Why Do The Majority Of Redskins FO Moves NOT Pan Out?

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Here is the odd thing: A lot of our free agent signings work out as you would expect.

Haynesworth played really well his first year and created an opportunity for pass rushers like Carter and Orakpo to have great years.

London Fletcher has been great.

We are actually pretty darn good at free agency.

It's the rest of our player acquisition model that sucks. Trading away picks for a 34-year old QB or a journeyman wide receiver is a recipe for disaster. And we keep making the same mistake across all regimes.

It also doesn't help that we change unit philosophies from year to year without any regard to personnel.

What we end up with is expensive veterans playing for coaches who don't know how to utilize their strengths.

At some point, it helps to be the Steelers or Patriots, but look at how someone like Lawrence Timmons was allowed to grow into his role versus someone like Orakpo.

Timmons was a #1 pick. He was brought in and told to sit behind two veteran inside linebackers and wait. His first season, he barely plays. His second season, he has packages specifically designed for him. His third season, he becomes a starter. His fourth season, he becomes a star. During his entire career, he has had 1 coach and one defensive coordinator. And he has played largely with the same guys. Basically, he spent three years having James Farrior tell him what to do every day.

Orakpo is drafted and immediately has to start. He comes to a dysfunctional team in the middle of a meltdown. He never really establishes a position, but his raw talent is enough for him to be effective. His second year, he gets a new coordinator and is told to learn a position that he's really not suited to play. He takes a major step backwards. My guess is that by the time he is in his fourth year, we will have a new defensive coordinator and might be running the 3-3-5 for all I know. It's basically a guarantee that any young talent is going to be confused and frustrated by the time he is 25.

[Oldfan]

There's a very basic reason that posters are missing. Free agents don't work out well for the same reason that trading draft picks for veterans doesn't work out well. The teams that allow these players to get away from them know more about them than the teams acquiring them. These moves are against the odds for ALL teams.

[DB44]

I agree with Kdawg and gortiz.

The Redskins have a tendency of acquiring players and asking them to do things differently than what made them successful. In other words, they bring in players that don’t fit their system.

Bingo! This is why we are not successful.

The best we have been on Offense, Defense, or Special teams was Gregg Williams' defense. He was able to acquire/or cut the guys to fit his system. He put guys in the best postions to succeed. Don't try a 3-4 defense when all you have is 4-3 personel!

All those other successful teams get it.

[SlinginSammy HOF '63]

we sign guys based on how they perform in other systems, and we don't bother to look at how they'd fit in our system.

qft .........

[TheLongshot]

Orakpo is drafted and immediately has to start. He comes to a dysfunctional team in the middle of a meltdown. He never really establishes a position' date=' but his raw talent is enough for him to be effective. His second year, he gets a new coordinator and is told to learn a position that he's really not suited to play. He takes a major step backwards. My guess is that by the time he is in his fourth year, we will have a new defensive coordinator and might be running the 3-3-5 for all I know. It's basically a guarantee that any young talent is going to be confused and frustrated by the time he is 25.[/quote']

I think you got your years mixed up. Orakpo is perfect for a 3-4 OLB, moreso than being a 4-3 OLB which he was last year. I also don't think having 8.5 sacks after having 11 the previous year is a "major step backwards".

[MumboSauce]

"the team is faceless, in some respects souless, and rudderless. "

So we have no choice but to let Shanahan stay the course and create whatever his brand of football is and hope it works.

[1198skinsfuture]

the problem is the talent they bring in, they pay them before they perform, they lose their hunger too perform...Once they get paid here their not hungry-therefore the mediocrity flows out of their pours. once they lose their hunger they dont play hard, and once they dont play hard thats where injuries happen... they you VINNY u toolbox