Is Doughty A Fill In 4 Now? or A Legit Starter?

[Redskin Warrior]

Are you sold on Reed Doughty I know he has had much PT other than special teams. I know that his lack of PT was b/c ST was playing. I was in a debate earlier about this & I was wondering what your thoughts were?

[cpayne5]

Since the team learned ST would not be coming back, Landry was moved to FS and Doughty has been playing the position that suits his style best; SS. He's not a great cover guy, but he's got a decent closing burst, is a solid tackler, and has a panache for the big hit.

He hasn't played much, but if he continues to play the way he has since taking over at SS, I won't have a feeling of immediate urgency to draft a safety. So far, he has been relatively solid.

[Schneed10]

I think he can be a dependable starter in the NFL. Good tackler, good in run support, instinctive, takes good angles. Certainly you'd love to have more speed back there to act as a ballhawker and game changer, but I think we could do worse. He's not the kind of guy that's going to change a game for you, but I think he's also a guy you can depend on and won't make mistakes to kill you. He's starting to remind me an awful lot of Ryan Clark. Prioleau's presence as insurance makes me feel even less anxious about that position.

[steveo395]

It's still only his second year, so he has plenty of time to get better.

[SFREDSKIN]

He's the second coming of Mark Murphy. Slow, but a pretty solid player.

[Gibbsmeatitle#1]

I just hope he learns to turn his head in coverage. There's no doubt, however, that he's a better cover guy then Adam Arche....Wait, maybe I shouldn't mention the name. That would be piling on a guy who gave his us his all and was a true Redskin.

GMAT
_____________________________
I don't have stress. I cause stress

[Big C]

he is quality enough to not panic to get a new safety. maybe draft one later in the draft but im comfortable with doughty at strong safety.

[That Guy]

he's competent, and a good tackler (see his college stats), but he's slow and a very low end starter. he's fine, but ideally, you'd like an upgrade in that spot.

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

There really isnt much safety depth in the draft this year anyways I would much rather draft or sign a corner first then if we see a 2nd or 3rd round safety that we like then pick him up.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by EARTHQUAKE2689

There really isnt much safety depth in the draft this year anyways I would much rather draft or sign a corner first then if we see a 2nd or 3rd round safety that we like then pick him up.

Ugh. Here we go again with the CB business.

[Redskins_P]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Ugh. Here we go again with the CB business.

Schneed10, I'm with you on this one. I believe we really don't need to sign a high priced free agent or spend a high draft pick on a CB. But I do think we should either sign a decent mid level CB or draft one in the lower rounds.

As for Doughty, I think he's ok. I definitely think we could get an upgrade in the draft or FA. Bob Sanders would look good in burgundy and gold. He's a FA this year.

[saden1]

He is most certainly better than Archuleta. I don't know if he is a full starter just yet but if he works really hard at it I don't see why he couldn't be. I have seen flashes of brilliance in him. Against the Giants he played pretty damn well...even the TD that was caught against him wasn't entirely hist fault...he was caught in no man's land because Springs/Smoot let their man get behind them and he tried to help out.

[scafuri27]

Landry compliments him best..since LL can cover so much of the field in pass coverage Reed at the line of scrimmage works..The way injuries have plagued us though I would not take offense to us drafting a saftey in the first 2 rounds

[tatrave]

I think that time will tell. He needs to have an offseason where he can play with the first team and grow accustomed to the surrounding player on D. We defenitly need to get somebody else for depth purposes atleast. I don`t like the idea of bringing in a high priced FA like Bob Sanders, I want somebody young and talented, preferably from the draft.

[70Chip]

This is the point in the conversation where someone usually suggests converting Shawn Springs to Safety.

I think Doughty is an interim starter but a fairly adequate one. Speed is such a premiuim for defense these days that any time you hear someone described as being "not that fast" or even worse "slow", they usually don't hang around for all that long. The reason Mark Murphy survived in the league as long as he did was because of his brain. He was The Redskins' NFLPA rep and got a law degree from some Ivy League school after playing. He just got hired to run the Packers, too. The point is that if your body is slower, your brain needs to be faster. Anticipation can get you that extra split second.