Who says that you can't find a "Doc" that makes housecalls?

[rskinsfan10]

http://www.hailredskins.com/images/docsquare.jpg


Well hR, I'd like to welcome you all to the inaugural Doc Talk with Rick "Doc" Walker. I tracked Doc down as he was getting set to head out to the Motor City for Westwood One's radio broadcast of the Lions vs. Falcons on Thanksgiving Day. For those that don't know, Doc is always on the move. If you blink, you may very well miss him. However, he has made time for hR and it's members to get his take on what we bleed, which is Burgundy and Gold!!

KS-Hey Doc, let me begin by officially welcoming you to hR. We are very excited to have you as a part of our family!

DW-Hey man, I'm thrilled to be a part of hR, to be able to talk about the burgundy and gold, and to talk about this team which I believe is a good team, despite the last two weeks which have been awful as far as the wins and losses. I believe that most of the folks involved in hR are like me. We want the best out of the burgundy and gold and we are all impatient. What we are all looking at is are we getting better? Are we taking the steps to get better? I would like for those steps to be giant steps, but it seems the last couple of weeks have been baby steps, but I think they are headed in the right direction. Injuries are a part of every team in the NFL. I'm a little tired of hearing all of this crying about the penalties, the referees and all of that. If we play smarter football, I think they would win the majority of these games they have been close in. This is a pretty good football team, but they have to be able to make more breaks, and they have to be able to protect the football.

KS-Do you think there is one piece, or a couple of pieces that the team is lacking right now that could put them in the position to win these games?

DW-Absolutely. They are lacking a #2 WR. I thought that David Patten ran great routes, but there was something missing between he and Brunell. They never developed that relationship. It's not like he was here last year, and Santana wasn't either. For whatever reason, Santana and Brunell have that relationship, they are speaking the same language. Cooley and Brunell speak that language. Brunell and Cooley had another year to mesh and to get that program together, and hopefully Patten can do the same although now he is out. Now, Taylor Jacobs is the enigma. I really thought they were redshirting the kid, and couldn't see why he wasn't breaking in more. That usually comes down to an injury, which gave him a slow start throughout training camp. We are finding out now in the NFL that if you miss the OTAs and all that summer, because they put in so much and develop these relationships with the new players in free agency, it's hard to catch up. I don't care who you are. I don't think Jacobs had game legs. They tried three bombs, which I was impressed with, but he did not seperate.

KS-Gibbs has been praised in this town for his ability to make adjustments, but it seems that during the Raiders game he didn't make any adjustments after the first half. What are your thoughts on that?

DW-I think Joe suffered from the same thing that Gregg Williams suffered from, which is how limited the remaining players are when you lose parts of the puzzle. The Energizer Bunny, Thrash, went out with the hamstring, so that really hurt their ability to really go with three WR sets and to expand some packages. When a player comes in, the positions are X,Y and Z. X are the split ends and Z is the flanker. H is the TE on and off the line and Y is usually the stationary TE. Generally when you come in the league you will learn one spot. With Joe, you will learn two or three. That doesn't mean that you have mastered any of them. It means that you may know them. When a guy like Jacobs gets in the game, and he runs a 4.4, he's thinking he runs 4.6. He's really not sure what he does. Moss may run a 4.3, and he's running that all the time because he has a grasp of the offense, he knows what he's doing and he's explosive. I think Taylor is a lot more explosive then he has shown. He just has to be confident in what he's doing. Clinton Portis has become a much better receiver, but we still haven't seen him a lot in that role. Rock Cartwright caught the big one down the middle. Clinton is being used in max protection a lot because they are having so many problems with teams with good rush ends. Every time you go to max protect, you lose in your passing game. If you open it up, you get your QB knocked out. See, that's where they are caught in between. They aren't good enough to just block people up front with just the offensive line. It's a gamble. If they keep like they did against Tampa Bay, which has a great defense, they were able to put up 28 points with the offense. Then they come back against the Raiders and they can't score an offensive TD. That's what inconsistency does to you. I thought that Clinton Portis the last two weeks has been the best he's been since coming here. He looked lively, but then he lost the ball. You have to hope that he forgets that and gets it out of his system. Against the Chargers, he may be ready to turn the corner, but we don't know because a guy like him, I don't think you can judge him until he gets twenty-five, twenty-six carries.

