Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

Does anyone think that the Skins focused too much on improving the defense and not enough on improving the offense during the off-season?

We added AH, signed Hall to a long-term deal, drafted Orakpo, Barnes, and Jarmon, plus we added a few more defensive players, as well.

Personally, I don't have a problem with it because I happen to know that if the other teams can't score on us then they can't beat us. It sticks in my mind that the Ravens won a Super Bowl with what was, at best, a mediocre offense - but they also had a great defense. I think our defense has a chance to dominate this season and, if they do, we could go a long way in the playoffs.

I suppose that the big questions gnawing at most of us concern the offensive side of the ball. For example, I wonder if we should have gone after a top OT in the off-season.

Yet, I'm content with loading up on defense because that's where the best opportunities to improve presented themselves and because I believe that it is better to dominate on one side of the ball than to just be above average on both sides of the ball.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=KI Skins Fan;570072]Does anyone think that the Skins focused too much on improving the defense and not enough on improving the offense during the off-season?

We added AH, signed Hall to a long-term deal, drafted Orakpo, Barnes, and Jarmon, plus we added a few more defensive players, as well.

Personally, I don't have a problem with it because I happen to know that if the other teams can't score on us then they can't beat us. It sticks in my mind that the Ravens won a Super Bowl with what was, at best, a mediocre offense - but they also had a great defense. I think our defense has a chance to dominate this season and, if they do, we could go a long way in the playoffs.

I suppose that the big questions gnawing at most of us concern the offensive side of the ball. For example, I wonder if we should have gone after a top OT in the off-season.

Yet, I'm content with loading up on defense because that's where the best opportunities to improve presented themselves and because I believe that it is better to dominate on one side of the ball than to just be above average on both sides of the ball.[/quote]

If the defense gets sacks and turnovers, which it should, it will only help put points on the board. I think we'll see this unit take a few to the house as well. The offense doesn't need to be elite. It just needs to be effective. Cut down on the 3 and outs, keep turnovers to a minimum, win the time of possession battle, score in the red zone and don't hurt the defense by keeping them on the field all day. Do that and the Skins could be elite.

But that said, I do think they could have upgraded the offensive line. I would say they should have addressed the WR position, but they did last year with Kelly, Thomas and Davis. If none of them step-up, then shame on the FO for drafting poorly. Can't say they didn't try though. Like I said in another post, we have pro-bowl caliber players at WR, RB, FB, LT and TE. That should be enough to produce 20+ points per game. It's all on Zorn and Campbell.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=KI Skins Fan;570072]Does anyone think that the Skins focused too much on improving the defense and not enough on improving the offense during the off-season?

We added AH, signed Hall to a long-term deal, drafted Orakpo, Barnes, and Jarmon, plus we added a few more defensive players, as well.

Personally, I don't have a problem with it because I happen to know that if the other teams can't score on us then they can't beat us. It sticks in my mind that the Ravens won a Super Bowl with what was, at best, a mediocre offense - but they also had a great defense. I think our defense has a chance to dominate this season and, if they do, we could go a long way in the playoffs.

I suppose that the big questions gnawing at most of us concern the offensive side of the ball. For example, I wonder if we should have gone after a top OT in the off-season.

[B]Yet, I'm content with loading up on defense because that's where the best opportunities to improve presented themselves and because I believe that it is better to dominate on one side of the ball than to just be above average on both sides of the ball.[/B][/quote]

I agree with this paragraph, and feel they are justifiably counting on the second year production from this offense. I think we all agree we would have like a little more focus on the OLine, but overall I am content with this offseason.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=KI Skins Fan;570072]For example, I wonder if we should have gone after a top OT in the off-season.[/quote]


I think we made the right call because there are only a handful of top Offensive Tackles that have more of an impact on the game than AH does and none of them was available.

We grabbed the best player on the market probably by a large margin.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

I think the expectations are for the offense to be better this year with who we had. The lack of turnovers, sacks, and points scored by the defense became a big concern and needed to be addressed. We did pick up some o-linemen as FA's so that helps.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

With out reading.....Defense wins Championships.

If we can get turn overs then we are set. Then get like 2 TD's extra per game then we will win most of our games.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

We strengthened our strong suit to make it dominant. That is a reasonable strategy.

