Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

I go with a C. Orakpo was kind of a no brainer given who was left on the board and our needs so it's hard to give them a high grade based on that. Day 2 contained no OL help or anyone to get all that excited about IMO. However, it's really hard for us to grade 2nd day draft picks...I have Mel's book and I read a lot of draft stuff but still I don't know some of the guys they picked at all so it's a little silly to tell them they were wrong for picking them. Well see I guess...

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=celts32;552032]I go with a C. Orakpo was kind of a no brainer given who was left on the board and our needs so it's hard to give them a high grade based on that. Day 2 contained no OL help or anyone to get all that excited about IMO. However, it's really hard for us to grade 2nd day draft picks...I have Mel's book and I read a lot of draft stuff but still I don't know some of the guys they picked at all so it's a little silly to tell them they were wrong for picking them. Well see I guess...[/quote]

I don't know why it's hard to give them a high grade for selecting Orakpo. Plenty of teams make poor selections in the first round, yet we (fans) tend to take for granted the selections we make in the first round as no-brainers. We could have selected any of the USC linebackers, or Oher, English, Ayers, Mack. All were available and all could have filled needs, so I don't think it's as simple as "Here's Orakpo, that's a no-brainer."

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=SmootSmack;552041]I don't know why it's hard to give them a high grade for selecting Orakpo. Plenty of teams make poor selections in the first round, yet we (fans) tend to take for granted the selections we make in the first round as no-brainers. We could have selected any of the USC linebackers, or Oher, English, Ayers, Mack. All were available and all could have filled needs, so I don't think it's as simple as "Here's Orakpo, that's a no-brainer."[/quote]

Par for the course with Skins fans it seems. If they make a good pick, it's a no-brainer.

First rounders certainly aren't no-brainers. Otherwise we wouldn't have the term "bust".

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

Let me start by saying I do not follow much College ball so this time of year its hard for me to comment either way. For the ones that say we should have picked up some OL in the later rounds I was wondering was there any real talent that could have come in this year and helped?

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=SmootSmack;552041]I don't know why it's hard to give them a high grade for selecting Orakpo. Plenty of teams make poor selections in the first round, yet we (fans) tend to take for granted the selections we make in the first round as no-brainers. We could have selected any of the USC linebackers, or Oher, English, Ayers, Mack. All were available and all could have filled needs, so I don't think it's as simple as "Here's Orakpo, that's a no-brainer."[/quote]

Definitely a good post - even though I'm happy with Orakpo pick (and much relieved that Jets traded for Sanchez); I sort of still kinda wish that we drafted Oher.. Ravens was smart to move up and draft him, they re going to have great Ts for years to come.. Ravens even began to discuss with Gaither about contract extension..

Orakpo definitely will help our D, but it still doesn't stop the fact that we have pressing need at RT.. I have feelings that Heyer will do well this year, but I think it's ridiculous to not take a future LT.. But once again, Redskins traded up to get Samuels, and we are glad they did.. So I assume the FO knows what to do with O-line (I'm sort of liking the Terps rookies)..

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

DE was a bigger need than RT to me.

We could have managed with Daniels and Wynn for a year, but the thought of lining up Orakpo at DE for the next few years along with Haynesworth in the middle makes me giddy.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=SmootSmack]I agree they could have spent more time, but they spend weeks and months leading up to this day discussing possible trade scenarios with teams below them. So they had a pretty good idea of what kind of calls they were going to get[/quote] But you never know. What did we have to lose by waiting? The only reason I can think of is to help make it appear as if he was our primary target all along… kind of like that nice Redskins Orakpo jersey they brought with them to the draft. Does anyone here doubt they had a Sanchez jersey as well? Along with any number of other players… PR gimmick.

[quote=SmootSmack]Great players at great value...yet it's obvious Snyder is setting Zorn up to fail??[/quote]

Well if we had traded down, maybe picked up another 1st day pick and gotten a guy like Oher or Britton, we also would have gotten a great player at a great value. The Pats got 4 great players at great values in the 2nd round. You can take great players at great values all throughout the draft – its just the matter of what position youre in.

