The name game once again

I guess this is what happens when you are not winning games and are on a bye week, thus not creating much news about your team.  The Redskins' name is back in the media, and at the front page it seems.  So let us look at the name and the issues with it.

The reason some people want the name changed is because it is a racial slur.  They say that it is a demeaning term used to put down Native Americans.  Was the word "redskin" used as a derogatory term in US history?  From many accounts, yes it was.  The actual creation of the term is in question, but there is evidence that it was used as a racial slur at some point in late 1800's and early 1900's.

Should that word be used as a team's name?   This is the big question.  If the right answer is no, then the Native American high school teams that are using it should be the first to change their names and mascots. There are 62 high schools in the United States that continue to use the redskins name, three of which have a majority of Native American students.  If the Native Americans want the name changed, I believe it should start with those 3 High Schools that are using the term.  If you want to make a change in the world, you have to start within your own group/neighborhood.  But if you ask the students of those schools, their parents, or the staff, they see it as a term for pride and honor.  Not my words, their own: "'Redskins' is not an insult to our kids. ...'Redskins' is an honorable name we wear with pride. … In fact, I'd like to see somebody come up here and try to change it," says Tim Ames, the superintendent of Wellpinit (Wash.) High School, where the student body is 91.2 percent Native American.

That brings us to the question of why is that word different than the N word? Many people are saying the two are the same, that if you can't call a team the N-words, then you shouldn't be able to call a team the Redskins.  This is a very sensitive area, and I will try not to offend anyone.  The two are not the same because people gave the N word the power that it has, both black and white people.  They continue to do so today, by treating it as a hateful word, by reacting to it and thinking about it in the same way it was used in the days of slavery.  Words only have power when we give it to them. If enough people keep saying that a word is offensive, racial, hurtful, then over time it will become just that.  This includes the people using the words, and those that the words are directed to.  That is why certain words in the English language are thought of as taboo, or not intended for society, because of how people have given them power.  If people strip away the hate associated when encountering a word, over time it looses its strength and becomes just another word. If you don't let a word upset you, or get to you, or insult you, then you have not only stripped away any strength there is in the word, but also in the person using it in a hurtful manner.  It is not an easy thing to do, because of the number of people involved and thier different views on things, but it isn't impossible.  The Native American students in those 3 High Schools have done just that.  They have changed how they view the term, and they have changed how it impacts their lives.  Instead of it being a degrading term, it has a powerful and positive association.

Perhaps we too can learn from those kids.  Perhaps we can look at certain words in a different light, and change how they have an impact on our lives.  Perhaps we can get to a point that the old children's rhyme that we all know becomes reality....

 "Sticks and stones may break my bones / But names will never hurt me"

Do the Washington Redskins need to make a major change?

 

So it seems that my predictions have not come true to this point.  I had the Redskins being 1-1 going into the 3rd week, and easily handing the Eagles a loss and loosing in a close game to the Packers.  In both games, as is well known, the Redskins looked bad.  The Offense could not get anything going until the second half in each game, and the Defense couldn't stop anyone and were missing tackles left and right.  Although RGIII did start the season, he does not look like the RGIII of last year, nor does Alfred Morris look as dominant as he did last year.  All those things combined have put major doubts in the minds of the fans.  The two main topics of discussion has been benching RGIII until he is back to form and starting Kirk Cousins, and the firing of Jim Haslett, the Defensive coordinator.  I don't agree with either of those two options, and I will try and explain why below.

