Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

After a brief hiatus, the smackdown is back.

For those of you are new here, this is a weekly (ideally) feature that takes a look at what didn't quite work in the previous game.

The idea is not to be negative, bash the team, or say the sky is falling. Just to point out what needs improvement. I'll kick it off and other can jump in.

1.) [B]The Beckwagon[/B]-Slow your roll, Beckwagoneers. He did nothing wrong really, and he was very efficient in one half. But he played in a pretty simple offense last night against a simple defense. He didn't cleary distance himself from Rex Grossman last week. The question, of course, is does he need to?

2). [B]Trent Williams[/B]-I have very high hopes for Trent, and I believe he will go down as one our best OTs ever. That said, he can't keep getting beat by elite pass rushers. I mean, I understand there's a reason they're elite and he's just starting his second year. But the excuse last year was he's getting a quick lesson in the realities of the NFL facing so many strong pass rushers right off the bat in his career. The hope was/is that getting tossed right into the deep end of the pool so quickly would accelerate his process. The reality is he our LT and he's going to be facing elite pass rushers more often than not. I expect he will be able to handle them more often than not.

3. [B]Leonard "No Hands"kerson[/B]-Yeah, that didn't exactly work. But anyhow, I know it was just one drop. And even the best WRs have drops. But what frustrates me most from what I've seen of Hankerson is that he practices so hard and it shows in games. He's a solid blocker, runs crisp routes, gets consistently open (granted against vanilla defenses), so it would be very frustrating to see him do all that just to drop a pass thrown to him. Maybe Malcolm Kelly could lend Hank his hands since it doesn't look like he'll be using them.

4. [B]Perry Riley on Special Teams[/B]-Really it's not a big deal, but when he had that block in the back on my man Terrence Austin's 20 (or so) yard return my first thought was to flash back to his infamous block in the back on Banks' TD return last year. Granted, unlike Banks' return I don't think Austin gets as far as he does without Riley's block.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

I said it in my another thread but I want Austin over Banks. Banks is a homerun threat but after one great game he is already hurt. Banks can play special team and be a reciever.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=diehardskin2982;825295]I said it in my another thread but I want Austin over Banks. Banks is a homerun threat but after one great game he is already hurt. Banks can play special team and be a reciever.[/quote]

He isn't "already" hurt. He was hurt going into the game.

I don't see how Banks isn't a part of this team. Zero....ZERO chance they cut him. Maybe they IR him but they certainly aren't going to cut someone who is legitimately one of the most exciting and best returners in the game.

I think Austin makes it anyways.

As for TW. He's letting guys get into him too much. The times he looked bad last night were when the rusher just blasted off at him and got TW peddling. He needs to plant off the ball and use his size and strength to smack the rusher off kilter enough to keep him from harnessing his strength straight through TW. A little more punch to his initial engagement should fix the issue.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

I understand the thread.....but we have been sucking for so long, that when we finally look good as a team, its hard for me to start looking at flaws...lol I am in awe how differenct we look as a team and organization.

1. Beck needs to do it again (another solid game and he is the starter)
2. TW has to study elite DE moves and tendacies again
3. Torrain better be impressive b/c these young backs are looking good
4. Red zone offense needs to improve big time

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

Yeah our RZ offense is looking dicey. Play calling or execution? Not sure. A little of both maybe. And too many mental-errors last night. It is the only real glaring concern right now. Sure there are dozens of smaller things that need work but the RZ offense has to improve or it'll be another season of close games where we have a 50/50 shot at winning despite the whole of our effort on the field.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[QUOTE=SmootSmack;825293]After a brief hiatus, the smackdown is back.

For those of you are new here, this is a weekly (ideally) feature that takes a look at what didn't quite work in the previous game.

The idea is not to be negative, bash the team, or say the sky is falling. Just to point out what needs improvement. I'll kick it off and other can jump in.

