Rebuilding the Redskins

[irish]

Fixing the players is only a tiny part of what's needed to fix this organization.

[Hog1]

Originally Posted by irish

Fixing the players is only a tiny part of what's needed to fix this organization.

Beyond the coaching, what do you think is broke?

[44Deezel]

Originally Posted by irish

Fixing the players is only a tiny part of what's needed to fix this organization.

Well said and you didn't need 5 paragraphs to say it. Total turnarounds can happen in one off season and don't require complete overhauls of the roster. The Skins can add 5-7 starters between the draft and free agency, but essentially the same 3-10 roster went 10-6 last year.

Teams go from crappy to good and good to crappy every year with essentially the same personnel. Exceptional QB play solves most problems. Otherwise, you need to be very good to dominant at every other aspect of the game, vis a vis the 49ers.

A better Griffin and a middle of the pack Special Teams unit and THIS years team is at least .500.

O-line and Defense is all they need to focus on.

[RFKRat]

Originally Posted by 44Deezel

Well said and you didn't need 5 paragraphs to say it. Total turnarounds can happen in one off season and don't require complete overhauls of the roster. The Skins can add 5-7 starters between the draft and free agency, but essentially the same 3-10 roster went 10-6 last year.

Teams go from crappy to good and good to crappy every year with essentially the same personnel. Exceptional QB play solves most problems. Otherwise, you need to be very good to dominant at every other aspect of the game, vis a vis the 49ers.

A better Griffin and a middle of the pack Special Teams unit and THIS years team is at least .500.

O-line and Defense is all they need to focus on.

That's assuming that any decent free agents want to come play for this dysfunctional mess. With either a new coach/regime, etc or the old regime simply playing out the string with obvious drama between the coach and owner.

And if there is a new coach, who is really going to step in here with the obvious issues that are going on with the owner?

Just having cap money doesn't mean things will be fixed quickly. There will be a lot of other teams out there with money to spend that are in a better position talent-wise and they aren't the dysfunctional laughingstock this franchise has become.

[44Deezel]

Originally Posted by RFKRat

That's assuming that any decent free agents want to come play for this dysfunctional mess. With either a new coach/regime, etc or the old regime simply playing out the string with obvious drama between the coach and owner.

And if there is a new coach, who is really going to step in here with the obvious issues that are going on with the owner?

Just having cap money doesn't mean things will be fixed quickly. There will be a lot of other teams out there with money to spend that are in a better position talent-wise and they aren't the dysfunctional laughingstock this franchise has become.

Doesn't mean they won't either. They'll find players to take the money. Maybe they miss out in the big splashy free agents, but that hasn't worked out in the past anyway. And the players they draft don't really have a choice. It doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. RG3 regaining his form is worth 8-8 with zero changes to the current roster.

[Paintrain]

Offensively it's pretty clear the O-line needs an upgrade, again, in order to be effective. Wouldn't mind spending in free agency on Michael Oher and sticking him at RT. He's not perfect, too many penalties and a little inconsistent but still would be a huge instant upgrade. Baltimore has to decide if they're going to pay him or Eugene Monroe so there's a pretty good chance he's available. Draft a center in the 3rd round, develop LeRibeius and find out if Chester or Montgomery can hold down RG for one more season before they can be replaced.

Finally address WR like an NFL team does. Love Garcon but outside of him, blah. Draft a WR with the 2nd round pick, try to sign Dexter McCluster in free agency and fix both the return game and create a 'weapon' in the passing game. Hankerson is a #4 WR, Robinson is maybe, MAYBE a #5 but he's the definition of a one trick pony.

I wouldn't be opposed to keeping our TE as is, including Davis. Again, he's far from perfect but from what we've seen out of Reed he's dangerous but fragile. Paulsen and Paul are not viable pass options long term so we need talented depth at that spot.

Defensively we can add someone in free agency and/or the draft to the line to go with Cofield and Jenkins, I don't see this position as a huge position of need. At LB, re-sign Rak and Riley and then depending on scheme see where a healthy Keenan Robinson fits and/or again, address depth via the draft (love the Stanford kid Shayne Skov) or a mid level free agent.

On the back end, bring back Hall, promote Amerson to a starter and go after Jarius Byrd in free agency. We haven't figured out safety for years, let's just fix it. Thomas returning will potentially give us an option at starter but at worst, he's a depth player. Crawford coming back will help the depth, Minnifield developing will improve the depth, bringing back Biggers is good for depth so at CB I don't think any free agent dollars need to be spent.

Not looking to go nuts in free agency (retain Rak, Riley, Hall, Biggers, sign Oher, McCluster, Byrd) but be smart about spending the available cap dollars, focus on interior WR, LB and OL in that order in the draft. Just have to have the right GM and coach making those decisions.

[skinsguy]

Drift Reality:

AJ Smith is merely a consultant. I don't think he really figures into the front office much at all, especially if the front office is going to be making changes soon (promoting Allen, moving up Moroco possibly.)

Secondly, saying Tyler Polumbus is a marginal player is an insult to all marginal players in the NFL. He can't handle the job and should be priority one in getting replaced. I'd follow that up with Chris Chester. I would consider Montgomery more of a marginal/decent player and Cory L, but that right side of the line is horrible. Basically, everybody who is not named Trent Williams should be upgraded.

