Offense! Offense! Disregard the defense another year in 2013! Here's why!

[Voice_of_Reason]

What's your definition of a #1 WR?

I'd say a guy who leads the NFL in receiving, with a rookie QB throwing to him, and no one else reliable on offense to take pressure off of him would qualify. Wouldn't you?

Yeah, Wayne still is a legit #1. Not for a bunch more years. But he's good.

That combo of Manning, Wayne, Harrison and Edgerin James was BRUTAL back in the day. Almost unstoppable. It honestly is almost criminal that they didn't win a Superbowl with that combo. They didn't win one until James left. But that foursome is way better than the triplets of Aikman, Irvin and Smith. But, those three guys won 3 SBs.

Interesting how things work out.

[skinfan2k]

Yea, he is.

Seriously, just because people dont watch him and hes not flashy thats why people think he's not. But the guy runs the best routes in football. why would a rookie want to throw to a guy who will be in the same spot the route requires?

[TaylorPickSix]

Depending on who/what positions we sign in Free Agency, I'd like the Redskins to draft Terrence Williams in the 2nd round to reunite him with RGIII. I really only think we need a WR, LG, and RT for this offense to be complete. Feel good about what we have.

Defense, on the other hand, has a fair number of holes.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

I agree with this OP, but not because of the same reason. Only because we don't really need anything on defense except a game changing, roaming-center-field type of Safety (Sean Taylor's loss still hurts us). We have to whatever it takes next offseason to get that guy, be it through the draft or free agency. We all knew from the start what every good, aggressive, 3-4 is mainly composed of and that's a NT that can clog up the middle, OLBs who can pass rush and a Safety that can roam the field and make plays. The coaches all have said this from the start. Right now, we've got the NT (though we could improve a tad bit there, but it's not necessary we can win with Cofield), we have the OLBs (though our best one is hurt right now and we're suffering for it), but we have absolutely no one at Safety. We saw how good our defense looked at times early in 2010 when Laron Landry was playing at a high level and that was without a good NT and only one good OLB.

WE NEED NEED NEED A DOMINATING SAFETY. If we can get that guy, our defense will improve in a big way, even if the rest of the remaining pieces stay the same. We might not be elite on D, but we'll be ok. That's all our offense needs our D to be.

We can then spend most of our other resources upgrading the Offense by way of Oline and skill positions. Heck, I'd love to get a game changer at RB as well... Morris is awesome, but he'd be even better if he were the Michael Turner to someone's Ladanian Tomlinson if you know what I mean. Teams are already having headaches dealing with the duo of RG3 and Morris, and that's knowing Morris isn't a speed guy and will get big chucks of yards but not many home runs... imagine if they also had to worry about a guy like Adrian Peterson back there, my God.

Respectfully disagree on that.

Not only do we need a dominating safety, as you quite rightly pointed out; we arguably need a dominating NT equally as much if we really want to become an elite 34 D. Cofield's done great, but you really need someone bigger and more dominant to get the inside push he's just too limited in stature to give.

And we most definitely need one, if not two corners. No amount of great safety coverage is going to mask that deficiency. Oh, and quite possibly a starting caliber ILB to compliment Perry if Robinson doesn't make the step up. (Although i'm hopeful on him and Nield at nose. But there's a long way to go for both.).

But we're far more than just a dominating safety away from taking this D on.

Hail.

[CGSKINS]

That's you all's opinion. To me Reggie Wayne is not a #1 WR anymore. I love Reggie Wayne and he is HOF for sure but I think he has lost a step.

[illone]

That's you all's opinion. To me Reggie Wayne is not a #1 WR anymore. I love Reggie Wayne and he is HOF for sure but I think he has lost a step.

No, that's YOUR opinion. FACT: Reggie Wayne IS a number 1 WR as evidenced by his stats, targets, and having his number called. He is targeted the most, has the most plays run for him, and catches the most passes on is team, therefore by definition he is a number 1 WR.

Just because you "think" he has lost a step does not mean he is no longer a #1 WR. Those two concepts are mutually exclusive to one another. You could say he is losing a step therefore the Colts may need to find another #1 WR to replace him, but as of right now he is still a top tier WR in the league, and the #1WR on his team.

