Horton Benched
The Washington Times (via twitter - http://twitter.com/TWTSports) has reported that Chris Horton has been benched for Sundays game vs Tampa and Reed Doughty will be starting in his place.
5 months ago
dt3
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Thursday October 1, 2009 approx 1pm EST
The day Greg Blache officially lost his damn mind.
So let me get this straight, we bench our 7th round draft pick who has been playing out of his mind so far this season, as well as last season? For what? A pass interference call that could have gone either way? Have we honestly forgotten that HE’S the reason why we even beat the RAMS?!?!
So I guess since he’s trying to “mix it up” we can expect Wilson to be playing SLB with Orakpo as DE right??? FUCK!!
I'm to young to Die Danny...don't make me do it tomorrow....
by Rekka on Oct 1, 2009 2:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Stupid
If you want to give the defense a shot in the arm by moving pieces around, that’s fine. They certainly haven’t lived up to their billing yet. But don’t bench one of the only two consistent members of the unit (the other, of course, is Fletcher). He had one bad play. Some guys out there have only had one good play!
But Rekka, it might actually be interesting to start Orakpo at DE. That’s his more natural position, so I could see that working as a shot in the arm move. Of course, there’s no one behind him really ready to start at SLB, but he’s not really all that great as a linebacker, anyway. May as well put him in a more comfortable position.
"One-on-one? You can't." -Gilbert Arenas
JC Bandwagon all day!
by kseandoyle on Oct 1, 2009 3:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
that's actualy what I was trying to say about Rak
If we’re going to be shuffling pieces around we’d BETTER be moving Orakpo to his natural position too. Otherwise this whole starting someone else so he can “re-focus” thing is bull. if that’s the case, then everybody better be ready to see Tryon trot his ass out there on Sunday, because Hall is going to be on the sideline meditating.
I'm to young to Die Danny...don't make me do it tomorrow....
by Rekka on Oct 1, 2009 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Dumb as hell
What has Doughty proven to say that he’s better than Horton? Absolutely nothing. Plus, Horton has been playing well.
This is thoroughly annoying.
by DCO'sfan on Oct 1, 2009 3:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Boooooooooooo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laydODN6xVk
by hibachi on Oct 1, 2009 4:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Reed Doughty
has been playing above average this season
by Elaw6 on Oct 1, 2009 4:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
chris has been making plays
what’s your point?
I'm to young to Die Danny...don't make me do it tomorrow....
by Rekka on Oct 1, 2009 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
he’s been giving up just as many. Your assertion that his penalty could have went either way is almost laughable.
If Bulger doesnt underthrow that ball at the end of the game I think he would have gotten burnt there as well.
by dt3 on Oct 1, 2009 5:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
if other people stepped up
then he wouldn’t be “giving up” all these other plays. question for you. you have a big project at work that your working on with a team. this project decides whether or not you still get paid or if your boss tells you don’t let the door hit you on the way out. if some people on your team decide to slack off, do you try to pick up the slack or keep your head down and JUST do your part?
I'm to young to Die Danny...don't make me do it tomorrow....
by Rekka on Oct 1, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
No one will argue with you that Horton can make alot of plays within 5-10 yards of the LOS. I just think he gives up too many plays past that point.
I am willing to bet that Blache just sees doughty as a safer option. He might not bring down the RB for a loss of 3 like Chris would on first down but he is much less likely to give up another 47 yard PI call on 2nd/3rd down. A mistake like that can kill an entire game for a team that is having problems scoring points like the skins are now.
by dt3 on Oct 1, 2009 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I can agree with that
but turning his head around faster when he’s making a play like that can be taught with repetition (although I personally thought he got it around fast enough). I’m just pissed, he would be starting for a few teams right now, but he’s on the bench for a mistake, as if he’s the only one that’s been making them on this squad.
