ESPN NFL

Good morning, and welcome to another fun offseason week on the NFC East blog. As I promised, I did not stay up to catch Eli Manning on "Saturday Night Live." It's on the DVR, and I will get to it. I understand he held his own. It's all any of us can hope to do during these slower parts of the NFL offseason, after all. Links.

Dallas Cowboys

Rob Ryan says just because Anthony Spencer doesn't get a lot of sacks doesn't mean he's not a great football player. Ryan says he thinks Spencer is a great player, and went out of his way to defend him against accusations to the contrary. We get it. We've heard it all before. And it may all be true. But this is 2012. If you're playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense and the guy on the other side of the field is double-teamed on every play and you only come up with six sacks in a season, people have every right to criticize.

The Cowboys are trying to put Dez Bryant through a very structured offseason in the hopes that he doesn't wander off into shopping malls and get into trouble on his own. They believe it's working so far.

New York Giants

Osi Umenyiora has opened a Twitter account, and given the current state of his relationship with the Giants, his dissatisfaction over his contract and the strong possibility of him skipping offseason workouts and/or holding out of part of training camp in protest, it looks like a must-follow.

Ohm's got a review of Eli's performance on "Saturday Night Live," in case you've been missing "Rapid Reaction" since early February and need a fix.

Philadelphia Eagles

Geoff Mosher caught up with Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, who believes this year will offer him an opportunity to cash in on the promise that led the Eagles to use a first-round pick on him in 2010. Graham says he's healthy, and if he is, he could be a valuable part of the defensive line rotation -- a high-energy addition to a unit that tied for the league lead in sacks in 2011.

And Bleeding Green Nation has a nice interview with Evan Mathis, who was a Twitter phenomenon long before Osi got on there. Mathis talks about his rise from little-noticed free-agent signing to indispensable starting left guard, and apologizes to Eagles fans for calling them "idiots" last year for wanting Andy Reid fired. (To clarify: He's not saying they were right, just apologizing for his word choice.)

Washington Redskins

First-round draft pick Robert Griffin III showed enough in rookie minicamp to win the starting quarterback job for the 2012 season, according to Mike Shanahan. Consider this your latest reminder that the Redskins' 2011 quarterback situation was in need of an upgrade. Truthfully, Griffin won the Redskins' starting quarterback job the instant the Indianapolis Colts selected Andrew Luck with the first pick in the draft.

Rich Campbell writes that the next step for Shanahan is to design an offense tailored to the unique skill set Griffin brings -- something Shanahan says he's already begun the process of doing, now that he's had him on a practice field for a few days.

I did posts on the other three teams, so it only seems fair, but the Washington Redskins portion of the ESPN blogger mock draft was one of the easiest things I'll do all week. After Paul Kuharsky of the AFC South blog selected Andrew Luck for the Colts at No. 1 overall, I didn't have to do much thinking to give Robert Griffin III to the Redskins at No. 2. I didn't even entertain any trade offers, as I did for the Eagles and Giants later in the draft. Mike Shanahan did the trade for me last month, and I feel extremely confident that this is one pick I will have had completely correct once the real draft unfolds Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall.

ESPN The Magazine's draft preview has Robert Griffin III on the cover. Following this morning's report from Adam Schefter that the Colts have informed Andrew Luck that they'll be taking him with the No. 1 pick, Washington Redskins fans can be more certain than ever that Griffin will be their next quarterback. So, Redskins fans, I direct you to Tom Friend's magazine feature on the life story of Griffin, which details the ways in which he was influenced by Robert Griffin I and Robert Griffin II, as well as how surprised the latter was when his son walked onto a football field wearing "Griffin III" on the back of his Baylor jersey:

From his seat in the stadium that day, Robert Griffin II was stunned. No one had ever called his son "Robert Griffin the third," and he wasn't sure he was in favor of it. He'd named him Robert at his father's request and regretted it for years. He didn't want his son to feel the burden he had felt, of living up to his father's name. But the moment Robby showed up for that first game proudly wearing his Roman numeral, Robert Jr. realized his son -- soon to be known as RG3 -- had become his own man.

