Coles Big Toe...I'm worried
 

I dont know about you guys, but coles big toe is starting to worry me. It's still giving him some trouble, but because all the new faces, people havn't picked up on it as much. He's our best WR...Is anyone else worried???

I haven't seen his name mentioned for being out of this weekend's camp or even being on limited action. What is making you worry?

i read he was kept out of some mini-camp drills, which means he's still not 100%. I know from Shaq Oneal's big toe injury last year, that its the type of injury that can't nag and prevent a player from being healthy all season. Cole's biggest weapon is his feet, so something like this could really hurt us.

i know, i tore ligaments in my toe, i am a soccer player, and it took me a year to recover, different sport, but its a pain in the ass ill tell you that

I hope it's not an issue this year, otherwise we'll all be kicking ourselves saying why didn't he have surgery this offseason when he had the chance.

Let's hope his doctors gave him some sound advice and we don't hear the words 'toe' and 'Coles' in the same sentence at all this season.

I read that Gibbs said that Coles is healing fine, but that hes the type of player that works out as hard as he can to get better. So they are watchign him closely and limiting his workouts so he doesnt reinjure it, but that its fine now. It was a positive report on how good his work ethics are and how hes always workign to get better, they just dont want him to work to hard. I wouldnt worry about it.

Hopefully, the month or so of rest that Gibbs is giving the whole team-- between the end of the OTAs in late June and training camp in early August-- will be sufficient time for Coles' toe to heal completely. The thing that stinks is that this type of injury is easily reaggravated, even after it's completely healed.

I heard that he will be held out of certain drills in the next mini camp because of it.

Didn't he play with the injury for a good part of the year?

It's kinda hard to judge if his production fell off later in the year because of the toe or if it was because the entire offense went down the crapper.

I think they've fitted him with a brace or a special shoe to prevent him from hurting it further.

Even with the hurt toe, he played better than most last year.

He still was our best receiver even when injured. our offense did a crappy job of getting him the ball more, but whenever he had it in his hands he made big plays.

I have faith in the coaching staff and Coles, he'll still be better than most WR's.

I hope that Coles is ok. To look on the bright side if he is hurt sometime during the season hopefully Jacobs can step up with his speed and hands to fill in until Coles gets healthy again. But I still hope and pray that Coles will be ok for the whole season.

Maybe one of the reasons Gibbs went and got Thrash other than special teams.

i thought the injury to coles last year was a stress fracture in his foot

If Coles becomes injured I think Gardner, McCants and Thrash could step it up. We're deep at receivers...

Skins73:

The Redskins' "depth at receiver" is a mirage. The depth you speak of is a reflection of the fact that you recognize the names of people who play WR for the team. And as a fan, you project that all of these guys will perform a whole lot better for the team in th future than they have ever performed in the NFL in the past. That is simply not a likely occurence.

If Thrash has to substitute for Coles, that is a big problem. Thrash is not a bad receiver or a bad guy, but his career in Philly shows that he is NOT SUFFICIENT as a lead receiver on a contending NFL team.

McCants still has to show that he is a top level receiver. I love his game and think he could play the "Art Monk role" in the 2004 offense. But that is conjecture until he gets the job done in a game that means something.

Jacobs is nothing but potential. And "potential" means that he has not yet accomplished anything. If he had actually accomplished something, then he would have "realized" all of that potential that he may - or may not - have.

Gardner has been an underachieving WR who has an overblown estimate of his value and his ability. He needs to be 200% better than he has ever been in his entire NFL career to be worth the trouble it will take to re-sign him next offseason.

Now hear this: If Coles goes down or if he plays hurt for the whole season, the WRs on this team will be a significant weak-link in the chain.

yes if coles were to go down, we would be worse, but i think ur goin a little overboard there, i think those guys could step up

[QUOTE=sportscurmudgeon]Skins73:

The Redskins' "depth at receiver" is a mirage. The depth you speak of is a reflection of the fact that you recognize the names of people who play WR for the team. And as a fan, you project that all of these guys will perform a whole lot better for the team in th future than they have ever performed in the NFL in the past. That is simply not a likely occurence.

