Back with another edition of Redskins round table. TWith week 2 of the preseason now in the books, what positive and negative thoughts do you have on the team so far, and what types of things do you want to see out of the Redskins before this preseason is over?
I'm starting to be more cautiously optimistic about this team and their chances within the NFC East. The offense has looked in rhythm and the defense has looked solid. With that being said my biggest concern at this point is the offenses inability (especially first teamers) not being able to score touchdowns. This has been a continual problem through the years and I hope it is more of a product of keeping regular season play calling close to our vest at this point. Also as good as the defense looked on Friday, we have to remember it was essentially the Colts B team for the whole game; I look forward to them going against the Ravens who will test them not only in running game but also with spreading the field with new addition Lee Evans.
I understand the need to not open up the playbook too much in the preseason, but this week I'd really like to see some shots downfield and see guys like Niles Paul and Aldrick Robinson a chance to display their speed. Also I'd like to see how John Beck and Rex can handle the deep ball. I hope whoever the starting QB is that they are given the opportunity to get in rhythm and play the full three quarters with the starters; I don't want to see a situation where Shanny is switching back and forth. It would also really interest me to see Leonard Hankerson battle it out with a fellow rookie, Jimmy Smith. I think it would be a good test for both and I'd like to see guys like Moss and Hightower rest at this point.
Ken
I couldn’t be happier about the lack of any major drama surrounding our players. Judging by the apparent chemistry up and down our roster, we seem to have benefitted greatly by the subtraction of McNabb and Haynesworth. The targeting of high character players with strong work ethics has seemed to pay off and it feels like these guys have really embraced their no-name, blue collar identity in camp. As for negatives, I sure wish Landry and Atogwe were on the field in these games. We need them to start getting in sync on the field between the whistles. Overall, I have no real "negative thoughts." I like the direction Mike Shanahan has us pointed in and I am confident we are building something the right way—as opposed to the quick fixes and patch jobs our front office has tried in the past.Before the preseason is over, I would like to see Leonard Hankerson make at least one or two major strides in his development. I worry that once the regular season starts, his on-field time will be rather limited and the important practice reps will be reserved for those higher on the depth chart than him. These next couple weeks are huge for Hank the Tank—and the future of our offense.
It's really hard to find negatives with this team given the expectations going in. The lack of depth at safety and corner are concerning, and obviously the O-Line consists of 3/5th backups, but things are looking good. Regarding the rest of the pre-season, I'd like to see the Redskins tested better. The Colts were a joke, so now that we get at least a full half against the Ravens starters makes me happy. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed vs John Beck? Yes please. Haloti Ngata vs Kory Lichtensteiger? Terrence Cody vs Will Montgomery. Terrell Suggs vs Trent Williams. It's going to be fun to watch (hopefully).
Many positives have surrounded this team so far into this preseason. The Redskins for the first time in a long time, now have the focus of a real team and have direction, the running game is budding at this point as it does not matter which back that gets plugged in. The offensive and defensive lines are vastly improved this year over last and they look to control the line of scrimmage this year. The biggest positive for me is the fact that the Redskins no longer have the media "circus" in town any longer.
While there are not many negatives to see at this point, I would say that the injuries they have in the secondary have showcased the weak backups that are available. I would also say that even though it is preseason, they seem to have a little issue in the red zone so far this year and that is a negative that I hope they turn around as the thought of depending on Graham Gano is not very inviting.
Before the preseason is over I would like to see Laron Landry, Otagwe and Josh Wilson get some more reps to find out just how they play in the system. Improved play from Leonard Hankerson is also at the top of the "I want to see" list as well; I believe he will be just fine with a little time to develop.
Positive thoughts: The defensive front seven has been vastly improved and should do a very good job at both generating pressure and stopping the run. The running backs have all been a pleasant surprise, which is saying something since both of our top two returning backs haven't been part of the discussion. Also the wide receiver corps looks a lot stronger and deeper than last season. While they aren't elite they are a solid group with a good balance of veterans and young talent with potential. Finally, whether they came from the draft, free agency or via trades, the majority of the Redskins additions have looked good so far.
Negative thoughts: Although it looks to be improved, the offensive line is still probably the weakest link on this team. They have been strong against the run so far, but have struggled some against the pass rush. While that doesn't sound too bad, they have yet to face a full strength starting defense for an extended period of time. The defensive backfield should be a strength but injuries and depth issues have left it a major red flag. At full strength it should be among the top half of the league, but until they are all healthy it is hard to anoint them as a quality unit.