1.) [B]The Beckwagon[/B]-[B]Slow your roll, Beckwagoneers. He did nothing wrong really, and he was very efficient in one half. But he played in a pretty simple offense last night against a simple defense[/B]. He didn't cleary distance himself from Rex Grossman last week. The question, of course, is does he need to?


I disagree, yes it was preseason but he managed the game and spun the ball well on the run into some tight spots. The Beckwagon is being pushed along flat ground right now by those who see an exciting QB leading the redskins on and off the field. If you don't want to get on or help push thats okay, but when it really starts rolling don't be upset if you can't catch up! HTTR!!

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=Texanskin;825299]I understand the thread.....but we have been sucking for so long, that when we finally look good as a team, [B]its hard for me to start looking at flaws...[/B]lol I am in awe how differenct we look as a team and organization.

1. Beck needs to do it again (another solid game and he is the starter)
2. TW has to study elite DE moves and tendacies again
3. Torrain better be impressive b/c these young backs are looking good
[B]4. Red zone offense needs to improve big time[/B][/quote]

The second part of your opening statement and your point 4 gave me a good laugh... But I agree 100% with your last statement. They are looking much more put together!

On with the weekly feature Smoot!

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

Cue Monty Python here:
[INDENT][I]Always look at the bright side of life...[/I][/INDENT]
Consider:
[INDENT]The Skins beat the Steelers.
The Steelers beat the Eagles.
Everybody says the Eagles are shoo-ins for the NFC Championship Game.[/INDENT]

Therefore, get your tickets now for the Skins/Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. It's a mortal lock...

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

LIKE what I'm seeing out of these Skins!
Grossman hits Sellers across the middle......Sellers hits the turf rather than get tackled by safety? WTF?
I hope 280 pound Sellers tripped?

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

I was thinking the exact same thing last night SS about Perry Riley. One play he makes a great special teams tackle. The next he gets called for a hold on a huge run back, Just like Minnesota game last year.

I say Banks doesn't make the team because we get almost as good production from Terrence Austin (a poor mans desean jackson) on returns, and he plays more on the field than Banks. Also he has better ball security and is less injury prone.

Don't get me wrong I love Banks, but in todays NFL you got to have guys that can play more positions than just KR/PR. Austins a good slot receiver, a PR, a KR, and is on kick and punt coverages.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

If you have a KR that does what Banks does (if he can continue to deliver) his job is secure. The kid is electric

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

Penalties, turnovers, sacks allowed.... Something we didn't see last week. And Hankerson- I know you led the team in receiving last night, but stop dropping passes dude.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=SmootSmack;825293]That said, he can't keep getting beat by elite pass rushers. I mean, I understand there's a reason they're elite and he's just starting his second year.[/quote]

Are you including John Chick in that group?

Unless I'm mistaken he was left floundering by Chick as well as Freeney. :(

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

I dont know if Kyle is just going very vanilla in the red zone, but we gotta get better. Where is that redzone reciever? And please stop calling RB screens that give no room to develop.

Becks gotta get the ball downfield a little more to impress me. This competition is far from over.

Silverback, im not worried about.

Safety play was better, but not much. We need LL and OJ back in there.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

Most of my thoughts about last night's game are positive but, in the spirit of this thread, there are a few concerns that I have about some players.

1. [B]Beck[/B] - Many positive things but I need to see him throw the long ball before I try to catch up to and jump on the Beckwagon.
2. [B]Hankerson[/B] - Right now, I just can't think of a WR who came into the NFL and dropped a lot of passes who corrected that problem over time. I may be wrong. If so, somebody school me. Any WR who is just as likely to drop a pass as he is to catch it won't make it in the NFL.
3. I still think that [B]Rocky McIntosh[/B] is not a good fit for ILB in a 3-4. In fact, he wasn't very good in a 4-3 either. Does he ever make an eye-catching play?
4. The [B]pass rush[/B] was so-so against an unsettled Colts OL.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

I'm not too worried about Hank, I think he'll be a stud. Kudos to Keenan McCardell for working with the rook. Helu, stud. Tim Hightower...funny, he reminds me a little of Brian Westbrooks before his wheels gave out.

