Welcome to the Redskins Bacarri Rambo

[Mahons21]

Don't disagree with your take on Rambo but Pugh and Doughty are far from locks considering how bad the unit was, they gotta show something or not get beat out, which would not be good either.

I think Doughty is an absolute lock.

-He came on really strong down the stretch last season

-He has knowledge of the system

-He's reliable, and while he may not be a ball hawk, he doesn't leave you out to dry much either

Pugh

-Your guess is as good as mine on him, I call him a lock because of how the coaches talk about him, the same way they've gushed about other players ie Paul.

Only time will tell, but for now Rambo is just another 6th rd draft pick, til he proves something.

[SWFLSkins]

I think Doughty is an absolute lock.

-He came on really strong down the stretch last season

-He has knowledge of the system

-He's reliable, and while he may not be a ball hawk, he doesn't leave you out to dry much either

Pugh

-Your guess is as good as mine on him, I call him a lock because of how the coaches talk about him, the same way they've gushed about other players ie Paul.

Only time will tell, but for now Rambo is just another 6th rd draft pick, til he proves something.

I can see why you feel that way, but I would not be surprised to see changes there despite anyone looking on way or the other last year. Last year's backfield was a disaster and Raheem is known for making changes at corner and safety to address a lack of performance.

[LD0506]

... but for now Rambo is just another 6th rd draft pick, til he proves something.

I sure hope Rambo sees it that way, I want to see the rooks bustin' their azzes to earn playing time.

The competition in camp ought to be crippling this year, Rambo vs Thomas to see who has to unseat a vet, life is good. I agree w/ SWFL, Raheem will toss a rook in to see what he can do, but he is working under Shanahan the Elder who demands that players earn their shot, so the dynamic there should be interesting.

[SonnyandSam]

I think Doughty is an absolute lock.

-He came on really strong down the stretch last season

-He has knowledge of the system

-He's reliable, and while he may not be a ball hawk, he doesn't leave you out to dry much either

Pugh

-Your guess is as good as mine on him, I call him a lock because of how the coaches talk about him, the same way they've gushed about other players ie Paul.

Only time will tell, but for now Rambo is just another 6th rd draft pick, til he proves something.

Agreed that Doughty is a lock. You left off your list that he is one of the most important teams players on the Redskins. His flexibility to play either safety position also is important. Gomes and Pugh are the odd men out this year.

[SWFLSkins]

I sure hope Rambo sees it that way, I want to see the rooks bustin' their azzes to earn playing time.

The competition in camp ought to be crippling this year, Rambo vs Thomas to see who has to unseat a vet, life is good. I agree w/ SWFL, Raheem will toss a rook in to see what he can do, but he is working under Shanahan the Elder who demands that players earn their shot, so the dynamic there should be interesting.

I also think that Shanahan is a performance numbers guy, and he can't like the review for the backfield last year. Now two things come to mind that affect that and we have discussed this in detail here on ES, that is the pass rush and Merriweather's health. So I think they may be reluctant to change, however if someone is performing well it will happen. I don't think they would hold back on promoting anyone showing potential on the field.

[Laxpunk2006]

Agreed that Doughty is a lock. You left off your list that he is one of the most important teams players on the Redskins. His flexibility to play either safety position also is important. Gomes and Pugh are the odd men out this year.

The loss of Lorenzo Alexander is going to make it easier for a guy like Doughty or Niles Paul to stick this year. Special teams is always undervalued by fans. As much as coaches love to have young guys in there you need a guy like Alexander or Doughty to consistently lift that unit.

[Commander Chaaarmnder]

The competition in camp ought to be crippling this year, Rambo vs Thomas to see who has to unseat a vet, life is good.

One of the most refreshing things about this coaching staff.... Every position is an open competition and the best man wins. Gone are the days of sticking with someone just because they are a vet and have played there for years.

[Mahons21]

I pretty much agree with your assessment. My biggest issue with him are hopefully coachable: tackling angles and consistency with tackling form, pusuit and approach.

I think some of the other weak areas you mention aren't as much an issue because of our scheme.

I wish he was more physical, but I don't expect that to change I think that is more or less innate.

I tend to believe that his tackling issues actually stem from his lack of physicality. While I could be wrong, many of the mistakes I see him make, I've also seen made by people who shy away from contact. I hope you're right and his issues are coachable, by I fear they're innate as physicality usually is.

