Blognosticator - Rymanofthenorth
This season for anyone who has been paying attention, was never about winning, from the getgo, Shanny said this was going to be a rebuild, a vastly different message than he gave us when he got here. While he came short of actually admitting that he was flat out wrong on several decisions, actions spoke louder than words and he drafted guys on defence to fill the massive holes that the switch created. He admitted the Mcnabb decision was a fail and hitched his wagon to Beck and Grossman, neither of whom would seem to be an upgrade yet have looked better in this offence. We were fooled early on by going 3-1 and keeping games close. I could document all the mistakes but its been done, instead I'll talk about the team now.
The truth is we aren't at the point where I think we can be consistently competitive, we still have massive holes along the Oline, the only player who has looked pretty consistent so far is Hurt at Guard and montgomery at center and neither is someone who looks unreplaceable everyone else shouldnt even be back unless its as backups. Receiver is serviceable but NEEDS an upgrade, we need a number one receiver because Moss would be an outstanding number 2. Hankerson might be that guy some day but hes injured and probably wont be back full strength until the year after next everyone else right now might flash but really arent much more than #3 level receivers. TE went from being a strength, but with Davis having a bout of stupidity and Cooley coming off another injury it no longer looks as bullish. RB is not set but looks solid with Helu making the most of his chances, Hightower is an upgrade over Royster who is serviceable but nothing special I would be surprised of Torain is brought back as he is a walking bandaid. This offence has just enough talent to flash against weak defences, heck against weak defences we actually look good, we move the ball, we even score! the problem is that against teams with decent secondaries, our receivers don't run free so easily, against a solid front, we dont get push and against good linebackers, we allow penetration.
On Defence? we are vastly improved over last season, which means we are about where we were before we blew everything up. some people think of this as improvement, I look at it as treading water after sinking. We really didnt improve anything, we are just getting back to where we were at around 11th on defence, we need to continue improving or this was a waste. On Dline we do look better, Carriker is having a career year and even though thats not saying much, he looks pretty solid, Bowen suffers from not having anyone to rotate with, he is actually not very solid against the run for such a big DE. Cofield has played pretty well but is another guy who suffers from not having a backup, he would be better served at DE in this scheme as he gets pushed around a lot in the run game, I would love to see us grab a huge run stuffer at NT and rotate him inside and at DE, it would change a lot. Reily has stepped up at ILB but still makes mental mistakes, that will change as he gains confidence and experience. Fletch is slowing down but he is savvy and was pretty fast to begin with, I don't think Rocky will want to be back in this scheme and will have more realistic expectations in free agency now. OLB is probably the strength of this team with an above average guy in Rak and a stellar one in Kerrigan. It would be amazing if Rak ever has the light go on, he is an above average player right now simply based on his measurables, he isnt a super quick guy but has a solid first step and amazing strength and power for his size he just needs to learn more varied pass rush moves and how to be a linebacker, he still looks uncomfortable at times. Kerrigan look polished and while he does make the odd mistake, he plays far more like a veteran. We need some upgrades at corner as Hall and wilson are not number 1 cover guys and we have no young guys to step up. we will also need to start looking at safeties as atogwe hasnt been healthy or very good and Landry is not worth a huge long term contract. Gomes has looked ok in bursts but is young.
specials, we could use a more consistent kicker but Rocca was a huge find. in my mind cover teams are as good as your depth, and ours arent great but should get better when we add some more players.
You guys can read about the Giants anywhere on the net, they arent really a superbowl contender either but they are one of the better teams in our division, Im not gonna bother talking about them because this game isnt about them or even us this season, because this season is lost, we need to evaluate the young guys, identify holes and fill them in the offseason. some of my fellow posters on BGOB have said it better than me, we arent going to cheer to lose, we are going to accept short term pain for long term gain. and all we can do is hope that the team uses the picks well. If everyone could be in our gameday chats, they would see guys who havent given up on the team, maybe we arent cheering for this particular team the rabid way we usually do, but thats because we are washington redskins fans, not washington redskins of 2011 only fans. I don't know even one guy who reads this forum who doesnt bleed burgundy and gold, we all want our team in the superbowl, I think that we just disagree in how to get there and how willing we are to accept short term pain lol
all that goes to what the point is about this blog, we are going to lose to the Giants and im ok with that, we are probably going to lose out, and im ok with that. because we might lose but we are no longer losers. we didnt pack it in against the Pats we were just not good enough to win yet. thats changing and now? we just have to have faith that we will draft the right guys, sign the right guys in free agency and for now? just play out the string baby, because better times are ahead, as a Redskins Fan we have to believe that.