KS-Portis only got five carries in the second half I believe. He was clicking them off pretty well in the first half, so why do you think they went away from him in the second half? Do you think the fumbles made Gibbs a bit nervous about using him?

DW-Everytime you lose possession, Joe isn't able to do what I think he would really like to do. You turn the ball over or you are three and out. You don't get enough offensive plays to establish a rhythm. You miss on a couple of plays, and before you know it you don't have a chance to cash in. Cartwright mad the big catch down the pike, but you don't cash in and you have nothing to show for it. Those near misses become punts, and then the defense is exposed. They held Lamont Jordan to 50yds. They gave up one big play, but the defense also scored so that's a wash. The offense couldn't score, at home where you expect everything to go right for you. The pressure from the defense is an issue and people aren't making too much of that, but you don't have to always sack the QB to be effective. You have to do one or the other. They are a big Cover2 team now. They don't flop corners. Springs doesn't have the luxury of going with the other team's best WR. He plays on the left, and Walt and the rook (Rogers) plays on the right. So the offense comes in and they pretty much avoid Springs. Taylor can balance that out because he's an exceptional player, but against Tampa you didn't have him, and as a result they were able to put up more points then you have seen in a long time against this defense. Your two middle guys, who were the backbone of this defense a year ago, are both injured. One is out and the other is playing without any practice. Salave'a is giving you super effort, but when a pro he doesn't practice, the competition gets better because of that. The guy he is going against runs all week, practices hard, will be quicker and is just better. He's strong enough to anchor, but you lose mobility.

KS-I'm glad that you brought that up about Salave'a because I think that a lot of fans, especially those that haven't actually played the game assume that when you have instances where a professional football player doesn't practice, he should be more lively without getting the reps. Sort of like he should be fresher because of the lack of practice wearing him down. You are telling me that it's the exact opposite, correct?

DW-Oh, absolutely. If a man doesn't practice and he's going against a guy who does, that guy has an advantage. Unless we are talking about one week. One week isn't going to bother you. Two weeks, three weeks will bother, because you are going beyond having fresh legs. Now you are trying to get yourself back into game shape. When I mention game shape, those same legs I mentioned with Taylor Jacobs, he hasn't missed practice, but he hasn't been in a game with pressure on him and his number being called, running hard trying to make a play. It's hard. Guys like Caveman Sellers and Marcus Washington, when you look at Washington they play a lot, including special teams, but they are in phenomenal shape and they haven't missed any time. you see Washington jumping and bouncing around because he hasn't missed practice. You see LaVar's legs coming back, his quickness, his explosiveness, all of those things are getting better and better every week because he is now building on his fourth week of game preparation and playing time. The best is yet to come with LaVar. A guy can miss a little bit of time, but he cannot miss every week and go against a really good unit. That's a position that you really have to hope that someone steps up. The fantasy is that the backups are just as good as the starters. You can say that and that is good lip service, but if they were, they would be starting. They would be somewhere else. There is a reason why there is someone else out there first. When you lose that guy, everyone backs down a little bit. The eagles aren't going to be as good because McNabb's not there, Terrell's not there. You can still win, but you are not going to be as good as when Pro Bowlers are healthy. I'm sure that is something that Gregg Williams is wrestling with. How does he attack the opponent with this sort of personnel.

[rskinsfan10]

http://www.hailredskins.com/images/docsquare.jpg


KS-Going back to the offensive side of the ball, you mentioned the amount of max protection being used. One of our members wondered if Joe is using the amount of max protection he is currently imploring because Brunell seemingly takes long strides when he's dropping back. He says that in his own observations it appears to him that it's difficult for the tackles to cut off the angles that the DEs are using to get after Brunell.

