Hogs Haven

1. There are very few slow weeks/slow periods on the NFL calendar. Indeed, these days there are just times when things are slightly slower than warp speed and we are currently in one of those pockets. Thankfully, we have a team that has barely managed double digit wins in two years, an owner that employs desperation and trucks full of money to chase championships, a full-blown quarterback crisis, huge question marks at multiple starting positions and a fanbase that has never considered a dead horse to be underkicked. You have to love this town.

2. Last week's news that the Redskins were noodling the possibilty of franchising Fred Davis caused me to stop and think--and that isn't good for anybody. I have been adamant about the importance of Chris Cooley to our offense, but that is not to suggest that Fred Davis is not a beast that our passing game can ill afford to lose. If both of these guys are healthy, you would think our offense would explode. Unfortunately, the Redskins have been either hesitant or unable to feature an effective two tight scheme that exploits the abilities of both guys. Perhaps a fully recovered Cooley and a more seasoned Davis can work together better in 2012. One would think that defenses would be hard-pressed to take away both of those guys. Actually, thousands would think that...hundreds of thousands. Regardless of how healthy Cooley is, it makes sense to assume that Davis would remain a primary target in the passing game, to the tune of 80+ catches and plenty of YAC.

3. I could care less about total stats. If we have Cooley and Davis on our offense, we have ZERO excuse not to be more effective in the red zone. It looks like we are turning the corner a tiny bit in that department from epic lows, but our touchdown percentage inside the red zone needs to be higher. It is easier said than done, but the only way to get us to stop saying it is to go out and do it.

4. You have all heard me extol the virtues of drafting Riley Reiff, the huge offensive tackle out of Iowa. We can and will disagree between now and the draft on the wisdom in this selection, but think about it this way: if you are expecting or hoping for an offensive lineman at the top of the first round, just about any other flashier player/position is going to excite you if that is the direction we take. My support for picking the horse out of Iowa is not solely based on setting myself up for a pleasant surprise--Reiff and Trent Williams would give us a real position of strength at tackle. I am no genius, but being strong at the tackle position is a good thing...I have heard.

5. The LaRon Landry saga is going to really turn dramatic I think. You have all the makings for the kind of soap opera that we simply don't need but won't be able to avoid. There is LaRon's extremely high level of play in recent years when healthy, his recent inability to stay on the field for an entire season and the unique decisions regarding the treatment of his injuries. There is Washington's hesitance to resign a player for big bucks when they are unsure of his ability to contribute significantly on the field and their desire to retain a player they drafted and invested in heavily. There is the uncertainty of both parties regarding what other teams might be willing to pay which leads to indecision on both sides on how to play this out. While this won't get to Peyton Manning-saga status, for us it will snowball a little because on top of everything else, safety is a position of need on this team and we don't have anybody that is as good as Landry is when he is healthy.

6. Then again, who are we kidding--no matter what happens and no matter who we sign and no matter what plans we make and no matter who we draft, we all know that Reed Doughty will somehow be starting at safety on opening day. It is as inevitable as Parks commenting below about how little use he has for Chris Cooley.