Unfortunate perspective-We AREN'T who we thought we were.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I'd agree with the blitzing issue. Priority one in the offseason has to be getting Gregg Williams whatever he needs in order to be comfortable with blitzing a lot more often.

For whatever reason, he's afraid of doing it this year. Is it the CBs? Is it the safety play? Or is he holding out hope that Daniels and Carter can do it on their own without a blitz?

It's almost like he forgot that Archuleta and Wright aren't on the field anymore.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I'd agree with the blitzing issue. Priority one in the offseason has to be getting Gregg Williams whatever he needs in order to be comfortable with blitzing a lot more often.

For whatever reason, he's afraid of doing it this year. Is it the CBs? Is it the safety play? Or is he holding out hope that Daniels and Carter can do it on their own without a blitz?

Unfortunately, I think it's the biggest crapshoot in the draft: DE. I feel that we'll sign Nate Clements and instantly our secondary is improved, but we're going to HAVE to draft someone that can give us SOME KIND of pass rush.

[Daseal]

Lloyd needs sticky gloves for what?

For when he jumps 80 yards in the air to catch the pass Brunell tossed his way.

[That Guy]

carter and rocky need experience. prioleau and harris are better than wright and rumph. our DTs have been playing hurt or not playing, and lemar isn't as fast as last year (injury? age?). also last year, when the D tightened up, holdman was on the bench and lavar was playing solid ball, and ryan clark was not only better than AA, he also made Taylor better... this year Taylor's been running himself out of plays left and right, and carlos has been dropping ints an giving 15 yard cushions on 3rd and 4 etc.

what compounds it is the lack of depth, which causes GW to call a tighter game due to talent issues, which results in more yardage given up .

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

Unfortunately, I think it's the biggest crapshoot in the draft: DE. I feel that we'll sign Nate Clements and instantly our secondary is improved, but we're going to HAVE to draft someone that can give us SOME KIND of pass rush.

QB, DE, and WR are definately the biggest crapshoots. DEs are something like 50% 1st round bust rate (using a SMALL sample set, which could be skewed), and QBs and WRs are similar. still, i agree that that's probably the way to go.

[LongTimeSkinsFan]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

I'd agree with the blitzing issue. Priority one in the offseason has to be getting Gregg Williams whatever he needs in order to be comfortable with blitzing a lot more often.

For whatever reason, he's afraid of doing it this year. Is it the CBs? Is it the safety play? Or is he holding out hope that Daniels and Carter can do it on their own without a blitz?

One of the cornerstones behind GW schemes is having a pair of corners that can play tight and solid man to man which allows him to blitz agressively. Early on in the season with Springs down and Kenny "Not-So" Wright and Mike Rumph-Roasted filling in we get torched methodically because of inept coverage. And while I'm a big fan of Carlos Rodgers, when you give a receiver a 5 to 10 yd cushion for any reason, you're giving an opposing QB a free hot read every time we put a blitz on.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Honestly, Wright has been playing well since he moved to the position we THOUGHT he'd be playing at.

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

I saw a different defense personally. GW isn't doing the same blitzes as he did last year. Until Brunell gave the Eagles that gift, the defense was stepping it up against the best offense in the league. That play to Stollworth was basically it.

yeah, the D played well in the 2nd quarter & also kept the iggles out of the end zone in the 2nd half, including a goal line stand.
I think the D is hitting its stride, watch for under 300 yds. by Tampa on sundaY. GW will call more blitzes as he's more confident in the coverage. Even if we miss the playoffs we're gonna beat some good teams.

[hesscl34]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

Jets, Bills, Browns, Texans, Packers, Saints, 49ers.. In August if anyone said that after 9 games we'd have the same or worse records as these teams they'd be called crazy. Is it possible that we're just not good or will a few key changes (QB, MLB, DE, SS) make a significant difference?

In my opinion, it's all mental. The players are not motivated, and there is unhappiness with the coachign staff and play calling. The players are NOT performing and, in my opinon, they have given up.

.. It sucks!

[hurrykaine]

The more I watch the skins and their crappy performances, the more I'm convinved Gregg Williams should not be head coach around here. He's a great defensive coordinator, but his pigheadedness was the reason we didn't retain Pierce, Smoot, and Ryan Clark. Pierce was the linchpin of the defense, and the other two were better than decent at their position. Sean Taylor is being pwned week after week. He is nowhere near as good as safety as Ed Reed or R. Williams. Not playing Rocky even in garbage time is rubbish - what are they possibly protecting him against?!!

On the offensive side, Gibbs, Don Breaux and even Buges have severely underachieved with the group of players we have. How could our line be this inconsistent? There's no way to know this, but I hope Saunders is given carte blanche in playcalling without any interference from Gibbs.

[EternalEnigma21]

Originally Posted by PhxRedSkin

Lloyd needs sticky gloves
44

wow... what game do you watch... Lloyd has answered the call more than any other reciever. The guy has dropped like 1 ball, and made some amazing catches in and out of coverage for us when we've needed him to. Also, he saved 2 ints in the Cowboys game, even though Gtripp will tell you it was lloyd who put the db in position and brunell threw it just right so that it could be tipped away by lloyd, since he sucks.