As for the rest of the preseason I'd like to see a couple things happen. First I want to see the rookies (and other young players) get even more opportunities, especially the receivers as they have a tough position battle going. Next I'd like to see more consistency out of the offensive line, and not just the starting unit. Third, I'd like to see what our healthy first team defense looks like on the field, so hopefully they will be ready for week one. Finally, I'd like to see the Redskins get aggressive in waiver wire pickups. Although the Skins may have some tough cuts of their own, they shouldn't completely write off finding additional talent on the waiver wire. While there will be some intriguing veteran names, I'd focus on rookies and young players. Given the shortened offseason, it is very likely that some additional draft picks and priority undrafted free agents will get cut despite having the talent to make it in the NFL. The Redskins should be active in this area and hopefully pick up a young player or two that could have a future with this team.
0 recs | 55 comments
Kool-Aid levels at an all time high.
iH8dallas - August 23, 2011
haha that is saying something
Steve Shoup - August 23, 2011
My biggest concern
Is when is ATLredskin going to start a fight with all of you guys…
SucHerPunch - August 23, 2011
they did a good job...
not going to say they perfected the roundtable discussions, but this is their best one yet. I started to tear up reading Steve discussion…
ATLredskin - August 23, 2011
EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!!!
jbh1190 - August 23, 2011
wondered when it would get mentioned
OMG FREAK OUT
willster - August 23, 2011
Ha ha
Apparently somebody at Skins park said “Albert?”
CJHutch - August 23, 2011
I won't lie
I’m in Northern VA, and that really freaked me out. I’ve never felt one before, and I thought my whole office building was coming down.
Woo. I am glad that’s over.
preppiejack - August 23, 2011
It freaked me out too
and my dog ran away. Finally found her after 4 hours.
Jim America - August 23, 2011
glad your dogs alright man
travisjh86 - August 24, 2011
let me share...
1. Parks, I agree with the deep passes. Enough talk of Beck’s 70 yds. pass on video. I want to see if he can complete a deep pass. I was a little envious watching David Carr through a pass into the back corner of the endzone for a TD. We should be, at least, attempting routes like this; let’s see Hank go up and get it.
2. No mention of Hightower. WOW!! He is,in my humble opinion, going to be our best acquisition from the offseason. He is going to make the offense exciting.
3. Steve, I disagree with playing rookies , “giving them more opportunities”. What, do you want to showcase the talent of these guys who may end up on the PS. I don’t want any other team to know if they have untapped talent. Those who we will be keeping, we should keep it on the down-low, as much as possible.
jgibbsfan1 - August 23, 2011
Kinda hard for guys like Paul, White and Royster to earn spots if we don't play them
As for the rest Thompson, Hurt, Gomes and Neild all have real shots of making the roster, and they need PT to determine that.
I wouldn’t put much concern into worrying about other teams sneaking in and getting them if we cut them. If they play well enough for another team to want them then we should want them. We aren’t deep enough at any position to cut cheap, talented players.
Steve Shoup - August 23, 2011
Other teams raid the Redskins practice squad
and the Redskins raid other teams practice squad. Not every player fits every team ay every moment in time. Redskins have a history of eventually getting their guy if they miss him the first time around.
hambonejackson - August 23, 2011
yes, but we won't know if they are a fit unless we play them
Steve Shoup - August 23, 2011
I am not suggesting...
not playing them. I am just suggesting using dicretion. I’m sure the Shanny’s know who is making the team and those who are PS eligible and those they are done with.
Guys I would want to be on our team in the future, but may be placed on the PS, and I don’t want to lose are – Willie Smith, Thaddeus Gibson, Reggie Jones, Chris Neild, Dejon Gomes.
jgibbsfan1 - August 23, 2011
Eight days ago Rick Tandler wrote "43 players competing for eight jobs." The Skins need to play their rookies in order to
give them a chance to show their talents in game situations. How can they evaluate these eight plus 8 practice squad players (some duplication likely) if they don’t see them on the field. The 33 locks were in Tandler’s previous article. Tandler, like everyone else, may be off about three or four players.
“If you add these 12 players to the 33 locks, it appears that 45 roster spots are virtually secured. With the roster at 88, including the two players on the PUP list and not counting RB James Davis, who is expected to be released after leaving camp without permission on Monday, that means that means that you have 43 players competing for eight jobs.” Redskins roster—the probables –
http://www.realredskins.com/rich-tandlers-real-redsk/2011/08/redskins-roster-the-probables.html
Jefferson1935 - August 23, 2011
what the hell is this...
its my job to criticize them plus you did a horrible job at criticizing them…
1. Carr TD pass was not a deep one…it was a jumpball pass. I hate that route in the endzone BTW. It probably has the same success percentage as the onside kick…
2. They didn’t have to be specific…most of them said the running game was a positive so that count in my book
3. You are taking a page out of Gruden book when he said something like that during the Packers-Colts preseason game last year…if they are on the practice squad then we really don’t care about them especially if a late round WR, RB, or OL is on the practice squad we can easily replace them the next year in the draft….
