The State of the Redskins - a comprehensive look at our immediate future

[No_Pressure]

All I can say is that while I don't agree with all of your points that was one hell of a post.

[TV aka TeeVeli aka BAMBAM30]

Jason won't be on this team next year..bank on it

[MDstar08]

Jason won't be on this team next year..bank on it

Naw he will, its just smart too do

[evmiii]

That is a lucid and well thought out narrative. While I agree with many of your statements, they are all based on a single premise that I don’t believe is a certainty - Vinny gets fired. Success in all the other pending actions are contingent on this one event that I don’t believe is going to happen. I sincerely hope I am wrong.:doh:

[PlayAction]

I agree that the only way for Skins fans to regain hope is for Snyder to fire Cerrato and hire a competent GM. But if Snyder fancies himself qualified to "scout" college QBs I don't see it happening. At best, he fires Cerrato but continues to meddle ....negating the point entirely.

BTW - a successful LT can be the cornerstone of an offense for a long time, e.g, Chris Samuels. A competent GM might not agree that QB takes precedence over LT (if one is even available). I'm not saying they would prefer the OL over a potential franchise QB but it is a possibility. Bottom line - if the Skins pick QB because Snyder wants to then what is the point in having a GM?

[Garfield]

I agree that the only way for Skins fans to regain hope is for Snyder to fire Cerrato and hire a competent GM. But if Snyder fancies himself qualified to "scout" college QBs I don't see it happening. At best, he fires Cerrato but continues to meddle ....negating the point entirely.

BTW - a successful LT can be the cornerstone of an offense for a long time, e.g, Chris Samuels. A competent GM might not agree that QB takes precedence over LT (if one is even available). I'm not saying they would prefer the OL over a potential franchise QB but it is a possibility. Bottom line - if the Skins pick QB because Snyder wants to then what is the point in having a GM?

You are spot on and although I still hold out hope, there's a good chance that maybe I'm just fooling myself.

Snyder is going to find some way to ruin this team. Even if he hires a GM and gives him full control, he'll hire someone that wants to pick Clausen or build the team around big name free agents. He'll stay involved in some aspect of football operations and make a mess of it.

I need the number for the depression hotline.

[kramdizzle]

one of the best posts i've read in a long time. DRAFT CLAUSEN!!!

[Rooblakas]

Brian Mitchell for Redskins General Manager.

[AzSkinsFan63]

You lost me at keeping Campbell...

[Dick Edds]

My wish list begins with Shanahan and then Bradford.

Future is still too cloudy with 5 games still on the schedule. One win over the Raiders and the draft strategy may be significantly altered. Rams, Browns, Raiders, Seahawks, Bills, and Panthers may all be looking at QB. We may be forced into OT with that first selection, and not likely the top guy Okung. My fear is that BPA is by far one of the safeties, or Hayden at our pick.

It appears to be a safe assumption that Zorn will be gone. Once we get the HC in place things will begin to fall into place.

I will also assume, with time running out, that no new CBA is agreed upon. Making JC a restricted FA, and eliminating a huge variable.

If JC is retained and a win over the Raiders pushes us out of the running on the consensus top QB's then our forward strategy is drastically altered. Its a full rebuild vs a retool-Oline scenario in my mind.

I agree with this, great points

[Dan T.]

Well done.

I do tend to agree with this reply

I agree that the only way for Skins fans to regain hope is for Snyder to fire Cerrato and hire a competent GM. But if Snyder fancies himself qualified to "scout" college QBs I don't see it happening. At best, he fires Cerrato but continues to meddle ....negating the point entirely.

BTW - a successful LT can be the cornerstone of an offense for a long time, e.g, Chris Samuels. A competent GM might not agree that QB takes precedence over LT (if one is even available). I'm not saying they would prefer the OL over a potential franchise QB but it is a possibility. Bottom line - if the Skins pick QB because Snyder wants to then what is the point in having a GM?