First let us take a look at the idea of starting Cousins in place of RGIII.
To me, even thinking about this is ridiculous.  We all know that RGIII is the future of this team, not Kirk Cousins.  If the team really thought that highly of Cousins, they would not have traded a bunch of draft picks to move up and get Griffin, and would have just waited until the 4th round and picked up Cousins.  Same with all the other teams in the NFL, they would have taken Cousins much sooner.  Now could it be that Cousins is better than he was projected, yes, and in fact that is true.  But that does not mean he is better than Griffin.  As I said, Griffin is the future of the team, and if you bench him now, after starting him in week 1, not only will that interrupt his comeback, it will also mess with his head.  Many young QB's have been benched, and were not able to recover from that, having doubt in their own abilities.  You might say that RGIII would be fine, and can come back without any problems, once he is 100% both physically and mentally.  Sure, but that does not mean that Cousins will give you a better chance of winning.  Let us look at why RGIII is not successful.
Last year he was running all over the place based on the zone-read-option.  Doing this froze most, if not all, of the players who had contain on his side.  They didn't know if Griffing was going to hand the ball off or run it himself.  If they stayed in place, even for a second, then Griffin would hand the ball off to Alfred and he would hit the line hard.  If they went in for Alfred, Griffin would keep the ball and make a huge run, or simply pass it.  This year, the Eagles and the Packers gambled that Griffin won't run, so the players that had contain didn't worry about the possibility of RGIII keeping the ball himself, and crashed in on Alfred.  This makes it much harder for Alfred to find holes, since he has a guy bearing down on him from the side, so he can't cut back.  So the Redskins started passing, and didn't try the zone-read.  Again, since the Defense did not have to worry about Griffin making a run for it, they came after him hard, and the O-Line had no chance of stopping the attack.  The O-Line is designed for a zone rushing attack, which is perfect for the zone-read-option.  But they are not built for a traditional passing offense, they get beat and pushed around easily when they have to stand their ground.  Even though Griffin has not made any big runs, there is still a slight threat of him doing so.  But if the Redskins put Cousins in, that small threat is gone.  With Cousins starting, the Defense wouldn't even have to gamble, and could easily bring everything to stop the pass and stuff Alfred.  Sure Cousins can scramble, but he isn't a threat to break it and make a big run.  With Cousins in the line-up, the number of sacks and QB hits would increase greatly, as would the turnovers.  So the best option is to keep Griffin in, and let him gain confidence in his knee and in his ability to run.

Now onto the possibility of firing Jim Haslett.
Changing coaching staff during the season is never a good idea, in my opinion.  Because even if you promote within, some of the ideas and philosophy will change, and that can hurt the team more than it helps.  Granted, if the coach in question has lost total control over everything, then yes, replacing him/them would be the better option.  In this situation, I really don't think the problem is with Haslett or the Defensive schemes and play calling.  From what I have seen, the main issue is missed tackles.  It doesn't matter who the coach is, it is up to the players to make tackles on the first attempt, and not let the opponent continue to move down the field.  In the Packers game, there were over 30 missed tackles.  That is an insane number for a professional team.  If the Redskins were able to make tackles, they would have been able to get off the field, and give their Offense a better field position.  This was true in both games.  In the Eagles game, they even did a graphic on the number of yards McCoy had after the first hit.  They did it with only 3 of his runs, yet the number was about 50 yards.  Again, another staggeringly high number for a professional team.  Can Haslett do things differently to make the Defense better, sure he can.  But when you have two rookies in the secondary adding to an already suspect squad, you can't bring pressure as much as you would like, since the LB's would have to help out the secondary.  As it is, the front of the Redskins Defense is getting to the QB's, but that is not enough.  It would help if the Defense was able to intercept the ball, but before even getting to that, they need to work on the most fundamental aspect of football: tackling.

The problem with the Redskins isn't just a player or two, or a coach.  It is the whole team.  They are making mistakes that they weren't making last year.  They do not have full confidence in their own abilities and strengths.  They have doubts, on both sides of the ball.  That is something that they need to work out over time, and I know they will work it out.  Does that mean that the Redskins will go on a winning streak starting these coming weeks?  No it does not.  But it does help that they are playing against the Lions at home, and then against the Raiders, one of the worst teams in the NFL.  They should be able to use these two games to get back on track and get back to where they were last year, at least I hope they can.

