Hail to the Redskins!/Hail, Victory!/Braves on the warpath!/Make jersey history!!!

When Robert Griffin III was introduced at last month's NFL draft, many took note of the fact that the back of his Washington Redskins jersey included the Roman numeral at the end of his surname. According to Paul Lukas of Uni Watch, it's a historic inclusion. Lukas says, as far as he can tell, Griffin will become the first player in major American sports to have a Roman numeral on the back of his jersey.

[Related: Redskins rookie Robert Griffin III reveals his romantic side]

The NFL changed the rule this offseason and it allows Roman numerals and Jr./Sr. distinctions. The III has a special connection to Griffin but is also a killer marketing tool. Lukas thinks it may run deeper than that:

And that's not the only kind of branding at work here, because the Roman numeral III can also be viewed as three stripes -- which happens to be the visual signature of adidas, which signed Griffin to a big endorsement contract back in February. In fact, Uni Watch suspects Griffin chose adidas over Nike specifically in large part because of the potential marketing synergies between the Roman numeral and the stripes.

If Uni Watch is right -- and when it comes to uniforms, that's almost always the case -- Griffin is even more savvy than advertised.

[Yahoo! Sports Shop: Buy Robert Griffin III gear]

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The question we were asking all along when it came to the "spirit of the salary cap" penalties handed down to the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders and New Orleans Saints was, of course, "How on earth can teams be in violation of salary cap rules when there is no salary cap in place?"

Turns out, the NFL Players Association was asking the same question, and now, they will do so in court. On Wednesday morning, the NFLPA released this statement in part:

The Class Counsel under the Reggie White settlement agreement and the NFL Players Association today filed a complaint, on behalf of the NFL players, charging the NFL, its clubs and their owners of collusion during the 2010 NFL season. The complaint details a conspiracy to violate the anti-collusion and anti-circumvention provisions in the White Settlement Agreement (SSA) by "imposing a secret $123 million per-Club salary cap for that uncapped 2010 season."

The written claim is filed with the United States District Court of Minnesota, which oversees the SSA and alleges that the league and owners acted illegally and "solely by self-interest, unconstrained by their clear and unambiguous SSA obligations."

The claim was filed just one day after Special Master Stephen Burbank dismissed the appeal filed by the Redskins and Cowboys. Clearly, the NFLPA had this one on a tripwire.

The Cowboys and Redskins were the hardest-hit by the league; the Redskins were docked $36 million in salary cap room over two seasons, and the Cowboys $10 million, for the offloading of onerous player contracts during the uncapped year of 2011. At that time, there was no official rule regarding just how much salary and other player income a team could dump during that time, but as it turned out, the NFL had verbally warned all teams that any nebulous violation of the rules that could be perceived during a capped year would be dealt with severely.

Of course, the uncapped year occurred during the lockout, after the old collective bargaining agreement ran out, and the salary cap with it. Until a new agreement could be struck, the NFL could not possibly send out written instructions for teams to avoid either offsetting or "overpaying" its players without providing the NFLPA with a boilerplate collusion case.  According the NFLPA, the penalties handed down, and the language used by the league and the Management Council, is enough to warrant the complaint.

"When the rules are broken in a way that hurts the game, we have an obligation to act. We cannot stand by when we now know that the owners conspired to collude," said NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith.

"Our union recently learned that there was a secret salary cap agreement in an uncapped year. The complaint today is our effort to fulfill our duty to every NFL player. They deserve to know, above all, the facts and the truth about this conspiracy," added NFLPA President Domonique Foxworth.

''The claims have absolutely no merit and we fully expect them to be dismissed,'' the NFL said in a statement. ''On multiple occasions, the players and their representatives specifically dismissed all claims, known or unknown, whether pending or not, regarding alleged violations of the 2006 CBA and the related settlement agreement. We continue to look forward to focusing on the future of the game rather than grievances of a prior era that have already been resolved.''

The complaint centers around one very damning quote from New York Giants owner John Mara, who also serves as the Chair of the NFL Management Council Executive Committee. When the penalties were handed down in March, Mara was asked about the reasoning.

