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Originally Posted by skinsfanthru&thru
how popular is the use of a h-back in an offensive scheme? do u think he mentioned that he'd have to play h-back in some offenses because of the loud rumours of how much Gibbs likes what he's seen about Winslow?
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The "H-back" is used to some extent in several offenses throughout the league. Minnesota in particular has had a lot of success using Jimmy Kleinsasser in that role.
Norv Turner has always been an avid H-back user, harking back to his days with Dallas-- where Jay Novacek and Daryl Johnston were frequently used in that role-- and continuing with his tenure in Washington, where he had a lot of success with guys like Jamie Asher and Stephen Alexander. Recently, rumors have surfaced that Turner would like to draft Winslow as his ultimate weapon at the H-back spot in Oakland, though Turner already has two capable H-backs in Doug Jolley and Teyo Johnson.
Frank Wycheck, who started his career in Washington, eventually developed into the prototypical H-back in Tennessee. As a lead blocker, he figured heavily into the success of Eddie George's career, and made a name for himself as one of the elite receiving H-backs/Tight ends in the league.
The H-back is certainly not exclusively a feature of the Joe Gibbs offense, but Gibbs brought the position into prominence, so any time a talented H-back type of player is a available, Washington will always be the first place people will assume that player will wind up.
As far as Winslow goes, his skillset meshes almost seamlessly with what Joe Gibbs likes to do with his H-backs--at least in terms of the passing game-- and that's why Winslow has become one of the two primary candidates to be drafted by Washington with the #5 pick. Winslow was one of several draft candidates brought in for visits to Redskins Park over the past week, so obviously the Skins are looking at him. But there are several knocks against Winslow that would make him a poor fit in Washington, including his alleged "me-first" attitude, his perceived deficiency as a lead blocker, and his signing with agents Carl and Kevin Poston.
It isn't a given at all that Winslow is the Redskins' most favored target, or even Joe Gibbs' most favored draft target. There is increasing sentiment that the Skins will either draft Sean Taylor at #5, or trade down to acquire more picks, where they could still add excellent H-back/TEs like Ben Troupe or Ben Watson, in addition to a talented defensive player.