I need to know something in a poll form.

[Art]

This is a poll to ask a question that I'd like you to answer. Do not answer your personal thoughts. Answer the question. The question is simple. When the offseason began you thought we needed a defensive lineman. The team has added four guys in the secondary, three linebackers and no linemen.

Do you think the people who coach our team have a better grasp of what was weak last year than you do? That's it.

I'm not asking you to evaluate whether Vinny knows squat. I'm not talking about Dan Snyder or even Joe Gibbs. Do you believe, honestly, as fans that YOU know more about what defenses we're running, what the players are asked to do, and evaluating those players points to a certain weakness more than Gregg Williams, Greg Blache, Jerry Gray, Kirk Olividotti and Steve Jackson?

If you answer yes, you may believe you better understand our defenses, play calls, playbook and needs. If you answer no, AND you say we need a defensive lineman still, apologize to the rest of us . Please. .

[Art]

This is a public poll that should have 100 percent in one category. It's called rigging the deck. There IS a reason we didn't pick up any defensive lineman this offseason to this point. Once you answer, you'll probably be free enough to answer what that reason is and, as a kind man, I'll tell you.

It's that the defensive line was the LEAST of our needs or concerns last year and while it IS aging, and it WILL need more bodies, the fact remains, the secondary and linebacker needed both things much, much more right NOW. You can't do everything, every year. But you also can't deny our priorities weren't clear and well executed.

[skinsfan07]

LOL obviously the coaches.

[Die Hard]

Just wondering..... is the same coaching staff that knows more about the team the same staff that went 5-11 last season and 6-10 2 seasons ago?

Just wanted to clarify...

[onedrop]

anyone dumb enough to say they know more than the coaches should be publicly beat down.

[Burgold]

Nobody knows more than I do. In any area, especially in matters that I've never studied, experienced, or thought about. It's a curse... sorry.

[Die Hard]

LOL obviously the coaches.

The coaching staff went 5-11 last year. And had to fire their LB coaches. You don't need to give them any credit.

Coaches get fired all the time in the NFL... and if it wasn't for Gibbs' previous resume... he'd likely be fired right now in any other franchise.

[bobzmuda]

If only you didn't reference Steve Jackson I would have signed on 100%. As it is, I'll just sign on 95%. =o

[MattFancy]

I totally agree with you Art! The coaches have obviously spent numerous hours and days looking at all the tape from last year and looking at tape of prospects this year and figured out what our needs are and who can fix them. Landry is a pro-bowl caliber safety and will help form the best safety combo in the league. Blades is an underrated LB who will learn under Fletcher and has potential to be another Zach Thomas. Palmer, maybe not the best pick, will add some youth to our QB depth which has 2 QBs over 35. We made some smart picks and we got players on defense that Williams thinks will fit into his system. He loves to blitz linebackers, corners, and safeties so it was important to address those needs this offseason. I have total confidence in this system and I think we're in for a great season!

HTTR!!

[onedrop]

The coaching staff went 5-11 last year. And had to fire their LB coaches. You don't need to give them any credit.

Coaches get fired all the time in the NFL... and if it wasn't for Gibbs' previous resume... he'd likely be fired right now in any other franchise.

and yet, they still know more than you or i about fielding a football team.

[Bounce]

Believing that NFL coaches are always right is laughable.

[HoyaSkins28]

i would say you but that would actually confirm that im an idiot and i dont think im ready for that mentally yet

[Shadowplay]

So I guess that's it. No one criticize this team or organization again.

[skinsngibbs4life]

The coaching staff went 5-11 last year. And had to fire their LB coaches. You don't need to give them any credit.

Coaches get fired all the time in the NFL... and if it wasn't for Gibbs' previous resume... he'd likely be fired right now in any other franchise.

of course you would come in and lead us to a perfect 16-0 season... so obviously this poll isn't directed towards you

[NavyDave]

This is poll along the lines of who knows how to fight a war the military or the far left. :D

[Art]

Just wondering..... is the same coaching staff that knows more about the team the same staff that went 5-11 last season and 6-10 2 seasons ago?

Just wanted to clarify...

For the most part, yes. A couple of changes have been made, but indeed, the coaching staff that led us to two Top 10, great defenses and the one that helped us achieve such a horrible thing as a year ago is what we're talking about.

Do you think you know what plays they are calling, or do you think they do? Do you think you know what each play requires of each player, or do you think they do? Do you think if they'd come out after that evaluation and signed 5 defensive linemen it would be a sign they felt the defensive line was a problem last year? Do you think if they came out after that evaluation and did something else that it would point to a problem there?

[skinsngibbs4life]

This is poll along the lines of who knows how to fight a war the military or the far left. :D

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[zoony]

This poll is spot on.

This is exactly why I've never gotten hyped up for the NFL Draft. It's a fool's errand. All of you clowns with your personal boards and draft insiders links... analyzing this crap for months prior to the big day.

Then... no matter who your team picks... you end up pissed off and you're weekend is ruined :loser:.

Jesus people. You're on the ****ing internet. You're not a scout. Get over yourselves. You all are like a bunch of ****es whining because someone stole your lollipop.

Show a little class. Welcome these kids that just got drafted to the Washington Redskins...

[Enter Apotheosis]

This is kind of dumb, Art...

I find it hard to blame people for thinking we need a DT/DE when we looked so miserable with regards to every aspect of our defense last season. Obviously, there was a lot more at play than just dline issues but with the signings of LFB, Smoot, and David Macklin it definitely seemed like the dline/oline were the only possible things that we hadn't addressed that we could have.

Besides, when you consider the age of some of our guys on the line... why not atleast pick up developmental players late in the draft? Daniels and Griffin are running out of time as solid starters, so its a matter of being prepared for the future.

