Homer: 2011 Redskins power rankings: Week 3

[themurf]

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Tonight the Washington Redskins take on the Indianapolis Colts in their second preseason game of the season. Once this game is in the books, we’ll be at the halfway point of the exhibition season and one step closer to the 53-man roster.

With that in mind, I humbly present to you my take at the top 10 Redskins players over the last seven days. For those who aren’t familiar, these are the players who have risen to the challenge and made a strong impression thus far.

And, as always, these rankings are completely subjective, biased and, ultimately, meaningless. They simply represent one person’s take during training camp. If you see things differently and/or feel like I’m forgetting someone, that’s okay. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts on the subject.

1. Tim Hightower, running back – It’s insane to think that a guy who wasn’t even on the roster at the start of training camp could very well be the starting tailback Week 1 against the New York Giants.

It’s even crazier to think that the Redskins were able to acquire a potential starting running back for Vonnie Holiday, a past-his-prime defensive lineman who wasn’t even going to make the team this year.

2. Rex Grossman, quarterback – The Shanahans might have a ton of manlove for John Beck, but Sexy Rexy isn’t lying down without a fight. Grossman completed 19 or 26 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown (109.0 QB rating) against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and looked very comfortable in his third year running this offense.

The pressure is clearly on Beck to show he’s worthy of being in this quarterback competition when the Redskins take on the Colts tonight. A poor performance is only going to re-enforce the popular belief that it’s only a matter of time before Grossman is lining up behind center for Washington.

3. DeJon Gomes, safety – Seemingly everyone else at the safety position is either injured (LaRon Landry, Oshiomogho Atogwe and Kareem Moore) or struggling (Chris Horton). So all Gomes has to do is be healthy and not make any monumental mistakes and he’s in solid shape to make the cut.

Thus far, Gomes is doing even better. The fifth rounder picked up his first-career sack against Steelers quarterback Dennis Dixon and had three tackles for a loss for the night. Not bad for an unheralded rookie who most Redskins fans had never even heard of before draft day.

4. Jarvis Jenkins, defensive end – Dude still doesn’t look like a rookie out there on the football field.

5. Will Montgomery, center – Let’s just say that whenever Casey Rabach was asked to line up against someone as talented as Casey Hampton, he spent enough time in the backfield to warrant consideration as a backup running back.

Thankfully, Montgomery appears to be a much stronger option up the middle and if he continues to play at this level, Redskins quarterbacks might actually have time to look downfield rather than the dinks and dunks that passes for an offense last year.

Whether or not John Beck can complete a deep throw during live action is another question, but at least the Redskins starting center will give him a chance to make the play.

6. Evan Royster, running back – Roy Helu Jr. gets much more attention, but Royster was the rookie running back who Mike Shanahan opted to turn the football over to in the opener.

Royster finished with a game-high 15 carries for a game-high 66-yards rushing on the night, while Helu was limited to just 28 yards on eight carries. Whether or not it lasts remains to be seen, but as long as the Penn State standout makes plays like this, it’s going to be difficult for his coaches to ignore the rookie.

7. Keyaron Fox, middle linebacker – The guy has been in Washington for about 10 minutes and yet, there he was, lining up his teammates and running the defense against his former team. He’s not going to unseat London Fletcher or anything, but it’s nice to see that the eight-year-pro has already earned defensive coordinator Jim Haslett’s trust.

Click here for the full article.

[Maxima2000]

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[Conn]

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First what? Post in the thread?

Is that a goal on other forums?

Good read, murf. As always, you earned my click.

[terpfan]

I hate to be that guy... but it's *Josh* Wilson.

Otherwise I pretty much agree with everything. I dont think McIntosh played particularly poorly though and I really doubt this Miami stuff follows him. He graduated forever ago (relatively).

[terrifNick21]

Good read. Cracked me up about Shayne Graham.

[TD Riggo]

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Thanks for adding to the discussion!

Good article Murf.

[Annonymous Source]

Good read as usual. My only complaint is that there shouldnt have been 2 John Beck quips in the same article. Poor guy gets enough heat from the national media. Other than that great piece, and keep em coming.

