Our WRs in 2009... My Thoughts

[skinsfan69]

Our wr's are below average. Not much else needs to be said. If Kelly and Thomas develop then this unit will improve. If not then back to the drawing board.

[Paintrain]

Patience is a necessity with WR. I posted this elsewhere but just to reinforce how foolish it is to judge a WR by their first year:

Just a snapshot of some of the rookie stats from WR on this season's leaderboard in catches and/or yards

Steve Smith-10 catches, 154 yds, 0 TD

Roddy White- 29 catches, 446 yds, 3 TD

Brandon Marshall- 20 catches, 309 yds, 2 TD

Vincent Jackson- 3 catches, 59 yds, 0 TD

TJ Housmanzadeh- 21 catches, 228 yds, 0 TD

[SouperMeister]

You could give us Randy Moss and Steve Smith at WR, and it wouldn't matter if Campbell is getting hit every time he drops back to pass. I'm confident that all of the young receivers drafted last year have enough talent, but until we get better pass protection up front, our passing game is going nowhere.

[Ruhskins]

I think our WRs corps is fine, they just need better coaching, and as it has been repeatedly said, Hixon must go. The main problem has been the offensive line, we need a group of o-lineman that can play a whole season, not just half of it. In the second half of the season, JC had no time to throw. When he did have time to throw, the WRs where not open (hence the need for better coaching in that position).

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by Ruhskins

I think our WRs corps is fine, they just need better coaching, and as it has been repeatedly said, Hixon must go. The main problem has been the offensive line, we need a group of o-lineman that can play a whole season, not just half of it. In the second half of the season, JC had no time to throw. When he did have time to throw, the WRs where not open (hence the need for better coaching in that position).

You can't make chicken salad out of chicken shit. How do any of us know whether or not Hixon is any good? We're not inside Redskin Park. But if we look at our wr's anyone can see that they're just not really that good. People crack me up when they actually think we have good wr's. We don't. And when they get open JC either doesn't have time to get them the ball or he misses the read and holds on to the ball.

Was ARE ever a #2 wr at Pittsburgh? No
Is Santana Moss a true #1 NFL wr? No.
Was James Thrash ever a good NFL wr? No
Do most rookie wr's struggle in their 1st years? Yes.

[SBXVII]

Goat, I thought maybe you went blind. LOL. I presume your being sarcastic;

Dude can you post that part in bold in a couple more threads cause i'm not sure everyone on the board has seen it yet .

You didn't have my back on this one so I had to post it in as many places as possible in order to find you. lol. just kidding. Atleast I got someones attention.

Skinsfan, I took exception to the remark about Thrash never being good....so I took it upon myself to look up his stats on NFL.com. Amazingly enough your kinda right. He started out slow with us but he was the blue collar player people were rooting for kinda like Heyer when he came. Thrash had 2 rec. for 24yrds his first yr, 10 rec. for 163yrds his second yr, 3 rec. for 44 yrds his third yr, and 50 rec. for 653 yrds and ony 1 TD the whole 4 yrs. He did better his 5th yr in Philli but declined each yr, he only had 2 TD's the whole time with them. but he was always more of the positional WR. Someone to get you the first down and that was it.

[Skins4L]

i know we all have high expectations for our 08 Draft Picks at WR.
BUT....What about...
T.J. Houshmandzadeh
he could be a Free Agent. Him & Moss would be a deadly Starting Duo. I think Campbell would hit Houshy all day. I could see him being what we need.

[MTK]

Build the lines and the talent at the skill positions will suddenly look much better.

We've got to give Thomas and Kelly more time as well.

[dmek25]

matty, why does that seem too hard for people to see? seems really obvious to me

[BeastsoftheNFCeast]

I cant see us drafting a WR...unless we get a big play WR (which I still find to be unlikely). I truely believe size has alot to do with our WR's. Santana is good but no steve smith...he is not a number one. Randle El is a joke. My hope is we utilize both Davis and Cooley somehow. Also I hope Thomas or Kelly breakout, but Im not holding my breath for that. The bottom line is we have hope with davis, thomas, and kelly, and because of that hope we won't get anyone else. We have too many needs elsewhere were there is no hope due to age (OL).

[djnemo65]

This is absurd. Our WR's looked just fine before the offensive line broke down. While not an elite unit by a mile or three, they are good enough to be successful when the rest of the offense is functioning correctly, as we saw earlier in the season. There are too many more glaring needs to be addressed on this team before we can even think about bringing in another wideout.