I'm to young to Die Danny...don't make me do it tomorrow....
by Rekka on Oct 1, 2009 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'll take my chances
One borderline penalty in 19 games is fine with me. Especially when Horton is in on just about EVERY play. Why the hell was Horton the only one in the vicinity covering a WR on that play anyway? Besides the fact that he’s one of our smartest defenders and has natural instincts for being in the right place at the right time.
by VA_Skin on Oct 1, 2009 6:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I dont have the stats on penalties but I do have the stats on interceptions… he hasnt had one in 15 games. (and i asure you this isnt the first penalty called on 48 in 19 games).
No one will argue with you on whether or not he is/isnt a smart player, or whether or not he has a nose for the ball… because he is/does. If he was a little bit better in coverage he would be a great safety, if he was a little bit bigger he would be a good linebacker. Unfortunately, he isnt.
With the athletic LBs they have outside, blitzing them more makes the most sense if you want to start getting more aggressive on defense. If that means putting a safer bet at FS, and in turn opening up orakpo to blitz more, i thought it would be welcomed.
by dt3 on Oct 1, 2009 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Horton is a SS (that may be what you meant)
But as a SS, he’s supposed to help stop the run, not the pass as much (which is what Landry at FS does). I guess compared to Polamalu, the best SS in the game, Horton needs to improve in coverage. But, maybe you’re right and Doughty is better in coverage. He never plays long enough to know. I would still rather see Horton continue to develop. This is only his second season.
by VA_Skin on Oct 1, 2009 7:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i stand corrected
I did think they had horton playing free. Isnt Laron’s more natural position at strong?? Would Laron stay at free with Doughty moving into the lineup??
by dt3 on Oct 1, 2009 8:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
No
Doughty will be the strong safety, and Landry will stay at FS. Actually, moving Landry back to strong and putting Moore at FS woul make more sense than this. Blache says he is putting Doughty in because he blitzes better. I have two problems with that statement. 1) HOW DO WE KNOW?? We never blitz, so how do we know Horton can’t blitz? I remember Horton blitzing effectively plenty last year. 2) Why are we worrying about blitzing the safety before we blitz our LB’s?
And, as for coverage, Doughty is horrible. He gets burnt everytime he drops back.
by CJHutch on Oct 2, 2009 9:10 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Honestly
I think LaRon is one of those rare hybrid safeties that can play both. He did in college and now in the pros. He’s got the speed for a FS and the size for a SS, along with the athleticism to do both. That was one of the great things about having him and 21 together on the field, they were both good enough to be interchangeable (which worked nicely for disguising schemes).
by VA_Skin on Oct 2, 2009 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I was scratching my head, too
But after I got over my man-crush on 48, I realized that this is the right move. Doughty has stepped up almost every snap he has played. He’s made tackles in the backfield and hit his gap hard each game. He and Horton are very close and I don’t think we’ll have a drop off in performance at all.
Even though Horton pretty much won the Rams game single-handedly, he has also been out of position and missed a number of tackles (Stephen Jackson’s big run was set up by a Horton whiff). The same thing happened against the Lions.
While benching someone like Daniels or Rogers would be more of a statement, this does serve to put guys on notice slightly. Blache also said that he would be putting players in better positions to make plays. Will we see Orakpo on the line all day?!?!?!
Read the entry on Blache over at the Redskins Blog. I came away feeling a whole lot more confident.
by Boo. on Oct 1, 2009 4:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Question Boo
I just read the Blache interview and like you say, it is promising. He also said that the things going on with the D were his fault. So does this mean that he’s going to be coaching Chris up in your opinion? or is he just going back to Reed to spice things up?
I'm to young to Die Danny...don't make me do it tomorrow....
by Rekka on Oct 1, 2009 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don’t think Horton needs much external motivation, and he won’t be sitting on the bench the whole game. This will probably just make him hungrier and help him focus a little more. Its just his second year, after all.
I don’t know how much spicier it will make things on its own. Reed and Horton have pretty much the same skill set. Hopefully he;ll throw in a few other wrinkles to help everyone reach their potential.
by Boo. on Oct 1, 2009 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don't care
WHAT Blache says. If he’s gonna start benching players for mistakes, then he’d better get a longer bench. And Hall and Landry should have splinters the rest of the year. I’ve got an idea, how about benching the players making mistakes AND not making plays.
by CJHutch on Oct 1, 2009 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Are you watching the game film with the team?