This season for anyone who has been paying attention, was never about winning, from the getgo, Shanny said this was going to be a rebuild, a vastly different message than he gave us when he got here. While he came short of actually admitting that he was flat out wrong on several decisions, actions spoke louder than words and he drafted guys on defence to fill the massive holes that the switch created. He admitted the Mcnabb decision was a fail and hitched his wagon to Beck and Grossman, neither of whom would seem to be an upgrade yet have looked better in this offence. We were fooled early on by going 3-1 and keeping games close. I could document all the mistakes but its been done, instead I'll talk about the team now.
The truth is we aren't at the point where I think we can be consistently competitive, we still have massive holes along the Oline, the only player who has looked pretty consistent so far is Hurt at Guard and montgomery at center and neither is someone who looks unreplaceable everyone else shouldnt even be back unless its as backups. Receiver is serviceable but NEEDS an upgrade, we need a number one receiver because Moss would be an outstanding number 2. Hankerson might be that guy some day but hes injured and probably wont be back full strength until the year after next everyone else right now might flash but really arent much more than #3 level receivers. TE went from being a strength, but with Davis having a bout of stupidity and Cooley coming off another injury it no longer looks as bullish. RB is not set but looks solid with Helu making the most of his chances, Hightower is an upgrade over Royster who is serviceable but nothing special I would be surprised of Torain is brought back as he is a walking bandaid. This offence has just enough talent to flash against weak defences, heck against weak defences we actually look good, we move the ball, we even score! the problem is that against teams with decent secondaries, our receivers don't run free so easily, against a solid front, we dont get push and against good linebackers, we allow penetration.
On Defence? we are vastly improved over last season, which means we are about where we were before we blew everything up. some people think of this as improvement, I look at it as treading water after sinking. We really didnt improve anything, we are just getting back to where we were at around 11th on defence, we need to continue improving or this was a waste. On Dline we do look better, Carriker is having a career year and even though thats not saying much, he looks pretty solid, Bowen suffers from not having anyone to rotate with, he is actually not very solid against the run for such a big DE. Cofield has played pretty well but is another guy who suffers from not having a backup, he would be better served at DE in this scheme as he gets pushed around a lot in the run game, I would love to see us grab a huge run stuffer at NT and rotate him inside and at DE, it would change a lot. Reily has stepped up at ILB but still makes mental mistakes, that will change as he gains confidence and experience. Fletch is slowing down but he is savvy and was pretty fast to begin with, I don't think Rocky will want to be back in this scheme and will have more realistic expectations in free agency now. OLB is probably the strength of this team with an above average guy in Rak and a stellar one in Kerrigan. It would be amazing if Rak ever has the light go on, he is an above average player right now simply based on his measurables, he isnt a super quick guy but has a solid first step and amazing strength and power for his size he just needs to learn more varied pass rush moves and how to be a linebacker, he still looks uncomfortable at times. Kerrigan look polished and while he does make the odd mistake, he plays far more like a veteran. We need some upgrades at corner as Hall and wilson are not number 1 cover guys and we have no young guys to step up. we will also need to start looking at safeties as atogwe hasnt been healthy or very good and Landry is not worth a huge long term contract. Gomes has looked ok in bursts but is young.
specials, we could use a more consistent kicker but Rocca was a huge find. in my mind cover teams are as good as your depth, and ours arent great but should get better when we add some more players.
You guys can read about the Giants anywhere on the net, they arent really a superbowl contender either but they are one of the better teams in our division, Im not gonna bother talking about them because this game isnt about them or even us this season, because this season is lost, we need to evaluate the young guys, identify holes and fill them in the offseason. some of my fellow posters on BGOB have said it better than me, we arent going to cheer to lose, we are going to accept short term pain for long term gain. and all we can do is hope that the team uses the picks well. If everyone could be in our gameday chats, they would see guys who havent given up on the team, maybe we arent cheering for this particular team the rabid way we usually do, but thats because we are washington redskins fans, not washington redskins of 2011 only fans. I don't know even one guy who reads this forum who doesnt bleed burgundy and gold, we all want our team in the superbowl, I think that we just disagree in how to get there and how willing we are to accept short term pain lol
all that goes to what the point is about this blog, we are going to lose to the Giants and im ok with that, we are probably going to lose out, and im ok with that. because we might lose but we are no longer losers. we didnt pack it in against the Pats we were just not good enough to win yet. thats changing and now? we just have to have faith that we will draft the right guys, sign the right guys in free agency and for now? just play out the string baby, because better times are ahead, as a Redskins Fan we have to believe that.