He thought about Robby's life. At 2, he was living in Japan, and at 6, he was living in a slum. At 9, Robby was singing solos in church, and at 11, his principal thought he'd someday be U.S. president. He had finished high school in three and a half years. He irreverently wore SpongeBob socks and composed songs. His goal in life was to be a lawyer. So the III on his back wasn't a burden at all; it was the symbol of one family's journey. "My dad always promised me he'd give me more than he ever had," Robby says. "The least I could do was pay him back, pay my great-grandmother back, pay my grandfather back."

Tom's story is excellent, and it's worth a read even if you're not a Redskins fan but you happen to be a sports fan who likes to learn as much as they can about the people playing on their televisions. It details the ways in which Griffin was shaped by his parents' military service, the origin of his quirky sock collection and why he was working out at a hotel gym at 2 a.m. after accepting the Heisman Trophy in December.

Griffin's name will be the second one called a week from tonight at Radio City Music Hall, and he'll put a Redskins cap on and flash that enormous smile. His progress during the offseason and training camp will be fodder for regular updates on TV, in the newspapers and on the Web. He is tasked with resurrecting a Redskins franchise that has been waiting for him for nearly his entire life. He's big news, and if you want to know more about him, Tom and the Mag have you covered.

A little more than a month from now, on May 19, London Fletcher will celebrate his 37th birthday. This is a high number for an NFL linebacker. Indeed, according to ESPN's research department, there are only 14 players at any position who are older than Fletcher and currently occupy space on NFL rosters. Eight of those 14 are kickers, one is a punter, one (Charlie Batch) is a backup quarterback who almost never plays and one (Patrick Mannelly) is a long snapper. The only non-special teams players older than Fletcher who still get get regular playing time are Tampa Bay's Ronde Barber, Green Bay's Donald Driver and Baltimore's Ray Lewis.

If you knew nothing else besides Fletcher's age, he would seem an odd fit with a Washington Redskins team that's looking ahead, signing younger free agents on offense, about to entrust its next decade to a rookie quarterback.

But the Redskins know better. They know all of the reasons Fletcher is the worthy exception to their plan to get younger. They know this is a man who has finished in the top seven in the league in tackles for eight straight years, who's in better shape in his late 30s than anyone in the locker room, who has played in 224 games since entering the league without ever missing one.

They know Fletcher is a person and a player who sets the right kinds of examples on the field and off for teammates young and old. Who plays hard on every single play and, without barking or bellowing or calling attention to himself but simply by the mere and apparent fact of his own effort, encourages others to do the same. They know he's a leader to whom other players can go to seek counsel on matters related to football as well as matters related to non-football life.

The Redskins remember this time last year, when the players were locked out and Fletcher was calling teammates, organizing player workouts, scouting high school fields to see if they would hold up well enough or if he'd be putting his men at too great a risk of injury by practicing on them. They remember the stories of how he scribbled down a few of Jim Haslett's 3-4 defense plays on a piece of paper and stuffed it in his back pocket so he could call out specific formations and assignments during those loosely organized workouts.

They know, from having watched it up close, that Fletcher believes in what the coaching staff is trying to do. They have seen him embrace the change from the 4-3 to the 3-4 -- thrive in it personally while he helped teach it and sell it to holdovers and newcomers alike. They believe the development of younger linebackers such as Perry Riley, Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan has something to do with the proximity those players have had to Fletcher in the locker room and on the practice field. Mike Shanahan views Fletcher as an extra coach -- someone who's so in tune with the program and so commands the respect of his teammates that he alleviates some of the responsibilities of the men on the coaching staff. He makes their job easier.

Fletcher matters to the Redskins. He wants to be a Redskin. He has become the captain, the leader and in a lot of ways the face of the franchise. He wants to be in Washington when it pays off -- when all of the lean years end and the Redskins contend again. The Redskins want him around their rookie quarterback -- be it Robert Griffin III or Andrew Luck -- and the young receivers they signed. They want him to help corral all of the new members of their secondary and get the best out of them.

