Disappointed in Orakpo's Play

[Skinsfan4life83]

The guy is a two time probowler in his third year. You people are ridiculous. Does he need to improve his run defense? Sure. But a bunch of teams would kill to have this guy. Just ask the Bills. The pick we spent on Rak was well worth it. We got two intimidating outside linebackers. Two guys who can kill opposing qbs. Yet you people want to *****. How about our lack of a true nose tackle? How about a defensive lineman who can occupy two blockers? Our outside linebacker situation is one of our strengths yet you all talk like its a weakness. Good grief.

[megared]

The guy is a two time probowler in his third year. You people are ridiculous. Does he need to improve his run defense? Sure. But a bunch of teams would kill to have this guy. Just ask the Bills. The pick we spent on Rak was well worth it. We got two intimidating outside linebackers. Two guys who can kill opposing qbs. Yet you people want to *****. How about our lack of a true nose tackle? How about a defensive lineman who can occupy two blockers? Our outside linebacker situation is one of our strengths yet you all talk like its a weakness. Good grief.

Nobody cares about his Pro Bowls. He gets there, for one reason, and one reason alone. You're being delusional if you think he's a part of the solution when it comes to our run defense.

And the Bills are doing just fine without him. They give up tons of yards, but they create turnovers (something Orakpo does rarely). I'm not even sure he'd fit there.

What does a NT have to do with Orakpo? He isn't getting double teamed. If anything, Rocky and Fletcher would benefit from that, and as it is now, they still make plays in the run game, whereas Orakpo is virtually invisible. And I don't think it has anything to do with our scheme either. Green Bay can rush Clay Matthew from all over because they know he's going to attack relentlessly, whether it's a pass or run. I don't think Haz is a mastermind, but no defensive coordinator can make a successful scheme that precludes a LB from performing his duties.

Right now Orakpo is really good at one duty of being a LB. He's in his third year. When does he make the jump? How? As more time goes by, it becomes a "he is what he is" situation. And I don't think anyone envisioned drafting a one trick pony that high.

[KDawg]

First year he had his hand down in a 4-3.

Maybe I'm in LaLa Land... But I would swear in his first year he played OLB in the 4-3...

[John Lydon]

What the heck is wrong with the majority of this board??!!! Everytime we lose a game we start calling for everyones head. Why? Because you reviewed the game and saw something you didn't like? I got news for you, you can do that for anyone who has ever played. For instance, Peyton Manning is like a fence post in the pocket. No mobility whatsoever. Indy should trade him. Desean Jackson breaks off his routes too often and doesn't have the size to go over the middle. The Eagles should trade him. Darell (sp?) Revis jumps too many routes. Trade him.

See how easy it is to nitpick? The bottom line is this. Orakpo is a force that teams have to gameplan for. The last two games (Eagles and Panthers) Orakpo was consistently drawing the TE or RB on a double team. He is a solid player in only his third year and a bonafide leader on a top ten defense in the NFL. He is transitioning from DE to LB. It takes a while to learn coverage skills. Bruce Smith couldn't cover RB's either, but you didn't hear people complain about that.

Whatever happened to the days when a fan supported the players on his team instead of just rooting for a logo? Remember when Riggo came over from the Jets? Didn't do much of anything his first two years. If some of the people on the board where running the team back then, he would have been shipped out. Instead he stands as a legend among Skins fans. All I'm really saying is this; Be patient. Stop overanalyzing and Monday morning QBing everything little thing. Support your team and for Gods sakes, stop comparing players to everyone else in the NFL!!!

[Renegade7]

That's exactly what you're doing. You just listed his individual accolades as some justification as to why we shouldn't have expectations of him to do other things. Bottom line is, he's a good pass rusher, and that's great. But in order for our defense to be good, we need guys to perform their responsibilities and perform as a unit. I just don't get the mindset, especially when we have someone like Fletcher that does everything he can to help the defense. I'm sure he'd rather be rushing the QB rather than dropping back in coverage too.

I've never seen a team go into a game with the plan of attacking DeMarcus Ware in the run game. Quite frankly, I'm surprised teams waited until now to attack Rak in the run game.

The Vick example was to point out that he could've taken a good angle, and attacked him in a controlled manner, and possibly forced a poor throw, or forced him into pressure coming from elsewhere. I know people love Rak, but to me, that play fell into one of two categories: either a selfish brand of ball, or a stupid one. Do you think it's a coincidence that suddenly Carriker is getting more sacks with Kerrigan over there? Having Kerrigan do many things as an OLB, as a rookie no less, is really accenting how much Orakpo can do to improve himself and take "that next step".

Oh wow, so Orakpo is free-lancing now? He's Lavar now? :doh:

Regardless about what anyone thinks of the pro-bowl, 2/3rds of the voting is done by players and coaches. 99% of the league respects him as a young player and know he's going to get better. I don't see free-lancing out there. What I see is an over-aggressive defense putting players in situations where the flow of plays is throwing off the entire unit, not just orakpo.

And I'll be damned if you think Kerrigan is the magic potion to all the sudden help Carriker get the sacks he couldn't when just orakpo was here. We added like four more starters besides him. Orakpo hasn't reached his potential yet, and you can't say weak-side OLB isn't a strength with Orakpo over there. We have a lot of weaknesses, but I don't feel Orakpo is one of them. It's nitpicking at this point to say he is, imo.

[GO HAMSKINS]

Rak's a beast probably will lead the team in sacks again,along with going to his 3rd PB;)

[aarobinson]

Rak does not set the edge well and gets shaken out of his shoes by any player with a decent amount of wiggle. I dont think he's ever going to be able to tackle a guy like Vick, McCoy, or Newton in the open field. He's not Clay Matthews. Rak is an above average pass rusher who is overrated because he puts up glamour stats.

There's a lot of revisionist history about Orakpo in the 4-3. He played OLB because he was too light to play DE. And when he did play DE, he was a one trick pass rushing pony who got destroyed by the run and could not hold the point of attack. He got his sack totals but he was a liability in several respects. Sound familiar? He is what he is as a player -- it's not the scheme.

Whoever made the Bruce Smith comparison is way off -- Bruce Smith was a 3-4 DE.

[DCranon21]

Maybe I'm in LaLa Land... But I would swear in his first year he played OLB in the 4-3...

I swear he played DE in the 4-3, or maybe I'm wrong. I'd have to go back and see.

edit: KDawg, you're right, he was an OLB in 2009.

[GO HAMSKINS]

I swear he played DE in the 4-3, or maybe I'm wrong. I'd have to go back and see.

edit: KDawg, you're right, he was an OLB in 2009.

No, Rak Played OLB in the 4-3,but Blache's 4-3 was really a 3-4 in a 4-3 look. Even JTaylor was a OLB too. In a traditional 4-3 bot players would be DE's

---------- Post added October-26th-2011 at 10:29 AM ----------

Not too worried about the whole "one move" thing.Like Mike Strahan says on nfl networks best pass rushers "People always wonder why didn't I add more moves to my game.I say they are fools. When one move works,it works.No great pass rusher needs more than one move.All you need is one move" He said it again one time on FOX and Howie Long agreed. Long said guys today are trying to be to cute & fancy

[Rocky21]

The guy is a two time probowler in his third year. You people are ridiculous.

Thank you. A loss like that stings but hating on our best players is pretty stoopid.

[megared]

See how easy it is to nitpick? The bottom line is this. Orakpo is a force that teams have to gameplan for. The last two games (Eagles and Panthers) Orakpo was consistently drawing the TE or RB on a double team. He is a solid player in only his third year and a bonafide leader on a top ten defense in the NFL. He is transitioning from DE to LB. It takes a while to learn coverage skills. Bruce Smith couldn't cover RB's either, but you didn't hear people complain about that.

This is how false information is spread. Rak was not being double teamed. Cam Newton was not running for his life in the pocket. Furthermore, Rak coming unblocked for his one sack of the game did not discourage Newton and Smith from torching our secondary later in said game. And when the Panthers decided to run, they did it right at him in addition to everywhere else.

How long is it going to take him to transition? Kerrigan is making a legitimate transition against better competition, into a new position as well, and doing a good job. Orakpo has been in the league for going on 3 years now. He still gets the kiddie gloves when it comes to criticism.

Everyone is saying this because right now, he isn't developing. Lord forbid he gets an injury, or loses a step, because then what does he have to rely upon? Instincts? Fundamentals?

When our defense isn't doing well, everyone deserves criticism, from coaches on down. Orakpo needs to perform his duties every down, not just on passing ones.

[MrMoore]

I'm guessing that you have been to the weight room with both ware and rak huh? How do you know that Rak is stronger? Just curious.

