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Temper Enthusiasm Regarding LaVar's Reps vs. 49ers


bulldog

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LaVar came back and had 9 tackles yesterday in his best outing since 2003.

But let's consider a couple of things before we assume he is 'back' as a full or near-full time player.

One, is the opponent. The 49ers were the perfect team to come back against. Rookie qb, weak offensive line. Big lead for the Redskins. All this enabled the Skins to tee off and be very aggressive on defense. Aggressive as we WON'T be against Manning or McNabb the next two weeks.

The second factor is the reason Arrington played the majority of the second half, namely the injury to Cornelius Griffin.

When Griffin went out the Redskins switched Phillip Daniels inside to DT and Arrington got snaps at DE as well as LB.

In my mind more snaps than he would have gotten in a close game or one where Griffin was healthy.

Don't get me wrong. I liked what I saw from him in terms of intensity. He made 2 or 3 plays of the type we don't see most weeks.

I just think when it comes to the Giants and Eagles that Williams is going to be more restrictive of his use of #56.

I do think a threshold has been crossed with LaVar. He WILL get on the field more now. He earned that chance Sunday.

But I still think we are a quality and disciplined game against a good caliber opponent or two before #56 is back as an unqualified regular.

It is, however, a lot closer to coming to pass now than anyone thought a week ago.

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When griffin went down it seemed like we kind of switched to a 3-4. LaVar wasn't always rushing. I agree that the injury to griffin had a lot to do with it, but I think it makes it MORE likely that LaVar will see extensive playing time in the coming weeks, since griffin's injury has not been made light of by anyone on the staff yet.

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:wave: Gibbs always mentions the packages.it's how he avoids the real question of what's going on with Levar.i expect to see alot more of him now that the barrier between him,the field and Williams has been broken.and may i add it's about time too.let's face it,he did look pretty good yesterday.not perfect,but he looked like the Levar we all see in our minds eye.and Williams has to see it too.

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LaVar came back and had 9 tackles yesterday in his best outing since 2003.

But let's consider a couple of things before we assume he is 'back' as a full or near-full time player.

One, is the opponent. The 49ers were the perfect team to come back against. Rookie qb, weak offensive line. Big lead for the Redskins. All this enabled the Skins to tee off and be very aggressive on defense. Aggressive as we WON'T be against Manning or McNabb the next two weeks.

The 9 tackles was the best of the whole defense (not just Lavar's best). So why didn't the rest of the defense do that good? Where they not lining up against the same "Rookie qb, weak offensive line, big lead for Redskins"? Plus others had more playing time? "Fit more packages", etc.

Sounds like sheepish Lavar-bashing to me. All I can say is get use to being sheepish.

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I think that's a fairly level-headed assessment, bulldog.

What we won't know is how LA graded out on film today. He was certainly visible out there, and made and impact, but coaches see a different game. I would KILL to have been in the room today with the D coaches breaking down LA's plays and finding out just how well he did with his fundamentals and assingments.

Instead, I'll have to watch and see how many packages/snaps he's in on next week up in NY. If he's not out there a lot, it'll mean there may still be a ways to go. If' he's out there a lot though ... :)

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Good review, bulldog...thanks.

I'm liked what I saw (or think what I saw) from LA...but I'm still in the wait and see camp.

LA sound positive on John Thompson's show...though, I don't know when the coaches share what they saw with the team.

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While it's obvious that ANY special performance this past sunday against the 49ers must be taken w/ a grain of salt, the bottom line is that we played an NFL team, and Lavar made some Lavar plays that reminded us of why he was so special in the first place.

While it did seem like he missed a few tackles, he also made some incredible plays that could not have been made by any other linebacker on the squad, most notably chasing down Alex Smith from the other side of the field for a crippling hit that will undoubtedly drive Eli Manning to the bottle this week.

In the meantime, :gaintsuck

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Gibbs always mentions the packages.it's how he avoids the real question of what's going on with Levar.i expect to see alot more of him now that the barrier between him,the field and Williams has been broken.and may i add it's about time too.let's face it,he did look pretty good yesterday.not perfect,but he looked like the Levar we all see in our minds eye.and Williams has to see it too.

I think what we should take out of Lavar's playing time this week is that there is no smokescreen, there is no barrier between Lavar and the coaches, and there are just simply no conspiracies at all.

When the coaches say Lavar is in some packages, it means he is in some packages. When we play a 3-4 or when we blitz the linebackers, Lavar is going to be in on those packages. When we are dropping linebackers into coverage, Lavar isn't going to be in those pacakges.

He will get more playing time as he makes a greater and greater impact, but it also depends on what the situation dictates. Gregg Williams rotates the front 7 a lot to keep them fresh, and I think he is being perfectly honest when he says there are 25 "starters." Lavar might play more this week or he might play less, but it will have nothing to do with the media, his contract, or coach favoritism ... it will have everything to do with how well Lavar is playing and what the situation dictates.

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I am very worried about the NY Giants Defense. They have a lot of heavy hitters. This week is going to be tough on both offense and our defense.

You're worried about a Defense that is ranked both second-to-last in the NFL and the NFC? The only Defense we played that was worse, we scored 52 points.

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It's highly unlikely that we could afford to trade or cut Lavar. The coaches have known this all along. It's great that he was able to make a big contribution Sunday. It's great that so many fans love him, because he's the type of guy who needs the love. If the coaches only play him 20 plays per game and he makes 2, 3 or 4 big plays then I'm happy.

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