Washington Wizards-Promising Days Ahead

Written by tomblaz on . Posted in Washington Wizards

 

The Wizards missed the postseason for the sixth consecutive season, finishing with a record of 29-53.

The 2012-'13 season will be remembered for "What If", what if star point guard John Wall hadn't been injured out of the gate. When Wall made his first appearance on January 12th against the Atlanta Hawks at the Verizon Center, the Wizards playoff hopes had already been extinguished for all practical purposes. The Wizards were 1-13 heading to December and were 5-28 when Wall finally took the court for the first time.

Looking ahead to next season, Washington has seven players under contract. That number will almost certainly be nine, as Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor will likely exercise player options for a final year of their existing contracts. Ariza has $7.7 million dollars on the table, Okafor with nearly $14.5 to play another season with the Wizards. The only other player on the current roster likely to be pursued is free agent to be Martell Webster. Guard Garrett Temple played well filling in for the injured Bradley Beal and may also receive consideration.

The Wizards will again choose in the NBA draft lottery, with the order of selection determined on May 21st. The Wizards have a 2.5% of getting the number one overall pick and will pick eighth if the order holds by percentage. The Wizards also hold a pair of second round selections, their own pick and the New York Knicks selection.

Who will the Wizards target in the NBA draft? Much depends on what happens with free agents Ariza, Okafor and Webster. If Washington does not retain Webster, a small forward may be their first round target. In the back court, much depends on Temple and also last season's second round pick Tomas Satoransky, currently playing in Europe. Regardless of which players are brought back, a solid backup point guard should be on the wish list.

 

 

Wizards 2013-'14 Projected Roster

C

Emeka Okafor 6'10" 255

Kevin Seraphin 6'9" 275

 

F

Nene Hillario 6'10" 250

Jan Vesely 6'11" 240

Trevor Ariza 6'8" 210

Martell Webster* 6'7" 230

Trevor Booker 6'8" 240

Chris Singleton 6'8" 230

 

G

John Wall 6'4" 195

Bradley Beal 6'3" 210

Garrett Temple* 6'6" 195

Tomas Satoransky# 6'7" 195

 

* Free Agent

# Europe

 

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The Redskins & the NFL Draft: Quarterbacks

Written by Thomas Threlkeld on . Posted in Washington Redskins

This is the first in a series of articles analyzing the needs of the Washington Redskins and how they should be addressed in the 2013 NFL Draft, which begins on Thursday. First up: QUARTERBACKS.

ON THE ROSTER NOW

Starter: Robert Griffin III

Top reserve: Kirk Cousins

Backups: Rex Grossman, Pat White

Draft needs: None. Griffin is apparently recovering at a remarkable rate, but even if he isn't prepared to start the 2013 season, the Redskins can turn to Cousins, who was very effective last season, and Grossman, who is very experienced and probably the best third-stringer in the league. White is training camp fodder who should be able to run the read-option during practices while RG3 gets back to 100 percent. 

Draft prospects: If the Redskins draft any quarterbacks this year it is likely to be very late on the last day and someone capable of running the read-option. There aren't many of those around, but Jeff Tuel would be a nice pickup if he's available. That's not likely, though.

 

John Keim to cover Redskins for the Post

Written by Thomas Threlkeld on . Posted in Washington Redskins

When I heard The Examiner would be dropping  most of the paper this summer my first thought was: "What about the sports writers? What about John Keim and Rick Snider and the crew?" 

Well, looks like Rick will be moving into a different area, which means DC is losing a terrific sports columnist. Happily, John Keim will be sticking around, not leaving the area and not stopping his Redskins coverage. Keim announced on his Twitter page today that he will be joining the Washington Post on July 1 to help cover the Washington Redskins. 

 

This is great news, as Keim is one of the best beat reporters I've ever read. I'm relieved those of us who follow the Redskins will be able to continue to enjoy John's first-rate coverage. 

Jammer visits Redskins

Written by Thomas Threlkeld on . Posted in Washington Redskins

Veteran free agent cornerback Quentin Jammer will be visiting the Washington Redskins today, as the team looks to fill out a critical roster need leading up to the 2013 NFL Draft, beginning Thursday. 

The Redskins have less than $30,000 in salary cap space right now, so it is not clear how they can fit Jammer or any other NFL player under its cap, unless they choose to restructure some existing contracts, such as the ones belonging to OLB Brian Orakpo and/or LT Trent Williams

Jammer has spent all 11 of his NFL seasons with the San Diego Chargers and has been a Pro Bowl in the past. However, quarterbacks have had a lot of success against Jammer the past few seasons. Opposing signal-callers had a 94.8 passer rating against Jammer in 2012, but that was superb compared to 2011, when quarterbacks had a 131.8 [yes, really!] passer rating against him. Jammer also gave up 8 TD passes in 2012, second-most among all NFL corners, and giving up touchdown passes -- particularly long ones -- was a major problems for the Redskins' defense last season. 