"What they did was in violation of the spirit of the salary cap," Mara said. "They attempted to take advantage of a one-year loophole … full well knowing there would be consequences."

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Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, former Chiefs coach Todd Haley breaks down the offseason moves of the team that fired him at the end of last season. We have a bad feeling about this.

TODD HALEY: Wash your windshield, mister?

I don't scrub windshields for the money. I have a coaching job now as offensive coordinator for the Steelers. I carry this slop bucket because I like it. It's comforting to wash windows while the mad clown stares at me with his dead, gray eyes, whispering razor truths mortals dare not speak aloud, truths that pierce flesh and cut an inky scarlet line against the throat of the he-goat …

Sorry, my thoughts meander sometimes. The Chiefs had a productive offseason. At the skill positions, they added Peyton Hillis to a running back committee that already includes Dexter McCluster and Jamaal Charles, who is ahead of schedule rehabbing his knee injury. Kevin Boss joins Tony Moeaki, also on schedule to return from a knee injury, to give the Chiefs two tight ends who can block and catch. Two rookie wide receivers, Devon Wylie and Junior Hemingway, will provide extra depth behind Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and last year's top pick Jonathan Baldwin, who started to come on late in the season. Matt Cassel, yet another player who missed much of last season with injuries, won't have to worry about throwing to the likes of Keary Colbert or Anthony Becht.

That's right, everyone gets to come back to Kansas City but me, the guy who got blamed for not being able to build an offense around Tyler Palko and Terrance Copper, while the dead-eyed clown stares back at me from the mirror and cackles. "You ever played cornhole with the devil, son?" he asks, his raspy voice a rusty hypodermic needle scraping gutter concrete. "He don't use no beanbags, boy." And that he-goat just brays and brays like he sees the end coming and don't know whether to fight it or welcome it.

Moving on to the defense, Dontari Poe was one of the most physically gifted specimens in this year's draft class. The Chiefs have a bad habit of striking out with big defensive tackles, from Ryan Sims to Glenn Dorsey, so my former assistant Romeo Crennel will have to be careful about Poe's development and role if he doesn't want Poe to become an overpriced space-eater the greasepaint smears and the sharpened steel glints in the pickup truck headlights behind the barnyard. The loss of Brandon Carr is going to hurt at cornerback, because Stanford Routt is an adequate No. 2 corner behind Brandon Flowers. But the defense will be better if it is not  on the field as often, and when the muffled brays fade to pitch-black silence, vengeful darkness sated all-too-briefly by the still-quivering sacrifice.

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Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll breaks down his team's offseason moves.

PETE CARROLL: What an awesome day! The sun is shining! The birds are chirping! Let me give a shout out to all the folks at The Circle Perk coffee shop for working so hard to keep all of us energized! And to all the crossing guards making sure kids get to school safely! And to the Seattle-area sewer workers: you guys are the thin line that separates good citizens from their own filth, and I cannot thank you enough!

Fans really need to get amped about our three-way quarterback battle. The front-runner is Matt Flynn, who got America totally stoked in that awesome Packers-Lions game in Week 17. Next, there's rookie Russell Wilson, who is short but fiery. Isn't that right, Russell?

RUSSELL WILSON: Grrrrrr...

PETE CARROLL: I love this kid! He's like a feral cat! And finally, there's Tarvaris Jackson, the Taylor Hicks of NFL quarterbacks. You don't like him, you keep expecting him to lose, and then bang! He finds a way to win a starting job, if not many games.

But enough about the offense. Let's talk defense!! We are going to have one of the best front sevens in the NFL!! Defensive tackle Jason Jones had a great, if quiet, season for the Titans last year. First-round pick Bruce Irvin may have seemed like a reach, but that is only because West Virginia had this crazy idea that a 245-pound speedster was a good fit at defensive end. I like my defensive ends Red Bryant-sized! When I am not being enthusiastic about everything, you can find me in my office drawing up creative defenses, and Irvin is going to be everywhere the offense doesn't expect him to be!!!

