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Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was talking last week about second-round draft pick David Amerson, specifically why his 2012 season wasn't as strong as his 2011 season at North Carolina State. Haslett said he thought it came down to one game. Per Rich Tandler:

“He got surprised the first game of the year,” said Haslett. “Tennessee comes out with these two wideouts, one was a junior college transfer and he didn’t know who he was. He got beat on a double move a couple of times, had some bad body language and he struggled the first half of the season.”

In that game against the Vols, Amerson was beaten by Cordarrelle Patterson, who was a first-round pick in the draft, for 42 yards and a touchdown. Then to show that he was willing to pick on the cornerback who had led the nation in interceptions in 2011, Tennessee QB Chandler Whitmer went deep to Zach Rogers. The result was a 72-yard touchdown pass that had Amerson throwing up his arms in apparent frustration.

As Rich goes on to write, the issue was that Amerson appeared to let his bad game bother him for a few weeks after that. And that's what the Redskins are working on with Amerson this summer -- professional maturity. Amerson has great instincts and should be the kind of player, right away, who can make plays on the ball at the NFL level. But if given regular playing time right away, he's also likely to be exposed, give up big plays and possibly get down and discouraged about it. That's why it's the job of Haslett and defensive backs coach Raheem Morris to "coach up" Amerson and sand down the rough edges that are expected to come along with 21-year-old rookies.

The Redskins have DeAngelo Hall, Josh Wilson and E.J. Biggers, at least, ahead of Amerson on the depth chart at cornerback. Maybe Chase Minnifield too. So they aren't necessarily counting on a significant contribution from him this season. But they aren't ruling it out either. Their belief is that he has the talent to play in the league and that his start date as a factor on defense depends on the speed with which he hones the technique and maturity issues that defensive backs his age have to get under control when they arrive in the league. The Redskins don't think it's a matter of "if" with Amerson, but "when."

I think the Dallas Cowboys' four-man defensive line in their new 4-3 scheme looks very good as long as the four starters are healthy (DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer at defensive end and Jay Ratliff and Jason Hatcher at defensive tackle). I think it has a good chance to work. The question is how much they have behind the starting four, and that's where 2012 third-round draft pick Tyrone Crawford could factor in. After bulking up to nearly 300 pounds last season to play as a 3-4 defensive lineman, Crawford is back down to his college weight of 285 and playing the 4-3 defensive end position he played at Boise State. Per Todd Archer:

He played in every game but he did not have a sack. He was credited with 33 tackles and five quarterback pressures.

“I felt like I had more in me,” Crawford said. “I could’ve made a lot more plays and helped this team out a lot more.”

With the move to the 4-3 this year, Crawford figures to be in position to help more. He is also back to 285 pounds. He is playing behind Anthony Spencer at defensive end, but because of Spencer’s knee injury, spent a lot of time working with the first-team defense.

He showed the ability to rush the passer, something he did not get a chance to do as much last year. Now he’s back to doing what he did at Boise State, where he had 13.5 sacks in two seasons.

“I loved it in college, loved paying on the outside in college,” Crawford said. “I’m happy we got into it this year and doing it.”

The Cowboys liked Crawford last offseason as a rookie who could help them as a raw pass-rusher. They just weren't playing the right scheme from which to deploy him as that. While we've focused a lot on starters (Ratliff, Sean Lee, Bruce Carter) who could flourish now that the Cowboys are playing a 4-3, Crawford is a bench player who could do the same.

Consider this your fantasy football post of the day. As much as I always liked former New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw as a player, I always hated having the Giants' running back situation on my fantasy team.

Two years ago I had Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs and traded the pair of them for Ryan Fitzpatrick because Michael Vick was hurt and I had lucked into Kevin Smith, who was getting hot as a No. 2 running back option for me and I was just sick of trying to guess on the Giants every week. The guy to whom I traded them lost a playoff game because he started Bradshaw instead of Jacobs in the game in Dallas where Tom Coughlin benched Bradshaw for the first half. Remember that game? Anyway, fantasy nightmare.

I bring this up because, if you're asking me in 2013 which Giants running back you should take in fantasy, I'm once again going to say, "None of them." I don't want to have to count on David Wilson or Andre Brown as anything more than maybe a strategic bye-week fill-in until I see one of them prove he's more than that. And this from Ohm, who spoke last week with running backs coach Jerald Ingram, backs me up:

"I think he's grown," Ingram said of 2012 first-round pick Wilson. "He has a fairly good understanding of the offense right now. He's definitely in position to be the guy, but I think just like what we've done in the past here, we're going to be a rotation-type team and what certain backs do best, we'll play."

