Om Field: Redskins Feeling a Cold Draft

Redskins Feeling a Cold Draft
March 6, 2009


"Jason Taylor was going to play [strong-side] linebacker,
we were still going to have to fill the left end spot."

- Vinny Cerrato
(Wash. Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/03/AR2009030303214.html), 3/4/09)


Lost in the news and opinion blitz of the past few days was this quick quote from Redskins Executive VP of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato. It appeared in an unrelated piece discussing the free agent acquisition of OG Derrick Dockery and re-signing of CB DeAngelo Hall. I read it, stopped, then went back and read it again to be sure I’d read it right.

Huh.

Over the past week, everyone with an opinion about the Washington Redskins signing of free agent big fish DT Albert Haynesworth had Jason Taylor lining up off Big Albert’s shoulder, taking advantage of one-on-one blocking caused by AH’s presence inside. Maybe the team would have stood Taylor up once in a while, but he was going to be an end. He was going to come off the edge all year and either take down QB’s himself or drive them up into the pocket into AH’s waiting arms.

Except that he wasn’t. Apparently, the Redskins were planning to turn him into a strong-side linebacker. A 34-year-old, 6'6", 240 lb. speed-rushing right defensive end was going to be the strong side linebacker.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m surprised this particular nugget hasn't scared up a whole lot more attention. Maybe I'm just over-reacting to this one bit of news. But I have to tell you, this one sent a bit of a chill up my spine ...

CLICK HERE (http://www.theomfield.com/2009/03/redskins-feeling-cold-draft.html) after putting on a sweater

NIce article. Based on previous comments Cerrato and Blache had made, alot of us here were expecting Taylor to play SLB in 2009 and only move to DE on 3rd downs, so it wasnt really news that Cerrato implicitly stated that yesterday. I actually thought it would be a good idea and make better use for him than keeping him at RDE but thats just my opinion.

Either way, as you showed, the skins havent done much to address the front 7 or offensive line through high round draft picks in recent years. Obviously, the team has favored drafting skill position players with those picks and filling the lines and defensive front 7 in free agency... a strategy that hasnt worked out well for them.

We are mostly "set" at the skill positions this year, so hopefully we will see the lines addressed more in the draft in 2009 and 2010.

Nice piece OM. I personally think the deal for JT was screwed from the beginning but that is neither here nor there. To your point, I am hoping the FO (slowly to be sure) is learning from the mistakes they've made in the past and will start addressing the positions that are the foundation of a good team. It is time. It is past time.

Interesting, it makes more sense that they would want him to show up and workout here this summer if he were going to be at a new position. Also we could evaluate him at LB over a little bit of time and then decide whether or not we wanted to keep him so that before the draft we would know what holes we really needed to fill.

Nice OM, I really was looking forward to tha AH/JT runtrap. I thought JT would play RDE and like you thought "He was going to come off the edge all year and either take down QB’s himself or drive them up into the pocket into AH’s waiting arms." I was disapointed I did'nt get a chance to see it happen. But I guess it was never going to happen anyway.
We have a way of not using our weapons correctly.

No offense OM but this is the same (true) story of the last decade or so. The FO, now led by a General Manager who arguably wouldn't be hired by any other franchise in football (for any position), still does or tries to do really dumb things and we're a team that typically drafts poorly and usually can't develop it's own talent.

... i don't expect any of this to change in the foreseeable future, like while i'm still reasonably young, but i'm still a fan.

Playing Taylor as a full time SAM would have been idiotic. He probably agreed and that helped make it easier for him to jet.

Playing Taylor as a full time SAM would have been idiotic. He probably agreed and that helped make it easier for him to jet.

My thoughts exactly and the more I heard this might actually happen the more worried i was about our defense seriously regressing in '09. I think Taylor may have done us an enormous favor in sort of saving the team from Vinny's absurd "Madden" approach to football... at least this time anyway LOL.

No offense, but all these pieces about the FOs past mistakes are getting old, and I mean by telling me something I already know and I don't want to be reminded of. But I guess things like this get people's attention. Can the season start already?

No offense, but all these pieces about the FOs past mistakes are getting old, and I mean by telling me something I already know and I don't want to be reminded of. But I guess things like this get people's attention. Can the season start already?

Apparently you missed the point which was that they are LEARNING from past mistakes. If you read his complete post he talks of them NOT addressing needs in the past. You might want to check post #166 on 'Update: Evans signs with Niners' to put how I feel in perspective. If you don't understand a post, maybe you'd be better off not commenting on it. Perhaps you should familiarize yourself with this quote to avoid future misunderstandings - "Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln- You're Welcome. :)