[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Clinton Portis / Ladell Betts: I know this isn’t a popular stance. But deal one of these guys. I’d prefer to trade Betts away. I think his value is currently through the roof and I think he played slightly over potential. He’s a solid backup, but I don’t like the idea of backs sharing a lot of carries. Many backs, and I include Portis in this, get better as the game goes on. I think Rock/Sellers/Duckett are all good enough for that backup action. I think if we can get good value for either, we should prolly ship one off.

Bingo. Amen. And you're right -- the way some people here react to such a suggestion, you'd think they've been asked to give up their first-born children. I think with the number of gaping holes there are on defense, and not enough solutions through the draft to address them, you have to part with something in an area you're already stocked with.

Not only that, there aren't enough carries in the game to properly utilize the number of backs we have. And this goes back to the over-used critique of the offense: We have to define ourselves as either a passing team or a running team. No you don't. There MUST be balance. You can't be one or the other. You cannot morph this team into the Nebraska Cornhuskers of yesteryear. So many people complain that we're not going deep enough, then they turn right around and bitch about not seeing enough "Joe Gibbs", "Smashmouth", or "Redskins" football. They whine about not sticking with the running game. If that's the case, why did Gibbs put such a priority on wideouts this past offseason when we still had David Patten and James Thrash?

Now, I disagree slightly here:

Carlos Rogers: I really think this guy has been just destroyed by the fans. He’s been barraged with insults much more undeserving than Mark Brunell. Carlos had a couple very bad games, but let’s not forget he’s a 2nd year player at a very hard position in this league. He’s a physical corner and will soon be better than Springs ever was. The guy plays strong, plays the run, and has confidence which is of the utmost importance at corner. The dropped interceptions became a big issue, but none of our other corners got into position to even get an interception. So a little work on his hands and we’re talking about why isn’t he starting in the offseason.

I think we had to have seen some sliver of promise by this point. I've seen nothing but watch him regress. Burress too many times last night had his way with Rogers on critical drives in third down situations. I'm not saying he should be traded or thrown to the bench ala Archuleta. But I'm on record as saying that we need not one, but TWO corners. Unless there's a magical turn-around for Rogers, he's a nickel at best.

I’d really like to see this team stay together for the most part, start building through the draft, and get the guys like Marcus Washington in free agency. Not huge names, but solid talent for a good price. I don’t expect all of them to turn into studs like Washington. This team if it cleans up its offensive playcalling/clock management, and the defense gets back to half of what it was before now, we’re in business. If we go through another losing season, time to shake things up bigtime. Lets build through the draft, we have tons of talent, no need to acqure a ton more via free agency.

Well, there's no question we have to do something in free agency to come to the rescue for the defense. It would take 2-3 years of solid drafts to build an effective foundation for this defense if the team truly banishes the current philosophy of throwing heymakers in the free agent market. So yes, somebody like Nate Clements has to come here. We cannot stand pat and hope everything turns out alright next September.

That's why I'm probably not as optimistic about the defense. It needs more work than one offseason can fix, that's why there won't be a huge improvement next year (I'm predicting something like 7-9) and it will be Joe Gibbs' last year at head coach.