I shall guide you to the light. We don't ONLY need offensive line.

[Art]

http://www.extremeskins.com/showpost.php?p=7483109&postcount=130

Read that. Read the time stamp. Read the order. Understand that's almost certainly the current order of need at Redskins Park right now. And, try, as hard as it may be, to understand the Washington Redskins were 4-12 last year with atrocious play across the roster.

This is a team that has gone about addressing many of those needs while creating more. Switching from a 4-3 brings a lot of different needs than the bad team we ended the year as. By adding Hicks and Trent Williams prior to the Fourth Round pick the team helped parts of the line this offseason. Improvements to the system, running backs, play calling and QB provide additional boosts to the line, as does the possibility that guys NOT on the roster to start last year -- Jones, for example -- could be on the roster this year, or, that we find a couple of other vets for additional depth and to challenge for the starting job.

Some of you have offensive line on the brain. This team had three major voids heading into the draft and only ONE pick to think was good enough to potentially fill one immediately. Trent Williams plugged that gap. No one taken in this round was at all likely to improve our offensive line this year and the work put in to make a young player, say like Campbell, better is the same work we'll put in to making another still young player like Heyer better.

I don't doubt our line will have more changes both this season and next, but, some of you need to grasp this team wasn't one spot away. It would have been criminal to avoid adding any inside backers as it will be not to add a safety.

Try to get over the drum beat that this team only needed one thing. It needed many.

[HLF]

I agree, by switching to the 3-4 LB's were definitely a need.

[Yeen80]

I agree, by switching to the 3-4 LB's were definitely a need.

Arent we also mixing some 4-3 schemes too?

[Pimpey42000]

Some clarity has finally came struck us thanks to Art!

[rlhjr34]

Hopefully Riley becomes his Al Wilson or John Mobley. Just a 4th round version instead of late first.

[Tarheel_Skin]

Precisely. Thats why good teams who run the 3-4 like Pittsburgh always draft LB's and stockpile them!!!!

[Mr. Sinister]

People are gonna cry regardless of what we do. It;s funny sometimes. Good post Art

[HLF]

Arent we also mixing some 4-3 schemes too?

I can imagine it'll prolly be a hybrid but still Fletch is gettin old, Rocky is unhappy, Blades is still up in the air. I think this is a solid pick as of now.

[vaskinfan]

Amen! The voice of reason in a sea of doubt!

[chipwhich]

Hence the reason the biggest drum beating is why do we always discredit the draft and give away picks, but I digress.

A team with a lot of needs and 4 picks with the oldest roster in the league last year. And one pick shy for next year. Nobody taking the sucker bait on Campbell trade.

I liked the linebacker pick.

[LightningBuggs]

I will freely admit that I don't often agree with Art's posts, but I do this time.

At this point of the draft and off-season, LB was the biggest need and one where the draft was the best place to address that need.

There are still more OL options left both in the draft and outside the draft.

[c4man5282]

good post Art

in ShanahAllen I trust

[Burgold]

That's why I was hoping for a NT with the pick, but honestly I don't follow football hard enough to know who the value guys are.

I will say I liked the notion of a draft with nothing but 300 pounders though.

[Art]

Hence the reason the biggest drum beating is why do we always discredit the draft and give away picks, but I digress.

A team with a lot of needs and 4 picks with the oldest roster in the league last year. And one pick shy for next year. Nobody taking the sucker bait on Campbell trade.

I liked the linebacker pick.

The Redskins prefer to acquire guys who've proven capable of playing in the NFL over guys who've proven nothing. The team may have a draft here in the coming years where they gather picks and have 12 bodies just to keep three or four three years later, but while that isn't a bad strategy, our success rate on productive team mates is higher taking productive NFL players. We've missed in this area too, but not with the rate all teams miss on draft picks.

[jkypoo]

It's weird, because for a while I was convinced that everyone just hated Vinny and Dan running the draft. Now I realize that if an infallible god came down and ran our draft, people would still find something to ***** about. I don't think most are upset about the pick, just that they didn't have it on their own "big" board at home.

[KDawg]

Thank you, Art. I agree.

Riley was a great pick because he's a tough, physical football player. Can play in coverage some, but he's a very good run stopper. He fit a need as well. He probably good improve his angles a bit, but he's good at the point of attack.

Our OL is already improved over last season. It's certainly not a perfect OL, but it's improved.

[The Robert Griffin Experience]

the one constant this team has had over the years is bad quarterbacking and questionable coaching. Only recently have we had bad line play.

Not a lack of draft picks.

Not bad free agency moves.

We have fixed those two things.

Yes, we need to have more full drafts so we can better handle free agency and the cap. But that hasn't been the thing holding us back.

[pvkeeper19]

I am on board with drafting linebackers if the 3-4 is really going to be a big part of our defense (which I'm still not convinced it will be). But I think we picked the wrong one.

[Burgold]

The Redskins prefer to acquire guys who've proven capable of playing in the NFL over guys who've proven nothing. The team may have a draft here in the coming years where they gather picks and have 12 bodies just to keep three or four three years later, but while that isn't a bad strategy, our success rate on productive team mates is higher taking productive NFL players. We've missed in this area too, but not with the rate all teams miss on draft picks.

Our success rate? We've made the playoffs how often in the last ten years? The Redskins success rate is poor at best. We have been a team that hovers around mediocrity more often dipping below than above.

[Commander Adama]

Art, I have just come to accept that this board is filled with some drama queens that need to over-exaggerate their disappointment in something that this team does.

[The Diesel]

I can always could on Art to provide clarity and common sense in this sea of myopic inanity.

Great call on ILB with the first pick. Let's see if you can go 2/2 with a NT next. I wouldn't be surprised with that or a safety.

[dfbovey]

The rest of the needs do need to be addressed. And the draft isn't the only way to address them.

The line does need to be addressed further, and guys like Faneca and Adams are possibilities as short term solutions.

There's also viable options still available in the draft.

[Chris Worthy]

Whats funny is this thread (that is positive to at least neutral) will get a couple of looks and get pushed to the 2nd or 3rd page.

The rants..will have 20+ pages of back and forth banter.

Please prove me wrong ES. Anywho thanks for the post Art.

[NavyDave]

The Redskins prefer to acquire guys who've proven capable of playing in the NFL over guys who've proven nothing.

Yeah we know that and we have seen the results year in and year out of going with veteran castoffs from other teams paying them like the went to the probowl while playing for the Redskins, instead of developing our own.

You look at the rest of or division and you see teams that are ridiculously young and talented with plenty of draft picks to add to depth or use as bargaining chips get more picks next year or fill a spot with a vet.

We don't have the fire power to do any of that.

[Veretax]

http://www.extremeskins.com/showpost.php?p=7483109&postcount=130

Read that. Read the time stamp. Read the order. Understand that's almost certainly the current order of need at Redskins Park right now. And, try, as hard as it may be, to understand the Washington Redskins were 4-12 last year with atrocious play across the roster.

......

I don't doubt our line will have more changes both this season and next, but, some of you need to grasp this team wasn't one spot away. It would have been criminal to avoid adding any inside backers as it will be not to add a safety.

Try to get over the drum beat that this team only needed one thing. It needed many.

Amen Art, God Bless you!! That post was like a a sweet glass of iced tea perfectly balanced after a hot day hiking in the sun! This is what i've been preaching for a while too. Hail to the Redskins!