The Defense!

[Primus Porcus]

I still think if the Achillies recovers, Landon Collins is very possibly returning to All Pro form. This is the type of defense that Collins feasts in. I don't think it should be forgotten that Collins was also in a brand new defensive scheme that had a completely different philosophy from any he has played in with no offseason or preseason. The whole defense has gotten better and better over the course of the season.

 

[Bulldog]

My gut tells me that Collins as an expensive holdover from the previous regime may not be here all that much longer.

His absence has allowed Curl and guys like Everett to emerge who make pennies on the dollar at a position where you really don't want to pay a guy a league high salary if you can avoid it.

Going forward, having to pay McLaurin, Allen, Sweat and potentially a quarterback I think you are going to see Collins be a cap casualty.

It won't be in 2021 but in the offseason heading into 2022 I think the team can get out from under his deal and will do so.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

I rarely, if ever, complain about officiating. Most of it is just frustration about your own team. What happened in the Panthers game is bordering on criminal. I understand that the league has a problem with everything that is going on with the organization at this time, but don't take it out on the players and coaches.

The non-fumble call was horrible. The forward pass/fumble call was horrible and Brady, Rodgers, Brees, and Mahomes get that call 100 times out of 100. The phantom holding call late in the fourth quarter cost the team a Logan Thomas touchdown. The Panthers defensive lineman sold it, but the line judge was right there.

Washington won that game, but the league wanted a Sunday night game to be for a division championship. They invested in it and that is what we see now.

As for Kamren Curl...
He should be the starter at strike safety going forward. He has earned it. Landon Collins could be moving to linebacker and that would be the best for Washington, Curl, and Collins. Win-win-win.

 

[Bulldog]

Collins is going to have to put on 10-15 pounds. Time to start eating son

 

[Primus Porcus]

My gut tells me that Collins as an expensive holdover from the previous regime may not be here all that much longer.

His absence has allowed Curl and guys like Everett to emerge who make pennies on the dollar at a position where you really don't want to pay a guy a league high salary if you can avoid it.

Going forward, having to pay McLaurin, Allen, Sweat and potentially a quarterback I think you are going to see Collins be a cap casualty.

It won't be in 2021 but in the offseason heading into 2022 I think the team can get out from under his deal and will do so.

That's possible, but I still think he's capable of playing at a high level, again pending the Achillies. I would bet you that he would be likely even more effective than Curl if he was healthy right now with how the defense as a whole is playing. That's not taking anything away from Curl, he's VERY good, but Collins isn't Albert Haynesworth or Adam Archuletta. Collins has been an All Pro, and he was very good last year for us on a very bad defense.

He may be expensive, but with Curl being cost effective, why not utilize both? Curl was scouted with the ability to cover out of the slot, something Collins has struggled with. Both players can be effective in the box, while it appears Curl has a better nose for the ball when it's in the air. The league is more and more morphing to hybrid players that do not have a specific position as much as they have a role.

 

[MikefromOH]

Landon was asked to do too much on a team that was changing as it went. He will be fine next season when he comes back. In fact, he will return to his old form.

 

[Bulldog]

Collins will have to play at his 2016 level to live up to the contract he signed. Of course that was Bruce giving out the $$ and we know from history that no team got less for their money in free agency than Washington in years past with Bruce holding the wallet.

Perhaps it is less about Collins per se, but my view is with the implications of the salary cap it's just not smart to max out salaries for positions such as SS, RB or OG. There are simply too many of them that come to the NFL through the draft each year or are available in free agency at mid-level cost.

If you have a safety like Ed Reed that is a 'do it all' type player then you pay him, just like if you have a guard of the quality of a Russ Grimm you pay him.

But IMO teams make the mistake of paying big dollars to 'solid' players at these positions.

I like the idea of keeping the powder dry to pay QB, LT, DE, CB and playmaking WR.

Those to me are the positions that move the needle most when you see teams that are consistent contenders.

 

[Primus Porcus]

Collins will have to play at his 2016 level to live up to the contract he signed. Of course that was Bruce giving out the $$ and we know from history that no team got less for their money in free agency than Washington in years past with Bruce holding the wallet.

