Portis sees concussion specialist

November 20th, 2009 · Clinton Portis, Injury, Washington Redskins

Clinton Portis traveled to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to meet with the same concussion specialist who saw Eagles TB Brian Westbrook earlier this week. Portis suffered a concussion two Sundays ago in Atlanta and hasn’t played or practiced since. [Westbrook has suffered two concussions and might not play again for a while, despite receiving a generally good medical evaluation earlier this week.]

This is a very good idea. The more we learn about the long-term effects of concussions, the more serious they become. It’s not tough to play too soon after a concussion — it’s idiotic. Portis needs to be very careful about his comeback and the more expert information and advice he’s got, the better.

As for Westbrook, I don’t think he should play again this season. If his team is in a playoff race, though, as it probably will be, getting the team’s best offensive player back on the field will probably be too tempting to resist. Let’s  just hope it doesn’t end in tragedy.

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Riggo/Arrington, Part III

November 20th, 2009 · Video, Washington Redskins

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Nats name coaching staff

November 20th, 2009 · Jim Riggleman, Nationals Management, Washington Nationals

We received the official press release form the Washington Nationals announcing their 2010 Coaching Staff.  Here they are:

Manager:  Jim Riggleman

First Base:  Dan Radison (NEW)

Third Base:  Pat Listach (returning)

Pitching:  Steve McCatty (returning)

Batting:  Rick Eckstein (returning)

Bench:  John McLaren (NEW)

Bullpen:  Jim Lett (NEW)

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Wizards Stock Report

November 20th, 2009 · Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood, Caron Butler, Flip Saunders, Gilbert Arenas, Mike Miller, Nick Young, Washington Wizards

Stock Report

Blue Chip of the Week: Antawn Jamison

Stock Report Blue ChipWhat can you say about the return of Antawn Jamison apart from, “Thank God!” and “About time!” Jamison missed the first 9 games of the season with a shoulder subluxation, but came back in time to lead the Wizards to a rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jamison scored 31 points, shot 55% from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds [6 from the offensive glass] in his season debut. Jamison has been vocal about his unhappiness with the way the team played without him so it was vital he back up his talk with his play. He did. And then some.

STOCK UP

Mike Miller: He’s back from injury and shooting 60% from the field, including 57% on 3-pointers. In addition, he’s pulling down 7.4 rebounds per game and averaging about 2.5 assists for every turnover. He can run the offense as a distributor or lurk outside and drop bombs from long range. Miller has taken to Flip Saunders’ offense with ease and is clearly the most efficient player on the team at this point.

Stock UpBrendan Haywood: He needs to boost his 46% shooting percentage, but otherwise he’s doing exactly what he should be doing with the extra playing time he never got from Eddie Jordan. Averaging 10.8 rebounds, 10.9 points and 2.5 blocks per game in 33 minutes, Haywood is the best center no one is talking about. And that doesn’t even take into account his stout defense. If the Wizards can get on a roll and win some games, Haywood may finally receive the attention he deserves.

Earl Boykins: He’s averaging 14.5 points on 53% shooting in the two games he’s played since the Wizards signed him from Italy. Boykins is already being trusted to run the team in crunch time and his teammates seem comfortable with him on the floor. He’s not who you want starting, but Boykins provides real energy and offensive pop off the bench. Let’s hope the impending healthy return of Mike James will not send Boykins packing. That would be a mistake.

STOCK DOWN

Stock DownGilbert Arenas: Agent Zero is back, but he’s not playing like we remember Agent Zero. Shooting less than 40% from the field and less than 75% from the line, Arenas is also committing too many turnovers 4.2 per game. Gil was lifted from the win over Cleveland for Earl Boykins and sat the entire 4th quarter — even when the Cavs made a run — because the offense was running fine without him. We still believe in Gil and think he’ll make a comeback, but it might take weeks or months before we see everything he’s got. Clearly, the new offense is a challenge and he’s not 100% mentally.