I'm honestly on the fence about Banks. The one dimensional thing just makes him expendable in today's NFL. Are the Redskins really the caliber team that can carry a guy who's good at one thing? I don't know.

The one thing I'm very pleased with is that it appears as though this team is buying into the system on both sides of the ball. Considering how we imploded down the stretch last year, it's good to see some cohesiveness which is usually good for a win or two during close games.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[QUOTE] 1.) The Beckwagon-Slow your roll, Beckwagoneers. He did nothing wrong really, and he was very efficient in one half. But he played in a pretty simple offense last night against a simple defense. He didn't cleary distance himself from Rex Grossman last week. The question, of course, is does he need to?

What you saw last night will not keep many DC"s up late trying to figure out how to defend. I'm in agreement with those who want to see if Beck can deliver the ball down the field on any consistent basis, until then no team is going to fear him as a NFL QB.

[QUOTE=Texanskin;825299]I understand the thread.....but we have been sucking for so long, that when we finally look good as a team, its hard for me to start looking at flaws...lol I am in awe how differenct we look as a team and organization.

1. Beck needs to do it again (another solid game and he is the starter)
2. TW has to study elite DE moves and tendacies again
3. Torrain better be impressive b/c these young backs are looking good
4. Red zone offense needs to improve big time[/QUOTE]

Well, I had started this thread about 3 years ago to counter against ignorant accusations on kool-aid drinking (remind me to change my avatar back by the way) and because game day and post game day threads were being cluttered by sky is falling crap.

Hoping we these threads we can at least have level headed discussions about what's not working.

That said, overall I'm very thrilled with the direction and energy of this team. But I'll save the positives for our new weekly thread debuting soon...Scud's Studs

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

Not to jump on you Longtimefan, but it bugs me a little when people say things like "no team is going to fear him as QB". Well duh, that's most QBs in the NFL. How many quarterbacks are honestly revered in the NFL? Five maybe? Manning, Brady, Vick, Brees, Rodgers?

You could probably add another two to that list, but my point is the majority of QBs in the NFL aren't great but teams still manage to win with them. Look, Beck or Rex won't be going to the Pro-Bowl this year but if they turn out to be good solid Redskins, then that's the most I could hope for and hopefully end up 8-8 or 9-7 in the process.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

Not to compare us to the WC OFF 49's but there game was based on dink & dunk small passes turning into large gains.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=12thMan;825336]Not to jump on you Longtimefan, but it bugs me a little when people say things like "no team is going to fear him as QB". Well duh, that's most QBs in the NFL. How many quarterbacks are honestly revered in the NFL? Five maybe? Manning, Brady, Vick, Brees, Rodgers?

You could probably add another two to that list, but my point is the majority of QBs in the NFL aren't great but teams still manage to win with them. Look, Beck or Rex won't be going to the Pro-Bowl this year but if they turn out to be good solid Redskins, then that's the most I could hope for and hopefully end up 8-8 or 9-7 in the process.[/quote]


Agree 110%, did anyone fear JT, MR, or DW but we still won SB's with them.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

It is still very early, but the level of play at our weakest positions (offensive and defensive lines and Qb) has so far shown great improvement due to the addition of new players, return to health of certain veterans and the added year of experience in the Shannahan system. The hustle and enthusiasm is contagious and great to see. A sight for sore eyes.
The [B]Front Office[/B] (Allen/Shannahan) is giving us new, young talent at quantities and quality we have not seen since 1992 and prior. The new players that look promising so far:

