The Situation so Far: Defense

[Skinsfan55]

LDE- Jarvis Jenkins
NT- Barry Cofield
RDE- Stephen Bowen

LOLB- Ryan Kerrigan
LILB- London Fletcher
RILB- Perry Riley
ROLB- Brian Orakpo

CB- Josh Wilson
CB- E.J. Biggers (signed 3/20)

FS-
SS- Brandon Meriweather

-----

LDE- Adam Carriker
NT- Chris Baker
RDE- Kedrick Golston

ROLB- Rob Jackson

CB- Richard Crawford
FS- Tanard Jackson (eligible for reinstatement 8/31)
S- Reed Doughty

We're missing a starting CB and SS. I am a little hazy on the depth situation here since we were forced to go with a lot of temp players last season.

I think the line is rock solid, Perry Riley looked good last year and Orakpo and Kerrigan make an awesome OLB combo. The secondary is still a mess. The Redskins could conceivably save some money by restructuring/cutting but it'd be tough work. The team obviously wants Aquib Talib badly and reports say they're trying to work something out with limited cap space.

Chase Minnefield's knees continue to cause him problems, Zo Alexander is gone and the team is a long way from being complete on D. Let's hope we can find some value in the aging veteran department, combine that with Shanahan's keen eye for late round talent, Allen's cap management skills and AJ Smith's years of experience and we might, just might be able to flip the bird to Mara next year.

[emoses14]

Wait a minute, since when is London not under contract? If you left him off because of the surgery and not sure if he'd be ready to start, ok, but I'm pretty sure he's under contract with like a $5.5m base salary. Last I heard about his K, it was that the had not been, and would not be, asked to restructure.

[Chris Luva Luva]

Chase Minnefield's knees continue to cause him problems

Source?

[Deadskins]

London Fletcher is coming back for another season, but he is not under contract.

Um, yes, he is.

[Skinsfan55]

Chase Minnefield's knees continue to cause him problems

Source?

http://washingtonexaminer.com/redskins- ... le/2522977

Per Rotoworld:

Redskins CB Chase Minnifield is now experiencing problems with his left knee after tearing his right ACL in last year's minicamp.

Dating back to high school, Minnifield has torn the right ACL twice and also undergone a microfracture procedure on that knee. When performing Minnifield's last ACL surgery, Dr. James Andrews used a graft from his left patellar tendon, and now Minnifield is essentially rehabbing both knees. Minnifield "hopes" to be ready for OTAs. The Skins obviously can't count on him for a 2013 role.

[Deadskins]

Chase Minnefield's knees continue to cause him problems

Source?

http://washingtonexaminer.com/redskins- ... le/2522977

Per Rotoworld:

Redskins CB Chase Minnifield is now experiencing problems with his left knee after tearing his right ACL in last year's minicamp.

Dating back to high school, Minnifield has torn the right ACL twice and also undergone a microfracture procedure on that knee. When performing Minnifield's last ACL surgery, Dr. James Andrews used a graft from his left patellar tendon, and now Minnifield is essentially rehabbing both knees. Minnifield "hopes" to be ready for OTAs. The Skins obviously can't count on him for a 2013 role.

That says he's on schedule for recovery, not that his "knees continue to cause him problems."

"But I'm running full speed. I'm working on my 40 [yard dash] and getting my speed back down. I'm doing cutting drills and backpedaling drills."
...
"It's not hindering me in any way," said Minnifield, who will visit Andrews on Monday for a checkup. "My right knee is giving me no problems. It's doing better than my left leg. I feel really good about my situation. Going through it one time made the second time a lot easier. I knew what the possible outcome could be."

[Skinsfan55]

London Fletcher is coming back for another season, but he is not under contract.

Um, yes, he is.

That's what I get for using THN as a source.

http://www.the-hogs.net/washington-redskins/salary.php

He's listed as having no 2013 cap hit. Apparently he's still under contract, although at a major cap hit.

[The Hogster]

Brandon Merriweather is a Strong Safety. Tanard Jackson is a Free Safety. Both are expected back. In fact, Brandon Merriweather just restructured his deal today, saving the Redskins close to $1M under the salary cap.

The holes that we have in the secondary are at starting corner, and DEPTH at safety and corner. The front line guys got injured last year, exposing our lack of depth. The goal is to bring in guys what can be developed into starters or who can immediately play in spots at a higher level than Madieu Williams, Dejon Gomes & Reed Doughty.

A returning pass rush helps as well and Carriker and Orakpo will both be back.

This is not a swiss cheese job like some people make it out to be. It's just a glaring weakness since we lost both starting safeties last year, and our backups were a HUGE dropoff. The first NYG game alone exposed that. With just average safety play, we would have been an 11 win team. With HORRID safety play we were a 10 win team. We're looking for guys who can help us win. Not Jesus in Cleats.

