Walters new column 4/25/05

[BossHog]

Here's my response to TW...

Good Day Mr Walters,

I just finished reading your latest article and you were right about not re-signing Smoot. Rodgers seems to be a better prospect than Smoot was coming out of college but having to fill the hole created in his departure limited us in drafting a potential number one WR. I feared that Gardner wasn't going to be traded before the draft and maybe that's part of the reason the 'Skins had to pass on Mike Williams. Drafting Williams would've possibly led to Gardner's release. There's no value in that or having eight WRs on the roster. I've been lobbying Gibbs' thoughts that our WRs corps has been addressed long before the draft but, a lot of my buddies are still picking up their jaw after we passed on Williams. I was never sold on the guy. Most scouts praise him as being a red-zone threat. Last year, we rarely saw the pylons. The Redskins were dead last in plays of 20 yards or more and near the bottom in scoring offense. How does Mike Williams improve a offense and WR corps that can't get open, can't get deep (I'll come back to this), and can't get in scoring position? Hmmm. Moss and Patten will help stretch the field while Jacobs, Thrash, and Gardner (if need be) handle all the underneath stuff. WR corps taken care of. Now what other improvements can be made to a struggling offense besides beefing up the OL with C Casey Rabach and Jon Jansen returning to the lineup? How about a QB who can throw a fade? What's the use of burning a DB on a deep route when the pass isn't delivered where the WR can catch it? There's little doubt that Laveranues Coles is fast, even with the bum toe, and has reliable hands but, the incumbent QB wasn't able to hit him on the deep routes. Ramsey has another year to iron that out... with more help than ever.

[Shane]

Trevor Walters is very good and entertaining columnist in my book. Even when I disagree with him, as I do with his concerns about the first round of our draft, I still enjoy reading his views. This is what think about the choice of Carlos Rogers over Mike Williams:

I agree with some of what Boss Hog was saying. First of all, we must expect a very different wide receiving group this year. Coles is gone and that is good in my book (from an attitude perspective and a downfield speed perspective). We have great leadership, speed and enthusiasm in David Patten, and if ever gets his tail to camp, a fast and very capable player in Santana Moss. Furthermore, I for one really like the potential of Taylor Jacobs and finally he is really going to have a good opportunity to show what he can do.

Gardner it looks like may be here too, but no doubt he won't see much playing time unless he is the Dr. Jekyll Gardner and not the Mr. Hyde Gardner. McCants was not around essentially last year but this year he no doubt aims to prove himself, and James Thrash is a super team leader and very fast and its great he's here.

Originally I thought we would take a receiver at #9, but as I think about it it, we actually have enormous change at this position with our excellent offseason moves, etc. Who would have more impact, Mike Williams or a shutdown cornerback in Carlos Rogers?

Rogers is a top notch player at his critical position and Williams is a top notch player at his. We have had change on the defense - and that has been the loss of two key players, including Fred Smoot, at the even more than ever critical position (with the new rules) of cornerback.

If we had overpaid for Fred Smoot, it would have thrown our salary structure out of whack and it would have looked like we were bending out of shape to sign a player for more than he was worth, more than other players at his position on the team, and that would have been a blow against team unity. Plus, Smoot was was almost asking to leave the team by rejecting the Redskins' generous offer.

So we went for team unity, we got a brilliant new player with a great attitude who really wants to be here, and we chose a player at a position we needed help at. Garnell Wilds has great promise and I think he will start someday, and Shawn Springs has played Pro Bowl type ball for us, and Walt Harris is a tough and capable veteran no doubt, but thinking in terms of the future and also the present need for depth at this critical position, it was a clear choice for Carlos Rogers.