2013 Washington Redskins Regular Season Prediction

 

2013 Washington Redskins Regular Season Prediction

Everyone does this, including myself, every year for every team, and this year is no exception.  I am going to look through the Redskins' regular season, and come up with a small preview of the game, and the end result.  I will preface this by saying that I am going into this assuming that Robert Griffin III will be healthy the whole season, and will start week 1.  I have more faith in this year's team than in years past, and my optimism is not only shared by many other Redskins fans, but I think it is justified by what the team was able to do last year.  So I am predicting the Redskins will finish the year with a record of 11-5 and win the NFC East once again.  Even if RGIII can't start the season, and needs a couple of more weeks to get ready, I don't think there will be much difference between him playing and Kirk Cousins playing the first two games.  So with that said, let us jump right in and see how I came up with 11-5...

Week 1 - Eagles (Home) Monday Night game

Opening against this year's Eagles team can be a good thing or a bad thing, because of the unknown factor.  Much the same way the Redskins shocked the Saints, and the rest of the NFL, last year with their read-option offense, the Eagles will be implementing a college style, fast paced, heavy run offense.  That means that unlike the Eagles of the past, this year they will be rushing the ball a whole lot more, and with McCoy in the backfield, that can be trouble.  If the Redskins Defense can stop the run, and keep up with the pace of the Eagles, they should be able to shutdown their Offense.  On the other side of the ball, the Eagles still have a major mess on their hands with their Defense, specially their secondary.  If the Redskins can establish the run with both RGIII and Morris, they should be able to score with ease.  Redskins WIN

 

Week 2 - Packers (Away)

Although the Packers have lost a number of key players, on both sides of the ball, they have been able to replace them with younger talent.  The question is if the new additions can get up to speed quickly enough to contribute to the team.  Oh, and they still have Aaron Rogers slinging the ball around, so that is always a plus.  The Redskins Defense will have their hands full in stopping Rogers and his new weapons, which I think will be a bit too much.  Besides, the game is played at Green Bay, which seems to always give the Redskins some trouble.  Redskins LOSE

Week 3 - Lions (Home)

This game has the potential to be a shootout.  I don't think the Redskins young secondary will be able to keep up with Calvin Johnson, especially since few DB's are able to do so in the whole league.  The Lions also have a very good Defensive line, lead by Ndamukong Suh, which can cause problems for the read-option, because of their great athletic abilities.  Having said that, I do believe the Redskins can score on the Lions, and might be able to get to Matt Stafford a couple of times to disrupt their Offense.  That should be just enough to give the Redskins the win, although it may come down to who has the ball at the end.  Redskins WIN

Week 4 - Raiders (Away)

Much like the Redskins before Mike Shanahan, the Raiders are trying to come back from 10+ years of bad management and horrible decisions.  They have a couple of years more work ahead of them, as they are still a mess.  The Redskins should not have too much trouble with the Raiders.  Redskins WIN

Week 5 - Bye

I think the bye this year is too early, and can cause problems towards the end, with injuries and players being tired.  I just hope that is not the case.
 

Week 6 - Cowboys (Away) Sunday Night game

Much like the majority of the games between the Redskins and the Cowboys, no matter who wins the game, this one will be a close one, separated by a TD or less.  The Cowboys have a new Defensive coach, and they are also implementing a new Defensive system.  Some think that they do not have the right players for their new system, I being one of them.  I expect them to be out of position in a lot of situations early in the season, and this game is early enough for them not to have worked out most of the kinks.  Tony Romo is starting the first year of his new contract, so he doesn't have much to prove, despite what Jerry Jones said.  The problem for the Redskins is Dez Bryant.  If the Redskins can contain him, they should be able to stop the Cowboys' attempt at a running game, and should be able to force Romo in making bad decisions in the 4th quarter, leading to a Redskins win.  Redskins WIN

Week 7 - Bears (Home)

I would normally say this is a loss for the Redskins, but this is not the Bears of the past.  They have a new head coach, who is coming from the Canadian Football League.  But by this time in the season, he should have learned and adapted enough to be able to coach the team successfully.  Their Defensive unit is still pretty solid, with Julius Peppers being a agile lineman, but they still have Jay Cutler at the helm.  Based on past meetings, Jay seems to like to throw a lot of INT's when going against the Redskins, like he did a few years ago by giving DeAngello Hall 4 INT's and helping him tie the NFL record for most picks in a game.  I for one am not too worried about the Bears Offense, and their Defense will have its first look at RGIII and Morris, so they most likely will not be ready for it.  Redskins WIN

