[GMScud]

Well, I take a few things from JLa's blog.

He certainly is playing devil's advocate as far as "building in the trenches" is concerned. And he may not be far off. But in response, a few things to consider:

We do need some depth on the OL and DL, and maybe we do need another pass rusher to bookend Andre Carter. But maybe Phillip Daniels has another year left in him. Maybe Greg Blache sees a bright future in Chris Wilson who came on strong down the stretch last year.

Now that the O-line is 100% healthy, what are the chances we again lose Thomas AND Jansen to season ending injuries in the first two weeks? I'd say remote considering how durable both players had been prior to '07. With Samuels, Thomas, Kendall, Rabach, and Jansen all full go come training camp, and Heyer, Wade, Fabini, and Reinhart behind them, I think we'll be okay for another year.

As far as the Redskins "inflating" their draft board rankings on Kelly and their past obsession with WRs: Devin Thomas was rated the #1 receiver in the draft. Sure it wasn't an awesome class, but most experts agree he was a steal at #34 considering many mocks had him going to Buffalo at #11. Kelly was rated the #1 receiver until the past few weeks when some "character" flags popped up. McShay loves him, and apparently so did Jason Campbell when he flew down to Oklahoma with Vinny and Co. to work him out. For anyone who doesn't think we need a plethora of pass catchers in the WCO, look at Seattle's passing stats last year:

Their top 7 receivers in '07 totaled 315 catches for 3685 yards and 25 TDs.

Our top 7 receivers in '07 totaled 285 catches for 3141 yards and 15 TDs.

That's 30 less receptions for 544 less yards and 10 less TDs. Pretty significant, especially the TDs. I understand we ran more and they threw more, but this is our new offense now. And frankly we didn't have the personnel to make it work.

Our defense was pretty damn good last year despite a wide variety of injuries. All the staff (Gregg aside) and personnel are returning. It's fine with me that offense was the focus, particularly the passing game. Sure he mentions the Coles, Lloyd, Moss, Randle El dealings, but we haven't drafted a significant WR since Taylor Jacobs, and that pick was primarily b/c of the Ole Ball Coach. Prior to that, Michael Westbrook? We needed at least 2 of these 3 pass catchers we drafted. Funny how a position that Danny is so enamored with hasn't been a position he's cared to draft until now.

I bothers me a bit that JLa has been so negative, but I understand. He covers the Skins for a living, and the team's overall performance, both on the field and in the front office, hasn't exactly been glowing. I definitely hope Danny and Vinny can prove him wrong.

On a side note, where are the Anthony Mix sycophants now?