Horton will come back even hungrier. It doesn’t matter if you are making plays if you are also giving up just as many.
by Boo. on Oct 1, 2009 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
EXACTLY MY POINT
I'm to young to Die Danny...don't make me do it tomorrow....
by Rekka on Oct 1, 2009 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
This is
one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. Other than Fletcher, I can’t name anyone who’s done more on defense than Horton. I think this as everything to do with Horton having a good attitude, so they feel he can “take it.” Of all the guys on the team that DESERVE to get benched(Carter, Daniels, Hall,etc.) they’re gonna bench the 2nd hardest working guy on the defense? C’mon. When I heard on the radio that Doughty was starting, my first thought was “WOW, they benched Landry?” Not in a million years would I imagine they bench Horton. Doughty is a good BACK UP safety. Now you’re messing with the head of one of your FEW bright, young, up and coming players on the team to make a statement? That’s like me beating my GOOD kid because I don’t want my BAD kid to get upset. All I have to say is, London Fletcher had better watch out, and get the Pro Bowl thoughts out of his mind. This just shows that Blache is as lost on what to do as Zorn. What’s in the water in the coaches office?
by CJHutch on Oct 1, 2009 5:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Easy Hutch
It might not be as bad as you think. Let’s give it a chance. 48 will still play plenty.
by Boo. on Oct 1, 2009 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
But you do make plenty of very good points
There are other people who deserve to ride the pine more.
by Boo. on Oct 1, 2009 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sorry
this just irks the crap outta me. All along everyone has been saying that Blache needs to be more aggressive, and HE’S been saying that his scheme is fine. Now that he finally realizes he needs to be more aggressive, rather than being a man and owning up to it, he takes it out on Horton and makes it seem like he’s the problem. News Flash, we’re O and 3 without Horton. Yes, he made a few mistakes, gave up some plays. But more than the rest of the team? Hell no. And Zorn himself defended the pass interference call.
by CJHutch on Oct 1, 2009 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
if you were going to get more aggressive on D and you decided the best way to do that is to blitz more LBs; wouldnt it make perfect sense to then swap out a safety who would be more comfortable with dropping back in coverage.
by dt3 on Oct 1, 2009 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
what makes sense
is having your 11 best players on the field. But this isn’t about making sense. I don’t even think it’s about making pressure. I think it’s about Blache wanting to send a message, and after looking at a veteran laden defense with a whole bunch of strong personalities, he figured the guy who made it against long odds would be the one who could take being benched and not bitch about it.
by CJHutch on Oct 1, 2009 9:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not that I disagree with you
Because I truly don’t understand why we’re benching Horton. But Blache did own up and say that he was at fault for our failures on defense, so he wasn’t taking it out on Horton so to speak.
“Quite honestly,” Blache said, “if the calls aren’t real good, that’s my fault. If the players don’t play with detail, that’s my fault. because that all comes back to coaching. If we didn’t have talent, then you’d say, well, there’s a talent issue. We have talent. But in our league, the most talented teams don’t always win. The teams that play the best win. Like Sunday, I thought we were a more talented team, but we didn’t play better.”
“So that comes back on me. When you stop, you look in the mirror, you look at all the details, that comes back to coaches. And, quite candidly, I have no problem accepting that. Talk to the players about it. I told them: I’ll do a better job of giving them calls, I’ll do a better job of helping them on third down, put them in situations where they can be successful.
