I really like the fact that a large # of our core players were drafted by us: Coles Cotch Rhodes L. Washington D. Revis D. Harris S. Ellis Mangold D'Brick B. Thomas D. Lowery (I think he will be good as well) That's a nice list, and I probably overlooked one or two, but this is pretty impressive I think. And I have a feeling we'll be adding Ratliff to this list sooner or later (I think we drafted him).
This FO/CS does a great job finding talent in the draft. Ratliff was a UFA, but its all the same. Don't forget Keller - he did well yesterday. In a couple of years he is going to be a big part of the offense. He isn't doing bad for a rookie though. Stuckey as well, damn good #4 WR. Brad Smith is being used correctly this year as well. Brandon Moore cannot be overlooked. He does well, everyone needs to understand that. I don't know where we found DeVito, but he's been doing well in the backup role. Quiet contributor.
Thats how you win in this league but adding some veteran skill in free agency can never hurt. Faneca and Jenkins have been great as has Pace. Then mix in homegrown guys like Revis , Rhodes , Coles , Cotch and so on and we got ourselves a good football team but we are still growing as with favre still learning our team we will only get better. 5-3 after the half. Im good with that.
If Franks is the only FA that really isn't contributing in a big way - this was one of the greatest offseason sprees this franchise has ever had. I will add in Jenkins as a offseason acquisition even though he was not a FA
Smith has been used in the #3 spot as well, so i'll give it to the incumbent. Its "game plan specific" who the #3 is on a given day.
I had my doubts about the big Money Faneca was given. There were points earlier in the year it seemed like Brick was anchoring FANECA... He had a monster game on sunday though and was blocking 2-3 defenders at a time on some of Jones' run. I give Mr. T the biggest credit for making 2 gutsy moves that have worked out quite well. Calvin Pace has been everything we couldve hoped for(and more) as had Damien Woody(despite one lousy game). Those were moves that alot of people including myself were iffy about..but they seem like good calls to me.
It bothers me when people act like we are the redskins b/c we splurged in one offseason. We added those pieces around a nice drafted core of players, we don't sign FAs and trade for big names every year. It was a 1 year thing much like w/ the Giants a few uyears ago when they splurged on Burress, McKenzie, Pierce, etc...
Well, if its one offseason its not the Redskins. Its rare to see a team go nearly perfect in FA signings, there is usually only 1 or 2 impactful guys and the rest are mediocre. We bought in 7, 6 are playing huge roles. Most teams are lucky if 3 or 4 become above average.
Absolutely. Some guys haven't been as consistent as we'd like but overall the FA class was an amazing one, hopefully we get a few more good years out of the class(w/ the exception of favre who we'll be lucky if we get a 2nd year).
IMO - we need to get better at growing our own talent in the trenches - both off and def lines. i would like to see a couple of OL on the roster that are hi round picks and can be ready to step right in for whatever reason. same goes for the DL. i think the 09 draft will be for that purpose and do not be surprised if the jets take the approach they did in 2007 - trading mid level picks to move up in the early rounds to get their guy. jil
Building teams from the ground up is how you guarantee long term success. I am really happy with the personnel decisions - now they need to execute the second half of the season. 11-5 will be sweet.
