Contract talks under way with Rak, Riley and Hall

[Sharkinva]

Per NFL.com as reported from the mouth of Bruce Allen

Brian Orakpo, Redskins begin contract talks, GM says - NFL.com

Better to get things under way sooner rather than later and Im hoping they add Merriweather, Biggers, Baker, Jackson, Walton and Doughty to the list.

 

[j_y19]

That would basically be the same defense we had last year if they re sign all those guys(with the exception of wilson and LF). Remember the one that had a dearth of talent? I agree on Baker. Merriweather, and jackson, only if you can get a good deal early, which I doubt in Jackson's case. The rest are very replaceable in the draft or FA. Doughty only gives me pause because of his ST play.

 

[Sharkinva]

That would basically be the same defense we had last year if they re sign all those guys(with the exception of wilson and LF). Remember the one that had a dearth of talent? I agree on Baker. Merriweather, and jackson, only if you can get a good deal early, which I doubt in Jackson's case. The rest are very replaceable in the draft or FA. Doughty only gives me pause because of his ST play.

Not necessarily. Lets face it, we can not switch out the entire defense and expect good results. The guys I mentioned all know the defense. And bringing them back does not mean they have to start. Doughty is a special teams ace (or as close to it as we currently have), and even if we bring in new starters, we still need depth players.

 

[j_y19]

Not necessarily. Lets face it, we can not switch out the entire defense and expect good results. The guys I mentioned all know the defense. And bringing them back does not mean they have to start. Doughty is a special teams ace (or as close to it as we currently have), and even if we bring in new starters, we still need depth players.

I agree with the depth comment, but our depth needs to be able to play special teams. With the exception of Doughty, these other guys either didn't play STs or didn't ever make a difference. My concern with doughty is his age. He will come relatively cheap, but he is nearing the age where a lost step is expected. He already isn't very fast. If he loses a step, that will have a direct impact in his ST contribution. IF we sign him to a short term, inexpensive deal, probably OK.

If we resign Rak, Jackson is probably a luxury we can't afford. We have Jenkins in the wings. Again, Jackson is not a ST standout (if even a contributor).

Biggers was one of the players that was called out by Niles Paul for not wanting to play STs. He isn't good enough as a CB to balk at not playing STs. I think he is easily replaced with a hungrier CB that wants to contribute and is willing to do what ever it takes.

Walton........who? Did he ever make a play last year?

 

[SoCalWizFan]

Not necessarily. Lets face it, we can not switch out the entire defense and expect good results. The guys I mentioned all know the defense. And bringing them back does not mean they have to start. Doughty is a special teams ace (or as close to it as we currently have), and even if we bring in new starters, we still need depth players.

I would basically argue the opposite pt. If you keep basically the same defense with the exact same coach why in the world would you expect significant improvement? Nobody is suggesting switching out the entire defense. I believe most folks are suggesting that at a minimum they will still have Kerrigan, Orakpo, Hall, Amerson, Riley, Cofield & a few others - that accounts for something.

The main pt. is they should not waste too much effort keeping the marginal players especially at a significant cost. You have to remember that sometimes roster turnover involves some tough decisions that are for long term benefit. In the past - teams like the Eagles and Pats were masters at this & got rid of fan favorites at some pt in their career, but it generally worked out well (Eagles only floundered when they took the Cerrato approach).

I would also caution about trying to completely rebuild the roster in one offseason. The big thing for next season is showing improvement & building it from there.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

Biggers was one of the players that was called out by Niles Paul for not wanting to play STs. He isn't good enough as a CB to balk at not playing STs. I think he is easily replaced with a hungrier CB that wants to contribute and is willing to do what ever it takes.

I certainly hope that if the new ST coach detects any players acting like this that they are put out on the street as soon as possible (especially if it is known in preseason or early in the year). This team cannot afford to have players with this type of attitude especially if they are somewhat marginal.

 

[Sharkinva]

Aside from Jackson and maybe Merriweather, all the guys i mentioned will come on the cheap. I know we have Jenkins in the wings, but I dont think he is ready to be a step in starter if Rak or Kerrigan goes down, Jackson on the other hand is a capable starter.

