sportscurmudgeon
11-16-2010, 02:48 PM
In case anyone has not yet noticed, the 2010 version of the Washington Redskins has a few problems. Over the next couple of years, these problems need to be addressed and improved upon or else Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen need to be given their "parting gifts".
Let me say at the outset, it would take a stroke of incredible luck for the Redskins to make significant improvement in all of these areas in a single offseason. Fans need to focus on improvement in those areas and not to demand excellence in all of them at once. Optimistically, this will take three years to fix. Here is what is BAD
1. The Offensive Line is awful. Trent Williams is a talented player who is learning about the need for good footwork as a LT in the NFL. Absent an injury, he will do just fine over the next 5 years. Take his name out of the remarks I am about to make.
There is no other offensive lineman on the roster or the practice squad who is someone you can build around for a future contending NFL team. Look at the 4 starters on the OL other than Williams. None of them could start for any other team in the NFC East - - not even one. Remember the Skins had an offseason/draft back in the 1980s that got them Mark May, Russ Grimm and Joe Jacoby all at once. It could happen again - - but don't count on it. The Redskins OL has been neglected for a decade; it will take at least 3 or 4 years to build it back up again. This is BAD
2. The WRs are substandard. This has been a problem for the Redskins ever since Danny Boy and Vinny brought in Randle-el and Lloyd for top-dollar and then discovered that neither one was worth it. The Skins have been cobbling together a WR corps for about 5 years now and the completely wasted draft of Thomas/Davis/Kelly has brought the Skins to where it is today. They have
Santana Moss - solid receiver but not a game-breaker
Joey Galloway - best days are at least 3 years gone by
Anthony Armstrong - Nice feelgood story, but a 27-year old graduate of Arena football...
Roydell Williams - Puhleeez!Brandon Banks - Valuable on returns but can he also play WR?
The Eagles came up with Jackson one year and Maclin the next. So fixing the WRs need not be something that takes 5 years. But it has to get fixed. This is BAD.
3. The Running Backs need upgrading. This is probably the least urgent problem on this list; but make no mistake, there are no star running backs on this roster. If a good free agent falls into the Skins lap, they should take him and rejoice; but they ought not waste a draft pick above the 7th round on a running back. This is only sorta BAD.
4. I'll make this a separate category. Albert Haynesworth is still on the roster. The Redskins still harbor the idea that someone will give them at least one and perhaps two draft picks for Fat Albert. I think Steven Segall will win an Oscar before that happens. Haynesworth was a lazy problem-child at the University of Tennessee; he was a lazy problem-child with the Tennessee Titans; guess what he is here? This is BAD.
5. The rest of the DL needs upgrading. I don't care if the Skins play a 4-3 or a 3-4 or a 7-0; the defensive ends and the defensive tackles on the squad are only journeymen and none show me a lot of promise at becoming much better. The rest of the linemen lack physical skills; they may work hard but their "upside" is limited by their skills. They are the mirror image of Fat Albert who has tons of physical skills and nothing else. This is Bad but not horrible.
6. The Defensive Backfield needs a lot of help. Maybe this is a lack of coaching; maybe this is a lack of dedication on the part of some DBs; maybe there are skills limitations back there; whatever it is, it is BAD. Consider:
LaRon Landry has the same flaws now that he has had for the past several years. He is not a good tackler - - he hits people but cannot tackle a bowling pin. And he has a huge propensity for getting beaten deep. Safeties cannot miss tackles or get beat deep; by definition, safeties are the last line of defense; when they screw up, the opposition scores. Has he had bad coaching or is he uncoachable? I do not pretend to know but unless someone figures that out and corrects it - - if it is correctable - - the Skins have an ongoing problem.
DeAngelo Hall is a feast or famine player. He has good days and he has games where you wonder how he ever made his high school team. That is not how championship teams play in the secondary.
Chris Horton, Kareem Moore and Reed Doughty are interchangeable mediocrities.
Carlos Rogers and Philip Buchanon are OK but nothing more than that.
This cannot be fixed quickly - - particularly if no one can figure out how to get Landry to play effectively instead of the way he has been playing or how to get Hall to be more consistent. But it has to get fixed because it is BAD.