The Giants are very concerned about the blocking they're going to get from their running backs with Bradshaw now in Indianapolis. He was a critical part of their pass protection, and the plain fact is that until the pads go on this summer they have no way of knowing how close Wilson or Brown can get to replacing that aspect of Bradshaw's game. That's why you're not going to see the Giants commit to one of these guys over the other, likely all year. The Giants use their backs in pass protection, which means even if one of them turns out to be good at it, he's going to need a lot of rest.

Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie wasn't joking in March when he mentioned his desire to have the Super Bowl at Lincoln Financial Field. Trust me, I know. I was standing right there, reminded of the same sick feeling I got back in 2010 when I realized they weren't joking about having the Super Bowl in New Jersey.

So I'm kind of kicking myself for not making this connection Zach Berman made about the planned renovations to the Eagles' home stadium:

Lurie first mentioned the possibility in March when he was asked about New Jersey's MetLife Stadium hosting the Super Bowl this season. Lurie noted that if the event proves to be a success, he would push for Philadelphia to host the annual event. An updated stadium will enhance the Eagles' bid.

"That wasn't the intention, but certainly when I'm on the Super Bowl committee, when you're bidding on a Super Bowl, the committee looks very closely at your stadium and your city and what you can host," Lurie said. "Philadelphia would be a great place."

So maybe it's not the intention, but surely it's a potential byproduct that has crossed Lurie's mind. I personally don't think it matters how the weather is for this year's Super Bowl in East Rutherford, N.J. -- I think places like Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington are going to start to bid for Super Bowls, and if their stadiums are deemed fit to host them they will likely get them. When the NFL announced the New York/New Jersey Super Bowl, they insisted it was a one-time deal and special because of New York. But the NFL says a lot of things that aren't true, and they've made it clear that the stadium is the biggest factor in a city getting the game. That's why they'll end up going back to Dallas, even though the weather there crippled the entire Super Bowl week. That's why they won't go back to Miami, which has hosted 10 Super Bowls and is the perfect place to hold it, until they improve or replace the Dolphins' stadium.

The NFL knows it's risking a huge weather mess by holding the game in a cold-weather location and a stadium without a roof. It just doesn't care. If weather wrecks this next Super Bowl, nothing we know about the NFL indicates that it will step forward and admit it made a mistake. No, it will press on, and if owners like Lurie really, really want to host the Super Bowl and their stadiums are of sufficient caliber to do it, the game will go to those towns. Bank on it.

Please come and join our weekly NFC East chat, which will be held at noon ET today and run for approximately one hour. Click on these little blue letters right here any time in that hour, and I'd be happy to take your NFC East-related questions. Hope to see you there.

New York Giants

Paul Schwartz spoke to an agent who didn't want his name used but who thinks Victor Cruz's only choice right now is to take the multiyear offer the Giants have made to him. The premise is that the Giants are who they are and don't change the way they do business for any player -- they set a value, and if you don't like it, they move on with someone else. So the offer won't get any higher, and Cruz is taking too big of a risk by playing for less than $3 million this year. The options if he doesn't sign now are to have a big year and price himself out of the Giants' plans or have a subpar year and find next year's offer lower. Interesting perspective.

The Giants' tight ends coach sounds as though he thinks Adrien Robinson can start to be a factor in the passing game soon. My question is whether he can be a factor as a blocker, which is what they actually need.

Philadelphia Eagles

You may have read last week about new NFL security rules limiting the size of bags you're allowed to bring into stadiums on game days this year. The Eagles have decided to send their season-ticket holders free bags that comply with the new rules. Good idea.

A lot is being said, written and learned about the Eagles' power structure in the post-Andy Reid era, and I think it'll be a while before we have a handle on who's really in charge of what over there now.

Washington Redskins

Rich Campbell lists five reasons to believe the Redskins will repeat as NFC East champions and five reasons to believe they won't. And this may have given me an idea for some slow-week posts. Thanks, Rich!

Could 2013 be a big year in determining Mike Shanahan's future as coach of the Redskins? Mike Jones thinks it could. I imagine, in the second year of the franchise quarterback's career, coming off a division title, things would have to go pretty poorly in order for Shanahan not to get an extension beyond 2014. But you never know, I guess.

Dallas Cowboys

Miles Austin wanted more reps this offseason. The coaching staff felt it was more important that Austin's hamstrings be healthy for the regular season. The coaches got what they wanted. Their reasoning was sound. We'll see whether it works.