[themurf]

Good read. Cracked me up about Shayne Graham.

Bums me out, man. He was a good talker, one of the most statistically accurate kickers in the game today and I'm always up for another Hokie or two around town. Too bad he couldn't stick around longer.

Good read as usual. My only complaint is that there shouldnt have been 2 John Beck quips in the same article. Poor guy gets enough heat from the national media. Other than that great piece, and keep em coming.

Look, I'm not a Beck hater or anything. I've said repeatedly this offseason that I understand why the Shanahans are giving him a shot to start (because they know what they have with Grossman). I just haven't seen anything from the guy to this point that suggests he's going to magically become Kurt Warner 2.0. That being said, if you really, really, really want someone to tell you how great he is, just go read a Kyle Shanahan quote. He's convinced the guy could deliver a baby while throwing six touchdown passes in a single game.

[B55Green]

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Someone thinks this is YouTube.....

Anyways, is Malcolm Kelly playing? I'm confused. Understand the joke, but don't recall hearing much either.

[polywog999]

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Just a friendly heads up, bro....please don't do that here....it's really lame.

Good read. I never heard of a lot of our players....I love it!

[LD0506]

He's convinced the guy could deliver a baby while throwing six touchdown passes in a single game.

So would that be one of those playoff births people talk about?

[S.T.real,lights,out]

Great post like always. And i couldn't agree more with Hightower. Getting a big strong and young back is great pick up for this team. Just would like to know what kind pick we would need to give up for him if he starts and plays all 16 games.

[gaskinsfan]

Enjoyed reading the list, would have to agree with most...

Fred Davis could be added, he has come into camp lighter, faster, and his blocking against the Steelers was good.

Cofield and Bowen looked really good on the D-line as well.

Only really worrying part was Josh Wilson... He will be picked on a lot this season.

[Annonymous Source]

Look, I'm not a Beck hater or anything. I've said repeatedly this offseason that I understand why the Shanahans are giving him a shot to start (because they know what they have with Grossman). I just haven't seen anything from the guy to this point that suggests he's going to magically become Kurt Warner 2.0. That being said, if you really, really, really want someone to tell you how great he is, just go read a Kyle Shanahan quote. He's convinced the guy could deliver a baby while throwing six touchdown passes in a single game.

I know you arent a Beck hater, and quite frankly I hope they start Grossman. The reason that I felt that was so out of place was that the multiple shots at Beck, just for a joke, seemed like something in a national media piece. It seemed unusually out of place in one of your articles. That was all I was attempting to say...

[KDawg]

Big time agree on THT, Evan Royster, Will Montgomery, Keyaron Fox, Darrel Young, DeJon Gomes and Terrance Austin.

I'm encouraged by Grossman, so I can't disagree there.

I also completely agree with your "bad list".

Very well done. I think Helu is going to continue to get the hype because he was the higher draft pick, but Royster is a stud.

[Mark The Homer]

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3. Spam is strictly prohibited.

[TK]

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Hi there.

Now that will not only be your first, but also your last time. We're not playing that crap here. Do it again & you will needing to find yourself a new board to pollute.

[HapHaszard]

wrong thread

[jflow78]

Glad I got here after TK and Mark, I would have been biting my lip trying not to brutally harass that guy.

I'm glad Shayne is gone, from the practice reports he looked horrible there too. How does that happen to a guy? He was crazy accurate throughout his career and then comes in here and lays an egg. Did someone fail to tell this guy that just because the players were locked out of the NFL doesn't mean they weren't allowed to touch a football all off-season?

As far as Rocky goes, he actually made a nice coverage play and did pretty well, better than I was expecting anyway. I figure, between Rocky, Riley, and Fox we should be able to find SOMEONE who can play ILB properly.

---------- Post added August-19th-2011 at 09:23 AM ----------

Look, I'm not a Beck hater or anything. I've said repeatedly this offseason that I understand why the Shanahans are giving him a shot to start (because they know what they have with Grossman). I just haven't seen anything from the guy to this point that suggests he's going to magically become Kurt Warner 2.0. That being said, if you really, really, really want someone to tell you how great he is, just go read a Kyle Shanahan quote. He's convinced the guy could deliver a baby while throwing six touchdown passes in a single game.