If Thrash has to substitute for Coles, that is a big problem. Thrash is not a bad receiver or a bad guy, but his career in Philly shows that he is NOT SUFFICIENT as a lead receiver on a contending NFL team.

McCants still has to show that he is a top level receiver. I love his game and think he could play the "Art Monk role" in the 2004 offense. But that is conjecture until he gets the job done in a game that means something.

Jacobs is nothing but potential. And "potential" means that he has not yet accomplished anything. If he had actually accomplished something, then he would have "realized" all of that potential that he may - or may not - have.

Gardner has been an underachieving WR who has an overblown estimate of his value and his ability. He needs to be 200% better than he has ever been in his entire NFL career to be worth the trouble it will take to re-sign him next offseason.

Now hear this: If Coles goes down or if he plays hurt for the whole season, the WRs on this team will be a significant weak-link in the chain.[/QUOTE]


You think that Thrash could be a #1 receiver over Gardner?

I dont think anyone said Thrash would replace Coles as #1 if he had to sit out but I believe we would be sufficient at wide reciever with a rotation of Gardner, Jacobs, Mccants and Thrash. Of course not as good but definitely better than the Eagles wide receiver corps last year that made it to the NFC championship.

I'm not quite so worried about the receivers we have beyond Coles

McCants: True, he's not a number one receiver but he's improved each year he's been in the league and there's no need to think that won't continue

Jacobs: The big question mark. True, he hasn't accomplished anything yet but let's not jump to any conclusions on him yet. He showed flashes

Gardner: I think he'll have a big year. It's remarkable how "motivated" a player can get when there's a new contract looming around the corner

Thrash: veteran presence/calming influence

I'd put our receivers up with any others in the division. And I think two things will really benefit the passing game. First of all, with Portis in the backfield opponents at the very least have to respect the run and respect of the running game almost always benefits the passing game. Also, the NFL intends to crackdown on bumping and grabbing of receivers beyond the 5-yard bump zone so yeah I'm not all that worried about the receivers.

Smack, I have to strongly agree with SC on this one. We have already seen a couple years ago that Gardner is a miserable failure as a #1 WR. We have no one that has shown any ability to perform that role. Without a viable #1, a team is doomed to a lousy passing game, as Philly can attest to during a couple years with Thrash as #1. Many other teams have had similar experiences over the past few years. When an average defensive team can blanket all of your receivers without any double coverage, they can put a great deal more pressure on the QB and on the running game. I really like our receivers with Coles as #1 (great options for #2/3), but see a huge dropoff without him.

By the same token, with Owens now in the Philly mix, I believe their passing game will take a HUGE step up, across the board. Owens' presence will improve their entire offense.

I'm in disagreement with you guys as well. Gardner has defintley not been that big of a disapointment, if you ask me. As the #1 reciver in 2002 he had over 70 catches, 1,000 yrds and 8 TD's. I dont really understand how that is a huge dissapointment. His rookie year he had 41 rec for 700 yrds and 4 TD's and then last season he had 60 rec for 600yrds and 5 TD's.

Now as a #1, you cant really ask for a whole lot more. Those numbers dont make him one of the dominating people in the league, but they are still solid numbers. Now Gardner is a #2 to Coles, and I think those numbers from a #2 are at least solid and certinley not dissapointing.

As for the other recivers, McCants does what he is supposed to do. I dont expect him to go out and be a #1 guy, hes not that. He's a exellent change of pace guy, and he makes big catches when it counts. Thrash is a solid reciver, nothing spectacular, but hes a good addition to the team. Jacobs, I agree, is a huge question mark, but we can only hope for the best with him. As long as our recivers stay healthy, I dont think theres a better unit in the division.

I agree with gmanc711 on Gardner, yes last year was a bit of a disappointment for Rod stats wise, but 60 catches is pretty solid for a #2 guy when you compare him to other guys across the league.

I think his problems last year came more from the system, it just seemed like Spurrier never really tried to get him the ball on a consistent basis, and when he did it was on dink and dunk screen crap. The only game where they tried to get the ball down the field to him was against Atlanta and he had his best game of the season.