It would have been nice to upgrade at OT, etc., too. But we had many holes not long ago and now (hopefully) we've plugged some of them. It was a good strategy, for many reasons, to plug defensive holes first.

Building through the draft requires patience. Maybe next year at this time we'll be talking about awesome new additions to the OL.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=SBXVII;570099]With out reading.....[B]Defense wins Championships[/B].

If we can get turn overs then we are set. Then get like 2 TD's extra per game then we will win most of our games.[/quote]

Then what happened in '04 with Joe Gibbs at the helm? We were 6-10, but we had the #3 overall defense in the league?

That's one of the biggest myths in football. You still have to score.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=Beemnseven;570113]Then what happened in '04 with Joe Gibbs at the helm? We were 6-10, but we had the #3 overall defense in the league?

That's one of the biggest myths in football. You still have to score.[/quote]

What happened is what's happened for the last like 10 yrs......no offense. We need to score atleast 21points per game or more. The most we have been doing through Gibbs until now has been in the teens. We came close last yr, a couple of times we made into the twenties.

The way I see it if we can score 2 more TD's per game then we should be winning a few more games that were close last yr.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=SBXVII;570099]With out reading.....Defense wins Championships.

If we can get turn overs then we are set. Then get like 2 TD's extra per game then we will win most of our games.[/quote]

What he said

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

Take what you can get, best available. Now we've stacked our defense and it should be AMAZING for the next decade. Our entire defense is YOUNG and many key players are signed for long-term contracts. Dominating defenses can keep you in most games (Steelers, Ravens come to mind).

Now, we can slowly fortify our offense (ie. OL) for the next several years with draft picks and free agents. Even if our offense sputters this year, I feel like they've set us up to be a great team for the next decade.

Hail.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=ethat001;570136]Take what you can get, best available. Now we've stacked our defense and it should be AMAZING for the next decade. Our entire defense is YOUNG and many key players are signed for long-term contracts. Dominating defenses can keep you in most games (Steelers, Ravens come to mind).

Now, we can slowly fortify our offense (ie. OL) for the next several years with draft picks and free agents. Even if our offense sputters this year, I feel like they've set us up to be a great team for the next decade.

Hail.[/quote]

Absolutely. Hail!

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

2 more TDs a game makes us the most potent offense in the league. That's an extra 14 points per game. Add that on to our 16.6 from last season and we're scoring 30.6PPG, which would have been enough for #1 on the NFL last year.

Turn overs are great, but sounds like one big giant excuse to me. The defense has a job of not letting the other team score. They do pretty damn well with that goal. Maybe we should ask the offense to pull their weight. Defense gets easier to play as the game goes on and you're a) winning. b) forcing them to throw.

So yes, we'll win most of our games if we have a top5 defense and score 30PPG....

Come on people, think just a little bit. This team needs to be at 21PPG to be competitive. Hopefully we can do that.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

Key will be which receiver steps up and takes the #2 opposite Moss. Would love to see Devin Thomas step up because it will bring back Moss as a deep threat and open Cooley up in the red zone. Lack of a 2nd weapon in the receving corps really hurt Cooley's numbers as he was double teamed and Moss was taken away as a deep threat. The emergence of a legit # 2 will elilminate those problems and give Jason much better options in his progressions. See what Lee Evans does in Buffalo this year with the additon of T.O., for example. That said, adding a top D to the mix and the Redskins should be the surprise NFC East champ this year.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

I think we did the right thing by bolstering the d-line. That way the linebackers can get busy. I think alot of what hurt our offense was field position. With a better defense we will get the turnovers and better field position. And turnovers are momentum shifters.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

Can you imagine our defense if we still had Sean today?

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=Redskin Warrior;570148]Can you imagine our defense if we still had Sean today?[/quote]

I think about that every day. WOW now that would have been something to see.

