Our WR's next year

Does anyone else sense some changes coming to this unit? We all loved their potential in the preseason, but unfortunately potential doesn't get you very far in this league. Here's my breakdown of our current group:

Coles: definitely our #1 guy and there's no reason to think he won't be back. Hopefully in the offseason he can get his toe back to 100% or close to it.

Gardner: Earlier in the year it looked like he was poised to have a solid season but he's faded away badly down the stretch raising some genuine concerns. He's always had problems with his hands, he seems to make the tough circus catches but has problems with the more routine ones. He's just not consistent enough, I'd really like to see us replace him next year. It's time to move on.

Jacobs: This guy is all about potential with a capital 'P'. The team seems to always rave about him but we've yet to see on the field what the coaches and players are talking about. Perhaps it's time to see what he can do in an expanded role and maybe even as a starter. Move over Rod Gardner here comes your replacement.

Thrash: He's a Gibbs' kind of player all the way. Great work ethic, busts his hump on every play and is a great contributor on special teams. He'll be back next year.

McCants: A bit of a mystery this year. When we re-signed him last year it looked like he had a bright future here and Gibbs raved about his size, hands and speed. Now after a season of being inactive seemingly week after week, one has to wonder what his future is with the team. He's known for not being a guy who shows much in practice but he always seems to make the most of his playing him when it counts. He's the darkhorse of the bunch.

In my opinion I don't think we can stand pat with our current group. Some changes need to be made, not major ones necessarily but I think we'll bring in at least one new WR next year either through free agency or the draft. My one prediction for this group next year is Jacobs takes over as the #2. Other than that who knows, how do you guys see it?

Subtract Rod Gardner and add Mike Williams and keep the rest intact. While Coles when healthy can get open on any DB in football, Williams with his size and strength should be able to make plays on the ball even when he is not open. Ramsey needs a player like this. Sometimes QB's need to just throw the ball up and have faith in thier WR's. I would like to see Mike Williams develop as the dominant #1 which would make a hopefully healthy Coles an awesome #2 and then try and work in Jacobs as the #3. If Jacobs fails then move up McCants or Thrash...

I'd also love to see Jacobs in an extended roll. He has blazing speed and putting either him or Coles in the slot with the other receiver playing outside could really help them get open (see last year). I like Rod, he's made some HUGE catches for us this year, I think we should draft a young WR and keep Rod around for one more year, maybe he'll have a huge year and we can franchise and trade him for... well.. something.

Jacobs: This guy is all about potential with a capital 'P'. The team seems to always rave about him but we've yet to see on the field what the coaches and players are talking about. Perhaps it's time to see what he can do in an expanded role and maybe even as a starter. Move over Rod Gardner here comes your replacement.

Not to sound like an ass, but :>...
Who 'on the team' has been raving about Jacobs recently? The raves I heard came from Gibbs and staff REALLY early in preseason and some on the site went a little over board with it. Mayb eI missed it, but since preseason I have not heard anything from anyone related to the team.

IF jacobs has looked so awesome in practice why hasn't Gibbs played him? Even Thrash has seen more balls thrown at him then Jacobs. The season is almost over and Jacobs has not done jack.
Until Jacobs proves me wrong I will stick with my assesment of him, he is a speed reciever who is not physical enough to be a #2 in the NFL. Sure he looks good in non-contact practices, but come live game hitting and he shrinks.
There have been many players come out of college that looked great in practice but could not transfer that to the real games. Heath Shuler comes to mind, I remember seeing him in training camp and he looked awesome, but in real game situations he choked.
I do not dislike Jacobs, I hope he pans out. We spent the 12th pick in the second round on him, at a time we needed a ton of help in other more crucial areas!

I don't really care if Rod is here or not I just don't want to be in a position to depend on him as a #2 anymore. He is not dependable. His bad hands cost games. the Redskins have played 15 close games this year. So every drop is magnified. And when he is not dropping the ball he disapears for months at a time. He is not a dependable player. Remember the easy TD he dropped in NY in week 2? That could be a win right there and that is only 1 of his drops. A guy who makes circus catches on one play and drops the easy pass the next play that would move the chains is not ever going to be a starter on a truely consistent offense. Maybe we should hold him just to see if he has a big season in his contract year like many of these guys do. But at the first sign of the dropsies I would move that guy so far down the depth chart that he might have a seat next to me up in section 419...

Jacobs was mentioned in todays WP article about the Skins WR's. I think Hixon said he could be one of the better players in the league next year.

Not to sound like an ass, but :>...
Who 'on the team' has been raving about Jacobs recently? The raves I heard came from Gibbs and staff REALLY early in preseason and some on the site went a little over board with it. Mayb eI missed it, but since preseason I have not heard anything from anyone related to the team.

