How the 49ers/Texans changed my view on Football and how to build the redskins

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by CultBrennan59

The key to winning in the NFL is having a great pass rush/DL, Good OL, and Good QB. WR's RBs aren't as crucial as your QB is.

The Skins have all but ignored the DL and OL in the draft for the last 10 years. There's a reason why the Giants and the 49ers are so stout in the trenches - they have invested heavily there for years. If I've said it once, I've said it dozens of times on this board - great teams are built from the inside out. The Snyder Era has clung to a completely opposite draft philosophy, trading away picks on top of that. I would be perfectly happy if two of the first three picks were linemen. The Skins have been the 110 lb weaklings of the NFC East, and it's time to change that!!!

[SirClintonPortis]

Originally Posted by SouperMeister

The Skins have all but ignored the DL and OL in the draft for the last 10 years. There's a reason why the Giants and the 49ers are so stout in the trenches - they have invested heavily there for years. If I've said it once, I've said it dozens of times on this board - great teams are built from the inside out. The Snyder Era has clung to a completely opposite draft philosophy, trading away picks on top of that. I would be perfectly happy if two of the first three picks were linemen. The Skins have been the 110 lb weaklings of the NFC East, and it's time to change that!!!

I would disagree and argue that the Snyder Era's primary "draft strategy" was precisely trading away mid- and high-round picks for vets or trade ups. Yes, neglecting the Oline and Dline was a problem, but the team's FO not recognizing the value of having picks was the largest issue out of many.

Washington Redskins All-Time Draft History - Pro-Football-Reference.com
From 2003 all the way to 2007, our drafts were either lean in number or in "value"(a bunch 6th and 7th rounders aren't going to help that much).

[Defensewins]

The main problem with Snyderatto was they were incredibly terrible at talent evaluation and drafting players period. Regardless of how many picks they gave away or at which potion(s) they concentrated on. The players they did get were awful. The amount of quality starters, and I emphasize 'Quality' starters they drafted was very low. I m not talking about players that started for the Redskins. I am talking about players we drafted that could have started for other teams. Nearly non-existent. Quality and quantity were both an issue, regardless of postilion or quantity of draft picks.
The good teams like Ravens, Texans, Packers, Niners and Patriots have one thing in common, great talent evaluation and great draft classes.

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by Defensewins

The main problem with Snyderatto was they were incredibly terrible at talent evaluation and drafting players period. Regardless of how many picks they gave away or at which potion(s) they concentrated on. The players they did get were awful. The amount of quality starters, and I emphasize 'Quality' starters they drafted was very low. I m not talking about players that started for the Redskins. I am talking about players we drafted that could have started for other teams. Nearly non-existent. Quality and quantity were both an issue, regardless of postilion or quantity of draft picks.
The good teams like Ravens, Texans, Packers, Niners and Patriots have one thing in common, great talent evaluation and great draft classes.

The other thing that they have going for them is their common philosophy to stockpile draft picks, so even if they miss on a few players, when you're drafting 10-12 a year, there is a better chance on hitting on more players. Of course having 10 picks in the 2008 draft resulted in abject failure due to poor talent and character evaluation by Vinny. Having top-notch talent evaluators is the most important factor, and the book is still out on Shanny. He had a spotty draft record toward the end of his Denver run.

[SirClintonPortis]

Originally Posted by Defensewins

The main problem with Snyderatto was they were incredibly terrible at talent evaluation and drafting players period. Regardless of how many picks they gave away or at which potion(s) they concentrated on. The players they did get were awful. The amount of quality starters, and I emphasize 'Quality' starters they drafted was very low. I m not talking about players that started for the Redskins. I am talking about players we drafted that could have started for other teams. Nearly non-existent. Quality and quantity were both an issue, regardless of postilion or quantity of draft picks.
The good teams like Ravens, Texans, Packers, Niners and Patriots have one thing in common, great talent evaluation and great draft classes.

You cannot discount the importance of draft class size, aka having more picks. Increasing pick quantities softens the blow of a "miss" because you get another chance to pick a "hit". All the teams you mentioned usually had a bigger number of picks than us for a given year.

You cannot discount the importance of draft position. Draft Position matters because later round prospects generally trash relative to the earlier round ones. Or as an example, having 10 1st rounders is going to net you a better team on average than having 20 7th rounders. Most 6th and 7th rounders WILL FAIL, and we had plenty of picks in the 6th and 7th rounds. Drafting crappy players in the 6th and 7th round is a "natural" part of the biz and not specific to the Redskins. You cannot expect to draft Pro Bowler after Pro Bowler with 7th rounders even with Bill Walsh's ghost assisting you.

Quality starters are usually found in rounds 1-3. We actually weren't that bad in the first round, but we were virtually nonexistent in rounds 2 and 3(2 especially) for the most part precisely because we did not have picks in those rounds and instead had low round picks, which are usually doomed to failure.

And our 1st rounders being that bad is NOT BS, even if they would have remained mediocre here. JC started in Oakland, Carlos Rogers started in San Fran, Sean(RIP) would have been a great one, Chris Samuels proved his worth for us, Champ was a bargaining chip for a blockbuster trade. Hell, Derrick Dockery got overpaid in Buffalo and Rock Cartwright is still in the league.

[skinsfan69]

49ers and Texans have an identity. Strong o-line and running game, tough defense. Jim Harbaugh gave the 49ers exactly what they needed... an identity. I think that formula won 3 Super Bowls around here. What's the identity here?????????????? Let Kyle call his silly pass plays with a below average QB and swiss cheese o-line so he can turn the ball over? What's the identity of the defense? This team needs an identity in the worst way.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

49ers and Texans have an identity. Strong o-line and running game, tough defense. Jim Harbaugh gave the 49ers exactly what they needed... an identity. I think that formula won 3 Super Bowls around here. What's the identity here?????????????? Let Kyle call his silly pass plays with a below average QB and swiss cheese o-line so he can turn the ball over? What's the identity of the defense? This team needs an identity in the worst way.

I think our defense is close to having one. I think the switch to the 3-4 had some major growing pains, but we're putting pressure on the QB with our defensive line finally.

[redskin29633]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

49ers and Texans have an identity. Strong o-line and running game, tough defense. Jim Harbaugh gave the 49ers exactly what they needed... an identity. I think that formula won 3 Super Bowls around here. What's the identity here?????????????? Let Kyle call his silly pass plays with a below average QB and swiss cheese o-line so he can turn the ball over? What's the identity of the defense? This team needs an identity in the worst way.

[diehard]

I like RexKelly.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I bet somewhere RexKelly's blogs are burning.

[Chico23231]

One thing both franchises did was build through the draft extensively

[SirClintonPortis]

Problem is...Alex Smith was never meant to be a plug-in filler. #1 overall picks have far higher expectations than that. He was chosen with those expectations in mind. That 49ers were able to field a good team still is that 1. they lost a lot of games(thanks to shitty QB play and a shitty secondary), and 2. They didn't piss away picks while losing, and 3. used FA judiciously. We are already building the 49ers way, except that we're in 2008, not 2011, minus the coaching change.

And I forgot...new head coach.

[celts32]

No one has said it's impossible to have a good season without a franchise QB. however, being a championship contender on a yearly basis is pretty much impossible these days without one.

[biffle]

The Texans lost their franchise QB and went from a Super Bowl favorite to a playoff also ran. I'm really not sure why that would teach you that franchise QBs aren't crucial to being a SB contender.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by biffle

The Texans lost their franchise QB and went from a Super Bowl favorite to a playoff also ran. I'm really not sure why that would teach you that franchise QBs aren't crucial to being a SB contender.

This, for the win.