The official 2008 draft discussion thread

[Slingin Sammy 33]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

The best remaining are:

O-Line
OT Carl Nicks
OT Anthony Collins
OG Roy Schuening
OG Eric Young
C Steven Justice

D-line
DT Marcus Harrison
DT Dre Moore
DE Cliff Avril
DE Chris Ellis

LB
MLB Dan Connor
MLB Tavares Gooden
OLB Erin Henderson
OLB Xavier Adibi
OLB Bruce Davis

CB
CB Justin King
CB Charles Godfrey
CB Reggie Smith

Am I missing any? I'd be happy if we drafted any of those guys.

Agreed. Any two of these guys would be solid as our 3rd & 4th rd picks and fill needs. Two guys in the late rounds could also help, Radovich, G, USC and the DE kid from Hampton, but he'll probably be gone

[SmootSmack]

Holmgren (Zorn's mentor) used two TEs plenty as a head coach. Here's an example of him using it in Green Bay

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Holmgren (Zorn's mentor) used two TEs plenty as a head coach. Here's an example of him using it in Green Bay.

If we have that kind of success from Cooley and Davis, then it was a brilliant pick.

Jason Campbell will never have the excuse that he never had anything to work with here.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Beemnseven

If we have that kind of success from Cooley and Davis, then it was a brilliant pick.

Jason Campbell will never have the excuse that he never had anything to work with here.

One of the beauties of the Davis pick is that it decreases the amount of receivers we need to have on the field.

Which is wonderful, because we then drafted two receivers.

[theJBexperience]

Originally Posted by Bill B

How about Eric Young the guard from Tennessee? Before his injury he was considered one of the top guards in the draft. Here is his bio:

2008 Draft - Eric Young | NFL Football at CBSSports.com

I considered him. His stock has really plummeted. He might be around in the 4th or 5th, but he's a decent player. I wouldn't mind that pick. The Skins may have not drafted OL early because of the rush on OL or because of Buge's ability to work wonders and coach guys up. Given his track record, I'm not as concerned about an OL not being taken as I am DL.

[Dirtbag59]

WTF happened while I was gone? I sware if the next three picks aren't grunt players I'm going to switch to the Ravens. Alright maybe not, but I think we now know who was calling the shots when Gibbs was around, and it's obviously wasn't Cerrato.

They lost out on Mike Pollack the C from Arizona State, they'll probably lose out on EJ Henderson. And with those extra picks they could have added a fan favorite like Owen Schmitt. I'll bet Josh Johnson is the 3-20 pick, then they'll take Marcus Monk.

[skinsnut]

This is what I think happened with the TE...
The Skins got the first WR because of value...and because Merling was gone.
Then the Skins saw great value with the TE and figured....hey...a TE is like another WR and this guy is great....better grab him....Campbell will be around...
Then Campbell disappeared just like Merling and the Skins went value for a WR again...they kinda had too in a way...

Bottom line...their mistake was not being able to pass over a great value TE in an effort to shore up a major need....they were thinking they could squeeze a couple more pick out before DL disappeared...they were wrong and got greedy....now we are overstaffed on O and have no potential starters on Dline.....again.

Don't get me wrong...I like 2 good WR's...but we dont need another TE....that will be on the bench at least 75% of the time..heck...the second WR will be in the same situation...
A Dline pick would have potentially been starting 75% of the time....
That is my issue...
If you lock yourself into value only....your draft is graded well but you haven't addressed your key needs.

How many predraft folks were saying the skins needed 2 WR and a TE?
Most were saying 1 WR....the rest was line and defense.

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by skinsnut

This is what I think happened with the TE...
The Skins got the first WR because of value...and because Merling was gone.
Then the Skins saw great value with the TE and figured....hey...a TE is like another WR and this guy is great....better grab him....Campbell will be around...
Then Campbell disappeared just like Merling and the Skins went value for a WR again...they kinda had too in a way...

Bottom line...their mistake was not being able to pass over a great value TE in an effort to shore up a major need....they were thinking they could squeeze a couple more pick out before DL disappeared...they were wrong and got greedy....now we are overstaffed on O and have no potential starters on Dline.....again.

Don't get me wrong...I like 2 good WR's...but we dont need another TE....that will be on the bench at least 75% of the time..heck...the second WR will be in the same situation...
A Dline pick would have potentially been starting 75% of the time....
That is my issue...
If you lock yourself into value only....your draft is graded well but you haven't addressed your key needs.

How many predraft folks were saying the skins needed 2 WR and a TE?
Most were saying 1 WR....the rest was line and defense.

Maybe they all understood that 1.) Chris Cooley needed a capable backup - which we don't currently have; and 2.) A second receiving tight end is vital for Zorn's offense to work.

I highly suggest checking out the youtube clip SmootSmack posted as an example of how double TE sets can confuse opposing defenses.

[skinsnut]

Originally Posted by Beemnseven

Maybe they all understood that 1.) Chris Cooley needed a capable backup - which we don't currently have; and 2.) A second receiving tight end is vital for Zorn's offense to work.

I highly suggest checking out the youtube clip SmootSmack posted as an example of how double TE sets can confuse opposing defenses.