But, I don't the FS in this scheme needs to be very physical. Maddie Williams wasn't physical and Tanard Jackson imo was even less physical. And if history is more of a barometer then the offseason rhetoric (i've heard non-stop talk about this scheme having interchangeable SAFs) but the SAF really don't interchange very often since Haslett has been here. Typically we have our FS play deep 1/3 and our SS play near the box. And I think Rambo fits very well as a deep 1/3 SAF in this scheme (provided he can handle the responsibility).

Haven't necessarily had the safeties to run an interchanging scheme.

Equivalent to us not running roll-outs/Traditional shannahan offense with Rex at the helm. Need the talent before you can run it. We'll see what happens this year, with a healthy Merriweather and hopefully an emerging young star.

I think the door is w i d e open for Rambo or Thomas to start at FS this year. For one we don't have a FS on this roster right now. And bar for performance is set very low: Maddie Williams. I actually wouldn't be surprised if a rookie starts very early this season, (by week 4). The reason why I say before week 4 instead of week 1 is because NFL coaches seems very hesitant to start rookies at FS and Rambo doesn't come in with a reputation for discipline.

I would be very surprised if Rambo doesn't make the team. I don't view him as a typical 6th round pick because of how thin we are at FS and because of the extraordinary depth in this SAF draft class.

I think Thomas will be starting at FS week 1.

The same argument you're making for him not being a typical 6th round pick can be used for plenty of other 6th round picks. Not saying I expect him to be PS'd, but I wouldn't be surprised, because after all he is a 6th round draft pick.

[KCClybun]

Yeah, we've never had sixth round draft picks start for us before...

[DC9]

Yeah, we've never had sixth round draft picks start for us before...

Shanny's last 6th rounder from Georgia turned out okay, too.

[SpacePenguin]

So, we're to discount draft position except when it works in Rambo's favor.

Thanks, got it.

(May as well disregard draft status entirely, though. Whoever wins the job on merit will start, even if it's Pugh, Doughty or Gomes. Shanny won't care when people are complaining about Rambo or Thomas not starting, and it's a very good thing that he won't.)

[KCClybun]

So, we're to discount draft position except when it works in Rambo's favor.

Thanks, got it.

(May as well disregard draft status entirely, though. Whoever wins the job on merit will start, even if it's Pugh, Doughty or Gomes. Shanny won't care when people are complaining about Rambo or Thomas not starting, and it's a very good thing that he won't.)

I'm not disregarding draft position. I'm saying counting him out because he was drafted in the 6th round is a bad bet.

Mike won't put a guy out there that's not ready to play. But on the same token, if he DOES feel Rambo can start or play spot duty, he's not gonna say "Oh, but he was a sixth round draft pick, I dunno." Coaches (or at least good ones) don't think that way.

[HapHaszard]

I just posted an article on Rambo in the breaking news section, CBS Wash article - Redskins Gamble on Rambo Despite Their Own Substance Abuse Problems

[SpacePenguin]

I'm not disregarding draft position. I'm saying counting him out because he was drafted in the 6th round is a bad bet.

While I agree that draft position shouldn't rule a player out, betting on a 6th rounder to start seems a worse bet.

Then again, I'm not betting either way ;p

The draft is a crapshoot to the professionals, so of course from a fan's perspective, a good bet is hard to find.

[Mr. Sinister]

Drafting a guy in the 6th round is a gamble? You learn something new everyday...

[SpacePenguin]

Drafting a guy in the 6th round is a gamble? You learn something new everyday...

Meh...It's Elfin. If there's no story there, you have to generate one somehow, as well as interest in said non-story.

All I took from the article is one line from Rambo that amused me.

"I'm just a regular, cool guy."

I'm guessing the Elf asked a rather accusatory question.

[98ORAKPO98]

Bacarri Rambo is our new Ed Reed and Phillip Thomas is our new Troy Polamalu!

 

http://college-football.si.com/2012/10/31/fresno-state-phillip-thomas-profiles-in-profiteroles/

 

“This 3-4 defense that we run, we learned it from Dick LeBeau and the Steelers, and Phillip’s our Troy Polamalu,” DeRuyter told SI.com. “Where you’ve gotta have a guy who’s gonna be a difference-maker, you can blitz him, you can have him in pass coverage, you can have him as a run-force player, he can play man coverage and he can disguise everything? That guy, for us, is Phillip.”