Walton is the Center we claimed off waivers, still young but has some good starting experience in the league. Biggers..... Again he is an on the cheap and worst case if he gets outplayed should be releasable. But I dont think it hurts to resign him at this point unless he gets crazy with contract demands.

 

[skinsdad62]

Per NFL.com as reported from the mouth of Bruce Allen

Brian Orakpo, Redskins begin contract talks, GM says - NFL.com

Better to get things under way sooner rather than later and Im hoping they add Merriweather, Biggers, Baker, Jackson, Walton and Doughty to the list.

i like baker and walton as well as jackson . the rest i could take or leave

 

[Sharkinva]

i like baker and walton as well as jackson . the rest i could take or leave

For every one we let go, it means we have to really replace them. And none of these guy will be cap busters. They arent pro bowlers, but we could also do worse when it comes to guys like Merrieather and Biggers

 

[skinsdad62]

For every one we let go, it means we have to really replace them. And none of these guy will be cap busters. They arent pro bowlers, but we could also do worse when it comes to guys like Merrieather and Biggers

shark they stink as starters , biggers and merriweather cant tackle , doughty is too slow and cant cover

their age and the production are replaceable and within the next 2 years we will have to get rid of some people

 

[Sportster 72]

Interesting today on the radio. Chris Russell, Redskin beat reporter said Orakpo should be franchised or signed for at any cost. Cooley , Czabe and Galdi all disagreed and were in favor of letting him walk instead of paying him $10 million. They all felt comfortable using Jackson and Tapp. They opened the phone lines for the next 15 minutes and every single person said let Orakpo walk and keep Jackson.

 

[Sharkinva]

shark they stink as starters , biggers and merriweather cant tackle , doughty is too slow and cant cover

their age and the production are replaceable and within the next 2 years we will have to get rid of some people

Two years from now we will still be $30 million or better under the cap dad. So the shop cheap now to save later idea doesnt really cut it. the only way we get screwed on the cap is if we over pay an under performing QB. And lucky for us, we dont have to make that call for two years at least.

 

[skinsdad62]

Interesting today on the radio. Chris Russell, Redskin beat reporter said Orakpo should be franchised or signed for at any cost. Cooley , Czabe and Galdi all disagreed and were in favor of letting him walk instead of paying him $10 million. They all felt comfortable using Jackson and Tapp. They opened the phone lines for the next 15 minutes and every single person said let Orakpo walk and keep Jackson.

and everyone of them will be wrong . i have seen this with numerous skins players who we let go only to have them star elsewhere over money

niether tapp nor jackson come close to rak on the field and are downgrades . all you do is open up another hole for another year to be fixed

i dont care what members of the media think , there opinion is no different then mine



and when kerrigan's contract comes do you might as well let him walk too and play the next scrub behind him for less money

 

[Sportster 72]

I fall somewhere in the middle. I am not ready to see them give Orakpo a 5 year deal at $8 million to $10 million a year. I think pay him big time for one year and see how it goes.

I also go agree with Cooley that Orakpo is good but not great. As Cooley said yesterday they won 7 games in a row with Orakpo two years ago and went 3-13 with him. Of course he is not the biggest reason either happened but the point is well taken. You can't point to even two games where he made a huge difference last year. As a whole the defense does not have one WOW player on it.

dad we have let some players go like Cleamons, Pierce and Clark but we have also kept a lot of players that we probably shouldn't have. That is a function of the personel decision makers, do you think we have the guys to make the right decisions now? I am not so sure we do.

 

[j_y19]

Sportster, you hit on something that I have been preaching for over a year. Our defense has no impact players, they guys I call playmakers in the clutch. We need to add just a couple. Its amazing what happens to the rest of the team when you add a couple of playmakers. All the sudden many of those average players become better. Just look to Seattle. They don't have 11 defenders that are studs, they have 3 or 4 and the rest rise to the occasion. I've seen too may recommend on here to spread out the cap and fill as many holes as possible this season. IF you do that, all you do is swap one mediocre player for another ns our defense never gets out of the cellar. This does not mean I think you have to sign every high profile FA. There are plenty of key FAs out there that have been proven starters in the league that are coming off of their rookie contracts. These guys are still hungry and they are up and coming. They may come with some baggage (Britt, Incognito??) so you get them on the cheap.