Its entirely possible that we could have traded down and ended up like we did last year – having other teams take the players we were targeting with the lower picks right before us – a very bad outcome.

All I’m saying is we have done NOTHING in this offseason to improve our offense. Yes, I’m glad we got Dockery back, but I don’t expect him to be any better on the field than Kendall was last year. We didn’t really upgrade in terms of skill – we just got a guy who’s younger and will last longer. But we didnt improve our offense. We have the 4th ranked defense and we feel we have to add all these players to improve it… but we have the 20something ranked offense and we just say, “oh, we’re counting on our own guys to get better.” That’s a copout because the defensive players from 2008 would get better too.

Snyder has made no efforts to hide the fact he doesn’t believe in Campbell. Zorn was something like our 5th favorite option to be HC last year and the only reason he’s HC is because our primary options didn’t want to work here or would have been a PR nightmare. Why didn’t Snyder fire Zorn after this season? Well, we know he was going to before we beat the Eagles near the end of the season. Then we hear reports that Snyder had met with Shanahan and was possibly planning to hire him if he had successfully landed Cutler. Snyder is a shrewed businessman and he would have been a fool to fire Zorn or trade Campbell before having another option solidly in place. What happened this offseason is none of Snyders preferred choices panned out, so he’s been forced to stick with what he’s got.

As many of you have pointed out, the Zorn hire could very well have always been as a stop-gap coach. Snyder knows right now that Shanahan, Cowher, Holmgren, and Gruden will all be available in 2010 and he would probably like any one of them in DC. 3 of those guys are offensive minded coaches who really don’t like to be bothered with defense. What better way to attract them than to present them with a Super Bowl caliber defense and a full complement of draft picks to use on the offensive players of their choice?

Nothing Snyder has done has shown any commitment to the offense. Snyder obviously doesn’t like Campbell and Zorn is officially on the list of “hot seat” coaches for 2010. They’re “on their own” and that’s why I say it will take a “miracle” for either of them to be here beyond 2009. The odds are stacked against them and they know it.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

An improved defense is going to help the offense. More turnovers = more offensive possessions = more scoring opportunities. Better field position = more scoring opportunities.

By improving the D, the O will benefit.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

Also, although I believe we should have taken a shot at several developmental Olinemen (i.e. - mutliple picks in the late rounds in hopes that one is an eventual starter), there is an argument to be made that, by leaving the offense alone, we improved it. You know, that whole continuity thing.

Key to this, of course, is that the young WR's step up, Rinehardt shows he can be a starter (if not this year, next), and that Campbell progresses. Those are some big "ifs".

Regardless, as the draft goes, it appears to have improved our defense. Hopefully, one of the late rounders sticks. I have my doubts - but, hey, I haven't watched hours of film. I give it a B-/C+ because I think the first two picks appear to be money and address long term needs. The late round picks should have all been addressed to OL in hopes that we get one keeper. I have been crying about our line well before this year and think that we need to get [I]someone[/I] in the pipeline to take over for Samuels. I just don't see him and I am concerned that we will [I]have[/I] to draft a first round OT soon (next year?). When you draft for necessity (not just need) you are looking for trouble (even "sure thing" OT's aren't sure things). To me, LB's are a dime a dozen and particularly with the DL we have assembled. "Protect the QB" comes first and simply can't be overemphasized.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=Mattyk72]An improved defense is going to help the offense. More turnovers = more offensive possessions = more scoring opportunities. Better field position = more scoring opportunities.

By improving the D, the O will benefit. [/quote]

Benefit? Yes. More scoring [I]opportunities[/I]? Yes. More offensive touchdowns? No. Last years offense consistently failed to take advantage of defensive turnovers turnovers last year. Granted, most of our turnovers occurred in the later half of the season - when our offense was complete doo-doo - but our offense couldnt capitalize on those turnovers with regularly. Our redzone offense was horrible.