NT Barry Coffield, DE Stephen Bowen and DE Jarvis Jenkins have helped to solidify the front seven. It won't be long before Jenkins is the starter over Carricker. Not knocking Carricker, but Jenkins shows alittle more explosion and pass rush. We now have some depth in case of injury.
RB's Hightower, Helu and Royster added to Torrain, Darnell Young and Kieland Williams makes for a great stable of young backs.
The return to full health OT Jammal Brown and the frugal addition of OL Chris Chester has greatly improved the O-line play. They look like a completely different unit. I do not recognize Jammal Brown, he looks back to his former probowl self. I was not expecting much from Chester. So I am pleasantly surprised he is doing well. He is really thriving in our zone system.
Same with WR Jabar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth. I was not expecting much, they have impressed me with great route running and good technique. They are pros.
Hankerson is coming out of his shell.
Beck is finally showing the rest of the world what the coaches have seen in practice, Beck is capable of running the Shannahan system efficiently. So has Grossman but the interception is a set back. If Beck continues to play like this it is his position to lose. It appears Beck may be more athletic, quicker on his feet and eludes the rush better then Grossman. Which bodes better for the naked bootleg play-action. I would like to see Beck show some more down field stuff and not solely rely on one thing (short passes). The good defenses will eat him for lunch if he does not show some diversity.
Our second team O-line is still a concern. We need depth at guard and Tackle. We are still paper thin at O-tackle depth. I am not sure the backups we currently have have shown they can handle the job. Might have to see who gets cut from another team.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=NYCskinfan82;825338]Agree 110%, did anyone fear JT, MR, or DW but we still won SB's with them.[/quote]

That's the exception rather than the rule. It's one of the things that made Joe Gibbs great.

Shanahan won it with a great QB, Elway. Once we get all the pieces in place and crown it with a star QB, we'll win the SB again, this time under Shanahan.

I don't believe that we'll win it again with a pedestrian QB. Few coaches have ever achieved that.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=KI Skins Fan;825343]That's the exception rather than the rule. It's one of the things that made Joe Gibbs great.

Shanahan won it with a great QB, Elway. Once we get all the pieces in place and crown it with a star QB, we'll win the SB again, this time under Shanahan.

I don't believe that we'll win it again with a pedestrian QB. Few coaches have ever achieved that.[/quote]

Are you kidding me? I already bought my plane tix for the super bowl. We win EVERY time there is a lockout. Guaranteed....

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

Beck did not force a pass that wasn't there like Rex did. The problem with Rex is staring down receivers and forcing it when its not there, he has done this for years so there is no reason to think its going to change. No QB should ever force a 5 yard pass to a TE that has a chance to get picked, if the LB doesn't stumble he probably scores. It was a terrible metal error that can cost your team points.

Beck is slightly ahead for one single reason, no forced passes.

Hasselback in Seattle made a damn good QB who was accurate 25 yards and in, he couldn't throw it 50 yards. Our QB's can manage a game without mistakes we have a chance to win, 5 yard curls that are high risk no reward lose them.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=12thMan;825336]Not to jump on you Longtimefan, but it bugs me a little when people say things like "no team is going to fear him as QB". Well duh, that's most QBs in the NFL. How many quarterbacks are honestly revered in the NFL? Five maybe? Manning, Brady, Vick, Brees, Rodgers?

You could probably add another two to that list, but my point is the majority of QBs in the NFL aren't great but teams still manage to win with them. Look, Beck or Rex won't be going to the Pro-Bowl this year but if they turn out to be good solid Redskins, then that's the most I could hope for and hopefully end up 8-8 or 9-7 in the process.[/quote]

I respect where you're coming from 12th, and you know from reading the majority of my previous post relative to Beck, I've been a staunch supporter of him when others have been critical. In no way did I intend to be critical of his work, he did a good job under circumstances. There are other characteristics I'd like to see, not saying he won't have ample time to demonstrate them before the start of the regular season, nor does it mean we can't win games with him.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=SkinzWin;825344]Are you kidding me? I already bought my plane tix for the super bowl. We win EVERY time there is a lockout. Guaranteed....[/quote]

I forgot about that. You're right, of course.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

I believe that Beck will go deep in due time, when the situation presents itself(i.e single man coverage). In his post-game interview, he mentioned that he thought about pressing it deep, but did not. To me, that shows mental maturity about how to play the position.