Of course Rod does suffer from a lack of focus at times, dumb penalties, doesn't always fight for the ball like he should, etc. But we could certainly do ALOT worse at the #2 spot than him. Right now I wouldn't feel comfortable having to count on McCants, Jacobs or Thrash as the #2.

[QUOTE=Gmanc711]I'm in disagreement with you guys as well. Gardner has defintley not been that big of a disapointment, if you ask me. As the #1 reciver in 2002 he had over 70 catches, 1,000 yrds and 8 TD's. I dont really understand how that is a huge dissapointment. His rookie year he had 41 rec for 700 yrds and 4 TD's and then last season he had 60 rec for 600yrds and 5 TD's .... Now as a #1, you cant really ask for a whole lot more. Those numbers dont make him one of the dominating people in the league, but they are still solid numbers.[/QUOTE]

I have to agree with Gmanc711 on that point. Gardner is not an dominating receiver, but he's not exactly what I'd call a "huge disappointment" either. He's solid and capable, with his fair share of flaws as well. His first season was memorable more for his drops than anything else. But in '02, with no continuity at the quarterback position, he still put up good numbers. With the addition of Coles last year, it shouldn't be a surprise that his numbers would fall slightly -- not to mention overall deficiencies in offensive production due mainly to poor coaching, playcalling, and miserable offensive line protection.

That said, losing Coles to injury or having him at less than 100% will no doubt have an adverse affect the offense this year. We need him at tip-top shape. Depending on Gardner, McCants, Thrash and Jacobs may suffice against certain teams, but in the real battles with quality defensive opponents, the Redskins will be at a clear disadvantage without him. Hopefully in those situations, a hefty dose of Clinton Portis will help secure the win.

Let's just hope for a completely healthy Laveranues Coles all season long.

OK guys, you are right, I went a bit far in my assessment as a "miserable failure" - but just the same he was NOT a good #1. Don't forget how bad our offense was that year. You can blame a lot of things, but one major one HAS to be that defenses were all getting away with single coverage on all of our receivers. Gardner's numbers did not tell the whole story. He can not carry a passing game. Coles can. In fact, don't expect Gardner to carry the #2 job throughout the season. If he does not lose it in training camp, I expect him to lose the job by week 4. #2 and #3 receivers will not include Gardner. Reasons for this assessment?

- Gardner STILL drops too many passes and runs too many bad pass routes
- Gibbs will not tolerate that
- Gibbs has been heaping praise on Jacobs and McCants - nothing for Gardner. With Gibbs, that is a real indication of things to come, not just lip service. Keep listening to him to get a glimpse of future plans.

Hogskin, even with Thrash as the #1 receiver the Eagles still managed to do fairly well for themselves getting to the championship game. Granted a better receiving game would probably have gotten them in the Super Bowl but what I wouldn't give to at least the Skins make the conference championship game after so many years...

But anyway, I'm looking at my post again and thinking maybe I was a bit unclear on what I meant. I like Gardner and I'm really rooting for him but I'm not making any claims on Gardner, McCants or Jacobs taking Coles' spot as the top receiver on the team. I was just trying to say that the depth isn't so bad.

Sure the team could have problems if Coles goes down, but so could the Eagles if Owens aggravates his shoulder injury from last year or the Giants if Toomer aggravates his thigh injury.

I still remember way back when, when most people didn't really give Monk, Clark and Sanders the respect they deserved. Monk was too slow, Clark and Sanders too little. Just goes to show that execution and production are what really counts... not just physical size and speed. There's lot more stuff that comes into play than just the receiver's stats... in Gardner's defense (and I don't think he really needs any), the offense under Spurrier for the most part looked confused and disorganized.

Remember Albert Connell? Now there was a "miserable failure" for a #1 WR. Yeah he had a good season when Westbrook was healthy. But the following season when Westbrook was injured most of the season, and Connell was to be the #1 WR, he couldn't do nothing.

Anyhow this season is Gardners 4th season in the NFL, and I heard some where that it takes most receivers about 3 years to really come around. Hopefull Gardner will step it up this year and have a better season. When Gardner had his 1,000 yard season he had 3 QB's tossing the ball to him. I also believe that Gibbs wont call plays just for the sake of calling a play. What I mean is that Gibbs sees what talent he has and coaches to there strengths not what he likes to do as wethere to run or pass like Spurrier did.

So Hogskin you are right Gibbs wont tolerate what you mentioned, but Gibbs will coach to his players strengths and put them in situations to make plays.

I just hope that Coles stays healthy and we have a well run offense, no matter what Gibbs does.

Smack, I don't think you can attribute the Eagles' finishes the last few years to their receiving corps. Probably among the 3 worst in the league during that time. They got there mainly on defense. I would not want to get along with the Ravens' or Bucs' passing games on the years that they WON super Bowls, either. It's great if you can get there with a sorry offense like the Ravens did, but I don't see that working for the Redskins in the near future. I really think the comments Gibbs has made AND the pickup of Thrash really show he is not comfortable with Gardner. Personally, I am glad, because I never was a fan of Westbrook, and Gardner seems to have much the same problems he did with holding onto the ball and with pass routes.

Exit, you made a great point about Spurrier's offense mess. But going back to the Fun Bunch days, is a bit of a stretch. First, coming in, Clark did not have much respect, but he very quickly proved himself to be a top receiver. Also, DB talent has improved, coverages have improved, and a lot of what used to be called interference is now allowed. But if you want to go back to that time, what I am betting has not changed is that Gibbs would never tolerate frequent dropped passes or fumbles. Hold the ball or you're outta here.

8588, Connell was nothing but a bum. He was still young when the Redskins got rid of him, and he (like Westbrook) very quickly dropped off the map. He was not even a decent bench WR. I have heard that same comment you mentioned about 3 years for a typical WR to make it. But Gardner has had 3 years, and I really don't think guys that have a consistent history of dropped passes (like Westbrook) or bad pass routes (like Desmond) ever make it. Gardner has both of those problems - not as bad as Westbrook & Howard, but bad enough to be a big problem. It would be great for the Skins if a miracle happened and he turned it around, but he won't be on MY fantasy team - I don't expect miracles. Seems more likely to me that Jacobs and McCants have the promising future. In fact, I drafted them both in very late rounds a couple weeks ago in Atlantic City LOL. They are my backups for T.O. and Chad Johnson.

Sorry I am so wordy and argumentative, guys (LOL). But I have a lot of time on my hands right now. When football heats up in a couple weeks, I'll be scarce and you won't have to put up with me any more!!! (Did I hear a huge cheer??)

All I meant was inspite of the Eagles poor receiving they still managed to make it deep into the playoffs but you're right the Skins defense is still a big question mark

Connell is one of my least favorite people ever. I could tolerate his failures on the field if he wasn't such an ass off the field. He had that one good year in 1999 and suddenly thought he was the second coming of Jerry Rice

Anyhow, looks like we'll agree to disagree on Gardner's future Hogskin but on behalf of everyone else here on the warpath the last thing we want come football season is to hear less of you.

Hogskin: If I were interested in joining or starting a league with your program how would I go about that? If you could e-mail me info that would be great. Thanks.

I am really excited to see how Jacobs will do this year, I like Gardner and I think that Gibbs will get him on the right track. But if Jacobs is as fast as they say, that would be so cool to have 2 speed burners at wr.

Thanks for the comment, Smack. I really enjoy this site, and don't want to get scarce. But all of my kids and grandkids will be coming here for the July 4th weekend, some arriving as early as June 25 and some staying through July 14, so I will not have much online time then. And then July 15 is the cutdown deadline for our keeper leagues. Right after that it gets pretty intense here until about the 2nd week of the NFL season. I will still check in here whenever I can, but will always be in a rush LOL.

IF Clinton Portis can produce for the Skins like he did in Devner, our passing game will be fine, even if Coles' toe is sore. If the opposing LB's and Safety's have to cheat up in run support because Portis is ripping off ten yards a run, our remaining WR's will have career years. Play action will work all day long.

Actually, it works both ways. A good passing game will help Portis put up those lofty numbers. It's a lot tougher when your WR's have trouble getting open. Coles is the only guy we have that has shown he can get open on a consistent basis. AND, he is the only one that will draw double coverage on a regular basis, taking one more defender away from run-stopping. We need Coles...

