cooley and white

[Duffman003]

Since it seems we want Manuel White at H back, does that mean that Cooley will be moved to tight end? Because at first I thought he was going to be mostly a special teams guy, but now I think Cooley at tight end would help our team a lot.

[Krills]

I think there looking at him as a backup for Cooley as well as 3rd and 1/goalline situations.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Krills

I think there looking at him as a backup for Cooley as well as 3rd and 1/goalline situations.

Agreed.

[skinsguy]

More than likely, but for some reason, I believe Cooley could make the switch to Tight End with no problem if need be.

[JWsleep]

I don't think he's the kind of blocker that Gibbs likes at TE--Gibbs kinda likes an extra tackle out there at times. I bet we'll see more traditional FB play down at the goal line this year. We had such trouble punching it in last year, it was pathetic. Cooley will start at H-back, no doubt.

[skinsguy]

Plus will have Jansen back...hopefully our offensive line will be more solid than they were a year ago...

[Krills]

I definitely wouldn't move Cooley around. I think he really excelled at the H-back positon last season. I say don't mess with it.

[BossHog]

I think the only disadvantage Cooley has playing TE is his arm length.(?) On paper, he has the height, weight, and strength to go with it. There's nothing wrong with having a 'receiving TE'. I think Gibbs wants to have a prototypical 'blocking TE' just to disguise what his trying to do on offense. If you have a guy like Cooley only come in certain packages, teams kind of key in on what's going on. I cool with Cooley playing TE as well as Royal. Royal could be a heck of a TE if he would add more bulk to his frame.

[That Guy]

cooley's blocking got better, but he still needed some work on it... he's a great receiving threat... but only 8 yard out (he's really slow ). Definately a solid player and he fights hard for YAC.

[joecrisp]

Originally Posted by JWsleep

I don't think he's the kind of blocker that Gibbs likes at TE--Gibbs kinda likes an extra tackle out there at times. I bet we'll see more traditional FB play down at the goal line this year. We had such trouble punching it in last year, it was pathetic. Cooley will start at H-back, no doubt.

I think you're dead-on with that assessment, JW. The two fullback draft picks make sense if you're planning on adding the traditional fullback role to your offense, particularly when you consider the kinds of fullbacks the Redskins picked: guys that can lead-block, but that are also very adept ballcarriers themselves.

When you have so much money invested in a smallish, slashing primary back like Clinton Portis, you don't try to reinvent him as a short-yardage, grind-it-out kind of back, and you don't invest a lot more money in adding that kind of bruising runningback to your roster. You just grab a couple of cheap bulldozers in the mid-to-late rounds of the draft, and throw them in there when you need to plow across the goalline.

It looks to me like Gibbs is trying to find his latter-day Gerald Riggs. I'm sure those guys will also study and practice the H-back role so that they can backup Cooley, but these guys definitely look like short-yardage specialists to me.

[MTK]

I definitely agree, JC.

With the two fullback selections, Gibbs is looking for that short yardage hammer. We had too many lost opportunities last year because we couldn't punch it in down near the goal line or pick up that key 3rd down conversion to extend a drive.

Back in the day with Riggs, if we had a 3rd and short or a 1st and goal, that was exactly the situation Gibbs wanted to be in. Line up the heavy jumbo formation, and just run the ball right down the throat of the defense. Hopefully we'll get back to that this year. It's definitely a huge key to Gibbs' offense.

[BrudLee]

Originally Posted by joecrisp

It looks to me like Gibbs is trying to find his latter-day Gerald Riggs. I'm sure those guys will also study and practice the H-back role so that they can backup Cooley, but these guys definitely look like short-yardage specialists to me.

Exactly. Gerald Riggs was the only 8 carries a game Pro Bowler in history, if I'm not mistaken.

[Red Robert]

I think this move will give Cooley and even better opportunity to excell this season. I love this guy. I see him developing into a Mark Bavaro type playmaker. I he is tough and has good YAC numbers. I expect he will become a big time red zone threat. I say he scores 8 to 10 touchdowns this season, all receptions, and gets some national press out of it. Maybe not a pro-bowl but definately some considerstion.

[bjschmonsees]

Manuel White also reminds me of Stephen Davis. Same size, same injury problems in college, and both were drafted in the 4th round. White even wore #48 in minicamp...

[offiss]

Originally Posted by bjschmonsees

Manuel White also reminds me of Stephen Davis. Same size, same injury problems in college, and both were drafted in the 4th round. White even wore #48 in minicamp...

Exept 1 thing, Davis would have run past White like he was standing still coming out of college.