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WP - Special team? Redskins value desire over pedigree (Sally Jenkins)

HigSkin

By HigSkin
in The Stadium

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HigSkin

HigSkin

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I gotta say, this is probably the best article I've read from Jenkins and can't believe someone didn't post it. I searched for it. I really appreciate the emphasis on the Skins youth movement and check out the next ST riser, Darryl Young. Look out Sellers!

Who is she and what has the Post done with our "hate to the Redskins" columnist?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/15/AR2010101502564.html?sub=AR

If you want to turn a locker room around in a hurry, fill it with a bunch of guys who really need the jobs. Pack it with players who are just happy to have contracts, who don't think certain work is too menial for them, who have a sense of sweaty desperation. That's the secret to how the Washington Redskins have been playing. A team that a year ago was overpaid and too precious for its own good is now leading the league in hard-fought victories.

Run your eye down the Redskins roster, and notice how many players have recently won starting jobs by doing the dirty work of special teams, running down punts and kickoffs. Anthony Armstrong. Lorenzo Alexander. Chris Wilson. Consider the number of guys who have worked their way up from the practice squad to the active roster. Ryan Torain. Brandon Banks. Keiland Williams. Count the undrafted free agents who have become regular contributors on the field: Seven of them.

See what's happening?

Each week, the shape of the team the Redskins are building becomes more apparent. Coach Mike Shanahan doesn't give much away about his philosophy or his methods, but a couple of things are plain. One is his sharp eye for overlooked and undervalued players, whom he seems to prefer over coddled draft choices. Another is his penchant for using special teams to school those players. He's clearly sifting and grooming a new generation of starters through the utility squads, so if you want to see the Redskins stars of the future, watch them closely.

Take Armstrong, who at 27 is poised to become one of the more breathlessly exciting and pleasantly unforeseen successes the organization has had in years. Just a couple of years ago, he was in a sandlot, earning $200 a game in the Intense Football League, and clerking in a jewelry store to cover his bills. Undrafted out of Division II West Texas A&M, he was cut by the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins before he caught on with the Redskins in 2009 when he impressed special teams coach Danny Smith with his speed and the earnestness of his effort and his hunger.

"I've been cut a couple of times, and I'm not going back on the street," he told Smith doggedly. Since then ,in addition to blinding speed, he has shown focus, unstinting work, and attention to every detail of route running.

"He will do anything," Smith says emphatically. "A lot of guys will tell you that, and then fall off. He don't fall off. He's there every day. And that's what we want. Shanahan has been great at instilling that. Everybody is accountable; everybody carries his own weight. Everybody has to have a role, and he's done a great job of identifying that and defining that for the players."

Shanahan devoted significant time last summer to studying tape of Smith's personnel, hunting some badly needed young talent to complement the Redskins' core of proven greats such as Chris Cooley, Santana Moss and London Fletcher. As Smith will tell you, special teams play is a great diagnostic tool for spotting athleticism.

"It's the fastest 15 minutes in football," he says, "and there's so much space on the field."

But just as important, the unit is a spearhead, a place where the team's critical values are formed. Shanahan obviously views it as a test of mentality and commitment, and the Redskins are learning that it can be a path to promotion, or to an exit.

"It takes away people being selfish," Armstrong says.

Another special teams player who showed up as underused and undervalued was Alexander. An undrafted mid-sized tweener of a defensive lineman out of UC-Berkeley in 2005, he was cut by both Carolina and Baltimore before the Redskins signed him to the practice squad in 2006.

Click on the link to read the entire article

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skinfan2k

skinfan2k

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Danny Smith deserves much credit for the kickoff and punt coverage units. However I am still disappointed in the time he has been here, we haven't found that punter or long term solution at K.

Lastly, we are gonna see this roster being weeded out over the next few years where the best 53 will be on the squad regardless of draft selection and money

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HigSkin

HigSkin

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Danny Smith deserves much credit for the kickoff and punt coverage units. However I am still disappointed in the time he has been here, we haven't found that punter or long term solution at K.

Lastly, we are gonna see this roster being weeded out over the next few years where the best 53 will be on the squad regardless of draft selection and money

I think as the season goes on, we're going to realize we finally have our P and K'r. No time like this season to get it straightened out and remember, Smith is now working with "fill-in" personnel picked by Shanny/Allen, not Vinny/Zorn.

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LD0506

LD0506

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Attitude- underrated and hard to define but you damn well know it when you see it! This is the job that Shanahan has to deal with first this season, changing the entire mentality of the team and fostering an atmosphere where the "kids" can learn the right way from the start. Once that foundation is in place this team will take off. I love seeing this acknowledged.

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Ashburn Dave

Ashburn Dave

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Read the article this morning and loved almost every word of it. Let's get back to a blue collar team and kick some ass. Enough with these diva players.

