This Offseason Will Be Different For Redskins

[chaught76]

The guy to invest in is Reggie Wayne... spend the money on a guy who can catch 80 balls for 1,200 yards... Indy can't afford him.

I like to see this happen too, tjlax; however, I don't see having the cap room to sign him with some of the other needs. I know we'll get some relief with some dead money we wrapped in Coles old contract, but unless we would trade Lavar, which I hope we don't, I don't see having cap room for Wayne.

[DCNightHawk]

Our priority is to find a number 2 WR because we need to open up out offense a little.

[chaught76]

Our priority is to find a number 2 WR because we need to open up out offense a little.

I agree, but we need more than one solid WR is what I see as the WR problem. I would prefer we get 2 because we if one goes down, we will right back where we started.

[chaught76]

To take what I said farther, we need to start drafting depth. Especially on the D-Line, CB, and O-Line. I know it is really hard to be deep at every position, but we need to improve our over all depth.

[Gregpeck99]

The Skins must bite the bullet and start Campbell in 2006, ready or not. In his brief stints this pre-season he demonstrated strength, size, athleticism (read mobility), poise and a super accurate gun. He cannot possibly do any worse than Old Man Brunell, and Happy Feet Pat. Surround him with the current squad ... bolstered by the addition of an Eric Moulds, a few lineman on both sides of the ball, a kick-returner, and a suitable replacement for LaVar ... and he will do just fine ... for the next ten years. Eli who?

[RunPortisRun]

Yeah, and DE and RB aren't really that important, are they? Especially with the guys you have waiting in the wings to take over for Tiki. Let's see, there's Mike Cloud and Brandon Jacobs, right? Wow, that's impressive.

And now back to real conversation...

Great points, Bulldog. I am wondering what people think of Dockery. Someone suggested to me the other day that we cut ties with him, and go after Steve Hutchenson of SEA, if available and if not too expensive. That would give us a dominant O-line, especially if we could pick up some mid-tier depth in the draft and free agency.

I would love to see us get a 2nd WR, but I'm not sure it has to be your prototypical possession receiver. Why not go after another speed guy, Randle-El maybe? With two receivers to stretch the field, that opens up the middle and the underneath passes to Cooley, Royal, Portis, etc for those 3rd down conversions. If we had Moss, Randle-El, Patten, Cooley and Portis for a third and 8, the D would have a tough time game planning everyone.

As far as DE goes, I would like to see us draft a project and develop them. The points that were made earlier about our D-line knocking down passes and being terrific against the run are good points. I don't think we spend lots of money on a FA when we can get a situational project in the draft.

Lastly, I agree with you Bulldog about our depth. We need mid-tier guys to be able to step in and play. We got dealt a ton of injuries this year, and need depth. I noticed the guys on the defense were generally able to step in and play well, while our offensive depth did not do as well. That needs to be addressed as well.

I agree Randle-El would be a great pick up for us. WR and returning kicks.

[inmate running the asylum]

I hate the Giants, and Eli is nowhere near as good as Giants fans think he is, but the troll has a point; Pierce was the one loss that probably hurt us the most this year. Imagine our defense with Pierce back there??? NUTS. He was a HUGE loss.

The loss of Pierce didn't hurt much at all this year. Marshall had a very good year at MLB with 4 INT's -- and had a couple of big games, like that INT versus the Eagles that put us in the playoffs -- and the coaches think he will be even better in 2006. Besides, Pierce after having a very good year for us in 2004, wasn't that great in 2005 for the Giants either. :doh:

[DieselPwr44]

IMO, our offseason priorities are:

Pass rushing DE: We have neglected this position in the draft for over a decade.

WR: Patten is coming off injury at age 32 and Jacobs is a bust.

Oline depth : Someone to push Dockery and fill in if needed.

TE: Cooley's primarily the H-back. I'm talking about an upgrade over Royal.

CB: Need depth here. Don't know if Harris will be back or even if the team wants him back.

K: Hall is done.

P: depends on if Tupa can come back and regain his 2004 form.

[inmate running the asylum]

I would agree with Bulldogs analysis, except he forgot about a punt returner. Antonio Brown can't cut it as a punt returner. His 4.5 yard average is way below par, plus he either fumbles the ball or uses poor judgment and fair catches balls that are returnable. And every high school player knows you don't try to return punts from inside your 10 yard line. :doh: We lost a lot of field position this year because of Brown in critical games. :doh:

Antwaan Randel El is available as an UFA and I think the Skins will go after him. He could also help as a 3rd or 4th WR among other things. If he isn't available, then we should consider drafting CB/WR Devin Hester of Miami as a punt returner, who is slated to go in the 2nd round.

The Skins will not draft a DL or DE in the 2nd round as a pass rusher because as far down as we are drafting, you are not going to get any immediate help there. DL even taken in the 1st round, frequently take years to develop.

