<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>WR a Question Mark As Offseason BeginsBy Gary FitzgeraldRedskins.comFebruary 2, 2006The Redskins' offense improved by leaps and bounds in 2005, improving from 30th overall in 2004 to 11th last year. And yet, as the offseason starts to get into full swing, it's evident that there remains room for improvement on the offensive side of the ball.The unit struggled in the postseason, producing just 20 points in two games and totaling only 125 yards of total offense in a 17-10 Wild Card win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Jan. 7.The passing offense improved from 29th in 2004 to 21st last year. Newly hired associate head coach-offense Al Saunders, architect of the Kansas City Chiefs' top-ranked offense the last two seasons, has been brought in to further upgrade the offense.Santana MossIt stands to reason that getting more production from the wide receiver position opposite Santana Moss will be a focus this offseason.Moss was the Redskins' go-to receiver last year, compiling 84 catches for a franchise-record 1,483 yards and nine touchdowns. By midseason, defenses were rolling coverage in Moss's direction to limit his big-play ability.David Patten, who was placed on injured reserve in mid-November with a knee injury, was the receiver with the second-most catches. He recorded 22 catches for 217 yards. James Thrash followed with 14 catches for 194 yards and Taylor Jacobs had 11 receptions for 100 yards.If the Redskins do acquire a wide receiver this offseason, they probably won't pursue mercurial Terrell Owens, who is expected to be released or traded by the Philadelphia Eagles. On Wednesday, vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato denied a media report that suggested the Redskins were interested in acquiring Owens.Interestingly, Saunders' offenses in Kansas City from 1989-98 and 2001-05 never really had a top-tier wide receiver like Owens, or even Moss.The most catches a wide receiver ever had in his offense was 72 by Andre Rison in 1997. His offenses, first under Marty Schottenheimer and then Dick Vermeil, typically focused on a strong running attack (Marcus Allen, Priest Holmes) and a pass-catching tight end (Tony Gonzalez).At his season-ending press conference, head coach Joe Gibbs suggested that the return of Patten, as well as Thrash who was sidelined parts of December and January with hamstring and thumb injuries, would help boost the offense."We'll take a long, hard look at everything," Gibbs said. "I'm excited about David being back and getting him healthy. We'll have a healthy James Thrash and we'll have Taylor [Jacobs]. Then we'll move forward and see what the best decision is that we can make in each one of those areas."Moss expressed confidence that a healthy Patten would help improve the offense in 2006."If you watched OTAs and mini-camps last year, David was the top guy," Moss said after the season. "I still look at him that way. I told him last year when we both came here that when I was on the Jets, he was the guy I looked at on film because he always beat the defenders he played against."Moss also had good things to say about Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne, a close friend and fellow Miami Hurricane alum who is the headliner among unrestricted free agents expected to be available this offseason."Reggie and I have played together before and we're friends," Moss said. "We know how we are when we're not getting the ball--we're competitors. If [signing him] was something the team wanted to do, I'm pretty sure it would be great for the team. But I still have a lot of confidence in the guys that we have here."Wayne caught a career-high 83 catches for 1,055 yards and five touchdowns last season. Other unrestricted free agents: Ike Hilliard, Koren Robinson, Peerless Price, Antwaan Randle-El, David Givens and Antonio Bryant. Three former Redskins wide receivers are also unrestricted free agents: Keenan McCardell, Rod Gardner and Darnerien McCants.The crop of restricted free agents includes Brandon Lloyd, Kevin Curtis and Nate Burleson.In the draft, the younger brother of Santana Moss, Sinorice, is a wide receiver who is moving up the draft boards after a solid Senior Bowl performance. Ohio State's Santonio Holmes, Florida's Chad Jackson, Arizona State's Derek Hagan and Notre Dame's Maurice Stovall are among the other top wide receivers in the draft.No matter what the Redskins do in the offseason, Patten said that he expects the team to build off of its success in 2005."It was frustrating to see us go down in the playoffs, but we were right there," he said. "No one expected us to do what we did last year. We have to build off of that. This offseason is going to tell us what type of team we are. We're going to see who's really upset about our shortcomings this year."</div>http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=15306If the Steelers can't manage to get Randle El back, I'd love to get him in a 'skins jersey next year.
Ideally, you would want a WR that is the exact opposite of Moss to compliment him. You want someone big and strong to go over the middle and make those tough catches to attack parts of the field that you cannot with Santana. In my opinion, you should be looking at like a 6'4, 230lb Wideout who will go over the middle for the tough grabs, not another sideline attacker like Moss is.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JHair @ Feb 6 2006, 03:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I want T.O. for that but I wouldn't complain having 2 speedsters runnen around the feild.</div>The problem with getting a Randel El is you have 2 guys who are 5'11 at most (so you cant really do fade routes), you have 2 guys who are too small to go over the middle, make the tough grab and take a big hit constantly (so you dont really have the personell to attack the middle of the field) and it just handicaps what you are capable of as an offense.Drafting a guy like Stovall from ND where he can bring the opposite skillset that Moss does gives you the most flexability as an offense and gives you the most ways to beat your opponent.Thats just my opinion though.
I'd rather wait 'til next year and get Samardzija to draft a tall wideout, Stovall is good but I think he will be gone by the time we get our pick this year.
The ideal reciever would be someone tall but how about taking his younger brother Sinorice Moss. His stock has risen alot since the Senior Bowl and he will probably be a late first round pick. I would love for the Steelers to take him but someone will probably take him before our pick comes up.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JHair @ Feb 6 2006, 08:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Yeah I want him bad, too</div>He doesn't give you the size but he is suppose to be just as good as his brother, Miami just didn't use him the right way.
He's a freaken human blur and he's got some pretty good handz, I don't believe the size factor is too big of a deal, as a lot of the premier WRs in the NFL are not very tall at all(Steve Smith, Santana Moss...)You could also use him on Special Teams for PR/KR and you could use him for some reverse handoffs.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (JHair @ Feb 6 2006, 08:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>He's a freaken human blur and he's got some pretty good handz, I don't believe the size factor is too big of a deal, as a lot of the premier WRs in the NFL are not very tall at all(Steve Smith, Santana Moss...)You could also use him on Special Teams for PR/KR and you could use him for some reverse handoffs.</div>True but Steve Smith is a freak!!!
He can also handle passes in the middle of the feild; he can take hits, he's a bigger guy.I read somewhere online that he is a <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Poor man's Santana Moss</div> which I thought was a good way to put it cuz he is prolly never gonna end out as good as his brother just from how his brother was more of a standout in college, he's doing some good stuff for Washington and he's a little taller. But he brings a portion of everything Santana has to the table.
