I'll cut right to the chase.
1. What up Cuz? This guy is channeling his inner Rex Grossman and throwing picks left and right. The first one just sailed on him as he had an open Andre Roberts breaking towards the seam in the middle. A catch and this is a big gain and possibly a TD. Instead, it's an easy pick for the safety. The second came late in the game as they were driving on a third and short and he stared down the WR and it was an easy play. The last not sure what he saw. It was right at the end of the game and I guess he was throwing a mid range ball to Garcon and didn't see the DB playing zone underneath and it was right to him for a TD. Cuz is blowing his opportunity at being a starter in this league. I like him but when he throws picks, he throws them in bunches. All those Cousins lovers are all of a sudden waiting for RG3 to come back. THILLY!
2. O-KRAP-O! This guy is starting to tick me off. He claims to be elite. He says his record stands for itself. I suppose it does. It stands for MEDIOCRE!!! Dude has .5 sack this season. That's terrible. Then yesterday he has a chance to make the play of the game with an INT that is softly thrown right into his hands with all kinds of space in front of him for possibly a TD and what does he do? DROP IT!!! FAIL!!! This guy is not worth the money. Not sure what he is going to ask for in the offseason but I don't mind letting him walk. I want to like him but it's hard when you are paying top dollar for the guy for little production. Where is Rob Jackson?
3. Run game? Morris has been quiet all season. I think this is a combination of scheme, blocking, and Morris. For whatever reason, we have to get him going in order to take some of that pressure off of the QB. Just disappointing after six weeks, we haven't seen much from him.
4. Roberts "fumble." This was a critical play. In the fourth quarter, had a chance to come back and on a drive to get the lead, Roberts "fumbles" over the middle. The play was challenged and looking at the replay, it looked as though his knee hit the ground prior to the fumble but I understand that there may not have been enough evidence to overrule the call of the field. That was a killer. Didn't like the call and it hurt.
All in all, it wasn't a terrible game. Again, we hung tough but we can't make enough plays to win the game. Good teams find ways to win and bad teams find ways to lose and that is what is happening now. I've said it before, winning is contagious just as losing is. We need to find a way to win a game and start building some momentum. Right now, there is mounting frustration and disappointment. I believe there are some solid pieces here but it just has to come together. Right now, it's not.
In other relevant news around the NFL:
1. Rodgers and the Puckers pull out a last second drive to win against the Fins. All the naysayers in GB should be much more R-E-L-A-Xed now.
2. Pears pull out a good victory against the Falcones in HOT-lanta. They needed that and Cutler actually didn't do what he does best (throw picks). May have saved their season with that victory.
3. Iggles manhandle Eli and the Gigantes. Too bad for Victor Cruz as he suffers a patella tendon injury and is done for the year.
4. Texans claw back against Indy but fall short. J.J. Watt scores another TD but it's not enough and the Texanas lose. Still, Watt is a beast.
5. How 'bout dem Cowboys? I normally don't talk about them but they go into Seattle (arguably the toughest place to play) and beat the Seacawks. Pretty impressive. Suddenly, the Cowboys look like they may be the team to beat in the NFC.
That's all I got. Have a good week!
12 comments:
I'll sum it up with even fewer points. 1. The right side of the O-Line is absolute crap!
2. Haslett's D is absolute crap!
Both need to go. We can't win without major improvements in both areas.
I agree about the Cowgirls. As much as it hurts to say it, their wins are really impressive. If they play mistake free ball and keep the running game going, they're going to be dangerous.
Agree that Polumbus is sack of crap. Chester the "molestor" isn't much better. Hoping that Moses Morgan (or whatever the name of that UVA dude) pans out and can take over the RT spot if not this year than next year. He was projected as a possible first rounder. Still, for all that UVA education, he couldn't seem to figure out that he needed to block the guy in front of him in the Giants game. Hopefully he pans out.
Yeah, getting a little tired of Haslett too. Yes, we have a number of injuries on the D side of the ball but the D doesn't look very clever. At this point, just call RED DAWG every freaking play and live and die with it. Seems like many of these QBs crumble under pressure but we are too vanilla. On top of that O-KRAPO sucks. He's hasn't even been able to break out his sack celebration because he hasn't got a SACK!!! Frankly, he isn't even worthy of having his own sack celebration.
One other thought on the Cowboys. They may have the best O line in the league and it is making all the difference. Their run game is obviously stellar but give any QB time in the pocket and he will complete the pass.
