Draft post mortem: The Bloggers

by Skin Patrol on Apr 30, 2007 10:26 AM EDT in Draft Comment 12 comments

Update [2007-5-1 12:3:16 by Skin Patrol]: Hog Heaven has the very informative Joe Gibbs post draft Q&A session transcript after we selected Landry.

Mister Irrelevant has his own blogger reaction roundup, and does a better job than yours truly of addressing the overall feeling with brevity.

Lee Gibbons of The Redskin Report has accumulated all the data on LaRon Landry in outstanding fashion. Make sure you head on over to Redskin Report when you get a moment as it is an excellent blog.

Let me first say that a detailed Hogs Haven post draft analysis is pending and should be up no later than tomorrow morning. Possibly this evening. We'll see what my schedule allows. In the meantime, I give the floor to my Redskins Blogging colleagues...

Redskins Insider is plastered with great Draft coverage. I do not want to rip everything from there, but Jason sheds some light on the Landry pick, explaining partially why a trade down was not feasible. Oh well:

Who knows how Landry will pan out - and the Landry vs. Okoye debate may rage on for years - but give the Skins credit for at least sticking with their board and taking their highest rated D player. No one wanted to trade up with them very badly - all the first-round trade value was in the back-end of this draft - and after being blown away by Landry at his personal workout at LSU a few weeks back he became their top guy, as I have written.

Running Redskins on pedigree... or is it nepotism? You decide:

It seems you can't get a job as a pro-football player unless you have relatives in the game. The Redskins drafted two guys with brothers who are already NFL players, one guy who is the son of a NFL All-Pro, and another guy who is the son of a college All-American. Is that connections, or genetics?

Anthony Brown has the scouting report for all our 2nd day draft picks, with some encouraging words on our new backup OLB, Dallas Sartz:

Sartz earned All Pac-10 Honorable Mention in his junior year. He played two games for the Trojans in his senior season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. He received a medical exemption that allowed him to play in 2006. He finished the year with 70 tackles and seven sacks. Scouting reports say that Sartz "delivers a punishing hand punch to tight ends to jam them at the line ... Has the speed to reach ball carriers on the outside and the acceleration to be a decent blitzer coming off the edge." He is said to be more effective playing inside the box rather than out in space. He can be an effective blitzer but will need to improve his hand technique and add strength. Potentially a safety, but with average speed.

Does this mean anything for Rocky McIntosh? It is strange that the Redskins seem genuinely obsessed with the OLB position this offseason, with talks of Briggs now accompanied by their 2nd overall selection landing them what is presumably another backup to Rocky. Or perhaps they think a 235 pounds Sartz is the heir apparent to Marcus Washington? Uhm... not? Anyways, in the immediate future hopefully we can get some value out of this kid on Special Teams. If he's on the roster this time next year, I'll consider the pick a success.

Lots going on at AOL Fanhouse so I'll try and summarize as best I can. Adam Rank says almost all -- paint me skeptical -- of Landry's hits were "were illegal and would be subject to a fine in the NFL". He does an admirable enough job breaking down the film and I think there's an appreciable point here. At times last year Sean Taylor was drawing what were, in my clearly biased opinion, mickey mouse flags. The last thing we want is for either Landry or Taylor to develop a reputation that predicts penalties.

Ryan Wilson wonders whether Vinny hates the defensive line. Doesn't even need to be asked as it is now apparent that the Redskins do, in fact, hate the defensive line. Or else they are far more confident in that unit than at least one observer of his favorite team; me. As Ryan put it:

LaRon Landry is a monster, and he and Sean Taylor will probably be great together ... but what about the pass rush?

I guess head coach-defense Gregg Williams has faith that the pass coverage will improve a million percent and the pass rush will take care of itself. That's a lot of faith.

Indeed it is, I just hope I'm wrong about the dismal state of this Defensive Line.

I don't know how Michael David Smith knows this kind of thing (the man has forgotten more football than I'll ever know) but we're the only ones with a thing for Larons:

Fun fact: Landry is the second person named LaRon ever taken in the NFL draft. The first, wide receiver Laron Brown (lower-case 'r'), was chosen by the Washington Redskins in 1987 and never played for them, but he did cross the picket line and play in three games for Denver while the NFL players were on strike that year.

MDS also "love[s] how Landry will fit in with Gregg Williams' defense in Washington" and suggests he might have a more productive career than either Brady Quinn or JeMarcus Russell. Hope springs.

Sportz Assassin votes Right Thing when it comes to Landry and I will concur, tentatively. I would have traded down but perhaps said deal wasn't available. Vinny made clear at the Press Briefing that the 'Skins operate strictly by the Draft Value Chart and it would have been very difficult to get that kind of return in this year's draft for the #6 pick.

Landry fills a need of a safety to pair up with Sean Taylor [yeah, that Adam Archuleta thing didn't work out too well]. There are still needs on the defensive line, but Landry's presence in the secondary will help what we already have be just a little better and should let defensive coordinator use Taylor more towards the line of scrimmage.