Besides, the deeper passes will not necessarily comprise a huge portion of a QB's total completions. For example, Peyton Manning threw 679 passes last season, 77 of them were 21 yards or further. The rest of his work involved him cutting through the defense with the short and intermediate passes.
[url=http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/splits/_/id/1428/peyton-manning]Peyton Manning Stats, Splits - Indianapolis Colts - ESPN[/url]

Matt Schaub, who distribution of pass attempts would most likely reflect our QBs' distribution of pass attempts, attempted only 48 passes of over 20+ yards out of the 583 he attempted during the 2009 season.
[url=http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/splits/_/id/5615/year/2009/matt-schaub]Matt Schaub Stats, Splits - Houston Texans - ESPN[/url]

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

1. Playcalling in the red zone needs to be improved and more aggressive, even in the vanilla preseason

2. The offense needs more of a vertical dimension

3. As said above, Silverback needs to be better

4. I hope that we find a better backup safety than Horton...someone like DeJon Gomes!

5. Mr. Poo Hands Hankey is terribly frustrating. Getting wide open is a negative if you then drop the ball, as the pass may have gone to someone else who would have caught it.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

Hankerson will be fine. Anyone who says they don't know a lot of rookie wide receivers that drop passes that get better aren't really paying attention.

It's not a lack of hands for Hank. It's concentration drops. It's always concentration drops. He only dropped one pass last night, and then caught the other passes he was targeted on. Hank makes the same mistake every other rookie wide receiver does; he looks to run before he catches the ball.

Roddy White, T.O, Brandon Lloyd, Dwayne Bowe, Braylon Edwards all had drops, and then corrected the those problems as they progressed and got older.

Let's give the rookie a little bit of time before we go worrying about it. He dropped an easy one over the middle, and then caught three more passes over the middle, and all with his hands instead of his body, and wound up being the leading receiver for the game.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=Longtimefan;825334][QUOTE] 1.) The Beckwagon-Slow your roll, Beckwagoneers. He did nothing wrong really, and he was very efficient in one half. But he played in a pretty simple offense last night against a simple defense. He didn't cleary distance himself from Rex Grossman last week. The question, of course, is does he need to?

What you saw last night will not keep many DC"s up late trying to figure out how to defend. I'm in agreement with those who want to see if Beck can deliver the ball down the field on any consistent basis, until then no team is going to fear him as a NFL QB.[/quote]

Your assessment is pretty accurate and someone agrees with it:

[url=http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post?id=29771]Observation deck: Redskins-Colts - NFC East Blog - ESPN[/url]

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

There's a reason we didn't stretch the field last night.

The Colts play a Tampa 2 defense. The strength of that defense is defending the deep ball. Two deep safeties, one deep linebacker, and rush with the front four. The weakness in the Tampa 2 defense is short and intermediate, particularly over the middle. Which is the part of the field the Redskins attacked over and over again.

You guys don't remember the Colts game last year? The go route with Banks? The deep pass attempt to Armstrong? They're always ready to defend the deep ball. They could've tried it, but the chances of completing it wasn't much. So why take a shot deep when they're giving you the short stuff and leaving the middle of the field open for you, not to mention they're having trouble stopping the run?

I guarantee you, if the Ravens try to crowd the box to stop the short passing game, Beck will have no problem chucking one deep, provided he has the time. The weakness of the Ravens defense is still in their secondary; they bought in Bernard Pollard, but he's like Landry and has issues covering, and they'll likely be starting Jimmy Smith, who was worked on by Dwayne Bowe.