I think DF was the way to go OL would of been great but it is what it is their were no good free agents out there. We now have a young DF that should dominate for years to come.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=Redskin Warrior;570148]Can you imagine our defense if we still had Sean today?[/quote]

I imagine it all the time. It's hard not to.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

I doubt that the FO made a consensus decision to build the D. maybe the thinking was to bring in the best talent they could ? We spent a lot on the off. side of the ball the past few years ,,, young qb's JC/ Colt ,, wr's R.EL , Thomas/Kelly and TE's Cooley, Davis . Hopefully Heyer , Rinehart improve this year and either Williams / Bridges can step up if needed . I see this team only needing OL and SLB in the near future , maybe a DE , but I think that Orakpo and Jarmom are both going to be very good DE's down the road . Our DB's might be the best in the NFL and Hall is the " oldest " starter , 5 years in the NFL . I would say we are much better off than we were the day before the draft in April . WR, Thomas and TE Davis will have big years , R El will make some big plays , and we will dominate at times on Def and ...... ELI " you better buckle up that chinstrap son " its gonna be a long day for you :)

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=budw38;570163]I doubt that the FO made a consensus decision to build the D. maybe the thinking was to bring in the best talent they could ? We spent a lot on the off. side of the ball the past few years ,,, young qb's JC/ Colt ,, wr's R.EL , Thomas/Kelly and TE's Cooley, Davis . Hopefully Heyer , Rinehart improve this year and either Williams / Bridges can step up if needed . I see this team only needing OL and SLB in the near future , maybe a DE , but I think that Orakpo and Jarmom are both going to be very good DE's down the road . Our DB's might be the best in the NFL and Hall is the " oldest " starter , 5 years in the NFL . I would say we are much better off than we were the day before the draft in April . WR, Thomas and TE Davis will have big years , R El will make some big plays , and we will dominate at times on Def and ...... ELI " you better buckle up that chinstrap son " its gonna be a long day for you :)[/quote]

I wholeheartedly agree and want to add that if our young guys do play up to potential we have every reason to believe that we will be in contention for years to come. I think we simply have to be patient and let the building process come to fruition, with this year showing us the firstfruits of the FO decisions.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

Improvements to the offense came last year, and there obviously needs to be a further development of JC and from Zorn as the OC.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

I cant believe this is even a topic, alot of ppl on here say if our defense had done more and got more turnovers we would have done more on offense. They bring up the top defenses like that of the Steelers. Well guys im sure there are 31 other teams in the league who also wished they had a defense like the Steelers. the Steelers D didnt happen overnight, look at the high picks and $$ that went into forming that defense.
Bottomline, to be in the elite category on either Offense or Defense you have to make the big investments. Hopefully our investments like AH and RAK pay off.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

The OL worries me. We didn't protect Campbell well enough last year and there's not enough 'up-and-coming talent' on the roster. How can we feel good about Rinehart's development if he's not in the starting lineup? Heyer at least is learning on the job (in the game). I'm not sure why Golston hasn't played some RDE instead of the team banking on Daniels and re-signing Wynn and using a 2010 3rd round pick in the supplemental draft on a player similiar to the style of play of both of them. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=SBXVII;570099]With out reading.....Defense wins Championships.

If we can get turn overs then we are set. Then get like 2 TD's extra per game then we will win most of our games.[/quote]

great defense will beat a great offense every time.i like the focus on making the defense better but the 3 and outs were killing us last year

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=redskinjim;570193]great defense will beat a great offense every time.i like the focus on making the defense better but the 3 and outs were killing us last year[/quote]

The '06 Colts and Bears may dispute that claim about offense vs. defense.

3 and outs didn't kill us last year, not being able to convert long drives into TD and missing FG killed us. We had plenty of scoring oportunities but we have to do a better job of converting them into TD.

We focused on offense, almost exclusively in '08, we focused on defense, almost exclusively in '09.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=diehard;570185] I'm not sure why Golston hasn't played some RDE instead of the team banking on Daniels and re-signing Wynn and using a 2010 3rd round pick in the supplemental draft on a player similiar to the style of play of both of them. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.[/quote]


I think you mean LDE.
[U]Lorenzo Alexander[/U] has been working at LDE during mini-camp and OTAs he has a similiar skill set to Daniels/Evans.
Golston is a good DT and imo it wouldn't make sense to move him to LDE or RDE.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

No.

...

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=tenandsix:unacceptable;570209]no.

...[/quote]

ok.

...

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=ethat001;570136]Take what you can get, best available. Now we've stacked our defense and it should be AMAZING for the next decade. Our entire defense is YOUNG and many key players are signed for long-term contracts. Dominating defenses can keep you in most games (Steelers, Ravens come to mind).

