Commanders Post at The Warpath - View Single Post - Washington Post chat : Jason LaCanfora takes questions about the Redskins

memphisskin · 01-07-2005, 03:47 PM

I'm sick of the "trade Portis, trade Arrington" talk. We made significant committments (i.e. huge signing bonuses) to both players. Portis didn't go from being a 1500 yd back to bust in one season, and while I wouldn't mind a big back to move the chains can we please move past all the "return to Riggo talk?" Look, with no passing game Portis has shown that he can move the chains. At no point should any 205 lb back be asked to consistently move the pile, that's what fullbacks and the 240 lb backs do. Portis is a game breaker, and I think we've pigeonholed Gibbs offense as one that is only successful with a Riggins carrying the ball. Check the record, Riggins didn't play on the '87 title team, or the '91 title team, instead we had backs more like Portis (T. Smith and Byner). My biggest beef with that talk remains that it presupposes that the critic knows more about Gibbs' philosophy than Gibbs. I can't imagine anything further from the truth.

This was a particularly frustrating season for everyone, but I guess it proves that there are no quick fixes. It's a process, one that finally seems to be firmly on track. Instead of searching the free agent lists for the next big splash/bust, we should turn our eyes inward and look to develop the guys on our roster. Our defense should have proved that anyone can succeed if given the chance, look at the job Wilds did in the last game of the year or the effort that Lemar Marshall showed in replacing Lavar Arrington. I think we have enough stars, enough guys making big bucks, what we need to do is spend more time developing the talent we have on our roster already, refining our system and keeping the roster as stable as possible. It's a crime that there are only 8 guys left from the 2000 roster, and there's absolutely no justification for it. It's not like we were a juggernaut and got poached by other teams, no our front office policy was to throw the baby out with the bathwater and each year our team has had a different look than the year before. Our offense was horrendous this year, but to say that bringing in one more wideout would change things is ludicrous unless we're bringing in Jerry Rice circa 1988.

The one change I want this offseason is no change this offseason. We've got a top ten pick, I say select the top guy available and stop searching for Mr. Goodbar. We've got plenty of talent on this roster, I'd like to see our coaching staff maximize what we've got before we go out searching for the answer on someone else's roster.

01-07-2005, 03:47 PM	#14
memphisskin Impact Rookie Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Nashville, TN Age: 54 Posts: 960	I'm sick of the "trade Portis, trade Arrington" talk. We made significant committments (i.e. huge signing bonuses) to both players. Portis didn't go from being a 1500 yd back to bust in one season, and while I wouldn't mind a big back to move the chains can we please move past all the "return to Riggo talk?" Look, with no passing game Portis has shown that he can move the chains. At no point should any 205 lb back be asked to consistently move the pile, that's what fullbacks and the 240 lb backs do. Portis is a game breaker, and I think we've pigeonholed Gibbs offense as one that is only successful with a Riggins carrying the ball. Check the record, Riggins didn't play on the '87 title team, or the '91 title team, instead we had backs more like Portis (T. Smith and Byner). My biggest beef with that talk remains that it presupposes that the critic knows more about Gibbs' philosophy than Gibbs. I can't imagine anything further from the truth. This was a particularly frustrating season for everyone, but I guess it proves that there are no quick fixes. It's a process, one that finally seems to be firmly on track. Instead of searching the free agent lists for the next big splash/bust, we should turn our eyes inward and look to develop the guys on our roster. Our defense should have proved that anyone can succeed if given the chance, look at the job Wilds did in the last game of the year or the effort that Lemar Marshall showed in replacing Lavar Arrington. I think we have enough stars, enough guys making big bucks, what we need to do is spend more time developing the talent we have on our roster already, refining our system and keeping the roster as stable as possible. It's a crime that there are only 8 guys left from the 2000 roster, and there's absolutely no justification for it. It's not like we were a juggernaut and got poached by other teams, no our front office policy was to throw the baby out with the bathwater and each year our team has had a different look than the year before. Our offense was horrendous this year, but to say that bringing in one more wideout would change things is ludicrous unless we're bringing in Jerry Rice circa 1988. The one change I want this offseason is no change this offseason. We've got a top ten pick, I say select the top guy available and stop searching for Mr. Goodbar. We've got plenty of talent on this roster, I'd like to see our coaching staff maximize what we've got before we go out searching for the answer on someone else's roster.