inmate running the asylum Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 One thing I have observed over the years in watching NFL football, is that if you are counting on DL help in the draft -- particularly pass rushing help -- you usually don't get instant results or gratification through the draft. By that I mean it usually takes a 2 to 3 year INVESTMENT for a pass rusher to develop and hone his skills further -- usually increasing his size and strength in the weight room -- before a rookie excells at pass rushing. Charles Mann and Dexter Manley were cases in point, although I think Dexter came around a little sooner then Mann, who took at least 3 years. There are of course some first year rookie phenoms and exceptions to this general rule, but you have to be either drafting very high in the first round or be really lucky. Jevon Kearse, Julius Peppers and Warren Sapp come to mind as exceptional 1st year pass rushers. This years draft which was the deepest draft in over 20 years for the DL, seems to bare this out again. Of all the rookie DL drafted, I think only Kevin Williams and Terrell Suggs are having a decent year rushing the QB and playing that well. The whole point of this thread is this: If the Skins hope to get DL help in the 2004 draft, they may still have to wait 2 or 3 years for those DL players drafted to blossom by 2006. But with the cap situation being the way it is, will the Skins be forced to tear the team apart and rebuild again, before any rookie DL develop? Therefore the way to go if we expect to reach the playoffs soon, is we may be forced to GAMBLE on NFL veterans at the DL positions, such as Jevon Kearse, Warren Sapp or Grant Wistrom..... and hope for the best. If you look at this years draft, how many of the DL below would have made that much difference and helped the Skins that much this year? Two out of 16? And Suggs is a situational pass rusher. And Suggs only has 6 sacks and Kevin Williams 5.5 sacks after 10 games, and you can forget about the other rookie defensive linemen this year. http://www.nfl.com/rookies/stats Round 1- (4) DT Dewayne Robertson (6) DT Johnathan Sullivan (9) DT Kevin Williams (10) DE Terrell Suggs (12) DT Jimmy Kennedy (13) DT Ty Warren (14) DE Michael Haynes (15) DE Jerome McDougle (18) DE Calvin Pace (25) DT William Joseph (32) DE Tyler Brayton Round 2 - (48) DE Chris Kelsay (56) DE Osi Umenyiora (57) DT Anthony Adams (59) DE Alonzo Jackson (64) DE DeWayne White Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishtw Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Gotta start somewhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Inmate, Your point is well taken and I agree, however..............we also have to look at what is available on the FA market. Personally, I don't know who else is available, but if the only guys out there are the ones you mentioned, we are hurting. I'm hoping that Grdner gets dumped by the Broncos and that we sign him and Russel. These guys will adress the current situation. Who knows? Both of those guys COULD, MIGHT hold down the center for quite a few years. But we have to start developing the DL for the long haul. We are the case study of how a good, or even very good, secondary and LBs corps, combined with a weak DL, is a plan for failure. This team is close to being a good team. We are NOT that far off. We are only a few plays away from being 6-4 or even 7-3. The offense will come together especially if we develop a running game, which I think we will. My biggest frustration has been that I think we could have been contending this whole time if we had just had a better D and I think the WHOLE problem with the D has been the D-line. But anyway.............you're right. I just hope the Broncos dump DG and we re-sign both him and Russel for the short term while we start developing the DL for the long term through the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inmate running the asylum Posted November 23, 2003 Author Share Posted November 23, 2003 fish, Here is what my research shows with respect to free agent DL available in 2004. It looks like slim pickins. Available DE's - Jevon Kearse (may be franchised by Tennessee) Grant Wistrom (not having a great pass rushing year) Eric Hicks (Ho hum... was better a couple years ago) Adewale Ogunleye (RFA - Miami wants him, doubtful we can pry him loose) Bert Berry (UFA - Denver plans on resigning him and he wants to stay) Available DT's - Darrell Russell (jury is still out on him on resigning him) Daryl Gardener (assuming he is cut, would he return?) Luther Ellis (probable cut - he is due to make $4+ million in 2004; cant see anyone paying that kind of money to him. Cornelius Griffin (drug conviction hanging over his head) Warren Sapp (assuming he is not franchised, we might have to gamble on him. Shaun Rogers (trade a #2 pick for him - assuming he is available) My thoughts on a possible option is this: Franchise Champ and then allow him to sign in Atlanta for two #1 picks (ideally), but more likely a #1 and #3 pick. Now we have two high #1 picks for the 2004 draft. Replace Champ by signing one of the following free agent CB's, hopefully at a cheaper price then for Champ. Available CB's - Bobby Taylor Troy Vincent (getting up in age) Shawn Springs (injury prone) Fernando Bryant (is he good enough?) Chris McAlister (doubtful he will be franchised two years in a row) Antoine Winfield (may be franchised by Buffalo) Charles Woodson (reportedly wants out of Oakland, but may be franchised and as expensive as Champ. Thoughts anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Could'a, Would'a, Should'a Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 i dont know, why not sign Wistrom & then draft Vince Wilfork with your no.1 One thing which will hurt you this offseason is the amount of probowl corners on the FA market. Charles Woodson Ty Law Shawn Springs Bobby Taylor Troy Vincent Antoine Winfield Chris Mcalister now if those guys are on the FA market who will trade a no.1 for Bailey & give up 18M sb when they could just grab one of those guys