Perhaps it is less about Collins per se, but my view is with the implications of the salary cap it's just not smart to max out salaries for positions such as SS, RB or OG. There are simply too many of them that come to the NFL through the draft each year or are available in free agency at mid-level cost.

If you have a safety like Ed Reed that is a 'do it all' type player then you pay him, just like if you have a guard of the quality of a Russ Grimm you pay him.

But IMO teams make the mistake of paying big dollars to 'solid' players at these positions.

I like the idea of keeping the powder dry to pay QB, LT, DE, CB and playmaking WR.

Those to me are the positions that move the needle most when you see teams that are consistent contenders.

Thats fair, but I had no problems with the signing at the time. Talent is not position specific...

The other factor here is that while the cap my be dropping this coming season, it is going to skyrocket over the next 4-5 years. I have heard people speculating that it could as much as triple in that time. Revenue sharing will go up with rumors of TV contracts EXPLODING. I've 'heard' that Disney has it's heart set on getting Sunday Night Football onto ABC... so much so that they could be proposing as much as $2 BILLION to make it happen. On top of that with the gambling aspect, that revenue will be part of the money sharing pool.

 

[Boone]

Landon was asked to do too much on a team that was changing as it went. He will be fine next season when he comes back. In fact, he will return to his old form.

Which old form though? I'm not sure Collins has ever lived up to his 'reputation'. There's a reason why NY let him go, particularly to a division rival. Don't get me wrong, he's a beast in certain aspects of the game, but he's not particularly versatile. It's easy to respond to that with a predictable 'they aren't using him correctly', but defenders at his position if they are going to be every down or near every down players, need to be able to do it all.

Personally - I think he's limited in what he can do and that we paid way to much to bring him on board. I think at that time that the fanbase was screaming for us to get him and they were pretty desperate to do something, anything, to make the fanbase happy. I don't expect him to ever be a ring of fame type player. Would love to be wrong. Obviously, having a jaw dropping DL in front of him and maybe some more stud LBs, may make him look a helluva lot better.

 

[MikefromOH]

Which old form though? I'm not sure Collins has ever lived up to his 'reputation'. There's a reason why NY let him go, particularly to a division rival. Don't get me wrong, he's a beast in certain aspects of the game, but he's not particularly versatile. It's easy to respond to that with a predictable 'they aren't using him correctly', but defenders at his position if they are going to be every down or near every down players, need to be able to do it all.

Personally - I think he's limited in what he can do and that we paid way to much to bring him on board. I think at that time that the fanbase was screaming for us to get him and they were pretty desperate to do something, anything, to make the fanbase happy. I don't expect him to ever be a ring of fame type player. Would love to be wrong. Obviously, having a jaw dropping DL in front of him and maybe some more stud LBs, may make him look a helluva lot better.

I feel a lot of teams try to make Sean Taylors. I think the people who idolize him try to as well.

Sean was a SS by size, but could run faster and catch better than most corners.

I think he can be solid and become very valuable on this team. Did we overpay? As of now, I say yes. He hasn't lived up to the hype....the hype of Sean and trying to be like his idol.

I hope he can when he comes back. We have a good nucleus now on the back end, and he could compliment it.

 

[Boone]

Yeah - I agree with every word of that. I think he set himself up for criticism with maybe higher expectations than were reasonable with all of the ST talk.

 

[Bulldog]

His fascination with Dave Gettleman and the Giants even after he came to Washington was a bit strange as well. Most guys can move on and turn the page when they join a new club but he seemed obsessed with NY.

I don't dislike Collins on the field, he is aggressive and overall is a good tackler. But what he is not is a cover man. He gets beat regularly covering backs and TEs. And for the extra dollars at safety what you are really paying for ideally is that player that can line up on third down and cover down the field.

 

[Boone]

Yes. That describes him more clearly than I was able to do. He's just not an every down safety - he can surprisingly be a liability in coverage. That's not uncommon for DBs - but for the money we are paying him, it's a bit unacceptable.

 

[Bulldog]

Watching Belichick and NE over the past 20 years maneuvering under the cap, I now am continually thinking of ways to get greater value out of every player or pick.

