Voice your opinion on what we need 1st!

[Chris Luva Luva]

I'd like to see where a majority of this board stands.

We've had the posts but we need to consolidate the opinions into one poll.

[tcwest10]

In my view, the o-line takes care of itself with the return of the Rock. I think we need to establish a new pecking order at WR, and maybe upgrade at the #3 slot, assuming Gardner is buh-byed.

[Chris Luva Luva]

I choose O-line because we need some solid depth. What will happen if Jansen goes down again? We need some solid depth that will keep is going. We also need someone at center. We need Portis to establish domincance against teams. We need Ramsey to have as much time as possible to get the ball to whomever we draft at WR or pick up or keep on board.

2nd: D-line. We need the ability to create a pass rush without blitzing. Creating pressure with our coverage in full strength equals turn overs. We had little to no defensive scoring and the great defenses can do that.

3rd: WR is getting a bit thin from our current view. I believe given the chance we may have some bright starts in the depths of our charts but they may never get the chance to shine if we keep going after big names. I say give our current guys a shot and see what they can do with an improve running game and o-line blocking.

In my view, the o-line takes care of itself with the return of the Rock. I think we need to establish a new pecking order at WR, and maybe upgrade at the #3 slot, assuming Gardner is buh-byed.

I agree with moving some peolpe around on the depth chart. Thats a definate.

[Ramsey's Hog]

I feel that we need a WR to solidify the #2 spot after Rod leaves. If we could pick up Mike Williams or Braylon Edwards at #9 they would give the size to complement Coles' speed. They would also provide a sure handed reciever for around the goal line.

[chicosbailbond]

Offensive line is our biggest concern..

we need to retain our current players...#1

get everyone healthy...#2

and add a bonafide offensive center...#3

and if we could get a speed rushing end that would be the gravy on the mash potatoes..

seriously though... if we retain our players and we stay healthy... we will make the playoffs next year...

[Redskin in Canada]

Offensive line for sure, center and depth to be specific. But a great DE pass rusher would help in the DL. If smoot goes away, A. Rolle would be a priority for us.

We are fine at RB and TE.

[trey53]

I said WR. BUT that is based on the fact that I think we should draft a WR in the first...you can get a great center in the 3rd. I don't think any of the free agent WRs are really worth the cash. Our line will be solid with Jansen coming back and we have two good prospects with Wilson and Molinaro. Hopefully they can get something for Gardner too. Anyway, we've tried building through free agency...I think we should build through the draft with someone we can keep for more than 2 years.

[doctordrew]

I agree with trey53. We MUST build through the draft. That is how teams win in this era. We saw Philadelphia let Taylor and Vincent go and have two corners they groomed for 2 years step it up. Building through the draft will help our cap management. We've learned that we can't consistently reshape our roster every time we have a bad season. Our defense was #3 overall, so we must keep Smoot, sign Ken Lucas, or draft Rolle, draft a wide receiver, and find some depth at centre. We looked like a very skilled team this year that just couldn't put it together. We have the skill, we need to gel.

[Scooter]

It's a tough call. I still think we need a game-breaker, a big fella that can catch the ball. O-line, a Center and some depth at OG and OT would help us - no doubt. CB is a tough call right now. I'm still holding out hope we can sign Smoot...

[redskincity]

Everything starts up front. The O-line controls where this team is in January.

We need a center with a nasty edge. We need Sean Taylor to add about 55 pounds. That's what we need.

[washington53]

in my view i think the first thing is that we need a WR, then we need a C, and then we need DE, and i dont care about the rest

[Redskin in Canada]

We need Sean Taylor to add about 55 pounds.

Why???

In order to make him slow and clumsy? He does not need any extra weight to hit anybody harder. He is fast as he is very agile. He is already huge. He has a stronger body than several line backers. I respect your oipinion but I disagree with this. He is just fine from a physical stand point.

In fact, what he needs is to read plays a little better and pick his angles without so much over-confidence. He is a star in the making.

[Redskins2k5]

Everything starts up front. The O-line controls where this team is in January.

We need a center with a nasty edge. We need Sean Taylor to add about 55 pounds. That's what we need.

I agree it does all start up front.

[Justin]

Well, based on the results of this poll so far it certainly appears that there are two main areas of concern - WR and the offensive line.

As far as which needs to be addressed first, it may be true that the line takes precedence because as many others have said, "without protection, it does not matter if the WR's are open or not (especially with Ramsay)."

As far as which need is more severe, I believe that it has to be the WR position. Coles is a legitimate starting WR; however, who else on the team is proven to be? I know that most people on the board are not huge Gardner fans but he starts for one important reason - he is more effective than the other wide outs on the roster (why else would Gibbs name him the starter?). With that being said, if we are so anxious to get rid of him, do we really want someone whom the coaches consider less effective replacing him? At this time, I would say no.

I know that a lot of us hope that either Jacobs or McCants can step up into a starter's role but they have both been in the league for a couple of years and what have they really accomplished? I am not saying that they won't continue to improve just up to this point their careers, to any non-Redskins fan, are less than forgettable but completely unknown. For this reason alone (not to mention Coles' toe or any other), I think that we have to address this position in some way (I would prefer through the draft) this off season.

Looking at the OL, who would we replace. Certainly an upgrade at center is a key but other than that position, can we really get much better than what we have? This is how I evaluate the OL in general based on looking at our talent compared to what we could possibly obtain through either the draft or free-agency.

Starters:
LT: Samuels, a Pro-Bowl caliber player (impossible to improve upon)

LG: Dockery, a former 3rd Round pick and All-American, great size, seemingly good attitude, played next to Samuels for last 2 years (difficult to improve upon)

C: Raymer, small for the smallest position on line, became very old quickly (needs to be replaced)

RG: Thomas, a Pro-Bowl caliber player, signed to man this position for the foreseeable future, has shown toughness, heart, and ability (impossible to improve upon)

RT: Jansen, a Pro-Bowl caliber player, resilient player, great attitude, team leader, great talent (impossible to improve upon)

Depth:
Molinaro & Wilson - late round picks who have shown some potential, difficult to evaluate but Wilson came in and had a solid start when called upon (developing players - why replace with more developments?)

Brown - serviceable starter throughout the past season, not a part of the long term but OK as a stop-gap player (the team has made it known it does not with to replace him)

Friedman - lost his starter's role this year, undersized, (easily replaceable)


Looking at that, adding a center and maybe one more utility lineman would strengthen the line as well we could. If we change both the C and LG positions than the little time this line has spent "gelling" would be wasted (as it is almost like having a new RT as well).

Our team has constantly turned over, I feel that continuity will elevate the play of our entire team as much as any one acquisition. Unfortunately, continuity + little talent does not make a great receiving corps and thus we must add a highly skilled player to the mix. We have WR that can be role players, we need one who change the way a defense plays and the way that our coach feels he must call plays.

I am too young to remember the "glory years" but I believe enough in our coach to be rather sure that Gibbs runs his offense to the strength of the team and does not strictly adhere to "his" system (based on his first tenure, first year). Maybe we didn't go down the field because our WR talent just was not there to do so, or maybe we didn't go down the field because Gibbs felt like there was little chance our OL could maintain protection - I honestly do not know. Personally, I hope it was because of the WR situation because I do not see how we can drastically improve the OL in one off season. Regardless of what is the case, please let us get some players that Gibbs feels he can "play" with so watching our team play next year will not be so painful.

[Cooley47]

we need Erasmus James