My only concern here is that Adam Archuleta thing, since his on-the-line ability was what made me and others so excited to have him in town. As it turned out, we desparately needed a coverage guy or else a Player Coach (Ryan Clark). I haven't heard that Landry is the latter, though I assume he's better against the pass than Archuleta. Maybe this will provide Gregg Williams with the flexibility to use Sean Taylor best, though that will likely wait until later in the year as history informs us Landry will not start in week one.

A busy SA also provides video evidence that Landry + Taylor = bodybags.

Carlos Rogers and Fred Smoot are ready to chase receivers down the sideline because no one in their right mind wants to go over the middle on these two.

Very good point.

Ultimately, Fanhouse assigns the Redskins a C- draft in virtue of the limited picks and the failure to address the Defensive Line. This is a fair grade, in my opinion.

Tandler gets a holler for being right. Good prediction.

Melinda Waldrop has a very interesting quote from one of the newest Redskins:

"You see some guys that pop up that really didn't do much in college, just ran a fast 40, and then all of a sudden, their name pops up on the screen before yours, and you've done a lot more," said Blades, who is tied for third in Pitt history with 433 career tackles while playing both middle and strong side inside linebacker. "I felt kind of upset, but there's nothing you can do about it now."

Let's turn that frustration into some special team tackling. I sympathize with Blades, who was productive in College and likely got passed up by workout warriors. Among other things, the focus on the combine deemphasizes the actual on-field product. Blades is a victim of that process, though hopefully we'll benefit from it.

DJ at War Cry! live blogged this mother and did an excellent job. Mister Potato Head feels the fury, as DJ expressed some consternation with the Landry pick:

1:14pm: OH NO. The cameras just showed Landry taking a cell phone call. NO! NO! NO! His agent just pumped his fist. NOOOOOOOO! If this goes down, I'm trading my beer for bourbon and everything not nailed down in my living room is eligible to be thrown.

1:16 pm: With the 6th pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Washington Redskins select LSU Safety Laron Landry. I'm speechless. I'm going to walk this off and leave the room right now before my widescreen receives a gigantic crack from a flung Mr. Potato Head.

1:33pm: Deep Breath I'm back and I'm pissed, shocked, devastated and flat out confused. I didn't throw the Mr. Potato Head, but I did kick him across the room.

Did it make sense for the Redskins to select LaRon? Ryan O'Halloran votes Not Really.

First, when Brady Quinn dropped to sixth, the Redskins should have tried to trade out of the spot even if they didn't get fair point value. If the Dolphins offered their first- and second-round picks, the Redskins should have accepted. Second, don't the Redskins have greater needs than a safety who has trouble catching the football? They already have one of those on the roster (Taylor) along with a corner who has trouble securing the ball (Rogers). They should have gone with Okoye or traded down to take Arkansas DE Jamaal Anderson.

Harry Hog is focused on the Defensive Line, as am I:

I think The Redskins have a plan to address the D-Line issue. At least I hope so. They must, right?

Or else they really think Daniels and Griffin will live forever. I'm not putting anything past them.

Blogging prodigy and clear heir apparent to the Redskins Blogosphere, DC Sports Kid wanted Calvin Johnson but also cryptically adds this:

Landry might take Adam Archuleta's spot next year.

Let's hope that experiment works out better the 2nd time around.

Ginormous thanks and shameless self-plug to Hogs Haven's Draft Blogging complements of Burgundy and Gold. He came through in the clutch for an incognito Skin Patrol and for that I appreciate it. This site is made by the reader(s) (who may or may not exist in the dozens of persons) and I wouldn't be doing this if not for you. HTTR.

Aaaaaaand that's a Blog recap of the Redskins draft. As I said above, a detailed Hogs Haven recap is pending and should be up by tomorrow evening at the latest. In the meantime, I'm swamped with Real Life responsibilities that will hopefully be taken care of by week's end. I demand reader(s) take it away by taking advantage of the Diaries section.

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Comments

Two things to point out about this article

First,I like what Blades said about not being taken earlier.I think this speaks volumes about him and just from those words and though its a stretch, I think its possible he could end up being one of those late round gems.

Second,I agree 100% with O'Halloran that even if we could have gotten just a second round pick including swaps of firsts,then we should have taken it.Forget the value chart, its way more than we had and we could have definitely picked say a DE.When you think about it,no team is going to give up virtually all their draft picks for one high draft pick.

This is where I think that chart is flawed,so far it seems we are the only team to have given up so many high picks like this and we took a beaten for it at this draft.

by Sincethebeginning on Apr 30, 2007 11:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I saw this...

on NFL.com.

I'm still confused by the Sartz pick, because I'm not sure what they expect him to do. Is he the heir apparnt at SLB? Is he challenging Rocky at WLB? Or is just a value pick in the 5th round, who will play special teams and backup a LB spot.

