Goodbye Brandon Lloyd

So the Washington Redskins have once again released a high profile off-season acquisition. Yesterday, the Redskins dropped disgruntled wr Brandon Lloyd, who they had traded for during the off-season 2 years ago. At the time, Lloyd was considered to have great potential, a possible wr on the rise. He had just come off a season in which he had 48 rec for 733 yards... a 15.3 ypc and had 5 tds. He also had the catch in the picture, which was the only real thing he had ever done in his career, except for the fact that it was called back for holding, and so he really has done nothing.

But back to the story, while these stats may seem pedestrian to you, you must understand the team he was playing for. Lloyd was the #1 threat on a team that was stacked with guys like Arnez Battle, Johnnie Morton, Rasheed Marshall, Marcus Maxwell and Jason McAddley. His star rb was Frank Gore, however he was in his rookie season and was only able to muster up 608 yards on the ground, with only127 attempts. He did not have any 1 stable qb, as Alex Smith, Tim Rattay, and Ken Dorsey all saw playing time, with none being effective in any way, shape or form. Alex Smith threw for 875 yards on 84 attempts... completing barely over 50% of his passes. He had a Qb rating of just above 40, had 1 touchdown and 11 interceptions. Tim Rattay fared a little better, as he had a qb rating of a little over 70. Yet he only threw for 667 yards on 56 completions, while completing 57.7% of his passses. Dorsey is terrible, and thus I do not even want to mention his statistics as if he is playing qb for your team...you know you are in trouble.

Now back to Lloyd. That year he had a fairly decent year. He was a #1 threat on a terrible offense team. Their offense ranked LAST in the entire nfl in passing yards, 17th in the nfl in rushing yards.. making them.. you guessed it LAST overall in total offense. They were an atrocious team. Little hope for anything (sad thing is they still are and are still going nowhere...at all...poor san fran). However Lloyd seemed to be going places. He was in his 3rd year and had improved each year. His rookie year he had only 14 recpetions for 212 yards and 2 tds. In 2004, he had 43 receptions for 565 yards and 6 tds. These aren't bad statistics for a 4th round pick in the 2003 nfl draft. The biggest problem about Lloyd was that he was a distraction for the 49ers. Many said that he was a malcontent, and was always bitching and complaining about the team and his coaches. He often took plays off and was considered to have a terrible work ethic and attitude. The team and the player eventually got on such bad terms that both decided it was time for a split, and the Redskins happily came in and took the Lloyd off the 49ers hands.

For you see, the Redskins were coming off a season in which their offense had once again been terrible. Their defense was respectable, but their offense was a joke. Their passing offense ranked 21st in the league, and most of the yards it gained were from simply wr screens. The team did have a very good running game with clinton portis who ran for enough yards for thier rushing offense to be ranked 7th in the league. However, in the end their offense ranked 11th in the league, and was not scoing nearly enough points. They did have Santana Moss, who had just come off a fantastic season, catching 84 balls, for 1483 yards (a team record) and 9 tds. The problem was that after Portis, Moss and the young Chris Cooley, the offense had 0 threats. So the team decided to go out and get more talent at the wr position. And thats exactly what they did. They went out and signed Superbowl winning wr Antwan Randle El from the Pittsburgh Steelers to a ridiculously large contract. But that was not enough or them, so they then went out and traded for the disgruntled BLloyd, giving the 49ers a 3rd and 4th round pick. It seemed the redskins had finally found their wr core, and that their offense would finally become a dynamic force. They stole Al Saunders from the Kansas City Chiefs, and once again the Redskins and their fans were full of optimism.

However. Lloyd never panned out. In his first year with the redskins, he was only able to muster 23 catches for a measly 365 yards and 0 tds. He clashed with the coaching staff, was caught flicking off his wr coach and going on a nasty little profanity filled hissy fit once practice. He even got so upset that during a game he took his helmet off, while on the field, and slammed it on the ground, earned himself a 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty as well as a 1 game suspension from Coach Joe Gibbs.

In 2007 he was poised to have a breakout year once again. Gibbs have given him another chance, and even allowed him to start in week 1, alongside #1 wr Moss. However, Lloyds attitude never improved, and his playing time rapidly decreased as his production remained non-existent. In 2007 he had only 2 receptions for 14 yards, and only played in 8 games, but really only saw action in about 5. He broke his collar bone in november and was placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Gibbs retired this offseason, the only man in the organization who ever really gave Lloyd a chance. Thus it is no surprise that new coach Jim Zorn decided that it was time to let Lloyd go and be a bitch somewhere else. Lloyd will be considered a June 1st cut, and thus will not harm the redskins salary cap this season, but will cost them nearly 5.5 million dollars in 2009. Lloyd will save the skins roughly 1.3 million dollars after June 1, and thus has done nothing for this organization but cost them roughly 11 million dollars over 2 years for 25 catches, 379 yards and 0 tds.

Lloyd has more potential than probably any other wr on the skins roster. He is quick, has a great leaping ability. He is 6'0 200 pounds and is only 25 years old. If some team can figure out how to keep him happy... and get him to play hard..they might be able to have a good wr. He can be a decent #2 and if he puts in real effort could be a mediocre #1 wr. He has the potenti

al he just doesn't have the drive or the maturity at this point. In the end he was a massive waste for the redskins and the skins are a much

better team now thats hes bitch ass is out.