McCardell takes on task of developing Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly

[Defensewins]

I have to agree with Skinsfan69, coaching can only take you so far. You still have to go out on the field and physically make plays. First Kelly and Thomas showed up to their first training camp out of shape and failed the fitness tests. Then they got injured and missed time.
I hope DT and MK become HOF'ers, I really do. I want them to be successful. But we have to move on if they do not show improvement and production this year.
Being tall and fast does not mean you are an NFL WR.
I don't care if Vince Lombardi came back to life and coached them, they still have to go out make plays.

[Trample the Elderly]

I'm not sold that the three WR we drafted under Cerrato will be on the roster. This off season is so different than what I'm used to. I wanted us to ditch a WR to bring McCardell back. I'm more than exited that he's going to be the WR coach. The man always struck me as a no nonsense strait up dude. I liked him as a player and a man, and I have the feeling that I'll like him as a coach. I'd take McCardell at WR over Moss everyday of the week. What about Thrash? Has he moved on to coaching with another team?

[GusFrerotte]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

I realize that KM wasn't a 2nd round pick, but considering he did basically nothing his first 3 years in the league before he took off I would assume he, more than anyone, would understand 2 years is too soon to write Kelly or DT off

That is what a ton of folks said about JC or Ramsey also( too early to write them off). I think they are going to improve vastly this season, but Skinsfan is right to a degree. The guys have it or they don't. Zorn sucked as a HC, but he was a decent QB coach, and did nothing for JC, neither did Gibbs for that matter. Not because the coaches were necessarily bad, it was JC just couldn't break bad habits, etc. With the new offense given to them by Kyle, if those guys don't improve at all, with McNabb passing to them, then I think folks will be justified in starting to think our newbie WRs might by busts. The main excuses last season were the horrid system and the QB. Both problems have been dealt with and corrected. I am not expecting Desean Jackson and Maclin type stuff necessarily( although that would kick ass!), but a significant increase in the stats should be expected.

[Longtimefan]

It will be interesting to witness what hindsight will reveal if/when the young receivers step to the forefront and have productive seasons. Will their success be attributed to McNabb being added, coaching, or just the players themselves making a concentrated effort to get better at what they do?.....Or will it be a combination of all the above, or something else?

[GusFrerotte]

Have to be a combo Longtime. The system sucked and the QB while improved, still wasn't all pro material like Donovan.

[tryfuhl]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

Of course coaching helps but it seems to me that Malcom Kelly just isn't an NFL caliber WR. The guy has done nothing in two years. Is KM suppose to waive a magic wan and all of sudden get production out of these two guys?? KM has an uphill battle working with this group.

And this is based on what? And if he's done nothing, it's basically been in one year since his first year he really didn't play much his first year.

[The Goat]

I mean McNabb's leadership/reputation has to motivate these young guys to get a lot better a lot faster. That's one of the really great things about bringing in an established franchise QB...he makes everyone better in two ways. First because of the way he plays and second because of how he makes them wanna play.

...Thomas should be a friggin beast this year. He may be the most athletic guy on the team now that Tana is getting up there in years for a WR. If Thomas can consistently create space McNabb will get him the ball and we'll have a stud at WR.

[tryfuhl]

No doubt, I like that Shanahan basically said he's throwing the playbook at them, it's up to them to learn it and work it. Just knowing that he'll move them around to create advantages, run diff routes and looks, etc is promising. I'm just waiting on an excuse to get a Thomas jersey.

[skins89moss]

I think the signing of Galloway and Wade can only push our young WR corp. KM was a hard working WR and he got the most our of his God given ability. If he can get our young WR to work hard and focus on great route running this will help their learning curve. Galloway is a stud to be 38 yrs old and still be able to play in the NFL at the WR position is amazing. He will also show the young WR how to be a pro. MK's 1st year he was injuried with that knee from college so his 1st season is a wash. This is really MK's 2nd full season so lets see how he plays this season to judge him. The Redskins who knows still could bring in TO this year if they feel he can be a upgrade.