Fletcher is going to be 37 years old next month, and if that's all you were looking at then a two-year deal doesn't make sense. But if you've been watching and experiencing his career with the Redskins, you'd know it was a no-brainer. That's how the Redskins felt, and it's a huge relief to them and their fans that he's back in the fold.

You e-mail questions, I answer them. Ideally, you come out of this weekly exercise informed and/or entertained. We'll see.

Scottie Baker from Berrian Springs, Mich., asks whether, if the Colts are able to sign the player they're taking with the No. 1 pick (presumably Andrew Luck) before the draft, would the Washington Redskins then be able to sign the player they want to take at No. 2 (presumably Robert Griffin III) before the draft as well.

Dan Graziano: No, Scottie, they would not. The NFL's rules stipulate that the team holding the No. 1 pick is the only team allowed to sign its draft pick in advance of the draft. So if the Colts were to do a deal with Luck, say, sometime next week, that would not give the Redskins license to negotiate a deal with Griffin. They'd have to wait until after the Colts actually formally selected Luck on April 26 to officially pick Griffin, and until then they would not be permitted to sign Griffin. I imagine this rule is in place to avoid a slippery slope that could theoretically result in everyone in the top 10 signing their picks well in advance of the draft and depriving the NFL of the pomp and pageantry of its draft night. But it is, in fact, a rule. I checked.

KD from Cleveland wants to know how the re-signing of Derek Landri will affect the Philadelphia Eagles' plans for the first round of the draft. Specifically, he wants to know if Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd
could enter the picture.

DG: Well, Floyd could enter the picture, and it will surely be tempting for the Eagles to secure another weapon for Michael Vick and the offense. But I personally don't think the Landri signing will or should affect the Eagles' first-round plans. The Eagles were one of the worst teams in the league last year defending against runs up the middle, and they can't do enough to strengthen the middle of their defensive line. A longer-term solution at defensive tackle in the first round is the best way for the Eagles to go if they can't (as it appears they won't) get Boston College linebacker Luke Kuechly. I think the Eagles should be willing to move up or down a few spots to get the best bang for their buck in the first round, and I think that means drafting defense.

Alan from Arlington, Va., wants to know why the Giants couldn't pay $1.25 million to keep Dave Tollefson from signing with the Raiders.

DG: The Giants are right up against the salary cap, and in the case of Tollefson they decided they didn't want to pay more than the veteran minimum to keep him. They've decided, in the cases of several of their own free agents this year, to set a price over which they would not go and then allow the player to go see if he could get more on the open market. This is why they have lost Brandon Jacobs and Mario Manningham to the 49ers and why Jonathan Goff did not re-sign. They also made a decision to trade for Keith Rivers to improve their linebacker corps, and at the time of the trade he was scheduled to earn $2.16 million in 2012 (though they were working on a restructuring in the immediate wake of the deal). Figuring in the Rivers pursuit and the money they'll need to sign draft picks, the Giants had to be willing to let valued veterans like Tollefson and Jacobs go if they weren't willing to accept the exact amount the team had allotted for them. The Giants also trust in their ability to replenish positions of need from within their own roster or through the draft.

Jed from Texas has a PUNTER QUESTION!!! He wants to know why the Dallas Cowboys haven't signed Mat McBriar and if they're really going to go with Chris Jones as their punter.

DG: Well, Jed, as much as we value punting on this blog, it's not necessarily a major priority for teams in the early weeks of free agency. McBriar had some serious health questions last year, and it's perfectly understandable if the Cowboys want to make sure those are behind him before committing any real money to him. If Jones isn't the answer, then McBriar or another more acceptable option is likely to present itself some time between now and the start of the season. I think they can and will do better than Jones, and McBriar may well be the solution. But they should make sure his foot is fully healthy before making that decision.

Back next week with more mailbag fun. See ya.

"Monday Night Football" analyst Jon Gruden did a conference call Wednesday to discuss the quarterback prospects with which he's had a chance to work for his "Gruden's QB Camp" series in advance of the draft. He discussed them all, but the one of greatest concern to Washington Redskins fans is of course Robert Griffin III, whom the Redskins are expected to draft with the No. 2 pick two weeks from Thursday night. As reported fom Rich Campbell at the Washington Times:

"He can revive the Redskins as long as he stays healthy and he buys in and really takes to this new system and he continues to work. But this is a special young man whether the camera is on or off."

Griffin

Gruden believes Griffin will succeed under Redskins coach Mike Shanahan because of Shanahan's track record with mobile quarterbacks.

"Some of the best tape that I've ever studied was Mike Shanahan and John Elway in Denver," Gruden said. "The back-to-back Super Bowl championship teams, they took advantage of John Elway’s mobility. A lot of people forget just how extraordinary Elway was handing the ball off to Terrell Davis, and those naked bootlegs off of those stretch plays were devastating.

"What Mike did in San Francisco with Steve Young, another mobile quarterback, those were as good of offensive tapes as I've ever seen. I think when you get Robert Griffin, one of the most explosive quarterbacks to ever play the position, in a Mike Shanahan-type system, the possibilities are very exciting, I think, with Mike Shanahan's imagination."

Gruden and Shanahan are friends, it should be noted. And it's also worth noting that Elway and Young are two of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the sport. Griffin could surely have a long and successful career without ever being nearly as good as either of those two players. But that word "revive" is a good one, since that will be the young man's task. (Unless the Colts surprise everyone and take him No. 1, in which case it will be Andrew Luck's task.)

The Redskins and their fan base are yearning for something about which to feel good. Excitement about the Redskins has been dormant for a long time. Just imagining Griffin in a Redskins uniform has begun to "revive" that excitement, but Griffin must deliver on his considerable promise in order to create a real "revival" for the Redskins and their fans. It's hard to find an expert anywhere who doesn't think he is capable of doing that.

Sitting here, looking out my window on a Wednesday morning, wondering how it is that April is colder than March was, and chewing on some links.

Dallas Cowboys

If the Cowboys don't take safety Mark Barron in the first round but still want to use the draft to add depth at that position, Oklahoma State's Markelle Martin is a possible option in the second round or the third. Here's Bryan Broaddus' analysis of Martin's prospects at ESPNDallas.com

As for that first round, Nick Eatman thinks drafting a nose tackle such as Memphis' Dontari Poe would offer the advantage of effectively upgrading two positions at once. We talked about this earlier in the week with regard to Mississippi State's Fletcher Cox -- a guy who could start at defensive end but also spell or eventually replace Jay Ratliff at nose tackle. Someone with the versatility to help at multiple positions on the line and allow Rob Ryan to mix and match fronts. Makes some sense.

New York Giants

Jonathan Goff, who's attempting to come back from the ACL tear that cost him the 2011 season, could be the next member of the Giants to leave for another team via free agency. He was in Miami on Tuesday to visit with the Dolphins, and also has visited the Browns. If Goff leaves, the Giants' middle linebacker spot could go to one of last year's rookies. It's also been suggested that they might move Michael Boley inside to that spot.

Brandon Jacobs' contract with the 49ers isn't for much more money than the Giants were offering him, but as Mike Garafolo points out, the timing wasn't right for a deal between Jacobs and the Giants.

Philadelphia Eagles

Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha spends part of his offseason taking high school students on college tours in different parts of the country.

Jonathan Tamari has five questions facing the Eagles in advance of the draft, which is 15 days from now. Included is a question about how much pressure Andy Reid is really under and whether that will affect decisions made during this year's draft.

Washington Redskins

Robert Griffin III was in Washington to meet with the Redskins on Tuesday, and Andrew Luck is there today for the same reason. I was thinking about a blog post on this Tuesday, but not sure how much there really is to say. I imagine that every team, if they could, would have pre-draft visits with every single player they know they might possibly draft in the first round. By hosting Griffin and Luck, that's what the Redskins are doing.

Shortly after the news broke that they'd agreed to terms with free-agent safety Madieu Williams, the Redskins announce that they'd also signed cornerback Leigh Torrence, a former Redskin who adds depth at the position and makes me think they're about done making additions to the secondary. In fact, once they get London Fletcher locked up, it looks as though the remainder of their offseason and their draft can be spent focused on offense -- the line in particular.

