The defense (MERGED)

[Southpaw]

Overall, I'm happy with the defense, but the main problem is(and has been for several years now) the front four. Outside of Cornelius Griffin, they are all below average at best. Brandon Noble in particular, is horrible. He played all 16 games last year and registered a grand total of 14 tackles and 1 sack. Phillip Daniels has never had more than 9 sacks in a season from the DE spot, and his average is somewhere around 4.5 for his 10 years career. And can someone please explain to me how getting 2.5 sacks a year has made Renaldo Wynn the best option at the other DE spot for the last 5 years?

As I said, I'm happy overall with the performance of the defense, but a decent pass rush from the front four would fix a lot of the small issues with the defense. It would strengthen the middle zone and flat coverage by allowing linebackers to cover more, and not have to commit to the blitz just to generate a pass rush.

And it bothers me that the coaching staff doesn't see the lack of productivity from the D line as a problem. I was sure they were going to draft an end this year, but apparently a CB(that isn't even needed) was more important.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

And it bothers me that the coaching staff doesn't see the lack of productivity from the D line as a problem. I was sure they were going to draft an end this year, but apparently a CB(that isn't even needed) was more important.

What makes you think they don't think the lack of pressure from the D-line isn't a concern??

A pass rushing beast at DE would be nice, but the truth is they don't grow on trees. There's only a handful of exceptional pass rushing DEs around the league, and they aren't easy to develop coming out of college like other positions like RB for example.

Who should we have picked up this offseason either in the draft or through free agency that is superior to what we have now?

As for a CB not being necessary, did you notice that Walt Harris was out yesterday and Rogers started? If there was no Rogers we would have been looking at Jimoh starting... and that is something to be truly concerned about. Neither Harris or Springs are getting any younger, and Rogers was a great fit for our style of defense. Yesterday proved how important Rogers is.

[Southpaw]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Who should we have picked up this offseason either in the draft or through free agency that is superior to what we have now?

Demarcus Ware was taken two picks after Carlos Rogers. If anyone thinks that Carlos Rogers has had, or will ever have the effect on opposing offenses as Demarcus Ware, you're blind. Marcellus Wiley and Reggie Hayward were both free agents this offseason, and both are at least adequite and better than what we have now.

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

As for a CB not being necessary, did you notice that Walt Harris was out yesterday and Rogers started? If there was no Rogers we would have been looking at Jimoh starting... and that is something to be truly concerned about. Neither Harris or Springs are getting any younger, and Rogers was a great fit for our style of defense. Yesterday proved how important Rogers is

Let me rephrase my comment. A CB at the 9th overall pick was not needed. Of course we needed some depth at the CB position, but that could have been picked up later in the draft or from free agency(if you'd like me to list those, I can do that too). If Rogers was good enough to be picked 9th overall, why did it take an injury for him to crack the starting lineup?

All I'm saying is, the Redskins have had very good pass coverage for a long time, and absolutely no pass rush for about the same amount of time. I just thought it was strange to address an area that wasn't broken, instead of the area that has had very few positives for that past few years.

[Redskins_P]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

Marcellus Wiley and Reggie Hayward were both free agents this offseason, and both are at least adequite and better than what we have now.

Dude, Macellus Wiley isn't even playing and was cut by the Cowboys after 1 year into his 3 year deal.

I don't even think we have enough cap space to afford any more FA's.

[Redskins_P]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

If Rogers was good enough to be picked 9th overall, why did it take an injury for him to crack the starting lineup?

He injured his ankle during training camp and was forced to miss two weeks. Thats a lot work missed for a rookie.

Lets not forget that Walt Harris is a good #2 CB. And I think its smart that we bring Rogers in slowly.

Just be patient, and you'll see that Rogers will turn out to be a legit pick/

[Southpaw]

Originally Posted by Redskins_P

Just be patient, and you'll see that Rogers will turn out to be a legit pick

My opinion of Rogers is still undecided. I'm not saying he won't be good. All I'm saying is, we already had two starting CB's. We could've gotten depth later in the draft or via free agency.

Originally Posted by Redskins_P

Dude, Macellus Wiley isn't even playing and was cut by the Cowboys after 1 year into his 3 year deal.

Marcellus Wiley was picked up by the Jags this offseason. And the funny thing is, he was cut by Dallas, but his numbers last year were better than Renaldo Wynns.

[Redskins_P]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

My opinion of Rogers is still undecided. I'm not saying he won't be good. All I'm saying is, we already had two starting CB's. We could've gotten depth later in the draft or via free agency.



Marcellus Wiley was picked up by the Jags this offseason. And the funny thing is, he was cut by Dallas, but his numbers last year were better than Renaldo Wynns.

My bad. I didn't know he was picked up. Renaldo Wynn might not put up huge numbers, but he's great against the run and he's alot cheaper than Wiley.