Week 8 - Broncos (Away)

If I am correct, the Redskins have been able to put a nice winning stretch together, which used to be a rare thing in DC up until last year.  Having said that, I think that streak will come to an end this week, as Mike Shanahan goes back to Denver for the first time since being fired.  This also is the first time that RGIII and Peyton Manning go against each other, which I'm sure will be featured over and over leading up to, and during the game.  Both Defenses have their work cut out for them, but the Redskins task is a bit more difficult.  Peyton Manning is one of the best QB's in the game, and probably one of the elite QB's ever.  Also, this game is being played in Denver, which always seems to have a negative effect on opposing teams.  This should be a good and high scoring game, but the Redskins will come up short. Redskins LOSE

Week 9 - Chargers (Home)

The Chargers are in rebuild mode this year, having a new front office and a new head coach.  But they still have a very good QB who can throw the ball around, in Phillip Rivers, and he has some pretty good targets to throw to.  Their Defense is good, but I don't think it is good enough to stop the read-option the way the Redskins run it.  This is yet another good game, which the Redskins are going to be able to pull through.  Redskins WIN

Week 10 - Vikings (Away) Thursday Night game

The Vikings Offense has been and continues to be Adrian Peterson.  You stop Peterson, you stop the Vikings, period.  Christian Ponder is accurate, but for passes under 20 years.  He had the least amount of 20+ yard passes in all of NFL last year.  Not much of that is going to change this year, especially with the Vikings trading away Percy Harvin.  They do have a lot of rookie players they drafted, but most won't make a big change for another year or two.  They also have redone most of the secondary, which can be problematic when facing RGIII and his arm.  The Vikings Defensive front is pretty good, but having to worry about the read-option will limit the amount of pressure they can put on RGIII, which will give him the time to pick apart the secondary.  Redskins WIN

Week 11 - Eagles (Away)

By this time, either the Eagles have given up and started changing their Offensive style, or the rest of the league has adapted to it enough to not be worried about it.  Regardless, the Eagles Offense will not have much success this late in the season, and their Defense, although having had time to play and mesh a bit, will still have major hurdles to get over.  Redskins WIN

Week 12 - 49ers (Home) Monday Night game

The Redskins and 49ers are very close in comparison, and it will be a very good test to see just how good the Redskins can be as a franchise.  The Redskins have a better QB, therefore a better read-option game plan and execution, but the 49ers have a much better Defense and a better receiving crew, especially with the addition of Boldin.  This is going to be a fun game to watch, and it will come down to which Defensive unit can stay disciplined and stop the read-option.  I think the 49ers have too many weapons on Offense, and a very solid Offensive line, giving Gore and Kaepernick plenty of room to run and pass, and their Defense will give the Redskins a lot of headaches.  Redskins LOSE

Week 13 - Giants (Home) Sunday Night game

The Giants are the only team in the NFC East that can compete with the Redskins.  As much as I don't think Eli Manning is a good QB, he does have very good receivers that make him look much better than he is.  The problem for the Redskins will be keeping Victor Cruz in check, as he seems to have a knack for finding open spots against the Redskins in clutch situations, and he is a very fast receiver.  The Giants will try and establish their running game, to allow Manning and the WR's to get open.  If the Redskins can stop the run, they should be able to keep the Giants in check, but it will be a very difficult task.  On the other side of the ball, I don't see the Giants being able to stop the Redskins running game, even without relying heavily on the read-option.  This is yet another close game, that may come down to the last possession, especially if the Giants have the ball at the end.  I am going to give the home field advantage to the Redskins on this one. Redskins WIN


Week 14 - Chiefs (Home)

