A quick look at upcoming FA Safeties

[TLusby]

Draft Phillips! Re-do Springs; get another starting quality CB in FA (depth is imperative in our secondary), stud DE & WR in FA, draft a 2nd round and 3rd round OL, grap some LB's in the remaining rounds.

[Playmaker89]

I understand the thread, I just hate the fact that we have to have this conversation. Before last week, I would have told you that we won't be talking about picking up a safety for years.

Whoever comes is will have huge shoes to fill.

[thewagen]

I got the PFW Free Agency preview edition a few weeks ago and spent a good amount of time digesting it, as always. I have found their lists of who will be FAs to be much better than other online lists in the past, so I generally look forward to getting this issue. One of the things that jumped out at me was the quality and depth at the S position, which at the time didn't seem relevant to the Redskins, but I read these kinds of things thru a larger view than that. Of course, obviously and tragically, the people in this group of Safeties to the Redsins became much more relevant last week.

So, late last week I began to look at the list in more detail. I waited until today to post anything on it out of respect for Sean Taylor, but people are talking more and more about potential additions for next year (let's look at it as "who will play S for the Redskins?" rather than "Who will repace Taylor?" since he obviously can't be replaced).

So, here's my little breakdown of the top FAs to be at the position, in a general order of quality, but not strictly (in other words, it's pretty easy to figure some players being better than others, but I didn't spend much time thinking about whether player A was technically slightly better than player B, when those players are close);

Bob Sanders, Indianapolis Obviously the top guy in the group, but equally obviously will never hit the market. Probably tagged, but could get a long-term deal.

Eugene Wilson, New England Yes, he's helped by the sytem and talent in NE (who wouldn't be?), but still a quality player. He seems a bit slower than earlier in his career when he played a lot of CB and has had trouble staying healthy lately (11 games played the last two seasons). Generally, Patriots players only leave for huge paychecks so, with health concerns, probably not a good value.

Erik Coleman, NY Jets Underrated, good player against both the run and the pass. Smart, and hard-nosed. Numbers are down a bit this year after a concussion early in the year. I like this guy a lot, be interesting to see where his price tag ends up.

Madieu Williams, Cincinnati Another underrated player. Big in run support and solid in zone coverage, but not real good in man to man. As PFW noted, a bit of an off year for him, which they attribute mainly to him having to cover for his CBs more this year.

Gibril Wilson, NY Giants Pretty good all-around player, better in run support but OK in pass coverage. Fairly big hitter, but not really big enough to pack a wallop. Interesting that NY put a 2nd round tender on him last year, but no one bit on it. Makes one wonder about his percieved value around the league.

Ken Hamlin, Dallas Seemed to be developing into one of the better all-around Ss in the NFL with Seattle until the head injuries. Seems to have been solid in Dallas, but not spectacular. Obvious injury risks but a solid vet who's known as a leader.

Will Demps, Houston Big hitter and run support player. Not real strong in pass coverage, but not terrible. Signed late with Houston and hasn't made much of an impact, but seems to be coming on lately.

Yeremiah Bell, Miami Another solid if unspectacular player. Solid tackler, decent in zone coverage, not a huge hitter. Has been out for the year with an achilles injury, the status of which obviously determines whether he is worth a contract. Will be 30 in March which also makes him old for this group

Mike Doss, Minnesota More of a SS who's pretty weak in coverage. Has had trouble staying healthy.

Von Hutchins, Houston Sleeper. Played mainly CB earlier in career, but has played a lot of S this year and played well. Small (5-9) and definitely better in coverage than run support.

Other S UFAs of note (mainly depth-type players): Tank Williams, Minnesota; Nick Ferguson, Denver; Travares Tillman, Miami; Glenn Earl, Houston, Sammy Knight, Jacksonville; Marquand Manuel, Carolina; Keith Davis, Dallas; Matt Ware, Arizona; Gerome Sapp, Baltimore; Deke Cooper, Carolina; Chris Crocker, Atlant; Mel Mitchell, New England.

Just my thoughts, for what they're worth.

Nothing worth writing home about..... No STaylor's in the whole friggin lot! I say draft someone.

