We have a little over one month until free agency kicks off. The discussions over this span will certainly focus heavily on many free agents who would be likely fits on our team. It is pretty obvious we have a lot of holes to fill on this roster, so both free agency and the draft are going to be very important for the future re-build of the Washington Redskins.
In this depth chart overview, I will take a look at the current state of our depth chart, minus our impending free agents who could/will have an immediate impact on next years roster. I will assign a grade following each position. The grade will include both starters, and current depth. I will then do a re-evaluation, based on us signing our own top free agents. Finally, I will look at some other free agents that can help improve our team.
My grading scale will go as follows:
A - Set at the position
B - Starters are good, depth is decent.
C - Starters are average, depth is lacking
D - Starters are below average, very little depth
F - We need both starters and depth
The zone blocking scheme is becoming more common in football today. Many college spread offenses use a type of ZBS in their attack. More NFL teams are using some form of zone blocking than ever before. This has to do with the size and speed of today’s defenders, and a different style that can neutralize some of that speed.
The zone running play employs a single running back, and consists of two different types of plays: inside zone (sometimes called the dart scheme), and outside zone (stretch zone scheme). The premise of zone blocking has all linemen moving as a whole, in the same direction, causing a defensive flow towards the play side. The concept is to block a certain area, not necessarily a designed defender, as in RULE blocking (which is gap, on, over, near). Double team blocks are essential in perfecting the ZBS. Double team blocks in this system are referred to as tandem blocks. These tandem blocks require the offensive linemen to engage in an initial double team, along the offensive front, with the nearside linemen taking a reach step to attempt to reach the outside shoulder of his area defender. As he is doing this, the play side linemen will engage the outside shoulder of the gap defender, then quickly slide off onto the second level, and attempt to get on the rear shoulder of the persuing line backer. This movement is what creates the ever-so-important cut back lanes.
We all know the tale. Mike Shanahan enters as Denvers head coach in 1995, and inherits John Elway who is still at the peak of his career. His John Elway led teams go on to Super Bowl victories in 1998 and 1999. Ole' Johnny Boy retires in the spring of 1999, and has put his own personal stamp on Mike Shanahan's legacy.
End of story right.............................? Well, let's look a little deeper into the history of the Mike Shanahan QB.
A quarterback's arm strength matters in the NFL. Just ask the Eagles, who for 12 years have had two quarterbacks with the strongest arms in the league. Both possess Howitzer's for arms. Think this matters?
Philadelphia Eagles 2000-2011:
W/L Record - 116-70
McNabb(2000-09) - YPA average - 7.1 YPC average - 11.2
Vick(2010-11) - YPA average - 7.9 YPC average 13.1
During this span of 12 years, the Eagles offense has averaged 9th in the league in points scored(8 times landing in the top 10), and 10th in the league in total offense(3 times landing in the top 5).
Coincidence?
Lets compare the Eagles success with another team, who throughout the same time period, had a quarterback with one of the best arms in football; The Indianapolis Colts, and Peyton Manning.
Indianapolis Colts 1998-2010:
W/L Record - 141-67
Manning(1998-2010) - YPA average - 7.6 YPC average - 11.7
During this 13 year span, the Colts offensive, with Manning under center, averaged 6th in both points scored and total yards on a yearly basis, finishing in the top ten in the league in both catagories 10 out of the 13 years.
Need more proof?
This week's segment of the Hogs Haven round table had us all discussing one of our two rookie running backs, sixth rounder Evan Royster. Royster was promoted from the practice squad and was given his first career carry against the Seahawks in week 12. He saw his first start after injuries slowed down fellow rookie running back Roy Helu in week 16 against the Giants where he took 19 rushes for 132 yards. He followed that up with 20 rushes for 113 yards against the Eagles in week 17.
Steve: Royster went from being that guy on the practice squad, to a really solid runner for the Redskins. Now you can debate whether Ryan Torain ever deserved a roster spot over Royster, but any way you cut it Royster was impressive for a 6th rounder with limited opportunities. Now Royster will never be the type of guy who breaks big play after big play, but he runs so well, that he gets the most out of ever opportunity.
I know I could get some flak for rating Royster with an 'A' grade in running ability, but I think a case can be made. Royster despite having a 100 less carries managed half of the 20+ yard runs as fellow rookie Roy Helu (two for Royster, four for Helu). Royster also managed an impressive 5.9 yards per carry. While that number is unsustainable, it does show some nice potential for Royster going forward. Another thing that was striking to me, was the fact that Royster managed a 1st down on 33% of his touches (both running and receiving), where as Helu (21%) and Hightower (20%) were well behind that mark.Royster's late season emergence means that the Redskins RB need is now well on the back burner. Helu will still go into the year as the starter, but I fully expect Royster to play a significant role next season. If he keeps playing at this level he could well end up as a starter down the line. For now though the Redskins should be happy if he remains a significant contributor.2012 Stat Prediction: (Note: I'm expecting the Redskins will run a lot more next year) 160 carries for 750 yards (about 4.7ypc) 4 TD's, 20 receptions for 160 yards 1 TD
The man, the myth, the hair. It's pretty clear the Redskins had a solid 2011 draft. They turned six picks into twelve and every single player made the team or practice squad. Excluding Jarvis Jenkins' pre-season IR injury, every single one of the 12 players was on the active roster at one point and contributing. It'll be interesting to see how many of these guys beat out the competition next year. All that said, I gave the Redskins an "A" simply for netting six extra picks and avoiding drafting a QB. Locker, Ponder, Gabbert have not impressed, which means the Redskins would have been in a world of hurt. Enough on my opinion, here's what Mel Kiper had to say revisited:
Post-draft grade: C+
Summary: This felt like a novelty -- a Redskins draft with a ton of picks. The story of this draft was the fact that Washington didn't see a quarterback it wanted. Given the returns in the range in which the Redskins would have picked, it looks like a good calculation, at least in the short term. Only moving way down the board and ending up with Dalton could have looked better. Instead, the Redskins traded down, got Ryan Kerrigan at No. 16 and really aced the pick. Kerrigan picked up 7.5 sacks and played exactly as his draft projection had him pegged. Round 2 pick Jarvis Jenkins never saw the field because of injury, but both running back picks, Roy Helu and Evan Royster, played well when given the time, and I still think Leonard Hankerson has a chance to develop. Maurice Hurt looks like a seventh-round keeper. Having a lot of picks can help; it certainly helped this grade rise over the course of the season.
New grade: B
Only a B? This is where I'd get the Andy Dufresne nerves to tell Kiper, "How can you be so obtuse?" Kiper's response:
So here we are, at the end of another Redskins season in just the first week of January. Head Coach Mike Shanahan said he likes to spend the first few weeks after a season getting the offensive coaches evaluating the defense while the defensive coaches evaluate the offense. So I thought I'd do something similar along those lines. How could our offense attack our defense? This should hopefully help get a better understanding of our strengths and weaknesses going into the off-season. Editors note: I'm going to assume both sides of the ball are at full strength, injury and suspension-wise. Meaning Cooley, Davis, Landry, Williams etc are all available.
Run game:
Everyone knows by now that the Redskins run game is based on a zone-blocking scheme. Power runs up the middle isn't a strength of this offense, which is fine because the Redskins defensive strength is the front seven. I wouldn't want to run the ball too many times up the middle into the likes of Barry Cofield and London Fletcher. Instead I would look to get to the edge and attack the cornerbacks. Guys like DeAngelo Hall and Kevin Barnes haven't exactly been perfect form tacklers for the Redskins, those are the guys I'd target and force them to make a tackle on Roy Helu, Tim Hightower or Evan Royster.
With Hightower in the game, I'd probably look to have a "Tiger Formation" (Also known in the numbers system as a "12" personnel group). This consists of two tight ends and one running back in the game (The second tight end is in the game in place of the second running back. So for example, Fred Davis enters the game for Darrel Young). Given that Hightower isn't the fastest guy, but understands the scheme completely, I'd be looking to run out side the tackle's on stretch run plays from this formation. Something like this:
We're back for another round table discussion, this week we talked about rookie nose tackle Chris Neild.
Ronnie: Neild wasn't really given any kind of support when drafted. He was mostly expected to be a practice-squad body. Eventually he beat out Anthony Bryant during pre-season to take the No. 2 slot at NT. I was really impressed with his first game, the two series he started against New York resulted in a sack (He also had an assist, giving him 1.5 on the day, along with 3 tackles). He was pretty productive for the short time he played throughout the year, and I hope he develops even further. I like what Cofield is doing at the nose, but I wouldn't mind seeing quite a bit more of Neild in the middle. Overall bang for the buck is pretty big. Let's be honest, he was the fourth 7th round draft pick and not being a NCAA guy, I didn't even know who he was. So my grades are going to reflect what we got for our money and pick.
2012 Stat Prediction: 5 Sacks, 1 Forced Fumble, 10 tackles. Basically I am hoping that he doesn't have the starting job, which I don't think he will, but plays good as a solid backup.
Steveo: For a player who was the 2nd to last player drafted last April, and didn't have a full off-season, Neild had an impressive season. He's a guy who wasn't given any real chance to make the team, but ended up being just one of 6 defensive lineman on roster when the Redskins faced the Giants week 1. In that game Neild showed exactly why he made the squad. In just 8 defensive snaps, Neild got to the QB twice (once was a half sack, but he was there) and had a tackle. While Neild never impacted another game the way he did week 1, he gave Washington some solid snaps throughout the season. He did get exposed more when asked to defend the run on a more consistent basis. Neild needs to get stronger this off-season to be a primary backup for the Redskins, but he has shown some nice promise. Neild probably won't be more than a backup for the Skins, but given the fact that defensive linemen need to take plays off, he can play a vital role on this team. I'd still guess they add someone else who can help out at the NT a little bit, but having quality depth like Neild is a key to becoming a contender.
2012 Stat Predicition: 3 sacks, 14 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss.
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