What are our greatest remaining needs?

[Winskins]

Getting ready for the 2004 season, what positions do you think that we really need to work on (many say S, DT, DE, and TE; do you agree)?
What do you think is the best way of fulfilling these needs?
Do you see any players on the current roster that could stand up and make a big impression in one of these positions in 2004?

I always love to hear what everyone has to say

[SmootSmack]

I think we need a playmaker at safety (Hello Sean Taylor!), and could use some depth on the defensive line.

I think a rejuvenated Byron Chamberlain will provide the answer for us at the TE spot

[Winskins]

I just looked at the smiley face on my post. Yikes! I don't know what was up with that. I meant to have one of these
party on!

By the way, do you think that Brandon Noble is going to get back from rehab and be the type of player we need on the D-line?

[Pick Sean Taylor or you might end up like this ]

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Winskins

I just looked at the smiley face on my post. Yikes! I don't know what was up with that. I meant to have one of these
party on!

By the way, do you think that Brandon Noble is going to get back from rehab and be the type of player we need on the D-line?

[Pick Sean Taylor or you might end up like this ]

All indications are that Noble is ahead of schedule but honestly I'm a bit skeptical. I can't think of anyone who's come back from an injury like his so quickly. I guess right now he's penciled in as the starter with Griffen at tackle but I'm not sold on Noble being totally healthy and Salave'a and Hailey as the backups

I guess on some occassion Daniels will move inside and Wynn and Upshaw will play ends or the linebackers (LaVar, Washington) will play up on the line

[skinsfanthru&thru]

I know this may seem dumb to some people but I see the stand out player this year from the non starters will be either Daniels or if we aquire Taylor, Bowen. I think with out a shadow of a doubt in my mind that we will be better against the run than we have been in years. we may not get as much pressure on the qb from our starting lineman, but with Daniels, Griffin, Noble/Haley/or possibly someone picked up either with our later picks or from the salary cap cut pool, and Wynn ,we will have solid strength against the run as long as the lb's play their assignments correctly this year. Daniels has a decent push off the edge and is stout against the run.
I know a lot of people r down on Bowen from last season mostly about him somehow getting burnt by Keyshawn, but we all know he can lay the wood down and if under a good defensive coach(especially one who's proven he knows what he's doing and has gotten above average production out of previously average DBs) he can perform well in tandem with Taylor.

Even though this position isn't needing nearly as much help as the others listed in the original post, I think the back up to Portis will be very important and I see Betts getting closer to his potential under the tutelage(sp?) or Gibbs and Byner. Portis isn't really the type of back who's gonna be able to handle 30 or so touches a game for the entire season and the offense needs to remain sharp when he's not in the game. I think with Betts combination of size and speed, it makes him a solid backup to portis. He's proven that he can run up the middle as well as catch a pass when needed and turn it into a big play. His injuries last year were bone related and should be healed completely by TC if not already.
I think we might also see (if holdman isn't signed) clifton smith steal the starting mlb spot from Mitchell either during camp or sometime during the year. We've all heard how much Williams loves fast, smart linebackers and lets face it, Mitchell at the ripe age of 33 I believe isn't exactly as fast as he used to be.
I know I kinda diverted from the original question but those r the guys I think r gonna have a good chance at stepping up this year.

[SmootSmack]

I'm excited to see what a healthy Jacobs can do.

But I think the player to really watch out for is Marcus Washington. In light of all the other moves the Redskins made this offseason, the Washington pick up sort of flew under the radar but he can flat out play. I love that move

[Redskins8588]

I agree with Smootsmack I think that we need a force in the secondary at safety. The way I see it, I think that with all of the additions at LB, we will see more of LaVar and Washingtion rushing the passer and have fresh LB's to give them a break during the game. Even if we draft Taylor he could rush the QB given the depth we have at the corner position now. Just my thoughts.

[BrudLee]

To make us good for next year - Udezi.

To make us good for the next five years - Sean Taylor.


DE is a much greater immediate need than safety. I hope that the trades we may be working out will allow us to get both Taylor, who's an absolute ballhawk, and someone to provide a pass rush from our D-line.

[SKINSnCANES]

Do you think Udezi would make that much of a differnce next year. hes a solid player but he seems liek the type of players that we have. One that doesnt give up the big play but doesnt put up many stats either. I could be wrong about him but I cant see him getting to many sacks at the pro level

[Daseal]

I feel we have a balanced team pretty much right now. I think our D Line is underpowered but we have the talent on our defense (and staff) to balance this out. I think Williams will bring it hard against the QB all year and as Winskins said, we'll be able to stop the run and I think we'll have much more push.

