Washington headed to playoffs for 2nd time after big trade with Rams/Wagoner

[RamBill]

Washington headed to playoffs for second time after big trade with Rams
By Nick Wagoner

http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-ra...ffs-for-second-time-after-big-trade-with-rams

EARTH CITY, Mo. -- The Washington Redskins clinched the NFC East over the weekend with a win against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The accomplishment in itself isn't all that impressive given that the division has been underwhelming at best this year, but it is to be commended as the Redskins are returning to the postseason for the first time since 2012.

Here in St. Louis, the Rams are once again on the outside looking in on the playoff picture. As many noted after Washington's win, it's the second time the Redskins are heading to the playoffs since the big 2012 trade they made with the Rams.

That trade, of course, was the one that ultimately landed Robert Griffin III in Washington in exchange for a boatload of valuable draft picks.

It's worth noting that the Rams have not really even been close to the playoffs since that trade, while the Redskins are now going a second time. It's more interesting to note that the trade had nothing to do with Washington finding its way there the second time. Griffin is no longer the starter (though, in fairness, he led the Redskins there as a rookie), and Kirk Cousins is playing well as the starting quarterback now.

On Sunday, ESPN Redskins reporter John Keim offered five key moments since Griffin led the Redskins to the postseason that have now allowed them to return. The decision to go and to stick with Cousins has been instrumental in Washington's progress, and he's made the case that he can be the team's long-term answer at the position.

While I'm sure the Redskins and their fans would love to have those premium picks back knowing that Cousins is in place, they almost certainly have no regrets about how it's all turned out given their success compared to St. Louis' run of late.

I.C.Y.M.I.

A roundup of the weekend's Rams stories appearing on ESPN.com. ... Running back Todd Gurley didn't expect this much early success, but it's happened, and he's got bigger plans moving forward. ... Seattle's CenturyLink Field has been a house of horrors for the Rams the past 10 years. ... Rams receiver Stedman Bailey was happy to be home for Christmas and vowed to play football again. ... We then looked at three things to watch as the Rams played the Seahawks. ... Rapid reaction offered instant analysis of the Rams-Seahawks matchup. ... We closed the day with a look at players who were "up" and those who were "down" against Seattle. ... My weekly look at the current NFL playoff picture.

Elsewhere:

Sunday was an incredibly sad day in St. Louis sports media as we mourned the loss of St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Joe Strauss. Here are some of the tributes to Strauss from around the country:

At stltoday.com, Derrick Goold recaps Strauss' life and career.

Jeff Gordon details Strauss' battle with leukemia.

At FoxSports.com, Ken Rosenthal remembers his friend and colleague.

The Baltimore Sun also offered memories of Strauss' time there.

Colleague and friend Roch Kubatko also provided some insight and memories of his friend and mentor.

As for more from the Rams and the NFL:

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning vehemently denied an Al Jazeera report about his methods of recovery.

Former Rams running back Steven Jackson eased into his new job with the Patriots.

Here's all of this week's NFL Nation game balls.

At 101sports.com, Jeff Fisher says Sunday's win against the Seahawks was his team's best effort.

Also at stltoday.com, Gordon handed out grades for the Rams' win.

 

[bwdenverram]

Put the Redskins the the NFC West and the aren't going either.

 

[badnews]

Great job reminding us Wagoner. I'm sure nobody thought about it.....


Jesus. Do we have anybody covering this team who isn't stuffed on sour grapes?

 

[FRO]

We can get mad at Wagoner all we want, but it's true. With the bounty of picks we received our rebuild wasn't accelerated. We are a middle of the pack team. Sad but true. There is always next year.

 

[den-the-coach]

Oh well, they were one and done in 2012 and I expect the same formula come 2015 although I would love them to play the Panthers and beat them just for shits and giggles.

 

[Ballhawk]

They weren't as bad off before the trade as we were and didn't have as much of a rebuild to do.
Or team was truly pathetic before Snead and Fisher got here.

 

[dbrooks25]

I don't buy into this at all. I've said it before, put them in the NFC West and they aren't even in the playoffs, same as us. Also, check out their schedule and you will see it wasn't all that difficult. On top of that, they are only 1 game better than the Rams and there ya go.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Wagoner has, turned into the biggest douche bag Ram reporter out there.