[Chris Luva Luva]

Redskins CB Chase Minnifield is now experiencing problems with his left knee after tearing his right ACL in last year's minicamp.

Using the same procedure as RGIII, the Doctor took material from one knee to fix the other. He's ONLY having issue's with it because it was purposefully weakened. There are no setbacks and he's still on his way to a full recovery.

Granted, he's still a question mark. But let's not make it out to be some doomsday scenario. He is in position to contribute this year.

[Cappster]

Brandon Merriweather is a Strong Safety. Tanard Jackson is a Free Safety. Both are expected back. In fact, Brandon Merriweather just restructured his deal today, saving the Redskins close to $1M under the salary cap.

The holes that we have in the secondary are at starting corner, and DEPTH at safety and corner. The front line guys got injured last year, exposing our lack of depth. The goal is to bring in guys what can be developed into starters or who can immediately play in spots at a higher level than Madieu Williams, Dejon Gomes & Reed Doughty.

A returning pass rush helps as well and Carriker and Orakpo will both be back.

This is not a swiss cheese job like some people make it out to be. It's just a glaring weakness since we lost both starting safeties last year, and our backups were a HUGE dropoff. The first NYG game alone exposed that. With just average safety play, we would have been an 11 win team. With HORRID safety play we were a 10 win team. We're looking for guys who can help us win. Not Jesus in Cleats.

I concur, Hogster. We aren't looking bad at all going into next season. Could it be better? Absolutely. Are we looking like we are going to be competitive next year? I say soooooooo.

[emoses14]

Brandon Merriweather is a Strong Safety. Tanard Jackson is a Free Safety. Both are expected back. In fact, Brandon Merriweather just restructured his deal today, saving the Redskins close to $1M under the salary cap.

The holes that we have in the secondary are at starting corner, and DEPTH at safety and corner. The front line guys got injured last year, exposing our lack of depth. The goal is to bring in guys what can be developed into starters or who can immediately play in spots at a higher level than Madieu Williams, Dejon Gomes & Reed Doughty.

A returning pass rush helps as well and Carriker and Orakpo will both be back.

This is not a swiss cheese job like some people make it out to be. It's just a glaring weakness since we lost both starting safeties last year, and our backups were a HUGE dropoff. The first NYG game alone exposed that. With just average safety play, we would have been an 11 win team. With HORRID safety play we were a 10 win team. We're looking for guys who can help us win. Not Jesus in Cleats.

My only disagreement with you is on counting Tanard as a go. I believe his suspension was indefinite, so there is no guarantee he'll be off of it even in August. And his not being available for the entirety of camp/preseason/OTAs/etc. prior to that doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies, either.

Now Merriweather is a different story. That guy is precisely what we need, can't wait to see him in action.I saw all I needed to in the 1st half against philly last year (7 tackles, 2 PD and 1 INT and infected the entire secondary). I'm hopeful that last year was the aberation injury-wise that it appears to be for him given that he's never (EVER) been injured before.

[Chris Luva Luva]

I concur, Hogster. We aren't looking bad at all going into next season. Could it be better? Absolutely. Are we looking like we are going to be competitive next year? I say soooooooo.

I think the best way we can improve this defense is by adding depth. Depth in finding Londons replacement. Depth at NT. Depth at SAFETY! Injuries are gonna happen, but it's all about how you can absorb the blow. We definitely got knocked to the mat last year, but the defense got back up.

[frankcal20]

Carriker should start over Jenkins at DE

[emoses14]

Carriker should start over Jenkins at DE

+1 (I didn't even notice that)

[Chris Luva Luva]

Carriker should start over Jenkins at DE

Yes, but it all depends on how effective he is post-injury.

[cowboykillerzRGiii]

Carriker should start over Jenkins at DE

Yes, but it all depends on how effective he is post-injury.

... And how JJ does with a season under his belt. He was getting to beast mode towards the end of the season, and was a total monster vs the run.. nearly every tackle for a loss he was involved in it seemed. Don't get me wrong I love Carriker- but JJ was nearly getting back to where he was before HIS injury. His exp last year and more development might.make it hard for Adam to just walk in as the starter. I see heavy rotation regardless.

-Chris Neild? should return as far as I know. He plays hard and is in the mix for the rotation if he, too, can get healthy.

[Skinsfan55]

My bad, Meriweather played FS in his last season with the Pats. He seems like more of a centerfield type to me, but if he plays either one, and he's more likely to be a SS then good. His flexibility helps us.

As far as Jackson goes, he's a big question mark. He MAY be re-instated in August. That would mean he misses a huge portion of offseason work right? Kinda hard to count on him to start. We could theoretically use Doughty of Gomes but, it'd be nice to see an upgrade.

