What if ... (the Rookie Class gets it)

[Coff]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Jason Taylor is the ace in the hole for the defense down the stretch. Problem is, who are you going to bench for him? Evans has been playing brilliantly in relief of him, and Carter's is our only serious pass rushing threat.

At this point, his only way onto the field is as a linebacker. Which he did a little of in third down packages last game, but we need the additional pass rush, why not use him a little bit in a rotation with Blades on 1st and 2nd downs?

Even that's a stretch. And the concerns about Taylor (that he would have difficulty moving to the left side) appear to have been well founded. Opposing teams are more afraid of mice in the locker room than the Taylor/Carter duo. Our d-line is pathetic against the pass and by the end of last season that was our greatest concern.

And herein lies possible criticism of the Redskin draft this year. Forget whether or not the second rounders are busts; any reasonable person knows it's far too early to call that. The problem was why stack up on WRs and a TE when we desperately needed d-linemen? (and as we're starting to see, we need some o-lineman as well).

I think most of us were hoping to see the Skins draft a DE early in the draft this year and though I do expect some of the automatic naysayers to vehemently deny this, we all know they'll be lying when they do.

But the fact is, you can't plug all of your leaks in one draft, and if the Skins can build a decent line through free agency, then the '08 draft might not turn out so bad. As always, it's a wait and see.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Coff

Even that's a stretch. And the concerns about Taylor (that he would have difficulty moving to the left side) appear to have been well founded. Opposing teams are more afraid of mice in the locker room than the Taylor/Carter duo. Our d-line is pathetic against the pass and by the end of last season that was our greatest concern.

No question the combo has been a disappointment, at least to me. I also expected a bit of a breakout season from Wilson, until I saw him over the summer

And herein lies possible criticism of the Redskin draft this year. Forget whether or not the second rounders are busts; any reasonable person knows it's far too early to call that. The problem was why stack up on WRs and a TE when we desperately needed d-linemen? (and as we're starting to see, we need some o-lineman as well).

Fair point

I think most of us were hoping to see the Skins draft a DE early in the draft this year and though I do expect some of the automatic naysayers to vehemently deny this, we all know they'll be lying when they do.

I deny this! I wanted us to sign Justin Smith and draft Kentwan Balmer. I also wanted Thomas or Kelly (not both, and only if they fell to the 2nd round or later) and Rinehart.

But the fact is, you can't plug all of your leaks in one draft, and if the Skins can build a decent line through free agency, then the '08 draft might not turn out so bad. As always, it's a wait and see.

Good conclusion.

[SBXVII]

Kinda hard to evaluate any of the rookies when they are not getting on the field for whatever reason. If you listened to Zorn or what Zorn wants you to believe all the rookies are special ed and don't get the offense. I wonder how much of that is Zorn setting the team up for the second half of the year....oh wait we are there. The big question is are the rookies the rabbits Zorn is planning to pull out of a hat at some point or are they truely slow on getting the offense.

Also I for one would think as long as most of your team is coming back each year then drafting for best available player is the best idea, but if you have needs or wholes that need to be filled then you have to draft for that hole. Hopefully next year we pick up some higher round DL or OL. As long as we have no injuries we will be set at CB with 2 young CB's in Hall and Rogers. I think we are set at LB but we could pick one up in later rounds, set at WR, RB, QB, and TE. Our issues on offense are G, OT, on defense its DL possibly another DE if we don't start seeing more out of Taylor, and James.

[That Guy]

if you hit 66% in the 2nd round, that's successful (cause the outlay of cash on a 2nd rounder is only $1mill a year or so, so the risk just isn't there... they just aren't matt ryan type contracts).

I'm still wary of kelly's knee long term, but i think davis will work out eventually... I think devin is going to need 3 or 4 years though - he missed a lot of playing time in college (not starting or skipping a year) and he's going to have to make that up now. 4 year ncaa starting WRs just seem to transition soo much better into the nfl game (cause they generally have an entire year to focus on weights and refining details after showing they're ready to play).

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Jason Taylor is the ace in the hole for the defense down the stretch. Problem is, who are you going to bench for him? Evans has been playing brilliantly in relief of him, and Carter's is our only serious pass rushing threat.