without giving up the pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inmate running the asylum Posted November 23, 2003 Author Share Posted November 23, 2003 Good point Richard Nixon, Ty Law may or may not be a free agent. My guess is that he will be asked to take a pay cut ....... forgot about him. But is Grant Wistrom the answer with only 3 sacks so far this year? Regan Upshaw will probably wind up with at least 3. And Vince Wilfork is an UNDECLARED junior... with rumors that he may return for his senior year at Miami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inmate running the asylum Posted November 23, 2003 Author Share Posted November 23, 2003 Here is my minimum wish list for 2004: Reportedly we are about $5 million under the cap for 2004; plus another $5 Mil when Bruce retires; plus another $5 Mil if Champ is let go. Thats $15 Mil to play with in free agency money. I think we should be able to sign at least three NAME free agents, such as C Damien Woody; DE Jevon Kearse; and CB Bobby Taylor.......... and maybe also get a decent veteran QB ON OFFENSE: - We are fairly well set with our present RB's, if we drop the friggin running back by committe approach. QB - Mark Brunell or Kelly Holcomb - sign as veteran backup QB, assuming we can get either at say $1 Mil per season. C - Damien Woody (sign as UFA) Cutting Larry Moore also saves another $1.3 Mil ON DEFENSE: - Upgrade DL and FS Franchise Champ and let him go to Atlanta for two #1's (ideally) or a #1 and #3 pick. RDE - Jevon Kearse (our big UFA acquisition) DT - Darrell Russell (resign him) DT - Vince Wilfork (use #1 pick on best available DT) DLE - Platoon Renaldo Wynn for runs and Regan Upshaw on passing downs CB - Bobby Taylor or Shawn Springs (sign as UFA) FS - Use one #1 pick on Sean Taylor (a Ronnie Lott clone - move Bowen to SS) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNorth Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 It will be tough to upgrade the DL this off season as the pickings are slim amongst FAs & the DL talent in the draft is overrated, especially at the the top. If I'm the FO, I do the following: 1) Resign Russell before he hits the open market, he is the best combo of youth & talent available. 2) Sign a Roabire Smith (Titans) type of player who is on the rise, but has not yet peaked. 3) Unless a top rated DL drops out of the top 15 wait until the 2nd or 3rd rd to address the DL as the difference between a 1st & 2nd DL in this draft is slight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsanity56 Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 if anyones asss is on the line this offseason it should be wynns'..cut him & take our loss before he hits the big bucks.. as for cb's,using your champ theory..i'd look at mcallister or winfield.both are good/aggressive against the run.taylor is good but old,unless we draft a stud cb again to groom with him,& springs is injured more than he's on the field.. i think bowens & ohalate have been our def. mvps so far this yr,so i'd give them time to gel.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hitman56 Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Not drafting D line for 10 years does not provide eventual results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 the Redskins are not going to win the Super Bowl in 2004, so drafting a DL or two at the top and getting merely solid performances out them while they are learning and growing to me IS a good return I personally think it is an extremely remote possibility we will be watching Steve Spurrier leading the Redskins to a title. If he were younger than 59 and were less set in his ways, perhaps he would have time to eventually come around, but it has already been almost 2 years and the Skins are as much of a mess offensively now as they were before he arrived. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeathByLinebacker Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Originally posted by inmate running the asylum There are of course some first year rookie phenoms and exceptions to this general rule, but you have to be either drafting very high in the first round or be really lucky. Jevon Kearse, Julius Peppers and Warren Sapp come to mind as exceptional 1st year pass rushers. Actually, Sapp only had 3 sacks as a rookie which just further reinforces your main point. http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/4214 If we could draft a guy who could just provide the production Minny is getting from Kevin Williams it would make us a better team though. He'll probably end up with 8-10 sacks which will be more than anyone on our team will have. We only have 14 sacks in 10 games! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins26 Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 I agree with inmate, D Line in this draft wont help us unless its Tommy Harris, and even he may not give us instant help. Resign Russell, and Dalton, Dalton is getting in shape and has played really well the past 2 weeks, i think we're seeing what he can do now that he's in shape. He is a good starter in the NFL, and we all know what Russel can do when he's in shape. So resign those too. Wynn and Upshaw can rotate at one end spot, and we can pick up one of these really good DE's in free agency. As far as the first round of the draft goes, I want Kevin Jones or Chris Perry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpfan Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 why is everybody so adamant about replacing iffy with taylor. our safeties have been fine. dont waste a #1 on a safety when we need dl or maybe rb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted November 23, 2003 Share Posted November 23, 2003 Replace Iffy? obviously not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNorth Posted November 24, 2003 Share Posted November 24, 2003 I don't think anyone wants to replace Iffy per se, but he is an UFA & Taylor is a helluva player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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