Instead, we opted to get further depth at LB... which also makes sense for the very same reasons we would have drafted dline. It's not a matter of ESers knowing MORE than our coaching staff, it's a matter of us seeing a different way to approach the problem. You just have to remember that we are our own scouting department... so when it comes to naming individual players we may not have as good a grasp on the situation.

As for Landry, he was clearly the best player available to us and fills a position where we did not necessarily have a full-time starter.

Ultimately, I say I don't know as much as our coaches about our current needs but we DO still need to draft dline. Obviously we didn't this year (and I didn't view it as a pressing need, per se) but definitely next year with a full draft. I'm not apologizing over that.

[DjTj]

This is a public poll that should have 100 percent in one category. It's called rigging the deck. There IS a reason we didn't pick up any defensive lineman this offseason to this point. Once you answer, you'll probably be free enough to answer what that reason is and, as a kind man, I'll tell you.

It's that the defensive line was the LEAST of our needs or concerns last year and while it IS aging, and it WILL need more bodies, the fact remains, the secondary and linebacker needed both things much, much more right NOW. You can't do everything, every year. But you also can't deny our priorities weren't clear and well executed.

I don't think this is necessarily true.

We NEED a big DT to replace Joe Salave'a. We NEED a pass-rushing DE to replace Philip Daniels. We also NEEDED a second safety to replace the Archuleta hole that was filled by Vernon Fox last year.

The question wasn't which one is the GREATEST need, the question was which player available at #6 fit with our needs the best. I don't think Okoye was quite the 2-gap tackle we were looking for. There were too many questions about Anderson. Alan Branch was not a top tier talent. Landry was the BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE that corresponded to a need; that doesn't necessarily mean that he filled the greatest need.

[paredskinsfan]

I would honestly say there MIGHT be 1 or 2 people on here that MAY know ALMOST as much as the coaches due to football coaching experience, however nobody knows more about our personel situation and what we actually need than the coaches imo.

[elkabong82]

I thought D-line was a more pressing need, but since we drafted Landry (I believed it would be Okoye) I had to think real hard about the selection.

Now, obviously when you are trying to understand the reason for the pick, you have to examine who were the weaknesses on our team. Right off the bat Holdman and Wright come to mind. We solved this in the offseason with Fletcher and Smoot. The next player that jumps to mind would be Archuleta (although he was a good tackler, not so much in coverage). We draft Landry, who has blazing speed which should greatly reduce the defense getting burned.

Yes the D-line needs some new guys, but a DT rotation of Griffin, Salavea, and Golston is certainly not the end of the world. Andre Carter started coming on near the end of the season, and hopefully that continues. I'm more inclined to believe a player who steadily is improving will continue to do so. Daniels did not fare as well last season. However, no matter which d-end we drafted, that player would not start right away. Landry was the best player available according to the Skins chart. This leads me to believe he will have a much better shot at starting soon, as opposed to any d-lineman we might have drafted.

So while we might not have the most explosive D-line in the NFL, we have a great secondary that can buy the d-line enough time to get to the QB. Also, with Landry you have the safety that GW wants, a guy who can run-blitz and drop back into coverage.

[Art]

The coaching staff went 5-11 last year. And had to fire their LB coaches. You don't need to give them any credit.

Coaches get fired all the time in the NFL... and if it wasn't for Gibbs' previous resume... he'd likely be fired right now in any other franchise.

Ahh, here you and I agree. Gibbs has coached at a fireable level. No doubt about that. Gibbs has been the weakest part of our organization, on the whole, for three years, primarily because the strengths he has as a person in working with people have not shown up as a coach this time around.

But, we're not specifically asking that anyone credit them with anything BEYOND knowing what they are calling and knowing on the television when watching a play what they are asking guys to do and whether they know if every player did the job asked or not and whether that evaluation is at all more impactful and meaningful to anyone else more than their own viewpoint.

Remember, I kind of thought DT was the way to go. That I thought we got pushed around as the year went on and deteriorated. That we couldn't count on Joe returning to form and that Branch on the interior was the guy I figured would be the target. I actually thought this was more sure for a while because we'd gone so far out of our way to repair everything else that it left this spot open for repair.

I wound up believing Landry was the pick as he stayed at the top of every chart and every lineman fell behind him after closer inspection, but, I realize my initial evaluation was incorrect based on what has actually taken place. I'm wondering who else on the defensive line side understands the same thing.

[authentic]

after the 6th game of the season, I really don't think that the pass rush was much of a problem. Like Gibbs said in the press conference the need was really in the secondary. Once Carter started to get this thing going, i think the entire Dline began to get their act together. Its just that it didn't matter if we got a pass rush or not, we couldn't stop 3rd down conversions. The games that come to mind off the top are the 2nd Dallas game, the Colts game, and the St. Louis game. On the flip side, we do need to sure up the rush defense. Hopefully getting Fletch in the offseason would provide needed support on the 2nd level.

the thing i do question is the young depth in the trenches. No matter what, this has to be the last season for several players:

-P. Daniels DE

-R. Wynn DE

-J. Salavea DT

*BTW, C. Griff isn't getting any younger at 30.

[Art]

Believing that NFL coaches are always right is laughable.

That isn't the question. NFL coaches are frequently wrong. They make bad determinations all the time. They coach poor systems. They try to fit players into roles they can't perform. In many areas they are highly dubious.

We're specifically talking about one area.

When the season ends, they watch every single play their defense plays, over, and over, and over. Every play by every player is charted, over and over and over. You, as an example, haven't seen a single play since January, unless you stumbled onto the NFL channel to watch a replay.

But, as the coaches do what they do, they are watching the play call, and player reaction to the teaching the try to achieve. If they do that, do you think they can EVER be wrong to KNOW who is doing what they ask and who isn't?