[Kalisto2010]

You know we're lacking in the WR position when the receivers coach can still outplay 90% of the receivers on our roster.

[tootergray34]

well by the way things are going...it's pretty safe to say he's not happy with either of them, with the signing of joey and bobby. can we just forget that zorn draft? and go ahead and call it the f'n worst ever?

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Kalisto2010

You know we're lacking in the WR position when the receivers coach can still outplay 90% of the receivers on our roster.

I lol'ed.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by tryfuhl

No doubt, I like that Shanahan basically said he's throwing the playbook at them, it's up to them to learn it and work it. Just knowing that he'll move them around to create advantages, run diff routes and looks, etc is promising. I'm just waiting on an excuse to get a Thomas jersey.

Well, okay, if we hypothetically threw out all rookie years as for primarily developmental purposes, you're still left with two guys who had a disappointing Sophomore season. The thing is, Zorn could have taken Moss off the field at any time, placed him on punt returns, and let Kelly and Thomas play on the field together, and we would have had a much bigger sample size of production from the both of them.

Unfortunately, our coaching staff thought Moss gave us the best chance to win, so we played him even when he wasn't close to productive.

I have hope that Thomas OR Kelly can still develop, but it's really not looking good at this point. There's just not a whole lot of evidence-backed noise being generated from our young guys at that position, and while Shanahan^2 have been brought in to make those players productive, there just wasn't much of a leap for either one in 2009.

Kelly's awesome Week 17 game gives me SOME hope for him that maybe if the season hadn't ended, he would have been a productive receiver last year, but at this point, I'm just grasping for something tangible in their development to hold onto.

It is the metaphorical make-or-break year for both of our third year players, and if we could get just one starting caliber wide receiver out of either, I'd be satisfied with the 2008 draft so that it wouldn't look so depressing in retrospect.

[Longtimefan]

Originally Posted by The Goat

I mean McNabb's leadership/reputation has to motivate these young guys to get a lot better a lot faster. That's one of the really great things about bringing in an established franchise QB...he makes everyone better in two ways. First because of the way he plays and second because of how he makes them wanna play.

...Thomas should be a friggin beast this year. He may be the most athletic guy on the team now that Tana is getting up there in years for a WR. If Thomas can consistently create space McNabb will get him the ball and we'll have a stud at WR.

You're right about McNabb. Having a QB of his caliber gives the team a feeling of confidence they wouldn't have with a lesser quality guy. When the team takes the field now, they'll have that feeling they will win as opposed to hoping they can win. It's a quality this team has not known in a while.

[The Goat]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Well, okay, if we hypothetically threw out all rookie years as for primarily developmental purposes, you're still left with two guys who had a disappointing Sophomore season. The thing is, Zorn could have taken Moss off the field at any time, placed him on punt returns, and let Kelly and Thomas play on the field together, and we would have had a much bigger sample size of production from the both of them.

Unfortunately, our coaching staff thought Moss gave us the best chance to win, so we played him even when he wasn't close to productive.

I have hope that Thomas OR Kelly can still develop, but it's really not looking good at this point. There's just not a whole lot of evidence-backed noise being generated from our young guys at that position, and while Shanahan^2 have been brought in to make those players productive, there just wasn't much of a leap for either one in 2009.

Kelly's awesome Week 17 game gives me SOME hope for him that maybe if the season hadn't ended, he would have been a productive receiver last year, but at this point, I'm just grasping for something tangible in their development to hold onto.

It is the metaphorical make-or-break year for both of our third year players, and if we could get just one starting caliber wide receiver out of either, I'd be satisfied with the 2008 draft so that it wouldn't look so depressing in retrospect.

Dude you seem to drastically undervalue Thomas' pure athletic ability. I think I remember from the beginning you took to Kelly over the Michigan state product, but honestly we've all watched Thomas do some pretty impressive shit on the field now (once he gets the pigskin in his hands). He fights for yardage like a hungry SOB.

I'd like to think McCardell's hands on approach and emphasis on hard work will make Thomas a significantly better route-runner. I think that's the key. If he learns to create separation consistently we'll have a monster at WR, no?