Sep 23, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Doug Martin (22) carries the ball during the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE

Doug Martin: Tampa Bay’s second of two first round draft choices from this past April’s meeting has not been as explosive of a running back as the Buccaneers had hoped.  Martin is averaging 23 touches per game and only 3.4 yards per carry.  There are signs LaGarrette Blount might take some of those carries away, but Martin will be the starter for the foreseeable future.  The Redskins’ front seven need to continue to make Martin’s rookie year miserable, at least for another week.  Washington has to keep Tamp Bay one dimensional.  If Martin is having a good day, Josh Freeman will have a career game against the Redskins’ secondary and you can mark this week up as another loss for the hometown heroes.

Vincent Jackson: Vincent Jackson is probably a little bit more familiar as a name, but he is still adjusting to life in the NFC and Josh Freeman.  Last week, Jackson was limited to only one catch.  I am having no delusions that the DeBurnt brothers are going to keep Tampa’s number one receiver to one catch.  Personally, I’ll be happy if the Redskins can keep him to 80 yards and 1 TD.  Vincent Jackson is very athletic, and can make plays if the ball is anywhere near him and it will only be a matter of time until he starts making his offense better.  Let’s hope his acclimation to Josh Freeman takes another week.

Michael Bennett: With Adrian Clayborn out for the year, Bennet and Gerald McCoy will have to pick up the slack.  Each have three sacks this year, but Bennett will be the one to key on.  He rushes from the outside and in certain situations, will line up as a defensive tackle.  The Redskins had a tough time protecting Robert Griffin III last week, and if we here Bennett’s name a lot on Sunday, it will mean RG3 isn’t getting enough time to tear up the league’s last place ranked defense against the pass.

Like what you see? Give Riggo’s Rag a “like” on facebook, become a follower on twitter, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @FanSidedNFL on twitter for great content from around the league.

What a difference a day can make.

It’s now reported via ESPN that the Redskins are due to give up $36 million in cap space over the next two years as part of sanctions dolled out by the league for violations committed by Washington and Dallas in the uncapped year.

While the league isn’t officially deeming the cap reductions as violations but rather recent additions to the league’s new agreement with the players association, they sure don’t seem anything like rewards.

This is an especially huge blow for the Redskins given the power play the front office just orchestrated to move up to the No. 2 spot in the draft most recently occupied by the St. Louis Rams.

It’s no secret that the ‘Skins are locked in on Robert Griffin III and relinquished a healthy bounty of draft picks in order to do so. For the majority of those who decried the move up to get RG3, it was the large amount of cap space at the ‘Skins disposal that was going to help balance out the scales.

Consider the olive branch now half as green.

The Redskins, who have been targeting guard Carl Nicks and big-play wideout Vincent Jackson, are now faced with a tough decision: Which area of the offense – Receivers or O-line – requires the most TLC heading into the Summer?

It’s not an easy call to make given the Redskins’ lack of a big-play out wide and a constant shuffling of personnel along the front five.

This being a passer’s league, and all, it’s hard not to get excited about Jackson. He’s a big, explosive target that makes opposing secondaries weep. Speaking of weeping, many of us in D.C. have been doing a lot of that for over a decade as we’ve waited for a large, fleet-footed receiver to dress his talents in burgundy and gold.

Part of me thinks that a lot of this is Michael Westbrook’s fault.

Of course, inserting a talented guard like Nicks would be more than helpful, as well. Especially when you consider Trent Williams’ recent troubles and Kory Lichtensteiger rehabbing from a torn ACL. If we’re selling the farm for the most recent Heisman winner, then we’d better make sure he’s protected. Like, Fort Knox protected.

I’m struggling to make the call though. Griffin III needs weapons just as much as he needs defenses. The thing about RGIII, though, is that he has the ability to make big plays outside of the pocket on his own. To think that we’ll soon have a quarterback capable of improvisation is confounding on an elemental level.

With Santana Moss noticeably declining, The Redskins options out on the perimeter aren’t exactly encouraging. Sure, there is young talent in Niles Paul and Leonard Hankerson but if there’s anything we learned from the Thomas/Kelly incident of 2008, it’s that some receivers just aren’t destined to pan out.

The Redskins will still have a little over $16 million to play with this offseason. That’s not Scrooge McDuck money but it’s better than nothing and it may just be enough to sign either Jackson or Nicks.

It may require yet another flip of the coin.

The Washington Redskins will look to have a stellar draft this year after an impressive draft last year. All problems cannot and probably will not be solved in April, so the Redskins will have to begin adding weapons in March. Washington will likely be well under the cap and have room to make some key signings. Let’s take a look at some realistic options and a few not-so-realistic. 

Washington spent the bulk of the focus last year on solidifying a defense that was ranked 31st. Last year the defense and specifically the front seven, has made strides in the right direction. This year the focus will be on the other side of the ball. The Redskins lack anybody on offense that absolutely puts fear in the hearts of an opposing team. They don’t have anybody, right now, that defenses have to game plan for (except for the guaranteed two turnovers by Rex Grossman). I believe that they will target several key players in free agency, so long as they are young enough and hungry enough. Here’s a list of targets (in no particular order) and what they could bring to the Redskins.

1. Marques Colston – Wide Receiver

Colston averages over 1,000 yards per season through his six-year career. He stands at 6′ 4″ 225 lbs and has proven to be a hard worker by amassing 80 receptions for 1,143 yards despite only starting seven of the 14 games he played in this regular season. Could he possibly be a product of his system and quarterback in New Orleans? Yes. Could he also just be that good? Yes. The Redskins have a potential threat developing in Leonard Hankerson, but they don’t know much yet. Colston would provide size and speed and possibly open up the underneath throws to Fred Davis and the slot receivers. There’s one more good thing about Colston; he’s only 28 years old. (more…)