I am a combine junkie. Demarcus had 27 reps and Rak had 31 reps. Ware benches 430lbs Rak benches 500+lbs. Even though Ware is faster he has better a technique. As far as hand placement, leverage, angles etc.

Here's the link of Ware's combine numbers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeMarcus_Ware

---------- Post added October-26th-2011 at 12:52 PM ----------

This is how false information is spread. Rak was not being double teamed. Cam Newton was not running for his life in the pocket. Furthermore, Rak coming unblocked for his one sack of the game did not discourage Newton and Smith from torching our secondary later in said game. And when the Panthers decided to run, they did it right at him in addition to everywhere else.

How long is it going to take him to transition? Kerrigan is making a legitimate transition against better competition, into a new position as well, and doing a good job. Orakpo has been in the league for going on 3 years now. He still gets the kiddie gloves when it comes to criticism.

Everyone is saying this because right now, he isn't developing. Lord forbid he gets an injury, or loses a step, because then what does he have to rely upon? Instincts? Fundamentals?

When our defense isn't doing well, everyone deserves criticism, from coaches on down. Orakpo needs to perform his duties every down, not just on passing ones.

I understand what your saying. I can care less about what he does in coverage. IMO that's the coaches fault. That's not his game. I just want him to be great getting to the QB and contain the run. He takes to many band angles and he only uses the bull rush. He's to use to over powering linemen. Thats all he did in college, but in the pros you have linemen with power & technique. Like I said in my other post he needs to look at more D.Ware tape. Rak is a good player but he has not yet reached his full potential. One reason I think he hasn't is because of the coaching. I put Landry in the same category.

[megared]

Oh wow, so Orakpo is free-lancing now? He's Lavar now? :doh:

Regardless about what anyone thinks of the pro-bowl, 2/3rds of the voting is done by players and coaches. 99% of the league respects him as a young player and know he's going to get better. I don't see free-lancing out there. What I see is an over-aggressive defense putting players in situations where the flow of plays is throwing off the entire unit, not just orakpo.

And I'll be damned if you think Kerrigan is the magic potion to all the sudden help Carriker get the sacks he couldn't when just orakpo was here. We added like four more starters besides him. Orakpo hasn't reached his potential yet, and you can't say weak-side OLB isn't a strength with Orakpo over there. We have a lot of weaknesses, but I don't feel Orakpo is one of them. It's nitpicking at this point to say he is, imo.

He wishes he was Lavar. Lavar 3 years in was a better LB than Orakpo may ever be, unfortunately. He was able to rush the passer, get INTs, strip the ball, and was a force in the run game. Lavar before the injuries was living up to where he was drafted. Teams darn sure weren't targeting him in the run game.

Our outside linebacker spot is now a strength? Since when do teams attack one side of a "strength" as part of a strategy? Their only strength right now, is an improved pass rush.

Even the announcers mentioned it on one of Carriker's sacks...that Kerrigan taking the angle he did, forced the QB to step up in the pocket into where Carriker was. For some odd reason, we don't see those kinds of plays on the opposite side of the D line.

About the Pro Bowl, it's probably why Orakpo has never been voted a starter. He was thrust there by an injury to Lance Briggs in the 2010 Pro Bowl. Last season he only made it because Clay Matthews had a game to play the next week. This entire conversation I've been speaking in terms of things he can do to make our defense better...are we still going to talk about him going to Hawaii to play in a meaningless exhibition? Why don't you mention that he has zero All-Pro selections...first or second team during that time?

Bottomline, he's the best of the rest. I guess you're fine with that being all he ever is. I'm not.

[John Lydon]

This is how false information is spread. Rak was not being double teamed. Cam Newton was not running for his life in the pocket. Furthermore, Rak coming unblocked for his one sack of the game did not discourage Newton and Smith from torching our secondary later in said game. And when the Panthers decided to run, they did it right at him in addition to everywhere else.

How long is it going to take him to transition? Kerrigan is making a legitimate transition against better competition, into a new position as well, and doing a good job. Orakpo has been in the league for going on 3 years now. He still gets the kiddie gloves when it comes to criticism.

Everyone is saying this because right now, he isn't developing. Lord forbid he gets an injury, or loses a step, because then what does he have to rely upon? Instincts? Fundamentals?

When our defense isn't doing well, everyone deserves criticism, from coaches on down. Orakpo needs to perform his duties every down, not just on passing ones.

