Should the Redskins follow the Peyton Manning Colts' Blueprint

Remember when Peyton Manning was drafted by the Colts? The next few years of drafts were dedicated to getting all of the offensive weapons Peyton needed to be successful. they did this almost ignoring the defense. should the redskins do the same and build the defense through free agency?

Build an offense and buy a defense?

Could work, aside from missing 1's and cap space. Once that all passes, maybe.

with what money?

Not having first round picks completely changes the landscape.

Our priorities at the moment go like this;

#1 Safety

#2 MLB (to replace Fletch when he retires)

#3 CB

Speaking of Manning and the Colts...

I'm surprised I haven't heard many people comment on the style of our offense being similar to the Colts with Manning. No it's not the same offense but lining up in the shot gun to run the ball was always a very effective staple in their offense. The pistol is similar giving Griff the run, or pass option. Once we develop a hurry up similar to Manning it's going to be lethal. Our offensive weapons should come from free agency and our defensive weapons from the draft.

I have a feeling that Shanny is happy with the players on O we have right now. I would love to see us make a run at another top WR and a faster 3rd down back....maybe Helu can be that guy next year. IDK what we are gonna do with Davis. Pretty sure we only have Morgan for this season, idk if i would bring him back.

I think the first few rounds of the draft this year really needs to be focused on getting us a better pass rush. I dont care who we have playing DB they dont stand a chance with no pass rush. Yes, Rak will help but we need a big time pass rushing DE. And it time to start looking for another ILB b/c idk how much longer LF has left. Obviously we need SS/FS unless we are gonna go with Jackson and Merri next season...with seeing how Merri played all be it one game he looked pretty good.

But to really answer the question....we play in the NFC East...we need to fix the D if we want to be a legit contender year in and year out. So no i wouldn't just focus on O.

Do you want the same results the Colts got? Building half a football team is a good way to win lots of regular season games and then get dumped from the playoffs by teams with better balance. You can build the offense like the Colts did, or build the defense as George Allen did to get just about the same result. Teams with a Grade A offense and a grade D defense and those with a Grade A defense and a grade D offense are equals on the field.

You aren't likely to win Super Bowls with a plan like this. If you recall, the Colts needed a perfect storm of luck to win theirs. Before that, Peyton had developed the reputation of not being able to win big games. Well, it wasn't Peyton at all. It was the Colts plan getting the results it deserved. It was not likely to win big games against good teams with better balance on offense and defense.

Remember when Peyton Manning was drafted by the Colts? The next few years of drafts were dedicated to getting all of the offensive weapons Peyton needed to be successful. they did this almost ignoring the defense. should the redskins do the same and build the defense through free agency?

The Redskins only need a few pieces on the offensive side of the ball, and that for a better line and depth. Finish this defense because as we seen with just Meriweather back, we played a solid 4 qrt game and held a rookie and Philly to only 6 points. The same team that scored 31 points on Dallas and almost beat them. Then last Monday night they held the World Champions to 16 points and only 3 points in the 2nd half.

This team is coming together at the right time, and doesn't need near the pieces that so many analyst and even fans thinks it needs to be that winner and contender.

Yeah, I'd say the offense is looking pretty good. You've got Garcon and Morgan as the "in their prime" vets. You got first year players in Morgan and Hankerson who are likely to get better. You got the still effective Moss though he might be gone next year or the year after that. Running back you have Morris, Helu should come back and Royster is serviceable as a backup and utility back. The line has overachieved, but has looked pretty good. It could use some upgrades, but who knows, if we're lucky that might be Stabby and Gettis. Tight end is a big question mark. Davis is good, but not elite and he tends to miss large chunks of seasons. He also was franchised this year which probably means he wants a big pay day. I've been pleased by Paulson, but he's not enough and Cooley clearly is on the downside.

So, I'd imagine that money and draft was be invested much more on the defensive side with only slight tinkering done to the offense.

I don't think there are a lot of huge holes on offense, but a lot depends on Garcon. If he' healthy, then they have a pretty dynamic group of WRs, all that can do different things. I am one of those that think that Hank is going to be a huge contributor. He hasn't had 1 off season yet. The first was robbed by the lockout, the second because he was recovering from surgery. I think that he needs a full off season program. They can work on his hands, his route running, etc. He's a big guy, has good speed.

I like the combination of Garcon (#1), Morgan/Hank (possession), Moss (slot), Robinson (speedster). I think that they can do a million things with those weapons. They also can add a piece here or there cheaply. The OL looks fine. Maybe need an upgrade at RT. But, that's not THAT hard to do. They have drafted a ton of guys in the mid-rounds over the last couple of years for depth and to challenge starters. Who knows what Josh L. can do?

No, I think that they HAVE to fix this defense. They've got to get 2 starting quality safeties. They need more depth at secondary. ILB is a little thin with London losing a step and being hurt, but they have a good group there. Probably need to add one more to the mix.

I think the skins need a quiet offseason - good draft of depth players, low to mid level free agents....plan on improving through better coaching, returning players (Orakpo, Cariker, Jackson, Merriweather).

They should wait until 2014 to target any key FA acquisitions - I don't want the team to hose the salary cap in 2013 by pushing a bunch of money into the future in order to sign high priced FA. Our contracts look good right now, we just need to make it through the cap penalty years without hosing our future year salary cap position...

Its a lot easier to find impact offensive players in the 2nd round than defensive players.

Get corners and safeties via free agency, bring back Meriweather, Orakpo and Carriker will be healthy, so our defense will be fine.

Draft offensive weapons to arm RGIII, and this team will be scary. It will be hard for teams to outscore our offense, and the Defense doesnt have to be spectacular but steady and consistent

Do you want the same results the Colts got? Building half a football team is a good way to win lots of regular season games and then get dumped from the playoffs by teams with better balance. You can build the offense like the Colts did, or build the defense as George Allen did to get just about the same result. Teams with a Grade A offense and a grade D defense and those with a Grade A defense and a grade D offense are equals on the field.

