A Moment of Truth for Ryan Kerrigan

I have been disappointed in Kerrigan this season and I am starting to question whether he will be a great player. There is no doubt that he is a GOOD player. He's not a liability in any aspect that I can see. I love his heart and his motor. He's very strong at the point of attack, too. Those skills will serve him well for his entire career. However, he simply does not affect the game the way a 1st round pick should and I don't see any explosive moves that would scare an O-Line. He NEEDS to get pressure on the QB. He needs to show that he's more that just Robin to Orakpo's Batman. The scouting report on him needs to be scarier than "Don't throw the screen pass to his side. Other than that, no worries."

Well, the game against The Eagles this week is his Moment of Truth. He will be facing a rookie Right Tackle who has been playing guard that last couple weeks or King Dunlap. (Seriously, The Eagles may be the only team to look at Tyler Polumbus and be jealous) If Kerrigan has any hope of turning into an elite player, these are the kinds of matchups and the kinds of games that he needs to OWN. Another game where Kerrigan is invisible (See: Panthers, Carolina) is simply unacceptable considering the matchups and the circumstances.

I'm rooting for you, RK! This is your moment of truth. Go get Foles and make those horrendous Right Tackles of the Eagles fear you.

UPDATED AFTER THE GAME.............

Kerrigan had a hell of a game. The Eagles clearly tried to take him away and that attention led to a lot of other plays being made by Jackson, Riley, etc. AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, he did affect the game by himself, too. Forced Foles to step up into the rush, was stout at the point of attack, and recovered a fumble.

Greta job, Ryan!!! Keep it up!!!

Sophomore slump>? Lack of scheme? Rak and Carriker were better compliments than thought? I would not throw the towel in on Kerrigan yet.

Here's a good sign... He's on the front of the tickets for tomorrows game.

I don't understand why Ryan is getting singled out? He's not Superman. I see a guy that plays his butt off every Sunday - not sure what you're seeing...

I think some people were really pumping the hype that Ryan was as good or better rush LB then Rak and it just ain't true.

But that doesn't mean Rak isn't a good rush LB in his own right.

Ryan is getting more attention, not neccesarily being double teammed but he's getting more attention and just needs to win his match-ups more often.

I think he can and will going forward.

Ryan will be fine. I think you can make the case he's already an above average starter and he should be for a long time (er... hopefully).

It's every position around him except for Orakpo that I worry about more.

I don't understand why Ryan is getting singled out? He's not Superman. I see a guy that plays his butt off every Sunday - not sure what you're seeing...

Its what I'm not seeing that is the issue. This game coming up is the type of matchup where he SHOULD dominate. If he doesn't, then I think he's destined for "good but not great" status.

And I'm not singling him out. Nowehere in the OP do I suggest he is responsible for our defensive issues.

---------- Post added November-17th-2012 at 10:07 AM ----------

Ryan will be fine. I think you can make the case he's already an above average starter and he should be for a long time (er... hopefully).

It's every position around him except for Orakpo that I worry about more.

That's just it!!! Its the "er.... hopefully" part I'm talking about!! This game coming up and the matchups he will have should put that "er....hopefully" stuff to rest. Again, moment of truth for Kerrigan.

The er... hopefully part was talking about injury, not a decline in skill.

I thought LaRon and Freddy D were going to be excellent for us for a long time too and then they got injuries that put their careers in doubt.

I think people have expected Kerrigan in his 2nd season to play as well as he could as if Orakpo was still out there with him...no drop off. In my opinion, they are dissapointed because they have unrealistic expectations. Kerrigan is the least of our concerns on defense. A Football team is like any other team. If you lose a key player and the replacement is largely less effective, the overall productivity of the team diminishes.

"the sky is falling the sky is falling!!!!"

ugggggh why are Skins fans so EXTREEEEEEEEEEEME!?!?!

We've got several guys on D that played quite well last year - Kerrigan, Fletcher, Wilson, Bowen, Cofield (Carriker and Orakpo too, of course) - and all but Kerrigan are not playing nearly as well. Whether it's injuries, personnel (the safeties) or coaching (partially due to injuries/personnel) Kerrigan is the only one I see playing at a similar level.

Could he play better? Sure. Should he play better against an inferior matchup? Yes. But Kerrigan is probably the only bright spot on our D. Thats how I feel anyway.

I can't be mad at this post. Aint nothing wrong with wanting a good player to become an elite player.

I think Kerrigan and Orakpo would be absolutely unstoppable IF they learned how to defeat the illegal choke holds that every lineman puts on them. Their coaching sessions every single day should begin and end with practicing techniques to defeat that hold. I also think Shanny should have a pre-game briefing with the officials about that hold, and a post-game complaint to the league office.

it seems to me this board finds ways to single out perfectly good players on the skins.... Carlos Rogers is a perfect example....and now Kerrigan, really? LOL

Sorry MLSkins -- I read the OP as calling out Kerrigan to perform well enough, to 'justify' being picked in the first round. "Moment of truth" is about validating his value.

Frankly, however many sacks, etc, that Kerrigan gets in this week's "moment of opportunity" -- won't alter my belief that Kerrigan was a great acquisition for the Skins. I don't think he would have slipped into the second round of the draft, either. So he doesn't have to prove anything more than do any of his team-mates.

The one thing that I'm confident about Kerrigan is that he's going to give it his all. In year two, he's shown me a professional NFL-level player who plays hard, has a non-stop motor, and doesn't give up or loaf. Considering all the time he's been on the field, I suspect the bye week was a good for him, and may allow him to re-charge.

But lets not forget that the results of an outside linebacker, depends on a lot of factors. One of those factors is how well his team-mates around him are playing.