Irvin and Wilson had awesome rookie camps. In fact, all of the rookies had awesome camps, as did our parking lot attendants and the people who work so hard to make sure the office wastebaskets are clean enough to guzzle energy drink out of!! Let me dedicate my Song of the Day to the rookies: "Dog Days are Over" by Florence + the Machine! That's right: I'm a 60-year old man who listens to Florence + the Machine!!! Nicky Minaj, too! And don't forget Ke$ha, who is tiny and has a nasty attitude, just like Russell Wilson!!!

RUSSELL WILSON: Grrrr…

PETE CARROLL: Excellent growling, buddy!!

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Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Cardinals quarterback (at least for now) Kevin Kolb breaks down the Arizona Cardinals' offseason moves.

KEVIN KOLB: Howdy folks. Don't mind me. I'm just tyin' a few flies, polishin' up the outboard motor, gettin' ready to hit the lake. Goin' fishin' right after we're done. It won't take long, 'cuz the Cardinals didn't do much this offseason.

We didn't get a new quarterback for one thing. Sure, the team chased Peyton Manning, but that was one big river bass with a lot of fight in him. So the quarterback job is mine to lose. And don't you worry, I'm gonna lose it.

It's not that John Skelton is any better than me: he may have led just as many fourth-quarter comebacks as Tim Tebow last year (four), but only city slickers and TV blowhards in fancy suits pay attention to those cow chips. I just have no idea what to do in the pocket. So the third or fourth time I roll to my right and get dragged down by Aldon Smith or somebody, Coach Whisenhunt's gonna decide it's time to cut some fresh bait.

I know Larry Fitzgerald's happy about our new second receiver, Malcolm Floyd. Floyd liked to hit the honky-tonks in college, but he's a big guy, and when he wants to be, he can be as fast as a boar gettin' flushed by three hound dogs.

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Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Panthers owner Jerry Richardson breaks down his team's offseason moves.

JERRY RICHARDSON: Why the hell do you need me to break down the offseason moves? Can't you dumb kids read a depth chart? Do I have to sit next to you and spell it out? C-A-M-N-E-W-T-O-N. Young people these days are about as sharp as a bag of packing peanuts. First, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees cannot read a revenue chart at the collective bargaining table without me holding their hands and giving them the See Spot Run treatment. Now, you Internet people cannot read a depth chart.

We drafted Luke Kuechly. He is going to be a starter at linebacker. He is my kind of player, because I know I won't have to check him for any weird tattoos or piercings after he gets his money. And thanks to the rookie wage scale, he won't get that much money. Though it is still too damn much. A kid plays in the NFL three years and he has enough money to own his own team. I played for two years and I only had enough money to buy a fast-food franchise. It's a totally different situation! Anyway, Kuechly made 532 tackles in three Boston College seasons, and he is a fine young man, unlike most of the ungrateful whelps in the league these days, with their collective bargaining and expectation of fair treatment.

Our major free agent acquisition was fullback Mike Tolbert. We already have running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, and of course Cam Newton can run as well as throw, so I believe we should run the wishbone. Can't you see it? Fake the handoff to Tolbert, have Newton run right with two pitch options behind him. It would be great! We could have run it in 1959, with Alan Ameche, Lenny Moore, and Mike Sommer, and yours truly on the wing. But nooo. Johnny Unitas had to be a prima donna "dropback" passer.

That's right: I have a problem with Unitas, too. I'm an angry person. I fired my own sons, for heaven's sake.

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Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches, and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland breaks down his team's offseason moves.

JEFF IRELAND: Have we started? We have? So I just type and words appear on that Internet thing? Okay.

First of all, let me tell fans about our exciting season ticket offer. You get four tickets to a game, four swordfish tacos, four sodas, a Cameron Wake bobblehead, a copy of Ricky Martin's new EP El Olor de la Desesperacion, and a coupon for a 10% off Oil Change for $100. It's the best deal in town. Operators are standing by, I think. I may have forgotten to hire operators. I better call the temp agency after I finish this offseason report. Anyway, order now before the seats on the 50-yard line against the Patriots are all sold out. And if you get a busy signal, send an email, or something.

