megared

Preston Smith flashed though. 

He had the 3 sack game his rookie season and plays where he was in the mix. 

When Sweat gets blocked, he's pretty much out of the play.  I can't think of very many plays (especially on the pass rushes) where he beats his man. 

I'd like to think he's still not 100% from the preseason injury (not sure whether that's the case). 

Sure would've been nice to have a vet to push him to earn the starting spot...

19 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

McLauren didn't play in preseason either. It can go both ways.

 

I was disappointed in Sweat too but he had a tough matchup in his first ever game going up against a very good Eagle OL. Lets have some patience.

Premature on both sides. 

Receiver is a tough position to make a real impact in a rookie season.  They usually run out of steam due to the higher number of games, or teams adjust to what they're doing once the film is out there.  And unless he's just *that* good, I'd bet he probably would've been better off getting the game experience and developing, versus catching a couple of defenses off guard in the beginning of the season.  

I think us throwing these guys in there like that, is more of a function of our own desperation, than their actual readiness to contribute.  

I think the problem I have with the whole thing is that he, much like Doctson (& now Guice) weren't forced to earn their way into the game.  What happened to getting a vet in there that will push them for competition, until they're ready?  Maybe because we're still drafting for immediate roster gaps instead of longterm roster replenishment?  

I vividly remember Sean Taylor making freakish plays in the preseason, and STILL not starting game 1.  

I understand Sweat was injured, but even when he was available, since Gruden knew he was starting day 1, so he couldn't risk him to injury.  In reality, playing him in the preseason would've been best for his development.  

We're going to have this problem for as long as we treat these guys as saviors. 

1 hour ago, twa said:

if he was willing to indict two innocents he needs to do hard time....or a mental institute.

There was never even a possibility of this happening. 

He created a MAGA boogeyman that never existed.  (What're the chances two white men, wearing MAGA hats were going to be strolling on that street, at 2 am, on one of the coldest nights in decades?).  The reason he chose that night was because there wouldn't be witnesses to undermine the story.  The major variable to this scheme working rested with police not being able to track the suspects.  

He didn't want to go to police in the first place.  He also didn't cooperate fully with the investigation before the wheels fell off.  

Just as police did with the co-conspirators, they would've been able to easily retrace anyone's steps via surveillance videos, phone records, etc.   

This was done to garner himself attention...not lock up innocent people.  It's certainly fair game to criticize him for diverting police resources, and wasting a lot of folks' time, as well as lying about everything.  But I think with the evidence reported to date it's clear this scheme was concocted to advance his career and increase his visibility.  

9 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

I saw that he's still denying it, even though the evidence against him is mounting.

I'm fully expecting a jilted-former-lover angle to be introduced at some point.  For him to be this defiant, I'd imagine there's more yet to be released.   

24 minutes ago, Chachie said:

 I admit it. I'm hooked. I want to know everything.

This is where I'm at too.  

1 hour ago, MisterPinstripe said:

The most disturbing and news worthy thing to me was him being willing to come in and testify against two guys they had in custody until he heard that it was the two guys he paid. IF that was true, he was willing to potentially send two innocent people to jail. I havent heard too much about that though so either that didnt actually happen or its just been glossed over.

He never wanted a real police investigation.  In his misguided plan to reduce the number of witnesses, and plan this for a historically cold night, he didn't stop for one second to think how easily police would be able to retrace these guys' steps.  

The best thing he could possibly do for himself is avoid a trial at all costs.  I can't imagine him coming out looking any better once the intricate details of this cluster**** are presented as evidence.  

2 hours ago, NoCalMike said:

Now personally, I think this story should not even be covered anymore, it isn't national news worthy once it was believed to be a hoax, there is no reason to keep covering this as if it is important..........especially when something like this just happened:

Disagree.  This is one of those stories where news and entertainment intersect.  Everyone I've talked to about it IRL has asked the same question ("why?").  I want to stop watching it, but it's a slow motion train wreck.  

This was the first thing that popped into my head, as the details of the 'incident' were being published:

9 hours ago, Destino said:

Have you seem the lengths people go to in office politics?  The stories they come up with, the scheming they engage in?  That someone would try this isn’t surprising at all.  I’d bet good money that he’s not the only one that’s claimed to be a victim, that isn’t.  He just got greedy and made the mistake of trying a hair braided scheme that a Hollywood writer might come up with, in real life.  