Everything else I pretty much agree with. DeAngelo Hall, while I commend him for upping his game this year, he's pretty old. Time to replace him with some young blood. He could stay on for cheap next year but I don't see a lot of value in that move.

Biggest thing you didn't mention was replacing special teams coach Keith Burns. Special teams has lost us more games than anything else this year.

[Chico23231]

Nice organized post Drift.

My re signs right off the bat would be P. Riley, D Hall(1 year), and multi-year for Orakpo.

My focus on Defense would be acquire players who are good tacklers. My focus would be getting 3 new starters: Free Safety, MLB, and D-Line. The free safety needs to be proven vet, not a drafted rookie.

My focus on Offense would be WR and O-line. Much work is needed here. The right side of Oline should be replaced (Chester, Polumbus). So cut both and look for 2 starters at RT and RG. The question mark is Gettis, could he play RG? Also what about cutting Wil and moving Kory L to center? Lots of questions, so lets keep the need just as interior Oline. Polumbus needs to go period.

Folks Im not joking when I say our WR core needs to be completely replaced outside of Garcon. Id focused on 1 outside starter at WR, but slot WR will be a need as well.

Special teams: We cant continue to overlook this obvious problem. We need a Kick/punt returner, a punter, and possibly a kicker. So Kick Returner and Punter for sure.

We can get more specific with actual players later but my list of needs would be:

1. MLB
2. Free Safety
3. WR
4. D-Lineman
5. Right Tackle
6. Interior Olineman
7. Cornerback (slot)
8. Kick returner
9. Punter
10.WR (slot)

Thats alot of problems

[Skins4L]

i like the overview.

[Slingin Sammy 33]

Good thread, but a little premature. Gotta get the FO structure and HC in place to know philosophy before looking for players.

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by Slingin Sammy 33

Good thread, but a little premature. Gotta get the FO structure and HC in place to know philosophy before looking for players.

For specific players yes, but lets be honest its not too hard to tell which positions are lagging.

[Slingin Sammy 33]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

For specific players yes, but lets be honest its not too hard to tell which positions are lagging.

Agreed, but what kind of players for the schemes is the key.

- OL, Run game, is it Smash-mouth or Zone. Will we be Quick-pass game or PA with 5-7 step drops.
- 4-3 vs. 3-4 makes a huge difference in the skill-sets targeted in the front 7
- Coverage, primarily Zone or Man. Man-off, or Press.
- WRs - Are we looking for quicker, Welker types or big, physical WRs

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by Slingin Sammy 33

Agreed, but what kind of players for the schemes is the key.

- OL, Run game, is it Smash-mouth or Zone. Will we be Quick-pass game or PA with 5-7 step drops.
- 4-3 vs. 3-4 makes a huge difference in the skill-sets targeted in the front 7
- Coverage, primarily Zone or Man. Man-off, or Press.
- WRs - Are we looking for quicker, Welker types or big, physical WRs

Looking at our team now, we need fundementally strong players with versitility. We need LBs and Safeties who can tackle. We need WRs that can catch. We need to get the basics down first, before we scheme. But I agree with what your saying and Im sure the new regime will looking who fits their mold, but lets get guys who have their primary skills down pat.

[diehardskin2982]

I have been contemplating putting together a manifesto on how to fix the Redskins. Here are my thoughts...

Dan Snyder needs to continue the renovations and updates of the equipment for the Redskins. To be a championship team we need to act like one. Renovations to the FedEx Locker room need to happen. Take a look at the Greenbay game day Locker room or the Giants locker room, hell even Oregon or Alabama's. We make over $1Billion a year in revenue, the team can have better facilities.

The team name is a distraction and needs to be changed. We don't need any negativity for the next regime coming in. It was crazy that last year that during the winning streak a positive situation players had to answer questions about the team name.

Structure the front office:
Bruce Allen should be the buffer between the owner and players/staff. Team President has the final say on who stays and who goes... Make Morocco Brown GM with the autonomy to select his own lieutenants.

Coaching Staff: This staff has Super bowl pedigree and an ability to develop talent. Redskins/ Steeler/ Seahawk roots
HC: Ken Whisenhut
Assistant HC Oline- Russ Grimm
OC: Rod Carey- Current HC for the second best offense in the NCAA behind Baylor.
DC: Ken Norton Jr.- Pete Carroll disciple and come bring in the Leo defense.
SPC: Jeff Reinebold
QBC: Jeff Rutledge

Talent Acquisition: It going to take a combination of the right moves in FA and the draft. We need both more team speed and skill.

Too soon to talk about the specific moves, at least this is a start.

[skinsguy]

I don't feel like going through a step by step plan to rebuild, but it all starts in the front office. The GM position is likely changing hands, so it's important to get the right guy for the job. A great GM begets the right head coach who begets a great coaching staff who begets a solid offensive line, that begets a productive offense - but then again, the solid/productive offense is also set up by great special teams and stingy defense. Almost a great defense begets a great offense.

It all starts up top.