DieselPower, you hit the nail on the head.
It's not that the Redskins are not improving talent-wise, because we can all recognize that compared to the talent level on this team in 2013 or 2014 we are far better across the board now vs. then.
The problem is as you said that it is taking a VERY LONG TIME for this team to put it together and make a credible run for something important.
We go into the draft and find 1 or 2 starters and a couple of other guys that are contributing. Over time, that's fine, you replenish the departures you suffer and add younger depth.
BUT, it seems every team that is emerging has that ONE draft where they really hit the jackpot. Sometimes it is a combination of the one big draft put together with an outstanding free agent class.
We haven't had that.
We haven't had that draft where we get say our first 3 picks that come in and make an immediate impact and we go into free agency and come up with the Teshaun Gipsons, Malik Jacksons, Calais Campbells that say the Jaguars did.
Now, Malik Jackson came on board for big, big dollars from the Broncos after their Super Bowl win.
So, perhaps that move is one you don't make.
But Gipson was available after being a top shelf player in Cleveland and would have immediately improved the Redskins secondary at a time when we had NO SAFETIES on the roster worth a damn. And he was only 25.
But we said 'PASS'.
Ditto with Campbell. Campbell is 31 but is a player at 6'6 and 320 that presents the ability to play DE or DT in various alignments.
He is very strong at the point of attack and to me looks like a player that is going to continue to perform at a high level for several more seasons.
In terms of the draft, the Redskins have had some good fortune with top picks such as Trent, Ryan, Brandon, etc.
But we have also come up with speed bumps that either take a very long time to acclimate to the NFL or are guys that are mild to mid busts.
Take 2016.
In 2017 we got very little out of the top of our 2016 draft order. Josh Doctson was very average, showing physical talent but a lack of refined skills, route running and hands that are going to translate to being an impact player soon.
Su'a Cravens walked away from the team as the
#2 pick and who know whether he comes back and whether he comes back to the Redskins.
This past year we took Jonathan Allen and paired him with 2016
#5 pick Matt Ioannidis to form an effective tandem inside.
Great.
But then we took Ryan Anderson in Round 2 at a position, outside linebacker, where we really need someone to step up to balance Ryan Kerrigan on the other side.
Anderson played very few snaps with the regular defense (Redskins were ranked in the mid-20's) and was tasteless, colorless and odorless as a rookie. There seems to be a real question of whether he has the skills to fit into a 3-4 scheme as an outside linebacker.
It may not be quite fair, but it seems running down the rosters that the Rams, Eagles and other teams that are emerging get MORE out of these early picks overall.
While they miss on some players, each year they seem to add a NUMBER of players via draft and free agency that come in and become part of the 'core'.
That's how the Eagles have gone from 4-12 and 7-9 to being 13-3 in 2017.
After Chip Kelly broke this team down and traded away or released most of the talent and brought in guys Pederson and Rosenbaum have either released or traded for picks.
So, to me they were starting from a talent/core base as low as or even LOWER than the Redskins.
But by being aggressive they not only were able to move up and taken Carson Wentz but were able to trade away Sam Bradford and recoup a
#1 pick in 2017. They flipped guys like Kiko Alonso and Eric Rowe for picks.
The Redskins meanwhile have not been as aggressive.
Rather than taking decisive action to resolve the Kirk Cousins contract situation after 2015 or 2016, the team sat there and talked about having time on their side to working out a long-term deal.
Now, we sit with a quarterback that has all the leverage and who is going to be harder to trade this offseason than he would have been in 2016, where we turned away potential suitors by saying he was not available.
A good front office doesn't take 3 years to figure out if a guy is a franchise quarterback and how much they can afford to pay him.
They don't leave their head coach twisting in the wind on who he is building an offense around.
So, again here we wait.
We wait for the Redskins to be decisive and aggressive in improving - and making it pay off finally!!
We wait for that one killer draft where we come up with
#2 picks that rise to the level of a top 10 performer and give the team pro bowl performances at bargain prices for 2-3 years.
So far our
#2 picks have been less than stellar.
Preston Smith is OK. An inconsistent player who goes 4 or 5 games putting up numbers and then disappearing for long stretches.
Trent Murphy was perhaps a stretch as a high
#2 pick. But he has improved and can come back from his injury to again be a solid performer.
But again, he is not a player that is going to help turn the tide of a defense.
Su'a Cravens? Right now he is a bust/write-off. If he does come back to the NFL he is going to have to prove he is not in fact the 'flake' everyone thinks he is. And then he is going to have to find an NFL position as he is undersized to be an NFL linebacker and seems to shy away from taking the hits inside.
He has never played safety for any length of time, so anyone projecting him there at this point is simply guessing and hoping.
Ryan Anderson? Yet another
#2 pick that the Redskins took like Murphy based on college production but not necessarily on how well he fits into what the team is tying to do on defense.
When I look around the league I see that the Redskins had chances to take guys like Garroppolo, Michael Thomas, DeMarcus Lawrence.
Guys like Thomas that have already proven they are at a pro bowl level or like Garroppolo or Lawrence that they have the NFL skills to be difference makers going forward.