All right, we have 16 days left until the draft. Today we'll have our chat and hopefully a number of other fun stuff for you. But we begin, as ever, with our trusty links.

Dallas Cowboys

Jason Witten says he thinks the Cowboys' efforts in free agency have been "awesome," and that he enjoyed playing the part he played in them, as one of the guys at dinner at Cowboys Stadium helping to convince cornerback Brandon Carr to sign with Dallas.

We talked Monday about whether Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox would be the answer for Dallas with the No. 14 pick, and David Moore has a closer look at him today.

New York Giants

The Giants haven't taken an offensive lineman in the first round since 1999. But as Kyle Langan writes, if someone like Mike Adams falls to them at No. 32, this could be the year. Adams was my pick for the Giants in the blogger mock draft last week, and if he's there at 32, he's a combination of good value and help at a need position. He could move right in as the starting right tackle in 2012 and eventually play left tackle if they end up having a need there.

Safety Tyler Sash opened eyes on special teams as a rookie, and he's hoping for an expanded role on defense in 2012.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Jason Peters injury nearly scuttled Derek Landri's chances of returning to the Eagles in 2012, but Landri did re-sign Monday for one year. I don't think the Landri signing lessens the chances of the Eagles taking a defensive tackle in the first round. They can't have too much depth in the middle of that line.

Les Bowen has some thoughts on Asante Samuel, who's working on a colorful exit from Philadelphia and looks as though he'll be traded sometime in the next few weeks.

Washington Redskins

Rich Campbell writes that Robert Griffin III fits the athletic profile of the quarterbacks who have had success under Mike Shanahan. Of course, Shanahan would argue that Andrew Luck does as well, but Griffin is the guy on whom everyone in Washington has their eye, and the Redskins will be excited to officially have him in the fold 16 days and 12 hours from now.

James Lee, the new tackle the Redskins signed Monday, has some experience as a teacher, as he's already appeared in an online instructional video of sorts to teach proper offensive line technique. Maybe they'll watch his tape in training camp?

The Robert Griffin III episode of Gruden's QB Camp, which aired Monday night, was generally well received. People were impressed with Griffin, who came off as cool and smart and completely composed during the half-hour special. The Washington Redskins fans from whom I heard came out of the thing even more excited than they already were at the idea of Griffin as their team's new quarterback.

But there was one minor issue a few people raised, more as question than as criticism. More than one person has asked me why Griffin's show was so focused on Griffin's personality while Andrew Luck's, which aired three days earlier, was so much more focused on Xs and Os. If you watched Luck's, you'll remember a lot of film study, a lot of chalkboard time and a lot of repetition of the phrase "Spider 3 Y banana." We saw very little X-and-O stuff during Griffin's show.

So, in an attempt to get this question answered for you, I reached out to Monday Night Football producer Jay Rothman, who was happy to explain that they collect more than five hours of tape for each of these shows and must, of course, cut that down to the most compelling possible 22 or 23 minutes (to account for the commercials). Additionally, they've made 10 of these this year, with 10 different quarterbacks. The Luck and Griffin ones were just the first two to air. They don't want each of them to feel exactly the same.

"In the case of RG3, he had such a great personality, the stuff he was giving us was compelling," Rothman said. "Each of the shows has its own personality and feel, and I think at the end of the RG3 one, fans got a sense of what the kid was all about. In the body of the storytelling, you get a sense of the kid -- his personality, his smarts, all of that."

The important thing to remember is that Griffin was put through the same X-and-O paces by Gruden as Luck was. That stuff just didn't make it on-air. But if you really want to see it, you will get your chance.

Rothman told me that Gruden occasionally brings in a guest when he feels it's appropriate to the subject, and he invited former NFL quarterback (and Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick) Vinny Testaverde in for the chalkboard portion of his time with Griffin. The producers are in the process of editing that portion of the session -- Griffin being grilled on Xs and Os by Gruden and Testaverde -- to air on a future edition of "NFL Live." So at some point in the future (I'll try my best to let you know when), you will be able to see that portion of Griffin's time with Gruden, if you're hungry for more.

