A Moment of Truth for Ryan Kerrigan

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

Was he not picked like 16th???

He has more than justified his position.

There isn't anyone that was drafted after him that I'd rather have

[SkinfanAZ]

I know Kerrigan will be elite, he was drafted right when my son was born!!!.. That's a good sign right there!

[illone]

Depends, do you think Haz spent enough time in the film room to find this weakness and coach Kerrigan properly?

Moment of truth for Haz.

[ddub52]

Moment of truth? You make it sounds as if THIS game is going to define his career?

[Redskins4ever]

There's nothing wrong with Ryan Kerrigan's game. He's been outstanding. Everyone has forgotten about that pick 6 he had against Matt Ryan earlier this year. Those are the types of plays elite OLBs make in the NFL. He's been slowed because he's being double teamed. Teams know better than to match a T against Kerrigan without any help.

[PeterMP]

Was he not picked like 16th???

He has more than justified his position.

There isn't anyone that was drafted after him that I'd rather have

You have to be very lucky to pick 16 and get a great player.

He appears as if he'll be an above average player. Given where he was picked, that's very reasonable.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I can't be mad at this post. Aint nothing wrong with wanting a good player to become an elite player.

I'll take it a step further and zoom in a bit. There's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a good player to take advantage of a cupcake situation.

I'm not down on Kerrigan at all this season but he has a great match up on Sunday as the OP pointed out (bad RT and a stationary rookie QB). Unless he's double-teamed on every passing down, he needs to impact the game somehow as one of our better players...and that's even if he'll only ever become a "good" player.

[elkabong82]

The slump in the defense has shown how good Orakpo really is with pass rush and how much Kerrigan and others benefitted from Orakpo being out there. It's a shame that it took an injury to quiet the Orakpo doubters. Of course having a better DC would also tremendously help out. Kerrigan is fine though. He was a good pick where we got him.

[Bang]

I don't understand why Ryan is getting singled out? He's not Superman. I see a guy that plays his butt off every Sunday - not sure what you're seeing...

Because football is the \LEAST team oriented sport there is, and if a player doesn't succeeed for whatever reason, it's all on him, and he just sucks.







Of course, we know this to be completely the opposite of what is actually true. Kerrigan's an excellent player, but with no one else to threaten the backfield, he can be neutralized that much easier.
It's a TEAM sport, folks. The MOST team oriented sport of all the major American sports.

~Bang

[moondog]

Sorry MLSkins -- I read the OP as calling out Kerrigan to perform well enough, to 'justify' being picked in the first round. "Moment of truth" is about validating his value.

Frankly, however many sacks, etc, that Kerrigan gets in this week's "moment of opportunity" -- won't alter my belief that Kerrigan was a great acquisition for the Skins. I don't think he would have slipped into the second round of the draft, either. So he doesn't have to prove anything more than do any of his team-mates.

The one thing that I'm confident about Kerrigan is that he's going to give it his all. In year two, he's shown me a professional NFL-level player who plays hard, has a non-stop motor, and doesn't give up or loaf. Considering all the time he's been on the field, I suspect the bye week was a good for him, and may allow him to re-charge.

But lets not forget that the results of an outside linebacker, depends on a lot of factors. One of those factors is how well his team-mates around him are playing.

I note how everyone is talking about the loss of Orakpo. Frankly, I'd scrutinize the impact of the loss of Carriker, and in particular how well Jarvis Jenkins has stepped up. If Jenkins could generate a little more pressure -- I think Kerrigan would take advantage of the opportunities created.

Spot on Wyvern. Excellent post. I really have a hard time tempering myself against the crowds on here that turn on players or judge them to rashly/quickly.

Kerrigan is an outstanding player. Is he the best at his position? No, but he's not far off. He's incredibly gifted, but perhaps more importantly, he's got the motor and intensity to match it. Orakpo and several other great players on our roster have also fallen victim to the judgment of many fans. The fact is, Kerrigan has lost his counterpart in Orakpo, as well as Carriker. Anyone who thinks Carriker is an average player or is not that sorely missed, simply has very little awareness about how the game of football is played up front.