I suppose I should give my side of the awkward Peyton Manning situation. I had Manning's agent's number programmed into my cell phone, but then when I tried to upgrade, the kid at the mall kiosk said that the numbers did not transfer over. So I posted on Facebook: "Help! New Cell Phone! Need Numbers!" Well, my cousin got back to me, and the dry cleaner, but most people did not leave their numbers, including Tom Condon. So, I followed him on Twitter and sent him several messages to follow me back so I could direct message him an offer, but he never responded. I even tried calling Bud Adams while Manning was meeting with him in Tennessee, but Adams' secretary put me on hold for over fifteen minutes. So I just gave up.

That will never happen again, folks: I sprung for the data backup plan for my new cell phone at $9.99 per month. The kid at the kiosk said all of my important numbers are stored in the clouds, or something. I think he was high.

So then we called Mike Flynn. I told him straight out: Mark Flynn, I said, you are our second choice. And you have to expect to be treated like a second choice and paid like a second choice. Then, Mitch Flynn must have had his own phone problems, because the line went dead. Honesty is the best policy, I think. Meanwhile, I forgot the pass code to check my phone messages, so I didn't realize that Chad Henne signed with the Jaguars until I read it in a fan blog.

We now have David Garrard, Matt Moore, and rookie Ryan Tannehill at quarterback. Tannehill is very talented but very raw, because he played wide receiver for much of his college career. Garrard and Moore are both journeymen who won't kill you if they have to start for a few months. The most logical thing to do, in my opinion, is to name Tannehill the starter, put incredible amounts of pressure on him, become very critical of any early-season mistakes, then shuffle Moore and Garrard into the lineup as soon as we have a losing streak. Then, Tannehill can get his confidence back by sitting on the bench and dwelling on his mistakes, and maybe running one Wildcat play per game. Right now, he may be our third-best receiver. It's the best technique for developing a rookie quarterback I can think of. I sent the full proposal in an email to coach Joe Philbin. It got returned because I spelled his address wrong.

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Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown 50 has the resources to get actual players, coaches and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Jaguars owner Shahid Khan breaks down his team's offseason moves. Take it away, Mr. Khan:

KHAN: Goodell … from hell's heart I stab at thee.

You marooned me in this barren penal colony of a media market to rot. But I shall have my revenge. The Genesis Project shall restore this organization to lush glory.

My offense now features two products of 21^st century eugenics, wide receivers Laurent Robinson and rookie Justin Blackmon. Robinson caught 11 touchdown passes for the Cowboys last year. Blackmon caught 18 touchdowns for Oklahoma State. The entire Jaguars offense combined for just 12 passing touchdowns last year. No more shall Jarret Dillard and his ilk pollute the huddle with their feeble imitation of football. Goodell, prepare to face my army of supermen!

It is true that this army lacks a field general as of now. Chad Henne does not strike fear in opponent's hearts, though unlike my predecessors I will not cut him days before the start of the season and throw the organization into chaos. Henne will start until the Ceti eel has burrowed deep into Blaine Gabbert's mind. Soon, he will obey my every command, and we shall no longer be reliant on Maurice Jones-Drew to supply all of our offense.

Do you think that a chess master like me has forgotten about defense? Quite the contrary: while your attention was focused on my attack, I secretly reinforced my defense. Free agent Aaron Ross bolsters my secondary, while second-round pick Alan Branch improves a pass rush that recorded just 31 sacks. Most importantly, I ensured the loyalty of my returning troops. I re-signed Jeremy Mincey, the Jaguars sack leader last year. We have not suffered any major losses or defections. You must worry about a Maria McGivers in your ranks, Goodell. My forces are utterly devoted to the cause of throwing off the yoke of oppression.

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Any website can post "offseason grades" for NFL teams, mixing the draft and free agency into transaction soup, then straining it through the mind of some sportswriter who doesn't know who half the players are. Only the Shutdown Corner has the resources to get actual players, coaches and executives from each team to evaluate their own offseasons! That's right: over the next few weeks, you will get transaction evaluations straight from the horse's mouths: straight talk about who was signed, who was lost, who was drafted, and why.

(For the satirically challenged: all player, coach, and executive remarks are made by an impersonator).

In this segment, Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III and owner Dan Snyder break down their team's offseason moves. Hit it, guys!