See elsewhere for the UGLY...
Let me say at the outset, it would take a stroke of incredible luck for the Redskins to make significant improvement in all of these areas in a single offseason. Fans need to focus on improvement in those areas and not to demand excellence in all of them at once. Optimistically, this will take three years to fix. Here is what is BAD
1. The Offensive Line is awful. Trent Williams is a talented player who is learning about the need for good footwork as a LT in the NFL. Absent an injury, he will do just fine over the next 5 years. Take his name out of the remarks I am about to make.
There is no other offensive lineman on the roster or the practice squad who is someone you can build around for a future contending NFL team. Look at the 4 starters on the OL other than Williams. None of them could start for any other team in the NFC East - - not even one. Remember the Skins had an offseason/draft back in the 1980s that got them Mark May, Russ Grimm and Joe Jacoby all at once. It could happen again - - but don't count on it. The Redskins OL has been neglected for a decade; it will take at least 3 or 4 years to build it back up again. This is BAD
2. The WRs are substandard. This has been a problem for the Redskins ever since Danny Boy and Vinny brought in Randle-el and Lloyd for top-dollar and then discovered that neither one was worth it. The Skins have been cobbling together a WR corps for about 5 years now and the completely wasted draft of Thomas/Davis/Kelly has brought the Skins to where it is today. They have
Santana Moss - solid receiver but not a game-breaker
Joey Galloway - best days are at least 3 years gone by
Anthony Armstrong - Nice feelgood story, but a 27-year old graduate of Arena football...
Roydell Williams - Puhleeez!Brandon Banks - Valuable on returns but can he also play WR?
The Eagles came up with Jackson one year and Maclin the next. So fixing the WRs need not be something that takes 5 years. But it has to get fixed. This is BAD.
3. The Running Backs need upgrading. This is probably the least urgent problem on this list; but make no mistake, there are no star running backs on this roster. If a good free agent falls into the Skins lap, they should take him and rejoice; but they ought not waste a draft pick above the 7th round on a running back. This is only sorta BAD.
4. I'll make this a separate category. Albert Haynesworth is still on the roster. The Redskins still harbor the idea that someone will give them at least one and perhaps two draft picks for Fat Albert. I think Steven Segall will win an Oscar before that happens. Haynesworth was a lazy problem-child at the University of Tennessee; he was a lazy problem-child with the Tennessee Titans; guess what he is here? This is BAD.
5. The rest of the DL needs upgrading. I don't care if the Skins play a 4-3 or a 3-4 or a 7-0; the defensive ends and the defensive tackles on the squad are only journeymen and none show me a lot of promise at becoming much better. The rest of the linemen lack physical skills; they may work hard but their "upside" is limited by their skills. They are the mirror image of Fat Albert who has tons of physical skills and nothing else. This is Bad but not horrible.
6. The Defensive Backfield needs a lot of help. Maybe this is a lack of coaching; maybe this is a lack of dedication on the part of some DBs; maybe there are skills limitations back there; whatever it is, it is BAD. Consider:
LaRon Landry has the same flaws now that he has had for the past several years. He is not a good tackler - - he hits people but cannot tackle a bowling pin. And he has a huge propensity for getting beaten deep. Safeties cannot miss tackles or get beat deep; by definition, safeties are the last line of defense; when they screw up, the opposition scores. Has he had bad coaching or is he uncoachable? I do not pretend to know but unless someone figures that out and corrects it - - if it is correctable - - the Skins have an ongoing problem.
DeAngelo Hall is a feast or famine player. He has good days and he has games where you wonder how he ever made his high school team. That is not how championship teams play in the secondary.
Chris Horton, Kareem Moore and Reed Doughty are interchangeable mediocrities.
Carlos Rogers and Philip Buchanon are OK but nothing more than that.
This cannot be fixed quickly - - particularly if no one can figure out how to get Landry to play effectively instead of the way he has been playing or how to get Hall to be more consistent. But it has to get fixed because it is BAD.
See elsewhere for the UGLY...