Turning The Corner

By John Pappas
twitter.com/skinscast

Why is Carlos Rogers smiling? After last season, the sixth-year cornerback wanted out of Washington in the worst way. His primary reason for wanting out? Rogers was tired of dealing with a coaching staff that he felt sent mixed-messages. From his vantage point, they were quick to praise him when all was well, but they also had no problem turning their back on him if he had an off-game.

Rogers was also miffed by a front office quick to throw money around at free agents year after year, but was much slower when it came to rewarding homegrown players with a contract extension.

And that’s before we even get to the locker room – where a general lack of leadership and direction was evident.
All of this was more than enough to affect Rogers, on and off the field. He was clearly unhappy with his circumstances and it translated to inconsistencies in his game.

Following the 4-12 debacle last season, Rogers was ready to move on. As far as he was concerned, his days in Washington were done, no matter what.

That is, until he met head coach Mike Shanahan.

“My sole mindset after last year was to leave,” said Rogers. “I mean, I wanted out. Regardless of who came in, I didn’t want to be here. But [Shanahan] told me, ’You ain’t going no where. We like you, and we’re not trading you.’”

Shanahan told Rogers he liked what he saw in the corner.

“He said he looked at my tape, he liked how I played, that I’m a physical corner, I can cover,” said Rogers. “He was like, ’We’ll get the hands right, don’t worry about it.’ But as an overall corner; he liked my ability. And I think from him on down, with [general manager] Bruce [Allen], with [defensive coordinator Jim] Haslett, all the coaches believe in me and they know – not taking nothing from DeAngelo Hall, because he’s a real good corner, he’s a very good playmaker – but I think coaches past, when D-Hall got here they put the other corners aside and said, ’Okay, he’s the number-one corner, he’s this, and he’s that,’ and just forgot about our ability to cover and that we can play too.”

Through seven games, Rogers has reminded fans and critics exactly what he brings to the table – with 35 tackles, nine passes defended, one interception and a forced fumble.

His penchant for dropping sure-fire interceptions may be the subject of jokes and heartache, but Rogers is almost always in position and rarely gives up big plays.

“Number one, I’m happy,” said Rogers. “It’s just a whole different environment. From the top down, dealing with the management to the coach here. I haven’t had nothing like it since Coach Gibbs.

“I’ve always been able to cover my man,” he continued. “I’ve always had confidence in my ability. It’s just [before] when you get kind of down, when you don’t have a good game, and I say you were punished for it, or coaches looked at you in a different way. Then, when you have another good game and it’s, ’Oh, you are back where you were.’”

Since the day they arrived, the new administration at Redskins Park has shown more confidence in Rogers’ abilities. He’s been asked to take on more responsibilities and, as a result, is thriving in the new scheme.
“I think when this coaching staff started believing in me, it gave me a lot more opportunities and put me in a position to make plays,” he said. “They put me in the nickel. I’m blitzing. I’m doing a lot more in this defense than I ever had a chance to do.”

The difference is evident by his play, which is earning praise from his coaches.

“He’s done a great job, he really has, and at covering guys, especially in the nickel and the slot,” said Haslett. “He’s done an excellent job. He’s hard to throw over. He should have probably five to six interceptions right now.”

In mentioning turnovers, Haslett brings up the one sore point in the cornerback’s game. While Rogers has been solid in coverage, he continues to find new and creative ways to drop interceptions. It is a problem which has plagued Rogers throughout his career.

“It seems like every game I always put myself in a situation to make a pick,” said Rogers. “Sometimes it’s not getting my head around fast and the ball is right there, and some I had in my hand and I just dropped it. [Against Indianapolis] I had that one, took two or three steps and tucked the ball, but I just hit my elbow and the ball came right out. So I continue to work, and I continue to catch the ball and try and put myself in that situation to make plays.”

Most maddening is how close Rogers is coming to getting the picks.

“He should have a minimum of five turnovers,” said Haslett. “Hopefully, he can put that away in the second half of the season … and help us get a few because that’s what is going to help us win games.”

Shanahan has shown patience with Rogers, believing the interceptions will come.

“I think you joke about it, kind of take the pressure off of him a little bit,” he said. “He’s been doing it in practice, so those will come because he has been much more consistent in practice over the last three or four weeks than he was when he first got here.”