[memphisskin]

Rogers is legit. The defense is 3-0 and nothing that I've seen so far is discomforting or cause for concern. While I haven't seen the defense wreak the havoc it did last year, I know that it is coming. It's just a matter of time before scheme+personnel= Redskin defeensive explosion. Last I checked you had to actually earn the defensive rankings, its not based on last year. I love how quickly expectations have already risen, suddenly our defense which is obviously the strength and identity of this team is underachieving? Wasn't S. Alexander coming off a 4 td game? Didn't we take him COMPLETELY out of the game in the 1st half? The turnovers, the pressures, the exotic blitzes, they will all come once our offense wakes up. Right now points are at a premium and GW has adjusted the defense to protect against the big play. This formula has us at 3-0 and they've all been close games, which would seem to be evidence that we are figuring out how to win ballgames. I'm no longer afraid of a close game, in fact I welcome more of them even while knowing we'll lose a few of them.

Skins-Colts in XL. believe it.


The only thing that worries me is LaVar. I want to see more of him, and not in threads in the Warpath. There is no way anyone can justify trading LaVar to me, unless it's for a Herschel Walker type combination of draft picks and players. As recently as last year LaVar was the face of the franchise, he's among the top five tenured Skins and has repeatedly stated his desire to play in DC.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by memphisskin

Rogers is legit. The defense is 3-0 and nothing that I've seen so far is discomforting or cause for concern. While I haven't seen the defense wreak the havoc it did last year, I know that it is coming. It's just a matter of time before scheme+personnel= Redskin defeensive explosion. Last I checked you had to actually earn the defensive rankings, its not based on last year. I love how quickly expectations have already risen, suddenly our defense which is obviously the strength and identity of this team is underachieving? Wasn't S. Alexander coming off a 4 td game? Didn't we take him COMPLETELY out of the game in the 1st half? The turnovers, the pressures, the exotic blitzes, they will all come once our offense wakes up. Right now points are at a premium and GW has adjusted the defense to protect against the big play. This formula has us at 3-0 and they've all been close games, which would seem to be evidence that we are figuring out how to win ballgames. I'm no longer afraid of a close game, in fact I welcome more of them even while knowing we'll lose a few of them.

Skins-Colts in XL. believe it.


The only thing that worries me is LaVar. I want to see more of him, and not in threads in the Warpath. There is no way anyone can justify trading LaVar to me, unless it's for a Herschel Walker type combination of draft picks and players. As recently as last year LaVar was the face of the franchise, he's among the top five tenured Skins and has repeatedly stated his desire to play in DC.

Go on with your bad self!!

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

Demarcus Ware was taken two picks after Carlos Rogers. If anyone thinks that Carlos Rogers has had, or will ever have the effect on opposing offenses as Demarcus Ware, you're blind. Marcellus Wiley and Reggie Hayward were both free agents this offseason, and both are at least adequite and better than what we have now.



Let me rephrase my comment. A CB at the 9th overall pick was not needed. Of course we needed some depth at the CB position, but that could have been picked up later in the draft or from free agency(if you'd like me to list those, I can do that too). If Rogers was good enough to be picked 9th overall, why did it take an injury for him to crack the starting lineup?

All I'm saying is, the Redskins have had very good pass coverage for a long time, and absolutely no pass rush for about the same amount of time. I just thought it was strange to address an area that wasn't broken, instead of the area that has had very few positives for that past few years.

The only problem with the Free agent CB is that they were commanding a salary similiar to or more than Smooty. So money wise, it would have made sense to hold on to Smoot if we were willing to dole out that kind of money.

And after the first round or so, the quality of CBs that can make an immediate impact drops considerably in the NFL. I believe that PacMan, Rogers, and Washington all got their first crack on the lineup this week.

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

Overall, I'm happy with the defense, but the main problem is(and has been for several years now) the front four. Outside of Cornelius Griffin, they are all below average at best. Brandon Noble in particular, is horrible. He played all 16 games last year and registered a grand total of 14 tackles and 1 sack. Phillip Daniels has never had more than 9 sacks in a season from the DE spot, and his average is somewhere around 4.5 for his 10 years career. And can someone please explain to me how getting 2.5 sacks a year has made Renaldo Wynn the best option at the other DE spot for the last 5 years?

As I said, I'm happy overall with the performance of the defense, but a decent pass rush from the front four would fix a lot of the small issues with the defense. It would strengthen the middle zone and flat coverage by allowing linebackers to cover more, and not have to commit to the blitz just to generate a pass rush.

And it bothers me that the coaching staff doesn't see the lack of productivity from the D line as a problem. I was sure they were going to draft an end this year, but apparently a CB(that isn't even needed) was more important.

Well, I first of all agree that we need some help up front with the pass rushing. However, I think we can count Brandon Noble out of the equation since he's been on IR for a couple of weeks now and his return next year looks more and more unlikely.

I do disagree on the drafting of a CB. Look how thin our secondary was yesterday with all the injuries. We had two guys that didn't even suit up, two just getting back healthy again - Clark and Bowen. So C.Rogers is a good pick, IMO, at the corner spot and I expect him to continue to grow in the starting role as the season goes on, especially if Harris has health problems.

Maybe we'll address our need for a pass rush next year in the draft. We may have some cap room to work with and if Ramsey doesn't stick around he may position us to get a quality pick in the draft.