Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)

Not to jump on you Longtimefan, but it bugs me a little when people say things like "no team is going to fear him as QB". Well duh, that's most QBs in the NFL. How many quarterbacks are honestly revered in the NFL? Five maybe? Manning, Brady, Vick, Brees, Rodgers?

You could probably add another two to that list, but my point is the majority of QBs in the NFL aren't great but teams still manage to win with them. Look, Beck or Rex won't be going to the Pro-Bowl this year but if they turn out to be good solid Redskins, then that's the most I could hope for and hopefully end up 8-8 or 9-7 in the process.


Agree 110%, did anyone fear JT, MR, or DW but we still won SB's with them.

It is still very early, but the level of play at our weakest positions (offensive and defensive lines and Qb) has so far shown great improvement due to the addition of new players, return to health of certain veterans and the added year of experience in the Shannahan system. The hustle and enthusiasm is contagious and great to see. A sight for sore eyes.
The Front Office (Allen/Shannahan) is giving us new, young talent at quantities and quality we have not seen since 1992 and prior. The new players that look promising so far:

NT Barry Coffield, DE Stephen Bowen and DE Jarvis Jenkins have helped to solidify the front seven. It won't be long before Jenkins is the starter over Carricker. Not knocking Carricker, but Jenkins shows alittle more explosion and pass rush. We now have some depth in case of injury.
RB's Hightower, Helu and Royster added to Torrain, Darnell Young and Kieland Williams makes for a great stable of young backs.
The return to full health OT Jammal Brown and the frugal addition of OL Chris Chester has greatly improved the O-line play. They look like a completely different unit. I do not recognize Jammal Brown, he looks back to his former probowl self. I was not expecting much from Chester. So I am pleasantly surprised he is doing well. He is really thriving in our zone system.
Same with WR Jabar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth. I was not expecting much, they have impressed me with great route running and good technique. They are pros.
Hankerson is coming out of his shell.
Beck is finally showing the rest of the world what the coaches have seen in practice, Beck is capable of running the Shannahan system efficiently. So has Grossman but the interception is a set back. If Beck continues to play like this it is his position to lose. It appears Beck may be more athletic, quicker on his feet and eludes the rush better then Grossman. Which bodes better for the naked bootleg play-action. I would like to see Beck show some more down field stuff and not solely rely on one thing (short passes). The good defenses will eat him for lunch if he does not show some diversity.
Our second team O-line is still a concern. We need depth at guard and Tackle. We are still paper thin at O-tackle depth. I am not sure the backups we currently have have shown they can handle the job. Might have to see who gets cut from another team.

Agree 110%, did anyone fear JT, MR, or DW but we still won SB's with them.

That's the exception rather than the rule. It's one of the things that made Joe Gibbs great.

Shanahan won it with a great QB, Elway. Once we get all the pieces in place and crown it with a star QB, we'll win the SB again, this time under Shanahan.

I don't believe that we'll win it again with a pedestrian QB. Few coaches have ever achieved that.

That's the exception rather than the rule. It's one of the things that made Joe Gibbs great.

Shanahan won it with a great QB, Elway. Once we get all the pieces in place and crown it with a star QB, we'll win the SB again, this time under Shanahan.

I don't believe that we'll win it again with a pedestrian QB. Few coaches have ever achieved that.

Are you kidding me? I already bought my plane tix for the super bowl. We win EVERY time there is a lockout. Guaranteed....

Beck did not force a pass that wasn't there like Rex did. The problem with Rex is staring down receivers and forcing it when its not there, he has done this for years so there is no reason to think its going to change. No QB should ever force a 5 yard pass to a TE that has a chance to get picked, if the LB doesn't stumble he probably scores. It was a terrible metal error that can cost your team points.

Beck is slightly ahead for one single reason, no forced passes.

Hasselback in Seattle made a damn good QB who was accurate 25 yards and in, he couldn't throw it 50 yards. Our QB's can manage a game without mistakes we have a chance to win, 5 yard curls that are high risk no reward lose them.

Not to jump on you Longtimefan, but it bugs me a little when people say things like "no team is going to fear him as QB". Well duh, that's most QBs in the NFL. How many quarterbacks are honestly revered in the NFL? Five maybe? Manning, Brady, Vick, Brees, Rodgers?

You could probably add another two to that list, but my point is the majority of QBs in the NFL aren't great but teams still manage to win with them. Look, Beck or Rex won't be going to the Pro-Bowl this year but if they turn out to be good solid Redskins, then that's the most I could hope for and hopefully end up 8-8 or 9-7 in the process.

I respect where you're coming from 12th, and you know from reading the majority of my previous post relative to Beck, I've been a staunch supporter of him when others have been critical. In no way did I intend to be critical of his work, he did a good job under circumstances. There are other characteristics I'd like to see, not saying he won't have ample time to demonstrate them before the start of the regular season, nor does it mean we can't win games with him.

Are you kidding me? I already bought my plane tix for the super bowl. We win EVERY time there is a lockout. Guaranteed....

I forgot about that. You're right, of course.

I believe that Beck will go deep in due time, when the situation presents itself(i.e single man coverage). In his post-game interview, he mentioned that he thought about pressing it deep, but did not. To me, that shows mental maturity about how to play the position.

Besides, the deeper passes will not necessarily comprise a huge portion of a QB's total completions. For example, Peyton Manning threw 679 passes last season, 77 of them were 21 yards or further. The rest of his work involved him cutting through the defense with the short and intermediate passes.
Peyton Manning Stats, Splits - Indianapolis Colts - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/splits/_/id/1428/peyton-manning)

Matt Schaub, who distribution of pass attempts would most likely reflect our QBs' distribution of pass attempts, attempted only 48 passes of over 20+ yards out of the 583 he attempted during the 2009 season.
Matt Schaub Stats, Splits - Houston Texans - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/splits/_/id/5615/year/2009/matt-schaub)

1. Playcalling in the red zone needs to be improved and more aggressive, even in the vanilla preseason

2. The offense needs more of a vertical dimension

3. As said above, Silverback needs to be better

4. I hope that we find a better backup safety than Horton...someone like DeJon Gomes!

5. Mr. Poo Hands Hankey is terribly frustrating. Getting wide open is a negative if you then drop the ball, as the pass may have gone to someone else who would have caught it.

Hankerson will be fine. Anyone who says they don't know a lot of rookie wide receivers that drop passes that get better aren't really paying attention.

It's not a lack of hands for Hank. It's concentration drops. It's always concentration drops. He only dropped one pass last night, and then caught the other passes he was targeted on. Hank makes the same mistake every other rookie wide receiver does; he looks to run before he catches the ball.

Roddy White, T.O, Brandon Lloyd, Dwayne Bowe, Braylon Edwards all had drops, and then corrected the those problems as they progressed and got older.

Let's give the rookie a little bit of time before we go worrying about it. He dropped an easy one over the middle, and then caught three more passes over the middle, and all with his hands instead of his body, and wound up being the leading receiver for the game.