DW-The tough part about it is a lot of their passing game is is sprint motion, moving to the right, moving to the left. They are not really a classic drop back team. There are advantages to that, because most teams have a pocket QB and those ends have a habit of flying up field You are going to get help posted on the edge. H-back is going to get posted with Samuels or The Rock (Jansen), so you'll see a lot of that going on. When you move the pocket, it does open up some areas. It also cuts the field in half, so you don't have the entire field to work with. You get shorter rhythm passes. Those bombs to Santana, they were classic drop back passes. They were seven step drops. Joe is too smart to do things that you can just clue in on. I don't think it's the scheme, it's the execution of the plays. You have to remember that you have talented guys on the other side. You've had good pass rushers in the KC game, the Tampa Bay game. They have had problems with speed rushers. The question could be, and I have this posed to me often, is "if you are in max protection why can't you block the ends?" Well, when you are in 4th and 10, you are flooding zones. If you just send two WRs out in this league, it's pretty hard to get people open. I was watching Green Bay, KC, offensive units like New England, they send a lot of people out, and they force you make a decision as to where they are going and that is favorable to a QB that makes good decisions. The Colts are hardly ever in Max. Payton has to make quick decisions, and he puts the pressure on the defense to try to figure out where they are going. This is a different scheme, and it's a scheme that they have had success with. That's why I was really disappointed this week with the shortage of offense coming off Tampa, who has a much better defense then the Raiders. When you look at it, the drives were stopped by the fumbles, the turnovers, and let's give the Raiders some credit. Those guys played hard. They knew it was personal involving Norv.

KS-Do you think that with so much being said about the turnovers, and using Portis as an example because he fumbled twice this week after protecting the ball pretty well this year, are the guys trying too hard to minimize the turnovers they commit? Brunell's fumbles, Cooley's fumbles, is it possible that they are a bit uptight and not as loose as they could or should be because they are concerned with trying to not turn the ball over?

DW-That happens sometimes. It really does. You know that Clinton isn't out there trying to sabotage his own success. The last two weeks, I saw a guy who has ran differently. The fumble are unfortunate, but he's a pro back. He has to deal with that, overcome that. Hopefully against the Chargers it's something that never enters his mind, because if he starts cradling that ball again with two hands, then it's hard to have balance. You won't get those big runs from him. You just don't see backs in the NFL running like that.

KS-It would seem that you lose speed carrying the ball like that as well, like you are restricting your natural motion.

DW-I believe that it does. You put Clinton on the list with the outstanding backs in the league, and you don't see those guys running holding the ball with two arms. They're just going, and I think the last two weeks, that's where he was headed. I think it was clear he was headed in that direction.

KS-We heard and read for awhile that Portis wasn't a fit for Gibbs' scheme. We've had a season and a half to observe him now. What do you think about that line of thinking?

DW-That's a natural feeling. I didn't feel good about it when it happened, because it was one of the few times they have had a primary halfback in the one back set. Kelvin Bryant was a halfback. I consider Clinton a halfback. Joe Washington was a halfback. Timmy Smith was a bigger back. Riggins, George Rogers, you look at Ernest Byner, all those guys were just bigger backs. There were guys like Washington, Ricky Ervins that were smaller that had success in this system. So what happens is you need that complimentary fullback type. Betts when healthy gives you that, but he's just been nicked so much, they really haven't seen the best of him. Clinton has shown real good ability, but it's trying to get all of that to mesh. I thought it would happen sooner, I thought this whole process would happen sooner, but of course you are dealing with the reality of what happens and what you want to happen. You play these guys last year, and the QB position was off, so guys could key in on Clinton. Now, Brunell has come out like gang busters and you see that things are softening up because now Mark can kill you with his arm. