How will Shanahan rebuild the Redskins?

Peter King writes today in Sports Illustrated about what Mike Shanahan will do to rebuild the Redskins once he takes over as head coach. Specifically, King lists these priorities in the following order:

1. Draft a quarterback this year, though not necessarily in the 1st round;
2. Try to squeeze one more year out of Clinton Portis;
3. Look for a defensive coordinator who can run a 3-4 defense like the one used in Pittsburgh — maybe not the rumored Mike Zimmer;
4. Surprise us with some moves that seem to make no sense.

I’m not sure what to make of item 4 so I’ll just skip it and move on to the others. I’m against drafting a quarterback in the first round this year. I’m not sure any of these quarterbacks are worth a high first round pick [4th overall is what the Redskins have got] and, as I’ve noted repeatedly, picking a QB high in the draft is a 3-year crapshoot with a 50% failure rate. I don’t like it and I wouldn’t do it. I would particularly avoid a QB early in the draft because playing him behind an awful offensive line, unproven wideouts and injury-prone running backs is a recipe for disaster.

I’m also against trying to squeeze one more year out of Clinton Portis. I’d cut him ASAP and go with anyone else. Portis is an example of much that went wrong with this team. When guys like London Fletcher, Andre Carter and Rock Cartwright talk about players skipping practice, ignoring curfew, goofing around and undermining the coaches by going straight to the owner, Clinton Portis is Exhibit A on the evidence table. I think Portis’ skills and productivity are in decline and he’s more likely to suffer more concussions in the future. He’s not a great back anymore, but he expects to be paid and treated like one of the best football players in NFL history. In an uncapped year, I don’t care what Portis is owed, I’d cut him on day one. If Shanny does have Portis back, I would point him to what Redskins beat writer John Keim just wrote:

Read it all

http://dcprosportsreport.com/2010/01/05/how-will-shanahan-rebuild-the-redskins.html