However, Jammer is a veteran, a former first round pick and still knows a lot about how to play the position in the NFL. He's still available for a reason -- he hasn't been terribly good lately. However, the Redskins are not in a position to be too choosy at this point and having a look at Jammer is a very good idea. 

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Luke Joeckel is Top Pick According to 88 Mock Drafts

Written by Mark Buterbaugh on . Posted in NFL Draft

Just four days away from the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft and the mock drafts writers across the Web have built a pretty consistent projection within the Top 6 draft selections.  Several mock drafts within our database are also projecting trades, mostly projected at the sixth spot, owned by the Cleveland Browns. 

The NFL Mock Draft Database has been updated this evening and our running total for mock drafts listed has hit 495 mock drafts.  We can only imagine the amount of updates that will come in over the next four days.  I would not be surprised if carpal tunnel syndrome is a listed ailment of mine come Thursday, given all the updates that will occur.   So stay tuned here, we will keep the NFL Mock Draft Database updated. 

The 495 mock drafts listed in the database are a broad array of writers, including major media sites like ESPN, Fox, Pro Football Talk, and CBS Sports, to newspapers, to official team sites, to the NFL Network, to professional NFL scouting sites, to long running NFL Draft sites, to fan created websites, to sports blogs, and to personal blogs.  We utilize several search methods in reaching out and finding all these mocks, perhaps too many methods.  Many of these mock draft writers have been listed in our Mock Draft Database for over a decade.  Some are new.  It's a broad array.  

What we did today to give you an indication of what mock draft writers are projecting in totality is to munch together all mock drafts that were updated between  4/18/2013 to 4/21/2013 and then provide the projected leaders.  When tallying all mock drafts updated between those dates, that is a mock munch of 88 different mock drafts.  

Although we have the teams listed in the chart, remember, some mocks are projecting trade, particularly at the #6 spot.  So the leaders are more the projected Top 6.  So who are these 88 mock drafts projecting to be the top 6 picks?  Well, here you go . . .

PICK PROJECTION % MOCKS RUNNER UP  
Kansas City OT Luke Joeckel 86% Eric Fisher  
Jacksonville LB Dion Jordan 50% Geno Smith  
Oakland DT Sharrif Floyd 69% Star Lotulelei  
Philadelphia OT Eric Fisher 34% Geno Smith  
Detroit OT Eric Fisher 39% Ziggy Ansah  
Cleveland CB Dee Milliner 59% Lane Johnson  

As you can tell, the mock writers have pretty solid consensus at most picks and seem absolutely convinced that Andy Reid will be taking the best offensive tackle in the draft, Luke Joeckel.   Mock Writers are also pretty high on Sharrif Floyd going to the Raiders at the 3rd slot overall.  We have not done a mock munch since mid-March, but the reality is, these spot have not really changed much at all, except the projection percentage have solidified at bigger percentiles. 

We will make an all out attempt to do one more final mock munch before Thursday, but given the amount of updates that will roll in this week, we make no promises. 

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Redskins 2013 Regular Season Schedule

Written by Thomas Threlkeld on . Posted in Washington Redskins

 

  1. Mon 9/9 v. Philadelphia Eagles at 7.10 PM [Monday Night]
  2. Sun 9/15 @ Green Bay Packers at 1 PM
  3. Sun 9/22 v. Detroit Lions at 1 PM
  4. Sun 9/29 @ Oakland Raiders at 4.25 PM
  5. 10/6 Bye
  6. Sun 10/13 @ Dallas Cowboys at 8.30 PM [Sunday night]
  7. Sun 10/20 v. Chicago Bears at 1 PM
  8. Sun 10/27 @ Denver Broncos at 4.25
  9. Sun 11/3 v. San Diego Chargers at 1 PM
  10. Thur 11/7 @ Minnesota Vikings at 8.20 [Thursday night]
  11. Sun 11/17 @ Philadelphia Eagles at 1 PM
  12. Mon 11/25 v. San Francisco 49ers at 8.30 PM [Monday night]
  13. Sun 12/1 v. New York Giants [Sunday night]
  14. Sun 12/8 v. Kansas City Chiefs at 1 PM
  15. Sun 12/15 @ Atlanta Falcons 1 PM 
  16. Sun 12/22 v. Dallas Cowboys at 1 PM
  17. Sun 12/29 @ New York Giants at 1 PM

DC Sports Stock Report: Who's Up and Who's Down (4/18)

Written by Mark Buterbaugh on . Posted in DC Pro Sports Stock Report

With the Washington Wizards season over, having secured their fifth consecutive season under 30 wins, and the Washington Redskins looking ahead to the NFL Draft, we have just the Washington Nationals and Washington Capitals involved in the current DC Pro Sports Stock Report.  So, let's take a look at who we have on the UP report and who we have ont he DOWN report.  