[[[ghost]]]

We need someone who is very good in coverage. An Ed Reed type of player.

[JRAB]

Draft Phillips! Re-do Springs; get another starting quality CB in FA (depth is imperative in our secondary), stud DE & WR in FA, draft a 2nd round and 3rd round OL, grap some LB's in the remaining rounds.

Dude, that's just not within reason.

We are 19 million over next year's projected cap and you want us to:

Get a starting quality CB in FA. Did you see what a starting quality FA corner got last year in Clements? Look at previous year's too. See what Seattle paid for Lucas, Dallas paid for Henry and Baltimore paid for Baxter two or three years ago. Imagine what they'd make now.

A stud DE in FA. Do you know what one would cost, assuming one is even available? A TON. Not to mention they'll all be resigned by their own teams, most likely. They almost always are.

A stud WR. Again, look what that will cost, even using past years numbers.

Then, in the draft you want to sink another first round pick in the secondary? For another Safety? That position likely has the least impact out of all positions, and you want to use another (our 3rd S and our 4th DB) on a safety? I'll lose my mind if we do that yet again.

Please, be realistic. We might have the money for 1 or 2 decent free agents, just like we did this year... but we'll have less this year than we did last... and the other teams in the NFL will have more.

We need to start to come to grips with the fact that we're in trouble on the personnel front. Nearly every other team has TONS of cap room to spare and we're almost 20 million over. Even if we do free up some... it'll be like us trying to compete for L. Davis this year. We can't compete.

[abu69]

we'll be fine with the cap. we always find a way. we just won't be going after multiple big bucks signings. i agree the sensible thing to do is re-structure Springs...he is a VITAL cog in our secondary. and keep in mind, Rogers isn't even going to be healthy most of next year. it takes over a year to recover from a torn ACL.

[missionwild_10]

I love Madieu. Obviously he is no ST but mixed with Reed I would like him. I think we are probably more likely to use that second or third pick on a safety who can cover.

[ihatenumber8]

build through the ****ing draft

[dfbovey]

I'm a big fan of Mike Doss, honestly.

He seems like he'd be the best "bargain" out there. Bob Sanders will cost way too much if he even gets the shot to.

Wasn't he still on the board when we drafted.... Taylor Jacobs?

[mcarey032]

I saw during the colts replay game that they were saying that the Colts hadn't yet made him an offer and with the money they are giving Freeney right now, it might be hard to keep him around. I think that I hear Redskins 1 warming up its jets right as we speak. I think that we would have to move Landry to Free and put Bob Sanders up to SS, if we were able to land him here. One of the few free agent moves that I have agreed with in the past years when Mr. Snyder took over was London Fletcher. That has turned out to pay real dividends. If he were to land Sanders, that would be a step in the right direction. By the way, I guess Sanders would have to get 23 or something being that 21 has been taken and also 22 and 20 unless P-lo is not here next year.

[Johnny White Guy]

Lets just build through the draft, shall we?

[z0eboy]

I think the team should pass on bringing in another safety and move Springs to that position for a year.

Then, in 2009, Taylor Mays will declare for the draft and we can grab him.

im with moving springs to FS, why not draft versitle kenny phillips who can play CB

[z0eboy]

I think he has been adequete so far. Sure, he is not lights out but he is a solid tackler, most of the time, and considering you now have two "rook" safeties ( as far as playing time ) they are decent. Overpaying for a FA safety is a waste of money in my opinion. First, they would always be compared to ST and would never match up. Second, we lost games even with ST in their because of this teams weaknesses. Let us address those before signing another safety. Please? :whoknows:

he was destined for the bench, hes awesome on special teams though :thumbsup:

[shallyshal]

gibril wilson.. knows the nfc east.. hits well... good against the run.

should be cheap because the giants are developing younger safeties (as we should be as well)

eugene wilson would be fine if he still has speed

demps, doss, cannot cover at all

sanders is terrific inthe box, but it would mean completely moving LL to FS.. which may be the plan anyway.. if that is the case, then keeping doughty who can tackle and hit, may end up being the best option and will free up dollars fo rthe REAL problem-- getting some new young blood onthe DL.. that is where the real problem is

if springs would consider the move to FS, that would seem to be the best move of all. but there is no sign he will do that

[illone]

im with moving springs to FS, why not draft versitle kenny phillips who can play CB

I'd rather draft Calais Campbell and improve the front four than draft another DB in the first round. Our secondary should be fine for another year or if anything the team can look to a project DB/special teamer in the later rounds.