Also, I'm going to take this chance to plug our programming some more. The Griffin show airs three more times this weekend and 29 more times total over the next month and a half. This is the full schedule of Gruden's QB camp programming, which will also feature eight more quarterbacks before it's all said and done. I'm enjoying them very much, and I hope you will too.

Part of the fallout from the Philadelphia Eagles' signing of tackle Demetress (nee Demetrius) Bell is that the Washington Redskins, who'd wanted to sign Bell to fortify their offensive line, will not. The Redskins, as Mike Jones points out, have missed on a number of offensive line targets in free agency this year and right now would start the same five offensive linemen they started in Week 1 last year. That's okay from the standpoint that the line played very well in the first four games before injuries set in. But it's less okay from the standpoint of left guard Kory Lichtensteiger trying to recover from two torn knee ligaments and right tackle Jammal Brown dealing with a persistent hip problem.

So, while we know the Redskins' first pick in the draft three weeks from tonight will be a quarterback, and that they don't have a pick in the second round, I don't think it's unfair to suggest that, once they start picking again in Round 3, they start picking offensive linemen.

The aforementioned quarterback -- be he Robert Griffin III or Andrew Luck -- is going to need help. As great as those guys project to be down the road, the Redskins' starting quarterback in 2012 is going to be a rookie, and he's going to need protection. The Redskins' offensive line last year, when fully healthy, played fairly well. It blocked for the running game and did a good job of protecting the passer. But the passer, in those first four games, was a veteran NFL quarterback somewhat used to the speed of the game and the complex looks he was seeing from opposing defenses. The offensive line in front of Griffin or Luck will have to be even better than it was in 2011.

The Redskins know this, and it's why they were looking at upgrades over Lichtensteiger and Brown. They wouldn't mind finding a new center, moving Will Montgomery out to guard and deepening their personnel across the whole line -- maybe even giving Lichtensteiger and Brown a little more time to get whole. Best available offensive lineman, regardless of position, looks like the way for Washington to go in the third round, and maybe even with one of their fourth-round picks as well. The only other area I think they'll specifically target is the secondary, but they actually had some success there in free agency, so it's less of a priority than the line.

Assuming all goes as planned and Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are chosen with the first two picks later this month in the NFL draft (in either order), their teams will play a preseason game against each other in late August at FedEx Field in Washington, D.C. The Washington Redskins will host the Indianapolis Colts during Week 3 of the preseason, the league announced Wednesday with the release of its 2012 preseason schedule. The date and time of the game are yet to be determined, but it will be sometime between Aug. 23 and 26.

Other interesting matchups involving NFC East teams include a Week 4 Super Bowl rematch between the Patriots and the Giants at MetLife Stadium, the annual Giants-Jets game, a Cowboys trip to Oakland and an Eagles trip to Foxboro.

Full preseason schedules for all NFC East teams:

Dallas Cowboys

at Oakland, Aug. 13 (ESPN game)

at San Diego, Aug. 16-20 (date TBA)

vs Rams, Aug. 23-25 (date TBA)

vs Dolphins, Aug. 29-30 (date TBA)

New York Giants

at Jacksonville, Aug. 9-13 (date TBA)

at N.Y. Jets, Aug. 16-20 (date TBA)

vs. Bears, Aug. 24

vs. Patriots, Aug. 29-30 (date TBA)

Philadelphia Eagles

vs. Steelers, Aug. 9-13 (date TBA)

at New England, Aug. 20 (ESPN game)

at Cleveland, Aug. 23-26 (date TBA)

vs. N.Y. Jets, Aug. 29-30 (date TBA)

Washington Redskins

at Buffalo, Aug. 9-13 (date TBA)

at Chicago, Aug. 16-20 (date TBA)

vs. Colts, Aug. 23-26 (date TBA)

vs. Buccaneers, Aug. 29-30 (date TBA)

So Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay tweeted that the team was having a private workout today with Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck and that they wanted to have one as well with Robert Griffin III but that Griffin's agent turned them down. This has, as everything that has anything to do with the NFL does in the age of Twitter, become a huge deal.