I got aggervated when he missed the slant last week, then I saw the replay where he was laid out to catch the ball thrown 8 feet behind him while his feet were still trying to run, and forgave him.

I'm sick of people berating lloyd. He's been a great team guy since he's been here and has been a great reciever for us. He plays with passion, he celebrates good blocks, and he's quickly becoming one of my fav. redskins.

[hurrykaine]

Originally Posted by canthetuna

wow... what game do you watch... Lloyd has answered the call more than any other reciever. The guy has dropped like 1 ball, and made some amazing catches in and out of coverage for us when we've needed him to. Also, he saved 2 ints in the Cowboys game, even though Gtripp will tell you it was lloyd who put the db in position and brunell threw it just right so that it could be tipped away by lloyd, since he sucks.

I got aggervated when he missed the slant last week, then I saw the replay where he was laid out to catch the ball thrown 8 feet behind him while his feet were still trying to run, and forgave him.

I'm sick of people berating lloyd. He's been a great team guy since he's been here and has been a great reciever for us. He plays with passion, he celebrates good blocks, and he's quickly becoming one of my fav. redskins.

I like Lloyd and love his penchant for the big catch, but what I've noticed about him is if you don't involve him in the offense early, he'll disappear for the rest of the game.

[EternalEnigma21]

Originally Posted by hurrykaine

I like Lloyd and love his penchant for the big catch, but what I've noticed about him is if you don't involve him in the offense early, he'll disappear for the rest of the game.

I could say that for everyone but betts...

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by hesscl34

In my opinion, it's all mental. The players are not motivated, and there is unhappiness with the coachign staff and play calling. The players are NOT performing and, in my opinon, they have given up.

.. It sucks!

At some point, it becomes a mental problem.

But it didn't begin as a mental problem, so the coaching staff has to figure out what went wrong. Obviously injuries play a part, because wherever there is losing, there is injuries.

But if it was all injuries, we wouldn't have to change a thing to be a great team next year. On offense, we appear to be a certain degree of expierence away from the next level, and as JC progresses, we will get there. We are on the right track at least.

On D tho, we either have to give what we have another chance or blow the whole thing up and start fresh. Obviously Gregg Williams CAN call a game, he just for whatever reason hasn't been. Our DT's have been banged up, but we do still lack a great 3rd option there, hopefully we can find a free agent to fix that. Our pass rush has been subpar, but that's always been a problem. What about the linebackers? No one makes plays anymore. Sean Taylor has had a pass all year, but when not running up to stick someone, he just looks like he's got no clue what he's doing. I don't think you can write Archuleta off just yet because he's got the talent. He could come back next year like the player we thought he would be. I'll say the CB's have played well all things considered. Springs was hurt and Rogers has improved his cover skills (he's always been good in the run game). It would be foolish to not bring in another corner next year. Springs' game has nowhere to go but downwards (he was the league's top cover CB in 2005 even though his playmaking skills left some to be desired, now he's old and hurt).

Schneed makes the point that he has no idea how to fix the D. It looks grim, but because the root of the problems can't even be identified...maybe there is a chance that they are all injury related and our D comes back strong in 2007 with minimal change.

I doubt that though. I feel like our offense will carry us through the next few seasons as we try to rebuild (hopefully, I'm using the right term) the defense.

If our front office tries to quick fix the D, they will only create frusteration. Either add one or two parts for depth and hope we stay healty, or blow the entire thing up. No halfsies!

[GTripp0012]

To add on my last point, blowing the thing up would look like this:

You'd have to cut a lot of your veteran leadership. Philip Daniels, Renaldo Wynn, Warrick Holdman, possibly Shawn Springs, and even Marcus Washington would have to go. I would move Lemar back outside where he is more comfortable. Rocky moves into the starting lineup. We use our first rounder on a DE like a Gaines Adams from Clemson (for sake of arguement), and put him behind Andre Carter on the depth chart. The other DE spot would be filled by an inexpensive free agent aquisition (hopefully a guy with a bunch of upside), or even Demetric Evans, basically a guy who could be replaced by Adams if Andre Carter becomes a good rush end in 2007. DT would have to be adressed in the short term through free agency, maybe a veteran with starting expierence to compete with Salevea' for a starting role, and the other becomes depth. Golston and Montgomery would also compete and we could hold 5 DTs on the 53 man roster if it came to it.

Griffin stays at DT because every team needs a great DT. He could not be reasonably replaced.

The MLB position would be played by a young guy who has great leadership skills. Either a last two round draft pick or a UDFA, but its OK if he's lacking in the physical skills department. He might only be a temporary solution.

We would bring in a CB who is better in coverage than Carlos Rogers (to play along side him) like a Nate Clements or someone of similar skill. The secondary would be built around Sean Taylor's skills, and we would sign a cheap safety to play an inexpensive Ryan Clark like role, but not necessarily to replace Archuleta from the outset. Archuleta has a big contract and should be allowed to compete for a starting role in 2007.

But that's pretty much what blowing up the defense would look like.