I think we will have more turnovers this year and i think we'll score [I]defensive[/I] touchdowns with some regularlity, but if Malcom Kellys knees dont improve so that he can be an integral part of our red zone offense and our O-line doesnt i'mprove, its unreasonable to think Jason Campbell can improve enough - all by himself - to result in more offensive points in 2010. Campbell is a game manager who makes few mistakes, but that type of quarterback cant be successful without a dominant offensive line.

Friday afternoon, Cerrato actually said that we'd address the RT position with a move we later found out was Mike Williams - a 410lb bust who was bumming a free place to stay at his buddy Derreck Dockerys house - and we're supposed to beleive this guy is really going to compete for the RT spot with Heyer and Jansen. HA. Levi Jones looks to become available soon. He is a Bengal and i'm not sure about his criminal background, but hes a good, tough tackle and certainly would be a signficant upgrade at RT. According to PFT, the bengals will either "cut or trade" him, which in my book means he'll probably be available in FA, but if we wanted to secure him we could get him cheap - kinda like with E James last year. I'd gladly give up a late conditional pick for him next year.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

i can,t grade then...time will tell.....

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

I'm confident Heyer will be decent RT this year, but he could be much more than that (and I hope he will be this year).. Although we did nothing to upgrade our offense, beside the signing of Mike Williams.. I think we would still see some improvements with the O.. O-line men will know who to block, just like WRs will know where to go and Campbell will know where everybody re going.. It's all about experiences - they gain confidences through experiences..

I don't believe Mike will take over the spot; coming in weighted 410 is an unrealistic ideal replacement.. Unless Mike pull out some kind of miracle or whatever..

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

A-

The only thing I would have done differently is Oher at 13. Well, and I would have gotten some need help in the late rounds, but after watching last year's punt team massacre, you could argue that we were addressing our needs.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=Mattyk72;552072]An improved defense is going to help the offense. More turnovers = more offensive possessions = more scoring opportunities. Better field position = more scoring opportunities.

By improving the D, the O will benefit.[/quote]

I agree 100%. Hopefully Heyer will step his game up and everyone on the line can stay healthy. The chances of that happening are slim but improving the pass rush will w/out question help out Hall, Rogers and co.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

I can understand the frustration about not drafting offensive linemen, but it's hard to take an argument that says Snyder is setting Zorn up to fail with the selections we made too seriously.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=SmootSmack;552041]I don't know why it's hard to give them a high grade for selecting Orakpo. Plenty of teams make poor selections in the first round, yet we (fans) tend to take for granted the selections we make in the first round as no-brainers. We could have selected any of the USC linebackers, or Oher, English, Ayers, Mack. All were available and all could have filled needs, so I don't think it's as simple as "Here's Orakpo, that's a no-brainer."[/quote]

I hear you...I didn't mean to imply that I give them no credit for picking Orakpo. I said I can't give the whole draft an A or B based on that pick alone. And like I said I don't know a lot about the guys they took later in the draft but nothing really jumped out at me. I would have liked to see them get a change of pace RB to compliment Portis and they didn't address the OL. I just wasn't overwhelmed so I gave them a C...it's not like I gave them an F though.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=Mattyk72;552072]An improved defense is going to help the offense. More turnovers = more offensive possessions = more scoring opportunities. Better field position = more scoring opportunities.

By improving the D, the O will benefit.[/quote]

I do agree with that but if our RT position does not hold up better then it did in December then we are going to get those points 3 at a time.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=SmootSmack;552102]I can understand the frustration about not drafting offensive linemen, but it's hard to take an argument that says Snyder is setting Zorn up to fail with the selections we made too seriously.[/quote]

Perhaps "setting up to fail" is not the right term. Maybe "not doing a D--- thing to help him succeed" would be more appropriate.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=celts32;552106]I do agree with that but if our RT position does not hold up better then it did in December then we are going to get those points 3 at a time.[/quote]

one thing that WILL help is that we are not playing Pitt/Baltimore in late Nov/Dec.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