ATLredskin - August 23, 2011
If Beck produces the exact same results as last week I will be ECSTATIC
And so would 99% of Redskins Nation.
4 Drives and 4 Scores.
jmpalomo - August 23, 2011
No one should be ecstatic until we start scoring touchdowns.
Parks Smith - August 23, 2011
The name of the game is to score more than the opposition
We outscored both 1st team units of Pittsburgh and Indianapolis when both First Teams were on the field.
I think it is nit picking Beck, especially when Shanahan specifically said Indianapolis gave the Redskins nothing deep because of their coverage.
Would you rather him force something deep? That would be crazy and looking to turnover the ball.
Beck took what the defense gave him and marched down the field every time. Now that’s playing Quarterback at an extremely high level.
jmpalomo - August 23, 2011
Shanahan's Interview said if Beck threw deep "it would be intercepted."
So if you are concerened about Beck not throwing the deep ball last week, there was a reason, and it was a good one. Just ask Coach Shanahan.
Instead, Beck ran the offense flawlessly to the tune of a 16-0 lead when he left the game.
jmpalomo - August 23, 2011
You know you can score by running, throwing short, etc. It doesn't have to be bombs.
If it was halftime of a real game I’d feel more comfortable being up by more than two scores. And do you really think if Peyton Manning and the full starting corps for the Colts were playing that we’d be up 16-0?
Parks Smith - August 23, 2011
Here, have some kool-aid
If manning had been playing, he would have thrown 3 Int’s in the first half. He’s been hanging out with Eli and caught the turnover bug from him!
ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - August 23, 2011
huh?
The steelers didn’t come to play first game, did you happen to see what they did to the shegles last week? They wanted to prove a point because philly with all their new moves and hype are considered a powerhouse this year. And to seriously brag about scoring more points against Indi without manning, wade, Collie and Gonzales and a team that absolutely doesn’t care about pre-season winning 4 games out of the past 25 means nothing. It was a glorifed scrimmage. What was scary about the game is how terrible our interior offensive line is, not to mention Williams looked like a scared child going up against freeney and couldn’t even stop Joe Chick. Our red zone offensive is atrocious. You think always having to rely on fgs will win us games? The regular season is going to snap you out of this. We’ll see how we do against the ravens who aren’t going to lay down during the 3rd pre-season game.
Skinsfan3643 - August 24, 2011
Agreed fully
On a side note during the quake. I was in the middle of a concussion baseline test (very time consuming and very hard) so now i have to retake it..
SpartanFS47 - August 23, 2011 via mobile
First step is to get more chances in the Red Zone.
Ultada - August 23, 2011
starting O has two touchdowns in 4 qtrs of play
while using a vanilla playbook. i think we need to relax on the TD thing. Yes, it would be excellent to score 6 Tds in 4 qtrs, but the good thing is its PRESEASON! We will continue to improve and as far as I’m concerned, its so far so good!
If we maintained our exact averages thus far thorugh the regular season, thats 2 TDs per game plus something like 6 field goals a game. 14 + 18 = 32 pts……just sayin
SkinsaneAsylum - August 23, 2011
Exactly
we should be ECSTATIC that we’ve been in the RZ 9 times in 4 quarters, compared to 2.6 times in 4 quarters on average last season.
TheDeepBall - August 23, 2011
Umm you know teams generally make adjustments at halftime right?
If everyone is throwing around BS stats then notice that despite having the best offensive numbers in the league thus far the Redskins are 17th in scoring.
And if :
Then over half the league is scoring more than us.
Parks Smith - August 23, 2011
I'm not trying to overreact but you wouldn't feel a little more comfortable seeing our team score in the RZ?
Especially with the type of year our kicker had last year?
Parks Smith - August 23, 2011
absolutely
but first off, we are scoring (unless shayne graham is kicking). i am comfortable seeing us get into the RZ and come away with points. i just think that at this point, we dont need to worry too much about it. If we are at the bye and RZ TDs are lacking, then i will join you in your concern.
Also, 17th in RZ scoring wouldnt be the end of the world, would it?
SkinsaneAsylum - August 23, 2011
That's 17th in scoring not RZ scoring
Parks Smith - August 23, 2011
Except you're looking at numbers that include the second half in your analysis.
and the Redskins have only been scoring when the starters are on the field.
Even if you want to make the half time adjustments point, we still visited the RZ 4 times in one half against the Colts and 5 times against the Steelers.
The Patriots visited the red zone 4.2 times per game on average last season, which was the highest in the league. So in just the first half of both games we’ve put ourselves in the top 2 or even number one spot in Red Zone visits.
