David Macklin our new CB

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Grim21Reaper

O.k. I know I should let this go but I can't.

Please for my benefit, will one person in the Warpath forum explain to me how moving Springs to safety would make any sense next year? I have asked this before and did not receive a response. Even more baffling would be cutting him.

Let's get the facts out on the table:

There is no top corner available and certainly no one is going to come cheaper than Springs.

David Macklin is no Springs. He probably isn't as good as Smoot or Rogers so why do people think that signing him means Springs is going to be traded or released on June 1st?

The Redskins do not have any cap issues right now so a Springs restructure is not needed.

If they cut Springs they make a mediocre defense (at this point in time) worse. Everybody and their third cousin knows that the problem last year was defense. The big signings in the offseason were made to bolster the D and create depth on a terrible 2006 unit. If they release Springs or move him to safety they have taken one step forward and two steps back.

Springs is the best corner on the team. No one can argue that. He has the ability to shut down or slow down the other team's best receiver on a consistent basis. No other corner on the team has shown this ability. Rogers and Smoot are good against the run but not as good as Springs.

Springs is the highest paid player in the secondary (if not the entire D). Why would you put that player in a safety role because you picked up two guys who didn't work out on their last teams?

So, please, explain to me why cutting him or removing him from one of the most important positions on the defense would make any sense whatsoever.

A couple reasons:

Our secondary couldn't cover for shitake mushrooms last year. Part of it was the CBs, part of it was the lack of pressure on the QB, and part of it was the safeties were lacking in coverage skills. When Prioleau went down, we were left with nobody who could cover at safety. We've got no idea if Prioleau is going to come back strong.

Springs is getting older and isn't as fast as he used to be.

Maybe GW has some ideas for new wrinkles in the scheme. If I were him, I'd be very concerned about the fact that we only got 19 sacks last year. I also remember seeing us use the corner blitz A LOT less often this past season. Reason? When you blitz the CBs, you put the onus on the safeties to cover up. Our safeties sucked balls in coverage, hence GW didn't feel comfortable blitzing the CBs and relying on the safeties. You know Springs can be relied upon to cover up very well at the safety spot; GW will be free to use the CB blitz more often. And let's face it, we need to figure out any way possible to generate pressure on the QB after the season we just had.