You need to check the game tape again. I don't have specific numbers but I know I saw Orakpo getting chipped on SEVERAL plays. As far as Kerrigan goes, he has been a bright spot for sure. Does Orakpo need to work on stuff? Absolutely. Criticizing him is one thing. Calling for trades like a few people have on this thread is pure nonsense. That was my entire point in a nutshell.

[Renegade7]

He wishes he was Lavar. Lavar 3 years in was a better LB than Orakpo may ever be, unfortunately. He was able to rush the passer, get INTs, strip the ball, and was a force in the run game. Lavar before the injuries was living up to where he was drafted. Teams darn sure weren't targeting him in the run game.

Our outside linebacker spot is now a strength? Since when do teams attack one side of a "strength" as part of a strategy? Their only strength right now, is an improved pass rush.

Even the announcers mentioned it on one of Carriker's sacks...that Kerrigan taking the angle he did, forced the QB to step up in the pocket into where Carriker was. For some odd reason, we don't see those kinds of plays on the opposite side of the D line.

About the Pro Bowl, it's probably why Orakpo has never been voted a starter. He was thrust there by an injury to Lance Briggs in the 2010 Pro Bowl. Last season he only made it because Clay Matthews had a game to play the next week. This entire conversation I've been speaking in terms of things he can do to make our defense better...are we still going to talk about him going to Hawaii to play in a meaningless exhibition? Why don't you mention that he has zero All-Pro selections...first or second team during that time?

Bottomline, he's the best of the rest. I guess you're fine with that being all he ever is. I'm not.

You lost all credibility right there with the "wishing he was Lavar" crap.

Lavar only had one double digit sack season in his entire career. Orakpo already has 24 sacks in barely 2 1/2 seasons of play (which is more then Lavar has in his ENTIRE career). So it's safe to safe Orakpo is already outproducing Lavar. Lavar used to get caught out of position all the time and never figured it out. The only exception was under Marvin Lewis where he had no choice but to do what he was told. As soon as Marvin left, it was back to his free-lancing ways. It's a huge reason his playing time got cut towards the end of his career here in Washington under Greg Williams (remember 2005?).

And OLB is a strength on this roster compared to the current state of the wr corps. And I've seen a couple times where Orakpo coming in the way he is taking up two blockers and leading to a sack from somebody else. I'm surprised you won't give Orakpo any credit for helping take pressure off of Kerrigan.

You can de-legitimize Orakpo's contributions all you want, but everyone else seems to notice what's going on. Again, he can be better, but you're wrong in some of your assessments of him or my point of view of having the patience to wait for him to get better. More power to you.

[IrepDC]

The reason Rak has looked so bad the past few games, as far as run support, is because the Eagles and Panthers were running read plays and he was the read. If he was aggressive the run went outside, and if he was patient, it went inside. That's not a pass for him, but I don't think people understand how difficult that is on one player.

Other than that, people are just piling on.

[3CardMonte]

Have to say it...this guy is shaping up to be a very one dimensional player.

You know nothing about playing or scouting football.

[Slateman]

You lost all credibility right there with the "wishing he was Lavar" crap.

Lavar only had one double digit sack season in his entire career. Orakpo already has 24 sacks in barely 2 1/2 seasons of play (which is more then Lavar has in his ENTIRE career). So it's safe to safe Orakpo is already outproducing Lavar. Lavar used to get caught out of position all the time and never figured it out. The only exception was under Marvin Lewis where he had no choice but to do what he was told. As soon as Marvin left, it was back to his free-lancing ways. It's a huge reason his playing time got cut towards the end of his career here in Washington under Greg Williams (remember 2005?).

And OLB is a strength on this roster compared to the current state of the wr corps. And I've seen a couple times where Orakpo coming in the way he is taking up two blockers and leading to a sack from somebody else. I'm surprised you won't give Orakpo any credit for helping take pressure off of Kerrigan.

You can de-legitimize Orakpo's contributions all you want, but everyone else seems to notice what's going on. Again, he can be better, but you're wrong in some of your assessments of him or my point of view of having the patience to wait for him to get better. More power to you.

Really? Orakpo is better because he has more sacks? Are you not paying attention to the thread at all? No one is questioning Orakpo's pass rushing skills. He's good at it. If he actually developed some technique and moves, he'd be great.

Some of us are disappointed in his play because he's in year three and he's still one dimensional. He can't cover, he doesn't play the run. He sells out every time to sack the QB. I get he's young but it seems like he hasn't developed at all like Ware and Suggs have. He is, effectively, only useful on passing downs.