As far as RAK goes, the problem in a one year deal is that the entire amount hits against next year's cap. If we franchise him, that's $10-11M our of an available $28-30M. That's 1/3 of our cap space on one guy. This will severely limit our ability to get other talent. RAK has been somewhat a disappointment between the injuries and missed expectations. What I can't tell is how much did the scheme affect his production. Unlike others posting here, I think that Jackson did and admirable job while he started 2 years ago. Is he RAK? No. But he is much better in space than RAK. The question is if we let RAK walk, can a team of Jackson, Tapp, and Jenkins get close to RAK's production and can that extra $10M we don't spend on RAK allow us to sign a couple of stud secondary players. I'm just not sure yet.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

Sportster, you hit on something that I have been preaching for over a year. Our defense has no impact players, they guys I call playmakers in the clutch. We need to add just a couple. Its amazing what happens to the rest of the team when you add a couple of playmakers. All the sudden many of those average players become better. Just look to Seattle. They don't have 11 defenders that are studs, they have 3 or 4 and the rest rise to the occasion. I've seen too may recommend on here to spread out the cap and fill as many holes as possible this season. IF you do that, all you do is swap one mediocre player for another ns our defense never gets out of the cellar. This does not mean I think you have to sign every high profile FA. There are plenty of key FAs out there that have been proven starters in the league that are coming off of their rookie contracts. These guys are still hungry and they are up and coming. They may come with some baggage (Britt, Incognito??) so you get them on the cheap.

As far as RAK goes, the problem in a one year deal is that the entire amount hits against next year's cap. If we franchise him, that's $10-11M our of an available $28-30M. That's 1/3 of our cap space on one guy. This will severely limit our ability to get other talent. RAK has been somewhat a disappointment between the injuries and missed expectations. What I can't tell is how much did the scheme affect his production. Unlike others posting here, I think that Jackson did and admirable job while he started 2 years ago. Is he RAK? No. But he is much better in space than RAK. The question is if we let RAK walk, can a team of Jackson, Tapp, and Jenkins get close to RAK's production and can that extra $10M we don't spend on RAK allow us to sign a couple of stud secondary players. I'm just not sure yet.

Agree but I think this is part of the overall culture that must continue to change at Redskins Park. A few key FAs (at the right price & age) will certainly influence other players. In addition - they should learn from Seattle & do everything possible to improve their scouting dept. They also need to ensure that the correct people are making the personnel decisions.

I truly believe that Shanahan was a roadblock in this area as it relates to the defense (that is possibly why Haslett was retained). Shanahan supposedly had final say-so in this area even though he pretty much has a horrid track record as it relates to defensive selections.

Not sure exactly what moves they will make in any of these areas, but I do know that this will be one of the major keys to the success of this organization. IMO - removing Shanahan may actually wind up being more important in the FO area than in the coaching area. Time will tell.

 

[j_y19]

Agree but I think this is part of the overall culture that must continue to change at Redskins Park. A few key FAs (at the right price & age) will certainly influence other players. In addition - they should learn from Seattle & do everything possible to improve their scouting dept. They also need to ensure that the correct people are making the personnel decisions.

I truly believe that Shanahan was a roadblock in this area as it relates to the defense (that is possibly why Haslett was retained). Shanahan supposedly had final say-so in this area even though he pretty much has a horrid track record as it relates to defensive selections.

Not sure exactly what moves they will make in any of these areas, but I do know that this will be one of the major keys to the success of this organization. IMO - removing Shanahan may actually wind up being more important in the FO area than in the coaching area. Time will tell.

I agree that you use FA to augment, but you use the draft to really build a team. One of the things the shanahan regime did piss poor in was player development. I can't think of one drafted player that they took and developed into a gem. Riley is probably as close as it comes. Kerrigan came into the league a good player, but hasn't really progressed to the next level. Same with Morris. This is what all of the long term successful franchises do. They develop their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round picks into solid contributors. We haven't.