Is Brian Orakpo career as a Redskin possibly over

They should have kept Jackson he was better in coverage than Rak. We spent alot of time developing him.

Rob Jackson is irrelevant. There is a reason no one has signed him.

Rob Jackson is irrelevant. There is a reason no one has signed him.


Exactly. If he was any better than Rak in coverage he wouldn't be watching games on his sofa this season. We did spend a lot of time developing him, but to me that just tells me either our talent evaluators are not finding the right pieces, our coaching is falling short, or...a little of both.

I still can't see the FO's logic in letting Rob Jackson go only to take a chance on a draft pick, most 3-4 OLBs struggle rookie season. Jackson stepped in and made an impact at every opportunity.

Meanwhile RT doesn't get upgraded. BA hasn't been great in the personnel decisions and maybe the biggest thing holding team back. That and RG's injuries.

You act like Rob Jackson was a stud from day 1 in the NFL and teams were shocked when he was cut and a bidding war began.

He did almost nothing his first 3 years in the league and is still without a team now.

Good guy, decent player. But that's it

As usual, John Keim hits the nail on the head:

"Rushing the passer is about more than sacks, and Orakpo influences the pass rush. But when you're being paid $11.45 million for one season and when you want to be paid even more, then you have to do more than set up others. You have to make game-changing plays. In the end, that's what Orakpo has failed to do in Washington...

To have a strong 3-4 defense, you must have pass-rushing outside linebackers. That's why ultimately the Redskins brought back Orakpo. They could have invested at other defensive positions, but were reluctant to spend a lot on a safety (they needed two).

If you're going to overpay, it should be at a premium position. And pass-rushers help you win on defense, and the Redskins hoped the extra help would transform Orakpo from a guy with a career-best 11 sacks in one season to someone who could record several more.

In his first five seasons, Orakpo intercepted one pass and forced six fumbles (while recording 39.5 sacks). Some linebackers being paid the kind of money Orakpo seeks have forced the same number of turnovers in one season. And it was clear in the spring from coach Jay Gruden that these sort of plays were expected."

(The bolded part is my doing)

Thank you John Keim for summing it all up. That's a wrap, folks. Brian Orakpo is already so far gone that he is nearly over the horizon. Book it.

Gotta give credit to Bruce and FO for not locking up Orakpo to a major deal when we clearly had the cap room. The franchise tag play was perfect by the club. kudos to team.

Like to see Murphy step in, but also would like another player in the mix for playing time.

Rob Jackson is irrelevant. There is a reason no one has signed him.
Good special teams bargain.......?

To have a strong 3-4 defense, you must have pass-rushing outside linebackers. That's why ultimately the Redskins brought back Orakpo. They could have invested at other defensive positions, but were reluctant to spend a lot on a safety (they needed two).



This is why I've never been a fan of the 3-4 Defense, it requires having too many of the right players in the right position due to the fact that you only have three lineman and are forced to rely on the lighter linebackers to help pressure the passer (I much prefer the 4-3, where you have two tackles, both of who are typically better matched up against the Offensive lineman, I feel this gives you more room for error as even just the 4 man line may be able to bring pressure without needing the Linebackers, freeing them up to assist the secondary)

If Orakpo is willing to come back at around 5-6 million, I'd be all for it. He brings a lot of pressure, he just hasn't been able to close the deals this year. Plus, he's solid in pass coverage and has become a good run defender as well. I like Trent Murphy, but he hasn't show he can rush from the outside yet. I guess we'll see this next Monday.

This is why I've never been a fan of the 3-4 Defense, it requires having too many of the right players in the right position due to the fact that you only have three lineman and are forced to rely on the lighter linebackers to help pressure the passer (I much prefer the 4-3, where you have two tackles, both of who are typically better matched up against the Offensive lineman, I feel this gives you more room for error as even just the 4 man line may be able to bring pressure without needing the Linebackers, freeing them up to assist the secondary)

good post and welcome.

the 3-4 has not really worked here and like you said, it requires very specific players with very specific skill sets.

i think the loss of cofield is huge as our NT.

last year i think we played out of nickel (4 down lineman) like 60% of the time. cooley sd if you want to run on the skins, just go nickel on offense so we have to match and then run the ball. he sd our 3-4 is very good at the run but teams know they can get us out of the 3-4 and then run it.

i want to stick with the 3-4 but i am worried that our FO spends so much time and energy looking for 3-4 specific guys .... only to have out true base D be a nickel.

one thing is certain - this D has not really gelled since greg blache.