As for trading, there's no one on this team that shouldn't have a price. If St Louis has the number one pick and all they want is Brian Orakpo and our first rounded, it would be absolutely moronic not to take that deal. The best QB to come out of the draft in at least ten years. And all they want is a first rounder and a pass rushing specialist? I will tear down Fed Ex Field to make that deal happen.

[Renegade7]

Really? Orakpo is better because he has more sacks? Are you not paying attention to the thread at all? No one is questioning Orakpo's pass rushing skills. He's good at it. If he actually developed some technique and moves, he'd be great.

Some of us are disappointed in his play because he's in year three and he's still one dimensional. He can't cover, he doesn't play the run. He sells out every time to sack the QB. I get he's young but it seems like he hasn't developed at all like Ware and Suggs have. He is, effectively, only useful on passing downs.

As for trading, there's no one on this team that shouldn't have a price. If St Louis has the number one pick and all they want is Brian Orakpo and our first rounded, it would be absolutely moronic not to take that deal. The best QB to come out of the draft in at least ten years. And all they want is a first rounder and a pass rushing specialist? I will tear down Fed Ex Field to make that deal happen.

You must be late to the party, because the discussion I was having with homie he said Lavar was outproducing Orakpo, which is simply not true. He also went on to claim Orakpo as a free-lancer, which again is not true. Coverage is not his strength, but that shouldn't be expect from a 3-4 OLB if you understand the defense. You can say the same thing about Ware, which is why you see both him and Orakpo attacking more often the not.

This thread is, and should be about the bad angles that he takes and inability to take over games. I'm not surprised by this with a 3rd year player, though for some reason some people are.

And the Rams are not going to trade the #1 overall pick for Brian Orakpo. This isn't the NBA, so unless the raiders come calling we won't get fair value for him. A lot of people feel the only reason he wasn't rookie of the year was because he came out the same year as clay mathews, whom's team went to the playoffs that year. So many people want a youth movement, yet here is a guy that is 25 and you want to trade him because he hasn't met expectations yet???

Please...

[megared]

You lost all credibility right there with the "wishing he was Lavar" crap.

Lavar only had one double digit sack season in his entire career. Orakpo already has 24 sacks in barely 2 1/2 seasons of play (which is more then Lavar has in his ENTIRE career). So it's safe to safe Orakpo is already outproducing Lavar. Lavar used to get caught out of position all the time and never figured it out. The only exception was under Marvin Lewis where he had no choice but to do what he was told. As soon as Marvin left, it was back to his free-lancing ways. It's a huge reason his playing time got cut towards the end of his career here in Washington under Greg Williams (remember 2005?).

And OLB is a strength on this roster compared to the current state of the wr corps. And I've seen a couple times where Orakpo coming in the way he is taking up two blockers and leading to a sack from somebody else. I'm surprised you won't give Orakpo any credit for helping take pressure off of Kerrigan.

You can de-legitimize Orakpo's contributions all you want, but everyone else seems to notice what's going on. Again, he can be better, but you're wrong in some of your assessments of him or my point of view of having the patience to wait for him to get better. More power to you.

You clearly don't remember, or didn't watch Lavar if you think that Orakpo is in the same stratosphere as a LB. You could line Lavar up anywhere you'd expect a LB to be and get plays out of him. Marvin Lewis, (who built a career off of a supremely talented Ravens defense, and then proceeded to do nothing for the rest of his career) lined him up as a DE on 3rd downs in 2002 and what does Lavar do? He only matched Orakpo's career high to date in sacks...while accumulating 95 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, a TD, and 8 passes defended, making the 2nd Team All-Pro Team, in addition the Pro Bowl. What derailed Lavar was injuries, the contract dispute, and a vindictive defensive coordinator. Nobody had a problem with him freelancing when he all but ended Troy Aikman's career, or when he had 10 tackles and an INT in our wildcard playoff game in Tampa in 2005.

And Orakpo losing contain, overpursuing and biting on play fakes isn't what you'd define as 'out of position'? The only difference is Haz has the misfortune of having to design a scheme to mask his deficiencies. How unpredictable can his blitzes and pressures really be when you have a player that can only do one thing well?

Be patient? The average NFL career is 4 years. Darryl Green and Ray Lewis are the exceptions. We're not seeing jumps from year to year...he's still the same player he was at UT...