To be honest, reading this guy's social media before the incident left me with the feeling that he was a fringe lunatic.  After all, if you had this much of a moral objection to what is going on in the country, wouldn't you find it at least slightly hypocritical to have your checks signed by the network most closely aligned with this administration (Fox)?  And wouldn't you be keenly aware that your political stances are inconsistent with theirs and conduct yourself accordingly?

I know a lot of people are coming out and saying they thought it was bs from the start, but I recall arguing with friends and family that the initial story never made much sense.  This is not normal, even for politics.  

21 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

Or maybe he's got all his faculties and is just a piece of ****.  

I guess...I'm just not seeing rational people, regardless of political leanings, doing this kind of **** for attention.

He's a suspect now. 

Since he hasn't surrender to police yet, hopefully his crisis management team and defense attorneys catch convince him to seek help before he stands trial. 

He'll probably get the book thrown at him, which I have no problem with, but the whole thing (combining it with sending himself hate mail with aspirin simulating anthrax, cut out letters from a magazine)  just screams either mental illness and/or substance abuse to me.  

17 minutes ago, BenningRoadSkin said:

This is a big deal.

I think the bigger deal may be the whole letter fiasco that involved the FBI.  If they go after him for any of a number of charges they can bring up, he's not only looking at just losing his career, but also his freedom for a significant amount of time.  I don't think he'll get very much time for the false police report from Chicago PD, but the FBI treats fake substances the same as what they're imitating.  

Best route for him at this point, is to feign mental illness, or claim he's bi-polar.  

11 hours ago, nonniey said:

I think the motive to aid his career in music/ acting was just a side benefit of the actual primary motive, which was as you said to drive the wedge deeper in our culture - it was a hate crime imo. He wanted to reinforce the narrative that is out there that all Trump supporters are racist, homophobic bigots that are willing to physically attack their opponents.  There is too much hate out there and in here (Tailgate).

Disagree.  This was done purely for his own gain.  Rumor was he was being written off of Empire, and he's trying to establish himself as a legitimate musician, and create a buzz around his first album.    What better way than to make yourself the face of the victims of violent crimes as a black and gay man?  He had a show shortly after the "attack" where he called himself the gay 2pac.  

He sold out 3 demographics of people (blacks, LGBTQ, victims of violent crimes) solely for the perceived opportunity of career advancement.

I almost feel like he needs a mental evaluation, because this is not the behavior of a person playing with a full deck. 

Not sure i agree with this.  As Cooley mentioned in his podcast, Smith left some plays on the field.  I'm not sure if you can place the emphasis on short passes completely on them for not getting open.

1 hour ago, skinsmania123 said:

The sad part regarding Doctson IMO, is that with his skill set I believe he is on the wrong team.  And this may be true for Richardson and Harris as we go along.  Doctson would do better with Mohommes, Goff, or Rodgers.  I am telling you watch McVay scoop him up or Reid after this season.  He is going to be a bargain.  He has the ability or we would not have seen flashes of it.   When you have a conservative QB who plays not to lose, just like their coach, a player like Doctson can't evolve.   

To that point, it appears that the kind of routes Doctson can 'win' on, are the throws Alex Smith is the worst at.

16 hours ago, Thinking Skins said:

I really can't believe there's this much discussion on Doctson. He drew 2 PI calls and caught one out of bounds last week. He's getting targeted, and he's having an impact on the game. I do wish he ran more routes and was more involved in our offense, but we have an inside out offense that runs through Thompson, Reed, and Crowder as our primaries. If Robinson or Crowder or Harris or another player shows up and can be relied upon and defenses game plan for them then we can extend it. 

 

I think it was a big adjustment last year going from Jackson and Garcon to Reed/Davis and Thompson (who was nowhere near as involved then as he is now). It's also an adjustment going to Peterson. Doctson was supposed to be our goal line guy amount other things, and we saw what he can do last year and last week when he drew the pi call at the goal line. But now we also have Peterson who can get in the end zone with no problem. So that takes targets away from Doctson. 

 

But the story is that Doctson is our best run blocking WR, which is why he still plays so much. I have a feeling that as the games go on, hell go from being number 3 or 4 in terms of progression to 1 or 2 and we'll see things change.

