Norv Turner to Terry Robiskie to Marty Schottenheimer to Steve Spurrier to Joe Gibbs to Jim Zorn to Mike Shanahan. Only Schottenheimer finished his Redskins tenure with a record of .500 or better. His record was 8-8.

Cerrato resigned in Week 14 of the 2009 season and shortly after, Washington hired Bruce Allen as its general manager. Shanahan signed in January 2010 and sparked a era of hope, though that was mostly because Snyder agreed to take a hands-off approach to the team after a solid decade of futility.

Looking at that 13-year history gives you an understanding of the precipice on which this Redskins offseason rests. I am living in constant fear that Snyder will put pressure on Shanahan and Allen to win now, and they'll implode the team once more trying to do so. But their Redskins track record leads me to give them the benefit of the doubt heading into free agency and the draft. I've blacked out both the 2010 offseason and season in taking this perspective, by the way.

For the first time in my memory, the Redskins have followed a well-defined and defensible rebuilding process. The last offseason was spent building through the draft and making nuanced free agent signings. Washington picked up defensive linemen Stephen Bowen and Barry Cofield and drafted nose tackle Chris Neild (WVU!), defensive end Jarvis Jenkins and college DE Ryan Kerrigan. Those moves drastically improved the defensive line, even considering that Jenkins blew out his knee in a preseason game and never played a down. 

Signing running back Tim Hightower and drafting running backs Roy Helu and Evan Royster gave the Redskins a legitimate rushing attack when the line was healthy. Rookie Leonard Hankerson showed signs of being of a starting caliber after shaking the dropsies but before suffering a season-ending injury. Free agent acquisition Jabar Gaffney showed he's a quality possession receiver. Washington also joined a scouting co-operative called BLESTO, named for the founding members (Bears-Lions-Eagles-Steelers Talent Organization), as fellow Washington & Lee graduate and Washington Times writer Rich Campbell reported.

If you squint just right, you can see a team structure forming.

There was a clear focus on the defensive line. Surprisingly enough, the defense improved to point where they were a quality defense. Defensive end Adam Carriker noted in an interview last Thursday that he thought the Redskins had a top-10 defense, for the most part. The team as a whole was improved as well, evidenced by to a 3-1 start and the team cracking the top 10 in many publications' league power rankings. It was only when the team was beset by injuries that everything started to fall apart.

There's a distinct chance now that the Redskins can pull off two consecutive offseasons of competence, though that chance is accompanied by the opportunity to fall apart in spectacularly heartbreaking fashion. 

Signs as to which way the offseason will fall are mixed. The 'Skins re-signed center/guard Will Montgomery, who plays a key role on the offensive line. It's a sign that this year the focus will be on the offensive line, which makes sense given the focus on the defensive line last offseason.

Signing Montgomery takes the 'Skins out of the running for Houston Texans' free agent center Chris Myers. But it leaves them open to pursue Ravens guard Ben Grubbs or the Saints' 26-year-old All-Pro guard Carl Nicks and an as-yet-to-be-identified target at right tackle. Maybe they can even add a wide receiver as well. Whether Washington has the cap room to pick any of those guys up and re-sign free agent starters like linebacker London Fletcher, running back Tim Hightower, Carriker and also back-up guard Sean Locklear remains to be seen.

Regardless of what happens in free agency, I believe the Redskins will trade for the draft's second pick and take RGIII. After watching him perform at the combine, I'm all in on the move. He's an elite talent, has a track record of success and has what appears to be an extremely stable personal life, all of which points toward the positive. 

The 2012 offseason will determine the course of the Redskins franchise for at least the next five years. Their success hinges upon how they balance team building with the need to win. Thinking about it gives me the same feeling as standing atop a cliff you've never hucked before, wondering how it'll go.

All you can do is drop in and find out.

Click here for the full interview with defensive end Adam Carriker:

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Jason Bacaj is Began in '96's Out West correspondent and an abundantly optimistic Redskins fan.