Washington Redskins Cornerback Situation - Resolved or Far From Resolved?
by Ken Meringolo on Mar 30, 2010 12:14 PM EDT
in Redskins Analysis
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On the heels of yesterday's heated discussion on possible middle-round quarterbacks Mike and Kyle Shanahan may or may not be interested in, I thought we would turn the debate to the defensive side of the ball today.
Now, I certainly don't expect us to target any cornerbacks at the top of this draft, and given the depth we have at the position (especially after the signing of Phillip Buchanon), I doubt that Allen or Shanahan will bring in a rookie corner this year. DeAngelo Hall and Carlos Rogers project as our starters, with Justin Tryon, Kevin Barnes and Buchanon ostensibly left to battle for playing time. Doug Dutch, Byron Westbrook, and Marcus McCauley round out our current crop of active corners. Westbrook's trouble off the field recently does not bode well but we have a lot of time between now and training camp to sort through that.
My questions: How do you see this spot shaping up? Do you think Kevin Barnes has what it takes to start in this league? Do you see Barnes, Tryon or Buchanon seeing the field the most? Are you convinced we will not address the cornerback position in the draft? Given that Eric Berry is going to most likely be available at the #4 spot, do you think he is on our radar?
Finally, I find it intriguing that Darren Sharper remains a free agent. Sure, the Saints have the inside track on him, and he is no spring chicken...but I have always loved this player and if the name of the game for Haslett is turnovers, Sharper would be a huge pickup. I include him in this cornerback discussion because if the Redskins gave Darren Sharper a one-year deal, it would probably make the corners we have now instantly better, further diminishing the need to add more players at the spot.
I look forward to seeing the many ways this debate will be derailed! Don't let me down!
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I hope Barnes steps up
somewhere on defense. If he doesn’t, I imagine Buchanon’s experience will earn him more snaps and Barnes will spend his sophomore year serving special team duty. Rooting for Barnes though. Does Buchanon return punts?
I have to bet Buchanon will be given a chance to earn the return job.
by Ken Meringolo on Mar 30, 2010 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions
But is his fair catch as pretty as ARE's was?
I sure will miss his crowd wave five times a game.
by brettpedigo on Mar 30, 2010 3:48 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
are not is...
Sorry for the terrible english!
I'm guessing this
is going along with the mindset of getting as many bodies into camp as possible and weed them out later. Makes sense.
Who the hell is Marcus McCauley?
SpottieOttieDopaliscious
Not sure who that is...
let me ask Tom Tupa’s dad
by Ken Meringolo on Mar 30, 2010 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions
That is awesome to this day
SpottieOttieDopaliscious
McCauley is out of Fresno State.
He played 2 years with the Vikings, more in 2007 than 2008. He only played in 1 game with the Lions in 2009 and was with 4 different teams that season. Most of his starts were in 2007. http://profootballfocus.com/by_player.php?tab=by_player&season=2008&surn=M&playerid=3688&group=6 and he played the 5th most snaps of the Vikings DBs. PFF didn’t include all games for 2007 for most teams.
See his personal career stats – http://www.nfl.com/players/marcusmccauley/profile?id=MCC251485
McCauley wasn’t that good on special teams – http://profootballfocus.com/cstats.php?tab=by_team&season=2007&teamid=18&stats=s&stype=r&playerid=
by Jefferson1935 on Mar 30, 2010 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm still waiting to see how things work out with Rogers
After his dismal season in 09, he’s not going to garner much attention on the market, especially with a first-round tender stuck on him. But he has stated explicitly that he does not want to be a Redskin. Will the coaching staff be able to get him happy?
More than that, will this new coaching staff be able to coach defensive backs? I said all last year and this entire off-season that the biggest flaw in our DBs was the coaching. If Rogers was the only guy getting beaten on double moves, then his benching would have made a lot of sense. But when you bench a guy for getting beaten on a double move and then watch his fellow CBs get beaten again and again by the same move by the same guy on the same day, you can’t just punish the one guy. May as well let the more talented guy (and Rogers is more talented than Smoot) stay in the game if everyone is going to get beaten.