I saw the play and it is cool...
My point has more to do with using top picks for folks on the bench when we need starters on the Dline and elsewhere.

On that particular play...there were 2 TE and 2 WR....that leave either our 2 current top WRs on the bench, or our 2 new top picks.

In an ideal world....I would have liked to use one of these top picks on the Dline because, hell, they'd be a full time starter at minimum by 09
My point.....Talent does nothing when it aint in the game.

[SKINSnCANES]

Originally Posted by skinsnut

I saw the play and it is cool...
My point has more to do with using top picks for folks on the bench when we need starters on the Dline and elsewhere.

On that particular play...there were 2 TE and 2 WR....that leave either our 2 current top WRs on the bench, or our 2 new top picks.

In an ideal world....I would have liked to use one of these top picks on the Dline because, hell, they'd be a full time starter at minimum by 09
My point.....Talent does nothing when it aint in the game.

Youre completely right, which is why we cut Llyod and why ARE and Moss are going to become more situational. Which they will be amazing at...using ARE for trick plays wehre he throws...Moss for the deep ball.

Gibbs ran screen or hail marys with moss last year. he always had to elave the game becasue he was dead tired. now he can run deep routes or make plays with a screen and come out and catch his breath without making our offense inept by taking him out.

[skinsnut]

Originally Posted by SKINSnCANES

Youre completely right, which is why we cut Llyod and why ARE and Moss are going to become more situational. Which they will be amazing at...using ARE for trick plays wehre he throws...Moss for the deep ball.

Gibbs ran screen or hail marys with moss last year. he always had to elave the game becasue he was dead tired. now he can run deep routes or make plays with a screen and come out and catch his breath without making our offense inept by taking him out.

Well...my concerns about overcompensating on O....and ignoring bigger needs will have to wait until tommorrow...
If we do well and shore up both lines and secondary with our highest picks...it could be a great draft....
But lets be honest here....aint no way we get an impact pass rusher with whats left....hopefully Chris Wilson and Andre Carter can handle that!

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by skinsnut

I saw the play and it is cool...
My point has more to do with using top picks for folks on the bench when we need starters on the Dline and elsewhere.

On that particular play...there were 2 TE and 2 WR....that leave either our 2 current top WRs on the bench, or our 2 new top picks.

In an ideal world....I would have liked to use one of these top picks on the Dline because, hell, they'd be a full time starter at minimum by 09
My point.....Talent does nothing when it aint in the game.

I know. Believe me, I've been banging the 'draft D-line' drum for years. But others have said it, and they're right -- defense hasn't really been the problem -- offense has. There was a reason Gibbs deferred to the D time and time again over the past few seasons -- he knew his offense wasn't going to get the job done.

As to your point about leaving our two new picks on the bench in 2 TE sets, what makes you think they'll be on the bench? I have a feeling we're in for another shock at the wideout position in the coming months because Zorn has seen the tapes, and apparently doesn't like what he sees with Moss/Randle El.

I never expected to be able to fill all of our needs this weekend, and I'm not holding my breath that they'll unearth a diamond for a pass rusher tomorrow. I guess the defense is satisfied with the pressure they can generate, so we'll just have to make do with what we have. Blache has already said you can expect to see more aggressive blitz packages than you did under Williams.

If these guys taken today can help put more points on the board, I think you'll be happy. And so will the defense.

[NYCSkin]

I like the "take the best player available" approach that Cerrato seems to be employing. After watching our poodle offense last year struggle to score 20 points--I'm thinking that if one of these guys helps us score another fg or td a game-then we'll win 2 more games a year.

This league is slanted to scoring points and the Skins seem to struggle to do that the last few years. While our offense may have been efficient at times; I felt it struggled to produce easy scores (runs/passes > 40 yards) and stalled a bit too often in the redzone. I can see these picks helping with both--opening up Portis/Moss/ARE for bigger plays while addressing our redzone failings with some "bigs" at receiver...

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by NYCSkin

I like the "take the best player available" approach that Cerrato seems to be employing. After watching our poodle offense last year struggle to score 20 points--I'm thinking that if one of these guys helps us score another fg or td a game-then we'll win 2 more games a year.
This league is slanted to scoring points and the Skins seem to struggle to do that the last few years. While our offense may have been efficient at times; I felt it struggled to produce easy scores (runs/passes > 40 yards) and stalled a bit too often in the redzone. I can see these picks helping with both--opening up Portis/Moss/ARE for bigger plays while addressing our redzone failings with some "bigs" at receiver...

Bingo. This team hasn't exactly been lighting up the scoreboard over the past few seasons. As you said, only here and there has this offense looked somewhat efficient.

Plus, it's a passing league now. Look at the Colts last year: they have Harrison, Wayne, and Dallas Clark, and they take Anthony Gonzales with their first pick.

We need more options, we need to score more touchdowns, and Moss and Randle El by themselves just don't cut it.

For what it's worth, Mel Kiper just listed Washington as a Day One "Winner".

[XXVI]

Call me crazy, but we may just offer Moss and next years first for CJ? Any takers?