5 Major Questions Going into Training Camp that Likely Won't Get Answered
by Kevin Ewoldt on Jul 27, 2010 11:39 AM EDT
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Just like any business meeting, let's talk about what we want accomplished out of training camp. I've listed my 5 major concerns, and unfortunately, I don't see them getting answered. Let me know if there's more Kool-Aid around because my can of mix is dry and clumpy.
Defensive Line depth: With starting NT, Ma'ake Kemoeatu, still nursing that achilles, it's imperative a new starting-caliber NT emerges in camp. Howard Green proved to be valuable last year for the Jets, but he's listed at 320 lbs, a noticeable drop-off in size from Ma'ake. So many DLinemen are simply old or didn't play last year, and add in the fact they're learning a new scheme and never played together...it's a big leap of faith to say the DL will perform well over the schedule. Carriker backing up Daniels is legit, but Golston behind Haynesworth (?) is iffy and of course the NT position.
Offensive Line Depth: Let's face it...if McNabb gets hurt, we'll all be spiking our Kool-Aid. So, what are the odds McNabb plays all 16-games? I put it at less than 50-50. McNabb had one of the better OL's in football his time in Philly while the Redskins are coming off a fresh overhaul from last year's disaster. We have to expect Trent Williams to make some mistakes given all the Pro-Bowlers' he'll be facing, so that means some clean shots on McNabb.
Rabach will be 33 in September, Artis Hicks 32, and Dockery 30. Not over the top ages, but it's the drop-off in depth that will hinder this team again. If there's one injury the Redskins must avoid, it's the OL (and thus the QB). We've seen Heyer, Montgomery, Rinehart, and Edwin Williams in action. I'll be trading my burgundy and gold colored sunglasses for a blind-fold if they have to ever start.
Backup Quarterback: Rex Grossman vs Colt Brennan. Based on the OL analysis above, does it really matter who wins this battle? If McNabb gets injured, it's pretty safe to say I won't be rushing to fold up my tailgate and get into the game each home game. In the single game Rex played last year, he had a QB rating of 5.6. Based on what I saw out of camp from Colt last year and the few number of reps he's gotten in minicamps this summer, he's a long-shot to make this team.
#3 Wide Receiver: With Randle El out, who will take the slot? Tana and Thomas Moss are the 1-2 (I worry about depth there, but not worth going there)...so who's the slot? Galloway? Bobby Wade? Mike Furrey? All disastrous. The good news is Mike Shanahan calls for WRs and RBs to learn every position on the field, so there will be a lot of disguises and 2 TE sets. Either way, I don't see anyone who can claim that spot.
Special Teams Returner: Who is it going to be? The Redskins had an open tryout at the end of last year and no one shined, including Devin Thomas. The Redskins used late round draft picks and undrafted free agents to find a gem with Terrence Austin and Brandon Banks, but they are really small, untested guys. There's no guarantees either of these players will even make the squad, which leaves big question marks. I guess anyone is better than Randle El, well, until they fumble kick-offs. At least RockCartwright never turned the ball over.
The Football Outsiders are predicting such an implosion from old age, in which case Dan Snyder will again get all the blame for trying to build a winning team by bringing in old, star veterans and failing miserably. It's a vicious cycle I'm longing to fricking ending. The Snyder bashing is getting as old and tired as Brett Favre news. Please, for the love of God...stay healthy, Redskins.
At least for once we don't have to debate about who the Kicker will be. Throw an ice cube in my empty glass...that's a start.
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Wade or Furrey might not be awful in the slot
and maybe Malcolm Kelly will decide he wants to play in the NFL
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
by smutsboy1 on Jul 27, 2010 11:58 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Santana is starting in two places at once,
that is awesome :)
Indeed
I just fired my editor (Mom).
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
by Kevin Ewoldt on Jul 27, 2010 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Keeping it positive!
We don’t need all these negative thoughts out there. We’re two days away from camp, get excited! I don’t want to read about potential injuries and what ifs…
Backup QB- Most teams do not have a comparable back up to come in and run the O the same way the starter did. Look at the rest of the division would you feel more comfortable with Vick, Kitna, or Bomar/Sorgi running the offensive. At least Rex knows the offense and this will be a running and 21 personnel heavy offense. You failed to mention that Grossman was thrown into a situation where he only had a opportunity to toss 9 passes without his starting tight end and his top two running backs. A little skewed? I don’t think he’s a stud but he’s a servicable veteran backup QB.