Football at the core is won in the trenches. You have good O and D lines, you can win yourselves some games. You can have all the skill at the skill positions but if you can't win in the trenches, you'll fail.
Losing 2 years of 1st round picks plays a part in our lack of talent. The issue is magnified by Gibbs and Snyderatto ignoring the value of draft picks for 6-7 years prior to Shanny arriving.
I think the lack of draft picks has really hurt the establishment of a solid o-line. On D, however, I think it is more of a scheme and coaching issue. There is A LOT of talent in the front 7. The fact that O-Krapo hasn't developed a reliable move to get around a tackle and the fact that our interior linemen can't get any push can't be all due to the lack of talent. Hatcher's and O-krapo's ineffectiveness are perfect examples of low returns.
Despite the problems, I really like how Breeland and Amerson are developing. They need some help in the form of a pass rush though.
Don't think we can lay much blame on the Gibbs and Snyderatto era anymore. That was several years ago and given the NFL today and the upheaval in rosters from year to year, that era is eons ago.
The Skins drafted two quality O linemen in this past year's draft in Spencer Long and Moses. Hopefully they pan out.
Agree that I am not thrilled with Haslett. Fire Haslett and put Rahim Morris in there to see if he can be the D coordinator going forward. London Fletcher when he left didn't seem thrilled with Haslett and thought Morris would be a good replacement.
Even with that change, I am not thrilled with O-krapo. Coaches coach and players play and Okrapo has to do a better job of getting to the QB. 0.5 sack so far this season is ridiculous for a guy that claims to be elite and is getting paid like an elite player. I'm real curious what will happen with him after this season. I wouldn't mind keeping him but if he is expecting anything near top dollar, cut him loose. Would rather spend the money on Kerrigan and other players/needs.
I like Amerson. I think he is a quality CB. Breeland has the tools and size but he is way too raw. Quality WRs are abusing him in their route running. Granted Larry Fitzgerald is still a top tier WR but he knew how to abuse Breeland. There were a few times last week where he faked a deep route, waited until Breeland spun, and just turned and it was an easy completion with Breeland not even in the picture. Again, it's a tall order for a rookie to take on a top flight WR and I think Breeland has the tools to be effective and given the way the season is unraveling, I'm fine with him getting the work.
I saw some of the game on Sunday. It was close for a bit. Cousins threw some bad picks that put the Skins out of it. Definitely like Rex Grossman. I expect RG3 to have a firm handle on the starting job when he returns and in the future.
The problem will be what do the Skins do if RG3 plays and doesn't really shine either. He didn't look too great the first game. Granted that was the Texans who we believed weren't very good at the time but really are decent. That was also the first game of the season. Just hope RG3 is better prepared this time around.
It will take some serious time for this team to become competitive again. The weekly losing has to be really tough on the players and the fans. I think its just become expected. Many other skins fans I have talked to just don't care anymore. The current losing trend has to be blamed on Snyder's mismanagement of the organization.
Trading three first round and a second round pick for one player guarantees a hole in the team. That could have been two top tier offensive linemen, a top notch safety and another corner back. It could have helped to build some depth. I still can't believe the cost paid for RG3. Winning 4 out of the last 22 games is in most part due to RG3 not being able to play like he did in 2012 when they went 10-6. He has not been able to play to that level because of injuries. When you place all your eggs in one basket and the basket breaks and you don't have any other eggs or baskets, the result is similar to what we are seeing with the Skins. I just don't know what chain of events led to thinking it was okay to trade away everything the skins had for one player. It just makes no sense. Its not how a franchise or any successful business runs. It really makes you wonder what's more important to Dan. Winning and the health of his franchise or marketing of his team regardless of the product that is being put out on the field? No gm/owner would have agreed to a trade like that. Its just a complete failure. The result is what we are seeing now. Dan is just bad for the team. From making poor decisions in hiring and firing coaches, to trading away draft picks, to signing has been free agents, and now to be sitting with the so called head of the Navajo tribe, Dan Snyder is a joke and the worst possible owner/businessman I can think of.
Regarding Haslett - he has to go. I am not a fan of the 3-4 Blitzburgh defense. Green Bay uses it too, and their defense just hasn't been that good since Dom Capers brought it in. The Redskins defense was significantly better prior to Haslett when they had a 4-3 defense. I don't know why they went away from it.