I'm with you, and my entire family are BYU fans, but I figure if one of them wins the battle outright, we should at least have a pretty decent backup. My money is on Rex though, the guy played out of his mind at the end of last season (minus the fumbles) and with improvements on the OL, WR, and RB, we should be ready to support a QB that isn't All-Pro material (not yet anyway ).

My take on Helu was that he was put in with a significantly weaker OL, maybe he makes some noise with the 1st team if he gets the chance. Who knows.

[DC9]

Glad I got here after TK and Mark, I would have been biting my lip trying not to brutally harass that guy.

I'm glad Shayne is gone, from the practice reports he looked horrible there too. How does that happen to a guy? He was crazy accurate throughout his career and then comes in here and lays an egg. Did someone fail to tell this guy that just because the players were locked out of the NFL doesn't mean they weren't allowed to touch a football all off-season?

As far as Rocky goes, he actually made a nice coverage play and did pretty well, better than I was expecting anyway. I figure, between Rocky, Riley, and Fox we should be able to find SOMEONE who can play ILB properly.

And looking long term, I think grabbing Fox (if he continues to play well) will allow you to push off spending a high pick on a linebacker for another year or two. Not sure Rocky is here for more than another year, but I think that grabbing Fox will allow us to focus on a young quarterback and some weapons/line depth in next years draft early. I just really enjoy seeing a plan by football guys in this front office.

I hope to see Riley get some reps with the first team tonight with Fletcher out.

HAIL!

[TK]

Definitely agree with the list, but I'd be tempted to find a way to work Barnes into there somewhere. But maybe that's because of the way he hit Leftwich like a guided missle.

[jflow78]

Definitely agree with the list, but I'd be tempted to find a way to work Barnes into there somewhere. But maybe that's because of the way he hit Leftwich like a guided missle.

And he would have had 2 sacks if he'd kept his head up, I believe. He had a clear shot but dropped his head at the last second and missed his target (who didn't see him). Other than that, I liked the way Barnes played.

[MattFancy]

Definitely agree with the list, but I'd be tempted to find a way to work Barnes into there somewhere. But maybe that's because of the way he hit Leftwich like a guided missle.

I agree. Barnes looked really good last week. Might be able to give Josh Wilson a run for his money.

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

And looking long term, I think grabbing Fox (if he continues to play well) will allow you to push off spending a high pick on a linebacker for another year or two. Not sure Rocky is here for more than another year, but I think that grabbing Fox will allow us to focus on a young quarterback and some weapons/line depth in next years draft early. I just really enjoy seeing a plan by football guys in this front office.

I think Rocky's contract is a 1 year deal only. I really want to believe that Perry Riley can be our future ILB. So I'd still hold off on spending a high pick on an ILB linebacker. I mean, in the past 3 years we've drafted 2 OLB in the 1st round, if we draft an ILB, it has to be in the area of middle round picks where he'll get most of his playing time on special teams.

I hope to see Riley get some reps with the first team tonight with Fletcher out.

HAIL!

Didn't know Fletcher was out. So definitely yes, I'd love to see Riley get some reps with the first team.

---------- Post added August-19th-2011 at 10:03 AM ----------

I agree. Barnes looked really good last week. Might be able to give Josh Wilson a run for his money.

What I love about Barnes is that he's hungry. This is his third year and he wants as much playing time as possible. I wonder how much Nickel we're going to run, cause the guy can be a weapon as a blitzer alone.

The Packers mostly run a 3-3-5 with Charles Woodson as the 5th DB, they line him up everywhere and blitz him with Matthews frequently. I'm not saying Barnes is in the same caliber as Woodson, but a poor man's version of Woodson would still be a great asset.

[STAskinsfan21]

So would that be one of those playoff births people talk about?

Hahah. Made me spit out the food I was eating. Good article, murf.