OLine/DLine: Everyone has been whining about O-line depth for years and rightfully so (thanks vinny!), but are we not a lot deeper this year at both o-line and d-line then last year? And Shanahan and staff are going to have these boys prepared for Sept 12.
WR: Who gives a shit! Anyone is better than Randle-El at the slot!
Tana and Moss are the 1-2Not sure what that means?
We have to remember if Thomas and Moss are named 1-2 WRs then that doesn’t mean that they’ll be thrown to the outside everytime, why can’t Moss play the slot? Hopefully one of these vets will step up but like I said before your going to see a lot of Davis-Cooley 21 personnel.
let's just say I look forward to the discussions of Shanahan fixing these problems.
B/c they are real problems off a 4-12 season. Looking forward to the coaches interviews most.
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
by Kevin Ewoldt on Jul 27, 2010 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions
Johnny Tightlips?
“oooh, hey, who says I have a mother?”
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
by smutsboy1 on Jul 27, 2010 12:14 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Johnny where'd they hit ya Johnny!?
I ain’t sayin’ nothin’
but Johnny what do we tell the doctor?
Tell em to suck a lemon
Fat Tony: Can you see the shooter?
Johnny Tightlips: I see a lot of things.
Fat Tony: You know…you could be a little more helpful.
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
by Kevin Ewoldt on Jul 27, 2010 12:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Hey, I heard there was an ecplise tonight, should we look up?
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
I’m just saying that we are a lot better off this year than last. Personnel has been added to address the problems.
100% agree, but the Redskins themselves are selling this team as a Super Bowl contender
I’m just highlighting that this camp has ridiculously huge implications.
Ken should be along with his Super Bowl post at some point.
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
by Kevin Ewoldt on Jul 27, 2010 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions
So how should the team present itself?
Come out and see one of the NFL’s most average teams!
That would sell a lot of tickets…
Anyone that believes anything coming out of the Redskins Park sales team is a dope.
You draft young, exciting players and market them. “The Redskins of the Future” or some BS like that.
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
by Kevin Ewoldt on Jul 27, 2010 1:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, sorry, you meant the "sales team"
They’ll say anything to sell stuff.
I like
“We’re not as bad as you think we are! Hail!”
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Like the Cubs
We Cub fans almost took pride in our poor Cubbies never winning anything, a bunch of lovable losers. The flacks always highlighted “beautiful Wrigley Field”, never the team. Maybe next year! Maybe the Skins can use “There’s always next year”.
I find it hard to reconciliate our apparent
“The Future is Now” modus operandi with the “There’s always Next Year” montra. But if it works, I’ll take it.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Reconciliate
Scott E – you’re right – guess I gotta re-think the motto.
The future is next year!!? :)
A bit obvious, but inherently true!
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Are the Skins selling the team as a Super Bowl contender?
Who’s doing that? I haven’t heard Allen or Shanahan even hint at such high hopes. Almost all outside analysts have us somewhere in the middle of the pack, and I don’t think the Skins organization makes predictions. I really like your article though – a much needed reality check (including for me, since I blithely predict 10-6).
by Donnio1234 on Jul 27, 2010 6:42 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I don't mind realistic appraisals.
As pas493 said, “Backup QB- Most teams do not have a comparable back up to come in and run the O the same way the starter did.” This same notion applies to just about any position. The Jets had 5 OL of quality but only one inexperienced backup.
One thing not mentioned much is that the Skins were at a disadvantage compared to most of the other NFL teams with their draft pick situation. The 2008 draft hurt the Skins a lot. The limited unrestricted free agent pool applied to all team, but then again along with the other bottom feeders, the Team had more needs than say the top 15 teams.