So who gets a THUMBS UP?

Alexander Ovechkin.  He is one of the hottest players in the National Hockey League.  Ovi has clearly embraced and has grow fond and comfortable in the new system of bench boss Adam Oates.  In fact, you can say that Ovi has returned to old form under Oates.  That is a good thing considering both will be in Washington for years to come.  Ovechkin is clearly the main reason the Capitals went from last in the Eastern Conference to the lead in the Southeast Division and own the NHL's longest winning streak, now at 8 straight games.  In the 8 games in April, in which the Caps are 8-0, Ovi has scored 9 goals and added 4 helpers.  He now leads the NHL in goals (28), is fourth overall in points (48) and leads the NHL in shots (198).  He also become the most powerful force on the power play, just like years past, leading the NHL with 15 power play tallies, 6 ahead of the nearest skater.  

Nicklas Backstrom.  Another big part of Ovechkin's surge has been the synergy with Nicklas Backstrom.  Backstrom has rejoined Ovi on the top line and has had a terrific April, notching 13 assists in 8 games, most of those to Ovechkin.  He has regained the mantle as one of the NHL's most prolific passers.  He is 11th overall in the NHL in points (44) and third overall in assists (38).  Backstrom has also posted a .513 faceoff percentage.

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Nats win & finally support Detwiler

Written by Thomas Threlkeld on . Posted in Washington Nationals

Ross Detwiler dominates the Miami Marlins in a 6-1 Nats win

Ross Detwiler threw 107 pitches in Miami last night -- almost all of them fastballs -- and it was enough to dominate once again, only this time his relief pitching didn't screw him over and the Washington Nationals walked away with a 6-1 win. The victory improves the Nationals to 9-6, good for second place in the NL East with a big divisional series against the Mets coming up this weekend in Queens. 

In a rotation with Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman and Dan Haren, Detwiler is often forgotten and he's certainly not the name people remember. He's been the best pitcher on the staff through three starts this season, but only got his first win last night because the bullpen has not been able to hold the leads he's handed them. That wasn't a problem last night, though, as Tyler Clippard and Rafael Soriano shut the door for once, combining for two hitless, scoreless innings with three strikeouts between them.

Detwiler was fantastic again, pitching 7 innings and giving up only 7 hits and one run while striking out five and walking none. The performance lowers his ERA to 0.90, sixth-lowest in the Majors. That number would be even lower if not for a blown call at home plate by umpire Greg Gibson, who started to call Chris Valaika out after he was clearly tagged by catcher Kurt Suzuki, but Gibson changed the call at the last second.

Manager Davey Johnson came out to argue, to no avail. "I said, `You had it right, and then you changed it," Johnson said. "We survived it."

It wasn't all good pitching, though. The Nats got some good hitting from Bryce Harper, Steve Lombardozzi, Kurt Suzuki and Adam LaRoche. Harper, his head and stomach reeling from the flu, broke out of his recent slump and went 4-5, with a double, a run and an RBI to raise his batting average to .364. Lombardozzi, batting second, went 2-5 with a run, boosting his batting average to .381. LaRoche went 2-4 with a run and RBI, while Suzuki swung the big wood, going 2-3 with a double,a 5th-inning home run, 2 runs and 2 RBI. Suzuki is now hitting .360 and leading the team with .800 slugging percentage. 

The Nationals began to take control of the game in the second inning when LaRoche and Ian Desmond both singled and were driven in by a Roger Bernandina groundout RBI and a Suzuki sacrifice fly. That 2-0 lead held until the top of the 5th, when Suzuki led off the inning by swattiing a 3-2 pitch 377 feet over the left field wall for a 3-0 lead. The Marlins cut the lead back to two when the scored their phoney-baloney run thanks to a missed call by the home plate umpire. 

The Nats got it back in the 6th when Bryce Harper scored after Adam LaRoche singled to left. They were not done. In the seventh, Lombardozzi singled to center, getting Suzuki across the plate to increase the lead to 5-1. In the 9th, Jayson Werth walked and eventually scored when Harper scratched out an infield single to shortstop. That put the lead ta 6-1, the final score. 