Jackson can't be counted on to contribute in 2013. Any production would be a huge gift.

[Bee_Skins_Fan]

I concur, Hogster. We aren't looking bad at all going into next season. Could it be better? Absolutely. Are we looking like we are going to be competitive next year? I say soooooooo.

I think the best way we can improve this defense is by adding depth. Depth in finding Londons replacement. Depth at NT. Depth at SAFETY! Injuries are gonna happen, but it's all about how you can absorb the blow. We definitely got knocked to the mat last year, but the defense got back up.

I think our NT depth is solid....Baker & Neild. I guess Baker could be signed away from us, but I haven't heard anything like that going on yet.

[HTTRRG3ALMO]

Brandon Merriweather is a Strong Safety. Tanard Jackson is a Free Safety. Both are expected back. In fact, Brandon Merriweather just restructured his deal today, saving the Redskins close to $1M under the salary cap.

The holes that we have in the secondary are at starting corner, and DEPTH at safety and corner. The front line guys got injured last year, exposing our lack of depth. The goal is to bring in guys what can be developed into starters or who can immediately play in spots at a higher level than Madieu Williams, Dejon Gomes & Reed Doughty.

A returning pass rush helps as well and Carriker and Orakpo will both be back.

This is not a swiss cheese job like some people make it out to be. It's just a glaring weakness since we lost both starting safeties last year, and our backups were a HUGE dropoff. The first NYG game alone exposed that. With just average safety play, we would have been an 11 win team. With HORRID safety play we were a 10 win team. We're looking for guys who can help us win. Not Jesus in Cleats.

I concur, Hogster. We aren't looking bad at all going into next season. Could it be better? Absolutely. Are we looking like we are going to be competitive next year? I say soooooooo.

Frankly, we look better than we did last year and this is before the draft even. As I mentioned in another post, we just need a couple starters, and depth via the draft that's just as good as our starters (or darn close to it).

I'm not seeing that as impossible given our draft needs and the draft market this year.

[Countertrey]

Carriker should start over Jenkins at DE

Yes, but it all depends on how effective he is post-injury.

Additionally, Jenkins will be 2 years into recovery from his ACL, and will have had a full off-season to recover his leg strength and explosion... he should be improved, and more competitive on the D line.

[DarthMonk]

"But I'm running full speed. I'm working on my 40 [yard dash] and getting my speed back down. I'm doing cutting drills and backpedaling drills."
...
"It's not hindering me in any way," said Minnifield, who will visit Andrews on Monday for a checkup. "My right knee is giving me no problems. It's doing better than my left leg. I feel really good about my situation. Going through it one time made the second time a lot easier. I knew what the possible outcome could be."

Sounds familiar.



Didn't Minnifield have the surgery several months before Griff? Who is probably healthier now? If we project Griff to start then I'm thinking the same for Chase.

Actually, with any kind of pass rush at all Wilson and Minnifield should show to be an excellent CB tandem. Depth is the real issue.

Same goes for safety ... as has been said.

[Chris Luva Luva]

Didn't Minnifield have the surgery several months before Griff? Who is probably healthier now? If we project Griff to start then I'm thinking the same for Chase.

Actually, with any kind of pass rush at all Wilson and Minnifield should show to be an excellent CB tandem. Depth is the real issue.

Same goes for safety ... as has been said.

Well, yes and no. Chase is also dealing with that microfracture which, according to the article is potentially still something to worry about... But yes, I agree. You can't bank on Griff being around and then knock Chase at the same time, especially when Chase had many more months to recover.

[riggofan]

If we project Griff to start then I'm thinking the same for Chase.

Actually, with any kind of pass rush at all Wilson and Minnifield should show to be an excellent CB tandem. Depth is the real issue.

I'm kind of scratching my head on this one. Chase Minnifield is an undrafted kid who hasn't played a down in the NFL, coming off his second ACL surgery. We're going to pencil him in as the second half of an excellent CB tandem?

I do love your optimism though!

[cowboyhater4life]

This years draft is loaded with secondary players. I'm sure they have there eye on a few. Especially with our cap issues this year in FA. w
Winfield is injury prone as stated before and we don't have the money.

[Chris Luva Luva]

I'm kind of scratching my head on this one. Chase Minnifield is an undrafted kid who hasn't played a down in the NFL, coming off his second ACL surgery. We're going to pencil him in as the second half of an excellent CB tandem?

I do love your optimism though!

He wouldn't have went undrafted if it wasn't for the microfracture issue. He was projected to go anywhere from late second to the fourth round. You can find a potential starter where he would have been drafted.

That being said, he is unproven but that's the train of thought people are using. They're hoping he returns to top form. We're hoping and believe RGIII will return to top form too, are we not? They both have the chance to return to top form, they both have the chance that they won't...