The Redskins will be going against a very familiar this week, in Andy Reid, whose team had been a thorn for the Redskins for years, up until the new RGIII era.  Reid knows full well what the Redskins are capable of, and is going to be ready.  The question is will his newly acquired QB, Alex Smith, be able to pass the ball around in Reid's pass happy style of Offense.  I think it will take another year or so for Reid to be able to get the type of players that fit his style, so the Redskins should be able to stop the Chiefs.  Redskins WIN

Week 15 - Falcons (Away)

A re-match of last year's game, and a possible preview of a playoff match, this is going to be a fun game.  Matt Ryan has two of the best WR's in the game, with Julio Jones and Roddy White.  They will be giving the Redskins nightmares, as the rookie DB's will probably see a lot of action in this game, trying to keep up and cover the Falcons' WR's.  Even though the Falcons added Osi Umenyiora to their roster, their Defense is not that great.  This is going to be a high scoring game, and there will be a lot of deep bombs from both sides.  I think the Falcons will pretty much be able to score at will, unless the Redskins can force Matt Ryan into making a mistake by getting Orakpo and Kerrigan to put a lot of pressure on him.  If the Redskins are going to win this game, they will most likely have to score in the mid to upper 30's.  Even then it might not be enough. Redskins LOSE

 

Week 16 - Cowboys (Home)

Playing the Cowboys in December is very much like a nicely wrapped Christmas present for the Redskins from the scheduling gods.  Romo, and the entire Cowboys team, have been very bad in December for many years, and I don't see anything changing this year.  The Redskins are going to be able to put pressure on Romo and force him to make a mistake, and then capitalize from that mistake.  The only chance the Cowboys have is if they have benched Romo by this time, which I highly doubt, especially after making him one of the highest paid QB's in the league.  Redskins WIN

Week 17 - Giants (Away)

By this point the Redskins should have the NFC East wrapped up, and the Giants be fighting for a playoff berth.  Although the Redskins would like to win and have a better record going into the playoffs, the Giants will be desperate, both for a playoff spot this year, and for building upon for next year.  The Redskins are not just going to give up the game and rest their players, but they won't have the determination that the Giants will, playing in front of their home crowd, for the last game of the season at home, and a possible playoff spot on the line.  The Redskins and Giants will split this year, once again.  Redskins LOSE

2013 Regular Season Schedule

The 2013 Regular Season Schedule of the Washington Redskins, created by me.  Click to enlarge.

Ex-Giant Suing Redskins

For the past couple of years, one of main talks in NFL has been the whole bounty system that Gregg Williams was part of and how it impacted the NFL.  From that, there were a lot of suspensions and fines, and pretty much it had been dead.  Some of the players that were supposed targets spoke out, others dismissed it, fans reacted, and we were done with it.  Or so we thought...

Apparently one of the side effects of being a target of a bounty is a loss of memory, and it takes several years, almost 8, to regain your memory and do something about it.  That is the only reason I can think of that I am talking about this now.  An Ex-Giant, Barrett Green, who played for the Giants as a LB in 2004-2005, is bringing up the bounty scandal once again.  He is suing the Redskins, Gregg Williams, and Robert Royal for causing what turned out to be a career ending injury.

The story goes that Green had just returned from a knee injury, and Royal went after his knee with a cheap shot, which re-injured his knee.  He then was not able to return to the NFL as a regular season player, even though he was with the Texans for a short period in 2006.  He is claiming that the Redskins placed a bounty on him, and Royal, who was a TE, took a cheap shot that was so obvious that all the players reacted to it and were outraged by it.

Let me get this straight.  Royal, if I remember correctly, was a TE, which is an offensive position.  Gregg Williams, who was a defensive coach for the Redskins, supposedly had a bounty program in place for the DEFENSIVE players to take out the opposing OFFENSIVE players.  Although Green claims that Royal played defense at times, there were no reports or even rumors that offensive players were involved in these bounties.  What Green is saying, pretty much, is that he was such a high profile and great player, that with him being sidelined, the Redskins would easily be able to beat the Giants.  That he had to be one of the best LB's ever, for Gregg Williams to think him worthy enough to place a bounty on, and that Royal would risk being penalized and go for the bounty.