Good work derailing the thread

[PlayAction]

If they do anything on offense other than O-line, they're crazy. Any argument that the O-Line this year is "playing well" is equally as crazy. The combination of play calling and RG3 is masking huge deficiencies for most of our starters..

I think there's some truth to this. Certainly the standard stretch zone running play that Shanahan has relied upon for decades isn't consistently effective for the Skins. In contrast, the option setting up the inside running lanes for Morris have been very effective. Skins are looking for athletic mobile G/Cs though and we already have those on the roster including developmental players (LeRib and Gettis). While Tyler Polumbus has played more consistently this year I think the upgrade on the OL should be limited to RT unless some star BPA falls into the Skins lap on draft day.

I'm hoping that Garcon's stellar play for one quarter doesn't turn out to be similar to Clinton Portis' first run as a Redskin. If Garcon can maintain that type of output it opens up opportunities for less talented WRs as the defenses put their top CBs and a safety on Garcon.

Even with the deficiencies in the Offense they have still shown that they can put up a lot of points except when the WRs drop 10 balls. So, one would think that the biggest improvement in the team's fortunes would be to reduce the points scored on the Defense.

[NIKKI8]

I can see the OP's point and if there is a top notch RT, TE or WR available I won't be dispointed in going after them. I think the Redskins will have more cap space available than most people think next year. First of all there are rumours going around that the Redskins are not done fighting the cap penalty so maybe something will happen there, second, I think the cap will increase this offseason so that will help, third, I think with some restructuring and releases they will free up some more space. I think Trent Williams will get an extension next year and his huge cap number will come down. The NFL's cap isn't as strict as the NBA's and the Redskins have proven in the past that they are very good at making the numbers work well for them and find a way to fit eveybody under that cap and still go out in free agency and aquire talent. I just hope that they are better at picking the right players better than they have been in the past. A lot of people on here wanted A. Franklin NT from 49ers the past few years as a free agent and the Chargers got him this year and got a great bargain because he is playing very well for them. CB Tracey Porter would have been a great pickup last offseaon too but the Broncos got him. I definitly think the Barry Cofield NT experement needs to end next year if they continue to be a 3/4 defense. It is simply mind boggling how this teams defense was built by trying to put square pegs in round holes. I think the top needs are at least 3 DB's, a TRUE NT, WR, RT (Polumbus would be great as a back-up swing tackle), and an ILB and most importantly a defensive coordinator. I think they will have the money to fill most of the needs.
'

[SWFLSkins]

.... I believe the odd adage applies, Offense wins game, Defense wins championships.



[/COLOR]Who has a chance to be a #1 WR? Garcon's Indy career stamps him unlikely. A real #1 would have the same effect for the offense that Orakpo and Kerrigan together had on the defense. It's fairly easy to game plan to stop one good receiver, but it's so much tougher to stop two.

And with our corners and safeties we can't stop one. Say what you want about WR's but QB's make good ones all the time, while good QB's also make bad secondarys worse, pick your poison.

[Long-Time-Fan]

Talking at Lunch with a couple of buddies and we were talking about what the Redskins strategy could be this offseason.

We were talking about how the Redskins should be aggressively looking to help RG3 and the offense this offense to get this offense into a top 7 unit. This unit already is a top 15 unit in this league and adding a few more pieces would do wonders to this offense. Adding another playmaker like a Tavon Austin or a big possession Receiver this offense (Bowe, i know he is a headcase, but he is just an example i am listing).

Adding talent to a already terrible defense would not have as much marginal benefits as it would if we added pieces on the offense. This defense would need to add a cornerback potentially to replace Hall, a potential LB to replace London and then adding safeties if Merriweather doesn't look like he belongs after he comes back from his injury. Do we look to free agency for stop-gaps again on the defense while adding young and premier talent to the offense? Do we just wait for Orakpo and others to come back from injury and hope for this front 7 to create pressure?

With the defense looking like it will be changing coordinators, is it really worth putting our entire attention on improving this defense and making it into a mid-tier defense (20th-25th rank) defense.

It seems like we could have RG3 talking a similar path like Peyton where the offense has to carry the burden of the weight for his early part of his career where as other QBs like Eli, Brady had a great defense to help them win.

Thoughts?