I honestly expect Wynn to have a VERY good season. I think with someone in the middle he might be able to do better. It's just a guess, but I think he'll stand out this year. People will be worried about Daniels from the other side and Wynn will get the QB. Either way, we need to blitz hard and fast!

[skins009]

I wanted to saw our biggest need on D right now is D-line. But I instead I think we need a playmaker even more. Exactly why i would go with sean Tayler. Plus the guy is gonna be the best safety of all time.

[BleedBurgundy]

No doubt, Taylor should be the pick. But with everyone else talking about trading up to take both Winslow and Taylor, I'd rather see us trade up and take a D-lineman in the mid to early 1st round. Udeze doesn't seem to be making anyone say "wow" yet, so he may fall a bit from what he was initially forecasted. I think we need a real, big-time defensive end pretty bad. As some others have said previously, there are a lot of "if's" and "could be's" on D-line. Our free agent picks have been solid, but no one really stands out.

[sportscurmudgeon]

As configured now, the Redskins biggest weakness is DL. You can look at the world through rose colored glasses and imagine a situation where all of the defneive linemen on the team have career years all at once and say that the line is strong. It isn't.

Daniels has had good years in the past; he was pretty mediocre last year. Is he sure to return to his good form or is he on the downside of his career? I think he will be better than last year but never will he be a star or a player that offenses whill have to "scheme around". Here is what is really good about Phillip Daniels. In the last two years, the Bears have stunk and have had lots of games where they could have just laid down and died. The team didn't and Daniels specifically didn't. Hopefully, his hustle will be infectious.

If Noble can play this year it will be marvelous. If he can play as well as he did two seasons ago it would be miraculous. And even if he is as good as he was two season ago, that is not a level of play that will strike fear in the hearts of offensive coordinators around the NFL. A healthy Brandon Noble will certainly be an upgrade at DT, but that ain't sayin' much.

When was Reynaldo Wynn's last "impact season"? Maybe he's due to have one now; maybe he doesn't have one to give?

I have the same questions to ask about Regan Upshaw? Here's a guy who can use a fire lit under his butt and maybe Daniels is the guy to do it? If Upshaw plays like he did last year, this will be his last season in Washington.

Cornelius Griffin is an interesting player to watch. As a rookie, he was one of the guys that people around the league thought could blossom into a star. He hasn't. In fact, some people argue that he has been significantly worse each season after his rookie year. Maybe the departure of John Fox had something to do with that and now Griffin being under the tutelage of another top-shelf defensive coordinator moight just rejuvenate his career. This is a player to watch in the pre-season games and in the early season games. He could be a significant difference-maker for the Skins this year. Or he could be mediocre...

Haley is a guy who can give other players a breather. That's it. If Haley is playing 30 snaps a game on defense, the DL is in deep yogurt.

Another area that may need some upgrading is the interior of the OL. Randy Thomas played well last year and seems to be a solid guard. The center and left guard positions last year were downright bad. Some of the teams blitzed up the middle against the Skins and it looked like the defenders were sprinting to the QB on an Interstate highway. Maybe Joe Bugel can teach these guys how to play better - or maybe they need other guys there who have more ability?

The safeties last year were not stellar. I suspect that the way to improve that position will be to bring in someone else to play the position. None of the folks back there looked like stars-in-the-making.

The CBs this year are not as good as the CBs last year. You can be as angry as you want with Champ Bailey for spurning the Redskins' contract offer, but the flat out fact is that Champ is a better CB than Shawn Springs. Springs is very good; Bailey is excellent. The Skins do not need to upgrade the CB position other than to assure depth at the position.

By the way, someone said that the safeties should be blitzing a lot this year because of the strength of the CBs. Well, if that is the case, then they coulda done that last year too because the CBs were even better last year. Hopefully, Gregg Williams will have some of that blitzing action in his defensive repertoire.

The outside linebackers are more than satisfactory. The inside LBs - on the assumption that Trotter moves on - are not very good. But they can probably pick up a satisfactory MLB after the June 1 cuts.

[Darock]

Everyone knows our biggest need is on the DLIne..our safeties are fine..it's just if we want the "playmaker"..I hope mitchell has enough in the tank to fill trotter's spot..TE is pretty weak too...

Dline
Te
S

[backrow]

Welcome Darock! Great having you!