I worry about the MLB spot

I'm sorry we lost him but remember we have two probowl linebackers starting this year. If Pierce were here he would not be a third.

actually he would have been, if we had a winning record last year we would have had 8-9 pro bowlers last year, i believe we had 8 alternates and 1 pro bowler (Washington).

Smoot was a starter for a majority of his whereas Walt Harris wasn't.

Harris has started many more games in his career than Smoot. I think it's like 100+ to 60. But the question is can he still start?

I think we can tell who the players are going to miss:

Five prominent Redskins gathered around the leather sofas in the lobby of Redskins Park in May alongside two position coaches, all sharing stories about the one that got away. Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, the central nervous system -- if not the very heart -- of Washington's 2004 defense had departed months earlier for the New York Giants, but he was far from forgotten.

They shared some anecdotes about Pierce's tenacity and work ethic, and the impromptu meeting broke off after one player stated the obvious, "Man, A.P. was a hell of a player. He's really going to be missed," and the rest of group nodded in agreement. The loss of Pierce was but one of many story lines in an at times tumultuous offseason for the Redskins.

To be honest Im much more worried about that 2nd CB spot than I am about MLB. Pierce was a roleplayer his whole career. Smoot was a starter for a majority of his whereas Walt Harris wasn't. CBs are so essential to this defense and I really dont feel confident in Harris as our starter. I think Rodgers will be a great player one day; however hes missing part of camp, has an injury, and most of all still a rookie. I think that's going to hurt our defensive rating. I think it wont be ranked as high but I feel we'll get far more turnovers this year.

Daseal, what the hell are you talking about??? Harris has been a starter almost his entire career. The only thing that kept him from being a starter was that knee injury in the season before we signed him. He's a former first round pick.

Anyway, I think calling AP the Peyton Manning of our defense is spot-on. We don't need to split hairs and argue over whether they're intellectual equals. The point remains that AP was responsible for lining guys up and recognizing formations before the snap. If you go back and watch the games again, see how many times he runs up and slaps Griffin on one side of the rear or the other. You'll see that Griffin promptly slides a few feet in one direction or the other, and then see how many times Griffin made a big play after that.

AP played an extremely important role in that sense. It's definitely a concern, replacing his recognition skills and ability to line guys up. I think that's why McCune was drafted; he's smart, a physical beast, and no stranger to making quick decisions thanks to his military background.

Now who knows who will end up as the starter this year; but that to me is the #1 concern on our defense. GW can drum up some sweet schemes, but somebody needs to be thinking like him on the field. I think one of our guys will emerge and do well with it; but it certainly is a big question facing our team.

JESUS give that sports writer an emmy nomination or whatever the hell you'd give to the most dramatic load of BS you'll ever read. I don't know if the rest of the world realilzes this but his accolades last year stemmed from him being a backup and then becoming a good MLB in a system that prides itself on taking guys off the street and putting them in pro bowl contention. If Barrow or Trotter would have been in the same position last year, with the same stats and work ethic, the coaches wouldn't have been nearly as vocal about them. It was a great thing that the guy saw his opportunity to earn a starting job in the NFL after being a backup for a few years, and took full advantage of it, but Ill bet none of those five prominent redskins offered to give up any of their money to keep him on the team, or he'd still be here.

Sorry I meant to Quote the insert in Matty's post...

Manning just isn't smart enough to win in N.E. doh!
Loved AP and Smoot. Fact is: they're gone. Let's move on. I'm tired of the same old rehashed crap. Camp is on! :soapbox:

if we didn't have the depth at safety that we do and GWs game plan to use that speed i'd be more worried. I look to see several safties get playing time each week. Bowen close to the line and Taylor in coverage and we don't need 3 LBs on the field. We could play Bowen down and Taylor/Prileau in coverage and have 3 safties.

Loved AP and Smoot. Fact is: they're gone. Let's move on. I'm tired of the same old rehashed crap. Camp is on! :soapbox:

AMEN!!! :food-smil

AP was a heckuva player last year and he was rewarded by the Giants for that. I don't think its that important, we have plenty of people waiting in the wings and GW will once again have the defense playing at a high level. Add in a healthy Lavar and our defense is actually scarier this year than last. Figure...

1) Year two of GW's system with 9 returning starters
2) Lavar returning after hearing his name mentioned amongst the overrateds
3) The offense should be improved which means more rest for the defense which should result in better defensive play
4) GW proved last year that no player was irreplaceable with all the free agents playing (I think we led the league in street free agents)