ROBERT GRIFFIN III: Taking over the starting quarterback job can put a lot of pressure on a rookie. So can becoming the public face of a franchise. While I have a lot to learn, I assure you that I can handle those pressures. Heck, I am the only rookie doing one of these strange little "roundup" articles, and I am not nervous at all.

DAN SNYDER: You are doing a great job, RGIII! Can I get you anything? Bottled water? A fine Merlot? How about some money? I have a cement mixer full of money I can dump on you, to cool you off.

GRIFFIN: No thanks, boss. I am fine. Anyway, I was the Redskins' most noteworthy offseason acquisition. As soon as the Redskins traded up so they could select me in the draft, they signed two receivers: Pierre Garcon and Josh Morgan. They are both pretty good, I guess, though neither one is really a go-to guy. Then they tried to upgrade the secondary by signing three safeties: Brandon Meriweather, Madieu Williams and Tanard Jackson. Meriweather made the Pro Bowl a few years ago, but the Patriots then released him for making too many mistakes, and neither of the other guys are difference-makers. Like Garcon and Morgan, they make the Redskins a little better, though not good enough to become a force in the conference.

I have to wonder, boss: why do you always sign two or three free agents per position? Why not just get one good player, then draft a rookie to challenge him or groom as his replacement? It just seems to me that filling the bench with 30-year-olds is really expensive and makes it hard to develop young talent.

SNYDER: I don't need to develop young talent, RG! You're my young talent! Hey old buddy old pal, you like sushi? I can get us a table at Sei. Just you, me and maybe Noriaki comes out to the table for us. What do you say?

GRIFFIN: I don't think it's appropriate to fraternize with the owner. It sends the wrong message.

SNYDER: Oh, come on! Clinton Portis hung out with me for years and it never, ever, caused a problem.

GRIFFIN: Boss, you hired me to do the best job I can do, and that is why I am taking this offseason report seriously. Some of these free-agent acquisitions look like you were just grabbing available bodies. And then, after trading two future first-round picks and a second-round pick to get me, you selected quarterback Kirk Cousins in the fourth round.

SNYDER: Oh, don't worry about Cousins. We are going to develop him, then trade him in two years for a high draft pick.

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Two things stand out looking at the 10 best rookie quarterback seasons in modern (post-merger) NFL history: one, that there aren't very many great ones; and two, that most of those are recent. If the trend continues, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III  could wind up positioned well on lists like this one in the future.

For now, though, here's who they're chasing. These are the quarterbacks who have gotten off to great starts.

10. Vince Young (Tennessee Titans, 2006)
Vince Young won't appear on many lists of tremendous quarterbacking accomplishments, but he does squeeze onto this one. VY went 8-5 as a starter as a rookie, and just finished on the wrong side of the TD/INT ratio, with 12/13. That doesn't set the world on fire, but for a rookie, it's at least decent. Young's legs added a ton of value, giving the Titans an extra 552 rushing yards and seven rushing TDs.

9. Sam Bradford (St. Louis Rams, 2010)
Bradford threw the ball an insane 590 times as a rookie, trailing only Peyton Manning and Drew Brees in attempts in 2010. And he completed 60 percent of those, which is a plateau not often reached by rookie QBs. It also feels like it's worth pointing out that the top two receivers on that 2010 Rams team were Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson. That ups the degree of difficulty significantly.

[Related: The best skits from Eli Manning's 'Saturday Night Live' gig]

8. Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens, 2008)
All Joe Flacco did in his rookie year was compile a record of 11-5 and lead the Ravens to the AFC Championship game. He also hit the 60 percent completion mark, and had more TDs than interceptions, and ended up being named the Rookie of the Year. The only blip was in Baltimore's last game of the season, the AFC championship game in Pittsburgh, which is not an ideal scenario for a rookie QB. Pittsburgh killed him, forcing him into a 13-of-30, 0 TD, 3 INT performance.

7. Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals, 2011)
Dalton was perhaps overshadowed a bit by Cam Newton, but you could argue that he was just as good, especially if you're into the "Quarterback Wins" statistic. Even without it, though, Dalton was formidable: 3,398 yards, with 20 TDs against just 13 INTs. And before the season, most people expected the Bengals to be just horrific. They exceeded all expectations and made the playoffs, due in large part to Dalton's steady play.

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