We should play Fred Davis more at WR

[SkinsTribeVA]

This thought just occurred to me today--the coaches have occasionally split out Davis, but why not do it more often? Three reasons:

1) He was originally a WR. Coming out of high school he was one of the top WR prospects in the nation, but moved to TE at USC.

According to Wikipedia (so who knows how true this is): "Recruited as a wide receiver, he showed solid speed and raw athletic ability but lacked the route-running skills and ball-catching ability of other receivers. After consulting with then-offensive coordinator Norm Chow, Davis decided to try converting to tight end."

2) We're in desperate need of a big body at WR. How many years has this been an issue for us now?

3) It would get him on the field. Fred Davis is incredibly talented, but he hasn't seen much playing time this year because of being behind Cooley. How excited would you be to regularly see him on the field with Cooley, Santana, Torain, and Armstrong?

Even if he stays a TE primarily, I don't see why the coaches haven't gotten him on the field much more as a WR.

Thoughts?

[jaydogg3eb]

Not a bad point, really. But I can't tell you why the coaches don't utilize him more.

[BadKarma]

Mulled this one over myself, the guy is garbage at blocking big bodies and would be much better off taking on CB's.

I think eventually Shanahan will look to thin Davis down and have him make a run at WR, we need to start bringing in TE's that can block.

[Wyndorf25]

Whether he's used as a second TE or split out wide as a WR...the point is he should be on the field more due to his play-making abilities.

[brianm23]

I think the very reason he hasn't supplanted Cooley in the starting lineup is due to his blocking.

[RandyHolt]

he was a dumb pick, that is unless we decided to move Cooley, run of a ton of 2TE sets, or move him to wideout.

I always thought the most plausible of those 3 was to convert him to WR since its plain as day we cannot and will not successfully develop or acquire a top notch WR with size.

His route running may indeed not be up to snuff for a wideout but certainly is for a pass catching TE. The two cant be that far apart, especially with a coach that knows what he can and cant do.

[MartinC]

We are running a lot of 2 TE sets already but I agree with your point, we need to get more creative to find ways to line Davis up outside or in the slot and get him more involved. He is one of our play makers an area we are not over blessed in right now.

Added to that am I alone in wondering why Galloway is still seeing the field so much? Please can we stop throwing it deep to him, apart from the 60 yarder he hauled in none of the other attempts have come close and he simply does not get separation. When we go 3 wide I would rather see Cooley at TE, Davis in the slot and Armstrong and Moss outside. Moss may have lost a step but he still our best deep threat and I dont think we have taken many shots deep in his direction so far.

[gutlead74]

Exactly what I've been saying, less throws in galloways direction would be a good thing.

[ChampSkinsFanatic]

he was a dumb pick,

Actually he was a great pick, hes just not being used correctly

[RandyHolt]

I think Sellers good play has been eating into our 2TE sets. In the grand scheme of things, McNabb has been under pressure and I understand why Davis (not a big blocker) isnt in the game as much.

But he certainly has to be able to give us more options at wideout. Really trotting Galloway out as our 3 with Moss and Armstrong already out there, just makes us more one dimensional than we already are at wideout. The all speed and no size thing. Galloway isnt getting open so speed doesnt always kill at wideout. A big body using his frame and height can get things done as well.

C'mon shanny, you gotta see Galloway brings nothing to our team. To me he is a depth guy at this point in his long and illustrious career.

[Mania]

Cooley up until this year was an average blocker and he is now a very good blocker in this ZBS.

If you look at Cooley's YAC over the past few seasons up until his injury he was the top TE in YAC. He is a better player than Davis and anyone who feels Davis should supplant him should check their head out. Now, I agree Davis needs to be on the field more, but when you put 4 receiver sets on the field you sacrifice protection schemes. We have had issues with protection with both Trent Williams being injured for a couple of games and Jammal Williams getting up to speed after being injured the entire 2009 season. J. Williams is also learning a position he hasn't played since his rookie season. I will state what I stated before the season started. The offense will be much better in the 2nd half of the season than it was in the first half. That is an obvious statement, but many people expect the offense to be clicking on all cylinders immediately.

Go Skins

[Botched]

Now, I agree Davis needs to be on the field more, but when you put 4 receiver sets on the field you sacrifice protection schemes. We have had issues with protection with both Trent Williams being injured for a couple of games and Jammal Williams getting up to speed after being injured the entire 2009 season.

I also want to see Davis split out wide more often, but this is a good point. Our pass protection has been crap, and it's tough to send out several receivers when the line doesn't hold.

[RandyHolt]

Actually he was a great pick, hes just not being used correctly

I thought TE was one of our stronger positiions. I dont recall any so called experts saying that we needed to add depth at TE so early in the draft. Yoder actually had decent hands and could block. All after drafting two receivers right in front of him. I love him as Cooley's backup and his recognize his skill set, but at the time, I dont think many people saw the pick as logical. If we were converting to running tons of 2 TE sets, sure, an all world pick. But we werent and we didnt run many 2 TE sets.

3 years later, Cooley is still in his spot. Not much of a special teams player, I still contend he was yet another dumb pick by Vinny. We didnt need a backup tight end, we needed starting O linemen all over the place, a free safety, a LB, a corner and on and on.

[angel2]

Mulled this one over myself, the guy is garbage at blocking big bodies and would be much better off taking on CB's.

I think eventually Shanahan will look to thin Davis down and have him make a run at WR, we need to start bringing in TE's that can block.

