themurf Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 (Associated Press photo) For the second year in a row, the Washington Redskins didn’t screw it up on draft day. While this hardly qualifies as an official trend just yet, ‘Skins fans might just have some reason for cautious optimism. We all knew that sweeping changes were needed after a 4-12 season in which the Redskins rarely went into Sundays with a legitimate chance at victory, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen. You can’t fire your owner, but everyone else in a position of authority has been (or will soon be) let go. General manager Vinny Cerrato? Gone and replaced by the competent Bruce Allen. Head coach Jim Zorn? Mercifully, he too was relieved of his duties and replaced by two-time Super Bowl winner, Mike Shanahan. Quarterback Jason Campbell? He’s still around for now, although folks say his house is already on the market and the team will ultimately release him if they don’t get a suitable trade offer. Oh, and he’s been replaced by Donovan F. McNabb, a guy with a much more impressive resume. But the team didn’t just need to change their personnel; they needed to change the culture of losing and the flawed mindset at Redskins Park. The front office needed to stop handing out five-year, $25-million contracts to every free agent with name recognition and stop shooting their wad on draft day on glamour picks instead of positions of need. Basically, they needed to stop trying to sell jerseys and start trying to build a solid foundation. In the hours leading up to the first-ever primetime NFL draft, word on the street was that the Redskins had locked their sights on Tennessee safety Eric Berry. Look, there’s no denying that Berry is a consensus top-four talent in this particular draft. His game-changing abilities have been compared to those of Baltimore safety Ed Reed, who we can all agree is one of the premiere defensive players in the NFL over the last decade or so. But Berry, simply put, is a luxury the Redskins couldn’t afford. Last season, the offensive line was pitiful. The Redskins went into the season banking on Stephon Heyer, “Big” Mike Williams and Jeremy Bridges and none of them were any good. Ask Campbell, running back Clinton Portis or any other skill player on the offensive side of the ball just how bad the offensive line was last year. Campbell, who was sacked 43 times, told us at one point last season that he rarely had time to look past his first read. Basically, in his mind, if his primary target wasn’t open, then the play was dead in the water. Trying to run behind that porous offensive line also ended Portis’ season prematurely, when he got K.O.ed against the Atlanta Falcons midway through the season. And once Portis went down, so did any hope of a running game (the Redskins running attack finished 27th in the league last year). We could go on, but honestly, it’s too depressing. Here we are a year later and not much has changed on the offensive line. Sure, Artis Hicks was signed to compete for a starting job, but Heyer and Williams were still in the starting rotation during the team’s minicamp last weekend. So when the Redskins selected Oklahoma tackle Trent Williams with the fourth pick in the 2010 NFL draft, it truly was a groundbreaking moment. When else has an entire fanbase overwhelmingly rooted for an offensive lineman to be their team’s top selection? Seriously, has it ever happened before in NFL history? Fans get vocal about quarterbacks or running backs all time, but never for an offensive lineman. It’s roughly akin to a kid eating cake and ice cream for dinner every night for years on end until eventually growing tired and begging his parents for some vegetables. It’s just not something you’d ever expect to see happen – not with kids and not with the Redskins. Click here for full article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heliKCx17 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I'm happy with it, it just sucks that we don't have more picks in such an amazing deep defensive draft, especially when we are switching to the 3-4. This would be a perfect year for us to be NE, DEN, PHI, or CLE. Probably the worst draft in recent memory to be low on picks BTW Homer, saw you got retweeted on twitter...Schefter was it? Nice work! I was like...that's our boy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horton_Predator48 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I'm impressed what Shanny/Allen have done with what they were left with. So this is what it's like to have a legitimate football team... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
authentic Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 The future is definately bright for sure. But now its time for the scouts to make thier money. We have a 4th, 5th, and 7th, to where we really don't have much room for error. Hopefully, they could find a gem within the 'Undrafted Rookie' class. Too bad we don't have much to look forward to this evening, but otherwise this offseason has been great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadirtbags Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 great read...thank you I get the feeling Shanny/Allen are not here to dilly dally...but to get this thing right from the get go and build from there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfbovey Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Hope he becomes as successful as the last top 5 LT we took. Big shoes to fill! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
authentic Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Fans get vocal about quarterbacks or running backs all time, but never for an offensive lineman. It’s roughly akin to a kid eating cake and ice cream for dinner every night for years on end until eventually growing tired and begging his parents for some vegetables. It’s just not something you’d ever expect to see happen – not with kids and not with the Redskins. Great analogy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfbovey Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 The future is definately bright for sure. But now its time for the scouts to make thier money. We have a 4th, 5th, and 7th, to where we really don't have much room for error. Hopefully, they could find a gem within the 'Undrafted Rookie' class. Too bad we don't have much to look forward to this evening, but otherwise this offseason has been great. After all of the anticipation and speculation... it would be really strange if there isn't some kind of move made to regain some picks today. There are some really good players sliding... 1st round graded talent will be on the board well into the 2nd round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimm Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Good pick, I am happy they focused on O-line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