Clausen, Bradford, and Locker don't strike me as sure bets as franchise NFL quarterbacks. My fear is they could just as easily be David Carr or Joey Harrington instead of Matt Ryan or Aaron Rogers.

Perhaps better to use that top pick on a left tackle. It seems there's a higher success ratio on high-pick LTs than QBs anyway.

If Campbell's gone, we can go through 2010 with the Colt Brennan Experiment, or pick up a 1-year rent-a-vet QB arrangement, someone like Jeff Garcia or Charlie Batch.

Has anybody looked deep enough into the college ranks to have an idea of what the top 2011 QBs will look like? Will they be better than Clausebradfolocker, who seem like this year's obligatory-talked about QBs rather than the real deal?

Let's focus all offseason energy on rebuilding an offensive line that can gel for a year and then be primed to protect a real franchise quarterback drafted in 2011 and ready to play in 2012.

[dieselfan44]

We should go either RB in the first (Spiller or Ingram) and tackle in the second, or vise versa depending on who is available...These are the two pressing needs. Now with that said if Vinny and Zorn are ditched then this all changes. A new coach may not want Campbell. If Vinny and Zorn stay....(could stomach Zorn, but not Vinny) Campbell stays and the above will happen in the draft.

[theTruthTeller]

Great analysis, but when looking at who to keep, you need to talk about people who are really good now (not hopefully good, like Davis and Thomas) and will still be good in three years - because it will be that long before the offense is fixed and can work as a cohesive unit. I can only think of one player on offense that is good now and will be good in three years: Cooley. On defense, Fletcher will be gone in three years, Haynesworth - who knows if he's unlucky, injury prone, or a slacker, and the rest are pretty good players, but no one jumps out as a great player.

I'm not a big fan of looking at low-round draft choices and free agents and then transferring their success to other players. For every Miles Austin, there are 500 players that never get off the practice squad - or get cut the first week of camp. Austin's success is his success, and the Cowboys success for sticking with him to develop his talent. It doesn't affect Thomas one way or the other. He needs to make a much bigger commitment to improvement if he wants to be a Miles Austin. Similarly, you can find an example at any position where a UDFA became a star and a sure-shot first rounder was a bust. So there's no point in saying that "you can get a _____ in the later rounds"; you can, but you probably won't. Two years ago, Heyer was a "beast" - now its pretty evident that he just doesn't have the talent to play the tackle position. Everyone evaluated him properly - he should have been an UDFA - he was forced into a starting position because of abject failure by the FO. Its not his fault, its just that every draft will have players better than him.

Bottom line: this team needs some good drafts, and needs to find some gems in the low priced free agent market. Most of all, it needs to be patient and work with a mix of players, including some that will need a couple years of development. Build the lines first, QB second, RB third.

[Pimpey42000]

Seeing how are O-line is the 29th best (or worst, for the lack of a better term.) I agree that should we most defninitely upgrade the line.

Well-written post.

[GSF]

We may not be but a few years away from becoming top dog in the NFC East again, as improbable as that may seem. A top coach, franchise quarterback, good-to-great defense, a rebuilt offensive line and strong lockerroom - these are the most vital cogs to continued upper echelon success in the NFL.

Yup, and as long as soon as I hit the lottery I'll be rich.

It will be a miracle if we land a top notch coach and a franchise QB any time soon the way things have gone around here.

[NoVaSkins21]

Vinny being out of the picture is the key to what the OP is talking about. IF he is fired, every point he made is possible. If Vinny is gone, the dominoes can fall into place, but it's up to Snyder to realize this.

[veteranskinsfan]

Good Post SkinsTillIdie- I liked your analysis of what teams need quarterbacks next year and I have thought we should keep JC as the number 2 quarterback. I have not been a JC supporter this year but we are not going to find another number 2 quarterback as good as JC. I would like to see Colt start while we working on building a much better offensive line. The last few years JC should have had real competition for his job in the pre-season. If Snyder tells the new GM to use the first pick for a quarterback that is when the GM is going to have to show what he is made of and convince our owner that would be a mistake. During our glory years our offensive line was a huge factor in our success.