One player the Skins cannot afford to lose to injury in '09

[freddyg12]

Samuels is the stand out in this area. we saw what happened when he was hurt last year. They've taken steps to improve depth, but we don't know how Bridges, Williams & Heyer will pan out even at RT, much less LT.

[DBUCHANON101]

Clinton Portis, if he goes down its over.

[GTripp0012]

Last year, it was easy: Samuels.

This year, I want to say Haynesworth, but truth is, he's probably not the number one guy. The number one guy almost has to be an offensive player.

So with that in mind, I think it's a toss up between Campbell, Portis, Samuels, and Dockery. We can't lose any of them. If I had to pick one, I'd go with Dock.

[MTK]

I'm not hating on Blades but Fletcher to me would be a pretty big loss. What gets overlooked is how he is almost like a coach out there getting everyone where they need to be and in the right calls.

Losing Portis would suck but I don't think it would spell doom for the season, Betts has proven he can step in and carry the load full time.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I'm not hating on Blades but Fletcher to me would be a pretty big loss. What gets overlooked is how he is almost like a coach out there getting everyone where they need to be and in the right calls.

Losing Portis would suck but I don't think it would spell doom for the season, Betts has proven he can step in and carry the load full time.

I don't worry so much about Blades moving up to a starting role at MLB, I'd worry more so about someone like Robert Henson for example suddenly having to fill Blades' role and play major backup minutes at all linebacker positions.

[freddyg12]

Losing Campbell would ironically really set things up for fan unrest, assuming Collins remains #2 this year. Will be something to watch in camp to see if Colt can unseat him as backup.

If Collins were to come in & start to show his age & decline, fans will be calling for Colt. Obvious reasons aside, given the chain reaction it would create, losing Campbell would be huge. I still say Samuels though.

[DBUCHANON101]

I wouldnt say AH because we didnt have him last yr.
I would go with Fletcher as the defense goes but now having AH would make it easier on a young MLB by keeping him clean of blockers.but as a leader of the D it would be a loss in that regard.
IF CP went down week 1 we would be in big trouble.

[Beemnseven]

I'll be on record as saying that losing either Rogers or Hall would be devastating. I have lost faith in Fred Smoot.

[Skinny Tee]

Clinton Portis.

He is the only thing that gives our offense respect. We barely get off pass plays now with him as a legitmate threat. If he went down we wouldn't be able to move the ball at all and defenses would have an easier time stopping our attack.

[wilsowilso]

Casey Rabach.

What does the fact that he is an actual NFL starter say about the backup plan at center? It would be very very very ugly.

[Daseal]

Beemn, we're on the same page. My vote is for Rogers with Hall a close 2nd. If we lose one of those guys, our CBs will be hurting.

[jdlea]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Beemn, we're on the same page. My vote is for Rogers with Hall a close 2nd. If we lose one of those guys, our CBs will be hurting.

That said, we don't know what we have in Barnes, he could end up beating Smoot for the nickel spot and we may not have much to worry about if he had to spot start a few games.

That's purely speculative, but it could happen.

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by jdlea

That said, we don't know what we have in Barnes, he could end up beating Smoot for the nickel spot and we may not have much to worry about if he had to spot start a few games.

That's purely speculative, but it could happen.

I thought really hard about Rogers. It would suck to lose him for a significant time. But, yeah, I think that Barnes will be taking Smoot's spot by Halloween and we have some depth at corner. We would be hurtin' without Carlos, for sure, but IMO we'd be hurting more without Fletcher's leadership.

[Schneed10]

Nobody else thinking Landry? He's the one guy whose absence would dramatically alter the defensive scheme.

[jdlea]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Nobody else thinking Landry? He's the one guy whose absence would dramatically alter the defensive scheme.

It's because the D is already pretty good. I looked at the offense because last year it was middle of the pack at best, if it were to get worse, they wouldn't be able to win games (look at the end of last season). I don't think there's anyone on the roster who could fill in for Landry,but he's almost gameplanned out of having a huge impact on the game other than taking away the deep ball which is frustrating for me, but that's the gameplan as of right now.