If you were to break the draft into First Day Grade, Second Day Grade, and Overall Grade, I think you might find a lot more agreement on the first two picks. For me, our first day was a win - Orakpo was a solid pick, good value and filling a need. Barnes appears to be a bit of a steal and bumps the first day to a B+. For me, and for the reasons I've stated, I think the second day was a D-. Did we address needs? maybe. Did we get good value? from everything I've read, the 5th round selection would have been available in the 7th round or as an UFA. In fact, the only player I saw with a draft expectation was the receiver. So... we took a scattershot approach to a position of lesser need than the OL (IMO), we picked players who would have been available later or as UFDA's, we ignored a position of need and, in the position of need, passed over players rated higher than the ones we chose. Why not take a couple of flyers on Meredith in the 5th and Murtha in the 7th?

I hope I am wrong, but I don't see anyone who helps us in the 2nd day in the short or long term. If Nelson turns out to be a find, great. Otherwise, we would have been better off trying to find more developmental lineman.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=JoeRedskin;552114]If you were to break the draft into First Day Grade, Second Day Grade, and Overall Grade, I think you might find a lot more agreement on the first two picks. For me, our first day was a win - Orakpo was a solid pick, good value and filling a need. Barnes appears to be a bit of a steal and bumps the first day to a B+. For me, and for the reasons I've stated, I think the second day was a D-. Did we address needs? maybe. Did we get good value? from everything I've read, the 5th round selection would have been available in the 7th round or as an UFA. In fact, the only player I saw with a draft expectation was the receiver. So... we took a scattershot approach to a position of lesser need than the OL (IMO), we picked players who would have been available later or as UFDA's, we ignored a position of need and, in the position of need, passed over players rated higher than the ones we chose. Why not take a couple of flyers on Meredith in the 5th and Murtha in the 7th?

I hope I am wrong, but I don't see anyone who helps us in the 2nd day in the short or long term. If Nelson turns out to be a find, great. Otherwise, we would have been better off trying to find more developmental lineman.[/quote]

What sort of calendar are you on? Barnes was a second day pick

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=firstdown;552046]Let me start by saying I do not follow much College ball so this time of year its hard for me to comment either way. For the ones that say we should have picked up some OL in the later rounds I was wondering was there any real talent that could have come in this year and helped?[/quote]
I asked this but no one answered.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=Mattyk72;552072]An improved defense is going to help the offense. More turnovers = more offensive possessions = more scoring opportunities. Better field position = more scoring opportunities.

By improving the D, the O will benefit.[/quote]

I thought that we had some good opportunities last year too. I think that our offense will be better, but it's still up to them to do something with these opportunities.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=firstdown;552116]I asked this but no one answered.[/quote]

Helped out this year? Probably not. You may have some guys say that Robinson or Meredith could, but I don't see how they're better than what we have at the moment.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

Without making this post a quote-fest a few points:
-Football is the ultimate team sport. Improving the defense will improve the offense. We've added 3 key pieces to the "4th ranked defense" (which is meaningless really) which should make a significant difference. Haynesworth pushes the middle of the pocket, which has been needed for years. Hall is a playmaking CB with great ball skills. He will get beat occasionally but will make plays as well. Orapko provides pass rush which should increase turnovers and improve field position. By default, over the span of the season, will improve the offensive production. We were top 5 in the league in overall offense but bottom third in turnovers and sacks. I'd rather be the 12th ranked defense and be top 8 in sacks turnovers than top 5 with fewer changes of the ball.

-I know I am nearly alone in this but once we past our pick at #13 and we got Oprapko, which everyone is universally happy with, so what we didn't draft an o-lineman? Would you want us to 'mortgage our future' to trade back into the end of round one or round two for Oher, Britton or Loadholt? That would cost us our '10 1st round pick. Do you want us to reach for a player graded as a 5th or 6th rounder in the 3rd just for the sake of picking an OL? The fact that very few OL (and no tackles) were taken immediately or nearly after our 3rd round pick would have meant that we immensely reached. The other point is if most of you aren't patient enough to let Rinehart develop and are calling him a bust, what are your expectations for a 5th round G or T?