I like the Blades pick. Like he suggested in his quote, the kid is a football player who just makes plays. He doesn't have the measurables of some of the other guys drafted rounds before him but watching him, you see that he's alays around the football. I think he could end up being the next MLB and a productive special teamer in the meantime.

The Palmer and Ecker picks are pure value picks. Nothing wrong with that, especially since the team needed a TE.

I give the draft a B- and it could be a solid B if Sartz ends up being more than I expect.

by TexSkins on Apr 30, 2007 1:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Delusions...

I should very much like to see Ecker bulk up to around 260 and switch to end. He already has the height (6'4") to swat passes, and will theoretically have long arm to fight off blockers. I know it's just my yearning for a DE, especially with the salt rubbed in with the 49ers picking a DE with our 4th rounder (and I think the kid they drafted wasn't horrible, either).

Well, wishful thinking, I suppose. I have high expectations for Beck, though. He could be one hell of a value pick. And if Palmer matures...

by JustinU804 on Apr 30, 2007 5:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I thought to do a lil research

On some Undrafted DE's...and McElveen from UAB and Trusnik from Ohio Nothern are interesting (though Trusnik definately needs to add on 15 pounds of muscle...10 if he keeps that 4.6 speed and scary agility). there's an interesting prospect or two at tackle, but I don't feel like digging them up. Though I will if someone is interested. I just hope the skins are bringing in a couple of these young guy, because it just seems that a small handle of the lineman left just need a little technique work...but have the talent.

by JustinU804 on Apr 30, 2007 5:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Excellent...

anything you can find on potential undrafted linemen that we can bring in for some looks would be much appreciated. I'll keep an eye out for McElveen and Trusnik, and thanks for the heads up.

Draft Analysis should be up early tomorrow morning.

Go Register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on Apr 30, 2007 6:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Landry Will Be an Impact Player

the only team I follow more then the Redskins is LSU football. Landry is an impact player. Always around the ball. Always in the play. As some have said that you linked to he'll need to add a little weight, but I don't see that as a major issue.

Given I am a "homer" for LSU, and lets face it I thought Robert Royal would be a much better (much, much better) TE for the Skins, but Landry will be an impact, game changing player for years to come. Mark my words.

by tommyguniii on May 1, 2007 4:14 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Robert Royal

I thought he was a fairly productive player for a 5th round pick. He's started 29 games the past two years and could prove yet to be an impact player in the NFL.

I hope (and think) that you're right on Landry.

Go Register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on May 1, 2007 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh One Last Thing

There is a reason JaMarcus Russell and Landry both went in the top ten. When there is a big game they won. Period! They played ND on 1/03 of this year in the Sugar Bowl, 41-14. The year before Miami wanted some in the Peach Bowl. 40-3.

Again, a LSU "homer." I used to be a Redskins season ticket holder at both RFK and FedEx field before I moved to St. Louis. I am no expert on the defensive line. We do need help there. No doubt.

But maybe I am shit all stupid. If you've got a Taylor and Landry that can rush the QB, and hit at any place on the field, you might be able to get by with somewhat less then stellar players on the line.

I had not seen that video of Landry at LSU and I must say I dislike the term "body bag." A clean hit is a clean hit. And those, short of one outside bounds where clean as I saw them. No helmet to helmet. Just hard hits in the course of the game.

In big games, while LSU was on defense the last couple years and we needed a play late in the game to stop a drive Landry made them again, again, and again. I hope, think he will do the same for the Skins!

by tommyguniii on May 1, 2007 5:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

ok...DT's

There are three DT's that are worth mentioning, though one would likely be better suited for end unless he bulk considerably. At about 280 pounds, that would be Deljaun Robinson from Mississippi State, and he has decent speed. I'd like to see him as a Speed rushing tackle (4.8 speed). Next is Ola Dadunduro and Kelly Talavou...from Nebraska and Utah, respectively. But ulitmately, they are run stuffers, not rushers. But with Golston being a "speedy" tackle, either could be a decent developmental prospect.

It seems to me, unless I REALLY go digging, those are your top 5 DL prospects (undrafted)

by JustinU804 on May 1, 2007 6:49 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

280

is too small at DT. Even Kedric Golston, a speed tackle, weighs in over 290 (and he needs to get bigger).

Go Register. Or else.

by Skin Patrol on May 1, 2007 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Then again...

On second thought, that's likely all worth mentioning...I just hope to see one in camp...PLEASE!!!

by JustinU804 on May 1, 2007 7:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Justin Hickman

Is the only DL (DE, specifically) that we signed undrafted. He's a Mathis type (6'1" 255, roughly) with good speed. Unfortuantely, what I've read about him is not favorable. He'll need alot of work, and unless he cranks it up and gets around the edge, I don't expect him to make the roster...but I am by no means a scout. I'm working very hard to learn the trade, however. Well, since he'll be our fastest (arguably) lineman, perhaps he can be a third-down rusher. But he supposedly does not stand up well against the run at all-but is solid in pursuit.

by JustinU804 on May 1, 2007 7:14 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs