Orakpo is Open to Change

LB is my favorite position and I just like the way he plays. He gets me pretty psyched. Plus he's funny as hell. Nice discussion GMScud. :food-smil

How about giving Lavar Arrington a try out at SLB.

FRPLG is right, MW makes 31 look like 37. He's lost at least a step, maybe two. I love his motor and enthusiasm, but there's a big reason no one else wants him and we aren't budging on the vet min contract we've offered. I've got nothing against the man whatsoever, but his skills have diminished significantly over the past few seasons and he can't stay healthy.

As far as Orakpo, I agree with Mosley. To take the best DE in the country and turn him into a 4-3 OLB and only a part time DE wouldn't be smart at all. If we ran a 3-4 and were looking to turn him into a Demarcus Ware, then sure. IMO he needs to have that hand in the dirt on every down. I don't really see the point of selecting the best pass rusher in the entire draft and then putting him out of position, all the while only letting him do what he does best on 3rd downs.

The only, or at least the best, justification that I can come up with for doing this is if Blache wants to keep the DL mostly 100% technique and wait for the run first style. He already has to deal with letting Haynesworth needing more free reign than the system generally allows, and lord willing Blache will give it to him, so maybe he feels 2 left to do their own thing on a 4 man front is too much? Or maybe he's really not confident in Orakpo's run stuffing. Perhaps the LB assignment could give him a bit more freedom.

Anybody more familiar with the intricacies of the D care to comment?

If Marcus sucks it up and comes back for the vet min I would welcome him back. As we get closer to camp and he's still sitting at home w/o a deal I think he just might take that offer. If not oh well we'll battle on without him.

I hope that the Redskins put Orakpo at DE the whole preseason to scare the "poo" out of teams and to see what he is capable of at DE (his specialized position). Don't let any of the teams see what he will do at LB until it is gametime. The element of surprise will give the Redskin defense another edge. The other teams will not know how to prepare for his presence.

(If Marcus sucks it up and comes back for the vet min I would welcome him back. As we get closer to camp and he's still sitting at home w/o a deal I think he just might take that offer. If not oh well we'll battle on without him.)

This would be awesome also. Marcus would be crazy not to accept this offer for 1 year, then in an uncapped year go for the bigger contract. Once Marcus is at LB, Orakpo will see most of his action at DE. The defense (especially LBs would benefit in their play from a strong D-line and put Marcus in line for more money next year...that's what he wants isn't it?) stronger stats would show how well Marcus can play and = more ground to demand for better contract money.

I am open to moving Orakpo around as long as we utilize Haynesworth all along the d-line. To be honest I look forward to the future chess matches our DC will play with opposing QB's! Doing this change will not only bring pressure but will diminish the second half of the season decline...now what can we do to the offense. Can Orakpo catch or run?

The only, or at least the best, justification that I can come up with for doing this is if Blache wants to keep the DL mostly 100% technique and wait for the run first style. He already has to deal with letting Haynesworth needing more free reign than the system generally allows, and lord willing Blache will give it to him, so maybe he feels 2 left to do their own thing on a 4 man front is too much? Or maybe he's really not confident in Orakpo's run stuffing. Perhaps the LB assignment could give him a bit more freedom.

Anybody more familiar with the intricacies of the D care to comment?

If Blache is worth a damn as a coordinator, he'll make some adjustments to fit the personnel, which I think he's prepared to do with Big Al. If in fact he's not confident in Orakpo's ability to stuff the run and plans to use him as on OLB on 2 outta the 3 defensive downs, then why didn't we draft a linebacker?

Orakpo is the same size as Andre Carter and he's probably the strongest guy on the team right away. I don't think his run stopping was mentioned as a weakness or concern in his draft profiles.

We drafted a DE in the 1st round for the first time in more than a decade. Let's use him at his natural position.

If Blache is worth a damn as a coordinator, he'll make some adjustments to fit the personnel, which I think he's prepared to do with Big Al. If in fact he's not confident in Orakpo's ability to stuff the run and plans to use him as on OLB on 2 outta the 3 defensive downs, then why didn't we draft a linebacker?

Orakpo is the same size as Andre Carter and he's probably the strongest guy on the team right away. I don't think his run stopping was mentioned as a weakness or concern in his draft profiles.

We drafted a DE in the 1st round for the first time in more than a decade. Let's use him at his natural position.

Couldn't agree more

Ya I really don't see orakpo being a good 4-3 OLB he needs to stay at DE

What interesting is the consensus best LB in the draft Aaron Curry was 'downgraded' because of his lack of pass rush moves. Orakpo has the size 6'3" 250lbs +/-, speed and agility of a strongside LB (sub 4.7 speed 39.5in vertical) of a OLB. Have we talked about his strength? His ability to read and react will determine his sucess. I recall games where McIntosh was covering TEs and it wasn't always pretty. With Orakpo we get the best of both worlds. On passing downs, he'll have his hand in the dirt. Just like we wanted to use Washington and Arrington.