Draft Fodder

[Leadbelly]

OK it's April and we can offically open draft talks. I'm coing to throw my 2 cents in and vote for drafting Clay Matthews from USC. In a perfect world we would move back a bit and get some extra picks before we get him but we all know the Redskins reside in a less than perfect world. The reason I'm choosing Matthews is that he's much more athletic than Cushing and Curry won't be there. As a former saftey he can run and cover backs and Te's with his 6'3" 248lb frame plus rush the passer and defend the run. Strong side LB has been the weakness in the Redskins defense since Marcus Washington started his always injured streak two years ago. I understand the need for OL and DE but looking at our roster SSLB is the biggest hole we have to fill, the other positions would be drafting for depth and youth. The Redskins are teatering on the edge of having a great defense (at least on paper) and that's good enough to get us to the playoffs. JC (Soup) as I call him, wouldn't be forced to win the game, just manage it. Let's face it, unless our offense has a rebirth and Soup finds his grove, we are not winning games by dropping 40 plus on an opponent. Might as well play to our strength and improve our 4th ranked defense.

[Irn-Bru]

Hi Leadbelly,

There is some good discussion on who to draft taking place in our 'Fantasy Football' forum, where everyone is free to speculate on moves the Skins could make. We try to keep Hogwash restricted to rumors that are confirmed in the news, actual developments, etc.

Thanks!

[crazyhorse1]

OK it's April and we can offically open draft talks. I'm coing to throw my 2 cents in and vote for drafting Clay Matthews from USC. In a perfect world we would move back a bit and get some extra picks before we get him but we all know the Redskins reside in a less than perfect world. The reason I'm choosing Matthews is that he's much more athletic than Cushing and Curry won't be there. As a former saftey he can run and cover backs and Te's with his 6'3" 248lb frame plus rush the passer and defend the run. Strong side LB has been the weakness in the Redskins defense since Marcus Washington started his always injured streak two years ago. I understand the need for OL and DE but looking at our roster SSLB is the biggest hole we have to fill, the other positions would be drafting for depth and youth. The Redskins are teatering on the edge of having a great defense (at least on paper) and that's good enough to get us to the playoffs. JC (Soup) as I call him, wouldn't be forced to win the game, just manage it. Let's face it, unless our offense has a rebirth and Soup finds his grove, we are not winning games by dropping 40 plus on an opponent. Might as well play to our strength and improve our 4th ranked defense.

If nothing elsewhere was proved last year, it was this: we will get absolutely no where this year if the present Ol is not savagely revamped.

Here's a breakdown:

Samuels: no longer a force, now an average player.

Dockery: the guy on our OL who gave up the most sacks last year and displayed a continuing knack for committing penalties.

Casey: Now a below average qb protector.

Thomas: Now average or less and prone to injury.

Jansen: the Redskin's worse first string player for the last few years.

Note: As a unit, last year's OL was close to the worse OL in the NFL after its gas ran out half way through the season.

We have an absolutely terrible OL and last year scored zip in one of the NFL's worse display of ineptness that finished off Campbell at mid season and at the same time brought a crashing halt to Portis and the running game.

In comparison, even with Blades at SSLB, we had one of the best defenses in football.

All of the above being true, how is it is even remotely possible that we should use #13 for a linebacker. I just don't get it. I wouldn' t mind a bit if we spent the the first four rounds on nothing but OL for the next two years.
l

[PulpExposure]

Samuels: no longer a force, now an average player.

I agree with you, only because last year Samuels was playing on one leg for the bulk of last year.

However, he still was voted into the ProBowl, and if the opposing players/coaches didn't think he was any good, he wouldn't have been a probowler.

Dockery: the guy on our OL who gave up the most sacks last year and displayed a continuing knack for committing penalties.

?

He wasn't on our team last year.

Jansen: the Redskin's worse first string player for the last few years.

Uh, for last year. Most certainly. As far as I can tell, he played a whole 2 games 2 years ago, so it's hard to say he was our worst player.

All of the above being true, how is it is even remotely possible that we should use #13 for a linebacker. I just don't get it. I wouldn' t mind a bit if we spent the the first four rounds on nothing but OL for the next two years.
l

If there's no offensive lineman worth picking at 13, it doesn't make sense to draft one there...

[SkinsSince96]

OK it's April and we can offically open draft talks. I'm coing to throw my 2 cents in and vote for drafting Clay Matthews from USC.

Im not as high on Matthews as others on this board and around the league. I think hes the third best LB from USC in this draft.

I understand the need for OL and DE but looking at our roster SSLB is the biggest hole we have to fill, the other positions would be drafting for depth and youth.

Im hoping we draft a OT at 13 and then draft either a DE or OLB in the third round. I like the idea the Skins have of moving Chris Wilson to OLB. A compo of Wilson, Blades, Fincher, and a draft pick would probably end well for the Skins.

[crazyhorse1]

Samuels: no longer a force, now an average player.

I agree with you, only because last year Samuels was playing on one leg for the bulk of last year.

However, he still was voted into the ProBowl, and if the opposing players/coaches didn't think he was any good, he wouldn't have been a probowler.

Dockery: the guy on our OL who gave up the most sacks last year and displayed a continuing knack for committing penalties.

?

He wasn't on our team last year.

Jansen: the Redskin's worse first string player for the last few years.

Uh, for last year. Most certainly. As far as I can tell, he played a whole 2 games 2 years ago, so it's hard to say he was our worst player.

All of the above being true, how is it is even remotely possible that we should use #13 for a linebacker. I just don't get it. I wouldn' t mind a bit if we spent the the first four rounds on nothing but OL for the next two years.
l

If there's no offensive lineman worth picking at 13, it doesn't make sense to draft one there...