Gibbs doesn't have a history of drafting pass rushers HIGH in the draft, but prefers to sign accomplished veterans in this area. The Skins will have to get their pass-rusher in free agency. Hopefully John Abraham or Darren Howard or Vanden Bosch.

[Bangee7]

Good discussion...I am more informed for having read all of these.

Special thanks for the cap info (my weak point).

I agree whole heartedly that our kicking game woes really put pressure on us.

It's amazing we were able to get past Philly & Tampa with the

the starting field position we gave them.

DE, WR, CB, OL are also top priorities.

I'm on the fence on the Dockery issue. He did get better with the mental lapses.

Is he an average NFL guard though???

As far as WR, I'm not too concerned about the height issue.

As long as they can create separation and catch- that's the key point.

Being tough is also important, which is why I like Randle-El personally.

One thing to remember about this offensive staff-

they love to train someone 2-3 years before they see much action.

Guys like Molinaro & Ndwuke may just end up being hidden stars,

because of the extra preparation time.

I say we go CB or DL first in the draft and pick up a Vet WR.

Hopefully, we can pick up an additional 2 rounder somewhere along the line

and address the TE, OL, & Kicking game with the rest of the draft.

[Goaldeje]

I say we go CB or DL first in the draft and pick up a Vet WR.

Hopefully, we can pick up an additional 2 rounder somewhere along the line

and address the TE, OL, & Kicking game with the rest of the draft.

I think we are going to have to address DL and WR both in free agency. Inmates post about D-lineman not being able to step up right away is very true. I would like to see us grab Randle-El for both WR and KR/PR needs. I like him more than Wayne, who I think will be more expensive, and unable to help with return duties.

Then I see us addressing some of the other needs in the draft, especially depth along the O-line (and D-line come to think about it).

Going back to free agency, I think we will pick up several mid-tier free agents who can plug some depth issues as well. And the kicking game will need to be addressed as well. A friend of mine mentioned that Rian Longwell from GB may become available, and I think he would be a great pickup. If you can kick well in GB, you can kick well anywhere. We should then be able to pick up a punter, if Tupa retires or can't go.

[wsgully]

Good thread y'all. Thoughts after reading:

1) I thought Guard position would have to be upgraded and Dockery would have to be made a backup during the first half of the season, but Dockery really improved quite a lot. While I know we can use a new Guard to replace Ray Brown and backup Thomas/Dockery, at least we don't have to pay for a guard starter's money.

2) Man, it hurts to say because he's one of my favorite Redskins of all time, but I believe Lavar is scheduled to make $10 Million next year. Unless he wants to take a pay cut to stay, I just don't see how we can pay him that kind of money.

2a) And even if Lavar leaves the skins, I hope he doesn't retire. I'm sure he can go someplace and contribute and have fun and get an entirely new legion of fans as well.

3) I really don't know what should be done with Taylor Jacobs. Same goes for Patten.

4) A few times in this season I thought that Royal was a goner. I'm still wondering, even though he pulled out of the tailspin towards the end of the season. TE is a position of consideration for the draft. I'm still not convinced that he has the sure hands someone at that position absolutely must have.

5) Our DL ended up performing a lot better than everybody thought it would, admit it. Salavea is a keeper. I even might say I like our DT situation. But what a wonderful thing it would be if we found someone good in the second round at DE, a game changing athlete at that position on the skins. It's been so long since that was the case, Daniels only showed brief glimpses of what that might be like.

6) CB position makes me nervous, due to depth.

7) If Lavar is gone, is it a possibility that Marshall could still call the defense from the weakside if someone else moves into the middle? My lack of actual organized football playing experience probably becomes apparent with this question.

8) If Ramsey isn't ever going to be the answer, trade him while we can. I bet he'll start for some other team at some point next season if we do trade him. I can name at least 10 teams off the top of my head where he'd be an upgrade over the starter (given one offseason to prepare), obviously worth a second or early third rounder. Heck, I know he'd love throwing deep to Boldin and Fitzgerald out in the desert for the next 5 years.

Draft: I think our first pick is something around the 54th pick in the second round. There are a lot of positions where we should take a look at the most talented player to make an impact (in no particular order): DE, WR, TE, OG, LB (Lavar), CB. Heck, I'll even throw out NT, just in case there's a good 340 lb bruiser out there that can come in when we want to switch to a 3/4 occasionally.

W

[bulldog]

the Redskins are in a good spot on the DL to add a player to two via the draft that we can bring along to be situational pass rushers who develop into full-time performers. The four starters we have are quality run defenders and we are fine inside at DT with the starters for 2006.

what I would like to see is Daniels and Wynn return but to see a younger DE rotate in on third downs to apply better pressure, especially from Renaldo's side.

[88Comrade2000]

Wonder why a Giants fan is arguing about the Skins? Hmmm. The Giant players have some problems with the coach. I see that tension derailing their 2006 season and the Giants looking for a new coach in 2007.

AS for the Skins- great thread.