I’m seriously not coming up with a logical reason as to why Horton is being benched, especially considering how crappy almost everyone has been playing on defense.
by bigrm18 on Oct 1, 2009 8:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Haha - great analogy
That’s like me beating my GOOD kid because I don’t want my BAD kid to get upset.
by VA_Skin on Oct 1, 2009 6:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Doughty is a good safety
But he ALWAYS gets hurt. Now that he’ll be playing more, it probably won’t be long before he’s on IR again.
by VA_Skin on Oct 1, 2009 7:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Actually, I
don’t think he’s that good a safety. I think he’s been a feel good story that stuck around because of his off the field issues. But the fact that he has to look to the sideline to get the play call because he can’t hear it on the field is bothersome to me. If I sound cold for saying that, so be it. Early in camp they were saying how far Horton had progressed that now he’s able to line up and call plays for the secondary. Can Reed do that? I doubt it. Look, Doughty is a good guy, he’s pretty good as a run-stopping BACKUP safety. But that’s it. He’s not a starter, and putting him in there just makes Horton look bad no matter how you cut it, which very well could play with his psyche.
by CJHutch on Oct 1, 2009 9:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
A little more perspective on this
The latest post by Terl sheds a little more light on this situation.
Like I said before, Horton isn’t getting benched, he’ll still play a bunch. Blache isn’t punishing Horton for that pass interference call, either. He has made a decision that Doughty is playing better than Horton right now (and I would have to agree; Reed’s play has stood out to me repeatedly so far), specifically in terms of filling his gap assignments. Doughty is also more experienced, and if Blache is gonna set the dogs loose, he needs everyone else to stay disciplined.
And if you read Horton’s comments about it, you won’t think that this will have any adverse affect on his development as a player. Everyone is making wayyyy too big a deal about this.
by Boo. on Oct 1, 2009 11:18 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I heard the
Blache interview this morning. He said Horton has made A mistake in the last two games. A mistake. He said he needs to learn to get his head around to avoid the PI call. So, you’re telling me you’re benching him because of two mistakes, one being a PI? Well, by that logic, Carlos Rogers should be like 5th string.
by CJHutch on Oct 2, 2009 9:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
By that logic
Deangelo Hall should have been cut by now.
by bigrm18 on Oct 2, 2009 9:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
That isn't what I said at all
Blache said he is not benching Horton because he made a mistake. He is just promoting Reed because he thinks Reed is playing better.
And I agree that the corners are both playing like shit. Even Smoot has missed tackles. So who do you start in their place? Tryon? Barnes? Westbrook?
We’ll see how it works out along the line. I wouldn’t even want Blache to announce a change like moving Orakpo to DE, let Tampa be surprised by what we throw at them.
Maybe I’m giving Blache way too much credit, but I’m not ready to kill him like some of you guys (Hutch). We are 1-2, there’s plenty of football left.
by Boo. on Oct 2, 2009 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm not saying
that’s what you said. What I’m saying is that I heard the Blache interview this morning. Maybe it’s different from what you heard. But I heard specifically say that “Reed is playing better right now, Chris has made 2 mistakes the past two games”, etc., etc.
I was on board with Blache earlier on. I liked the way he seemed to handle things, being no nonsense, and taking no crap. But it is obvious to me that he is just bull headed, and will not admit he is wrong. In truth, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was told by someone upstairs that he needs to start blitzing. But rather than just swallow that pill, he decides to give himself a way to save face. Think about it. His original statement was that it was “on him”, that he should be thrown “under the bus.” He also said he’s obviously not putting the players in position to win the game. Well, if that’s the case, then how do you single out Horton? Is he THAT BAD, that even with your f**k ups, he STILL stands out? What I think is this – if all of a sudden the defense improves with the blitzing, do you think Blache is gonna stand up and say “I was wrong, we should’ve been doing this all along”? No, he’s gonna point to the fact that Doughty is in there now, and HE made that decision.
by CJHutch on Oct 2, 2009 11:02 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
BLACHE HAS LOST HIS MIND ??? Horton is a future star/ daughty is maxed out !!
I would not want to play for Blache !! This is all just a mind game that he is playing with the rest of his defense!! Chris Horton is one of the few players that he could bench and that would keep a positive attitude! This is a tool some coaches try to use to motivate other players that are not playing well !! The problem with this is that you use a player as a scpegoat !!
It is possible that Daughty will have a good game !! It should be easier on him. If we start blitzing more that means that the QB will need to make quick reads and we know that a young qb can not do that !! This will not be a fair assesment if Horton does not get to play during these blitz packages !!
by LETJASONPASS on Oct 2, 2009 8:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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