OK. Pretending to myself you didn't understand what I said . I'll take my time and make my comment clearer. Last year, Dockery, on a team other than ours, allowed more sacks than anyone on our team allowed.

OK, too, about Jansen's last two years-- I'll submit a more accurate and sensible statement: Jansen's been the worse and most injured frequently starting player on our team for the last four years. In fact, even before that, he was the guy who got Ramsay knocked out, giving Gibbs an excuse to ruin the team by playing Brunell for the next couple of years.

[PulpExposure]

Samuels: no longer a force, now an average player.

I agree with you, only because last year Samuels was playing on one leg for the bulk of last year.

However, he still was voted into the ProBowl, and if the opposing players/coaches didn't think he was any good, he wouldn't have been a probowler.

Dockery: the guy on our OL who gave up the most sacks last year and displayed a continuing knack for committing penalties.

?

He wasn't on our team last year.

Jansen: the Redskin's worse first string player for the last few years.

Uh, for last year. Most certainly. As far as I can tell, he played a whole 2 games 2 years ago, so it's hard to say he was our worst player.

All of the above being true, how is it is even remotely possible that we should use #13 for a linebacker. I just don't get it. I wouldn' t mind a bit if we spent the the first four rounds on nothing but OL for the next two years.
l

If there's no offensive lineman worth picking at 13, it doesn't make sense to draft one there...

OK. Pretending to myself you didn't understand what I said . I'll take my time and make my comment clearer. Last year, Dockery, on a team other than ours, allowed more sacks than anyone on our team allowed.

First, don't blame me for your inability to write with any clarity. Second, I'm not sure you can translate performance across offensive lines so easily. I also know that every time I've seen sack stats for our o-line for last year, there are 13 sacks unaccounted for. It's a very subjective statistic.

OK, too, about Jansen's last two years-- I'll submit a more accurate and sensible statement: Jansen's been the worse and most injured frequently starting player on our team for the last four years.

I could not disagree more with this. He was terrible last year, but before that (when not injured), he was stellar. That's what made his drop-off this year so noticeable...because it was a drop off like a cliff.

And as far as injuries, over the past 4 years (your own metrics) he had the 2007 season wiped out, but in 2005 played in 16 games, 2006 played in 15 games, and in 2008 played in 14 games. That looks like someone who had 1 year with an injury, and was otherwise healthy. Looks that way at least as long as you don't go back to the fifth year...

[SkinsSince96]

OK. Pretending to myself you didn't understand what I said . I'll take my time and make my comment clearer. Last year, Dockery, on a team other than ours, allowed more sacks than anyone on our team allowed.

Dockery imo should play better back with the Skins. We know what he can do and while he was here he was a good guard for us. He went to Buffalo and didnt live up to the expectations of a huge contract. Most Skins fans didnt think he was worth the amount Buffalo gave him. Hopefully back in DC and beside Samuels and Rabach he will play like he did for us. Other than some penalties he was a good guard for the Redskins.

OK, too, about Jansen's last two years-- I'll submit a more accurate and sensible statement: Jansen's been the worse and most injured frequently starting player on our team for the last four years. In fact, even before that, he was the guy who got Ramsay knocked out, giving Gibbs an excuse to ruin the team by playing Brunell for the next couple of years.

Id show a little more respect for Jansen. He has been a very good player for us for 10 years. His ability has slipped over the last couple seasons. No one will deny that. He still is a solid player who can be great depth for our football team.

How did playing Brunell in 2005 ruin the Skins? Brunell led the Skins to a comeback victory over the Cowboys in week 2 in one of the best games in Redskin History. He then helped lead the Skins to the playoffs in 2005. Hes one of only three QBs since the 1992-93 season to lead us to the playoffs. If Ramsey was good he wouldnt be a third QB in Tennessee behind a 86 year old QB and a QB who has a 12 IQ.

[brad7686]

Matthews and Cushing both have their strengths. I would be ok with either one. I would also be ok with an OT. Somebody in this thread said Chris Samuels was an average player. I think he should ask the DE's in the league to see if they agree.

[joebagadonuts]

I think a good-sized chunk (but perhaps not the majority) of our problems on the OL could be solved if someone could just get their fecal matter agglomerated.

Yes, there were individual breakdowns on the line. But many of the breakdowns were also due to lack of communication, where you'd have the OT step inside to double-team the DL with the OG, and the TE goes out into a pattern, leaving the DE free to dance with Jason Campbell. The most frustrating part about this was seeing it happen late in the season, when the team is supposed to be communicating well.

I'm not saying that coaching can turn this team into Superbowl contenders, or that Jim Zorn and Buges don't know what their doing. But a few less goofs on assignments, and maybe we're a playoff team.

[HEROHAMO]

Dockery is a decent pass blocker. But, I will always remember how he seems to be passive in pull blocking plays. I remember plenty of times he would run up to a player while pulling and the player runs right around him making a tackle on Portis. Our pass blocking was the problem last year so bringing Dockery back is not a bad idea since IMHO his pass blocking is his strength. Still I have never been to crazy about Dockery. Last year was so bad I am ok with bringing Dockery back.

[SkinsSince96]

Somebody in this thread said Chris Samuels was an average player. I think he should ask the DE's in the league to see if they agree.

The only players I can remember who have had there way with Samuels are Simeon Rice, Jared Allen, and DeMarcus Ware. In 9 NFL seasons that aint bad. He isnt a HOF Offensive Tackle but he is one of the best tackles ever to wear the Burgundy and Gold and he is still one of the best OT in the game.