If Curl and Collins are in the same ballpark of player when both are healthy going forward it seems crazy to continue to pay Landon a King's Ransom to be a box safety.

When and if the team can get out of the deal or renegotiate it we should consider it.

It's not only NE. Look at the Steelers or Packers.

These teams release solid players because they don't want to tie up big dollars in them going forward, ie they are simply not stars.

Guys like a Randall Cobb that was looking for a big payday in Green Bay a couple of years ago and the front office said 'pass' and let him go to Dallas in free agency. Now he is on a third team in three years.

Cobb is a solid player but he is not a difference-maker.

The really good organizations in the league know the difference between a contributor and a true 'core' player they need to retain.

My guess is if Landon Collins was like Earl Thomas used to be in coverage the Giants would have paid him and retained his services.

Instead they let him go and later acquired Gibril Peppers from the Browns in the Beckham deal.

 

[Primus Porcus]

PFF's All Rookie Team

PFF's 2020 NFL All-Rookie Team: Chargers' Justin Herbert starts at QB, Vikings' Justin Jefferson earns WR1 spot

With the NFL regular season officially in the books, Ben Linsey unveils PFF's All-Rookie team for the 2020 campaign.

www.pff.com

EDGE CHASE YOUNG, WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM
Young’s overall pass-rushing numbers aren’t going to jump off the page at you, but it’s impossible to deny the high-end plays he has put on tape against both the run and as a pass-rusher in his first year. He leads all rookies in sacks (7.5), forced fumbles (five) and tackles for loss or no gain against the run (11). His 88.9 overall grade on the season sits behind only 2011 Aldon Smith, 2011 Von Miller and 2019 Nick Bosa when looking at every rookie edge defender seasons over the past decade.

He is likely the most talented defensive lineman on what has emerged as one of the best defensive lines in the NFL this season. If Young does walk away with the defensive rookie of the year award, it will be well deserved.

S KAMREN CURL, WASHINGTON FOOTBALL TEAM
After finding himself on this team, it’s safe to say that Curl exceeded expectations in his rookie season as a seventh-round pick out of Arkansas. Curl will actually finish the 2020 regular season as PFF’s highest-graded rookie safety at 70.1 overall across 763 defensive snaps after starting every game at safety for Washington since Week 9.

Curl played at least 150 snaps in the box, in the slot and at free safety for the Football Team as a rookie, and he made key tackles throughout the season for Washington. His 19 run stops were more than any other rookie safety this season, as were his 16 stops in coverage.

The defensive line gets all the headlines in Washington, but Curl is part of a back seven that has quietly played very well for much of the season.

 

[Bulldog]

Curl has Wally Pip’ed Landon Collins.

 

[Primus Porcus]

 

[MikefromOH]

great signing. I think his time away helped make him better.

 

[Win4us]

Secondary better than most thought, ranked 7th best

Washington's secondary took major leap in 2020, ranks as 7th best in NFL

One of the biggest storylines for the Washington Football Team this past season was the improvement of the defense and the defensive line in particular. With the addition of rookie DE Chase Young and the emergence of DE Montez Sweat, the defensive front became one of the…

washingtonfootballwire.usatoday.com

 

[Bulldog]

The Redskins need to resign Darby and draft a young corner as it appears Fabian Moreau is not a favorite of the coaching staff and we need to develop a nickel with some size.

But the BIG need on this defense is linebackers that can 'fill and drill' - ie fill holes and bring the lead to drill running backs.

Once runners got beyond the DL the linebackers were often out of position or failed to make the open field tackle to limit gains.

Holcomb is young and needs to develop - he has the talent but needs to add strength to go with his speed.

Bostic and KPL to me are backups. That' what they have been on and off in their NFL careers and while we were able to get something out of both of them here as a testament to the coaching staff, they were exposed against teams that could run as well as pass as the team was not able to leave Kurl or another DB near the line of scrimmage to help limit the ground game.

If the team does not take a QB at #19 overall, that would seem to be a great spot to pick a linebacker, cornerback or offensive lineman.

When some of the teams that are predicted to be $30M over the cap for 2021 have to jettison some good players at these positions to get in compliance we should be readying ourselves to swoop in and pick them up to augment our haul in the draft.