Why the 2007 defense will be in the top 10

[diehardskin2982]

I've been reading alot of threads on here lately talking about our defense and how bad it was and it's gonna be. I know alot of you have been sipping the bitter "skins suck" cool aid that has been leaked into the Washington Media for the past few years sense Snyder got here... but believe me, it's not true. I see the defense that they have put together this year and you know what, I like it!

This year the skins listened to the advice of the fans that have been screaming the same thing over past ten years, they did not give away draft picks or chase the big name free agents. They used sound scouting and nabbed some gems in the draft, free agent market and undrafted market that WILL help this defense for many years to come.

H.B. Blades will be a star for the skins in 3 years. He will learn the system from fletcher and become a fletcher/ Zach Thomas type player for the skins. Justin Hickman can become the pass rusher that we have been looking for, although undersized at 6'1 254 he has a high motor and had major results in college. Byron Westbrook has the speed 4.35 and aggressiveness to become a good young player for us. Landry combined with Taylor has the potiential to be the best safety tandem in the league.

In the free agent market we picked a solid back ups in Macklin and Stoutmire. A leader and playcaller in Fletcher, and the Swagger/ attitude for our D in "the mouth of the south", Smoot. So What, we don't have the biggest baddest physical specimen on our team, but if the coaches motivate these guys properly we'll be a top defense in 07. Rocky wil be better in 07 and so will Rogers. Hopefully we keep Springs for one more year and he is healthy for the 07.

The Defensive line will be fine because of the better secondary, that can actually COVER, we will be able to send more blitzes from all over. Golston and Montgomery should be expected to do good things now know what to expect and most like have put on some more muscle in the off season.

In Conclusion Remember the saying "its not the size of the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog"? Don't underestimate the heart this Defense in 07 The Skins will be a force to reckon with.

[Yellow31]

Man, I hope you are right!

[Monkeydad]

I believe you're correct on your points. If we stay healthy, we'll have one of the better Ds in the league, just like we did a few years ago. Even if we lose some players to injuries, we won't repeat last year because we have the depth that can keep us going. Last year, our lack of depth, especially in the secondary KILLED us.

[Redskins_P]

The key will be how much Golsten and Montgomery develop. We need those guys to step it up a couple of notches...couple that w/ Daniels and Carter at DE, we have a semi-decent pass rush.

If we can stay injury free, I don't see why our D can be top 10, if not, top 15. I think Top 15 is a little more realistic.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Not to burst your bubble, but you're putting a WHOLE lot on the pure measurables of our undrafted picks.

[diehardskin2982]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

Not to burst your bubble, but you're putting a WHOLE lot on the pure measurables of our undrafted picks.

Pierce was undrafted, so was Antonio gates, also Willie Parker

Arron Kampman DE of greenbay 5th round, Mark Anderson DE Chicago 5th round
Kevin Kaesviharn safety of the saints 6 ints most among safeties~undrafted

So Yes I feel i can put alot on measurables because where your drafted doesn't mean anything. Talent is talent. Fight in the Dog!

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by diehardskin2982

Pierce was undrafted, so was Antonio gates, also Willie Parker

Arron Kampman DE of greenbay 5th round, Mark Anderson DE Chicago 5th round
Kevin Kaesviharn safety of the saints 6 ints most among safeties~undrafted

So Yes I feel i can put alot on measurables because where your drafted doesn't mean anything. Talent is talent. Fight in the Dog!

Oh, I'm not saying by any means that our undrafted guys can't be total beasts.

But to EXPECT that as our saving grace for the year is only going to set you up for disappointment if they don't pan out (like the majority of undrafted rookies do).

While I, just like you, hope they become perennial Pro Bowlers, the likelihood of that happening is very slim and if they don't pan out, no sweat, because I didn't expect them too anyway. I'm looking at our tangible acquisitions of proven players in the league and to THAT end, I agree with the title of your thread (well maybe 12th or 13th).

[SmootSmack]

Top 10 in terms of what? Points allowed? Yards? Turnovers?

[TheMalcolmConnection]

This much I DO know and it makes me take heart in at least a ten to twelve ranking raise defensively:

Warrick Holdman is gone. I don't care how bad Rocky or Lemar are, there is NO WAY that either of them could play worse than Holdman.

Marshall out of the middle. While I think he's a great backer, he should thrive more in his natural spot at weakside.

London Fletcher IN the middle. Has he lost a step? That's tough to say, but you couldn't have picked a better person to fill the middle.

Landry, Smoot, Pierson, Macklin all provide us QUALITY depth. Kenny Wright, Adam Archuleta and Mike Rumph were NOT quality depth. How many times were you beating your head against a wall watching AA or Kenny Wright get torched?

Those facts alone are enough to make me feel better about our defense.

[bigSkinsfan61]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

This much I DO know and it makes me take heart in at least a ten to twelve ranking raise defensively:

Warrick Holdman is gone. I don't care how bad Rocky or Lemar are, there is NO WAY that either of them could play worse than Holdman.

Marshall out of the middle. While I think he's a great backer, he should thrive more in his natural spot at weakside.

London Fletcher IN the middle. Has he lost a step? That's tough to say, but you couldn't have picked a better person to fill the middle.

Landry, Smoot, Pierson, Macklin all provide us QUALITY depth. Kenny Wright, Adam Archuleta and Mike Rumph were NOT quality depth. How many times were you beating your head against a wall watching AA or Kenny Wright get torched?

Those facts alone are enough to make me feel better about our defense.

exactly my thoughts...good points dude

[T.O.Killa]

Westbrook has 4.3 speed? I scowerd the internet and I found 4.6 speed. Please forward source.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by T.O.Killa

Westbrook has 4.3 speed? I scowerd the internet and I found 4.6 speed. Please forward source.

I didn't find 4.3 anywhere. I found quite a few places stating he had 4.4. Nothing to be ashamed of.

[T.O.Killa]

hey, I would be exstatic if he ran that fast. I foung nothing but this link.
NFL Draft - NFL draft preview and analysis from Pro Football Weekly

[LINEBACKER]

Originally Posted by T.O.Killa

hey, I would be exstatic if he ran that fast. I foung nothing but this link.
NFL Draft - NFL draft preview and analysis from Pro Football Weekly

Umm this is slightly off-topic but I was reading player rankings for TE's and some of them it had side notes for projections to the NFL - H-B (Half Back) and FB (Full Back) What does Ch. stand for? I cant for the life of me think right now....

Does someone care to help me out...?

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Not a huge fan of PFW. Not the most reliable source for information.