random Cs said:
We're developing Molinaro to play LT and we signed Tyson Walter, whom I'm sure you're familiar with.
I am indeed, and was highly amused when you guys signed him... your characterization of him a bit later in this post is pretty much accurate...
We also signed Mike Pucillo from Cleveland for the interior.
Pucillo started 6 of the 10 games he played for the Browns last year... the Browns ranked 26th in total offense, suggesting their offensive line was not real good...
The year before, he played in 2 games for the Bills, starting none of them... and in 2003, he started 12 of 13 games played for Buffalo... the Bills ranked 30th in the league in total offense... again, not a glowing recommendation for his talents...
For his 4 year career, Mike has played in 25 games, starting 18...
This kid Ike Ndukwe from Northwestern is supposed to make the team.
He might actually be their best backup right now, though of course he's still totally unproven... I find it significant that when first Randy Thomas and then Ray Brown went down, he still didn't see any playing time...
Clemons is the man; I'm sold on him. I've seen what he can do when healthy.
Yeah, he did suffer a season ending injury in 2004, but before that he was doing pretty well (3 sacks in 6 games)... the question is, was that six game stretch really indicative of how good he is, or was he just an unknown who wasn't drawing much attention from the opposing offenses?? Bottom line, he has 5 sacks in 20 games, which works out to an average of 4 sacks per 16 games played... he also has just 2 passes defensed in that time, and 16 total tackles, indicating that rushing the passer is just about his only real NFL skill...
I wouldn't give up Khary for any other back-up MLB in the nfl; special teams play has been a big problem the previous year.
Ahhh, but the discussion here isn't about special teams play, it's about linebacker play... as a linebacker, Campbell makes a good special teamer...
For openers, the guy's been awfully injury prone, having missed 23 games to injury in his first 4 seasons... this suggests that if you do have to count on him for extended playing time, he's liable to break down, too...
He also has all of 36 tackles in 37 games played, no sacks, no interceptions, no passes defensed...
We're trying. Journeymen O-Linemen aren't much, but they'll be an upgrade over 43yr old Ray Brown and Cory Raymer.
I couldn't disagree more... I was in awe of how well Brown was able to play at 80 years old (LOL), and I'd bet that if the Skins could talk him out of retirement, he could still outplay Pucillo and Walter... and Raymer, while a stiff, was still somewhat better than either Mike or Tyson as well...
We upgraded our secondary by replacing Walt Harris with Kenny;
While I like Kenny, I don't know if he's an upgrade over Walt... his one advantage is size, I could see him moving to safety in a pinch (which is why I would have liked it if the Boys had pursued him)...
Having Renaldo Wynn be able to be a back-up helps the D-Line rotation and our back-up DT's are all young; they should improve.
I have no real criticisms of your defensive line, other than them not being particularly good when it comes to rushing the passer... though Andre Carter offers them a bit more pass rush (not as much as a lot of Skins fans think, but a bit more rush), but that's offset by the removal of LaVar Arrington from the equation... for my money, he offered the same pass rush potential, if not more... mind you, I understand that the Skins needed to send LaVar packing, I'm just saying that I don't see a real improvement in their pass rush from trading off Arrington for Carter...
Well, I know my team. You sure you know yours?
LOL... if I know YOUR team that well, that I can comment at length on your BACKUPS, you might want to assume that I have at least the same knowledge of my own team...
There's a lot of folks-- including NFL talent evaluators-- who disagree with that opinion...
Point taken though, your O-Line depth is obviously above ours. But, we've had more stability in our starting 5 then you guys have.
Yes, you have... part of that comes from your starting offensive linemen being uncommonly durable, but part of that comes from nothing more than sheer luck... the thing is, you guys have beaten the odds for so long now that sooner or later, you're bound to get bit by the injury bug... if it's not this season, then you guys will be a dead mortal lock for 10-12 wins, easy... but if it IS this season, you might struggle to reach .500...
If Randy Thomas had gone down in game six rather than game fourteen (like Flozell Adams did), the Skins would have missed the playoffs last year... just look at their offensive output for the last game of the regular season and the two playoff games, and you'll see what I mean:
Week 17, Washington versus Philthydelphia: 62 plays, 279 total yards... 4.5 yards per play...
Wild Card Game versus Tampa Bay: 49 plays, 120 total yards... 2.4 yards per play...
Divisional Playoffs versus Seattle: 65 plays, 289 total yards... 4.6 yards per play...
Totals: 176 plays, 688 total yards... 3.9 yards per play... 229.3 yards per game...
If those numbers were extrapolated over an entire 16 game season, the Skins would have wound up 31st in total offense, ahead of only the Niners, and dead last in the league in yards per play...
For contrast, they averaged over 330 yards per game, and 5.1 yards per play, for the regular season... so their offensive production dropped off some 30 per cent when they lost ONE starter...
Now, I don't think the Skins would be THAT bad if they suffered a coupla injuries on the offensive line, but I will say that I wouldn't be startled to find them in the bottom ten in total offense if something like that happened... that's at the root of my argument about your team's depth problems...
, maybe we'll get lucky this season and be able to see how good your backups really are...
: (found one)
LOL... for some reason, I find myself hoping we have the same kind of good luck on the injury front that the Skins had last year...