Rogers came to Washington as the ninth overall draft pick in 2005. He was a Jim Thorpe award winner at Auburn, given to the best defensive back in the nation. He also earned consensus All-America honors and was a finalist for the Bronco Nagurski Award, given to the best defensive college football player in the United States.

Because he was drafted so high, Rogers was saddled with expectations that he could immediately step in and fill the void left when shutdown corner Champ Bailey was traded to Denver for running back Clinton Portis.

Not unrealistic expectations for Rogers, who knew early-on he was gifted.

“I started playing when I was eight years old,” said Rogers. “I was so tall that I started out as a tight end, moved to quarterback, and I’ve been playing corner ever since. And at every level I’ve been that star player. From Pop Warner football to middle school, I was the top running back – to high school, I was ’that’ player. And I always thought that I can make it in this league. I’ve always been quick, I’ve been fast. I had the ability to learn, so I always thought I could play.”

In his first two seasons, Rogers seemed to be on his way. His rookie year brought 39 tackles, two interceptions and four passes defended in 12 games. In ’06 he logged 66 tackles, one interception and 17 passes defended over 15 games.

But trouble struck in 2007. Rogers was lost for the year when he tore his ACL and MCL in a 52-7 drubbing by New England Week 8. The following the season, Gibbs retired, and assistant head coach Gregg Williams, who led the defense, was let go. It was a harbinger of tough times.

Rogers started strong in 2008 along with new coach Jim Zorn and the 6-2 team. But things were different as far as communications with the defensive coaches and a strain developed as the team struggled, finishing 2-6 to end the season.

Rogers says he was benched with no explanation and let it be known by the end of the season that he’d rather play elsewhere if the Redskins didn’t want to start him.

Things didn’t get any better in ’09, as the losses continued to mount and the coaching staff continued to run hot and cold with Rogers. All of it was more than enough reason for Rogers to want out.

Fortunately for everyone involved, Rogers did get his fresh start – and he never had to leave Washington.
“I definitely want to be here,” he said. “I like this coaching staff. I like Coach Shanahan. He reminds me of Coach Gibbs, a coach that has been to Super Bowls, is established and knows how to run a team. He has control and not only that; they have Bruce Allen up in the front office that helps to run this team too.

“I think [Shanahan] knows what he is doing, instead of just bringing in guys with cool agents, or bringing in the top main guys,” he continued. “Because we have always been a good team. If you look at some of the guys with the names that we got, you just say; ’oh, the Redskins are going to be good.’ But we was never a complete team. Then you look at Dallas. I don’t know how many games they have to lose for people to get off their bandwagon. Because they got so many names. You can name so many people on Dallas. But until it’s a team, you will never be a winner.”

Rogers thinks the difference this year is leadership, and the quality of players the team has added.
“You look at our team now. You can look at Donovan McNabb, Clinton Portis – but look at Ryan Torain – who ever heard of him? Who has ever heard of Anthony Armstrong? Guys like that are making plays,” Rogers said.

“I [also] think our coaches have raised our level of play a lot,” he said. “It’s not just one person, but it’s a lot of guys that [Shanahan is] putting together, everybody is buying into one common goal, and that is winning the Super Bowl.”

Rogers became a restricted free agent this year because of the expiring Collective Bargaining Agreement, which allowed the team to place a first-round tender on him. When no other teams offered a first-rounder, Rogers had to sign the tender in order to play this year. To date, no talks have begun on an extension.

“I haven’t even thought about it,” said Rogers. “People are always asking me about the contract, ’why haven’t they extended you, they need to extend you, you the best corner on this team, if we lose you, we lose our best corner, we losing our nickel.’ I just don’t pay attention. Me and my agent had a conversation about it and he was like, ’Los, you just go out there and you play and everything else will take care of itself.’”

Without concerning himself with thoughts of unsettled contract situations or off-the-field drama, Rogers is free to just focus on football. And for that reason alone, he couldn’t be happier.

“I’m still learning,” he said. “This coaching staff still teaches me, and I’m still willing to learn and get better. This is my sixth year and I still get in my notebook, and I’m even writing down things coach [Steve] Jackson tells the safeties. If corner don’t work out years later, I think I got ability to play free safety. So I’m still kind of learning, not only at corner, but at other positions too.”