TheDeepBall - August 23, 2011
umm you know offenses make counter adjustments right?
my point was that its PRESEASON and you are nit picking a positive trend, which is getting into the RZ and coming away with points. Just as the #1 O and #1 D rankings mean squat, so does the fact we are 17th in scoring during the preseason.
But please, continue to term my comments as “BS”. It is much appreciated.
SkinsaneAsylum - August 23, 2011
I'm not nitpicking at all, scoring in the RZ has been a problem for the past 10 years.
Personally it’s disheartening to see the team get into the RZ and not get the job done.
Parks Smith - August 23, 2011
I agree with you
that this is an area for improvement, im just ot ready to hit the panic button just yet. Still too early and I like what I am seeing. Especially since not many people thought we would be stringing together two first downs, let alone 5 or 6 in one series and marching from the shadows of our own goal posts into the opponets RZ
SkinsaneAsylum - August 23, 2011
Like I've been saying
We only had 43 trips to the RZ all season last year (between 2.6 and 2.7 per game). Now we have 9 visits in 4 quarters. That is an incredible amount of improvement.
TheDeepBall - August 23, 2011
Its the preseason how can we mark this as improvement?
Our scoring production and RZ production is near identical to preseason last year.
Parks Smith - August 23, 2011
RZ production
or RZ scoring attempts? Because I don’t think we’ve ever visited the RZ this many times in 4 quarters of play. You probably couldn’t even take 4 individual quarters from any of the games we played last season and have them equal 9 RZ attempts.
TheDeepBall - August 23, 2011
Read this
http://www.realredskins.com/rich-tandlers-real-redsk/2011/08/redskins-red-zone-woes-not-the-same-old-story.html
ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - August 23, 2011
I would just like to score TDs rather then depend on 40 yard field goals. Is that too much to ask?
And why do I need to read that when you quoted it, haha…
Parks Smith - August 23, 2011
I'd love TD's
Just pointing out that the 4-12 Snyderatto Zornskins were 7th in the league in Red Zone efficiency.
ThrowItDownBigManThrowItDown - August 23, 2011
Well that's not hard when you only get into the RZ twice a year.
Parks Smith - August 23, 2011
moving the ball 70 yards is what matters.
them long drives really wear out defences. so if we have four quarters of that will will win games touchdowns or not. but im sure the tds will come
munson21502 - August 24, 2011
Some concerns I have
Just how bad is Cooley’s knee? Rex still concerns me also that pick he threw the other night showed me he was the same Rex we knew, that guy was sitting on the route so how did Rex not see him? Also with hightower in beast mode are we really going to replace him with a cold torian?
Ryan Schaffer - August 23, 2011
Rex said yesterday....
straight up he couldn’t see the guy around his lineman. True quality QBs know/sense that guys there. Mistakes happen though and I have seen some of the greats throw some stupid picks. (not sticking up for Rex….not a fan)
shvd98z24 - August 23, 2011
like i said the other night. rex is a turn over machine when people get in his face or ruffs him up
. thats what i like about beck. he got sacked 3 times and he didnt miss a beat really.
munson21502 - August 24, 2011
That's what practices are for
The exhibition games are fine and show a lot, however, there are ?5? practices for every ex game……and I have to believe that those practice results will be more meaningful in who starts and who goes deep and catches (or tries to catch) the football, and what is done in the Red Zone.
If, playing Devils’ Advocate again, the practices don’t have that much importance, we for sure need a new Head Coach and Coaching staff.
Dipper - August 23, 2011
Shanahan is a big believer in how a player performs in practice
I think that is a big reason Kelly has been with the team for 3 years. it sure can’t be what he is doing in games. He must have some great practices.
hambonejackson - August 23, 2011
McNabb wasn't a great "Practice Player"
and look what Shanny did to him
SkinsaneAsylum - August 23, 2011
Took the last one off, but back for another one...
Parks(7.5) – need to see Grossman deep ball??? There is plenty of youtube clips on that…
Ken(8.7) – good answer
Kevin(8.0) – too short, but good answer
HTTR4Life(9.0) – good answer
Steve(10) – you are awarded the most improved poster on HH…first you get a good new series on HH and you post a perfect post in the roundtable…
Everyone did a great job on this roundtable…you guys can thank me for finding the weaknesses in your past roundtables and correcting them…
ATLredskin - August 23, 2011
He we come Ravens
A great test to show the teams real ability. It will be tough but if they play a good game against them on both sides of the ball I will be really happy with the teams improvement.
The Red End - August 23, 2011
Here
The Red End - August 23, 2011
we are flying high so far
its gonna suck to get shot down by a bird lol
munson21502 - August 24, 2011
The long ball.....
I guess we will find out 9/11. The Giants secondary is a mash unit, if Shanny doesn’t challenge that, then we will know how he feels.
MagicHat - August 24, 2011
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