Thanks, as usual, to those who participated.
John: I have a question about safety Kareem Moore. I remember reading during
training camp that Moore was a very good free safety and made many plays but
then he got injured for most of preseason. While watching the regular season
games, it seems like I constantly see him taking part in plays that aren’t
good. Poor angles to the runner, bad tackling, poor coverage, etc… Is it
the schemes affecting his play, my imagination or was he just a training
camp champion?
Thanks,
David Myrick
David: Good question. Kareem has been a disappointment based on what we saw, and heard, this summer. Hard to see any impact. Can’t blame the schemes because they don’t cause missed tackles and bad angles. Inexperience could be to blame; this is his first full season as a starter. And his knee has bothered him at various points throughout the season. Another thing about camp: (in hindsight) it’s very hard to gauge a safety’s effectiveness in Mike Shanahan’s practices. They don’t tackle in 11-on-11, so you can’t tell if a safety is a poor tackler or takes bad angles. And sometimes you’re just wrong on a guy. Coaches rave about how much he competes and what a mentally tough player he is, so we’ll see how he responds to this season.
JK
John: So much is wrong. Here’s what I see: 1. The Skins will finish 6-8. Everything points to a losing record. McNabb is not right. The O-line is more often bad than good. We will be using 3rd and 4th string RBs. The best player on defense is out. There is NO pass rush. If we have to sell out to stop either run or pass but can’t do both with the same personnel; makes it too easy to simply call two plays in the huddle then pick the one dictated by Skins personnel. The kicking game is unreliable. Question: Complete rebuild or another straddle the fence off-season?
Col. Bob Claypool
Bob: If they want to build something for more than a season at a time, they need to rebuild. They have a defense in which too many players don’t seem to fit; some of it is growing pains, some of it is just that certain players are better in a 4-3. Offensively, the line needs help inside and at right tackle. Jammal Brown was better vs. New York, but can you rely on him for 16 games? They need more help at receiver; they need to find a running back. They need. They need. They need. That’s a lot for one offseason. Tough choices will be required to build a consistent winner.
JK
John: What would your guess be as to the compensatory picks that the Redskins would receive if they let Rocky and Carlos Rogers go in free agency? Thanks.
D. Walters
DW: It’s sort of a bizarre formula and the compensatory picks they might receive for Carlos and Rocky would come in the 2012 draft. Basically, the comp picks are based on net losses in free agency from the previous year. If you lost more free agents than you signed, you’d receive comp picks. Or if you signed as many as you lost, but the ones you lost were of greater value, you could receive comp picks. The formula is based in part on what their salary was and how they fare with new teams. So what they might receive for them depends on too many factors.
JK
John: From what I’ve read, the Skins have managed their payroll with the expectation that there will again be a salary cap after labor negotiations. Wouldn’t it make sense, then, to cut Dockery, Carter, Portis, and Haynesworth now while there is no cap and avoid signing bonus acceleration if the cap comes back?
Thanks as always for taking our questions,
Joe
Joe: By all accounts, they have managed their situation well, thanks to the way they renegotiated some deals this past offseason. So I don’t think cutting them now would make a difference. I wouldn’t have cut any of them now because you still need players. Maybe Carter or Dockery don’t figure into the future, but Carter still plays and Dockery is a backup who could be needed. Haynesworth, according to an NFL source who has seen his contract, would have been owed next year’s salary had he been cut this season and then went unclaimed. I’m sure moves will be made with all of them in the offseason.
JK