I don't know, maybe I am naive but I don't get the gloom and doom going around. Damn, cheer up, it's spring time and we're 0-0. Let the preseason (at least) play out before we start firing coaches and starting over in 2010. Would the '09 outlook be that dramatically different if we had gone with Oher (who lasted another 10 picks) or traded down to pick up an additional 4, 5 or 6 (what teams were paying to move up) later in the draft?

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=JoeRedskin;552114]Why not take a couple of flyers on Meredith in the 5th and Murtha in the 7th?[/quote]I think because the need we needed to fill was "special teams." A flyer at offensive line is one less player that can cover kicks for you next year.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=BigHairedAristocrat;552067]But you never know. What did we have to lose by waiting? The only reason I can think of is to help make it appear as if he was our primary target all along… kind of like that nice Redskins Orakpo jersey they brought with them to the draft. Does anyone here doubt they had a Sanchez jersey as well? Along with any number of other players… PR gimmick.



Well if we had traded down, maybe picked up another 1st day pick and gotten a guy like Oher or Britton, we also would have gotten a great player at a great value. The Pats got 4 great players at great values in the 2nd round. You can take great players at great values all throughout the draft – its just the matter of what position youre in.

Its entirely possible that we could have traded down and ended up like we did last year – having other teams take the players we were targeting with the lower picks right before us – a very bad outcome.

All I’m saying is we have done NOTHING in this offseason to improve our offense. Yes, I’m glad we got Dockery back, but I don’t expect him to be any better on the field than Kendall was last year. We didn’t really upgrade in terms of skill – we just got a guy who’s younger and will last longer. But we didnt improve our offense. We have the 4th ranked defense and we feel we have to add all these players to improve it… but we have the 20something ranked offense and we just say, “oh, we’re counting on our own guys to get better.” That’s a copout because the defensive players from 2008 would get better too.

Snyder has made no efforts to hide the fact he doesn’t believe in Campbell. Zorn was something like our 5th favorite option to be HC last year and the only reason he’s HC is because our primary options didn’t want to work here or would have been a PR nightmare. Why didn’t Snyder fire Zorn after this season? Well, we know he was going to before we beat the Eagles near the end of the season. Then we hear reports that Snyder had met with Shanahan and was possibly planning to hire him if he had successfully landed Cutler. Snyder is a shrewed businessman and he would have been a fool to fire Zorn or trade Campbell before having another option solidly in place. What happened this offseason is none of Snyders preferred choices panned out, so he’s been forced to stick with what he’s got.

As many of you have pointed out, the Zorn hire could very well have always been as a stop-gap coach. Snyder knows right now that Shanahan, Cowher, Holmgren, and Gruden will all be available in 2010 and he would probably like any one of them in DC. 3 of those guys are offensive minded coaches who really don’t like to be bothered with defense. What better way to attract them than to present them with a Super Bowl caliber defense and a full complement of draft picks to use on the offensive players of their choice?

Nothing Snyder has done has shown any commitment to the offense. Snyder obviously doesn’t like Campbell and Zorn is officially on the list of “hot seat” coaches for 2010. They’re “on their own” and that’s why I say it will take a “miracle” for either of them to be here beyond 2009. The odds are stacked against them and they know it.[/quote]

Some of the guys you mention like Shanahan, Holmgren and Cowher will probably never work for an owner like Snyder. They're not stupid.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

By the way...the Jets have cut Marcus Mason. We're going to need a dozen new threads on him now

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

I still think alot of this comes to trusting your scouts. I don't know if we should or not, but listening to Vinny it sounds like a scout made a compelling case for a player he watched throughout the year, and that took priority over national rankings. Also, it seemed like Vinny or Zorn were able to give a personal story behind several of the picks. e.g. on Barnes, Zorn spoke of a Seattle player with a similar injury and how he came back without distraction. What this tells me is that VC and JZ did have alot of input, and by extension - our "football guys" did. So now, after screaming "Listen to football guys" and "Don't mortgage the future", our FO does just that, but doesn't do what exactly we fans want. So do we really mean it when we say "build through the draft" and are we willing to wait and see if our OL from the last two years can step up.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=SmootSmack;552115]What sort of calendar are you on? Barnes was a second day pick[/quote]

Last year's calendar (or was it the year before), when the third round was day one.

