The Redskins' guiding philosophy during this salary cap crisis is clear little more than a month after free agency began. They believe continuity and familiarity can help offset whatever gains in talent the club could not achieve because it lacked necessary cap space.
Coach Mike Shanahan is hoping for improvement despite the club's inability to sign an elite free agent cornerback or draft a safety in the first round. That requires an improved pass rush and some young players to raise their level of play.
Now that the sanction has handcuffed the Redskins through the first week of free agency this year, there figure to be some cold stares, awkward exchanges and general tension this week at the NFL annual meetings here at the posh Arizona Biltmore resort.
The 28-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game Sunday night left the Patriots without a Super Bowl title for the eighth straight year and sent them into an offseason when they could lose two key players.
Matchups for the AFC championship game Sunday between the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
Tampa Bay's porous secondary took another hit Monday when cornerback Eric Wright wassuspended by the NFL for four games for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Alfonzo Dennard watched himself on the video board as he raced 87 yards with an interception for a touchdown. He wanted to see if the star rookie who threw the pass might catch him.
Washington Redskins receiver Pierre Garcon recovered enough from his right foot injury to play in last Sunday's win over Tampa Bay. However, he's still working his way back to full health.
A person with knowledge of the names tells The Associated Press that Tennessee's Kenny Britt, Tampa Bay's Aqib Talib and Cincinnati's Cedric Benson and Adam "Pacman" Jones are among eight players who were subject to being suspended under the league's conduct policy for incidents during the lockout.
