Rob Jackson's Worth

[JMUSkins]

Don't we already have another thread with 1,234,343,343,445,555,334 posts on this topic? I say we hold on to this guy... if he's a character player he'll want to sign back on with this team as well

[Hiro]

And the overvaluing of Jackson has begun.

Hey, I like the guy and I think he's done a good job filling in for Orakpo. But Orakpo is what makes our pass rush go. Right now, we HAVE to blitz to have a conistent pass rush, and good teams will find a way to beat that, particularly with the relatively weak secondary we have.

I don't see anyone here suggesting that we should get rid of Orakpo in order to keep Jackson.

But overvaluing? In his first year as a starter (in 14 games), Jackson has 4 picks and 7 pass deflections. Orakpo's ability as a pass rusher aside, he's been mediocre as a coverage linebacker. Coverage ability in a linebacker is NOT something to be taken lightly. We need to keep Jackson here, and maximize our defense's potential by using him, Kerrigan and Orakpo all together.

[The Full Monty]

Pay the man! This is a home-grown talent that HAS to be rewarded. This sends a message not only to him but to the rest of the team.

[dreamshatterer]

I wonder if he can slide into the middle when Fletch retries. His coverage abaility is ideal for ILB in a 3-4

[Murphs56]

Jackson has done an admirable job filling in for Orakpo but if you think he's better, you're nuts. Orakpo would've had over double digit sacks this year and that probably means Kerrigan would have too... That much maligned secondary wouldn't have given up all those yards either because of the pass rush.

[Thinking Skins]

I wonder if he can slide into the middle when Fletch retries. His coverage abaility is ideal for ILB in a 3-4

This is what I've been saying all year. If anything he shouldn't be competing with Orakpo, but being groomed as a replacement for Fletcher. I mean right now itz Zo splitting time with Fletcher, but the question becomes is Jackson better at that spot than Zo? I also wonder if I'd rather have Jackson covering the TEs than Fletcher? Its a different dynamic than covering RBs, but its something to consider.

[bigevhfan]

He is a starting OLB.

He is not a back up.

Orakpo is a pass rusher. Jackson is a Linebacker. He needs to be paid. I say we give him a 3 year $6 to $7 mil range. Let Golston walk and give him that money. We can make it work.

Couldn't have said it any better. Jackson in your first and down LB as he is far better in run/pass coverage. Orakpo is your sack guy. Gotta keep Rob Jackson on this roster. He has earned it.


EDIT: If last night didn't prove to the Orakpo homers that Rob Jackson is a better football player, I'm moving on from the conversation. The kid is a baller and he makes big plays on the big stage where Orakpo dissappears. End of discussion for me.

---------- Post added December-31st-2012 at 07:40 PM ----------

Jackson has done an admirable job filling in for Orakpo but if you think he's better, you're nuts. Orakpo would've had over double digit sacks this year and that probably means Kerrigan would have too... That much maligned secondary wouldn't have given up all those yards either because of the pass rush.

Sacks alone don't make you the better overall player. I agree that Orakpo is better at getting to the QB, but your nuts if you think Orakpo is better as a pure LB in defending the run and dropping back into coverage. In fact, IMO, Orakpo is a liability when asked to do anything besides rush the QB

[moondog]

And the overvaluing of Jackson has begun.

Hey, I like the guy and I think he's done a good job filling in for Orakpo. But Orakpo is what makes our pass rush go. Right now, we HAVE to blitz to have a conistent pass rush, and good teams will find a way to beat that, particularly with the relatively weak secondary we have.

As for the "Well, he can cover", do you think Cowboys fans worry if Ware can cover? To be honest, you want your pass rushers to rush the passer most of the time.

I'd love to bring back Jackson. At the same time, have a realistic view as to how he fits into this team and what is value is to this team. We've gotten in trouble in the past for overvaluing some players (and yes, undervaluing some others.)

100% on your side man but I'm getting so tired as is the other side of trying to hash this thing out. Clearly it just is what it is at this point and some people are so sold on their opinion they won't hear anything but what they want to hear. Hopefully we can hold on to Jackson but I would not be surprised if he went elsewhere for a full time starting gig. And of course we're kind of assuming Rak can come back healthy, which I'm really hoping he can.

