Trent and Kory are excellent and good at RT and C. All offensive skill positions are excellent, as the title of the thread states, on paper. The 3 spots that concern us are LG, RG, and RT.
Here's pro football focus:
2013 Offensive Line Rankings
Khaled Elsayed | January 13, 2014
Numbers in bracket indicate last year’s rank while “PB” equals their pass blocking rank, “RB” their run and screen blocking rank & “PEN” their procedural or disciplinary penalty rank.
5. Washington Redskins (16th)
PB: 4th, RB: 10th, PEN: 3rd
Stud: An All-Pro-(or at least second team)-like performance from Trent Williams (+38.3). He has moments that make you smack your head, but by and large he’ll slow down elite pass rushers and has the kind of athleticism that generates movement whatever scheme you’re running.
Dud: Too many bad days for Chris Chester (-5.5) who continues to baffle with his streaky play.
Analysis: This ranking won’t please many Redskins fans who see the line as the root of their problems. The truth is the Shanahans had the zone blocking scheme working perfectly with huge cutback lanes regularly there for their backs to work with. Much is made of the hits Robert Griffin III took as if every single one of them must be the responsibility of the line. Well we charged RGIII himself with 10 of those sacks (more than any other player on the team) as the team gave whoever was quarterback ample time to get the job done. The big question now is what Jay Gruden intends for this line and whether he’ll move to a more power based scheme that could put a number of jobs on the line.
So they ranked our O-line 16th last year and see us as being pretty good there this coming season. Let's hope so.
They posted an All-NFC East team and Trent made the offense:
Left Tackle: Trent Williams, WAS
Believe it or not the Washington O-line was not the root of all problems in the DC area this season, they actually played pretty well overall. Williams just might have been the best left tackle in football and earns the spot in a division that saw both Jason Peters and Tyron Smith finish the season inside the Top 5 of PFF’s tackle rankings overall. Williams had ups and downs in the season but his peaks were utterly dominant, blanking opponents and crushing them in the run game. When he was on, he was really on.
The other key, of course, is Griff's return to form. He can drag us down or take us to new heights. It is truly amazing what great play from him can do for everyone else ... on
both sides of the ball.
The key to the D is the line rotation. Cofield needs to maintain and Baker needs to step it up a notch. A third stud has to pan out and 3 other guys need to be solid. I think we are very good at 3 of the 4 secondary spots. Our OLBs are very good. Kerrigan is impressed by Trent Murphy. Our ILBs and other safety are adequate if the guys up front get push. I'm looking/hoping for some "big nickel."
Four Redskins made their defense:
Defensive Ends: Jason Hatcher, DAL (now WAS) and Fletcher Cox, PHI
For a while Jason Hatcher was our top ranked defensive tackle in the league. He slipped as the season went on but still finished inside the Top 10 and was the fourth ranked pass-rushing DT. Though the Cowboys now play in a four-man front the difference between a 4-3 under tackle and a 3-4 end in a one-gap scheme is minimal and the Cowboy teams with Fletcher Cox to make up our pair of ends. Cox may not be quite as dominant as the Eagles are hoping he can become, but he did grade positively across the board (penalties excepting) this season on a large workload of 910 snaps.
Nose Tackle: Barry Cofield, WAS
Our nose tackle spot is manned by Barry Cofield who completes the look of our pass-rushing 3-4 front. Cofield was able to generate some significant pressure from the inside but struggled a little against the run game. His +9.5 grade overall represents a fine season and one that saw him rank 23rd overall in our DT rankings.
Edge Defenders: Brian Orapko, WAS
Two players used to being showered with accolades, Trent Cole and Brian Orakpo both make the All NFC East team but neither was the dominant force they have been in the past. Cole has in the past led the league in Pass Rushing Productivity but this season was only the 13th-ranked 3-4 OLB notching 51 total pressures. Orakpo fared better, ranking sixth as well as performing well against the run and making a few plays in coverage.
Cornerbacks: Orlando Scandrick, DAL and DeAngelo Hall, WAS
Anyone looking just at the PFF cornerback rankings overall will be wondering where Brandon Boykin and Prince Amukamara are. In Boykin’s case he is purely a slot corner and that is a significant departure to playing outside. Without seeing him play the perimeter we didn’t feel we could include him as one of our outside corners on this team. Amukamara finished ahead of Scandrick in the rankings, but his coverage grade is significantly lower (-3.7 vs. +4.9). Given that this is a passing league we want the guy who is better in coverage. Scandrick got his hands to more passes than his Giants counterpart and made more plays in coverage, preventing first downs and slowing opposing passing attacks more. Hall is similarly lower down in the rankings but is asked to track top receivers and man up against the league’s best in way the others aren’t.
I'd almost say we are stacked at the skill positions and need about 4 big bodies and Griff (mostly Griff) to step up. By executing decisively, Griff can help those other 3 guys on the line. An efficient offense would go a long way in making life a lot easier for the defense. Playing with a lead (and Alf) is nice.