As for red zone production, if Sellers doesn't get accidentally tripped up, it's a touchdown. I think there's like, five teams who made the playoffs last year that had an even worse red zone conversion rate than we did. I saw some good red zone plays called in the regular season at the end of the year, particularly with Fred Davis. You don't want to tip your hat to that too much, though.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

There's something weird about this qb "competition" ... that's all I'm gonna say.. whoever starts I hope they do well.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

There's no competition... it's Beck's job to lose.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=SFREDSKIN;825362][quote=Longtimefan;825334]

Your assessment is pretty accurate and someone agrees with it:

[url=http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post?id=29771]Observation deck: Redskins-Colts - NFC East Blog - ESPN[/url][/quote]

So thats how you know SS was behind that ESPN NFC East Blog!

;)

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=NLC1054;825364]There's a reason we didn't stretch the field last night.

The Colts play a Tampa 2 defense. The strength of that defense is defending the deep ball. Two deep safeties, one deep linebacker, and rush with the front four. The weakness in the Tampa 2 defense is short and intermediate, particularly over the middle. Which is the part of the field the Redskins attacked over and over again.
[/quote]


Exactly, I think in an interview Beck said Kyle Shanahan told him to not go for "spectacular" plays.. So it was in their game plan.

[quote]After the game, Beck explained how offensive coordinator [U]Kyle Shanahan [/U]cited his days as Houston’s offensive coordinator in [U]advising him to take what the Colts defense gave him. Shanahan told Beck there was no need to try to make the spectacular play against the Colts[/U], Beck said.

[url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/20/redskins-colts-film-review-offense/?page=2]Redskins-Colts Film Review: Offense - Washington Times[/url][/quote]

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

I think you should include finishing in the red-zone -- we're only two games into the preseason but we've completed 2 of 9 trips into the red zone for touchdowns. That has to be rectified if we're going to be competitive, this is a problem we've had for a few years now in my estimation and has to be fixed for us to become a consistent team.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=NLC1054;825361]Hankerson will be fine. Anyone who says they don't know a lot of rookie wide receivers that drop passes that get better aren't really paying attention.

It's not a lack of hands for Hank. It's concentration drops. It's always concentration drops. He only dropped one pass last night, and then caught the other passes he was targeted on. Hank makes the same mistake every other rookie wide receiver does; he looks to run before he catches the ball.

Roddy White, T.O, Brandon Lloyd, Dwayne Bowe, Braylon Edwards all had drops, and then corrected the those problems as they progressed and got older.

Let's give the rookie a little bit of time before we go worrying about it. He dropped an easy one over the middle, and then caught three more passes over the middle, and all with his hands instead of his body, and wound up being the leading receiver for the game.[/quote]

I guess I wouldn't be as concerned about his drops if that wasn't a knock on him coming out of college. If he never had a problem with it before, you could chalk it up to rookie nerves. But he [I]did[/I] have issues with it at Miami. Not saying it can't be corrected. It's just ... concerning.

Especially when you consider that we haven't drafted a wide receiver who's had any long term success with the team since Ricky Sanders.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

[quote=Beemnseven;825459]I guess [B]I wouldn't be as concerned about his drops if that wasn't a knock on him coming out of college.[/B] If he never had a problem with it before, you could chalk it up to rookie nerves. But he [I]did[/I] have issues with it at Miami. Not saying it can't be corrected. It's just ... concerning.

Especially when you consider that we haven't drafted a wide receiver who's had any long term success with the team since Ricky Sanders.[/quote]

Exactly what I was going to say.

Re: Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs. Colts)
 

well, stretch plays don't work as well in the red zone, the player density is just too great... and those fast OL guys can't use their speed in space, so they tend to get pushed around since they're not as hard to move as 350lb grinders.

I think the red zone won't be a major hurdle, but we're not coming close to #1 there... it'll be a lot easier for us to be a 30yd TD type team.