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Was Jabar Gaffney the Redskins biggest asset on offense this year?
Clearly the weakest link for the Redskins this year was the inept offense, which ranked twenty sixth in the league in points and sixteenth in the league in yards. But beyond the horrendous quarterback play and a spotty offensive line the unit did show some glimmers of hope and some positive signs for the future. The question is, who is deserving of being labeled the Skins offensive MVP for 2011?
Jabar Gaffney: Mike Shanahan made a late offseason trade in obtaining Gaffney from the Broncos for defensive lineman Jeremy Jarmon (who was later cut by Denver). All Gaffney did was have a career year with nearly 950 yards and five touchdowns, leading all Redskins receivers.
Other Candidates after the jump:
Fred Davis: Davis was on his way to a phenomenal season before getting suspended for substance abuse. He led all Redskins receivers in yards per game with 66 and had nearly 800 yards and three touchdowns. Davis finished the year playing 12 games, with a full 16 game season he likely would have eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving.
Santana Moss: Moss had a down year by his standards, mainly due to injury. In twelve games the veteran had nearly 600 yards and registered four touchdowns. With a full season Moss likely would have challenged Gaffney as the team's leading receiver.
Roy Helu: Helu played in 15 games and started in five. He ended up with 1,019 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns on the year. He accounted for nearly 70 yards per game of the Redskins offense, which is second behind Tim Hightower who averaged 79 yards per game before his injury.
Will Montgomery: Montgomery was versatile and one of only two Redskins offensive lineman who started all 16 games (Chris Chester was the other). He helped to add some semblance of structure in a dark time for the Skins o-line, filled with injuries and drug abuse.
My Pick: Jabar Gaffney was the most solid player throughout the whole year, including the preseason. He was a tremendous asset for a sub-par quarterback and helped act as the glue for the Skins offense in a year where it was hard to do so.
0 recs | 40 comments
no way i could vote for jabar
i had to pick him up on my fantasy team for a week. he got 0 points:( the next week my normal was was back and i played him and gaffney got 16 points lol….. sorry gaffney but if rex goes i think your gone too
munson21502 - January 10, 2012
So gaffney isn't the MVP
Because you suck at ff? Haha jk I had gaffney as a starter in one league
believe_the_curse - January 10, 2012 via mobile
i thinks gafney was the most consistent
and clutch reciever this year. but i also think if darrl young was on the list i would have picked him
taylor21 - January 10, 2012
yea, i'm a fan of young
he made some good plays for us all year whether blocking, running, or receiving…but I’m not sure his role in the offense was large enough to warrant MVP status
atark001 - January 10, 2012
I thought about Young and considered putting him on the list. Like an OL it is hard to put his impact in a quantitative form.
171 yards and 1 TD isn’t go to impress the average person haha. But he did have a tremendous impact for the Skins this year and it finally looks like Sellers days are over.
Parks Smith - January 10, 2012
Offensive lineman are hard to judge because unless they are supremely dominant you haev to go back and rewatch game tape to evaluate them.
Usually you are watching the guy with the ball.
tw10 - January 10, 2012
hard decision
but I narrowly chose Montgomery over helu and gaffney, not necessarily because of his talent, but more so because of his leadership…having to make all the line adjustments and pre snap reads while having a rookie guard on one side of you and a new arrival on the other side…and then not to mention a rookie playing at LT and a journey man at right tackle, by the end of the year the line seemed to be more cohesive and on the same page, and while I can’t say for sure, I think he played a role in that
gaffney was definitely the most consistent offensive player at the skill positions, and helu just didn’t have enough contribution over the entirety of the season for me to give him the vote (if davis wasn’t suspended I think he would have been the MVP hands down, but that suspension disqualified him in my book)
atark001 - January 10, 2012
Great points, this is also why I don't think Shanny is in search for another center.
To be honest, I’m not sure if we take any linemen high (sigh). Hopefully Shanny’s hand on experience at the Senior Bowl will help sway him otherwise.
Parks Smith - January 10, 2012
yea, I get that same feeling...probably draft a few in the later rounds for depth purposes
I think the monitoring Jamal Brown’s offseason will have an impact on whether or not they pick a tackle high in the draft, but either way there will be some major competition brought into camp for that RT position I believe.
atark001 - January 10, 2012
This Sux, this is like asking which fat chick in the room is the hottest
Floppy P Key - January 10, 2012
I go Gaffney all the way
With Will Montgomery at a close second.
Ronnie Adkins - January 10, 2012
my phone
Won’t let me vote. But I wanted to vote other, because John Beck wasn’t one of the choices. Frankly, I don’t understand why. Clearly he made the biggest difference on our offense this year.