IF jacobs has looked so awesome in practice why hasn't Gibbs played him? Even Thrash has seen more balls thrown at him then Jacobs. The season is almost over and Jacobs has not done jack.
Until Jacobs proves me wrong I will stick with my assesment of him, he is a speed reciever who is not physical enough to be a #2 in the NFL. Sure he looks good in non-contact practices, but come live game hitting and he shrinks.
There have been many players come out of college that looked great in practice but could not transfer that to the real games. Heath Shuler comes to mind, I remember seeing him in training camp and he looked awesome, but in real game situations he choked.
I do not dislike Jacobs, I hope he pans out. We spent the 12th pick in the second round on him, at a time we needed a ton of help in other more crucial areas!http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37605-2004Dec30.html

Jacobs has the speed and smarts to be an asset but does not get on the field much because the Redskins do not run many three- and four-receiver sets.

"I think he's going to be one of the better players in the league by this time next year," Hixon said of Jacobs.

As most people know, I do not believe our offensive roster needs help, other than on the offensive line. Here's why:

1). Gibbs' offense relies on running the ball, not passing it.
2). Our run-blocking stunk this year.
3). Mike Williams, a rookie who doesn't play QB, will likely cost $45 million and a $16 million signing bonus.
4). How many wideouts get TDs and big gains on 5 yard curls, hitches, and flanker screens?

Gibbs needs another year in the NFL to get acclimated and use his genius. Our wideouts did a good job this year (despite what everyone else says). Gibbs didn't know how to use them, Portis or Ramsey. Give him a year and he'll do wonders. Look what Gregg Williams did for the defense with a bunch of no-names. Don't you have faith he can do the same with even more talent than we have of defense?

We don't need dismantled O-lines, WR corps, or simply offenses as a whole. To me playcalling is as much to blame for our offensive troubles as anything. Just as it took Gibbs 10 weeks to realize Brunell wasn't the answer, I think it will take him another 10 weeks to realize that those hitches, flanker screens and curls are making opposing defenses look great, our offense like crap, and our wideouts like sh-t as well. Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon (who was a guest on the Tony Kornheiser show) both said as much on the radio a few days ago. These guys certainly remember what Gibbs did and of all the experts in the media, I trust them the most.

That is why I don't want to see a Snyder-esque offseason. Bring the same ol' guys back and make 1 or 2 changes. We need to show the locker room that we have FAITH in them, that this isn't going to be an offseason where we revamp the offense and talk a lot about how we're going to be a powerhouse.

This should be a differently run Redskins operation. These players have been with Spurrier (who we all agree ran a crappy offense) and now Gibbs (who ran a crappy offense after a 12 year hiatus). These guys have been faced with constant change, bad coaching, coaches learning about the modern NFL on the job, and now you want to get rid of them?

These are our Redskins, they're what we've got. We can win with them.....I KNOW THAT (God told me :) ). We don't need a bunch of change. With a new center and tight end, and another year for Gibbs to study game-tape our offense could be devastating.

I do agree with everything you say, but I also think that Mike Williams will be a special player in the NFL. I would not be opposed to drafting him becasue I think he could be great. However, a trade down or drafting a lineman would be a good move as well. The Redskins for the most part need no big free agent splashes. They do need a starting center either through the draft or in free agency. Just getting Jansen back should help the line imensly, but we still need better push in the middle of the line.

I've been saying for a month here that the WRs on the team at the moment are not real good. Now we see that the coaching staff is coming to a similar conclusion and may be looking for some changes. So much for the assertions here that the Skins WRs are among the top three in the NFL.

Here is the dilemma. The Redskins cannot formulate a sensible plan for their WRs until they make a judgement/guess/prognostication on the most important issue facing the WR corps:


Will Lavernaeus Coles' toe be better for all of next season?


That is the $64,000 question. Because when he is healthy, he is a weapon on offense that causes the defensive coordinators of tne other teams to focus attention on. With his sore toe, he has lost the only real advantage he has in this league and that is his speed. He is now running slower than most other WRs making him easy to defend. That' not because he's a bad guy; it's because he's hurt. This is the second year of this injury and so the problem facing the team is simple. Will they have "fast Coles" or "slow Coles" next season. "Fast Coles" means build the pass offense around him; "slow Coles" means build it aournd someone else and realize that you have a lot of salary cap tied up in "slow Coles" and he can't be your #`1 WR.

Other questions abound. Can Taylor Jacobs actually play at the NFL level? I don't mean pre-season silly games and I don't mean garbage time at the end of a game where the outcome is not in doubt. They have to find out if he can be on the field for 75% of the offensive snaps and not embarrass himself or the team. He has NOT YET SHOWN he can do that.

Can McCants get out of whatever doghouse he got himself into? I have no idea what he did to get himself demoted to the point where he didn't dress out for half the year, but he has to get out of that status immediately or they have to get rid of him. A WR in sweats is of ZERO value to the team on Sunday.

Gardner is simply a waste of skin. If they keep him, it is only because they want to see if he can be motivated to do really well in his "walk year" when he is looking to get a big contract so he can go back to being lazy and unreliable. If they build the offense around him, the Skins will be lucky to score 18 points per game next year.

So, tell me how Coles feet will be next year and I'll come up with a plan for the WR corps, but until the doctors have their diagnosis, there is no point in trying to make any plans.