#21 on bench in 4th?

[SkinsNorth]

While I agree the D is much better when ST plays, I am not so sure about Lavar. Our linebackers played well, with lavar he seems to make 2 bad plays for every one good. There is a reason that he is sitting behind Holdman. If the D continues to play the way it has, I could not care less if Lavar plays agin this yr.

[skinstzar]

You'd think all the money and practice they get the would be 'fitting' into the scheme now. I'm mean, they are pro's... they should be able to do as they are told. I hated it when we let Antonio Pierce go and then saw the hype around Lavar when all he had was 1 sack in a season. And then he's had 2 tackles in 3 games. We should have let him warm someone elses bench. But then, he'd be all fired up and making the plays wouldn't he, just to prove something. I hate that.

He's got the money, not MAKE THE PLAYS!!!

Biatch!

What???? Being in the UK you might not get to see it but he only played two snaps today. Both were incomplete passes and he forced the play away from his side in both instances. I think that coach William's philosophy is going to blow up on us soon. That is just my two cents.

[RDSKNfaithfull]

It was more than one drive and he was not hurt. If a guy is hurt you don't take him off the bench to go out there on Special Teams which he did. It was really bad watching him and Lavar sitting down on the bench together at one point while Seatle walked all over our Great D:doh:

On a better note who cares we are 3-0 :applause:

[Mackdaddydean]

Ok, this may mean some of you swallowing your HUGE pride, but uh, we are just fans. We aren't at practice, we can't hear the team headphone monitors, and we only know what we are told. That being said, you have to realize that Gregg Williams probably knows more than you about what he should do for a defense in the NFL. And God forbid, maybe he knows stuff about his players that you nor the media knows. "Oh yeah, like what?" you might say. That is not the point. The point is that you must trust the actions, no matter how seemingly stupid they may seem from your "omniscient" fan status, of someone who has helped us get to 3-0 and put our defense in the top 5 in the NFL. Period.

[deiulay]

I didn't notice untill late, and watching the highlights when I got home I saw Ryan Clark get beat quite a few times on plays ST would have made

[trez]

eventually Williams' arrogance in thinking he doesn't have to play his most talented players (lavar, st), will burn us.

[smalczak]

eventually Williams' arrogance in thinking he doesn't have to play his most talented players (lavar, st), will burn us.

While I dont necessarily agree that its Williams' 'arrogance', I do agree that its time to get your big play defenders into the game.

I find it quite admirable that they are building a team of blue-collar working guys who are a team and dont have starters and yadda yadda. Thats all well and good. But that is exactly what they are playing like...a solid defense that gets the job done, but doesnt light it up.

IMO, they need to HAVE those 'difference makers' in the mix. Stars are stars for a reason...you cant have the attitude of 'if we cant all make the pro-bowl, none of us will' that seems to be forming (not literally, but the sentiment seems real). Lets face it, not every player has the same abilities. So, you do have to have stand-outs, stars, playmakers, or whatever you want to call them. Its just part of the game. You should build on them, not try and hammer them down.

So I say put LA in and see how he does. If he screws up and costs us, then sit him down. But I'd wager he'll change games more in our favor than Holdman does. Holdman seems to be 'doing my job' type which is all the rage now with the Skins. But we are going to need people to come up with the big plays down the stretch...and who do you think has a better chance of that? LA and ST or Holdman and Clark?

If you have highly paid, highly talented players on the roster...PLAY THEM. It doesnt make sense to bench them incessantly. I forsee a future where star-calibur players dont WANT to come to Washington as they dont seem to be wanted...

[Titaw]

You know, WE WON!!!! We are 3 - 0 and this is the first time since GW's coaching tenure that the offense outplayed the defense. WE WON!!!! Why can't we stop being deskside coaches and ENJOY 3 - 0. The defense will be fine with or without LA we were second in the league last year without him. I like everyone else loves to see LA play but if he is being childish about GW's defense when GW coached a D that was in the Superbowl, then I say here's your spot Lavar, right next to Ramsey, on the bench.

:2cents:

[DCBnG21]

eventually Williams' arrogance in thinking he doesn't have to play his most talented players (lavar, st), will burn us.

Perhaps Coach William's doesn't think he needs to play the guys that won't run in his system. There have been a couple of coaches in the past that have refused to play players that don't play within the system....

1. Joe Gibbs -- You may remember him, he won a few Super Bowls with the Skins.

2. Bill Belicheck -- You may also have heard of this guy...he's won as many Super Bowls as Coach Gibbs.

..and you could go on. We're good b/c of our defensive schemes. Given the aggressiveness of our defense, we're probably more likely get burned bad if people are out there free-lancing.