 

And if not, i still see him doing enough to warrant his playing time.

I guess I still can't see the idea of a 1st round pick run-blocking, or drawing PIs as justifying his talent level or his perceived contribution to this offense.  Certainly some of it falls on the kind of QB Smith is, and maybe the playcalling, but I'd like to think, at where we drafted him, his talent level would dictate that he's winning matchups and becoming a solid contributor in this offense.  And I'm not sure how that can happen...and some of that is on the team, some of it is on him.   

If he's going to be a possession receiver, at what point can we expect the offense to look his way on critical down situations?  Those appear to be the kind of routes he can execute...

41 minutes ago, mistertim said:

 

Thanks. Very interesting, and not really surprising given his college tape and his skill set but I do agree with the author there that he can definitely produce if used correctly but he's probably not ever going to be a guy who is great at getting tons of separation and beating press coverage. However, as the author states, his skill set means he doesn't really need it as he excels in using his body control, leverage, leaping ability etc to get catches (just like some other WRs he mentions). 

 

I also think it gives us a bit of a window into why both Kirk and Alex have had reservations going to him. Kirk is very much a rhythm passer who generally likes things to stick to the system/progressions and throw to guys who are relatively open. Alex isn't as strict in his adherence to a controlled system but he is very cautious with the ball so he's also less likely to throw to a WR like Doctson on a regular basis and let him use his skills to make the catches.

 

Maybe this just isn't the right place for JD?

But surely Gruden and Alex know the kind of receiver he is...so my question then becomes what gives for the lack of production?  Send him on those routes he's good at running, and have Alex throw him the ball in one on one match ups so either he catches it, or it's incomplete.  Or better yet throw it high where he'll out-jump most DBs.  

They have had a training camp and however many practices to become accustomed to it.  If we're going to be a good team, everybody has to be involved in the offense.  Otherwise we'll flounder when good defenses neutralize our best threats.  

4 minutes ago, mistertim said:

 

Right, but that's all just assumption. That doesn't mean it's an incorrect assumption, but still an assumption. I think I'll try to check out some All-22 and see what it looks like to me (again, total amateur).

Here's a pretty good Reddit discussion on someone that analyzed some tape of him:

Reddit: TheHeintzel Analysis The Not-So Curious Case of Josh Doctson

Here's another one:  The Heintzel WR report - A Josh Doctson tape analysis

20 minutes ago, mistertim said:

Wait, how do we know any of this about Doctson? I mean that seriously...are we just assuming he doesn't run good routes or can't get separation or beat press coverage, or has anyone actually done some analysis of the All-22 film? I'm actually thinking of buying it and going through and focusing on Doctson just to see what I notice, but I'll certainly admit that I'm not an expert so it would just be my amateur opinion. 

Quote

Despite playing 88 percent of the snaps on offense through three games, Doctson has accounted for just 14 percent of the team target total while catching five of 13 passes for 48 yards.

CBS Sports: Redskins Josh Doctson Held Without Target

I'm guessing as well...haven't viewed the All-22 film either.  But what other explanation could there be?    

7 minutes ago, RandyHolt said:

Wait, have we determined he is not getting separation? Defenses play man or they play zone. I think he has faced some tough corners in week 1 and 3 who spent a lot of time in man. Indy we faced a soft zone.  But make no mistake, he is not the precision route runner type like Ryan Grant. He is a big lanky jump ball sideline type, and really has never been anything else. Scoring 6 TD last year is nothing to brush aside. This with a QB that basically had to teach himself to trust he can throw fiddy fiddy jump balls and looked all the part. Kirk's end zone fades were almost all facepalm grade.

At this point, with where he was drafted, he should be able read coverages pre-snap to understand what he needs to do to get separation via man or know where to go to find a soft spot in a zone.  I find it real hard to believe that Jay is designing these plays that can only get him targeted ~5 times a game. 

So, my guess is that he's not getting open due to route running.  I think we can all agree that Doctson should at least be capable of running a portion of the route tree at an average level.  And if he's just a possession type receiver, why are we never going to him in critical down situations?

2 minutes ago, RandyHolt said:

Ride the pine for who? Quick was recently cut.  Harris is seemingly still hurt/healing. 

