I do not agree! Most of these "experts" are copy and paste and don't do their homework. How many of them have watched every single down that Orakpo has played? I am so tired of seeing him whiff on 85% of the plays and look good the other 15% enough to make a few highlight reels.
He simply is not what you, and the numerous others say he is. He's not. I don't care what you or the "experts" say. I have seen him in just about every down for the last 4 years. Being at the top of a Free Agent DE/OLB class that has very little to offer, doesn't make you worth more than other players at that position. It makes you the top of a poor class.
We all watch the Redskins. We all say 'you don't know them like I do.'
Fact is, yeah, people kinda do. I'm done pretending this team is full of hidden secrets that other people can't possibly see. Orakpo is not a perfect player. On a bad defense his imperfections get spotlighted and scrutinized by a cranky fanbase. But the guy can play.
Again, those saying, "Same 'ole redskins" don't matter to me. All I care about is winning. If re-signing Orakpo is going to make us a winner, OK...I just don't like the idea of paying him the money. I would rather use every penny of that to sign Alex Mack, arguably the best Center in the game. That is a far more valuable use of resources.
Yeah, and Cleveland fans are having this exact same debate about Mack right now. Some think at $8.5 million or so he's going to cost too much and Greco can slide over and the drop-off won't be all that bad. Others think he's a must re-sign.
And, oddly, many of them mention Orakpo as a possible addition to the Cleveland defense.
This is not a debate unique to Redskin fans. Ours is not some special secret snowflake of a situation. All free agents cost money. The ones worth signing, anyway. The question is, do we want some other team's question mark or our own? Again, if we're signing a top free agent, I'd rather keep our own.
Historically bad defense? That is about as an exaggerated statement as I have heard you make in a long time. 4 years bad is not historically bad. Before that we saw nearly a decade of above average or better from our defense except one year they were riddled with injuries, in 06 I believe.
The 478 points we gave up in 2013 is, quite literally, the most we've ever given up in one season. Ever.
The 29.9 points per game we gave up was the most we've given up in a 16 game season. Ever. By more than a field goal
per game.
That 2006 defense? The one I had personally considered the worst I'd ever seen in my lifetime ... that defense gave up 102 fewer points than the 2013 team.
I am most certainly not exaggerating when I say the 2013 defense was historically bad. It's the worst defense this team has put on a field since Eisenhower was in office, and quite possibly ever.
Regardless, I think it is quite obvious Griffin has a fragile ego. He needs to do all those things you say, and it would benefit this team far more for him to have a greater supporting cast than it would to re-sign Brian Orakpo.
I'm not sure why it has to be an either/or situation. This team has the means to sign more than just Orakpo, even franchised. But whether or not we do that I really really really think it would a bad idea to ignore the defense this offseason.
Look, we can go at this all day long. We are not going to change anyone's mind in this.
Yeah, but what else am I gonna do? Work?
