feels good to be a skins fan

[Skinsfan55]

The FO doesn't value the lunch pale guy, the wedge buster, the backup guy, the young guy who needs to be coached and developed.

I agree, they cut Adam Archuleta, Chris Doering, Reed Doughty... they're set to replace Jansen... They just don't value pale guys at all...



Seriously though, I can see what you mean when we got rid of guys like Antonio Pierce, Demetric Evans, Ryan Clark, Leigh Torrence, etc... but what about Phillip Daniels, or Golston and Monty, or Thrash, Heyer, Kendall, Cartwright, Sellers, Yoder... those are some lunch pail guys if I ever saw em.

[DEHog]

So to answer your question…We shouldn’t still be looking for FA and we wouldn’t still be looking for FA if we had a system of drafting and developing our own picks…Then the AH signing would just be a nice complimentary pick up.

Yes, it's hard to hit on Pro Bowler's in every draft. But I do think they're grooming and developing their own guys. Betts, Montgomery, Golston, McIntosh, LANDRY, Rogers, Horton... etc. I also believe they'll be doing that with many of the picks from last year. I absolutely agree with you regarding the trading away of picks, but you have to acknowledge that much of that was directed by Gibbs, as he's always preferred veterans. But I do believe they now recognize the necessity of drafting players and developing them.

My point was that signing depth is certainly advantageous, but if the free agent class is weak, much like last year, then endlessly expressing that point must encompass who, why and how. For example, the o-line free agent class is fairly weak, so we can say we need depth there, but who then should be taken? Just saying we should avoid AH and his contract in favor of signing o-line depth is only half the story. And further, as 1niksder pointed out, AH's contract is NOT preventing us from signing players.

Agreed and I did give credit for acquiring and keeping the picks last year but it was obvious we needed O/D line help and they took two WR's and TE with the first three picks and then Vinny made a stupid statement about the DE in Miami and your left scratching your head.

Then we trade two picks for Taylor and they get a pass because “circumstance” dictated we had to do it… because Daniels got hurt...I disagree.
My point all along has been as you enter FA and the draft you scrub your roster and if you have a position that if the starter gets hurt do we feel comfortable with the second string guy to fill in for him? If the answer in no… then you should address it.
Example Daniels goes down the Skins, by not addressing it in the offseason were in effect saying they felt comfortable going with Evans and Wilson. They did not and went out and got a starter at that point it's going to cost and it did. Then everyone gave them a pass because it was due to an injury...sorry injuries are going to happen it was the Skins lack of preparation that created that situation. Now fast forward we cut Jason Taylor and are set to go into the season with either a low key FA or a draft pick or Chris Wilson...They were much better off last year with Evans, Wilson, Jackson and James...why not pass on JT and give the guy you’ve been developing a shot???

[Deadskins]

why not pass on JT and give the guy you’ve been developing a shot???

I see your point and I agree with it, but The Danny saw a chance to get a great player, even better in his eyes than the starter he was brought in to replace, and he took it. It didn't work out for us (does it ever when we sign an older guy?), but he thought he had a chance to bring in a sack machine, and make the defense better than before Daniels' injury. In hindsight, we should have passed, but I liked the move when I heard about it, and if Taylor had had another 10+ sack year, no one here would be complaining about the draft picks we gave up.

[CanesSkins26]

why not pass on JT and give the guy you’ve been developing a shot???

I see your point and I agree with it, but The Danny saw a chance to get a great player, even better in his eyes than the starter he was brought in to replace, and he took it. It didn't work out for us (does it ever when we sign an older guy?), but he thought he had a chance to bring in a sack machine, and make the defense better than before Daniels' injury. In hindsight, we should have passed, but I liked the move when I heard about it, and if Taylor had had another 10+ sack year, no one here would be complaining about the draft picks we gave up.

The problem is that before making the trade the Skins should have realized that Taylor wasn't going to get 10+ sacks here because the defensive system wasn't a fit for him. I want to know what kinds of internal discussions (if any) the FO had with the coaches. How do you trade 2 picks for a player that your defensive coordinator apparently didn't even want and wasn't prepared to alter his defense to take advantage of JT's strengths? You don't need to be a genius to figure out that taking a guy that's been playing as a 3-4 linebacker and moving him to LDE, where he has never played before, isn't such a great idea.

[CanesSkins26]

I absolutely agree with you regarding the trading away of picks, but you have to acknowledge that much of that was directed by Gibbs, as he's always preferred veterans.

I'm sure Gibbs had a hand in that, but Danny and Vinny have continued that since Gibbs left. We've already traded away three draft picks since Gibbs retired.

[redskins14ru]

free agency might be whats failing it has always failed in DC,
the trend of high priced talent here and around the nfl as of late seems to be dwindling....