These are the same guys who last year hailed Kerrigan as the best player on our defense and far superior to Orakpo and that he, in fact, made Orakpo expendable. They said these things rather than be happy we finally had two great pass rushers. Kerrigan's lack of sacks is a huge compliment to just how good of a pass rusher Orakpo is that he was fighting through what Kerrigan is now and he was getting the sacks.

Kerrigan is going all out and has still been an excellent player this year, perhaps the best or second best at his position in our division. He will adjust to the attention and find ways to beat it just as Orakpo was. I consider Kerrigan a very similar player to Chris Long - it took him a while to really hit his groove but he certainly has now. He is another talented high motor guy just like Ryan. In fact, this whole situation is more of an indictment of Jenkins. I realize he is coming off an ACL but at some point HE needs to take advantage of all the attention Kerrigan is getting.

Stephen Bowen did an outstanding job last year of taking advantage of all the attention Orakpo received and he racked up the sacks for himself. In fact, Haslett actually did a decent job of moving Rak around to set Bowen up for success. If Jenkins could show some life in the pass rush, we would do well to move Ryan around to take advantage of that. I'm a little disappointed we haven't lined Ryan up more to set Bowen and Cofield up a little bit as they seem to at least be very stout up front and capable of getting to the QB.

But Kerrigan is the last player anyone should be judging negatively or expecting more from right now. The kid has been excellent all year. People need to really start watching him play and what's going on around him rather than looking at a stat sheet and being disappointed he doesn't have more sacks. Because that is just about all these types of posts are ever about.

[Rey]

Sophomore slump>? Lack of scheme? Rak and Carriker were better compliments than thought? I would not throw the towel in on Kerrigan yet.

Nope. Watt (Texans) is doing even better this year than last.

[STBonecrusher21]

Did people really think Kerrigan had the ability to be "elite" coming out of college?

I love the guy, but if having a "non stop motor" is your best attribute, you most likely arent gonna be an elite player.

[kleese]

To win a SB you need some star players; elite guys that can change a game one way or another. I think it's ok to wonder aloud about "who" Kerrigan is. I have been a little disappointed the last few weeks in his activity level...doesn't mean I think he sucks. But it's important to identify who on your team is a star, who is a solid contributor, and who needs to go.

Going into this year I was so impressed with RK as a rookie that I thought there was a chance for him to be a star..a guy that can be the best player on a good defense. Now, I'm thinking he's unlikely to be that guy. Doesn't mean he isn't extremely valuable moving forward. JJ Watt is unreal...he physically dominates almost every OL he faces...crushes them one on one. The scheme has little to do with him pushing an OT six yards in the backfield. Watt might be league MVP on defense this year. RK is not in his class, which is hardly an insult.

Since the Atlanta game, RK has been very quiet...generating little push like he did the first five games. I see nothing wrong with expecting a bit more from him. I don't think RK has "star" upside, but I do think he could be very good. But lately he's been average and I think he's better than that.

As to why we discuss guys like RK who clearly aren't the problem, I have two replies to that:

1. Whenever a team in any sport is bad, people naturally point the finger at their worst players. But I also think its important to look at the best ones and ask "Are our best guys good enough to be our best guys?"

2. No reason to talk about Willians or Polumbus... We know who they are, we know that they need to go, so there's no point in breaking them down. Guys like RK are more unknown and have upside so discussing their potential and their weaknesses seems natural to me.

[BeefJerky]

Kerrigan is a quality player. Hard nosed, never give up on a play type that every team needs. Reminds me of Monte coleman.

[moondog]

Did people really think Kerrigan had the ability to be "elite" coming out of college?

I love the guy, but if having a "non stop motor" is your best attribute, you most likely arent gonna be an elite player.

Do you REALLY think that Kerrigan's best attribute as a player is his motor? Anyone that sees it that way is not watching him play.