 

http://httr4life.com/phillip-thomas-talks-to-media/

 

 

Phillip Thomas is a life-long Redskins fan, when asked who his favorite player was he replied, “Sean Taylor.”

“To watch him play the game as aggressive as he was and as great a player as he was…” Thomas said. “He studied film and did everything he had to do and was a perfectionist at the game.”

 

http://jacksonville.com/sports/college/georgia-bulldogs/2012-11-08/story/bulldogs-bacarri-rambo-welcomes-comparison-his-role

 

Bacarri Rambo has a knack for swarming to the ball.

So does his favorite player, Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed. Teammates and coaches have said that Rambo reminds them most of Reed when asked to compare the Georgia safety to an NFL player. And that’s without the eight-time Pro Bowler’s name even mentioned in the question.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, though. Rambo said that he’s followed Reed’s career since he was a child and tries to emulate the future Hall of Famer every Saturday.

“I watch his highlight film a lot to see how he does things,” Rambo said. “I feel like he’s more of a ball hawk and that’s what I try to suit myself as. If it comes down to making a big hit, he’s going to make the big hit. I try to do that, too, but now I’d rather just catch interceptions.”

http://fanspeak.com/nfldraft/2013/04/28/bacarri-rambo-senior-bowl-interview/

 

I used to look up to Sean Taylor. Rest in peace to a great man, he was a great player. I really respected him, and I looked up to him. But right now, I’d say Ed Reed. I just like his playing style. I just try to do certain things like him, like reading the quarterback and just playing certain types of coverages. And just having that knack for the ball.

 

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-05-05/sports/39048114_1_washington-redskins-alfred-morris-trent-williams

 

“I feel like I can get there [to the football] and create turnovers,” Rambo said after practice. “I want to be the greatest at my position.”

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MctoYvSX68 Phillip Thomas

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMt4Y9Nt5bA Bacarri Rambo

 

[Mahons21]

DG did you ever see my last post on this topic?

 

Re: Bad Bama game

-He's going to be facing RB's that good week in and week out, it's not like Lacy is going to set the NFL a blaze.  Rambo played poorly v Lacy and if he plays that way v NFL RBs, he's not going to be a starter without making up for it in another area of his game dramatically

-As another poster has already pointed out, Teo's fall from grace was also in part due to his poor game v Bama so it does have some impact.  With that being said Teo didn't play in the SEC, so his one game v Bama could potentially carry more weight.

 

Rambo simply doesn't look like a guy who likes contact to me, and his technique shows it, or in DG's opinion his play shows a lack of technique that can be coached, which is what we're all hoping for.

 

In the end though, this guy fell to the sixth for reasons, both on and off the field so my expectations for him will remain low, as they are for all sixth round draft picks.

[KCClybun]

Rambo did not have a bad game versus Alabama. I thought we covered this earlier in the thread.

 

And like you said, the tape versus Alabama is not bad tape. People say he doesn't look physical mainly because he didn't stone the best running back in the country. We had the same talk in the draft day thread; he did what he was supposed to. Rambo's not dumb. he's not going to bring him down single-handidly bringing down Eddie Lacy. So he does what you're supposed to; wrap him up, and wait for your teammates to rally to the football to help you. I could see people complaining about his physicality if Lacy was dragging him ten yards down the field, but that didn't happen.

I mean, the dude damn near outjumped a receiver and nearly stripped a ball, he smacked a guy forcing an incompletion, assisted in a couple of coverage sacks, smacked Cooper after two teammates missed him, had a touchdown saving solo tackle on T.J Yeldon, forced Lacy out of bounds on what was likely another TD saving play if not a long run after his teammates couldn't bottle him up, had another solo tackle on Yeldon that stopped a TD on a play in which he was on the complete opposite side of the play. He wasn't perfect, he got looked off a couple times, but by no means is the Alabama tape so wretched that people can continue using it to say Rambo won't start.

 

When ya save three touchdown runs against two of the best backs in the country, against the best team in the country, that's not a bad game.

 

 

Manti didn't fall because of the Bama game, or at least not completely apart of it. The fact of the matter was that Manti was massively overhyped to begin with. He ended up getting drafted probably where his real value was the whole time. I thought he'd be a mid-first round pick to early second rounder, and that's pretty much what he was. But teams has 30+ games in which to watch the kid.

