Redskins OTAs

[JoeRedskin]

The Ryan Anderson hate is strong on this board. Remember Matt Ionaddis after his first year? Yes, he was a fourth round choice, but he still got a disproportionate amount of "oh, just cut this guy, he's useless - what a wasted pick" from the board.

Anderson did not make an impact in his first year. That is the general rule for rookies, not the exception - even second round picks. The buzz I have heard this year is that he has tried to reshape his body and training to accommodate what the Skins want of him. Players take time to develop, even if he turns into just a guy with rotational value, he will be cheaper and better in the long run than a UFA paid top-dollar to do the same thing. Unless they are completely out of their depth day one and show no improvement, I generally give rookies three years to step up.

Last year, while he did not make plays, he did not appear to be out of place or out of his depth on the field. Anderson is still young (turns 24 in August). Also, his strength is not in his athleticism but in his discipline and strong football IQ. That is the kind of player that needs to learn technique and schemes to succeed and, consequently, takes more time to develop.

Before tossing away a perfectly serviceable young player because he did not make a strong showing his rookie year, let's develop him while we can have him as a cheap, rookie salary back-up. If he regresses this year, okay, then he may be a roster liability in his third year. If, however, he improves even slightly, then we can continue to develop him while drafting a potential replacement.

Patience folks. Patience.