Okay, day one was an B+ and day 2 was a C- (Barnes raises it a grade). lol

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=BigHairedAristocrat;552107]Perhaps "setting up to fail" is not the right term. Maybe "not doing a D--- thing to help him succeed" would be more appropriate.[/quote]

They did several things to help the O in last year's draft. You know, guys that are still on the team and need to step up this year.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

I'm pleased with the overall draft and signing of undrafted free agents. I think the defense will be just as competitive this year. The only real issue with the offense was scoring in the red zone. We have a 3,000 yard passer, 1,450+ rusher and 1,000 receiver, hopefully with the new additions and improved play from last year's personnel we can score more often. I'm really feeling the signing of the UDFA's more than the day 2 signings. Overall, a B+.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=Mattyk72;552160]They did several things to help the O in last year's draft. You know, guys that are still on the team and need to step up this year.[/quote]

but there are no garantees they WILL step up. I'm hopeful about Thomas and Davis, but if the decline of Moss and ARE continues, it may be a wash.

Whats up with all this optimism going on here? The next thing I know, someones going to be telling me that at the end of last season, our lines were the teams primary concern, and now we've infused 33% of those lines with excellent young players and I should be focusing on what we have done instead of what we have not.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=BigHairedAristocrat;552168]but there are no garantees they WILL step up. I'm hopeful about Thomas and Davis, but if the decline of Moss and ARE continues, it may be a wash.

Whats up with all this optimism going on here? The next thing I know, someones going to be telling me that at the end of last season, our lines were the teams primary concern, and now we've infused 33% of those lines with excellent young players and I should be focusing on what we have done instead of what we have not.[/quote]
Can I simply tell you, that we have made good moves at the opening bell of FA, good moves at the very least in the opening moments of the draft, and now we are in a different stage and have one basic need to hammer home, and several teams getting ready to cut serviceable if not high mark talent because of their drafts. It is the off-season, I will live with my Forever optimistic Skins Glasses proudly!

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

The question shouldn't be the grade of the draft but the grade after being developed. How is it that the Steelers, Colts and Patriots draft this mid-draft players and they become stars. We can draft a pro like Edgar Allen Orakpo but if we dont work with them and surround them with equal or better talent then your bust rate goes through the roof.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=Paintrain;552119]Without making this post a quote-fest a few points:
-Football is the ultimate team sport. Improving the defense will improve the offense. We've added 3 key pieces to the "4th ranked defense" (which is meaningless really) which should make a significant difference. Haynesworth pushes the middle of the pocket, which has been needed for years. Hall is a playmaking CB with great ball skills. He will get beat occasionally but will make plays as well. Orapko provides pass rush which should increase turnovers and improve field position. By default, over the span of the season, will improve the offensive production. We were top 5 in the league in overall offense but bottom third in turnovers and sacks. I'd rather be the 12th ranked defense and be top 8 in sacks turnovers than top 5 with fewer changes of the ball.

-[B]I know I am nearly alone in this[/B] but once we past our pick at #13 and we got Oprapko, which everyone is universally happy with, so what we didn't draft an o-lineman? Would you want us to 'mortgage our future' to trade back into the end of round one or round two for Oher, Britton or Loadholt? That would cost us our '10 1st round pick. Do you want us to reach for a player graded as a 5th or 6th rounder in the 3rd just for the sake of picking an OL? The fact that very few OL (and no tackles) were taken immediately or nearly after our 3rd round pick would have meant that we immensely reached. The other point is if most of you aren't patient enough to let Rinehart develop and are calling him a bust, what are your expectations for a 5th round G or T?

I don't know, maybe I am naive but I don't get the gloom and doom going around. Damn, cheer up, it's spring time and we're 0-0. Let the preseason (at least) play out before we start firing coaches and starting over in 2010. Would the '09 outlook be that dramatically different if we had gone with Oher (who lasted another 10 picks) or traded down to pick up an additional 4, 5 or 6 (what teams were paying to move up) later in the draft?[/quote]

You are not alone. I am in considerable agreement with you.