Remember when the Cowboys used to worry about kicker? Dan Bailey doesn't.

There's a little-known rule in NFL blogging that says you're allowed to link to your own work during the final two weeks of June or the first three weeks of July. Things get slow this time of year; you do what you've got to do.

In this morning's Breakfast Links, I wrote something about Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo, who's entering the final year of his contract and whose past two seasons have ended with pectoral muscle injuries. I had been convinced that the Redskins would work on a contract extension with Orakpo this offseason, but after talking to Redskins people last week at minicamp, I came away believing their plan was instead to let him play out the season and try and sign him next offseason if he has a good year.

Gregg Rosenthal doesn't miss anything, so this showed up on his blog not long after:

Coach Mike Shanahan must have some concern about Orakpo's ability to stay healthy because there's little doubt he's a difference-making pass rusher. The Redskins also know they can use the franchise tag next offseason if necessary, and that the team rarely loses out on a free agent bidding war.

I think Shanahan's (justifiable) concerns about Orakpo staying healthy are part of the issue here. But I think it's also worth noting that the Redskins currently project to have about $25 million-$30 million worth of cap room next year -- which, considering they lost $18 million each of the past two seasons to league-imposed penalties, is going to feel like an ocean of cap room. If Orakpo has a monster year, they'll be both willing and able to sign him for whatever the market demands.

It's also worth considering that Orakpo might be hard to draw into a contract discussion right now. After two straight years ended by injury, Orakpo isn't exactly Victor Cruz trying to cash in at the peak of his productive value. The Redskins might be able to get a bargain deal from Orakpo at this point, but he's a proud, confident guy who knows he can play at a high level in the NFL, and he's probably just as eager for the chance to go out and have a big pass-rushing year as the Redskins are to see him do it. Negotiating now likely isn't in Orakpo's best interest, and I don't think the Redskins are in a position where they have to risk a difficult future relationship with the player by dragging him into such a negotiation.

So that's where I think things stand. Now, having said all of that, watch the Redskins announce an Orakpo extension while I'm at lunch.

Interesting take here from Zach Berman on last week's arrest of Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Jason Peters on charges of drag racing and resisting an officer by flight. Everything is new with the Eagles in the Chip Kelly era, and Zach wonders how the new coach will respond to off-field issues like the one he now faces with Peters:

Kelly's four years as coach at Oregon included high-profile legal and disciplinary issues, and he was notably heavy-handed in his response.

In 2010, Kelly suspended starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli for the season after Masoli pleaded guilty to a second-degree burglary charge for stealing two laptops and a guitar from a fraternity house. One year later, he suspended all-American cornerback Cliff Harris indefinitely after Harris drove 118 m.p.h. on a suspended license in a rental car.

...

College football has no collective bargaining agreement or players' union, so an NFL coach does not have the kind of authority over players that a college coach does. But Kelly will determine who's on the team and who's starting, and it's reasonable to wonder what his approach will be with Peters or any other player who finds headlines for the wrong reasons.

Peters' first issue, once he's dealt with the legal aspects of his situation, will be the NFL itself, since this is his second arrest and it's entirely possible the commissioner could suspend him under the personal conduct policy. If that doesn't happen, it's unlikely Kelly or the Eagles could take action without a fight from the union. But the larger point here is about ongoing evaluations of players and people, and how tolerant Kelly is going to be long-term with players who find themselves in trouble off the field.

Kelly is preparing the Eagles for 2013, but he's also thinking about building a program for the long-term, and surely part of his process right now is identifying the people around whom he wants to build. Peters is a freakish talent, and when healthy he could be the best offensive lineman in the NFL. If he's that and also a guy Kelly can't trust to stay out of trouble away from the team facility, that will create an interesting situation for the new coach to address going forward. Zach's point about this possibly being a test case for Kelly and player discipline at the NFL level is well taken.

It was on July 16 of last year that Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge involving his mother. I bring this up not to call attention to a negative but rather to point out the extent to which perception of Bryant has changed in the past 11 months. In the wake of that arrest (still the only one of Bryant's life, by the way), there were people calling for the Cowboys to rid themselves of their talented young star. Didn't matter that he was the 23-year-old product of a family situation so inadequate as to defy his critics' comprehension. He was a headache, the story went, and the Cowboys would be better off without him.