ST has apparently bought into the system as Coach Williams often talks about how much he loves to coach him, if he wasn't hurt, he probably wasn't feeling well. Anyone else sitting out, likely has a very good idea of what is expected of them if they wish to play and contribute.

[DCBnG21]

While I dont necessarily agree that its Williams' 'arrogance', I do agree that its time to get your big play defenders into the game.

I find it quite admirable that they are building a team of blue-collar working guys who are a team and dont have starters and yadda yadda. Thats all well and good. But that is exactly what they are playing like...a solid defense that gets the job done, but doesnt light it up.

IMO, they need to HAVE those 'difference makers' in the mix. Stars are stars for a reason...you cant have the attitude of 'if we cant all make the pro-bowl, none of us will' that seems to be forming (not literally, but the sentiment seems real). Lets face it, not every player has the same abilities. So, you do have to have stand-outs, stars, playmakers, or whatever you want to call them. Its just part of the game. You should build on them, not try and hammer them down.

So I say put LA in and see how he does. If he screws up and costs us, then sit him down. But I'd wager he'll change games more in our favor than Holdman does. Holdman seems to be 'doing my job' type which is all the rage now with the Skins. But we are going to need people to come up with the big plays down the stretch...and who do you think has a better chance of that? LA and ST or Holdman and Clark?

If you have highly paid, highly talented players on the roster...PLAY THEM. It doesnt make sense to bench them incessantly. I forsee a future where star-calibur players dont WANT to come to Washington as they dont seem to be wanted...

You, uh, haven't watched many Patriot's games the last few years have you?

[justme]

You, uh, haven't watched many Patriot's games the last few years have you?

Agreed. We seem alright to me right now and we certainly seemed alright last year when Lavar missed 13 games. Williams knows his players...

I'm confused about which Sean is suffering from a shoulder injury. Taylor, Springs, both? Wilbon's article says it was springs. Other's say ST. Which is it?

[smalczak]

You, uh, haven't watched many Patriot's games the last few years have you?

I say hogwash to that. The Patriots may have cultivated the image of the 'journeymen's defense' but they have (and play) stars just like everyone else. Rodney Harrison and Richard Seymour are players not unlike ST and LA (at least how he used to be).

How many of the Pat's defenders go to the Pro-bowl? Quite a few. There are plenty of playmakers being played in that defense.

I didnt get a chance to see their game today, but they gave up an AWFUL lot of points today. Is it possible that the loss of Harrison had something to do with that? I'd say quite possibly.

The points is that even the Patriots who refuse to sell the farm to keep a player (and that I agree with) still play their playmakers and still suffer from not having them on the field. IIRC they had to do some sort of contract negotiation with Seymour in the off-season, right? Its not like these guys are going to play for Journeymen's salaries even on that style of defense!

For all those who say just enjoy the win, I think we all are. But this is a Redskins discussion board, so why not discuss something? There is only so much you can do with 'Wow, what a game, that was great'. :wavetowel

And, for what its worth, I think the Defense is doing a tremendous job so far. I love the fact that GW doesnt seem to fall into that soft zone crap and the 'prevent' which just kills teams. But if you have highly paid players who have, in the past, been huge playmakers...to me it just makes sense to put them into the mix (or leave them in in ST's case). If its a case of injuries, then thats that, but if its more than that, I'm curious as to what it is...is that such a terrible thing?

[Newera]

Greg is out to prove no one player is above the team. And, he's proving it.

[gimpy007]

I watched the game as I am sure all of you did as well and ST did not look himself today. Maybe he was hurt, maybe was not feeling well, or maybe we was not in because of, who the heck knows why... LA has not been in and we have been doing well without him, and again who here really knows why he has not been in the game. GUYS!!! Hello! We are 3-0! Get it! We are at the top of our division. Are Offense has scored more and more points each week. We are only getting better. The sky is the limit. One week at a time. Lets know get down on our team or our coaches. Let’s support the great job they are doing.

[Hollywood2k3]

We only have so many game changers on our Defense with Arrington and Taylor being on the top of that list. I know Arrington has been sitting out but we have to find a way to get him on the field. People have forgotten how much of a force he can be if he's playing. His situation needs to be figured out soon.

:applause: I definately agree!! Even if the excuse for LaVar not being on the field is he freelance's too much, he's too good of a player NOT to be in the game at some point. I mean, it's past him just starting now, he's not gettin' on the field AT ALL! That has to change and the sooner the better.