I note how everyone is talking about the loss of Orakpo. Frankly, I'd scrutinize the impact of the loss of Carriker, and in particular how well Jarvis Jenkins has stepped up. If Jenkins could generate a little more pressure -- I think Kerrigan would take advantage of the opportunities created.

Was he not picked like 16th???

He has more than justified his position.

There isn't anyone that was drafted after him that I'd rather have

I know Kerrigan will be elite, he was drafted right when my son was born!!!.. That's a good sign right there!

Depends, do you think Haz spent enough time in the film room to find this weakness and coach Kerrigan properly?

Moment of truth for Haz.

Moment of truth? You make it sounds as if THIS game is going to define his career?

There's nothing wrong with Ryan Kerrigan's game. He's been outstanding. Everyone has forgotten about that pick 6 he had against Matt Ryan earlier this year. Those are the types of plays elite OLBs make in the NFL. He's been slowed because he's being double teamed. Teams know better than to match a T against Kerrigan without any help.

Was he not picked like 16th???

He has more than justified his position.

There isn't anyone that was drafted after him that I'd rather have

You have to be very lucky to pick 16 and get a great player.

He appears as if he'll be an above average player. Given where he was picked, that's very reasonable.

I can't be mad at this post. Aint nothing wrong with wanting a good player to become an elite player.

I'll take it a step further and zoom in a bit. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a good player to take advantage of a cupcake situation.

I'm not down on Kerrigan at all this season but he has a great match up on Sunday as the OP pointed out (bad RT and a stationary rookie QB). Unless he's double-teamed on every passing down, he needs to impact the game somehow as one of our better players...and that's even if he'll only ever become a "good" player.

The slump in the defense has shown how good Orakpo really is with pass rush and how much Kerrigan and others benefitted from Orakpo being out there. It's a shame that it took an injury to quiet the Orakpo doubters. Of course having a better DC would also tremendously help out. Kerrigan is fine though. He was a good pick where we got him.

I don't understand why Ryan is getting singled out? He's not Superman. I see a guy that plays his butt off every Sunday - not sure what you're seeing...

Because football is the \LEAST team oriented sport there is, and if a player doesn't succeeed for whatever reason, it's all on him, and he just sucks.

Of course, we know this to be completely the opposite of what is actually true. Kerrigan's an excellent player, but with no one else to threaten the backfield, he can be neutralized that much easier.

It's a TEAM sport, folks. The MOST team oriented sport of all the major American sports.

~Bang

Sorry MLSkins -- I read the OP as calling out Kerrigan to perform well enough, to 'justify' being picked in the first round. "Moment of truth" is about validating his value.

Frankly, however many sacks, etc, that Kerrigan gets in this week's "moment of opportunity" -- won't alter my belief that Kerrigan was a great acquisition for the Skins. I don't think he would have slipped into the second round of the draft, either. So he doesn't have to prove anything more than do any of his team-mates.

The one thing that I'm confident about Kerrigan is that he's going to give it his all. In year two, he's shown me a professional NFL-level player who plays hard, has a non-stop motor, and doesn't give up or loaf. Considering all the time he's been on the field, I suspect the bye week was a good for him, and may allow him to re-charge.

But lets not forget that the results of an outside linebacker, depends on a lot of factors. One of those factors is how well his team-mates around him are playing.

I note how everyone is talking about the loss of Orakpo. Frankly, I'd scrutinize the impact of the loss of Carriker, and in particular how well Jarvis Jenkins has stepped up. If Jenkins could generate a little more pressure -- I think Kerrigan would take advantage of the opportunities created.

Spot on Wyvern. Excellent post. I really have a hard time tempering myself against the crowds on here that turn on players or judge them to rashly/quickly.

Kerrigan is an outstanding player. Is he the best at his position? No, but he's not far off. He's incredibly gifted, but perhaps more importantly, he's got the motor and intensity to match it. Orakpo and several other great players on our roster have also fallen victim to the judgment of many fans. The fact is, Kerrigan has lost his counterpart in Orakpo, as well as Carriker. Anyone who thinks Carriker is an average player or is not that sorely missed, simply has very little awareness about how the game of football is played up front.

These are the same guys who last year hailed Kerrigan as the best player on our defense and far superior to Orakpo and that he, in fact, made Orakpo expendable. They said these things rather than be happy we finally had two great pass rushers. Kerrigan's lack of sacks is a huge compliment to just how good of a pass rusher Orakpo is that he was fighting through what Kerrigan is now and he was getting the sacks.

Kerrigan is going all out and has still been an excellent player this year, perhaps the best or second best at his position in our division. He will adjust to the attention and find ways to beat it just as Orakpo was. I consider Kerrigan a very similar player to Chris Long - it took him a while to really hit his groove but he certainly has now. He is another talented high motor guy just like Ryan. In fact, this whole situation is more of an indictment of Jenkins. I realize he is coming off an ACL but at some point HE needs to take advantage of all the attention Kerrigan is getting.

Stephen Bowen did an outstanding job last year of taking advantage of all the attention Orakpo received and he racked up the sacks for himself. In fact, Haslett actually did a decent job of moving Rak around to set Bowen up for success. If Jenkins could show some life in the pass rush, we would do well to move Ryan around to take advantage of that. I'm a little disappointed we haven't lined Ryan up more to set Bowen and Cofield up a little bit as they seem to at least be very stout up front and capable of getting to the QB.

But Kerrigan is the last player anyone should be judging negatively or expecting more from right now. The kid has been excellent all year. People need to really start watching him play and what's going on around him rather than looking at a stat sheet and being disappointed he doesn't have more sacks. Because that is just about all these types of posts are ever about.