Now, we can slowly fortify our offense (ie. OL) for the next several years with draft picks and free agents. Even if our offense sputters this year, I feel like they've set us up to be a great team for the next decade.

Hail.[/quote]

Agreed.. I don't think we really focused on defense too much, after all, we took Devin Thomas, Malcom Kelly and Fred Davis last year.. If we didn't took those players, then this question could make great argument.. Wait until next 2010 draft, and see what the FO does.. If we draft defense player, then it's pretty much clear that we are focusing on defense all the way.. But if we are actually focusing on defense too much, it's not like as if there's something wrong with that.. Even though, we need younger and better OL men.. I was a big supporter of drafting an OT such as Oher, but I'm not complaining with Orakpo pick (nor even with Jarmon pick, as well).. I just hope Redskins will pick an OT next year w/ our #1 pick..

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=Daseal;570139]

Turn overs are great, but sounds like one big giant excuse to me. The defense has a job of not letting the other team score. They do pretty damn well with that goal. Maybe we should ask the offense to pull their weight. Defense gets easier to play as the game goes on and you're a) winning. b) forcing them to throw.

So yes, we'll win most of our games if we have a top5 defense and score 30PPG....

Come on people, think just a little bit. This team needs to be at 21PPG to be competitive. Hopefully we can do that.[/quote]

Agreed! You can talk turnovers or sacks or any other defensive statistic from last year, if the offense scores 21ppg and doesn't kill momentum with three and outs and long unproductive drives that team could have been dangerous. I expect that kind of improvement from the offense this year and I believe this team will be in contention come playoff time.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

I don't think anyone on this board would argue that our offense doesn't need to get better. From JC right on down. Actually from the offensive playcalling right on down. I just find it harder to believe that we won't get better than to believe we will.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

Well Zorn was never a OC -as we all know- so it was his first yr calling plays. so a learning curve is expected on his part. I believe he will get better. And hey who knows, maybe this is the yr that JC proves me wrong.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

Let's see if there's enough room for changes?

WR - depends on the development of Thomas and Kelly. Randle El and Moss are locks
OL - Dock, and the trio fighting for RT.
QB - We all know who it is this year. Collins is more comfortable and Colt has a year in at least some sort of practicing in the offense
TE - already have a stud, could have another.
HB - Feature back is set, could use a speedster(Dorsey/Alridge)
FB - All set

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

Are we focused on our defense to much? The answer is no. Our defense has played extremely well ever since Gregg Williams and Greg Blache have came to DC. However our defense has not sacked the QB or forced enough turnovers to change the out come of games. We need more scoring from our defense to help our lack of offense of productions.

Lets remind ourselves that since Joe Gibbs was rehired our offense has changed every year until this season with Zorn returning for his 2nd season. Im not a NFL player but that doesnt seem to help build chemistry with the offense, changing schemes every season. Gibbs and Al Saunders had different ideas of how the offense would be productive. This leads me to the reason why I believe Jason Campbell's developement has been slowed down. As we know Jason shows signs of a very good QB but other times he holds the ball to long and takes sacks. I truly believe this will be the season that Jason will become an elite QB in the NFL. Remember I said it right here. This means our offense will produce points and have the lead in the 4th, giving our defense the edge. It's much easier to play defense when your ahead in the game.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=SeanTaGodsSafety;570145]I think we did the right thing by bolstering the d-line. That way the linebackers can get busy. I think alot of what hurt our offense was field position. With a better defense we will get the turnovers and better field position. And turnovers are momentum shifters.[/quote]

I agree 100%

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=skins89moss;570237]Are we focused on our defense to much? The answer is no. Our defense has played extremely well ever since Gregg Williams and Greg Blache have came to DC. However our defense has not sacked the QB or forced enough turnovers to change the out come of games. We need more scoring from our defense to help our lack of offense of productions.

[B]Lets remind ourselves that since Joe Gibbs was rehired our offense has changed every year until this season with Zorn returning for his 2nd season. Im not a NFL player but that doesnt seem to help build chemistry with the offense, changing schemes every season. Gibbs and Al Saunders had different ideas of how the offense would be productive.[/B] This leads me to the reason why I believe Jason Campbell's developement has been slowed down. As we know Jason shows signs of a very good QB but other times he holds the ball to long and takes sacks. I truly believe this will be the season that Jason will become an elite QB in the NFL. Remember I said it right here. This means our offense will produce points and have the lead in the 4th, giving our defense the edge. It's much easier to play defense when your ahead in the game.[/quote]

Excellent point. Successful teams such as the Colts and Pats, even NFC East foes such as the Giants and Eagles, have had continuity in their offensive coaching/gameplay.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;570164]I wholeheartedly agree and want to add that if our young guys do play up to potential we have every reason to believe that we will be in contention for years to come. I think we simply have to be patient and let the building process come to fruition, with this year showing us the firstfruits of the FO decisions.[/quote]

Its our time now to Rule the NFC. We been building and reloading but its now our time for this team to step up and knock the hell out the teams we play. Hail Redskins

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=Ruhskins;570239]Excellent point. Successful teams such as the Colts and Pats, even NFC East foes such as the Giants and Eagles, have had continuity in their offensive coaching/gameplay.[/quote]

Thanks Sir, just my observation as a long time die hard Redskins fan. Lets support our team who ever is the QB and coach. I believe we do have a plan that the Front Office is working on to bring us back to our Championship ways.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=53Fan;570233]I don't think anyone on this board would argue that our offense doesn't need to get better. From JC right on down. Actually from the offensive playcalling right on down. [B]I just find it harder to believe that we won't get better than to believe we will[/B][B].[/B][/quote]

I find your point of view to be fair, reasonable and heartfelt. It's just common sense that we should improve on offense.

But that's not what worries me about the offense. I'm concerned about the cumulative injuries to our veteran starters on the OL. For example, I just can't get comfortable with Randy Thomas as a starter at this point in his career because of his neck and the other serious injuries he has suffered. Truthfully, I doubt that he'll even last through the first eight games. Chris Samuels is going to miss some time or be slowed by injury again this year. Why? Because it always happens to him. If Rabach should miss time with an injury we have nobody to back him up. These things worry me because, frankly, I'm unimpressed with our OL depth.

I think we need to trade for starting RG [U]now[/U]. Also, we must have a [U]veteran[/U] C or C/G to backup Rabach. If need be, we can look to add that player as other teams make roster moves. Beyond that, we need to leave no stone unturned in looking to improve our OL depth.

Re: Are the Skins too focused on defense?
 

[quote=KI Skins Fan;570258]I find your point of view to be fair, reasonable and heartfelt. It's just common sense that we should improve on offense.

But that's not what worries me about the offense. I'm concerned about the cumulative injuries to our veteran starters on the OL. For example, I just can't get comfortable with Randy Thomas as a starter at this point in his career because of his neck and the other serious injuries he has suffered. Truthfully, I doubt that he'll even last through the first eight games. Chris Samuels is going to miss some time or be slowed by injury again this year. Why? Because it always happens to him. If Rabach should miss time with an injury we have nobody to back him up. These things worry me because, frankly, I'm unimpressed with our OL depth.

I think we need to trade for starting RG [U]now[/U]. Also, we must have a [U]veteran[/U] C or C/G to backup Rabach. If need be, we can look to add that player as other teams make roster moves. Beyond that, we need to leave no stone unturned in looking to improve our OL depth.[/quote]

You're right. The OL could be a major problem this year, but it goes back to draft philosophy. IMO, they should be using the early rounds to draft beef on both sides of the line and the later rounds to fill the skill positions. Kelly, Thomas and Davis could have been 3 head of cattle. When the Skins were dominant, it was because they were stout on both sides of the line of scrimmage, not because they had HOF caliber players at every skill position.

It seemed like they could put anyone in at QB, WR or RB and the offense kept motoring along (see modern day examples: Ravens, Giants, Titans, Steelers, Patriots, etc.). Look at Rypien's stats in 91. He was sacked only 9 times. Good QBs become great QBs when they have all day to pass and good WRs become great WRs when they have all day to get open and good RBs become great RBs when they have massive holes to run through. Same goes for the D line. If we're in the opposing QB's face all day, a good secondary becomes a great secondary. Unfortunately, it works in reverse as well. Bad line play makes everyone else look bad.

It's all been said here before, so I'm just re-hashing.