Knowing that it's certain to fall on deaf ears, I hereby offer a plea for everyone to relax. We'll never make it through the next 23 days if we keep up like this. Do you want to know what it means that Griffin turned down the Colts' invitation for a private workout? Nothing. Ab. So. Lutel. Ly. Nothing.

There is no event in sports (other, apparently, than uniform unveiling) for which the hype and anticipation exceeds the quality and importance of the thing itself than the NFL draft. And part of the outsized hype is this desperate need to find clues in every little thing everyone says and does. Here are some key things to remember, on this Griffin issue and in general:

• Almost everything that any team official or agent says publicly about the draft at this time of year is somewhere on the spectrum between misleading and outright false. Posturing, smokescreening and negotiating are the order of the day, and teams love to play games and drop clues that lead people in the wrong direction.
• Irsay and the Colts are almost certainly taking Luck, leaving Griffin for the Washington Redskins, but there's absolutely no reason for them to make their decision on April 3. And even if they did, there's absolutely no reason for them to tell anyone what it is. There are 23 days left before the draft, and no one knows what might happen to or with Luck or Griffin in that time. The Colts have every right to wait right up until the night of April 26 to decide, and they owe it to no one to let us know what they're thinking.
• The Colts weren't the only team to ask Griffin to do a private workout, and he declined all such invitations. Griffin wanted teams to come to Baylor's pro day instead, in part because he wanted to share some of his spotlight with his college teammates. As I understand it, he didn't work out for the Redskins either.
• These private workouts are, like almost everything else this month, overblown. Teams decide which players to draft based mainly on the players' college tape. And they can meet with these guys in private at the scouting combine. Just because a guy is having a private workout for a team doesn't mean that team is drafting him. And just because he isn't having a private workout for a team doesn't mean that team isn't drafting him. The Eagles are working out Ryan Tannehill even though there's no way they're drafting him. Some teams just like to take an opportunity to meet a guy and get to know a little bit about him. You never know when that might come in handy down the road -- whether you're playing against him, considering acquiring him, whatever.

The overwhelming likelihood is that the Colts are taking Luck and have known it for some time, and that the Redskins will get Griffin. But nothing that's happening today offers any viable clues about this. And if you're the Redskins -- and this really is the most important point I can make here -- it doesn't matter. Andrew Luck is your worst-case scenario? Plenty of teams would trade places with you.

So you're a Washington Redskins fan and you don't feel like watching the Kentucky-Kansas pregame hype. I feel your pain. Here at ESPN, we all want to help. And so, if you turn on ESPN at 9 pm ET, you can watch Robert Griffin III, Baylor's Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and the likely first-round pick of the Redskins, take his turn at Jon Gruden's QB camp.

Here's a preview of the episode, which is the second in this year's series. (Andrew Luck's ran Friday.) And seriously, whether you're a Redskins fan or not, these things offer a pretty cool look at these kids who could be the NFL stars of the next decade. Griffin is, to no one's surprise, poised and polished, whether he's talking about if he'd really be okay with being the No. 2 pick as opposed to No. 1 or whether he's answering questions about his dazzling array of socks. Enjoy.

Everybody else has a mock draft, so the eight of us ESPN.com division bloggers got together and decided we could too. It worked the way you'd expect it to work. Each of us made the picks for the four teams in our divisions, as they came around. So Kuharsky says in an email to all of us, "Colts take Andrew Luck No. 1," and then I reply-all, "Redskins take Robert Griffin III No. 2," and on it goes. It's your basic football nerdfest, pretty much just as you'd expect if you were sitting around thinking, "What do these guys do all day?"

The explanations for the picks I made are right there with the picks, so there's little or no need to re-hash them here. But I'll tell you who I picked and you can click on through to the page for a more detailed explanation if you'd like. Here you go:

2. Washington Redskins: Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor

14. Dallas Cowboys: Mark Barron, S, Alabama

15. Philadelphia Eagles: Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi State

32. New York Giants: Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State

So let me know what you think after reading through all the picks. And if you have a couple of minutes, please click on the video and watch it through to the end. That'd set me up real nice with the bosses. And I know you're all just sitting there thinking, "He does so much for us, what can we do for him?" So there you go.

