The Washington Redskins have a number of needs on their team, hence why they landed the number 4 pick in the draft. This pick is interesting to me because there are a number of different directions this team can go with this pick. Their main areas of need are Left Tackle, Quarterback, and Linebacker. Hopefully I can shed a little light on this and project their pick.
I think this team needs a big time inside linebacker to help them make the transition from a base 4-3 defense to a 3-4 defense. If this were my pick I would trade down 2 to 5 picks and draft Rolando McClain from Alabama. This way they would pick up another 3 round draft pick and they would not be reaching and overpaying for McClain. I am a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan and still remember when Bill Parcells took over as head coach. First move he did was to switch the defense from a 4-3 to a 3-4. His first two drafts with the Cowboys he attempted to take a mix of offensive and defensive players; and attempted to make the defense work with the players he had. It was not until his third draft that the Cowboys went almost with nothing but defense and with that draft they got: DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Chris Canty, and Jay Ratliff! Now their defense is good! I fear that the Redskin front office is not smart enough to look at this and repeat the steps; therefore, I don’t think this will happen.
This team needs a big time LT now that they have lost Chris Samuel to retirement. Chris played at a Pro Bowl level year in and year out. The only reason he does not get more attention is because he has played on the Redskins for his whole career. That being said the best prospects to fill his shoes are Russell Okung from Oklahoma State or Anthony Davis Rutgers. The last time the picked a LT this high was when they took Samuel’s with the 2nd pick. That worked out pretty good for them but they still have other needs. If they do take a LT it will be Russell Okung because he played football in more talented conference then Davis.
The next position would be QB and there is really only one player that they will look at and that is Jimmy Clausen from Norte Dame. I know the QB is arguably the most important position on a team and due to that every year there are QB that get picked way to high and never pan out. The reason I favor this pick for the Redskins is because Mike Shanahan is an offensive guru and will want “his guy” running the team. Remember Shanahan took over the Broncos in the 90’s to help mentor John Elway to the QB he became. The only way this pick doesn’t happen is if they trade for Donavan McNabb. So with the 4th pick the Redskins will take Jimmy Clausen.
3 comments:
What are the disadvantages of the 3-4 v 4-3 d at the pro level?
To me there are more advantages than disadvantages for the 3-4 that is. But to name the cons I would say it gives you a limited amount of prospects to pick from on the D-Line. The reason for that is because the DEs have to be pushing 290 plus pounds because they really act like DT in a 4-3 and the NT are bigger than that; minus Jay Ratliff of the cowboys.. he is the exception and not the rule. Then you have to have at least one if not two top flight OLB to rush the passer ie. DeMarcus Ware, Sean Merriman in order for this style of defense to work. The biggest pro is that the blitz packages that they can run are more unpredictable than what you would see in a 4-3.
Love this! I have always been a fan of the 4-3. I think it hides flaws better. We should break down a few D and O sets sometime... pretty much just for OUR enjoyment!
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