Quote:
Originally Posted by NLC1054
Where did this notion that Santana only plays in the slot (or only plays well in the slot) come from?
Kyle lined him up everywhere last season. In the slot, outside, split end, flanker. They moved Santana around a lot.
You look at Andre Johnson, and he never just lines up in one place. None of the wide receivers in this offense do or did either (except maybe Roydell, but he sucks). You don't get 93 receptions only playing in the slot. Moss plays all over the place, which I think what makes him invaluable.
It's not that I think the rookies can't come in and have success. I think Terrence Austin could be a good slot receiver. But it's all about versatility with Mike Shanahan. He wants his guys to be able to play multiple positions and multiple places.
That's one of the things that propelled Armstrong over Devin Thomas last year; Armstrong could really play everywhere you wanted to, and Devin...well...Devin was Devin.
And Dirtbag (hey, it's that guy from YouTube, lol), I like Banks, but again; it's the versatility. If the kick off rules really are as big an issue as it seems that might be, that limits his effectiveness. Banks has to prove that he can be a potential every down player. He's a tough guy, he's willing to go over the middle, he's got blazing speed (still can't believe McNabb OVERTHREW HIM in the Indy game), but he has to have a major development at the wide receiver position to stay on the team.
He's really at a disadvantage because both Niles Paul and Aldrick Robinson can return kicks, play wide receiver, and play special teams. And his durability (while I think it's a bit overblown) is still a concern.
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The argument against paying Moss to play on the outside is a lot easier, I think. And I think Moss' true value is his Patriots-style versatility. Moss can be a match-up nightmare, if surrounded by better weapons. That may require a change of scenery for him.
I'm just saying that the most common argument for extending Moss is that he can just take a higher percentage of snaps out of the slot as his ability to beat no. 2 corners leaves him (he hasn't been able to beat elite corners in years). But I'm pointing out that moving on is the best option for building a receiving corps because Moss as a slot guy is just blocking a younger guy from the exact same role.
And really, if getting rid of Moss means that Hankerson plays 90% of the snaps this year instead of 55%, I just don't see why this would be a bad outcome for a 2011 Redskins team that is going to finish with a losing record. Don't fear the future.