A couple of positives:
1. The Redskins cant get worse. Can only get better.
2. The Redskins have a first round pick (probably a high one)
3. Return of RG3 is about 2 weeks away.
4. Receiving corp looks good.
5. Still have Morris
I just want to see the skins show some positives. Don't turn the ball over, establish the run, keep games close. try to get a few wins. Play spoiler.
I don't think it is quite as bad as JSR makes it out.
I agree with some points but not all.
Absolutely RG3 will be the starter when he returns. If anything, feel bad for Cousins for blowing this opportunity to prove he is an NFL starter. His stock has taken a deep plunge.
RG3 was fine in the opener. He wasn't stellar but QBs aren't going to be great every game. He executed the game plan which was shorter passes because of the Houston pass rush and them playing a constant dime and quarter defense with a safety playing very deep to take away the deeper balls. Still, he certainly wasn't the reason for that loss. Baccari Rambo misplaying Hopkins catch leading to the long TD and two turnovers in the red zone along with the blocked punt for a TD were the differences.
JSR, it's really two first round picks (as the third first round pick was a swap in that year's draft to get RG3) and also second round pick. Don't get me wrong, it was a stiff price but given your scenario there is no guarantee that the selections pan out. Also, that still leaves a big hole at QB. Who would play? Rex? John Beck? You need a good QB to win in this league.
In my opinion, the book is still wide open on RG3. I've said this a number of times but when he was healthy as a rookie, he put up huge numbers. Last season is unfair to judge him as he was injured and had no offseason football workouts/training. I have used the example a number of times but it's like asking a marathon runner who was injured and missed six months to all of a sudden get up and win a marathon. It's not going to happen. We all hoped RG3 would just be able to put on the Superman cape and just magically make things happen but it was unrealistic. This season we hoped for big things and we got to see one game and part of one quarter. I've already mentioned my thoughts on the first game. In the second game, he was playing really well in the short time he was in there.
The problem is people want miracles and perfection. It is unrealistic. In 2012, no one was complaining one bit about the trade. If RG3 can bring some of that play back, everyone will be fine.
Moving to Snyder. Dan has his issues but I don't doubt for a minute that he wants to win. I also think that Dan will admit to previous failings/mistakes but he is not involved the way he was in the Snyderatto era. I would expect big trades to be run by Snyder as would be the case with pretty much every team but I don't think Snyder is making the trades as he did previously. As far as the FA signings, the days of Haynesworth, Carter, Archuleta signings are long gone. The signings the last few years have been far less flashy and much more prudent.
The market price for RG3 when that trade happened was well known to be high. Cleveland was also willing to offer something similar to what the Skins offered. In fact, they were disappointed and felt they had a deal but felt it was ruined because of the relationship Fisher had with Shanny. Back nearly 10 years ago, Eli was traded to the Giants for Rivers (#4 pick in that year's draft) plus third round pick and the next year's number 1 and number 5 picks. As expected, the market continued to grow. So it is not a surprise the price paid. It was steep but not a surprise. You have to remember that in 2012 Luck and RG3 were considered top flight QBs able to step in immediately and produce.
The positives:
1. Lets see what we have in RG3. So many people are ready to give up on the guy and it is WAY too premature for that.
2. WR corps looks solid.
3. Jordan Reed is a keeper.
4. Morris is a good back.
5. Front seven on the defense is decent.
6. Amerson and potentially Breeland look like they could be solid at CBs.
Areas of need:
1. Right side of line.
2. Safety positions.
3. D coordinator.
Keep in mind that the Skins were in every game except for that Thursday night debacle. We are having to play with our backup QB and have suffered a number of injuries one time or another this season on our defense that have kept starters out or limited.
I don't think many teams would have the same record having to play with their backup QB the entire season. I doubt that GB would be as successful without Rodgers.
Everyone wants to hit the panic button. I'm not thrilled with what has taken place but we have to be patient and see what type of team we can be with a healthy RG3 at the helm. Like all teams, we have needs but I don't believe it is as bad as it appears.
I definitely agree that RG3 hasn't been given a fair shot yet. There is still more to see in him. His rookie year was great. I was rooting for him and still am. But even during his rookie year, I thought that the price was too high for him. I've always maintained that its just not effective to pay so much for one player. Whether is salaries, draft picks, or players that are being traded, its just not feasible to give up so much for a name. The second you start overpaying and spending and trading multiple picks for one player, things go down hill. Maybe not immediately but eventually itll catch up to you. We are seeing that now with the skins. This league is not designed to operate in a way that you can just pay your way to being successful year in and year out.