Oh, but now... now it's all different, isn't it? Now, Bryant is a guy who put up 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns on 92 catches and played the final few games of the season with a broken finger. Now, you don't hear anything about headaches. The discussion about Bryant now is whether he can break records. And his teammates, who like the Cowboys' organization itself, were unfailingly supportive throughout last summer, are talking up big possibilities. This is cornerback Morris Claiborne, per the Dallas Morning News:

"You notice a difference in Dez going against him every day,” said Claiborne, speaking at Brandon Carr’s celebrity softball game on Saturday. “He’s getting better."

Better than 92 for 1,382 and 12? Oh, it's possible. Bryant's talent, his quarterback, the offense in which he plays, the quality of the receiver on the other side of the field... all of these things line up to create an ideal situation in which he can be as great as he decides to be. Health is tricky, as it is for almost everyone in this league, but at 24 Bryant is still learning all aspects of the game, including how to take care of himself on the field. It's possible that improves along with his numbers as he enters his prime.

It's the off-the-field stuff that has always been the concern with Bryant, which is why the five weeks between now and the start of Cowboys training camp are his most important five weeks of the year. What you as a Cowboys fan want from Bryant for these next five weeks is complete radio silence. You don't want to hear his name in any other context than "In which round of your fantasy draft should you pick him?"

People in the Cowboys' building will tell you Bryant's never caused them a problem on the field or in the locker room and that their concern with him has always been what happens when he's away from the team and on his own. This was the impetus, post-arrest, for the "Dez rules" that established a round-the-clock security setup for Bryant during the season last year and established parameters for where he could and could not go in his free time. These were an object of ridicule when they were discovered and reported, but in retrospect they serve as evidence that Bryant wants to set and keep the proper priorities and isn't content with a life in which his off-field issues keep him from becoming the player he wants to be on the field.

A reputation is a mustard stain. It won't come out, no matter how much you scrub it. Bryant can behave himself flawlessly for the next five years but if he gets in trouble again in 2019 everyone will say, "See? Same old Dez." The only way for Bryant to keep his old reputation from being thrown back in his face is for him to avoid all off-field issues completely, or to control them so they don't flare up in a public way, for the rest of his career. That's not fair, and it's a tall task, and it's impossible to say with confidence whether it's something he can or will do.

I'll say this, though: Last July, I wrote that people who were calling for Bryant to be released were off-base and that the Cowboys' responsibility was to help Bryant manage his issues. It was also Bryant's responsibility to identify those issues and find ways to keep them from affecting him negatively. It appears that, over the past 11 months, those things have happened and that Bryant is in a better place in his life. He himself has indicated as much in interviews, and obviously with his on-field performance. The next five weeks are the next big test of whether Bryant has turned a corner in his off-field life and can continue to look with optimism at a blindingly bright football future. The key is to make sure his name stays out of the news. And while no one can predict whether he can pull it off, at this point it wouldn't be fair to be surprised if he did.

Morning. Hope everyone had a nice weekend. We head now into a relatively dark period for NFL news -- the dead zone between minicamps and training camps, during which time players are away from their teams and apt to make only the wrong kind of news. If there isn't much written about your team for the next month, you have license to be happy about that. So let's see what we've got for links, shall we?

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys will be one of the first teams to open training camp. Their first practice is on July 21 in Oxnard, Calif. In the meantime, as Todd Archer writes, the key questions include the health of Tony Romo's back and the fitness of offensive coordinator Bill Callahan to balance his old role as offensive line coach with his new one as playcaller.

Jason Hatcher has a half-brother he's never met, but that's about to change and Hatcher is looking forward to establishing a relationship with a newly discovered member of his family.

New York Giants

The biggest offseason issue for the Giants, Paul Schwartz writes, was a player who didn't set foot on the practice field, and the Victor Cruz saga continues to hang over the team along with a couple of key injury issues as the Giants rest up.

Pretty special Father's Day for Justin Tuck, whose second child was born Sunday.

Philadelphia Eagles

I have yet to watch the DeSean Jackson documentary, which was put together by his brother and chronicles Jackson's life with a focus on his relationship with his father. But I have heard very positive reviews, and it sounds fascinating. I plan to check it out, and to post on it at a later date.

For Brent Celek, it's about taking care of his body as he gets older and amasses injuries and the Eagles load up on tight ends around him on the roster.

Washington Redskins

Mike Shanahan keeps saying that he'll leave it up to the doctors to tell him when Robert Griffin III is ready to return from his knee surgery. But as Jason Reid points out, that moment will be just the beginning of the real, difficult decision-making work for Shanahan.