I am sorry, but that is a load of BS.  First off, any current and former player will tell you, if you know someone is coming back from an injury, the first thing people do is test the injury.  They want to make the returning player second guess his injury, and make him rethink coming back.  That is not a bounty thing, that is an NFL thing.

Second, if Green was such a high profile player, then why did the Lions, who drafted him in the second round, let him go after 3 years?  And as much as I try to remember, I don't recall ever hearing about him or his accomplishments, which there were none.  He only had 37 tackles the previous year with the Giants, with a total of 279 tackles for his 5 year career.  So no, he wasn't a high profile player.

Third, why wait until now, 8 years later?  Why not bring it up when the whole bounty scandal was going on, and people were talking about these things?  When people were passionate about it and would take the time to listen and perhaps even believe his story?

To me, it sounds like either he is looking to make some money, or a lawyer is trying to make a name for himself and found Green and talked him into filing the lawsuit.  I sure hope it gets thrown out with the rest of the garbage, because that is all it is.  I think the whole bounty scandal is garbage and nonsense to begin with, so you can imagine what I think of this and stories like it.

The Redskins' Name

For years now, the Redskins organization has found itself defending the name of the team.  Every once in a while, the team is taken to court over the name, by people saying that the team should change its name, because it is a derogatory term towards Native Americans.  And for years, the courts have ruled on the side of the team, because of copyright laws and trademark cases.  This year is no different, and even some politicians have taken part in the discussion.

I personally have no issues with the name, but I am not Native American, so it doesn't matter what I think.  My wife is 1/8th Native American, and she has no problems with the team name.  I also know a number of Native Americans who do not have any problems with the name.  Does that mean the majority of people are ok with it?  Of course not, but to say that Native Americans in general find it offensive is wrong as well.

Well, it seems that for the time being the team name isn't going to change.  For one of the few times, the fans of the Redskins will find themselves liking Dan Snyder, which is a major change from years before.  According to USA Today, the owner of the Washington Redskins has said "We will never change the name of the team." "As a lifelong Redskins fan, and I think that the Redskins fans understand the great tradition and what it's all about and what it means, so we feel pretty fortunate to be just working on next season."  When asked about possibly changing his mind if the courts were to decide against him in a federal trademark lawsuit that is going on, "We'll never change the name," he said. "It's that simple. NEVER -- you can use caps."

I for one am glad to see that he is standing firm on this topic.  Granted, his reasons are probably not just because of tradition, since he will lose a lot of money if the team was forced to change its name.  Regardless, when Dan Snyder puts his mind to wanting something, history has shown that he gets it, and in this case, that would be just fine for the Washington Redskins fans.

2013 Draft Results

 



Let us take a look at the 2013 draft selections of the Washington Redskins.

1st Round - The Redskins did not have a 1st round pick, due to the trade last year with the Rams to get the 2nd pick and acquire the services of one Robert Griffin III.  I have no problems with that move, and giving up a 1st rounder this year is well worth it, as the Redskins were in a great need of a franchise QB.


2nd Round - With their 1st pick, which happened to be the 51st pick in the draft on day 2, the Redskins picked need, a very big need, and chose a DB.  David Amerson, from N.C. State.  From all that I have read on him, he is a ball-hawk.  He almost set the college record for INT's in a season.  He is also a big player, and some would put him at Safety instead of a CB, and I believe he should be able to play in either position.  He does get beat at times, but if you are aggressive and go for the ball, you do end up being beat from time to time.  As long as he has Safety help, if he is playing CB, then that shouldn't be a problem.  If he is to play Safety, then he will have an advantage, since he doesn't have to cover a WR/TE, and can roam around and go for the ball.  He is also a very good special teams player, returning kicks and punts, which the Redskins do need help with.  This pick was a very good pick, and one that addresses a big hole in the team.