Caron Butler: Perhaps no one is struggling with the offense more than Butler, who is also shooting under 40 percent. More ominously, Butler is turning the ball over about 3 times for every assist. Previously a reliable and productive passer, Butler is now averaging less than 1 assist per game, a sure sign that the passing the offense entails is beyond him at the moment. Butler spends far too much time gripping the ball on the wing and going isolation instead of running the offense. He’s a hard worker, so we have confidence Butler will come around. The sooner, the better.

Nick Young: We’re not as confident re Nick Young. After an offseason where Young spoke long and hard about his maturity and improving game, he’s done virtually nothing this season. Shooting a dismal 21% from the field and averaging less than 9 minutes per game, Young is clearly not part of Flip Saunders’ rotation. In fact, Young has been a DNP-CD for half the games this year. We knew Saunders would have a tighter rotation than previous Wizards coaches, but this is an ominous sign for Young. Expect his name to come up often in trade talks this season.

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Smoke Signals: This is Dallas week

November 20th, 2009 · Albert Haynesworth, Brian Orakpo, Clinton Portis, Injury, Jason Campbell, Jim Zorn, Ladell Betts, NFC East Rivals, Washington Redskins

Smoke SignalsSLB Brian Orakpo is tied for 10th in the NFL with 7 sacks, which leads all rookies. He’s had to make the transition from college DE to pro SLB and he’s done pretty well, though he does look a bit awkward in pass coverage. To me, Orakpo’s natural position is DE and I think he’d have 10 sacks this season if he’d played every down with his hand on the ground. Orakpo is so quick and explosive that I think any use of him that  doesn’t involve him playing forward, attacking the offense, is a mistake. Read it.

Speaking of Orakpo, although he grew up in Texas, he’s from the Houston area and doesn’t like Dallas or the Cowboys any more than the rest of us do. Orakpo grew up as an Oilers fan, though that team no longer exists. Read it.

TB Clinton Portis has been ruled out of the game on Sunday due to lingering effects from the concussion he suffered in Atlanta. DT Albert Haynesworth will be a weekend decision, but my semi-educated guess is that he will play. OL Mike Williams will not play. Read it.

Whether it is Sherman Lewis calling the plays or superior execution on the field or some combination thereof, the Redskins red zone offense has improved in recent weeks.

In the past three games, the Redskins have scored six touchdowns on eight trips inside the 20-yard line. They’ve also kicked one field goal and fumbled on a fourth-down snap.

In the first six games, Washington scored six touchdowns, and six field goals, on 15 red zone possessions. During that stretch, they ran the ball 16 times — nine to the left — and managed just one rushing touchdown (aside from a fake field goal). They’ve run 14 times in the past three games — eight to the left — and have rushed for two touchdowns. They’ve also thrown four touchdown passes.

“We’re mixing it up good,” quarterback Jason Campbell said.

Against Denver, they ran out of shotgun formation on first down, spreading the field with three receivers and forcing the Broncos to use less defenders in the middle. They also ran a fake reverse to Santana Moss from the 2-yard line. The middle linebacker flowed with Moss. That left the middle open for Yoder, who started in and then slid out. Denver was forced to cover three receivers on the right side with only two defenders.

DC Pro Sports Report has more on the impact of Sherman Lewis so read it now.

FB Mike Sellers takes some veiled shots at Portis, who asked coaches to bench Sellers for poor blocking during a win against Tampa Bay, in noting that the Redskins have run pretty well with Ladell Betts and Rock Cartwright carrying the ball. Only trouble is, a lot of those yards were gained without a fullback on the field. My view is that Sellers has had a down year, but so has Portis and the problems Portis has had cannot be blamed on Sellers. Read it.

Cowboys WR Miles Austin is getting a lot of attention lately. He had two monster receiving games earlier this season, but the fact is, his production has declined every week for about 3 weeks now and he did nothing against the Green Bay Packers last week. Is Austin really a big shot now or is he just a flash in the pan? We’ll find out more this Sunday, but if he’s going to start catching long TD passes again, the Redskins secondary is a pretty promising place to start. Read it.

