Football Outsiders: Redskins dead last in under-25 talent

I bet the Steelers and Pats have been up there in terms of age in the last ten years and look how many championships they have.

I bet the Steelers and Pats have been up there in terms of age in the last ten years and look how many championships they have.

Agreed, but both teams also are fantastic at building through the draft process.

The reason I posted this was basically a reinforcement of how we undervalue the draft compared to other teams. It would be sweet to go into a draft with our full allotment of picks. I have no idea when the last time that happened.

Just because FBO's ranking has our youth lowest in the league doesn't mean we won't be competitive. It just goes hand in hand with the team's approach in recent years. Trade away picks for vets ad nauseum and you're gonna have an older team. It's not rocket science.

I'd be interested to hear GTripp's thoughts on this. There was so much discussion on FBO predicting the Skins to make the playoffs. Now they're trashing our "youth." Hmmmm.

Justin Tryon is taking us to the big game!

Honestly though what they're talking about here I think it a bit of an aside from what GTripp typically follows from them. By math they expect us to hit the SB, though last year they had us winning.. 7 games I think? And by just judging organizational standings on 25 and under youth I don't think that they're screaming.. YOU CAN'T DO IT!

Honestly I'm not really sure WHAT they're trying to prove with this article aside from potential to have the current crew be the same crew later on and perhaps successful along with it.

It's certainly not a formula for winning in the next year or two for the most part, looks more like an evaluation of how well prospects have evolved and how well they were drafted/acquired.

who gives a crap...you think if we do well this year, we will be lamenting the fact that we don't have a bunch of guys under 25. Another BS list which doesn't really mean anything -- are we super old? yes; when's the last time a team won the superbowl b/c they were young? NEVER!!!

Get psyched for training camp, HTTR!!

I'd be interested to hear GTripp's thoughts on this. There was so much discussion on FBO predicting the Skins to make the playoffs. Now they're trashing our "youth." Hmmmm.I have plenty of thoughts on this, but since I'd just be parroting myself from yesterday, this is easier for me:

Washington Ranks 32nd in the NFL in Football Outsiders' "Under 25" Organizational Talent (http://redskinshogheaven.com/2010-articles/july/washington-ranks-32nd-in-the-nfl-in-football-outsiders-qunder-25q-organizational-talent.html)

The crux of the argument is that even the Redskins' cheap developmental talent is either in it's prime or on the downside of their careers. The cost-structure of this team is very, very good. There are no dead weight contracts anymore, and a lot of our very best contributors are making very little money.

But even those players (Lorenzo Alexander, Justin Tryon, Chris Wilson, Carlos Rogers, Rocky McIntosh, Derrick Dockery) are older than you'd think and most are due gigantic raises or will walk in free agency. Either way, the production from that group isn't sustainable over a two to three year period (think about Lemar Marshall or Joe Saleve'a). The type of player whose declines from our 2005 playoff year derailed our 2006 season are the real motor of the 2010 team. So, we have precious few draft picks, and will have to replace both our contributors and our non-contributors over the next few years.

Free agency will be a viable resource for us in the future because we don't have many of Vinnys terrible contract dollars outstanding. We're just unlikely to get a significant contribution from our recent or impending drafts.

I bet the Steelers and Pats have been up there in terms of age in the last ten years and look how many championships they have.The Pats were really young in 2001, and much older in 2003 and 2004. They've been pretty old ever since, but they've also turned over all but three players on their team from the first super bowl year.

Pittsburgh's defense was really old in 2008, which led to their downfall in 2009. However, their offense was, and still is, very young.

It is interesting to see where we and other teams rank. But it is telling that the top teams and the bad teams are scattered throughout the rankings. No real evidence that being real old or young is an advantage to winning.
The other thing is it is not fair for Redskins given that Snyderatto nearly collapsed the talent level on this team. Allen and Shanahan really inherited a mess, when it comes to talent and age of the roster. They have done a great job of gettingus good talent at a good price, just to get us through the next few years while we draft the new blood and develop it. It takes time.

I wouldn't call it a wasteland, but it is pretty darn close. That is why I said in another thread that things really haven't changed all that much so far in Redskins Park for all the hype surrounding. The FA moves were not that spectacular with the $, but we did give away a bunch of draft picks. Look at our offensive backfield. Our Rbs will be lucky to be serviceablein the league for 3 more years. Donovan has 5 if he stays healthy. Santana is the same also. Don't forget those other vet WRs we acquired either. I wouldn't be all that surprised if one of them makes the final roster. We keep going heavy on free agency and we will never build a winner here.

I wouldn't call it a wasteland, but it is pretty darn close. That is why I said in another thread that things really haven't changed all that much so far in Redskins Park for all the hype surrounding. The FA moves were not that spectacular with the $, but we did give away a bunch of draft picks. Look at our offensive backfield. Our Rbs will be lucky to be serviceablein the league for 3 more years. Donovan has 5 if he stays healthy. Santana is the same also. Don't forget those other vet WRs we acquired either. I wouldn't be all that surprised if one of them makes the final roster. We keep going heavy on free agency and we will never build a winner here.

how much do you expect to change in a matter of months?

they obviously want some vets to help instill the new systems and there really wasn't much young talent available without hefty price tags attached... if someone feels better about a 28 year old vet backup vs a 31 year old vet backup then you're arguing age alone

this was a horrible year to expect young starter acquisitions, lord knows the backlash if we used another pick

People have to stop acting like the roster that Allen/Shanahan inherited REQUIRED that the team deal four draft picks for Donovan McNabb, Adam Carriker, and Jamaal Brown. Those were choices by the front office based on the options available. Those weren't no-alternative moves.

Now, were those all bad moves? I certainly don't think so. If the 2010 team wins a lot of games, those players will all have a bigger role than the TJ Duckett and Jason Taylor trades brought. And perhaps there's an argument to be made that for a 4-12 team, there was a pretty rare opportunity to "strike while the iron is hot."

I just can't begin to explain how screwed up the logical process would be if we needed to acquire veterans in order to be able to draft more young players in later years. Bottom line: this organization has no interest in being good first and young later.