Moreover, I really do expect more from at least one of the rookies next year, and I think it's conceivable they could all contribute a lot more. Regardless though, when we drafted 3 receivers in the second round last year Vinnie effectively made our bed for the next couple seasons.

[Skins4L]

I just think Devin Thomas in specific and solely should be getting with the program and will make an impact next season. Santana will always look impressive without question.

[Ruhskins]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

This is absurd. Our WR's looked just fine before the offensive line broke down. While not an elite unit by a mile or three, they are good enough to be successful when the rest of the offense is functioning correctly, as we saw earlier in the season. There are too many more glaring needs to be addressed on this team before we can even think about bringing in another wideout.

Moreover, I really do expect more from at least one of the rookies next year, and I think it's conceivable they could all contribute a lot more. Regardless though, when we drafted 3 receivers in the second round last year Vinnie effectively made our bed for the next couple seasons.

I agree with everyone that states that the offensive line is a much bigger priority than the WR position. Our Wideouts were fine in the first half of the season, when there was some semblance of pass protection, and Portis ran the ball well.

If we are going to look at tweaking our WR group, then I really don't think you need to get a TJ Housh. I think our rooks have talent, and have the potential to be very good next season. They got their kinks out of the way this year, and they will have a full training camp to get them up to speed, which in turn will help them get in sync with Campbell. That along with Moss, ARE, and Cooley, I just don't see the need to bring or draft anymore wideouts, save maybe for a replacement for Thrash.

Earlier I criticized the coaching of wideouts, b/c I noticed throughout the latter part of the season, that in those rare moments when Campbell had time to throw, the WRs were not open beyond the 1st down marker. I think this even happened earlier in the season when they were doing well. So maybe a new position coach can help develop the rookies, and help our wideouts get open.

[44Deezel]

Originally Posted by Ruhskins

I agree with everyone that states that the offensive line is a much bigger priority than the WR position. Our Wideouts were fine in the first half of the season, when there was some semblance of pass protection, and Portis ran the ball well.

If we are going to look at tweaking our WR group, then I really don't think you need to get a TJ Housh. I think our rooks have talent, and have the potential to be very good next season. They got their kinks out of the way this year, and they will have a full training camp to get them up to speed, which in turn will help them get in sync with Campbell. That along with Moss, ARE, and Cooley, I just don't see the need to bring or draft anymore wideouts, save maybe for a replacement for Thrash.

Earlier I criticized the coaching of wideouts, b/c I noticed throughout the latter part of the season, that in those rare moments when Campbell had time to throw, the WRs were not open beyond the 1st down marker. I think this even happened earlier in the season when they were doing well. So maybe a new position coach can help develop the rookies, and help our wideouts get open.

I wish they did get their kinks out this year. Remember all the drops DeShaun Jackson had against the Skins? We can expect games like that from Thomas and Kelly next year, while DeShaun Jackson will be much improved. Next season will essentially be a learning year for our guys, since Zorn decided to red shirt them this year. Even so, either of them will be a better option than Randle-El.

[Skins4L]

Originally Posted by Ruhskins

I agree with everyone that states that the offensive line is a much bigger priority than the WR position. Our Wideouts were fine in the first half of the season, when there was some semblance of pass protection, and Portis ran the ball well.

If we are going to look at tweaking our WR group, then I really don't think you need to get a TJ Housh. I think our rooks have talent, and have the potential to be very good next season. They got their kinks out of the way this year, and they will have a full training camp to get them up to speed, which in turn will help them get in sync with Campbell. That along with Moss, ARE, and Cooley, I just don't see the need to bring or draft anymore wideouts, save maybe for a replacement for Thrash.

Earlier I criticized the coaching of wideouts, b/c I noticed throughout the latter part of the season, that in those rare moments when Campbell had time to throw, the WRs were not open beyond the 1st down marker. I think this even happened earlier in the season when they were doing well. So maybe a new position coach can help develop the rookies, and help our wideouts get open.

I didnt state the obvious... Our O-Line problems are the direct reason we couldnt get the passing game in rhythm. But i can only believe in what ive seen. Moss, Housh, Thomas looks like a great 1 2 3 to me. I dont mind Randle El on the roster either, hed be able to do what he did in Pittsburgh as a Role Player solely.. Situationally the 3rd Slot, 4th Slot, and handle special teams. If we can get Houshy cheap... and improve our O-Line in the offseason.. Wed be passing with the best next year.