Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

[quote=Dirtbag359;692879]Arizona is the only team I've really been able to see that stocked up on pass catchers and received any real benefit. Dez Bryant is basically a locker room time bomb. [B] Now personally I consider Ray Lewis a bomb disposal expert[/B] so if Baltimore had selected him then that would have been a great pick, but put him in a Dallas locker room that just got over not having T.O. there and you hopefully have a locker room implosion. Of course if he develops it'll be dangerous for us, but I'm hoping for another Charles Rogers.[/quote]

Is that because he jumps on the pile after a tackle has already been made?

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

[quote=WaldSkins;693589]Is that because he jumps on the pile after a tackle has already been made?[/quote]

No, it's more of a reference to his ability to command respect in the locker room. Personally I have never heard of the Ravens locker room blowing up and it's not like they haven't brought in questionable characters. I seriously doubt a guy like Dez Bryant would get very far with his "diva" routine had he gone to Baltimore. Dallas on the other hand all but seems to encourage such behavior, even though at this point it might be unintentional.

It's very similar to the level of respect I command around here in the Warpath, especially in the Locker Room part of the forum. I mean when's the last time you saw someone challenge my status as the alpha dog?

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

Just wanted to tip my hat to our very own Trent Williams by bumping this thread. I thought he did wonderfully for his first game, even if he says he was "nervous" the entire time.

In comparison, Sam Bradford found himself hit repeatedly in his first game due to poor LT play from Jason Smith, the Ram's last year's first round pick (#2 overall). Admittedly, we were playing the Bills..

[QUOTE]
[B]Sam Bradford fine, but he needs protection
[/B]
August 15, 2010 at 12am

Unfortunately for Bradford, right tackle Jason Smith could not block backup Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jayme Mitchell, a player whose most recent regular-season sack came in 2007 (one of 4.0 career sacks for Mitchell). It's not good when the player St. Louis drafted second overall in 2009 cannot prevent an NFL backup from roughing up the new franchise quarterback. But there were mitigating factors. Smith has missed time to injury lately. He improved significantly through the course of the preseason a year ago, and he has time to do the same this summer.

Perhaps this was merely an off night for Smith, but I came out of this game with more questions about Smith's pass protection than about Bradford's poise or potential. Consider it a reminder that quarterbacks, though increasingly important as the NFL becomes more pass-oriented, still need considerable support to function, let alone flourish.

Bradford's third and final series of the first half went like this:
First down: Mitchell drives Smith off the ball, raises his hands and bats down Bradford's pass.

Second down: Mitchell beats Smith again, disrupting Bradford and collecting a half-sack on the play.

Third down: Mitchell beats Smith for a full sack this time.

[url=http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/21301/sam-bradford-fine-but-he-needs-protection]Sam Bradford fine, but he needs protection - NFC West Blog - ESPN[/url]
[/QUOTE]

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

And to think a significant portion of Redskins fans were perfectly content to just go ahead draft a QB on the HOPE that Shanahan would pull some magic trick out of his hat for the bunch of mediocre or bad players we had kept over from the past year and develop them into a Chris Samuels caliber players. I'm so happy that they have had the mental snot knocked out of them with the T. Williams pick and the Jammal Brown trade. Sometimes you gotta spend big to get big talent. No more cheapskate Vinny philosophy to building an Oline.

And I'm glad Shanny has once again hit on his talent evaluation.

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

[quote=SirClintonPortis;720672]And to think a significant portion of Redskins fans were perfectly content to just go ahead draft a QB on the HOPE that Shanahan would pull some magic trick out of his hat for the bunch of mediocre or bad players we had kept over from the past year and develop them into a Chris Samuels caliber players. I'm so happy that they have had the mental snot knocked out of them with the T. Williams pick and the Jammal Brown trade. Sometimes you gotta spend big to get big talent. No more cheapskate Vinny philosophy to building an Oline.

And I'm glad Shanny has once again hit on his talent evaluation.[/quote]

What we have here is a case of immediate gratification. You could very well end up being right but you're judging the entire direction of a franchise based on one week of preseason games. Am I happy with who we got this offseason? You're damn right I am.

However it's possible that we could be back to square one in 3-5 years looking for another QB all the while Bradford has the Rams in the playoff hunt on an annual basis.

