Let's talk OTA's

On the ESPN redskins Blog, "....Brian Orakpo said he’s worked a lot on using his hands better as a pass-rusher, thanks to outside linebackers coach Brian Baker. He’s having Orakpo do drills to emphasize this, something that has not been done in the past."
They report this like it is a good thing. Not sure who it is a knock on more, the coaches not named Brian Baker, Orakpo or both. How is this possible? Is this a joke?
Amazing that our top rookie pick has more pass rush moves than our six year pro who makes $11M a year. Maybe Orakpo can take some coaching tips from our rookie. Orakpo is not a student of the game, that is fo sho, it seems in the past he has relied more on his God given talent than working on his skills. Is there anything else that "has not been done in the past?"
Working on tackling or pass Coverage? Weak!

New coaches bring new techniques, what's wrong with that?

New coach, but definitely not new techniques.
The technique of using your hands in pass rush has been around since Deacon Jones played the game. Rule changes were put in place in 1977 called the "Deacon Jones rule" because Deacon used his quick hands so well to head/helmet slap his opponent that it would leave his opponents dumbfounded.
Pass rush moves like: swim, grab, rip/inside, spin, under, counter/club, bull rush and speed rush have been in existence for decades.
Why Orakpo and his former coaches have never worked on this in practice before is what is glaring. Probably explains why Orakpo only has two pass rush moves speed and bull rush.

Who's to say he doesn't do work with his hands on his own? If coaches aren't running these drills in practice that's on them.

Good read on how his game improved last year

Brian Orakpo is diversifying and improving his game (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2013/11/29/brian-orakpo-is-diversifying-and-improving-his-game/)

New coach, but definitely not new techniques.
The technique of using your hands in pass rush has been around since Deacon Jones played the game. Rule changes were put in place in 1977 called the "Deacon Jones rule" because Deacon used his quick hands so well to head/helmet slap his opponent that it would leave his opponents dumbfounded.
Pass rush moves like: swim, grab, rip/inside, spin, under, counter/club, bull rush and speed rush have been in existence for decades.
Why Orakpo and his former coaches have never worked on this in practice before is what is glaring. Probably explains why Orakpo only has two pass rush moves speed and bull rush.

I get what your saying, but maybe focus wasn't there with the hands as opposed to other techniques with the past coaches. All I can say is I hope this will propel Rak as a stronger pass rusher. I'm ready to ball with this new revamped d-line, pass rushing scheme and players

What I meant was new coach = new approach/emphasis on different techniques, drills, etc. obviously Baker isn't inventing the use of hands lol.

Redskins OTAs: Thoughts and observations - Washington Redskins Blog - ESPN (http://espn.go.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/8118/redskins-otas-thoughts-and-observations)

Thanks for that good read.

Hearing a lot of great stuff about the young guys. Phillip Thomas, Amerson, Breeland, Reed, Murphy, Keenan, etc., all seem to be healthy and performing well. While they are still in shorts and a lot of the compliments are coming courtesy of coach speak, it gets me excited for the season.

If a few of the younger guys like Keenan, Thomas, Reed, and Amerson stay healthy and perform well in big roles, that would be huge. And if our pass rush can get around 45-50 sacks, RG3 stays healthy, our STs perform better, and the WRs can at least come close to living up to our expectations, we could be a serious NFC East contender. Not at the level of the great NFC teams, but good enough for a serious division title push. The biggest question is whether Jay knows what he's doing, 'cause he's got some talent to work with.

What I meant was new coach = new approach/emphasis on different techniques, drills, etc. obviously Baker isn't inventing the use of hands lol.

In breaking news, Redskins coaches have now decided they are going to teach the forward pass.

A closer look at Robert Griffin III’s mechanics (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2014/06/04/a-closer-look-at-robert-griffin-iiis-mechanics/)


Good article breaking down Robert's mechanics.