[Renegade7]

You clearly don't remember, or didn't watch Lavar if you think that Orakpo is in the same stratosphere as a LB. You could line Lavar up anywhere you'd expect a LB to be and get plays out of him. Marvin Lewis, (who built a career off of a supremely talented Ravens defense, and then proceeded to do nothing for the rest of his career) lined him up as a DE on 3rd downs in 2002 and what does Lavar do? He only matched Orakpo's career high to date in sacks...while accumulating 95 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, a TD, and 8 passes defended, making the 2nd Team All-Pro Team, in addition the Pro Bowl. What derailed Lavar was injuries, the contract dispute, and a vindictive defensive coordinator. Nobody had a problem with him freelancing when he all but ended Troy Aikman's career, or when he had 10 tackles and an INT in our wildcard playoff game in Tampa in 2005.

And Orakpo losing contain, overpursuing and biting on play fakes isn't what you'd define as 'out of position'? The only difference is Haz has the misfortune of having to design a scheme to mask his deficiencies. How unpredictable can his blitzes and pressures really be when you have a player that can only do one thing well?

Be patient? The average NFL career is 4 years. Darryl Green and Ray Lewis are the exceptions. We're not seeing jumps from year to year...he's still the same player he was at UT...

Actually I do remember Lavar playing, and his biggest problem was that he was arrogant in the way he wouldn't listen to Greg Williams or Blache, all the way up to the debacle with the Postons and his eventual release from the redskins. I just finished watching the carolina game again, and again, the same as most games this season, it's not just Orakpo getting caught by these misdirection plays. It's the entire team due to an over-aggressive defensive scheme. His rush defense is NOT as bad as many are making it out to be.

Not only that, but Orakpo could be put at DE just like Lavar and was more productive at it. Lavar was also a 4-3 OLB compared to Orakpo whom is a 3-4 OLB. The position is different as are the responsibilities. Orakpo is not nearly as hard-headed as Lavar was, and is definitely going to play more then 4 years, hell I'd even bet he'll be here longer then Lavar was. And you got a lot of nerve defending Lavar versus a "vindictive coach" after Lavar was publicly spating with the coaching staff and called Joe Gibbs a coward. I know you want to be right, but you are so f'n wrong right now, man.

[megared]

Actually I do remember Lavar playing, and his biggest problem was that he was arrogant in the way he wouldn't listen to Greg Williams or Blache, all the way up to the debacle with the Postons and his eventual release from the redskins. I just finished watching the carolina game again, and again, the same as most games this season, it's not just Orakpo getting caught by these misdirection plays. It's the entire team due to an over-aggressive defensive scheme. His rush defense is NOT as bad as many are making it out to be.

Not only that, but Orakpo could be put at DE just like Lavar and was more productive at it. Lavar was also a 4-3 OLB compared to Orakpo whom is a 3-4 OLB. The position is different as are the responsibilities. Orakpo is not nearly as hard-headed as Lavar was, and is definitely going to play more then 4 years, hell I'd even bet he'll be here longer then Lavar was. And you got a lot of nerve defending Lavar versus a "vindictive coach" after Lavar was publicly spating with the coaching staff and called Joe Gibbs a coward. I know you want to be right, but you are so f'n wrong right now, man.

Bro, anyway you slice it, Lavar was a better player. 4-3 LB, 3-4 LB, DE...he was better. He was a sideline to sideline player that struck fear into the heart of offenses. He forced fumbles, caught INTs, crushed RBs, and sacked QBs. In 2002, Lavar only rushed with reckless abandon on 3rd down (doing the math, that's 1/3 the amount of time Orakpo rushes the QB), and he got 11 sacks. The reason you never heard about Lavar being a liability as a DE was because he was exceptional against the run. He knew how to get off blocks and make plays, whether they were right at him, or away from him.

After all the foolishness Gregg Williams fed us about Lavar being injured, "if he doesn't play corner...", and "the coaches have to be able to trust him...", when he played vs Tampa in our playoff game, he had an INT return to the 6 yard line to set up our first score, the forced fumble that Sean Taylor returned for a TD, and 10 tackles. Who was the guy that knocked Shaun Alexander out of the game the next week vs. Seattle?

For all the crap Lewis said about Arrington being undisciplined, why did he want him in Cincinatti? Why did he and every other coach except Williams figure out how to use him?