The deed done weeks ago, the Washington Redskins and their fans have had little to do but wait. They know they're going to get a quarterback with the No. 2 pick in the draft later this month. Whether that quarterback is Andrew Luck or, more likely, Robert Griffin III, they believe he has the stuff to be a franchise quarterback -- to provide stability and excellence at the game's most important position for years to come. The Redskins paid a significant price for this -- three first-round picks and a second-round pick -- and since it happened there has been nothing to do about it but wait and anticipate.

What goes on during the anticipation phase? Buyer's remorse would be natural, of course. A feeling of concern. Did we pay too much? What if this doesn't work out? Have we doomed the franchise to two more decades of misery?

Natural questions, to be sure, and in their quiet moments Mike Shanahan & Co. have surely entertained some form of them. But the advice from someone who has been there before tells them not to dwell on what-ifs.

"What you're thinking at the time when it gets done is, 'That's our guy. We were able to accomplish it. Here he comes. Let's go,'" Giants coach Tom Coughlin said last week at the NFL owners meetings. "You've got to have great conviction. You've got to believe in your system. And once the deal is accomplished, there's no looking back."

In 2004, Coughlin's first year as their head coach, the Giants made a similar move up in the draft for a franchise quarterback. After the San Diego Chargers took Eli Manning with the No. 1 pick, the Giants drafted Philip Rivers at No. 4 and traded Rivers, their third-round pick in 2004 and their first-round and fifth-round picks in 2005 to get Manning. Not as steep a price as the Redskins paid the Rams last month, but it was a lot, and at the time (and in the years that followed) there was much debate as to whether it was worth it.

But to hear Coughlin tell it, that debate never happened within the walls of the Giants' team headquarters. All of that debate happened before GM Ernie Accorsi made the deal, and once the deal was made it simply could not continue.

"You make that kind of investment, you'd better have done the research," Coughlin said. "You'd better have made the decision on how he's going to impact your team. And you'd better be prepared, because that young man has got to go through what every other young guy did. This league is tough. People make it very, very hard on that position when you have a young guy taking the snaps. There are things he's going to see that he's never seen in his life -- never even imagined seeing."

Which makes it scary, this business of dealing away big parts of the future in exchange for a kid who has never played an NFL down. It has worked out well for the Giants, obviously, as Manning has led them to two Super Bowl titles in the past five years. If the Giants ever had any doubts early in his career, or in the immediate aftermath of the trade, Manning has erased them all and confined the debate over the worthiness of the trade to ancient history.

What happens with the Redskins and their new quarterback remains to be seen. But it sounds as though Shanahan is already living Coughlin's advice. Asked last week whether it mattered to him which quarterback fell to him at No. 2, Shanahan said no, of course not. They wouldn't have given up what they gave up to get to No. 2 if they weren't convinced that Luck or Griffin could both be what they need. And they wouldn't have made the move if they hadn't already erased all of their doubts about whether it was too much to pay. Franchise quarterback is too important, and the Redskins saw a chance to get one.

"The Super Bowls that I've been involved with, with Steve Young, with the John Elways, both were franchise quarterbacks," Shanahan said. "They can make plays when everything breaks down. And if somebody can do that, then you've got an opportunity, once you get to the playoffs, to do something special. Now, can you still win without one? Sure you can. But you'd better be pretty special."

The teams that don't have franchise quarterbacks spend their existences wandering in search of one. It can consume them, as it has the Redskins for so long. That's why, when it comes down to it, there's really no such thing as overpaying for a chance to get one. Besides, if it doesn't work out, everybody who was in on the decision is going to be working elsewhere anyway. Right, Tom Coughlin?

"You don't ever go down that road, either," Coughlin said. "It's going to work."

That's the mindset the Giants had in 2004, and it's the mindset the Redskins have right now. When you're dealing with stakes and prices this high, there's really no other way to be.