CJHutch - January 10, 2012 via mobile
I'm glad your phone doesn't allow you to vote, haha
Parks Smith - January 10, 2012
you don't share my thoughts?
Think about it. What one player…ONE PLAYER…made the most significant difference to our offense this year?
Or, if its easier to think of it this way, what one player helped our offense the most? (Even if that help entailed reacclimating himself with the clipboard)
CJHutch - January 10, 2012 via mobile
Whatever you do...
Don’t replace that phone
Ronnie Adkins - January 10, 2012
+1
Parks Smith - January 10, 2012
Gaffney edges out Davis
Dark horse entry is Kyle Shanahan; had it not been for his excellent play calling and game planning we wouldn’t be sitting here with another top ten draft pick!!
Elaw6 - January 10, 2012
Graham Gano
Enuff Said
RobertKempto - January 10, 2012
He plays special teams not offense
Parks Smith - January 10, 2012
And he wasn't close to playing on an mvp level
StephanHart - January 10, 2012
We'll find out on the Special Teams MVP post (CLIFFHANGER)...
Parks Smith - January 10, 2012
why do a post when it is obvious that Banks is the winner
Steve Shoup - January 10, 2012
I think I have to give Gaffney the nod
Helu was buried on the depth chart and clawed his way to the forefront. So he was a pleasant surprise this season. But I think Gaffney’s performance was even more surprising. In retrospect, the trade for him looks like an absolute steal, especially when you consider Jarmon ended up getting cut by the Broncos anyways. A free agent WR comes in and puts up the best statistical season of his career? Yeah, that deserves some notoriety in my opinion.
willster - January 10, 2012
I voted Montgomery
His name rarely got called this year and that’s a good thing. If Gaffney (or any of our WRs) had the ability to run after the catch I’d consider giving it to him.
Kevin Ewoldt - January 10, 2012
good point about the run after the catch
we really need some playmakers at WR (or in general) who can score without already being in the endzone
atark001 - January 10, 2012
Good points, there are a couple of players that I believe when I don't hear their name then they are doing a good job.
Montgomery, Chester, and Cofield are my three biggest haha
Parks Smith - January 10, 2012
Can I vote for marijuana?
iH8dallas - January 10, 2012
haha, file it under "Other"
Parks Smith - January 10, 2012
Honestly I'm thinking Chris Chester.
Never hurt, solid player. I like him.
iH8dallas - January 10, 2012
i voted for helu
with his play this year. it has saved us from picking another rb instead of o-line depth. a rookie to play that well with a oline like ours how could he not win mvp??? alot of us wont even remember gaffney in a year or 2
munson21502 - January 10, 2012
I voted "other"
Because we have no deserving MVP on this team. There wasn’t one player on this offense that was “most valuable”. We did not have a no.1 WR or TE that can be counted on in the red zone. We did not have RB that you could bank on to get that yard on 3rd and 1. We did not have a QB … nuff said. And there wasn’t a lineman that “owned” the opposing lineman week in and week out.
There were no stars on this offense this past year. We saw potential stars for next year (e.g., Helu, Hankerson). We saw obvious holes (e.g., QB). But there was no one person who was deserving of the label, “Most Valuable Player”.
Just because you have a superlative, doesn’t mean someone should get it.
SkinsLifer - January 10, 2012
Parks Smith - January 10, 2012
Can I get a harumph??
SkinsLifer - January 10, 2012
on the contrary
when you’re on a team with few weapons it’s even more amazing when a player does manage to make an impact. It’s easy for a player to look good on an offense that has so many weapons you never get the focus of the opposing defense.
I thought Gaffney did a great job, especially considering the lack of other receiving threats.
aFan4Life - January 10, 2012
Can't bring myself to vote for anyone.
Diesel44 - January 10, 2012
Wow
Offensive “MVP”. You forgot to mention that he had 68 receptions and the whopping 5 touchdowns means that he probably picked up most of those yards in garbage time. Like a lot of the offensive stats.
Rodskin - January 10, 2012 via mobile
actually only 12 of his catches were when the Skins were down by 8 or more points
so most of his contributions were when the game was still on the line.
Steve Shoup - January 10, 2012
Haven't had time to dig into the stats
But so far I have 41 receptions and 4 touchdows while behind. Not sure on by how many points. What I’m saying is that he is in no way an “MVP” anything.
Rodskin - January 10, 2012 via mobile
You just love to come on this site and fart sunshine
Parks Smith - January 11, 2012
I give Gaffney the nod
…and I would LOVE for him to be here to provide a solid posession receiver opposite of Hankerson and give our new (rookie?) QB a reliable target who managed to go for nearly 1,000 yards receiving with Rex and Becks throwing to him.
The Agent C 83 - January 10, 2012
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