The Goat
12-13-2008, 04:23 PM
When teams have the resources to do so, they do like to double Santana Moss, however, teams don't have enough players on the field to put 8 in the box AND put a safety over the top on Moss. Teams with a single safety against the Redskins will put him in the middle of the field. So while when Moss was hot, teams were scared enough of him to alter their gameplans, that's no longer really the case.
Randle El, obviously, will never be the guy who pulls the strong safety out of the box. He's a complimentary receiver, and a darn good one if the guy he's complimenting is feared. He's also exactly what this offense needs for it's second receiver, a guy who's very dependable on 3rd and 6. Whether he works out of the slot or the outside depends on the play.
Basically, this team needs Malcolm Kelly or Devin Thomas to be a Plaxico-type target, and show enough deep ability to pull a safety out of the box. I think Santana could be lethal out of the slot, but he's only valuable when he's not the guy who people expect to get the ball, which isn't the case right now.
Basically, I'm answering the question "If Kelly/Thomas becomes the number one target on the Redskins, who is the better complementary receiver: Moss or Randle El?" The answer is Randle El. But the question also implies that Kelly/Thomas become the player that we want Moss to be right now, that he simply is not.
This doesn't surprise me. I don't feel like it's a knock on Moss either. The debate whether he's a legit #1 receiving target is sort of moot because the proof is in the pudding i.e. when there is another very potent target the defense has to be mindful of Moss becomes a 2nd #1 receiver in a sense. Moss is phenomenal after the catch, but IMO he lacks the skill of say Smith in Carolina to consistently get open (even against double coverage). We so need Thomas or Kelly to become a monster possession receiver - a #1 target really who has super-glue hands, the ability to snatch the ball out of the air under pressure and in heavy coverage (none of our WRs can do this today) and can consistently get some separation. Very hard to say at this point whether one of them can rise to the challenge. I honestly believe if one of these guys can become that guy during the off-season our offense will be ****ing fantastic next year (assuming we really go to work on the o-line).
GT it was really good to hear you say Campbell played well. To my untrained eye it's very hard to tell whether piss-poor protection and overall line performance is dragging JC down, but in this game especially felt like he was on his game and seeing the field well. I think Jason deserves serious props for this because it basically shows he is progressing while the offensive line disintegrates and he gets beat up most games. I feel more confident in JC now than ever before :)
Randle El, obviously, will never be the guy who pulls the strong safety out of the box. He's a complimentary receiver, and a darn good one if the guy he's complimenting is feared. He's also exactly what this offense needs for it's second receiver, a guy who's very dependable on 3rd and 6. Whether he works out of the slot or the outside depends on the play.
Basically, this team needs Malcolm Kelly or Devin Thomas to be a Plaxico-type target, and show enough deep ability to pull a safety out of the box. I think Santana could be lethal out of the slot, but he's only valuable when he's not the guy who people expect to get the ball, which isn't the case right now.
Basically, I'm answering the question "If Kelly/Thomas becomes the number one target on the Redskins, who is the better complementary receiver: Moss or Randle El?" The answer is Randle El. But the question also implies that Kelly/Thomas become the player that we want Moss to be right now, that he simply is not.
This doesn't surprise me. I don't feel like it's a knock on Moss either. The debate whether he's a legit #1 receiving target is sort of moot because the proof is in the pudding i.e. when there is another very potent target the defense has to be mindful of Moss becomes a 2nd #1 receiver in a sense. Moss is phenomenal after the catch, but IMO he lacks the skill of say Smith in Carolina to consistently get open (even against double coverage). We so need Thomas or Kelly to become a monster possession receiver - a #1 target really who has super-glue hands, the ability to snatch the ball out of the air under pressure and in heavy coverage (none of our WRs can do this today) and can consistently get some separation. Very hard to say at this point whether one of them can rise to the challenge. I honestly believe if one of these guys can become that guy during the off-season our offense will be ****ing fantastic next year (assuming we really go to work on the o-line).
GT it was really good to hear you say Campbell played well. To my untrained eye it's very hard to tell whether piss-poor protection and overall line performance is dragging JC down, but in this game especially felt like he was on his game and seeing the field well. I think Jason deserves serious props for this because it basically shows he is progressing while the offensive line disintegrates and he gets beat up most games. I feel more confident in JC now than ever before :)