I count RG3 as equal to three first round picks because of the opportunity cost. To get RG3 the skins had to use three first round picks and a second round pick that they could not spend on anything else.
I know they had Grossman and Becks and by no means were they the answer. I still think they could have found a serviceable QB somewhere until the time was right to draft one. Maybe they could have drafted a qb in the first round of any of the last three drafts that could have helped them without having to trade away all their picks.
I just think its been major mismanagement. Sure the days of overspending on big name free agents may be gone, but the skins are just at the tail end of a overspending in the form of draft picks for a big name player. It has set the franchise behind. I really hope RG3 can come to life and stay healthy, and can make up for some of the holes that are present until the they are filled.
Agree that you can't pay your way to success. Agree that you can't pay high salaries to a few "great" players and fill the rest of the team with scrubs and expect to win. No question. That is how the Skins operated under Gibbs and Snyderatto and it didn't work.
However, this is also a passing league. A quarterback driven league and it is important to find a franchise QB.
Not sure what you mean by "opportunity cost." The Skins traded their first round pick for the Rams first round pick in order to draft RG3 (plus their next two year first round picks and a second round pick). The Skins were in need of a QB so what exactly do you mean by "opportunity cost?"
Again, the Skins were in need of a QB. When you look back at the Skins QBs, the guys they had fill in since Mark Rypien in 1993, the list includes:
Rich Gannon
Cary Conklin
Heath Shuler
Gus Frerotte
John Friesz
Jeff Hostetler
Trent Green
Brad Johnson
Jeff George
Tony Banks
Shane Matthews
Danny Wuerffel
Patrick Ramsey
Tim Hasselbeck
Mark Brunell
Jason Campbell
Donovan McNabb
Rex Grossman
John Beck
That's 19 QBs that have started in the last 20 years. This is a combination of guys getting drafted and FAs. It's not easy to find a franchise QB or even a serviceable one.
Frankly, if I could get a young Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady or Drew Brees or Peyton Manning for the price the Skins paid I would do it in a heartbeat. All these guys have shown that they can win despite shortcomings on areas of their respective teams.
Again, it is a QB driven league and you can't be a perennial winner unless you have a franchise QB.
Look, I'm not saying that RG3 is going to be as good as any of the guys mentioned above. It is unfair to compare him to them as RG3 is just getting his career started and those guys have been in the league a long time. Still, RG3 has shown great potential when healthy. If he has a career any where close to the guys mentioned above, it will have been worth the trade.
If you look at what the Rams got in the trade, it's not like they greatly improved.
Here are their picks from the trade:
2012 first round pick - Michael Brocker who so far has 6 tackles this season. Not much of an impact.
2012 second round pick - Janoris Jenkins a starter and about average. Got torched in the last game against SF giving up multiple TDs including the bomb right before halftime which was a killer.
2013 first round draft pick - Alec Ogletree. A starter but nothing extraordinary. Also, was arrested for DUI in 2013 and has had other issues with the law.
2014 first round draft pick - OT Greg Robinson. Out of all the picks, this looks the most promising.
Not all early round picks pan out.
As far as drafting a QB, lets look at the last three years of the top three QBs taken in the draft:
2012 (not including Luck and RG3 as they would have been taken off the table prior to the Skins pick had they not made the trade):
Tannehill
Brandon Weeden
Brock Osweiler
2013:
EJ Manuel
Geno Smith
Mike Glennon
2014:
Bortles
Manziel
Bridgewater
The guys in 2012 and 2013 haven't shown much. They have had decent games but haven't proven to be anything special. The word is out still for the guys from 2014.
The point is it is important to find a franchise QB because he can make all the difference in the world. If RG3 proves he is that guy, the trade is worth it particularly for what the Rams got in return. If not, sure the trade hurts. It was a gamble but in 2012 Luck and RG3 were considered NFL ready QBs that were ready to step in and be successful. Luck has already proven his abilities. In 2012, RG3 show cased his abilities and was good enough to win Rookie of the Year. Injuries have since sidetracked him. Lets see what he is capable of when healthy. Time will tell if the trade was worth it.