But you can't fill your entire roster with free agents and low round draft picks. You do need a mix of both and I have a good feeling that Shanny and Allen can pick his type of character guys with the early picks.

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HigSkin

HigSkin

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Attitude- underrated and hard to define but you damn well know it when you see it! This is the job that Shanahan has to deal with first this season, changing the entire mentality of the team and fostering an atmosphere where the "kids" can learn the right way from the start. Once that foundation is in place this team will take off. I love seeing this acknowledged.

So true. I'm in a business that would call it a "soft roll", where you make subtle improvements without effecting distribution and sales.

This team is transforming before our eyes and competitive every weekend to boot.

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zoony

zoony

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Terrell Davis was a special teamer. I think his first play ever in the NFL was a ridiculous hit on a return that made everyone say "whoa". In no time he was a 2000+ yard rusher. :cool:

Shanahan also found guys like Brandon Marshall in the 4th and Clinton Portis in the 2nd. Shanahan has a great eye for offensive talent not taken in the first round and free agency. Defensive talent, on the other hand... let's just hope he's getting good advice :silly:

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TSO

TSO

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Read the article this morning and loved almost every word of it. Let's get back to a blue collar team and kick some ass. Enough with these diva players.

But you can't fill your entire roster with free agents and low round draft picks. You do need a mix of both and I have a good feeling that Shanny and Allen can pick his type of character guys with the early picks.

The good news is those early picks and FAs will notice immediately that they aren't safe simply because of their status. That's the best news of it all and it was long overdue.

Terrell Davis was a special teamer. I think his first play ever in the NFL was a ridiculous hit on a return that made everyone say "whoa". In no time he was a 2000+ yard rusher. :cool:

Shanahan also found guys like Brandon Marshall in the 4th and Clinton Portis in the 2nd. Shanahan has a great eye for offensive talent not taken in the first round and free agency. Defensive talent, on the other hand... let's just hope he's getting good advice :silly:

lol, that's even more good news though. The only type of player we've been able to draft well the last how many years are defensive players and, uhm, Chris Cooley! So with the scouting department still in tact I'd assume we should be good there. :)

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Birdlives

Birdlives

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I think Shanahan learned a lot in his time off.

So far he's held high priced free agent Haynesworth accountable.

He then sacrificed high end high talent pick Devin Thomas for his attitude.

It shows others who come in that their pedigree means nothing without dedication, devotion, and hard work.

He's quickly changing the culture of this team in spite of the many protestations of the fans and media.

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LD0506

LD0506

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He's quickly changing the culture of this team in spite of the many protestations of the fans and media.

Right to the point, Snyder did not bring Shanny in and tell him "I need you to get the fans off my back and make them stop sending their fan cards in, and while you're at it could you make nice w/ the Post so they will write better things about me?", even though some people sound like they believe that.

Shanahan saw the very things that a lot of people here have complained about for years, that the atmosphere of the team was simply not one that could breed success. You had high profile overpaid players that could go to the owner if they had a beef, you had young players come into a frat house where you cashed a check and spent your time worrying about how to spend it, not how to earn it. The serious dedicated players were marginalized by the systemic attitude that playing hard was not a real priority here. We've all seen comments from other players that wanted to come here because hey, they knew they'd clean up and not have to bust their ass doing it.

That entire demeanor of entitlement needed to go, there is no point in signing more FAs or rooks if they are just going to join the party when they get here. To me, this is the biggest change this season and the new regime has done a great job at addressing it. Once you have a professional attitude established then you worry about upgrading the roster.

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THEREALTOR1

THEREALTOR1

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We've all seen comments from other players that wanted to come here because hey, they knew they'd clean up and not have to bust their ass doing it.

That entire demeanor of entitlement needed to go, there is no point in signing more FAs or rooks if they are just going to join the party when they get here. To me, this is the biggest change this season and the new regime has done a great job at addressing it. Once you have a professional attitude established then you worry about upgrading the roster.

For years I've felt we didn't value hungry players enough, or have enough of them. We had too many guys who were well-paid, fat and happy. Guys around the league wanted to come to the Skins, not to win, but to get paid.

Nice to see times are changing.

Great points, couldn't have said it better myself. In the future, we'll see and hear from players that want to come play for the Skins, not for the big payday, but because they want to be part of a successful organization. And that means they play on our terms, and by our rules, not theirs.

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bulldog

bulldog

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Agree completely. This was a solid article that concisely presented what Shanahan and Allen are in the process of doing here.

The other factor is drafting in Round 1 and 2 potential stars that don't come in and act like stars, guys that stay hungry and further advance the values of the organization.

Orakpo, Landry and Trent Williams all seem to appear to fit into that category.

Devin Thomas did not and he is gone.

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