Jerry Jones wants TB Felix Jones to get more carries. That means Felix Jones will get more carries. Read it.

The Cowboys will be without starting free safety Ken Hamlin, lost for the game to injury. In Hamlin’s place, Alan Ball makes his first NFL start. Read it.

Read more about this Cowboys team here.

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MLB Free agency begins, what’s up for the Nats?

November 20th, 2009 · Free Agency, Lerner family, Washington Nationals

Major League Baseball free agency is officially open.  The Washington Nationals franchise has spent painstaking moments this short off-season thus far erasing the front office effects of former GM Jim Bowden and completely revamping and rebuilding the Nationals front office.  We applaud that effort.  The Nats also committed to bench boss Jim Riggleman as permanent manager.

In our opinion, this off-season is huge for the Lerner ownership.  The excuses are running dry and they know it.  They are rebuilding the minor league affiliate system.  They have been.  It’s been a few years. That excuse runs old after awhile.

With a struggling fan base and the inability to lure fans, whether die hards or new fans, the Nationals franchise is at a cross roads.  They must generate interest in baseball in the District.  They must get people into Nationals Park.  In order to do that, the franchise needs to put a product on the field worth seeing.   Not in a few years.  Not down the road.  BUT now. Thew ‘newness’ of the ownership and franchise is wearing off s an excuse.

The building blocks are there.  Ryan Zimmerman won his first gold glove and had a 30 homer season behind power hitter Adam Dunn.  The Nationals don’t have a problem generating runs.  Stephen Strasburg, the most watched first round pick in the last 20 years, is signed and stands as the Ryan Zimmerman building block of the pitching staff.  Now, the pitching staff needs it’s Adam Dunn.

Here is the way we see it.  The Nationals MUST spend cash and bring in a staff ace, a stud veteran pitcher.  They should also nab another solid starting pitcher.  The Nationals MUST rebuild the bullpen.  This isn’t a surprise.  They know it.  In fact, the signs are, they want to do it.  However, there are major differences between ‘wanting to do it’ and ‘doing it’.

In essence, the Nationals need to decide one thing.  Do they want to be a big market, contending franchise, or a small market franchise.  If the choice is a smaller market franchise, then my question to the Lerner’s quite frankly is, why did you buy the team?  Why do that to Washingtonians?

Free agency is here.  Eyes turn to the Nationals front office.  It’s their move.

And for you, the readers, here is ESPN’s Top 50 free agents.

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Schefter believes in Lewis, but there is more to it

November 20th, 2009 · Sherman Lewis, Washington Redskins

Lewis2Adam Schefter from ESPN is quickly becoming a Sherman Lewis disciple.  In his 10 Spot article, Schefter believes the impact of Lewis on Redskins play calling is undeniable.

Now that Lewis has had three games to call Washington’s plays, check out how the Redskins’ offensive production compares. In the first six games of the season, the Redskins averaged 12.4 points per game; in the past three games, they have averaged 20.3. In the first six games, the Redskins averaged 16 first downs per game; in the past three games, they have averaged 20. In the first six games, the Redskins averaged 294 yards per game; in the past three, they have averaged 336.

Who are we to argue?  The Redskins offense is moving the ball.  Moving it well.

But is it all Lewis?  No.  Lewis has  made an impact.  The play calling is better, more efficient, particularly in the red zone.  But, Lewis is also getting some things Zorn was not.

I attribute the offensive generation the past two weeks to a more effective run game, attributed of course to Ladell Betts and Rock Cartwright.  I think this is underestimated.  The Redskins are running the ball effectively.  Betts has burst.  Betts is not going down on initial hits.  Betts is gaining 6 to 8 yards a pop at times.  That causes changes in defensive game plans. In response, the passing game opens a bit.