[Dannyc]

Both Orakpo and Jackson should be kept on this team. I'd like to see Haslett be creative with their usage next season when Orakpo is back. There's nothing wrong with having a lot of pass rushers, the Steelers and Giants have done this for years. Maybe play Jackson at ILB or use Orakpo mostly just on passing downs, things like that.

---------- Post added December-31st-2012 at 02:43 PM ----------

---------- Post added December-31st-2012 at 07:40 PM ----------



Sacks alone don't make you the better overall player. I agree that Orakpo is better at getting to the QB, but your nuts if you think Orakpo is better as a pure LB in defending the run and dropping back into coverage. In fact, IMO, Orakpo is a liability when asked to do anything besides rush the QB

You're right that Orakpo has done a poor job in coverage and run defense over the past couple of seasons, but I wonder how much of that is reflective upon the scheme he was playing in? Jackson has been asked to do different things than Orakpo.

[2STaylor1]

could rob jackson one day replace fletcher

[delmarvan]

Any chance he moves to ILB? He certainly looks athletic enough.

[TheLongshot]

I don't see anyone here suggesting that we should get rid of Orakpo in order to keep Jackson.

But overvaluing? In his first year as a starter (in 14 games), Jackson has 4 picks and 7 pass deflections. Orakpo's ability as a pass rusher aside, he's been mediocre as a coverage linebacker. Coverage ability in a linebacker is NOT something to be taken lightly. We need to keep Jackson here, and maximize our defense's potential by using him, Kerrigan and Orakpo all together.

I'm responding to people saying he's a starter. With Kerrigan and Orakpo, there aren't a whole lot of snaps for other players.

As for pass defense, you don't typically select OLBs in a 3-4 for their pass defense. (which is why they are typically converted DEs.)

Edit: agree with below that the team could use him, but lets be realistic of how many snaps he'd get with the defense with Orakpo and Kerrigan.

[skinny21]

100% on your side man but I'm getting so tired as is the other side of trying to hash this thing out. Clearly it just is what it is at this point and some people are so sold on their opinion they won't hear anything but what they want to hear. Hopefully we can hold on to Jackson but I would not be surprised if he went elsewhere for a full time starting gig. And of course we're kind of assuming Rak can come back healthy, which I'm really hoping he can.

Yeah, history has shown we need a capable a 3rd OLB. Don't wanna have to use a draft pick and definitely don't wanna let Jackson walk and be forced to pursue a free agent to replace him.

If I recall correctly, Orakpo gets more hurries than most other rushers, whereas Jackson is excellent in coverage. We could really use both going forward.

Not sure about Jackson in the middle covering tight ends. Seems like most of his plays have been in short zone or covering the Rb in the flat. Big difference compared with running down the field with big, athletic TEs.

[Bacon]

We have 3 very good OLBs here with Fletch and Riley handling things nicely in the middle. I don't know why we wouldn't want to maintain that in 2013. We need to get pressure without blitzing and Rak is instrumental to that, so I don't understand how he has been "replaced" by a coverage LB. That's ridiculous.

Our DL is average and the secondary is lousy/occasionally serviceable. There are plenty of pieces that needed to be added and removed. Keep the very solid core we have in between.

[Darth Tater]

Jackson has done an admirable job filling in for Orakpo but if you think he's better, you're nuts. Orakpo would've had over double digit sacks this year and that probably means Kerrigan would have too... That much maligned secondary wouldn't have given up all those yards either because of the pass rush.

Redskins are missing at least 18 sacks for about 118 yards plus another 82 due directly to the increase in sacks. Further, while the additional yards prevented because of the lower accuracy due to this increased pressure is not exact, I'd bet that completion % and yards per completion would be down. Finally, since some of those completions allowed drives to continue, I would also guess that the total number of plays allowed would also be fewer further reducing total yards. We did see, however, that once we adjusted our schemes appropriately and the tackling improved, a lot of the YAC that other team were getting early in the season did seem to fall.