At this point, his only way onto the field is as a linebacker. Which he did a little of in third down packages last game, but we need the additional pass rush, why not use him a little bit in a rotation with Blades on 1st and 2nd downs?

I like the idea. In the right matchups he is clearly a better option at LB for us than Blades. I like Blades as depth but he isn't a starter obviously. If Taylor can play OLD a bit and be a pass rusher with only minimal coverage responsibilities then that plays to his strengths. Line him up behind Carter and try to block those two coming from the same side...or run the ball the other way at Evans. Why haven't we done this before?

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by Beemnseven

Oh, come on SS. Nobody expected All-Pro seasons from Davis, Thomas, and Kelly.

Wasn't it reasonable to expect more than 13 catches and 89 yards combined from all three? You're making it sound as if we were expecting the equivalent of Irvin, Harper, and Novacek with these guys.

After minicamps, OTAs, training camp, 5 preseason games and 10 regular season games you have the coaches saying that they're still struggling with the playbook.

You can't tell me that these are typical rookie results. There are rookies throughout the league putting all our second round picks to shame.

We run a pass offense predicated on timing and precision. Our two WRs draft basically missed all of training camp when the offenses are installed and practice. They don't practice the offense technically during the season. They implement the game plans. If they didn't get the work involving their timing and routes before the season I DO see why they are struggling to get things perfectly right. I question more about our use of them than about their abilities. I think if we loosen the reins a bit and got them coached up on a small chunk of the play-book and used them for that we'd better off than waiting for them to know everything perfectly. It seems we did that some with Kelly yesterday. Maybe Thomas is just a dope.

[GMScud]

I like this thread.

I've been a big critic of Devin Thomas so far, becuase he's been 100% healthy all year, and has struggled to see the field becuase of mental miscues/playbook blunders. For someone as physically gifted as he is, missing out on playing time becuase you aren't studying hard enough is inexcusable.

Kelly has great potential but hasn't been healthy- I put that on our front office becuase they knew full well he had a knee issue prior to the draft. Hopefully it's behind him now, but we'll see.

Fred Davis never had much hope of producing this year, or any year as long as Cooley is healthy. Cooley is a pro-bowl TE in his mid-20's. Why we'd use a high pick for his back up seems kinda silly.

WHAT IF we had used 1 or 2 of those top 3 picks to build a stronger line of scrimmage (on either side of the ball), and ALSO drafted the best WR available with 1 of those picks as well?

[saden1]

This is a #3 defense in the NFL...if it ain't broke don't fix it. On the offensive side it appears we're not as far ahead as I would like. Still, I like what I saw from Zorn yesterday. He actually called on Campbell's number a few times to keep the defense honest...something miserably absent the last few weeks. I like the reinsertion of screens and bootlegs into the game plan.

[53Fan]

Originally Posted by saden1

This is a #3 defense in the NFL...if it ain't broke don't fix it. On the offensive side it appears we're not as far ahead as I would like. Still, I like what I saw from Zorn yesterday. He actually called on Campbell's number a few times to keep the defense honest...something miserably absent the last few weeks. I like the reinsertion of screens and bootlegs into the game plan.

Could'nt agree more!

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

I like the idea. In the right matchups he is clearly a better option at LB for us than Blades. I like Blades as depth but he isn't a starter obviously. If Taylor can play OLD a bit and be a pass rusher with only minimal coverage responsibilities then that plays to his strengths. Line him up behind Carter and try to block those two coming from the same side...or run the ball the other way at Evans. Why haven't we done this before?

Blades has been more than a capable back up. And I'm going bet that Blades will be the starter here in the near future. You'd rather put Taylor at LB?? You gotta be kidding me. JT is a pass rushing DE, not a LB.

[Lotus]

I do not blame the coaches because I do not see the practice field, but why isn't Devin Thomas at least giving a boost from punt returns?

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

Blades has been more than a capable back up. And I'm going bet that Blades will be the starter here in the near future. You'd rather put Taylor at LB?? You gotta be kidding me. JT is a pass rushing DE, not a LB.

I agree, in the sense that he wouldn't take on blocks any better at LB than he would at DE, but we're getting thinner at LB so it may be a chance to get him on the field. Same problems though, but at least we don't have to take Evans off the field.