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Skins need to draft Alan Branch
Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:22 pm
by wamcma
Can anyone comment why the skins are not concentrating, draft/agency on the D Line, especially the middle. Last season we all watched play after play decimate the interior. Is this the problem Fletcher is supposed to solve.
Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 6:32 pm
by Countertrey
Can anyone comment why the skins are not concentrating, draft/agency on the D Line, especially the middle.
: We don't know that they aren't. Everything that has been said, in the news, on NFL Network, on Sirius NFL radio, here, is based on information either constructed from dropped snippets of info, rumor, and other bits of information. The vast majority is guesses and assumptions. The plain fact is, the team is just not going to tell us... nor should they. Some of what we hear is fact. Part is rumor. And, part is planted... some by agents with their own agenda, possibly some even by the team, as in a poker game.
Part of the draft game is to keep the other teams guessing. We won't know what the FO is really concentrating on until the picks come up, possibly even later.
I'm betting that a strong D-lineman or two is in the cards... but maybe not at 6, and probably not Branch.
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 9:19 am
by wamcma
Great post. Branch isnt a fit, huh??
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 10:53 am
by BossHog
Good post countertrey.
Branch would be a fit - it's just that the concensus is that he may not be worthy of the number six pick.
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:29 am
by wamcma
For us who is worthy, assuming CJ is gone?
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 11:45 am
by BossHog
If the Redskins thought anybody was... they wouldn't want to deal so much. Truthfully I don't think the Redskins feel ANYONE is worthy at #6 and would just prefer to deal down.
CJ is worthy of
any pick but there definitely isn't a remote chance of him being available unless Tampa Bay just plain forgets all about draft day - they love him and may even try to move up to number two to get him if the Raiders select Russell.
The Redskins will likely draft whomever they feel is the top D-lineman on the board if they do pick at number six - so that could be Branch, Anderson, Adams, Okoye... they just don't want to. The fact that there is no concensus studs after the first 3 or 4 guys ultimately means that the Redskins would be 'settling' no matter what... so I think they'd settle for the position they most need to fill - which is DT in my opinion. Andre Carter played really well at the end of last year, so i think a pass-rushing end is a LITTLE bit less of a need.
Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 12:15 pm
by SeanTaylorJr.
I agree Boss hog, Carter really came on strong at the end of the season, so we aren't as desperate there.
I too feel that we should draft DT.
With all of the hype about Okoye's potential, couldn't he be worthy of #6? Also an NFL personnel guy who I am not at liberty to name told me that he feels Branch is far and away the best D Lineman in the draft.
If we lose the battle at the point of contact in the trenches, we will lose games
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 2:01 pm
by Gibbs4Life
Landry the S, putting him next to Taylor... nice.
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 5:29 pm
by frankcal20
The main thing with the number 6 pick is really the money. Most teams feel that there isn't a player worthy of getting paid #6 money. Also this draft is really deep for quality dlineman. If we can trade down, we could easily pick up a DT and DE both in the latter first and second. But its always fun to speculate. If we are forced to pick at 6, I think that Okoye will be the guy. I'm hearing that Gains Adams may go at 2 but we will see.
Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 2:55 am
by 1niksder
Alan Branch Says Stress Fractures Don't Slow Him Down
In an ESPNews interview Saturday afternoon, Michigan defensive tackle Alan Branch acknowledged that he has had stress fractures in both legs, but he said he has played with them for years, and he strongly denied that they were serious injuries that should cause him to drop on draft boards.
"You can barely see a speck on the X-ray," he said. "I don't know why it's coming up now because I have never missed one practice, let alone one game."
Branch said he disagreed with the assessments of some NFL scouts who thought he showed up to Michigan's pro day out of shape. "I wasn't really out of shape at all," he said. "I was sick for about two weeks before the pro day happened."
Branch said the NFL player he thinks he's most similar to is Richard Seymour, and that while some scouts think the only position he can play in the NFL is nose tackle in a 3-4 defense, he thinks he can play anywhere on the defensive line. I came away impressed with Branch's demeanor in the interview, and I still think he's worth a Top 10 pick. I especially liked his answer to a question about the NFL's recent crackdowns on players who get into off-field trouble:
"For fun I watch cartoons. What's a guy who watches cartoons gonna do to get in trouble?"
Posted: Sun Apr 22, 2007 7:43 am
by SkinsFreak
Some parties involved in Washington’s draft process have ranked Landry, Okoye, defensive end Jamaal Anderson (Arkansas) and end Gaines Adams (Clemson) — in that order — as the best defensive players available.
, and probably the only four worthy of selecting as high as sixth overall. While safety is not as pressing a need, Landry is seen as a dynamic game-changer and if the Redskins drafted him with the sixth pick, they would then try to address the defensive line through trades or free agency, sources said.
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satel ... 88247&pathThis is not necessarily a vote for Landry, but the idea that if they were to take a safety or a WR, they are still going to address the d-line. Reports still indicate that many within the organization still think the d-line is the weakest position on the team and needs to be addressed.
The sleeper in all of this is Georgia end Charles Johnson. With pass-rusher Andre Carter on one side, Washington could choose run-stopper Johnson for the other side. Redskins defensive assistants Gregg Williams and Greg Blache have a thing for Georgia defensive linemen, having employed Phillip Daniels, Demetric Evans, Kedric Golston and Nic Clemons the past two years.
http://www.the-hogs.net/forum/viewtopic. ... 3368&sid=2
There are so many possible scenarios in the draft OR free agency that it can make your head spin. I'm quite sure they will have addressed more than one position by the time camp starts. It's gonna be fun to watch it unfold.