Doc Walker One-on-One Interview with Vinny Cerrato

Zorn pretty much confirmed that he definitely knows what goes on in the FO in that Maske recap....

- It's interesting how often Cerrato talked about how he got the players' input re: Jason Taylor and DeAngelo Hall (whether to go after them/keep them), but he didn't talk as much about getting the coaches' input.

- Another mention of Devin Clark (strange)

- Won't draft a punter...which some of course will say means that they will

- Need to improve punt returns (seemed to indicate Dorsey has a good shot). Also, talked about Anthony Alridge (I think he has potential as a 3rd down back)

- Offering Vet Min deals only right now to free agents (as the Warpath crowd laughs in the background)

I hope Thomas, Kelly, and Davis have great years. If they don't, I guess we're screwed. Stephon Heyer's body position won't matter much.

They are going to re-air clips of the int in about 5 minutes on espn980 on the Doc, and Kevin show
ESPN Radio - SuperStream Player (http://sports.espn.go.com/stations/player?station=dc)

- In last years draft, the Skins "Plan A" was to draft Jarod Mayo. Since he wasnt available (alot of people were surprised New England took him so high), they went to Plan B - which was to trade down with Atlanta. Apparently, the teams had had some sort of discussion prior to the draft.

Stephon Heyer is RT. He will not play LT. Heyer needs to work on strength and fundamentals in the offseason. He is essentially unbeatable when he bends his knees and positions his hands correctly, but he keeps wanting to stand tall. Heyer is working hard on this. Cerrato essentially said that if he improves enough, the RT job is his.

First of all, great recap BHA, thanks for doing that. I think people need to begin to accept that Heyer is likely to be our starting RT on opening day. I don't get the sense that we are looking to draft a tackle, put him on the right side and then convert him to a LT down the road (Smith, Oher, etc.). If anything we're going to draft a RT or interior lineman in the 3rd round.

Also since OLB was our top priority last year and we didn't get one AND cut our starting OLB this year, what do you think the focus will be next month? He's pretty much putting it out there to expect us to go OLB at #13.

No talk about Campbell and the lack of an extension?

- It's interesting how often Cerrato talked about how he got the players' input re: Jason Taylor and DeAngelo Hall (whether to go after them/keep them), but he didn't talk as much about getting the coaches' input.


I think its very important to Cerrato to get guys who are loved in the Locker room. Team chemistry seems to be very important to Cerrato, as it should be. Overall, i feel good about having Cerrato in control of things. Sure he's made some mistakes (in hindsight), but understanding his rationale in trading for Taylor made me feel alot better about Cerratos priorities when it comes to building a team.

I read somewhere before that Cerrato allegedly only has two years to turn things around. Barring him making some monumental screw-up in the draft, i think he's already earned himself a 3rd year.

Like it or not, Snyder is the owner of this team and probably will remain the owner for the rest of his life. Giving Snyders penchant for being a moron when it comes to the non-business side of football, and his insistance on getting involved in things he shouldnt, I think we are better off with Cerrato than we would be with almost anyone else. He has a good relationship with Snyder and if Snyder brougth someone else in, i think they would just be a puppet and we would be right back to where we were in the early 2000s. Cerrato seems to have us pointed in the right direction. this team is definitely better right now than it was a year ago, and we still have the draft ahead of us.

First of all, great recap BHA, thanks for doing that. I think people need to begin to accept that Heyer is likely to be our starting RT on opening day. I don't get the sense that we are looking to draft a tackle, put him on the right side and then convert him to a LT down the road (Smith, Oher, etc.). If anything we're going to draft a RT or interior lineman in the 3rd round.

Also since OLB was our top priority last year and we didn't get one AND cut our starting OLB this year, what do you think the focus will be next month? He's pretty much putting it out there to expect us to go OLB at #13.

No talk about Campbell and the lack of an extension?

Campbell wasnt brought up at all, and i think Cerrato probably insisted on it. If the team is committed to Campbell, then not talking about it was a very smart move on Cerratos part. We talked about everything on the team, every position, every weakness, except quarterback, because its a no-issue to Cerrato. Campbell is our quarterback.

Also, i agree with your analysis about Heyer likely being our starting RT this year and, unless we pass on one of the big 4, i'm fine with that. Our defense was our strength last year and so far, its gotten significantly better with the addition of Haynesworth. Even if we got a stud RT in the draft, our offense would still be the teams weaker unit again this year.

I think it makes good sense to add a defensive player, so our defense can be completely dominating. By resigning Hall and getting Haynesworth, we've already assured ourselves of getting more turnovers in 2009. Looking at the teams we play this year, we're likely going to be facing alot of QBs that dont respond well to pressure. If we add a dominant pass rusher with the 13th pick, i am going to go out on a limb and predict our defense averages 2-3 turnovers and 1 defensive TD per game.

I certainly thing a defensive pass rusher will do alot more to help us score points than a rookie OT would if replacing Heyer. Heyer has improved dramatically in his two years here and i think he deserves a shot to win the starting job for good. If our 2nd year WRs and Davis step up, and Campbell can start getting rid of the ball quicker, we should be fine with Heyer at RT, as long as our defense is dominant.

- It's interesting how often Cerrato talked about how he got the players' input re: Jason Taylor and DeAngelo Hall (whether to go after them/keep them), but he didn't talk as much about getting the coaches' input.

- Another mention of Devin Clark (strange)

- Won't draft a punter...which some of course will say means that they will

- Need to improve punt returns (seemed to indicate Dorsey has a good shot). Also, talked about Anthony Alridge (I think he has potential as a 3rd down back)

- Offering Vet Min deals only right now to free agents (as the Warpath crowd laughs in the background)

Yeah that is interesting because it seemed that Blache wasn't 100% behind the move and he really wasn't a great fit for his style of D.

- It's interesting how often Cerrato talked about how he got the players' input re: Jason Taylor and DeAngelo Hall (whether to go after them/keep them), but he didn't talk as much about getting the coaches' input.


See to me that sounds like "We want to get their input because it has value and I am telling you this because it is not standard practice everywhere". I assumed he didn't mention coaches because he didn't think he needed to state the obvious that they are very involved in the personel areas.

vinny specifically mentioned the he spoke to players and coaches before getting hall. I agree, its assumed he talks to coaches prior to making any moves, whether major or minor

By resigning Hall and getting Haynesworth, we've already assured ourselves of getting more turnovers in 2009. Looking at the teams we play this year, we're likely going to be facing alot of QBs that dont respond well to pressure. If we add a dominant pass rusher with the 13th pick, i am going to go out on a limb and predict our defense averages 2-3 turnovers and 1 defensive TD per game.

I certainly thing a defensive pass rusher will do alot more to help us score points than a rookie OT would if replacing Heyer. Heyer has improved dramatically in his two years here and i think he deserves a shot to win the starting job for good. If our 2nd year WRs and Davis step up, and Campbell can start getting rid of the ball quicker, we should be fine with Heyer at RT, as long as our defense is dominant.

You make a really good point on how improving the defense actually improves the offense. If we generate 2 turnovers and a TD per game that would be historically good, but I see what you are saying. Adding Smith or Oher at RT isn't going to dramatically improve our offense overnight. However adding a pass rusher to Haynesworth and Hall can make our defense instantly more imposing and can lead to the turnover numbers you were talking about.