As for Sean Taylor, I noticed immediately that he wasn't on the field that last drive and I was really concerned. I saw him layin' on the ground after Alexander scored and I knew he'd hurt his sore shoulder, but I didn't know how bad. Luckily Coach Gibbs said in his press conference that he just aggrivated it a little, and he'll be fine.

[APBT]

eventually Williams' arrogance in thinking he doesn't have to play his most talented players (lavar, st), will burn us.

From time to time it takes a bad accident, for a traffic light goes up.

He is arrogant and he brings that to our defense which is good, but you must play your best players.

We could not even generate a pass rush.

It look like our line was bull rushing the whole game.

[Taylor 36]

I told my brother during the game that I thought Taylor looked hurt or sick. He was not going after players full strength. It may have been his shoulder bothering him, which relly sucks. If it is bothering him enough to take him out of his game, we may have a problem.

[tr1]

eventually Williams' arrogance in thinking he doesn't have to play his most talented players (lavar, st), will burn us.

Dumb statement...we're 3-0. If you don't like Coach Williams, I'd suggest rooting for another team...this is about TEAM, not any individual player. Stop thinking in the past...we're back to playing a TEAM sport.

[tr1]

:applause: I definately agree!! Even if the excuse for LaVar not being on the field is he freelance's too much, he's too good of a player NOT to be in the game at some point. I mean, it's past him just starting now, he's not gettin' on the field AT ALL! That has to change and the sooner the better.

As for Sean Taylor, I noticed immediately that he wasn't on the field that last drive and I was really concerned. I saw him layin' on the ground after Alexander scored and I knew he'd hurt his sore shoulder, but I didn't know how bad. Luckily Coach Gibbs said in his press conference that he just aggrivated it a little, and he'll be fine.

The problem with good/great players that free-lance is that they get beat...and we're not scoring a lot of points to make up for that 'individual effort.' :doh:

[tr1]

From time to time it takes a bad accident, for a traffic light goes up.

He is arrogant and he brings that to our defense which is good, but you must play your best players.

We could not even generate a pass rush.

It look like our line was bull rushing the whole game.

You know, these pot shots at Williams are hilarious. At the end of the game Springs was out hurt, ST was out hurt, we were missing Pirileau and Harris. Should we be surprised that Seattle (a very good offensive team) came back against our 2nd and third stringers? No.

[TheGreek1973]

I love Lavar as much are the next guy but come on guys WHO THE HELL IS HE? This is a top 5 D without him and last year we were number 3 without him. Are we to sit here and say Gregg Williams is doing a lousy job by not putting him in there? Are you kidding me?

Yes yesterday our D let us down on a couple of drives but we are talking about the number 2 offense in the league here. The same offense that destroyed Atlanta's D which is a very good one. They probably have the second best back in the league and we had our starting CB (harris) and our starting safety our so lets cut the bull about how Gregg will burn us.

Obviously there is something wrong with Lavar and it probably goes beyond injury. Maybe in practice he is not getting it done. Maybe he doens't fit well with what Gregg is calling on D. Whatever the reason I don't care as long as we win. Now having said that one area this D is realy failing us is turnovers. We have got to get some and I think Gregg knows this otherwise we will start losing games.

[coolskin]

Williams pulled Taylor for the way he was playing. There was no injury.

[HailYeah]

Taylor did muff a few coverages. Especially one early were he did not come up and make the takle right away but tried to "trap" the guy, thus giving him an extra 5-6 yds.

With regard to Lavar: as the saying goes, "If it ain't broke...don't fix it."

[red zone]

I did see Sean come in on the punt return team. It was the punt which Santana Moss returned. He went right back to the bench after that play.

[coolskin]

Williams has a real fast hook for pulling players that he feels are not playing well enough, and it seems especially evident in the safety position when we have enough to rotate. Some might call it ‘fear factor ‘ coaching, make a mistake, you're gone. He did this last year with Bowen and Lott when both were healthy. A prime and a bit5 strange example would be this years game against Chicago. We started the game with Taylor, Prioleau, Stoutmire and Bowen. Bowen does something to his knee during punt coverage in the first series, limps off and spends the rest of the half being attended to by the trainers – pretty much done for the day. Now fast forward to the last couple of series of the game. Stoutmire is the third safety on the field and gives up a long completion. He’s yanked immediately …. for …. the sore kneed Bowen who luckily makes it thru the end of the game. I don't know if Taylor was hurting , tired or just not executing up to standards, but he was taken out.