You aren't likely to win Super Bowls with a plan like this. If you recall, the Colts needed a perfect storm of luck to win theirs. Before that, Peyton had developed the reputation of not being able to win big games. Well, it wasn't Peyton at all. It was the Colts plan getting the results it deserved. It was not likely to win big games against good teams with better balance on offense and defense.

We've already invested a lot in our defense, even given that a lot of it has washed out. Most of our big contract players are on defense, as well as 2 of our last 4 first round picks. What our defense really needs is better coaching and one more true impact player preferably at the defensive line. With better coaching and good health, we could be a grade C or even B defense, though getting to grade A is hard because you need multiple grade A players there and we only have potentially one (Orakpo).

With that said, you don't need 2 grade A units to win a Super Bowl. You can get away with a grade C defense, like the Giants or the Rams when they won.

Right now, we need a starting right tackle and a guard so we can run more dropback sets and attack intermediate more often than we do, while not relying as much misdirection.

Defense Defense Defense.

That is all.

With that said, you don't need 2 grade A units to win a Super Bowl. You can get away with a grade C defense, like the Giants or the Rams when they won.

I'd say that you need an average grade of B+ to B- on O/D/ST to be a consistent Super Bowl contender.

Nope. Defense and running the ball still wins games during the playoffs. That's why they always got there butts handed to them in the playoffs when they ran into a team that could disrupt their offense (Patriots, Chargers). We need to add another receiver or a RB/WR hybrid and a right tackle on offense and focus all other resources on the defense

Not having first round picks completely changes the landscape.

Our priorities at the moment go like this;

#1 Safety

#2 MLB (to replace Fletch when he retires)

#3 CB

I would flip corner with LBer and put DL depth in there for #5, with RT being there at #3 ahead of LBer.

---------- Post added December-5th-2012 at 08:19 AM ----------

I think the skins need a quiet offseason - good draft of depth players, low to mid level free agents....plan on improving through better coaching, returning players (Orakpo, Cariker, Jackson, Merriweather).

They should wait until 2014 to target any key FA acquisitions - I don't want the team to hose the salary cap in 2013 by pushing a bunch of money into the future in order to sign high priced FA. Our contracts look good right now, we just need to make it through the cap penalty years without hosing our future year salary cap position...

I agree except for safety. If they can stretch and get a game changer he would be worth it.

Its a lot easier to find impact offensive players in the 2nd round than defensive players.

Get corners and safeties via free agency' date=' bring back Meriweather, Orakpo and Carriker will be healthy, so our defense will be fine.

Draft offensive weapons to arm RGIII, and this team will be scary. It will be hard for teams to outscore our offense, and the Defense doesnt have to be spectacular but steady and consistent[/quote']

^^ This

If we had all of our picks, I would say go with the BPA out of all pass-rushers and defensive backs in the first round. Unfortunately, we don't have a first round pick. It's pretty difficult to find stud defensive backs later than the first round.

I think we should basically be drafting BPA among pass rushers, pass catchers, and interior linemen with our first few picks. After the 4th round or so we should switch to BPA regardless of position.

People seem to be neglecting the need for a classic 3-4 nose. That would allow Cofield to shift to an end, and have a decent rotation with Cofield between nose (to spell the new guy), Carriker, Bowen, Jenkins and Golston (who has played fairly well, from what I've seen). Or, if Neild is healthy and shows growth, Cofield could become a full time end in rotations with the others. That will take care of how plodding and slow the DL looks from time to time. They're on the field way too long.

...With that said, you don't need 2 grade A units to win a Super Bowl. You can get away with a grade C defense, like the Giants or the Rams when they won...

I'd say that you need an average grade of B+ to B- on O/D/ST to be a consistent Super Bowl contender.

Nope. Defense and running the ball still wins games during the playoffs.

We've all heard the saying, "Defense wins championships".

But I find that statement to be wholly incomplete. I think the more appropriate saying would be, "Offense wins games and defense wins championships." It doesn't neglect either. I don't necessarily like that statement, either. But I think it's a much more complete statement.

People seem to be neglecting the need for a classic 3-4 nose...

Major Harris, who knows WV players, isn't high on Neild's chances to be a bona fide starter.

Yes, indeed. Adding a good NT would be a major move.

Major Harris, who knows WV players, isn't high on Neild's chances to be a bona fide starter.

I'm not either. I think he could be a decent spell guy at the nose position, but we need a classic mountain of a man that uses leverage. I think in spurts Neild could be effective. But he's not a starter. Agreed.

People seem to be neglecting the need for a classic 3-4 nose. That would allow Cofield to shift to an end, and have a decent rotation with Cofield between nose (to spell the new guy), Carriker, Bowen, Jenkins and Golston (who has played fairly well, from what I've seen). Or, if Neild is healthy and shows growth, Cofield could become a full time end in rotations with the others. That will take care of how plodding and slow the DL looks from time to time. They're on the field way too long.

Agreed, that he's a hybrid, but what makes Cofield a bad nose tackle. He seems to hold the center pretty well, the run defense is stout, and nose tackles generally aren't considered pass rushers. Last year, Cofield and Nield seemed to create a pretty good tandem. I always thought we were lacking more depth than talent at the position.

We already have a top 10 scoring offense and dominating running game. Especially with this cap penalty, our limited resources needed to focused on our weaknesses. That's mainly secondary and pass rush.

Colts had one of the best QBs in history and only won ONE super bowl while he was there. I don't want to follow that model, especially if that's there limited results. A big reason they couldn't go all the way all the time was because of their defense holding them back.