I think the difference is in interpretation. I am looking at the price the skins paid to get RG3 after the trade had happened, and you're looking at what the skins traded to the rams to get RG3. The skins cost to get RG3 equals to what the skins gave to the Rams plus their own first round pick in 2012. That to me is the more relevant data.
Opportunity cost of that 2012 first round pick that could have been used to pick someone else has to be included in the cost of RG3.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/o/opportunitycost.asp
I actually would not trade multiple first round picks for Aaron Rodgers (okay maybe Rodgers because he's a Packer), Drew Brees, Rivers, Brady, or Manning in their prime days. The asking price for any of those QBs would have been too high. Imagine trading for Luck, or Wilson now. Trading for any of those guys would leave a huge hole in the resources to build for the future.
Rodgers would not be the QB that his is unless he had a great supporting cast on offense. That includes, receivers, tight ends, pass protection, coaching, and game plan. There are 10 other positions and a game plan on every offensive play that have to outperform the opponent in order for Rodgers to be successful. What happens if you take Rodgers and put him on the skins. Suddenly those 10 other players that have outperformed the opposing defense for him in the past consistently, becomes maybe 5 or 6. My point is that football is the ultimate team sport. So many small scale battles have to be won by each player and coach to result in a win. You cant just plug and play a superstar QB on a bad team and expect all to be well. That rarely ever happens. Don't get me wrong, Rodgers is a great QB and has made some amazing individual plays. Not many QB can drive a team down and throw a TD with 3 seconds left to win a game as he did this past weekend in Miami. Still though that drive had many parts that were outperforming the Miami defense at each position on each play of that drive. As a result Rodgers was put in position to make the play. And he did. The great ones do. But you don't need great qb to consistently win more games than you lose. You only need a good one. In my opinion, Id rather have a good qb, good offensive line, good running back, good receivers, rather than a superstar qb and a mediocre or below rest.
The QBs that you listed in the recent drafts all have one thing in common. They were good college qbs drafted by terrible teams. There is just no talent around Bridgewater, or Bortles, or Glennon. Russell Wilson, or Luck, or RG3 could have been on one of those teams as well had they been drafted to one of those teams.
Nothing is certain yet though. RG3 still has a lot to prove. It is clear he is talented. He can win. If he can stay healthy, there is a huge upside to him. Maybe the cost paid to get him will be worth it in the end. I think the skins have some really good parts on offense. Id really like to see them build that offensive line this offseason. I really believe that this team can only get better with a few first round picks in the coming years and no salary cap penalties. I just hope Dan doesn't make some terrible decision as he has consistently been making since he took over.
I understand the meaning of opportunity cost and I suppose we can make a claim of there being an opportunity cost associated with nearly any decision/choice we make.
We swapped first round picks in 2012. I suppose if you want to say "opportunity cost" than we could say that the Skins original first round pick could have been used to take Tannehill or another position which may have panned out but would still leave a HUGE hole at QB. Thus, there would have been an opportunity cost associated with NOT taking him in the trade. It's toMAtos vs. TOmatos.
I suppose we can agree to disagree on whether we would make that trade for any of the QBs listed above.
Sure, you need help at all the other positions but all those QBs make the supporting cast better. It's not like Rodgers has had great RBs with him. His O line has been suspect for much of his career. He has had solid WRs and TEs for much of his career but he makes do with what he has and because of his talents, he makes everyone around him better. Don't get me wrong. If you put him with a bunch of scrubs and misfits, it's safe to say he won't accomplish nearly as much but he unquestionably makes average guys around him better. The same is true with Brady. He doesn't have a premier WR. He doesn't have a featured RB. The line used to be decent but has become average and he still performs. Denver was an average team prior to Manning. They scraped some victories with Tebow but since Manning has joined, their offense is a juggernaut.
Luck and RG3 WERE taken by bad teams. Not sure of your point there. Luck has been a HUGE difference maker for the Colts. In 2011, the Colts won two games with Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky at the helm. In 2012, the Colts won 11 games with Luck at the helm. It's not like the Colts were able to turnover the entire team in one year. Luck was an obvious difference maker and he continues to shine in Indy. The same is true with RG3. They won give games in 2011 with the Rex and Becks show. In 2012, with a healthy RG3, they doubled their wins with 10.
Great QBs can make a difference.
Dan has been by and large out of the personnel decisions for the last several years. The days of flashy spending on overpriced FAs has not happened for years.
Time will tell if RG3 was worth the trade. I just hope we can get him healthy and he can stay healthy.
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