3rd Round - TE - Jordan Reed, Florida.  At first, I was a bit surprised by this pick, as the Redskins just resigned Fred Davis, and they also have Logan Paulson and Niles Paul at that same position.  But when I checked him out, and read more about him, I see the reason for picking a TE at this position.  This guy is an elusive receiver, able to make people miss and make plays, much like Fred Davis.  Now that the rules and play styles are going pass heavy, it makes sense to have another play making TE on the team, since the Redskins were hurt pretty bad when Davis went down.  Much like the Cousins pick last year, at first I did not like this pick, but after thinking about it, I do like it, and am interested in seeing him play, and possibly take the place of Niles Paul in that position.

4th Round - SS - Phillip Thomas, Fresno St.  This is another ball hawk, a very good Safety who has an eye for spotting and picking off passes in his area.  He is also a very physical player, meeting ballcariers head on and making the tackle.  The major issue he has is injuries.  He missed the 2011 season at Fresno St. because of a very bad leg injury.  Although he should have recovered from that by now, it is still part of who he is, and it might return.  Overall this is a very good pick for the Redskins, and depending on who is going to playing Safety next year, Thomas has a good shot at starting and contributing early on in the season.

5th Round - RB - Chris Thompson, Florida St.  With their first pick in the 5th round, the Redskins went with their 2nd offensive player.  At first look, it does not make too much sense to pick up a RB, with Alfred Morris, Evan Royster, and Roy Helu on the team, but from what I have read, Helu had a setback in his recovery after the foot surgery, and might not be able to start the season.  Thompson is a lot like Helu, a very good pass catcher, and a quick and agile RB who can make people miss and make quick cuts.  But he is also injury prone, having dealt with major back issues.  If he can stay healthy, he will be a great change of pace for the Redskins, as Morris and Royster are more of the bruiser type backs, and Thompson is the quick and elusive type back.

5th Round - DE - Brandon Jenkins, Florida St.  With their second pick in the 5th round, another need was met, picking up a defensive lineman.  This is yet another player the Redskins drafted who has injury issues, dealing with a foot injury.  Jenkins is a very good pass rusher, getting off the snap quickly and going past offensive linemen and finding the QB.  He is a bit slow in recovering from a trick play and changing directions, but if used as a pure pass rusher, I think he would be able to help the Redskins get to the QB more often, which is something they lacked majorly last year due to injuries.  This pick should also help out the outside LB's to have more one-on-one matchups, and be able to get to the QB.

6th Round - SS - Bacarri Rambo, Georgia.  Another secondary pick by the Redskins, and I would have to say one of the best names in the draft, Rambo was a very good pick.  Thankfully, he is a physical player, and with a name like that, it would have been a shame if he was not.  Also, he is yet another DB that has an eye for picking off the QB, being able to read the receivers and the QB's eyes, and jumping a route to make an INT.  He does have some off-field issues, as well as lacking some quickness, but those can be dealt with.

7th Round - RB - Jawan Jamison, Rutgers. Picking up a second RB with their last pick, the Redskins finished out the draft on a "solid" note.  Jamison is a pretty good RB, built very solid with a small frame.  He is a bit young, only playing two years at Rutgers, but he does have talent.  However, with the list of RB's the Redskins currently have and drafted, I don't think Jamison will see the active roster and will most likely be on the practice squad, if he makes the team.

 

Overall I think the Redskins did a very good job with the number of picks they had, and also not having a 1st round pick.  They were able to fill a lot of their needs on the defensive side, and pick up a couple of very talented offensive players.  They did not draft a LB, which I thought they needed, but perhaps they did not see one available that they liked.  The DB's that they selected are good at locating the ball and making a play on it, which I think is the way the DB position is going.  I think the days of having a shutdown corner are gone.  With all the rule changes, and the play calling and style of offensive plays, it is getting much harder to cover fast and agile WR's throughout the whole play.  I think defenses are going to start taking and using players who can get to the ball while it is in the air, rather than cover a receiver so that the QB does not attempt a pass.  This style of play will lead to more deep completions, but I think overall it is the only way to "stop" offenses these days.  I don't think teams will be able to stop offenses from going down the field and making them punt, but instead they will have to rely heavily on getting turnovers to get the offense off of the field.  But we will just have to wait and see how this plays out.  I for one am very much looking forward to seeing the 2013 Washington Redskins Defense in action!