If just a couple of things had gone differently last year we might have finished 10-6. And now I think we are better. One step at a time.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=BigHairedAristocrat;552168]but there are no garantees they WILL step up. I'm hopeful about Thomas and Davis, but if the decline of Moss and ARE continues, it may be a wash.

Whats up with all this optimism going on here? The next thing I know, someones going to be telling me that at the end of last season, our lines were the teams primary concern, and now we've infused 33% of those lines with excellent young players and I should be focusing on what we have done instead of what we have not.[/quote]

And there would be no guarantees of a rookie taken this year for the O that he would be ready to step up.

Decline of Moss and ARE? I think that's overstating things a bit.

As for the optimism, if you can't be optimistic in April before any games have even been played, I guess you never will be.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;552172]Can I simply tell you, that we have made good moves at the opening bell of FA, good moves at the very least in the opening moments of the draft, and now we are in a different stage and have one basic need to hammer home, and several teams getting ready to cut serviceable if not high mark talent because of their drafts. [B]It is the off-season, I will live with my Forever optimistic Skins Glasses proudly![/B][/quote]

You rule bro.

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

[quote=Paintrain;552119]Without making this post a quote-fest a few points:
-Football is the ultimate team sport. Improving the defense will improve the offense. We've added 3 key pieces to the "4th ranked defense" (which is meaningless really) which should make a significant difference. Haynesworth pushes the middle of the pocket, which has been needed for years. Hall is a playmaking CB with great ball skills. He will get beat occasionally but will make plays as well. Orapko provides pass rush which should increase turnovers and improve field position. By default, over the span of the season, will improve the offensive production. We were top 5 in the league in overall offense but bottom third in turnovers and sacks. I'd rather be the 12th ranked defense and be top 8 in sacks turnovers than top 5 with fewer changes of the ball.

-I know I am nearly alone in this but once we past our pick at #13 and we got Oprapko, which everyone is universally happy with, so what we didn't draft an o-lineman? Would you want us to 'mortgage our future' to trade back into the end of round one or round two for Oher, Britton or Loadholt? That would cost us our '10 1st round pick. Do you want us to reach for a player graded as a 5th or 6th rounder in the 3rd just for the sake of picking an OL? The fact that very few OL (and no tackles) were taken immediately or nearly after our 3rd round pick would have meant that we immensely reached. The other point is if most of you aren't patient enough to let Rinehart develop and are calling him a bust, what are your expectations for a 5th round G or T?

I don't know, maybe I am naive but I don't get the gloom and doom going around. Damn, cheer up, it's spring time and we're 0-0. Let the preseason (at least) play out before we start firing coaches and starting over in 2010. Would the '09 outlook be that dramatically different if we had gone with Oher (who lasted another 10 picks) or traded down to pick up an additional 4, 5 or 6 (what teams were paying to move up) later in the draft?[/quote]

I don't think it's quite gloom and doom, Pain, just a questionmark??

After the 1st and 3rd round, it all seemed ????????Questionable????????? to me, although I liked the video of the WR Marko Polo.

I agree with what you and others have said about the Defensive improvements, but we also have three young OLs Rinehart, Clark, and Batiste, who have been working on their game. Dock returned and the FA Williams (4 Bill$$$$) signed Friday! Throw in the UDRFAs and we have some depth!

The Draft, overall, I give it a C Passing.
The RDFAs - A

Re: Grade the Redskins Draft!
 

I was pissed off when we drafted the two linebackers. I was like what the hell Cody was not even expected to be drafted and apparently he just started playing LB. Henson is not a household name either. But now that I have had enough time to calm down, I realized that this draft might be allot like our 2006 NFL draft. We took Montgomery and he was of the radar screen also. In-fact he was a Olineman converted to Dline from what I remember and after him in the 6th they took Golston. Awesome draft. Maybe this one will be like that.