Second, the patchwork, injury riddled, MASH unit of an offensive line is actually playing a bit better the past two weeks.  The holes they opened against the Denver defense was impressive.  Makes you wonder though, are they opening wider lanes, better holes now, or was Clinton Portis just missing them?  The pass protection for QB Jason Campbell is not very good.  BUT, it is better the last few weeks than it has been.  It seems like when the ‘aging’ starters were in, the Line did not play as well.

In essence, it just seems like the offense has found a rhythm.  How much of that rhythm can be attributed to more snaps for Betts and Cartwright?  I don’t know.  Lewis has had an impact.  The play calling has been better.  BUT, I don’t think the Lewis play calling is the end all, b-all of the sudden appearance of offense in Washington.  A big factor?  Yes.  THE factor?  I wouldn’t go that far.

Here is a look at the dramatic changes on the Redskins offense

QB:  Nothing has changed outside a blip, like Kansas City.  Jason Campbell is the QB.  I think the biggest hurdle of Campbell having outright success here is his ability to have confidence in the offensive line.  He hurries, gets antsy, and makes throws he maybe shouldn’t because of happy feet.  But, behind this line and the abuse he has taken thus far, can you blame him?

RB:  Clinton Portis started most games.  A concussion forced him out of the game two weeks ago.  Ladell Betts responded with 15 carries and 70 yards (4.7 ypc).  Last week, Betts delievered 114 yards on 26 carries (4.4 ypc) and a rushing TD.  Rock Cartwirght added 41 yards rushing last week. Portis fans, go cry.  Facts are facts.  The Redskins offense has grown increasingly successful and it started with Portis leaving the game.

WR:  The season started with Santana Moss and Malcolm Kelly the top two receivers.  My assumption, based on what I see, the Redskins are back to Moss and Antwaan Randle El as starters with Thomas and Kelly playing often.  The problem here is the total lack of productivity of the entire receiving corp, including Moss.  Moss is having a horrible season, both statistically and in his ability to make the catches.  Through 9 games, Moss has 35 catches for 535 yards that is slightly less than 4 catches per game.  No blaming doule teams for Moss’ problems either, other top receivers in the NFL are doubled up.  Plus, the double teams are not an excuse for the drops Moss has had, when wide open.

TE:  Chris Cooley is the stud.  He is also out with a broken foot.  In comes 2008 second rounder Fred Davis.  Finally, the Redskins are seeing some good production from one of their 3 second round picks in 2008.  Davis has started the last 3 games and has a total of 14 receptions for 154 yards and has become the go to guy for Jason Campbell.

OL:  Starting the season were Chris Samuels, Derrick Dockery, Casey Rabach, Randy Thomas, and Stephon Heyer.  The Line is injury riddled causing shifts between Heyer and RT and LT, Rinehart and Montgomery at OG with Mike Williams thrown in the mix at both OG and OT.  In other words, from week to week, who the hell knows.  It’s been a mess.  But, the Redskins found something last weeek.  The Line opened holes and protected Campbell a little bit better.  It started with the insertion of Levi Jones.  The line now stands to be Levi Jones, Dockery, Rabach, Montgomery, and Heyer.

So what’s the point?  There is none.  It’s difficult to figure this team out.  Sherman Lewis is calling plays with a significantly different mix than Jim Zorn.  Does that matter?  Again, who knows.  My whole point is, yes, the Lewis play calling has been better, especially in the red zone, however, there are other factors, like offensive line mixes, Betts in the game,  and other little things.

Before we are ready to say that Lewis’ impact is significant, well, let’s stop seeing the damn running sweeps on 4th down that haven’t worked since the Detroit game.  How about it Sherm?

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RED ALERT: Carlson set for NHL debut tonight

November 20th, 2009 · Alexander Semin, John Carlson, Jose Theodore, Tomas Fleischmann, Video, Washington Capitals

Red Alert Feature:  Of course, the feature story on the Red Alert this morning will be the NHL debut of 2008 first round draft pick John Carlson.  Carlson was called up yesterday from Hershey.  Shaone Morrisonn and Milan Jurcina are expected to miss  tonights game, giving Carlson the opportunity to play in first NHL game.

