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Laron Landry and Brian Orakpo: Faces of Organizational Failure

Bulldog

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The Redskins seem to be the only team in the NFL that draft talented players and then asks them to play out of position, thereby limiting the impact they are going to have on the team.

And what seems really incongruous to me is that the Redskins make these decisions without having all-pro level performers at the positions these players would naturally line up to perform at for the team.

Laron Landry and Brian Orakpo both need to be rescued.

Landry was drafted as and projected to be a SS. Because of Sean Taylor's tragic demise Landry was switched to FS, a move most thought would be temporary until Washington could draft, trade or sign a legitimate FS. Here we are 3 years later and Landry is still playing 20 yards off the ball and people are still asking why Laron has not played up to the potential of a former #6 overall draft choice?

Brian Orakpo is the second major case in point. At 6'4 and 263 Orakpo is big enough to play DE in the 4-3. A rotation with PD on the run downs to get Brian acclimated to the NFL might still have been in order. But the move to OLB now has #98 playing a very tentative game. He shows flashes of speed and athletic ability but his instincts are not really being honed at the position where he is going to make his bread and butter in the NFL.

I know where he played at Texas, but in the end result Orakpo looks and plays like a RDE. He is a pass rusher not a physical run stopper like Daniels or Wynn in their primes, both of whom went 280-290.

So, who does that leave out in the rain? Andre Carter.

Carter is 30 years old and had as many sacks in 16 games in 2008 as Ware did for the Cowboys in a SINGLE game.

why are we protecting Carter at the cost of developing #98, who is going to be here years after Carter is sitting in a rocking chair collecting his pension.

Carter has not made a compelling case for himself on the field. Yes, he is lauded by the coaches for being in shape and prepared to play.

But in the end result you not only have to prepare well but you have to play well :D

Given the club's 1-2 start and where this team seems to be headed in putting forth poorer performances with each passing week, one can start to look at the future beyond 2009 and it is not a bright one here.

Except in a few cases where the club did manage to draft to sign capable players who have that extra dimension of talent that sets them apart.

It's a shame for those players they aren't being used properly in the sorry, unproductive systems the team is running.

The same can be said for Malcolm Kelly, who is nowhere to be found on the field in the red zone despite being the only receiver in the top 3 that can create a real mismatch in the end zone.

How many catches does #12 have so far in 3 games after being named a 'starter' by Zorn?

How many times has Campbell actually thrown the ball his way?

Yep, there is some talent out there but it seems to be rusting on the vine.

Guess this is going to be up to Mike Shanahan to fix.
 
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Good post. You are exactly right.

Moving Orakpo to Linebacker was a stupid move to fill Marcus Washington's spot. Orakpo was a prolific pass rusher at DE at Texas. That's what he excels at. He has good moves and great speed.

It really is a shame watching this organization.
 
I couldn't agree more about Andre Carter. He's been another one of management's highly overpaid busts since he got here. He doesn't play the run well so if he isn't sacking the quarterback, there's no point in having him out there. If I was running the team, he'd be one of the first players on a bus out of town.
 
Yep.

Landry is a human rocket and should be down around the line.

But he's also our only real safety with any speed, so the coaching staff feels like he needs to be the FS. It is a shame. Complete waste of talent.

I also agree about Orakpo. It's pretty obvious that he's playing out of position, but again, our linebacker depth is awful. Who else would you put there? Blades? Eesh.
 
Have you interviewed for the GM slot yet?
You jest but there's a slightly deeper angle to your joke. If we as rank amateurs know the importance of line play, keeping draft picks and that we're playing players out of position, etc., why doesn't the F.O. know this? Heck, even if Snyder was making all the personnel decisions, you'd think he'd have figured out by now what we all seem to know already. Go figure.
 
yep, Orakpo plays well when he is applying pressure to the qb instead of covering the tight end or the fullback in the flat :)

what a waste of talent.

remember who the Redskins strong side backers used to be?

100% effort guys like Rich Milot.

did the Redskins attempt to play Dexter Manley at OLB in 1981? At the time he was one of the fastest 255-260 players in the NFL.

this team does things that don't seem to make any sense to anyone outside the bubble at Ashburn.
 
Amazing isn't it?

When facing a mediocre OL Andre Carter looks like a world-beater.

But when the Giants and Chris Snee come to town all of a sudden Carter and his #99 jersey just seems to disappear.
 
Sorry Mike, he's just being realistic. I don't think it's unfair to point out that a player only shows up when facing mediocre competition.
 
hey, guys not to belabor the point but the object is to win.

if the Redskins and certain players on the team only win matchups with the sisters of the poor but don't show up against their NFC East opponents WE DON'T NEED THEM ON THIS TEAM.
 
where's the love?

Portis said a year plus ago he was one of the top 3 backs in the NFL.

Hall just received a $55M contract with a bonus larger than Champ Bailey's.

Carter finished 2008 with 4 sacks. he signed a deal here for $30M over 5 years in 2006.

These aren't younger draft picks or undrafted free agents we are looking to see build their careers and develop as NFLers.

These are veteran players that are supposed to bring this kind of production and effort EACH week.

Where were Hall and Carter last week? Where were they in the opener?

It isn't enough for a player to have 6 or 7 solid games in a 16 game schedule.

And that has largely been Washington's problem with name free agents and trades.

Players flash the all-pro ability that earned them pub on their former clubs but don't perform consistently game in and game out.

The difference between these players and say London Fletcher is that Fletcher shows up each week without complaining about the media or teammates and does his job consistently well.

I don't think it's an accident that Fletcher is the only one of these veteran FAs that has made it to and won the Super Bowl.
 
It sure was nice to see the Washington Nationals win their last game today against Atlanta in 15 innings. Still can't forget the 59-103 record though :)

Likewise it was nice to see the Redskins win rather than lose.

But I am not going to 'over' pour the glass of optimism becasue Josh Johnson's scalp is on the lodge pole of this Redskins team.

The Bucs were beaten 24-0 last week by the Giants and didn't get into NY territory until the third quarter.

Let's use a 'real' measuring stick to measure real progress.
 
No matter what, that's always a good thing Mike.
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Great post BD - and just to add on, what about guys like Marko Mitchell? Skins passing offense is in desperate need of a boost. We seem to have found a real player in Mitchell in the 7th round. Instead of giving him a chance to spark the offense like a Colston in NOLA, or a Mike Sims-Walker in Jacksonville, we make him inactive. WTF? We sign a guy like Aldrige with blazing speed, and keep in him inactive. It just makes you scratch your head.
 
Great post BD - and just to add on, what about guys like Marko Mitchell? Skins passing offense is in desperate need of a boost. We seem to have found a real player in Mitchell in the 7th round. Instead of giving him a chance to spark the offense like a Colston in NOLA, or a Mike Sims-Walker in Jacksonville, we make him inactive. WTF? We sign a guy like Aldrige with blazing speed, and keep in him inactive. It just makes you scratch your head.

I agree 100%, Lanky. I was impressed a lot with the potential and athleticism Mitchell showed from the get go and through the pre-season, having him inactive is a definite "WTF?!?"-or so I thought until a possible "reason" popped into my head. The FO is feeling like they have to play the "expensive investment" players and may be afraid that if they put in Mitchell and he shines it will make their heavy money choices look like, well, dumb moves. I think they ( the D&V football comedy team) are still trying to maintain an image of "hey, we know what we're doing" that's becoming less and less tenable.

Oh, I absolutely love Aldridge's speed-nothing like it exists any where else on the roster-but there's still a problem with holding on to the ball-but I'd still be willing to give him a shot once in a while just to shake the other team up a little.
 

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