Brian Orakpo says he's not worried about his contract situation with one year left on his deal. For whatever it's worth, a week ago I believed the Redskins were likely to try to extend Orakpo this offseason, but after spending a couple of days at their minicamp last week and talking to people there, I now believe they intend to let him play out the deal and negotiate next offseason.

Here is our weekly Twitter mailbag, an exercise in which you can participate at any time of the week simply by tweeting something with the hashtag #nfceastmail in it. Like these folks here did.

The subtitle of Todd Archer's final review of Dallas Cowboys minicamp is "Sean Lee is everywhere," and this is no surprise. That's how Sean Lee rolls. From Todd's account, it sounds as though watching Lee in minicamp practices this week was a lot like watching Lee play games:

• Lee was everywhere. He opened team drills with a breakup of a Kyle Orton throw to TE Jason Witten, picked off Orton in seven-on-seven drills and broke up an underneath throw to WR Miles Austin.
• How good might the Cowboys be at middle linebacker and weakside linebacker? One play after Lee’s interception,Bruce Carter blanketed DeMarco Murray out of the backfield and forced an incompletion.

This is why there is hope for Cowboys fans who wonder whether their team can make the leap from almost-good-enough to playoff team. This is why Stephen Jones can say with a straight face he believes the Cowboys can contend for a championship. Because there are quite a few players on this Cowboys roster who have the opportunity to elevate them from good to great. Lee is one of them. For the defense, he's probably the most important one. He's the kind of talent, leader and be-everywhere-at-once game-changing playmaker who can make this Cowboys' defense an excellent one.

What Lee has to do is stay healthy. There's been no question, in either of the past two years, that he's been one of the best all-around defensive players in the league when he's been fully healthy and on the field. He just hasn't been those things enough. If Lee can play 16 games, without the kind of injury that limited him in the second half of the 2011 season, then he's one of the reasons to think the Cowboys are capable of special things.

So yeah, New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz has signed his restricted free-agent tender and is officially under contract for one year and $2.879 million. It is no coincidence that this occurred the day after the Giants' mandatory minicamp, which was only mandatory for players under contract, or that it occurred three days before the Giants could have reduced the tender offer to $630,000. I don't think the Giants were going to do that, but it would have been their right, and if he hadn't signed the tender by Monday Cruz would literally have been risking $2.249 million. Seems a silly thing to do.

But today's news doesn't mean this is over, nor does it mean Cruz is a sure thing to show up for training camp next month. He still wants a long-term contract. He still wants to negotiate it now, while he's coming off two stellar seasons as one of the top-producing wide receivers in the game. And he still wants more than the Giants are offering. This thing today is a procedural move that protects him from a financial worst-case scenario. Each day of training camp he misses allows the Giants to fine him up to $30,000, but he'd have to miss 75 days of training camp before the fines added up to what he'd have lost if the Giants exercised their right to reduce the tender. There aren't 75 days of training camp to miss. Plus, oftentimes such fines serve as a negotiating point once a final deal gets reached. The signing of his tender does not mean Cruz won't hold out of training camp in continued protest of his contract situation.

I still think it ends up getting done before the season starts and Cruz remains a Giant long-term. But I don't think anything that happened today changes anything about where this situation is headed or what will happen when camp starts next month.

» NFC Eight in the Box: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

The major question facing each team in the NFC East as summer break looms:

Dallas Cowboys: Did the offensive line improve enough?

I don't think it's overstating the case to say that the Cowboys' season rests on the answer to this question. They added skill-position pieces to an already impressive collection of those on the offensive side of the ball. They're revamping the defense around a 4-3 front that should make stars of players like Jay Ratliff, Jason Hatcher and Sean Lee. They've altered the way in which they'll plan their offense during the week and call the plays on Sunday. But we have seen, multiple times in recent years, the extent to which poor offensive line play can sabotage a Cowboys season. So the questions are whether first-round pick Travis Frederick can step right in as an upgrade at center, whether Ronald Leary can seize one of the starting guard spots (or one of the incumbents can improve enough to hold him off) and whether Doug Free can play at something near his 2010 level at right tackle. If the answers to these questions are positive, the Cowboys are capable of big things.

New York Giants: Will Victor Cruz come to camp?