There were problems of performance and, down the stretch, motivation, but the largest part of the blame goes to coaches, in my opinion. They were the ones who set up a scheme where corners lined up 8 yards away from their men. They were the ones who had their corners playing such soft coverage that as soon as the double move was made, the best hope was that the safety (who lined up 30 freaking yards off the ball — his name is Laron Landry, not Sean Taylor) would get over there in time to tackle the guy after a huge catch. The scheme was wrong, and clearly these guys were not taught how to react to a double move from the soft coverage they were playing. They should have known to some extent — they are professionals — but they were left playing a prevent-style scheme all day long. You will eventually get beaten if you keep giving receivers the bubbles we were giving them, no matter who your DBs are.
2009 Redskins
demonstrated the worst coaching I’ve ever seen and considering we also had to endure Spurrier that’s saying a lot. I think everyone on the team will look better this year due to improved coaching.
Yes, but to repeat something I say all the time: coaching only counts for so much
I think we all agree that last year’s roster was pretty bad too.
Better coaching will help a lot, a better-built roster will help even more.
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
Would love to see us pick up Sharper
but a lot depends on Buchanon, have heard chatter that he might have safety potential, I agree in hoping Barnes can step up, between Barnes, Buchannon and Sharper we should be covered there (pun intended). If the draft goes Bradford, Okung, Suh….and we pick up Sharper maybe try to get good pick value for our fourth, see if Berry drops down to a later 1at pick and trade Rogers for a high second….lots of good OL picks out there, and Gaither is still a wild card.
I thought Berry was an FS?
Not sure how he fits into this discussion.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Berry at FS
like Sharper at FS should make our corners better, that was the tie-in. Also, Berry can play corner if need be. And for the record I think he’s technically a SS, but can play any DB spot
Supposedly, Berry projects as both a CB and S
It would seem his playmaking ability makes him a slam-dunk to put at Safety, but I have heard people say he has excellent “cornerback movements” (most recently by Mike Mayock, who I like somedays and want to punch out other days.)
He has the speed and athleticism to play CB in the NFL…though I bet we would agree we would want him at Safety for us.
by Ken Meringolo on Mar 30, 2010 1:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Can he play LT and return kicks?
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by matthiasstephan on Mar 30, 2010 1:30 PM EDT up reply actions
He'll be a FS in the NFL
And the Post recently reported that he was going to visit Redskins Park soon.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/nfl-draft/berry-set-to-visit-redskins-th.html
Thanks DoWork
That pretty much nails it in many less words than I would have used…..I am new posting here and try to keep my words down ….sometimes to the detriment of getting my analysis accross….a side effect of my passion for the team and excitement about the possibilities for the future of the franchise…..so many possibilties right now
If it smells like weenie...
I’m just sayin’….LOL
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Sharper
I thought Sharper was coming off an injury???? I thought that and his age were the reasons he hadn’t garnered any attention thus far.
Yeah, he is recovering...and he is likely to sign a TV deal this offseason as well
But if he gets the itch to play again, he will get an offer from more than one team I am sure.
by Ken Meringolo on Mar 30, 2010 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions
The Buchannan signing
spell trouble for Rogers. Rogers now becomes disposable, and could be included in a trade package as part of the plan to get Bradford.
Redskins and Rams(Draft Day Trade) – Swap of 1st rd picks. Skins send Rogers, Campbell and Carter to the Rams for Carriker and a 3rd.
I was thinking the same thing but
in a trade for Gaithers.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
That trade makes me vomit in my mouth a little
Why are you always so willing to give Campbell away? Even if we get Bradford I would rather keep Campbell. It’s not like Bradford is a sure thing to be better than JC. We could make that trade and just as easily spend the next 2-3 years floundering around and end up in a worse situation than we are now. Do you think Bradford would benefit from being thrown into the fire immediately?
by BayAreaBullet on Mar 30, 2010 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Why are you always so willing to keep Campbell here?
Do you like seeing QB sacks?
Do you enjoy seeing ZERO 4th quarter backs?