QB- Brunell isn't a player we can rely on for a whole season. He will get hurt and when he does, he is completely ineffective. We saw that this year. Ramsey is gone- coaches don't believe in him. Campbell is too green to hand a playoff team over too. His year looks to be 2007. We need to decide what we are going to do with Brunnell and then get either his replacement or backup that can come in and win.

WR- I think we need 2 WR. A 2nd WR and a 3 WR. Should be plenty available.

OL- we need much more depth. Thru free agency and the draft.

DE- Need that pash rushing DE

LB- Lavar should be gone, would love a #1 for him. Of course, we may have to find someone to replace him.

CB- need more depth.

ST- need a new punter, kicker and return guy. Hello Randall EL.

I would love a personnel guy hired to assist us in drafting/free agency. Doesn't have to be a GM per se but does many of those same duties.

I am exicted for 2006. I really do think we could win a superbowl in the next 2 years. Depends how we fill our holes. I can't wait until free agency starts. Better fill up SynderOne- it's going to be busy.

[jrockster21]

The loss of Pierce didn't hurt much at all this year. Marshall had a very good year at MLB with 4 INT's -- and had a couple of big games, like that INT versus the Eagles that put us in the playoffs -- and the coaches think he will be even better in 2006. Besides, Pierce after having a very good year for us in 2004, wasn't that great in 2005 for the Giants either. :doh:

Its not the stats that were Antonio's main contribution, it was his intelligence. Calling the plays before Williams could get them to the huddle, putting the guys in the right spots, everything. He is a very smart player. Anyone who thinks Pierce was not a HUGE loss is blind.

I'm not dogging on Lemar -- he had a great season. But Pierce was a game-changer for us.

[Jumbo]

IMO, our offseason priorities are:

Pass rushing DE: We have neglected this position in the draft for over a decade.

WR: Patten is coming off injury at age 32 and Jacobs is a bust.

Oline depth : Someone to push Dockery and fill in if needed.

TE: Cooley's primarily the H-back. I'm talking about an upgrade over Royal.

CB: Need depth here. Don't know if Harris will be back or even if the team wants him back.

K: Hall is done.

P: depends on if Tupa can come back and regain his 2004 form.

I've had that same list for awhile, right or wrong. What we actually do, and what you and I are thinking with that chain of prority, will be very interesting to me, along with who we have ready to move in behind Mark next season assuming he starts and makes it at least the half-way point. I'm always intruiged way more than chagrined when the team does different than me, me not being a GM and all :laugh: .

[ThomasRoane]

The loss of Pierce didn't hurt much at all this year. Marshall had a very good year at MLB with 4 INT's -- and had a couple of big games, like that INT versus the Eagles that put us in the playoffs -- and the coaches think he will be even better in 2006. Besides, Pierce after having a very good year for us in 2004, wasn't that great in 2005 for the Giants either.

LOL funny but I won a 6-pack from a Giants fan over Pierce. I told him Pierce was good but was built for GW's Defense. Not Coughlins. And I told him no way that Pierce will make it thru the season without getting hurt. Giants scheme is different than GW's. MLB for GW can roam and flow to the ball. Maybe take on FB's but not Guards. Giants call for MLB taking on OLine more often. Pierce doesn't have the body to take that pounding all year.

That was the best tasting Sam Adams I think I ever had

[redskinrita]

1- This past offseason the Giants went out and gave Antonio Pierce the money you didnt want to and/or couldn't. And he was money well spent. Kareem McKenzie was made the highest paid RT in the NFL, and did an excellent job here in 05. Plaxico Burress contributed greatly. So much for being cheap.

2- You do not know what Jason Campbell will be. If you ever watched him play in college, you wouldn't be so gung ho about him being a sure fire QB of the future. Lets see him step in in year 2 and finish top 5 in the NFL in passing yards and TD passes, while leading his team to a division title. Something Eli did this year as reactionary fools pounced on him expecting more out of a 24 year old

Campbell won't do it, because he is simply not on Eli's level as a prospect. So before getting into the future of these 2 teams, start right there. Eli is only going to get better, and until he wore down late in the year he was having an EXCELLENT season for a QB of his experience level

We have more young talent then you do. We have a better cap situation then you do. We have a full slate of draft picks this year. And our QB situation is far more promising

Edit: I am not bashing Campbell by the way, just calling it as I saw it at Auburn. He was blessed with a backfield that sported 3 NFL RB's, a defense littlered with NFL talent, and until his senior year never really put it together. After his Junior season, no one on earth thought of Jason Campbell as a round 1 pick, few would have viewed him as a DAY 1 pick.

TAKE THAT GIANTS TALK SOMEWHERE ELSE. THE QUESTION WASNT WHAT WE THOUGHT ELI ACOMPLISHED, IT WAS ABOUT THE REDSKINS COMIN OFFSEASON. NOT THE GIANTS!!!! U MUST B IN THE WRONG THREAD!