You look at some of the most memorable plays made in the 2000's, and it's dominated by 2 people, #21 and #56. What memorable plays has Orakpo provided? Getting held vs Dallas?

[GO HAMSKINS]

When all of the Kerrigan hype started I said to my cousin " now watch some of these dumb ass fans will start to compare the two against each other" Just like I said...(SMH) it's happening now. That's one question I can never figure out why do fans always compare our own players against each other? F.Y.I Rakpo leads the team in sacks,and probably will lead the team the entire year.I hear some of the complaints about Rak's game , and I can honestly say I agree for the most part.My biggest issue with Rak is he gets pressure like any great you can name in the NFL,but BR just never seems to finish the play. Close but no cigar basically. He'll create pressure or even come clean but will never lay and arm on the QB,swat a ball, stripped the qb,and often times he'll just get flat out shook out of his shoes.Even if the QB's not a mobile QB.with that said IMO Rak is still one of the best defensive players we have,If not the best defensive players we have on our team.Kerrigan is nice and I can definitely see RK surpassing BR at some point in their careers,but as of right now IMO I would say Rak is the better player.I keep SMFH why can't we just enjoy two good YOUNG rushers? Why can't we be happy with having two of the best LB's in the NFL?

[Slateman]

When all of the Kerrigan hype started I said to my cousin " now watch some of these dumb ass fans will start to compare the two against each other" Just like I said...(SMH) it's happening now. That's one question I can never figure out why do fans always compare our own players against each other? F.Y.I Rakpo leads the team in sacks,and probably will lead the team the entire year.I hear some of the complaints about Rak's game , and I can honestly say I agree for the most part.My biggest issue with Rak is he gets pressure like any great you can name in the NFL,but BR just never seems to finish the play. Close but no cigar basically. He'll create pressure or even come clean but will never lay and arm on the QB,swat a ball, stripped the qb,and often times he'll just get flat out shook out of his shoes.Even if the QB's not a mobile QB.with that said IMO Rak is still one of the best defensive players we have,If not the best defensive players we have on our team.Kerrigan is nice and I can definitely see RK surpassing BR at some point in their careers,but as of right now IMO I would say Rak is the better player.I keep SMFH why can't we just enjoy two good YOUNG rushers? Why can't we be happy with having two of the best LB's in the NFL?

Because Orakpo isn't the best linebacker on the team, much less in the NFL.

He rushes the passer. That is it. Thats all he can do. Bull rush off the edge.

What we want, what we and the Redskins expected when they drafted him with the 13th pick, is a complete linebacker, a Shawne Merriman, Demarcus Ware, LaMarr Woodley or Terrel Suggs. What we're getting is a guy who can only rush the passer. Who in year three is still making the same mistakes he made in his rookie year. So, some of us, are disappointed. We expected improvement by now. You touched on it yourself when you said he doesn't finish plays. He doesn't strip the ball and he gets burned on a lot of running plays. And he shows no real desire or drive to do improve. He simply goes after the QB every play.

We could replace him rather easily with a second or third round pick, and simply play them only on passing downs. Like Cameron Wake. I'm glad we have him. I'm glad he is on the team. But don't blow him up more than what he is. He is replaceable.

Oh, and BTW, he's tied for sacks on the team with Carriker

[GO HAMSKINS]

Because Orakpo isn't the best linebacker on the team, much less in the NFL.

He rushes the passer. That is it. Thats all he can do. Bull rush off the edge.

What we want, what we and the Redskins expected when they drafted him with the 13th pick, is a complete linebacker, a Shawne Merriman, Demarcus Ware, LaMarr Woodley or Terrel Suggs. What we're getting is a guy who can only rush the passer. Who in year three is still making the same mistakes he made in his rookie year. So, some of us, are disappointed. We expected improvement by now. You touched on it yourself when you said he doesn't finish plays. He doesn't strip the ball and he gets burned on a lot of running plays. And he shows no real desire or drive to do improve. He simply goes after the QB every play.

We could replace him rather easily with a second or third round pick, and simply play them only on passing downs. Like Cameron Wake. I'm glad we have him. I'm glad he is on the team. But don't blow him up more than what he is. He is replaceable.

Oh, and BTW, he's tied for sacks on the team with Carriker

IMO I'll take Rak over Shawn anyday! Point Number two Ware isn't good at anything else but sacking the QB too! So is Jarred Allen, Freeney,Mathis,Osi, ect. He's a DE...Trade Woodley for Rakpo and we will see HA!..... smh