1. Andre Carter needs to play more end. Shocker, I know. But a play from the fourth quarter shows why. He lined up at left end in a 4-3 look (three DL, one LB up tight). As he came off the ball, Carter stayed low enough that when he engaged the tackle, he was able to explode a little and play with more power. He used a hand slap to get around him. Though Albert Haynesworth drew a holding penalty on the play, Carter had beaten his man. The next time he went to linebacker and rushed, Carter stayed too high and his hand slaps – his strength – had no impact on the tackle. Barely moved him. Going back to the preseason, I can count on one hand the number of times his hand slaps have helped him as a linebacker. The guy is an end; keep Lorenzo Alexander as the starting OLB and use Carter in situations where he can do what he does best. Sort of the point, isn’t it? One thing I used to love about Gregg Williams is that he found what guys did best and used them accordingly.
2. Why not Randy Moss? Yes, the Redskins need receiver help. But the reason they couldn’t get Vincent Jackson is the same reason they couldn’t get Randy Moss. They don’t have the ammo in the upcoming draft to pull it off. Read this item in Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback column that explains why. It’s not a revelation; this stuff was already known. But it is a reminder. Guess they could have surrendered a second-round pick for him (leaving them with four picks in April), but is this team one receiver (albeit a great one) away from being a contender? It definitely would have made them a playoff contender, but they still have too many holes to be anything but that. At some point the Redskins need to start worrying about the future, too. They need to start adding picks, not surrendering them. When the season goes to 18 games, old teams won’t survive.
Recommended Stories
3. Why not Devin Thomas? Listen, nobody is more tired of this topic than I am. The Redskins don’t like him as a receiver and never will. Period. There are enough people who share this opinion of him around the league that I’m not going to think they’re nuts. Sometimes guys are just good athletes who can play football; other guys are good receivers who are good athletes. I’d put him in the former category. Anyway, it’s their right to dislike his WR skills and it’s why he won’t be here next year. But I can’t believe that there’s no way to get him on the field for a couple snaps. There’s not a route that he runs or a couple plays in which he could help? I understand you don’t want to tip off the defense, especially if they know you’ll only run certain routes with him in the game. But they used Brandon Banks on two plays in the red zone. Surely the defense knew something was up with him, right? And is Roydell Williams really that far ahead of Thomas? Give Thomas credit for playing hard when he’s in the game. He had two excellent blocks on punt returns. By the way, if Moss goes for a third-round pick, I’d be stunned if the Redskins got anything above a seventh for Thomas.