Also hypothetically speaking we still could have traded for Jamaal Brown at around the same price we got him for this year, and at this point Jamaal Brown is a much better LT then Williams. It's just that Shanahan would rather put Trent in this position from the get go.

All in all I'm ecstatic to have Trent, and even happier to have McNabb but it's way to early to say we would have been making a mistake had Bradford fell into our laps. All in all you still win in this league with QB play, we were just lucky that the Eagles brass decided to go on a bender during Easter Weekend and trade us McNabb (same with Jamaal Brown). I wouldn't count on that type of luck repeating itself.

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

Yeah it is too early, we have to re-visit this when Bradford is on IR.

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

[quote=ethat001;720670]Just wanted to tip my hat to our very own Trent Williams by bumping this thread. I thought he did wonderfully for his first game, even if he says he was "nervous" the entire time.

In comparison, Sam Bradford found himself hit repeatedly in his first game due to poor LT play from Jason Smith, the Ram's last year's first round pick (#2 overall). Admittedly, we were playing the Bills..[/quote]

The Bills did manage to beat us on our home turf a few years back...

And regarding that article about Jason Smith getting beaten, it could be that Jayme Mitchell has found a spark and might be the next Jared Allen.

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

[quote=Ruhskins;720766]Yeah it is too early, we have to re-visit this when Bradford is on IR.[/quote]

LOL :laughing2

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

[quote=ethat001;720670]Just wanted to tip my hat to our very own Trent Williams by bumping this thread. I thought he did wonderfully for his first game, even if he says he was "nervous" the entire time.

[B]In comparison, Sam Bradford found himself hit repeatedly in his first game due to poor LT play from Jason Smith[/B], the Ram's last year's first round pick (#2 overall). Admittedly, we were playing the Bills..[/quote]

Smith has somehow played so poorly that he's now a backup RT. Still I mean what should St. Louis have done? They already invested the #2 pick last year in Smith and then went back this year and made what looks to be a pretty nice pick in Saffold, who ironically is playing to the level they expected Smith to be playing at. Oh well, we'll probably trade for Smith with a 5th round pick in a year or two.

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

Bradford didn't look unprepared to play in a pro offense -- not that I expected he would. I do think that the ultimate transition for him is going to be massive. His skill set is clearly to his advantage in the pros, but I'm suspecting that Bradford is going to look tantalizingly promising for a very long time, before (probably) becoming a dependable NFL quarterback.

Could be years upon years, and a lot can go wrong.

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

It's going to be a long year for Mr. Bradford.

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

I was in that camp last year that thought Jason Smith had a decent probability of being a capable starter, if not an elite tackle, in the NFL. Maybe it's just his recent injury but he's off to about the worst start possible.

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

So in retrospect after one year, how has Trent Williams done compared to the guy the draft boards had rated higher: Russel Okung?

Russell Okung
[url=http://www.fieldgulls.com/2010/12/29/1903303/the-russell-okung-difference]The Russell Okung Difference - Field Gulls[/url]

Trent Williams
[QUOTE]
Williams faced a lot of scrutiny his rookie season. Coaches gave him passing grades, but they're hoping for much more in the future.

He relied too much on raw talent in his first year in the league, they say. They want to see him spend more time studying his opponents, putting in work away from the field and doing the little things that will make him a better pro.

"The thing I think Trent's learned is you've got to play every down in the NFL," Kyle Shanahan said. "You can dominate a guy and if you just ease up one play, ease up two plays, then they got two sacks - and it might be a sack, fumble. I think Trent's really learned the key to the NFL is being consistent."

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/04/AR2011010404758_2.html?sid=ST2011010405646]Washington Redskins offseason: Upgrading the offense after likely departure of Donovan McNabb[/url][/QUOTE]

My gut feeling without watching much of Okung -- is that Trent has been a better choice. Any thoughts?

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

T. Williams went up a lot of good pass rushers and did a decent job for a rookie. I think this experience gives him a step up on Okung who spent most of the season injured.

Re: Shanahan: Williams is a natural for zone-blocking scheme
 

Trent got schooled by Osi in the last game of the season -- he'll have that to stew on for six months...