Skins Make Roster Moves 5/4/17

The truth is that the Redskins have had less than a formidable defensive line for the past 6-7 years and during that time Golston was never able to establish himself as a starter here. Now that he is 34 years old, I think the club was somewhat generous in bringing him back in 2016 for his 'leadership', etc.

In 2017, we have to move on.

I think it's a reasonable gamble to bring back a guy like Ziggy Hood who played out of position in at NT in 2016 and has played respectably at DE during his career.

He could be part of a rotation on the outside with McClain.

From Tandler's article on NT last week:

"Then there is Taylor, the true wild card for Washington at nose tackle. A first-round pick in 2011, Taylor is a D.C. native looking to again prove he belongs in the NFL. He missed the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons. Injuries derailed his career, but his first three seasons in the NFL, Taylor showed he could be a force.

At 6-foot-3 and 337 pounds, Taylor goes about 30 pounds more than the other possible Redskins nose tackles. And he's performed at a high level. As a rookie in 2012, he started 16 games, made 37 tackles and logged four sacks. "

Another DC native coming home

I'd love to see Taylor make a comeback. That said, even he is able to start, what percentage snaps might he see? After laying off two years due to injury I suspect the prudent thing is to ease him into the lineup. Still need someone to cover the position as an alternate even if Phil returns.

Burgundy Burner said:

From the Redskins site:
Washington Redskins: Kedric Golston

From the NFL:
Kedric Golston, DE for the Washington Redskins at NFL.com

From Rotoworld:
Kedric Golston - Washington Redskins - 2017 Player Profile - Rotoworld.com

From WaPo:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...on-on-injured-reserve/?utm_term=.c2b394ddaaf3

From CBS:
Kedric Golston, DE, Washington Redskins, NFL - CBSSports.com


In earlier years, he played at a lighter weight. In recent years, the current weight (unless he has lost weight during the 2017 offseason).

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His current weight of 330 may make him the most viable option for NT at some point.
Key word is "may"...if none of the other options work out ; considering all our current options have question marks...
Taylor with his injury and rust issues, Ioannidis may not have the experience or tools, and the others on the roster are either too raw, or they're simply not cut out to play NT.
I can see bringing him back, if all else fails, and Tomsula makes somethin out of him

Many published reports indicate that the team only plays a true NT about 12-15 snaps a game. Not a workload that anyone should be unable to handle.

Chris said:

Not a workload that anyone should be unable to handle.

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Ah, so the Help Wanted sign says "No Experience Necessary, for Part-Time Work"
Perfect for stay-at-home Moms, retirees, or high school students !

Health benefits are included though.

Chris said:

Many published reports indicate that the team only plays a true NT about 12-15 snaps a game. Not a workload that anyone should be unable to handle.

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"by the team'. Is that in reference to the Redskins or any other team in general? If it's the Redskins, judging by their failure in stopping the run, I'd say 12-15 snaps might not be enough. They tried various guys last season at NT but it just wasn't their position and it showed. Opponents ran at will against these guys last year and if you want to stay in a 3/4 base you need to plug up the gaping hole in the center of the line.

One example-

The Redskins play their 3-4 base front perhaps 20 to 25 percent of the time. That equates to approximately 10-15 snaps per game. It helps explain why they don’t want someone who can only play nose, but it also remains a position that can’t be dismissed, either. Not when you’ve struggled to stop the run like Washington. The nickel run defense, when they’re in more of a 4-3 look, had been a big problem in recent years, too.

http://www.espn.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/31201/redskins-hope-a-healthy-phil-taylor-can-provide-answer-at-nose-tackle

And they were absolutely awful against the run. 2nd worst in percentage of 1st downs given up against the run, worst in giving up 3rd downs and teams really didn't run that much against them - about the middle of the league in attempts. If you want to play a 3-4 get a big NT that can give you snaps. If you can't play a 3-4 then don't. 20 to 25% of the time in a 3-4 is too much if you can't stop the run. Their nickle was bad for a lot of reasons but mostly they didn't use the size they had to stop TE's from blocking or receiving. If you want a guy like Fuller as a NB you need a LB/S to backup against the TE - Washington kinda got that concept late in the season when they moved Craven around as a Safety. But it took awhile...

About half the league (15 teams) ran a 3-4 last year. Teams that used an 'athletic' NT of a lighter size that they could move around (as in smaller than the Redskins average NT, which averaged on the lean size to start with) were teams like; the Egals, Chargers, Saints, 9er's...these teams also sucked against the run.

If you really want to move guys around on the defensive line without a NT, you'd best have a guy that can backup behind them. Murphy a better choice to move around as like an ILB instead of the outside. He picked up the slack well on the outside last year because Smith stumbled but he's a better inside force if you want to dance around with your front 3.

For the record, I've never been a fan of the 34 unless you have freaks to play it. The way this team plays it is suspect at best. Kerrigan, for example, is in my mind a DE who they call an OLB. Give me a stalwart at MLB and two athletic disrupters at OLB and call it a day.