 

If you drop Manti down a round for playing bad against Alabama, you had damn well better drop just about every other player that faced Alabama down a round. You can count the number of teams that play well against Alabama on one hand, and even then you probably wouldn't use all your fingers.

 

 

But when it comes to Rambo, he didn't have a bad game. He didn't stone Eddie Lacy or Yeldon, but he would've gotten trucked if he tried.

 

At the end of the day, he had one job; slow them down, and get them on the ground. He did that. The sooner people realize that safety play is about more than hitting dudes hard, the better.

[RG3Hunna]

Rambo did not have a bad game versus Alabama. I thought we covered this earlier in the thread.

 

 

 

When ya save three touchdown runs against two of the best backs in the country, against the best team in the country, that's not a bad game.

 

 

Manti didn't fall because of the Bama game, or at least not completely apart of it. The fact of the matter was that Manti was massively overhyped to begin with. He ended up getting drafted probably where his real value was the whole time. I thought he'd be a mid-first round pick to early second rounder, and that's pretty much what he was. But teams has 30+ games in which to watch the kid.

 

If you drop Manti down a round for playing bad against Alabama, you had damn well better drop just about every other player that faced Alabama down a round. You can count the number of teams that play well against Alabama on one hand, and even then you probably wouldn't use all your fingers.

 

 

But when it comes to Rambo, he didn't have a bad game. He didn't stone Eddie Lacy or Yeldon, but he would've gotten trucked if he tried.

 

At the end of the day, he had one job; slow them down, and get them on the ground. He did that. The sooner people realize that safety play is about more than hitting dudes hard, the better.

 

Well Said!!!

[TheGreek1973]

people that are bringing up the Bama game are missing the point.  Alabama was an incredible college team, really no other college team was even close.  And before someone says well in the NFL overall every team is better than Alabama they forget this is a TEAM sport.  in other words the 10 guys on D around Rambo will be much better than his college teammates.  You don't think that makes a huge difference?  It does, he doesn't have to be the stud, only to play decently in his responsibilities.  

 

Better said Morris was drafted in the 6th round because his college team went 1-10 his last year.  Hell anyone can tell me if Morris runs more than 20 years if Florida Atlantic had to play Alabama?  

 

What Rambo and Thomas have is ball skills.  You can't coach that as much as you can coach other things like position, better tacking angles etc.  These two kids are going to be at the least solid, at the most will blow people away.

[darrelgreenie]

Bama's OL was on par or better then many NFL teams.

The difference is that NFL OLs are facing NFL DLs. But Bama had an NFL OL facing college DLs.

I hope we are savvy/objective enough football fans to see the quality of Bama's OL.

 

They had 2 first round picks (Warmack and Fluker) + a 4th round pick (Jones) who just happened to win both the Remington and the Outland trophy.

 

Eddie Lacy often wasn't touched until 5-10 yards downfield, (off topic but I think Eddie Lacy is way over rated because of the dominance of Bama's OL).

[Mahons21]

Of course I understand the dominance of Bama's o-line DG.  Doesn't change the fact that Rambo showed extremely poor tackling technique in the game, tackling high, not wrapping up etc.  Bama's o-line had no impact on that, and we should be objective/savvy enough to recognize that.

 

IIRC he also made a few mistakes with his angles as he tends to do.

 

No one is blaming him for Eddie Lacy having a good game, I am saying I would have liked to see Rambo himself (not Georgia) play slightly better v the best competition.

 

It's not as if anyone is bashing him because he couldn't stack and shed v their o-line.

 

 

How anyone can watch this cliip and come away with the notion that Rambo didn't play poorly that game is beyond me.

 

 

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/college_player_scouting_report.html&player=36538

 

"The more I watched, the more I was reminded of Madieu Williams who has been a solid safety in the NFL"

[darrelgreenie]

Of course I understand the dominance of Bama's o-line DG...............................................Bama's o-line had no impact on that, and we should be objective/savvy enough to recognize that...

I'm not sure why you thought I was addressing you, or your thoughts on Rambo. (i would have responded/quoted you if I was)

I was making a point of fact about Bama's OL and that point stands, their OL was a dominant in college.

If anything it was a reference to the arguments I heard about Te'o time and time again that I never got a chance to respond to (although I don't even like Te'o)

 

But, I do want to continue our discussion about Rambo, just haven't had the time to respond in detail and I and don't want to do a drive by.

[98ORAKPO98]

Rambo is going to be a superstar safety in a couple of years.