Very good analysis
But sobering. Sometimes the truth hurts. About Kemoeatu – there must be some problem – Vonnie Holliday hinted at something being wrong somewhere with him. Probably he is still hurting. I mentioned before – the D-line is very shaky. They can be excellent with AH, or lousy without him. We need him, absolutely, or the defense will be mediocre (just not enough muscle). Most agree WR is the weakest unit – only Tana as of now. Wish we could get Vincent Jackson. The O-line was hurt by the loss of BMW. TW, Dock, Rabach, Hicks, Brown will be pretty good (slightly above average) if they stay healthy. But there is no depth. The simplest would be to get a good RG, so Hicks can back-up everywhere else. On QB – sorry to hear that Colt isn’t getting many reps. In the one interview with him I read, he didn’t sound very positive or hopeful. Anything at all on Bartels? Rex can be good, but I have to hope D-Mac stays healthy. Anyway, good and useful article Kevin – keeps us optimists from getting carried away.
I'm not overly worried if our DL is hurting
I think that’s the place we’d most be able to make do with average talent, and let the other players make the plays (Orakpo, LFB, Landry (hopefully))
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
The O-line was hurt by the loss of BMW.
When it was reported that Mike Williams had a blood clot near his heart and would be out for the season, it did not have any impact in the fan confidence survey on the HH front page. On the other hand when Jammal Brown was acquired the graph jump up to about 70% and has stayed fairly constant.
It turns out that a blood clot was found in his calf. Upon further investigation another one was found in Mike’s lung. I still don’t know if that kills Mike’s season. Yet the regular season really isn’t that long 3 to 4 months (17 weeks or more if a play off team).
by Jefferson1935 on Jul 28, 2010 10:18 PM EDT up reply actions
The D-line
I’d heard that you didn’t need great talent at NT or maybe even the whole DL in the 3-4. If that is true, we could get by with Kemoeatu and Green. A waste of Haynesworth, though, and another argument that he should be DE in the 3-4 (where he can do relatively more damage).
team age
Its too early calling this an old team they have thirty players to cut, besides the Super Bowl winners were the third oldest last year.
We have three projected starters on offense younger than 29.
4 of 5 offensive linemen are 29 or older. The QB is 33. Portis is 29. Moss is 31.
The defense isn’t as old, but make no mistake: our 22 starters will be an old bunch.
And yes, talent can overcome age. But looking at our starters, I see age winning (losing?) out.
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
Not so fast, my friend.
I’m still drinking the Kool-aid here. With scheme, game planning, coaching, and game management all about 100% better, I see this team surprising a lot of teams. Don’t forget our 3 TE’s.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
I'd also make one more point
It is an advantage to be a “mature” team when a new coach takes over, IMO. They can use their experience to leverage learning the new system, whereas a younger team might still be working on fundamentals and getting used to the speed of the game. Just a thought.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Well, there's mature and then there's MATURE
As for the team this year, don’t let me stop your kool aid. That’s your call.
As I’ve said elsewhere, I think we’ll be around .500 the next two years, and meanwhile we won’t have infused the talent we need as part of a long-term plan to be competitive every year.
"By far the worst performers on the team are in the front office." – Sally Jenkins
waiver wire
Well there is always the waiver wire, to pick up even more aging veterans.
When it comes to a 3rd (slot) receiver — I’m not sure we need one. But
many Broncos observers think Brandon Stockley may be cut. Should
Shanahan picks him up if he’s available? He has had a lot of miles on
him and this takes away young players’ reps. But Stockey has always
been a lucky player, won two superbowls, knows how to get open against
zone defense, and may still be good for two first downs a game. He
can’t stretch the field. I’d still take him over Wade or Galloway any day.
by formerbroncosfan on Jul 27, 2010 10:05 PM EDT reply actions
the more I've been reading into Shanhan's Playbook, the more I agree with you re: 3rd WR
Majority of the play formations call for 2 set WRs and a TE…trips have the half back out there.
Hogs Haven. On Twitter. And Facebook.
by Kevin Ewoldt on Jul 27, 2010 10:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Waiver wire
The waiver wire will be big at the of the cut down to 53-man rosters. The only problem is that any pick ups at that point will not know the play book. Yet for better quality in depth that is not the worst route. The staged cut downs will result in about 832 players that the Skins have not seen much of except preseason games. Some of those have to be interesting. Practice squads will take 256 of these free agents.
by Jefferson1935 on Jul 28, 2010 6:38 PM EDT up reply actions
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