 

Fun Fact. Floyd had 10 receptions last year.  At least Doctson had 5 TDs. 

 

IMO Doctson needs to bulk up to take the next step in his development. Only with added girth do I expect the confidence to work more inside. Those areas of the field will lend to a greater catch rate. 

Vernon Davis.  I'd run 2 TE sets more, if we're talking current roster.  

And bulking up isn't going to help him, if he's already rarely getting separation.  Without film, it's difficult to say...but I think it is safe to say that the guy is probably never going to live up to expectations at this point, unless there's a phantom injury we aren't privy to.

Doctson has 5 catches for 48 yards through 3 games.

At this point, regardless of how good or bad our offense looks week to week, you have to ask yourself, why isn't he contributing?  As much as I'd like to think the guy could pan out, most players that develop into solid contributors aren't finishing games with 0 catches for 0 yards unless the defense is completely geared towards stopping them.  And I don't think anyone would argue that to be the case with him.  

At this point with our current personnel, we'd be better off running 2 TE sets and utilizing both Reed & Davis, and possibly bolstering the run game.  

Or we could sign a certain receiver that would love to stick it to the Cowboys twice a year, prove that he's still capable of playing at a high level, and possibly set himself up for a big payday next season.  Seems like the Redskins would hold all of the cards in that scenario.  

13 minutes ago, justice98 said:

I think the TD situation will be like last week.  We might get 1 or 2.

If it's like last week, one or two TDs would qualify as an offensive explosion.

10 hours ago, mistertim said:

 

He might be on good behavior for a little while, but a tiger can't change its stripes. Dez is going to eventually be Dez and he'll end up pissed if he doesn't get enough targets and will act out...like he pretty much always has. Another thing is I don't see any specific reason why he'd be hot and bothered to sign here unless he just really wanted to stick it to the Girls or there's literally nobody else that will pay him even a ham sandwich to play for them. It's not like we're a super hot team right now and he knows we have a QB who's very well known for being conservative and a coach who doesn't mind that.

 

I just don't see either side being that interested. According to another post/link here, apparently Doug Williams said something to the effect of the Skins already have their starters and they don't want Dez because he wants to be one. Assuming that's true (though possibly stupid seeing as how Dez even now is likely better than any of our other guys by a decent margin) then it sounds like a non-starter to me.

Every time audio was released of his 'sideline' outbursts, it was revealed that the narrative was inaccurate.  The guy's a fiery competitor, that doesn't like to lose.  They weren't rants about him not getting the ball. 

Don't forget, him getting dropped by Dallas was purely a cap move.  He wasn't worth a $16.5 M cap number in that offense, where the QB struggled with making intermediate/deep throws (where Dez lives).     And the timing of his release screwed him because a lot of teams had already spent the money they had planned to use in free agency.  

Bottom line is, neither Doctson or Richardson have been particularly effective, they don't scare defenses, and they have left plays on the field.  If we have the opportunity to bring a guy in on a cheap one year contract, why not?  If he causes problems he can be cut.  I'd rather see the front office take a chance on him, than the continued effort to dumpster dive for guys that have never accomplished anything.

3 hours ago, mistertim said:

 

I think Dez would be a malcontent cancer here. He wants to be a #1 and get a certain number of targets per game and gets pissed when he doesn't get them. How exactly is that going to work well with Alex Smith's conservative play? The only way I can see him coming here and not being a malcontent is if Gruden literally draws up a certain number of plays per game where Dez is the ONLY player in the receiving progression.

Not a chance of that happening here.   He wants a one year contract,  which means he'll be on his best behavior in hopes of landing the next payday.   We have far more to gain,  than anything to lose by giving the guy a shot.   And he'd take pressure and attention off of our current WRs.  Putting the anti-Dallas bias aside,  off the street,  he's a better receiver than anyone we have on our roster, and he'd come cheap.   

I'm not going to condemn Alex's lack of downfield passing yet,  because even when he made on target throws,  our current guys weren't making plays.   Dez drops passes too,  but when he catches them he can be a matchup problem.   And since the front office is committed to winning now,  they need to bolster that group.  Otherwise teams are just going to tee off on Peterson and Thompson.   

He had no business being brought in, in the first place.   

Still holding out hope that we give Dez a call.   I mean what could it hurt at this point?