I can think of VERY few teams that have two “true” no. 1 wideouts on their roster. The Rams and Steelers are the only teams that I know of that have two solid #1 wideouts in Bruce and Holt and Ward and Burress (and Burress is a borderline-top notch WR) respectively.

We have more depth at WR than any other team in the league. If Coles goes down of course our passing attack would suffer; any team’s passing game would falter if their #1 WR was out. But, I think our team would be the least affected team if everyone’s #1 wideout was out of action.

I can’t say anything about McCants because no one has seen him play as the #2 wideout.

Jacobs is also hard to judge since he got so little playing time last year. But, Gibbs apparently thinks very highly of Jacobs and according to various press reports, raved about how good he looked on film and at the mini-camps. I defer to Gibbs on this one and take his word for it that Jacobs will develop into a quality wideout.

Thrash is not a top notch receiver, as everyone saw when he was at Philadelphia, but I think VERY highly of him. He’s played against Champ Bailey, Will Allen, Terrance Newman, and every other top corner Philly went up against. He was Philly’s top wideout and while that doesn’t say much, it does indicate, to me at least, that he is a decent #2 and a VERY good #3 wideout.

Gardner is a very good #2 possession receiver. People think he isn’t as good as he really is because:
#1 he was a first-rounder and so people automatically have very high expectations for him;
#2 he hasn’t had the running game going to draw defenders closer to the line;
#3 until last year he was the best receiver on our roster, thereby drawing double-coverage on occasion and always getting covered by the defenses’ top corners;
#4 he had less time to get open because our o-line was so crappy under Spurrier;
#5 until last year he didn’t have a very good veteran WR to tutor him; and
#6 he hasn’t had a good, experienced QB under center with whom he can establish a rapport. The lack of stability under center has hurt not just our record, but the performance of our wideouts. WRs need to know their QB and vice-versa to be effective.

I think there are several teams that would like to have Thrash, Gardner, and McCants as their top 3 receivers. So, even if Coles were to be injured this season, I must say that our depth at WR is pretty good.

another point that will help our offense that i don't think i saw mentioned is the fact that brunnel is a much more accurate passer than any of our qbs since brad johnson. gibbs play calling will make a huge difference in the route running of the wrs since there will be a whole lot less audibles called and thus less chances for mix ups on what the play being run is. and portis' arrival will prevent defenses from playing too lose in the secondary. anyone else think with coles not being a 100% that gibbs might keep 6 wrs on the active roster and thus allow Cloman the oppurtunity to get some playtime? does anyone know why coles opted not to have the surgery cuz obviously resting it didn't help it as much as we'd have liked? and like it's been noted before, if gibbs is liking what he's seen from Jacobs and Mccants from game footage and the mini camps, who r we to question him, lol?

[QUOTE=Ramseyfan]Gardener is a very good #2 possession receiver. People think he isn’t as good as he really is because:
#1 he was a first-rounder and so people automatically have very high expectations for him;
#2 he hasn’t had the running game going to draw defenders closer to the line;
#3 until last year he was the best receiver on our roster, thereby drawing double-coverage on occasion and always getting covered by the defenses’ top corners;
#4 he had less time to get open because our o-line was so crappy under Spurrier;
#5 until last year he didn’t have a very good veteran WR to tutor him; and
#6 he hasn’t had a good, experienced QB under center with whom he can establish a rapport. The lack of stability under center has hurt not just our record, but the performance of our wideouts. WRs need to know their QB and vice-versa to be effective.[/QUOTE]

I couldn't resist replying to your 6-point post:
#1 - This had absolutely no bearing on my evaluation
#2 - Good point - with the caveat that my response to #3 may actually indicate the reverse is true.
#3 - Actually, he got very, very few double coverages. Since he could be covered well by one man, teams blitzed the hell out of our QB with their "extra" man - this also hurt our running game. He is not a good #1 WR.
#4 - Again a good point, but part of the problem with the line was that our opponents could blitz at will, and our RB's were inept at handling the blitz (Snyder waived the one good blocking back we had).
#5 - Excellent point - and he had some questionable receiver coaching also.
#6 - Agree, but if he continues to drop passes in critical (3rd down) situations as in the past, he may not get that opportunity.