Nats Minor League Recap (Apr - 18)

Written by Mark Buterbaugh on . Posted in Washington Nationals

Syracuse Chiefs (AAA) were swept in a double header by Buffalo last evening.  They lost Game 1 4-3.  The Chiefs offense only collected 5 hits during the game.,  Mike Costanzo drove in 2 runs and Jeff Kobernus double din a run.  Ryan Ohlendorf (2-1) took the loss in his third start, allowing 5 hits and 4 runs over 4.2 innings. 

In Game 2, the Chiefs fell 5-4.  Jimmy Van Ostrand, Costanzo, Zack Walters, and Carlos Rivero each had two hits.  Van Ostrand raised his season batting average to .433.  Ryan Tatusko pitched 3 innings and allowed 4 hits and 3 runs.  Michael Crotto blew the win and took the loss allowing a run over 2 innings. 

Harrisburg Senators (AA) were off last night. 

Potomac Nationals (A) won 4-2.  Jason Martinson was 2 for 4 and raised his season average to .326.  Adrian Sanchez was 2 for 4 with a double and drove in 2 runs.    Cole Leonida homered in the ninth inning.   Taylor Jordan is off to an impressive start, as expected.  Jordan tossed 7 innings and scattered 6 hits with no runs allowed.  He fanned 5 batters.  In 3 starts, Jordan is 1-0 with a 0.95 ERA.  Tyler Herron p[picked up the save, throwing 2 scoreless and hitless innings.  He fanned 5. 

Hagerstown Suns (A) won 3-1.  Tony Renda was 2 for 4 with an RBI.  The 2012 second round draft pick is 6 for 12 with 3 RBI in his last 4 games and has raised his batting average to .255 after a slow season start.  Wander Ramos is off to a fantastic start and continued last night going 2-4 with a triple and 2 RBI.  He raised his batting average to .353.  He is 4 for 7 with a double, triple, and home run in his last two games.  The Nats 3rd round pick is off to a great start as well.  Brett Mooneyham threw 4.1 scoreless and hitless inning with 2 strikeouts.  His season ERA was lowered to 0.63.   In three starts, Mooneyham has allowed 1 run over 14.1 innings.  He has only allowed 4 combined hits.  Brian Rauh (1-0) earned the win, throwing 3.2 innings and fanning 5 batters.  Robert Benincasa picked up his third save. 

MINOR LEAGUE NOTES:

The Nationals lost one of their top prospects for an extended period of time.  The promising third baseman Matthew Skole will be undergoing Tommy John surgery.  In some reports, Skole was ranked the 11th best prospect in the Nats system.  I would have rated him higher than that.  He was the Nationals minor league system MVP last season.  He is having TJ surgery on his left UCL, which is his non-throwing arm.  Skole racked up 27 homers and 104 RBI while batting a solid .290 last season for Potomac and Harrisburg. Recovery shoudl not be as long or as extensive for Skole considering it is his non-throwing arm. 

Francisco Soriano and Randolp Oduber were promoted from Potomac to Harrisburg.  Steve Souza was placed on the 7 day DL by Harrisburg.  Khayyan Norfolk was promoted to Potomac from Hagerstown after Blake Kelso was palced on the 7 day DL by Pootmac. 

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Redskins preseason schedule released

Written by Thomas Threlkeld on . Posted in Washington Redskins

August 29, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins' offensive players line up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defends at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 30-3.

The NFL previously released the Washington Redskins preseason schedule for 2013, but it was incomplete, lacking times and exact dates for all the games, apart from the one on Monday night. Now, the full preseason schedule has been released. 

Date Opponent Network Time (ET)
Thursday, Aug. 8 @ Tennessee Titans NBC4/CSN 8:00 p.m.
Monday, Aug. 19 vs. PITTSBURGH STEELERS ESPN 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 24 vs. BUFFALO BILLS NBC4/CSN 4:00 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 29 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers NBC4/CSN 7:30 p.m.

So the Redskins have two home games -- against the Steelers and Bills -- and two road games -- against the Titans and Buccaneers. The last game, against Tampa, is the only one featuring an NFC opponent. It's unusual to play the Titans, but the Redskins have played the Steelers and Bills in the preseason on many occasions and played the Buccaneers last year in the preaseason, as well as the regular season. 

One unusual feature is the afternoon game against the Bills. That's the third preseason game, traditionally the most important game, where the starters often play to halftime or even beyond. 

Don't expect to see QB Robert Griffin III in any of these games. 

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