I actually think the Giants have a ton of questions on defense, but they'll be into the regular season before they can get any answers on those. Of more immediate concern is the contract status of Cruz, who sat out the offseason program in hopes of a long-term contract. ESPN's Josina Anderson reports that Cruz will sign his $2.879 million restricted free-agent tender today, three days before the Giants had the right to drop it down to $630,000. But that doesn't mean he won't hold out of camp if he doesn't get the long-term deal he wants before then. The Giants could fine him for skipping camp (up to $30,000 per day), but that's a lot less than he'd have risked by leaving the tender unsigned until Monday, and history tells us that fine money ultimately gets made up when the final deal is done. The Giants can talk up second-year wideout Rueben Randle all they want, but Cruz has been a vital part of the offense the past two years, and if he holds out for any of training camp, they will have a serious concern.

Philadelphia Eagles: Who's the quarterback?

Michael Vick has spent the offseason splitting first-team reps with Nick Foles while rookie Matt Barkley works hard to catch up and Dennis Dixon looms as a backup who can't fully be ruled out. Vick said last week he'd like a decision by training camp, but first-year coach Chip Kelly has no interest in providing one on that timetable. Kelly knows he doesn't have any great options here, and he wants to evaluate the candidates in a training-camp setting and in preseason games before picking a starter. Vick is the leading candidate based both on experience and talent, but questions remain as to whether a 33-year-old leopard can change his spots and learn to get rid of the ball quickly instead of always trying to keep plays alive and do something spectacular.

Washington Redskins: When will Robert Griffin III be ready?

The Redskins' megastar quarterback is encouraged by his recovery from the reconstructive knee surgery he had Jan. 9, and he has said he hopes to be ready for the start of training camp. Initially, doctors gave the Redskins a recovery time frame of seven to nine months on Griffin. Aug. 9 would be the seven-month mark, and training camp will already have been underway for several weeks. Since there would seem to be wisdom in the idea of taking it slowly, it's tough to imagine the Redskins green-lighting Griffin for the start of camp. Setbacks remain possible (even likely, given the extent of the surgery), and the high end of that initial timetable lands in October. So at this point, the Redskins still don't know when they'll have Griffin back on the field at full strength, and their plan for the time being is to roll with Kirk Cousins as the starter. By the time they get back from this break, the picture may look a bit clearer.

ASHBURN, Va. -- This is a tough trick Kirk Cousins is attempting. He's working to establish his bona fides as an NFL starting quarterback while the world can't stop asking how soon he'll return to a backup role. Cousins has been working as the Washington Redskins' starter this offseason while Robert Griffin III recovers from knee surgery, and he's got this balancing act in the right perspective.

"Hey, if Robert is back by the start of training camp, which may happen, then this maybe was my last day with the 1-offense," Cousins said at the end of Wednesday's minicamp practice. "It was great to get that experience, and working with the 2-offense will be great as well. I'm still going to be getting a lot of reps. So I'm benefiting from this practice time, for sure, regardless of whether I start."

He admits this wasn't always the case, and being drafted in the fourth round last year by a Redskins team that had just spent so much to draft Griffin didn't fit his initial plan for his future. But Cousins is all-in on the long view now.

"It takes time to develop into the quarterback that we all want to be," Cousins said. "It's not going to happen overnight. But we're putting the work in, and I'm excited about the career I have ahead of me, as long as I keep doing the things I need to keep doing."

What's impressive, though, is that while keeping his long-range perspective, Cousins has indeed managed to establish himself in the minds of his teammates as a viable short-term option should Griffin need more recovery time. It helps that he started and won a game last December in the midst of the streak the Redskins rode to their division title, but teammates say Cousins is a natural as a leader of the huddle and a maker of plays.

"I feel extremely confident with him. He just looks great," nose tackle Barry Cofield said. "He just looks calm back there. He commands the huddle. The O-line, the vets we have on our offense, they all respect him and have trust in him, and he can make all the throws. What he went and did on the road in Cleveland last year was no surprise to anybody, and I think he'll be a starter in this league sooner than later."

The day before, left tackle Trent Williams called Cousins a "stud" and told me, "I just think it's funny -- everybody's looking for "that guy," and we've got two of them." Quarterbacks coach Matt LaFleur talked about Cousins' knack for slipping in a joke to loosen up the huddle during tense or dull parts of practices. It's not an act -- the Redskins really do believe Cousins can lead them if Griffin can't.

Cousins does too, which makes his patience about his own situation even more impressive. He laughed when I asked him if he was telling Griffin not to hurry back.

"You know what? He looks good," Cousins said. "And I tell him obviously for his sake, long-term, to not rush it, but he knows that. But I'm optimistic about him getting back. He looks great right now."

No quarterback controversy here. Just a depth chart at peace, and a team unworried about its most important position.