authentic Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 After all of the anticipation and speculation... it would be really strange if there isn't some kind of move made to regain some picks today. There are some really good players sliding... 1st round graded talent will be on the board well into the 2nd round. I really hope you are right that there is some sort of activity, for at least a 3rd round pick. But i'm not holding my breath thats for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onnie007 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Campbell, who was sacked 43 times, told us at one point last season that he rarely had time to look past his first read. Basically, in his mind, if his primary target wasn’t open, then the play was dead in the water. Trying to run behind that porous offensive line also ended Portis’ season prematurely, when he got K.O.ed against the Atlanta Falcons midway through the season. And once Portis went down, so did any hope of a running game (the Redskins running attack finished 27th in the league last year). We could go on, but honestly, it’s too depressing. I quoted this because it is actually what really happened last year. CP has not lost a step and is still our best running back despite our new additions. JC would make a great backup for us. I do believe McNabb is much better but he is prone to injury and I don't want Rex Grossman to be that close to seeing playing time for this franchise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Great analogy! That's not a great analogy! He stole my pastry bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Chris Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 The Skins are rising. You guys are going to love what Shanny does with the offensive line. Look at my Broncos... trading for Brady Quinn then trading up in the draft for Tim Tebow. Josh McStupid... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
authentic Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 The Skins are rising. You guys are going to love what Shanny does with the offensive line. Look at my Broncos... trading for Brady Quinn then trading up in the draft for Tim Tebow.Josh McStupid... Yeah, i was thinking the same thing with Tebow, granted that they already have a young QB in Quinn. They could have went in alot of other directions with that pick. Anyways, i'm definately cautiously optimistic on the potential of this group. Hopefully, they could get these guys (the Oline) to over achieve this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Chris Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I'll be interested to see what Shanny can do for McNabb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themurf Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 That's not a great analogy! He stole my pastry bit I, most certainly, have nothing to do with any of your "bits." You perv. Yeah, i was thinking the same thing with Tebow, granted that they already have a young QB in Quinn. They could have went in alot of other directions with that pick. Anyways, i'm definately cautiously optimistic on the potential of this group. Hopefully, they could get these guys (the Oline) to over achieve this year. Did somebody say cautiously optimistic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
authentic Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 Did somebody say cautiously optimistic? Interesting idea...ummmmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themurf Posted April 23, 2010 Author Share Posted April 23, 2010 BTW Homer, saw you got retweeted on twitter...Schefter was it? Nice work! I was like...that's our boy! Somehow I missed this the first time. I don't recall Schefter or anyone else out of the ordinary retweeting anything by me. Can you help me out and tell me what you're talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anar-k21 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 we still got work to do to the OL but this is a great start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumbo Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 An excellent summary and analysis, murf. Rehab ssems to be going well for you. :pfft: Fans get vocal about quarterbacks or running backs all time, but never for an offensive lineman. It’s roughly akin to a kid eating cake and ice cream for dinner every night for years on end until eventually growing tired and begging his parents for some vegetables. Yup, and when you stick with metaphors referencing the adolescent stage of development, you will be connecting to your core audiecne here on the boards. “Trent Williams is a person we had targeted that can not only play the left, but the right side as well, and he played the center position,” Shanahan said. “In our zone blocking scheme that we run, obviously we run the power scheme as well, but we thought he’d fit in very well. Key info and something to be watching in upcoming practices and scrimmages---where they play him and how often, even if he's slotted to be LT without question. "The coaches are the best coaches to play for. Coach Shanahan’s a Hall of Fame coach. It’s a dream situation. Anybody in this situation would prevail.” Just words I know, but a damn fine outlook from the new guy. In the typical "acceptance speech", I like the positive focus on the coaches/scheme more than on the town, the fans, the owner, the other players, etc. Today is all about the dawn of a new day. Sure, we’d all love to see the Redskins come into an NFL draft just once with their full complement of picks, but honestly, what would ‘Skins fans have left to ***** about? Oh, never fear---there will always be a universe full of *****-matter whatever else happens. Then we might even have to invite the franchise back to the grown-ups table at league meetings. It’s crazy talk, we know. But a fan can dream, right? Indeed. :helmet: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangee7 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I'm impressed what Shanny/Allen have done with what they were left with. So this is what it's like to have a legitimate football team... Agreed. The Skins will be a better team this season. And it doesn't stop with just the roster shaping they've been doing. You can see the professionalism running thru the entire organization. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky21 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 "It’s roughly akin to a kid eating cake and ice cream for dinner every night for years on end until eventually growing tired and begging his parents for some vegetables." Great line Murf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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