The Caps continue to work through a swath of injuries that seem to be piling up.  Out tonight are: G Jose Theodore (not injured), F Alexander Semin, D Shaone Morrisonn, D Milan Jurcina, F Mike Knuble, F Boyd Gordon,a nd F Quintin Laing.

Carlson was a bit of a surprise.  Although the Caps are a bit pressed with the salary cap, the long term injury to Mike Knuble should have freed up cap space.  Most thought the next defensive call up would have been 2007 first round pick Karl Alzner.

A team official would not say who among the team’s injured players is on long-term injured reserve, but if Mike Knuble – out three to four weeks with a broken finger – is, then the Caps have plenty of cap space to work with and this didn’t have to be a financial decision.

“I was actually with [Alzner] when I got the call, and he was happy for me,” Carlson said. “He should be up here, too.”

Added Beagle: “[Carlson] and Alzner are a pairing, and they’re lethal. They are really good together. [Carlson] has a lot of offensive talent, and Alzner’s got probably the best defensive talent in the AHL, so they make a good team. They’re pretty deadly.”

There are many in Washington that are intriugued by Carlson’s debut.  He was drafted to be a top line defenseman for the next decade.

“It’s always interesting when you see guys get their first taste and see how they react to a situation because some guys, they look like deer in the headlights,” Woods said. “He looks like he’s been here all year so far.”

HC Bruce Boudreau has down played the significance of the game, perhaps to lessen the intensity and pressure on the young 19 year old. [Read more →]

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Arenas the Tweeter

November 20th, 2009 · Gilbert Arenas

Gilbert Arenas has a Twitter account.  He has had one.  Arenas vowed not to tweet with twitter until his Twitter account reached 1,000,000 followers.  Good luck with that Gil.

Gilbert up a video on his twitter urging fans to follow him.  His first Tweet.  How shy is Gil?  Oh, at the time of this post, 996,839 followers short.

You canFollow US here at DCPSR HERE

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Caps Stock Report (11/19/09)

November 19th, 2009 · Brooks Laich, Jose Theodore, Mike Green, Semyon Varlamov, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals

Stock ReportThis is a new feature on DC Pro Sports Report, but you’ll be seeing it every week. We’re going to discuss which players, coaches, or front office people are doing well and which are not.  It’s called the Capitals Stock Report. (Not every player will be listed, only ones that we see are going up or going down) In addition, each weekly report will not be this long.  It’s our debut edition, give us a break.   On with the report…

STOCK UP

Stock UpBLUE CHIP OF THE WEEK:  Tomas Fleischmann:  Not only the hottest Washington Capital but one of the hotter players in the NHL.  Flash has been on absolute fire since coming back from injury and making his season debut on OCT 29.  In fact, since his debut game, Flash has scored in every single game, giving him a 9 game scoring streak.  In 10 games this year, Flash has 7 goals and 4 assists. No other guy filled the void of a missing Ovechkin than Flash.  Over the past two seasons, many of us were growing impatient with the development of Fleischmann.  I am glad my impatience was not the rule of the day.  Flash’s cost has also gone up on Fantasy charts.

Matt Bradley:  Brads is one goal shy of his season total last year.  He has 4 goals and 5 assists so far, total of 9 points.  He had a total of 11 points all last season. There are two reasons.  One, Brads is not shy about going to the net and taking shots this season.  Two, Line 4 is one of the most consistent and most effective lines on the Caps thus far this season.  Finally, Brads isn’t afraid to scrap it up and fight, taking the role of Donald Brashear, but much smaller.  He doesn’t care.  He will get bloodied up, get stitched up, then come out and play hard and maybe even score on a breakaway.  Ask Mr. Lundqvist.  [Read more →]

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