It's obvious to me that Fred would make an excellent WR and should be on the field more. His blocking has gotten better. Logan Paulsen, the 3rd string TE, at 6'5" and 265 lbs is a much better blocking TE than Cooley or Davis and he can also catch the ball. But, its about numbers on game day.

What they could do is make Roydell Williams, who weighs in at 178 lbs and 6' tall, inactive on game day and play Cooley, Davis and Paulsen.

[greenspandan]

cooley is a top-5 TE in this league, and at the time his backup was Todd Yoder, who wasn't horrible. picking Fred Davis was a stupid waste. if we'd instead used that pick on a solid o-lineman, for example, we'd be in better shape today. davis may be a good player, but what's the point of having a good player on the bench when there are very vad players on the field in other positions? in terms of getting value on the field for that pick, the redskins made a poor choice. there were much bigger areas of need than tight end.

[PlayAction]

I think Sellers good play has been eating into our 2TE sets. In the grand scheme of things, McNabb has been under pressure and I understand why Davis (not a big blocker) isnt in the game as much.

QUOTE]

Sellers has been the big body pass catcher as well as an excellent blocker this season. If Skins run 2 TE sets I think Shanny would be better served using Sellers as the second TE (position he's played in the past) because he blocks better than Davis. The advantage that Davis has over Cooley and Sellers is speed. He can definitely run routes down the seam and would be great when going against Tampa 2 defenses.

I'd like for Davis to get a shot but as many others have said repeatedly - - - there's an excess of talent at that position with limited opportunities to utilize all of it during games. But I would like to see the Skins rest Cooley when he's banged up instead of rushing him back into the line-up. I don't think he looked 100% against the Bears.

Did anyone really expect Galloway to be able to revive his career and be productive with the Skins? I'm still a bit irked that Skins dumped Thomas for Chad Simpson when Simpson hasn't ever gotten on the field. At least we had a KO returner and the hope that Thomas would eventually turn the corner. Basically, the Skins have 2 WRs right now - - I just hope neither one gets injured.

[Chachie]

I like this idea. It worked for Marques Colston, who was drafted by the Saints as a TE. Colston's a little taller and leaner than Fred but in theory it could pan out the same way.

[rookieskin]

Put me down in the "Great idea" camp.

Someone needs to text one of the coaches Shannahan ASAP!

[WesB]

Davis would be good split into a flanker position, so he can get the one on one match ups with a linebacker. Maybe move him around in motion to get the right match up when possible. Use Sellers with Cooley in the 2 TE sets.

[HBnotBlades]

cooley is a top-5 TE in this league, and at the time his backup was Todd Yoder, who wasn't horrible. picking Fred Davis was a stupid waste. if we'd instead used that pick on a solid o-lineman, for example, we'd be in better shape today.

The problem with this argument is who would we have picked? No linemen were picked from the time we grabbed Davis until the 3rd round. In that 3rd round, the offensive linemen picked were John Grecco (not a starter for the Rams), Jeremey Zuttah (occasionally starts at center for the Bucs) and our very own Chad Rinehart. It's not like we passed on exceptional Oline talent.

Reaching for an Olineman with that pick would have been significantly worse than picking Davis, the top Olineman on the Skins board at that point could very well have been Chad Rinehart.

EDIT: I forgot about Mike Pollak who was taken in the 2nd round, but he's an undersized guy who would fit our scheme now, but not then.

[Rufus T Firefly]

The problem with this argument is who would we have picked? No linemen were picked from the time we grabbed Davis until the 3rd round. In that 3rd round, the offensive linemen picked were John Grecco (not a starter for the Rams), Jeremey Zuttah (occasionally starts at center for the Bucs) and our very own Chad Rinehart. It's not like we passed on exceptional Oline talent.

Reaching for an Olineman with that pick would have been significantly worse than picking Davis, the top Olineman on the Skins board at that point could very well have been Chad Rinehart.

EDIT: I forgot about Mike Pollak who was taken in the 2nd round, but he's an undersized guy who would fit our scheme now, but not then.

You missed Mike Pollak, who many of us wanted that day. He's not a world-beater, but he's been a solid starter for a couple of seasons now for the Colts. He might well have been even more valuable for us, since we probably would have kept him at C.

[Rufus T Firefly]

You missed Mike Pollak, who many of us wanted that day. He's not a world-beater, but he's been a solid starter for a couple of seasons now for the Colts. He might well have been even more valuable for us, since we probably would have kept him at C.

LOL. You edited it while I was posting and the edit showed up in my post.

[Morneblade]

Personally I agree with this. I'd like to see Fred split out like the Colts use Dallas Clark, I think he would excel there while keeping Cooley as a standard TE, as opposed to Galloway or Williams at this point. Fred has been pretty good when he gets a chance.

[HBnotBlades]

LOL. You edited it while I was posting and the edit showed up in my post.

Apparently the new forum software is pretty smart. That's a pretty good point though, he could have been a decent fit as a replacement for Rabach.

I agree with the idea that Davis should be split out more, but I don't know that he could be a full WR, at least not this year. It's tough to create separation against CB when you're 260lbs.

[RandyHolt]

My argument, if we line him out wide and he gets matched up with a corner, he has to use his size. And he does that by using his body as a shield in buttons or slants. I dunno, We all know he is otherwise not going to get wide open on a corner but he should create some type of mismatch in certain situations, like on a short field in goal to go. Teams zone like crazy in the red zone or in goal to go passing situations. Our current cast of WR are near invisible in those situations. Moss scores on 20 yd TD passes, not 2 yarders.

Davis has got to be better than Keiland Williams who I often see lining up wide. gotta be. Ok maybe not.