These are the type of comments/thinking that just kill's me when it comes to building a TEAM! in the current "WIN NOW" philosophy that Fans,Coaches,Owners,Media have today.
The 2 years before Albert Haynesworth came here all you ever heard was how we needed a Big Pass rusher up front on the Line.
Remember that?
Remember how it worked out?
You sound just like everyone back then when it came to what the Skins needed to get over the hump.

Do any of you remember the '91 Redskins who were good in all 3 phases of the game?
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

You don't build on one side of the ball.
What did Indy win,1 SB?
Ravens,1 SB
Rams,1 SB
Saints,1 SB

Is that what you really want,One and done?

[SB17]

I think about the Patriots a few years back: a potent offense, with a defense that could usually get their opponents off the field quickly, which gave their offense more opportunities to score points. End result? Lots of games won by fairly sizable margins (a 52-7 drubbing over the 'skins comes quickly to mind).

I think we have a potent enough offense already - Exhibit A: multiple 30+ point games this season. What we don't have is the defense needed to get our opponents off the field. We need 2 starting-caliber DB's through FA and at least one more via the draft. Oh, and while you're at it, please get a new defensive coordinator and a new ST coach, as well.

[NOtoDC]

@long time No team builds for one side of the ball, its just the luck of the draw. The saints have drafted several 1st picks on D since Sean Payton has been there, but the offense is the reason they won the SB. Green Bay's defense was not that great, but they got a lot of turnovers the year they won the SB. The giants and the steelers are prob the only 2 teams that have solid units on both sides of the ball, but look at the top teams this year- Atlanta- offense, Houston-offense, San Fran-defense. Now all those teams have units on the other side that can get the job done, but they're not dominant.
In terms of the OP, I think the secondary is an issue that has to be a priority. Hopefully, we'll get guys back, but we need DBs bad. Not saying we shouldn't bring some more talent in on O, but we have to address the back end of the D.

[samy316]

These are the type of comments/thinking that just kill's me when it comes to building a TEAM! in the current "WIN NOW" philosophy that Fans,Coaches,Owners,Media have today.
The 2 years before Albert Haynesworth came here all you ever heard was how we needed a Big Pass rusher up front on the Line.
Remember that?
Remember how it worked out?
You sound just like everyone back then when it came to what the Skins needed to get over the hump.

Do any of you remember the '91 Redskins who were good in all 3 phases of the game?
Offense
Defense
Special Teams

You don't build on one side of the ball.
What did Indy win,1 SB?
Ravens,1 SB
Rams,1 SB
Saints,1 SB

Is that what you really want,One and done?

In the last 10 years, only ONE team has repeated as Super Bowl champs (Patriots). You aren't going to see ANY team like the 1991 Redskins anytime soon, because the NFL today is full parity. The best we can hope for as a team, is to be solid in all 3 phases of the game. If you notice in today's NFL, the teams that have the best record are either really good offensively and poor defensively (Packers, Patriots), or they are great defensively and passable offensively (49ers, Bears). I think the most successful formula to have for winning a superbowl, or at least being making it deep in the playoffs every year is to have a great QB, good/great DL, and decent special teams. We have what I think is the first stepping stone towards being a competitive playoff team with RGIII. In the next few years, we have to work on retooling our defense, and I believe we have to make sure that we have a top notch DL to cover up our secondary problems. If you notice with the Giants, they have a pretty bad secondary, but they make up for that with their pass rush which is consistent and relentless.

[Oldfan]

...You don't build on one side of the ball...

Are you under the impression that we are strong on the offensive side? What you are seeing is Mike Shanahan doing it with mirrors and one very talented QB.

This is the situation: We have needs on both offense and defense; we don't have a number one pick in the next draft; and we have an $18 mil cap penalty. We will be lucky if we can add two useful players capable of starting for us. We don't know who the draft and free agency will offer. If it's two for the defense, we should should take them. Two for the offense -- take them. One of each...

It doesn't matter whether we are stronger on one side of the ball or balanced. All that affects is the total points scored in our games. If we are one-point better than our opponent, it doesn't matter if we win 31-30 or 21-20.

I think if we could find a stud WR somehow, he would make the biggest upgrade because we already have the QB who can get the ball to him. And, if Garcon comes back healthy, we already have the #2 to make defenses pay for double teams. But, we should take the BPAs on offense or defense in any case..

[ixcuincle]

This team will go nowhere if they can't stop anyone.

Sure, RG3 could use more weapons around him to make him better. But don't forget defense.