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So, I don't start threads here very often. I read a lot, post a little, and occasionally hit up the game chat. There's a reason for that. BGO is a place that I treat with a certain reverence. Even though I feel wholeheartedly that I'm among friends, I don't want to "clutter" the board, or discuss things the far-smarter football minds around here have already hashed out.
But this is a topic that I just HAD to get out there for discussion. When was the last time you saw a Redskin team that was this purely athletic?
When we drafted Brian Orakpo, I kind of shook my head and thought, "Wow. It's not fair to our opponents to have a guy who is this strong, fast and quick." Now we have two. Though I admit I wasn't very familiar with Ryan Kerrigan when we drafted him, I've quickly learned that this kid is an absolutely frightening athlete.
Who else makes the plays he has in these first two games? How many guys can fight off a cut block, in a split-second get his hands up, deflect and intercept the pass, and run it in for a score? (I'll spot you Orakpo.) And getting down the field to make the play on the ball that Fletch ended up picking off today, brought a sincere "holy hell!" out of me. I love having that kind of speed, power, and football smarts on both ends of the LOS.
Even the guys up front are serious athletes. Gone is Mr. Lay-on-the-field. Here is Barry Cofield, who always seems to be motoring into the right position. Carriker has a great combination of size and speed, and so does Bowen. We might get beat once in a while up front, or in the D-secondary, but it's not because we don't have the athletes anymore.
On the offensive side, the burst from both Hightower and Helu has been just amazing. Both of those guys seem to see the cut, and once they do, they're immediately hitting top gear. There's no tentativeness, there's no hitting the line "soft." It's "there it is, POW!!!"
But the most improved athlete on this team, IMO, is Sleepy Davis. Kid worked his ass off and shed 20 lbs in the offseason. He's leaner, quicker, and has become a serious threat; and MAJOR matchup problem.
Top to bottom, on both sides of the ball, this team just looks more explosive. I used to watch games and think "is it me, or is this other team just a lot quicker than us?" I don't expect to have that feeling much this year...if at all.
Hail.
But this is a topic that I just HAD to get out there for discussion. When was the last time you saw a Redskin team that was this purely athletic?
When we drafted Brian Orakpo, I kind of shook my head and thought, "Wow. It's not fair to our opponents to have a guy who is this strong, fast and quick." Now we have two. Though I admit I wasn't very familiar with Ryan Kerrigan when we drafted him, I've quickly learned that this kid is an absolutely frightening athlete.
Who else makes the plays he has in these first two games? How many guys can fight off a cut block, in a split-second get his hands up, deflect and intercept the pass, and run it in for a score? (I'll spot you Orakpo.) And getting down the field to make the play on the ball that Fletch ended up picking off today, brought a sincere "holy hell!" out of me. I love having that kind of speed, power, and football smarts on both ends of the LOS.
Even the guys up front are serious athletes. Gone is Mr. Lay-on-the-field. Here is Barry Cofield, who always seems to be motoring into the right position. Carriker has a great combination of size and speed, and so does Bowen. We might get beat once in a while up front, or in the D-secondary, but it's not because we don't have the athletes anymore.
On the offensive side, the burst from both Hightower and Helu has been just amazing. Both of those guys seem to see the cut, and once they do, they're immediately hitting top gear. There's no tentativeness, there's no hitting the line "soft." It's "there it is, POW!!!"
But the most improved athlete on this team, IMO, is Sleepy Davis. Kid worked his ass off and shed 20 lbs in the offseason. He's leaner, quicker, and has become a serious threat; and MAJOR matchup problem.
Top to bottom, on both sides of the ball, this team just looks more explosive. I used to watch games and think "is it me, or is this other team just a lot quicker than us?" I don't expect to have that feeling much this year...if at all.
Hail.