Do you enjoy Campbell’s uncanny ability to hold on to the ball for toooo long?
Do you enjoy seeing crucial INT’s thrown in crunch time?
Mike Shannahan and rookie qb….Oh baby the possibility’s.
TRADE THE TWO BUMS FROM AUBURN WHO WERE 1ST ROUND DRAFT WASTE’S!!
lol. still peddling this lie, huh?
Do you enjoy seeing ZERO 4th quarter backs?
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
Besides New Orleans In 08
When did JC17 perform the 4th qtr comeback?
I do remember the Tampa Bay in 07 4th Qtr INT and Dallas same year same situation.
I really want to like JC. I really do.
I posted a link in another thread
with all the 4QCs in it
SpottieOttieDopaliscious
SF '08 - defense gave up losing points after JC put us ahead
etc etc.
Whatever, the “comebacks” argument an exaggerated and non-specific criticism that doesn’t really deal with his actual flaws, or the very awful situation he’s been asked to quarterback in.
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
Yes, but it's just as wrong to attribute "faults" to him
that are not real.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
i think rex would that in that situation
by les boulez bomber on Mar 30, 2010 4:31 PM EDT up reply actions
If we let Rogers go
that suggests we have a serious amount of faith in Barnes or Tryon and/or we’re looking to draft a CB in the very near future. Buchanon might be able to start at corner competitively for a year, maybe two?
Rogers is much better than Buchanon
I hope the coaches see it the same way.
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
HAHAHAHAHA
Oh boy, that made me laugh. I’m sure Plaxico Burress is in prison having dreams and telling story’s how he obliterated Rogers, season-in and season-out.
Two years ago.
Plax ABUSED us. Men among boys when he was on.
Rogers is better than Buchanon.
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
Why bring up Darren Sharper???
You guys would KILL Danny and Bruce Allen if they brought in another
“over the hill over paid veteran”
That's true, except
The key part of that statement is ‘over paid’ which really applies to no one other than LJ (and maybe Ma’ake if his recovery takes too long).
I’d love to sign Darren Sharper, just not ‘show him the money’. The Saints are more likely to offer him more than we would, so I think the point is moot.
And the main thing keeping us from signing many more younger guys is the free-agency structure this year. Hopefully some trades for such guys can happen post-draft….
I would not argue that Sharper qualifies for being "over the hill"
but I would argue that there is a difference between signing a guy like Sharper to a moderate one-year deal in the middle of the offseason and signing a guy like Sharper to a mega deal at 12:01 am on the first day of free agency.
Also, while there will be a push to develop younger players, we have to remember that established coaches in this league value veteran players more than anyone. Look over the past decade and you see older coaches taking over new teams like Parcells, Vermeil, Coughlin, Gibbs, etc…they all brought in older players in their first year to help them out.
by Ken Meringolo on Mar 31, 2010 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions
mr . dutch.
i love doug dutch with a name like that you got to love the guy go doug dutch lol lol ..
Berry
If you can’t trade down and Okung and Bradford are gone you have got to take Berry. You have to take the most talented player left if you are up that high in the draft and have no legit options of trading back. If we take Claussen I will become ill, he can not beat teams that really belong in Division I-AA and he had a top tier receiver in Tate! Heath Shuler and Rick Maier had better college careers in my opinion when you take into account the quality of competition!
There are a few other ways to go with defensive backs.
Barnes, CB, has been suggested by some as a FS possibility. Gibril Wilson is still a free agent FS and if he could be had cheap enough would not be the worst move since he was the 15th rated safety out of 87 that play at least 25% of their teams snaps i(Pro Football Focus http://profootballfocus.com/by_position.php?tab=by_position&season=2009&pos=S&stype=r&runpass=&teamid=-1&numsnaps=25&numgames=1), 15th in number of tackles, 26th in coverage rating, and 57th in NFL rating. Apparently Gibril was not the kind of safety Miami wanted but it has been a few weeks and no one has signed him.
The Team needs to find a way to move LaRon Landry to SS while finding some outlet for either Horton or Doughty – 3 is a luxury.
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