The smartest thing the Redskins could do is keep every draft pick they currently have and spend the next 2-3 years drafting college players instead of bringing in Free Agents or making trades. I'm all for a few modest free agents here and there, but stop building the team this way, please?

The Skins have done surprisingly well considering the few draft picks they've had to work with on actual draftday. Gibbs hasn't busted on a 1-3 rounder yet, and has a few late round steals to his credit. I can only imagine what this team would look like right now had they not given away so many picks in the past decade.

:2cents:

[Commander Adama]

just makes me sick thinking about it....

Totally agree

[truckedbysellers]

I think GW is going to want to find a FS that's good in coverage so that he can move Landry back to SS. GW wants to see Landry blitzing and blowing up the QB. I also think Landry is excellent in run support. GW said that he likes how Landry isn't always looking for the big hit. He knows when to lay the wood but he also knows when to wrap a guy up bring'em down.

With that being said, it's not looking like there's much out there in terms of a ball hawking FS. Do you all think that they'll look at FA CB's that can move to FS?

I guess if our baseline wasn't set at Sean Taylor we'd be looking at Landry as the prototype Free Safety.

Who knows what they'll do......

[MartinC]

Personally I would like us to keep LL at SS. He will be one of the best in the box safeties in the NFL and possibly the best DB in the league in respect of rushing the passer.

He would be a good FS but a better SS IMO.

That means we need to fill the hole at FS. Doughty is clearly more of a SS than a FS.

Frankly I don't think there is anybody in free agency who is worth the money or who could come close to doing what Sean did for us. We need to show some paitence and find a young guy in the middle rounds of the draft who can learn the role over a couple of years.

We need to change the philosophy from having a great secondary who provide coverage sacks to improving the front 4 so they can get after the QB and take some pressure off the secondary. A stud DE would be the way to go as far as I am concerned.

However keep in mind that it almost always takes a young DE 2 or 3 years before they start to really contribute so don't expect a guy brought in to make a huge impact right off the bat. Just look at Mario Williams - very average his first year, All Pro level in his second year.

[truckedbysellers]

We need to change the philosophy from having a great secondary who provide coverage sacks to improving the front 4 so they can get after the QB and take some pressure off the secondary. A stud DE would be the way to go as far as I am concerned.

I agree with this 100%. It will be interesting to see if GW moves in this direction since he can no longer rely on Sean Taylor being the one to "take pressure off the secondary."

[Riggo-toni]

Erik Coleman would be a good pickup, and since he's coming from our farm team, it shouldn't be too hard to land him.

[MWCREDSKINS]

I'd like either of the Wilsons. They'd be cheaper and both could make big plays.

[Veretax]

Personally I would like us to keep LL at SS. He will be one of the best in the box safeties in the NFL and possibly the best DB in the league in respect of rushing the passer.

He would be a good FS but a better SS IMO.

That means we need to fill the hole at FS. Doughty is clearly more of a SS than a FS.

Frankly I don't think there is anybody in free agency who is worth the money or who could come close to doing what Sean did for us. We need to show some paitence and find a young guy in the middle rounds of the draft who can learn the role over a couple of years.

We need to change the philosophy from having a great secondary who provide coverage sacks to improving the front 4 so they can get after the QB and take some pressure off the secondary. A stud DE would be the way to go as far as I am concerned.

However keep in mind that it almost always takes a young DE 2 or 3 years before they start to really contribute so don't expect a guy brought in to make a huge impact right off the bat. Just look at Mario Williams - very average his first year, All Pro level in his second year.

WHile that may be true, we can't put off 2 or 3 more years to get young on the line, or we will be looking at a line with more aging free agents or lots of youngins with no experience.