Common sense has left his brain. Maybe ESPN has made him stupid.

Washington was a QB away from contention when they made that trade. The Rams had the worst roster in the league. I can't think of a crappier team in the history of the NFL. Washington and the RAms are in two different divisions too.

Wagoner is doing his best to make the team look like a total joke. Does he lose his job if they move? He sure sounds bitter these days. I think Wagoner is deserving of the Bernie ban.

 

[dieterbrock]

Not sure what the point is. If both teams could go back and do the trade over, which team would refuse?? This is more of a case of "imagine how good Washignton could have been if they weren't idiots??"

 

[blue4]

We can get mad at Wagoner all we want, but it's true. With the bounty of picks we received our rebuild wasn't accelerated. We are a middle of the pack team. Sad but true. There is always next year.

I agree. We can whine about reporters all we want but we've underperformed in every facet since that trade. It sucks, but it's the truth.

 

[kurtfaulk]

I don't buy into this at all. I've said it before, put them in the NFC West and they aren't even in the playoffs, same as us. Also, check out their schedule and you will see it wasn't all that difficult. On top of that, they are only 1 game better than the Rams and there ya go.

the rams are 1 and 4 against the nfc east the last 2 seasons. that's about as embarrassing as it gets.

the rams are 4 and 1 in the divison this season. that means they are 3 and 7 outside the division. c'mon man.

.

 

[RAMpage28]

I fail to see how giving up the picks that they gave up was beneficial to them in the slightest. I mean, you give away 3 firsts for RG3 and call that a win, I won't stop you from doing so. I mean, I'll disagree but go ahead and do you.

The way I see it, the trade is unrelated to their success and don't see the need to bring it up when mentioning where they are at now unless you are mentioning it for the sake of RG3 and the road Cousins has taken to the starting job.

 

[Mojo Ram]

I agree. We can whine about reporters all we want but we've underperformed at QB since that trade. It sucks, but it's the truth.

FTFY

 

[kurtfaulk]

I fail to see how giving up the picks that they gave up was beneficial to them in the slightest. I mean, you give away 3 firsts for RG3 and call that a win, I won't stop you from doing so. I mean, I'll disagree but go ahead and do you.

The way I see it, the trade is unrelated to their success and don't see the need to bring it up when mentioning where they are at now unless you are mentioning it for the sake of RG3 and the road Cousins has taken to the starting job.

They weren't. It was one of the worst trades in history. The story is, with all those extra premium picks the Rams are still sitting at home during the playoffs. It's unfathomable.

.

 

[MountainRam]

Rams had to do this trade to build a roster. No doubt. cero questions about this.

But Redskins appear to have righted the ship and are looking like a better team heading into 2016. Why? They (appear to) have a QB. Rams don't.

 

[drasconis]

It is really less about the trade itself and more about the implications from it, as others have said:
1. the trade itself got WASH to one playoffs as RG3 had a great rookie year
2. he then turned into a bust, a team known to always have salary cap issues and straddled with a lack of draft talent somehow though has made it back 1 more time in 3 years for 2 out of 4
3. the team that got the massive influx of talent from the bonus picks has clearly improved
4. that team though hasn't found it to be enough to reach either the playoffs or a winning record.
5. where they play is generally irrelevant, we are both NFL teams - the question is where they ended up....besides as kurtfaulk pointed out we are 1-4 against that division the last 2 years, doesn't seem like we can say anything would change if we were to switch divisions.

 

[blue4]

FTFY

Doesn't really matter why, does it? QB or not, we've not got the job done since then.

 

[Selassie I]

Stupid article.

The trade was a huge part of the beginning of our total rebuild. We had the worst roster in the league then... we are FAR from that now. Refusing to recognize this doesn't change the truth.

 

[Zombie Slayer]

Which would you rather have: a qb on your team not even playing and who will be gone after this season or multiple starters who will still be on your team after this year? I'll take what the Rams have hands down. Washington is going to the playoffs this year because of the emergence of Kirk Cousins and playing in a bad division. Rams win the trade on the mere fact RGIII has become a complete non factor in the NFL.

 

[Zaphod]

Oh well, they were one and done in 2012 and I expect the same formula come 2015 although I would love them to play the Panthers and beat them just for shits and giggles.

Ok, that would be funny.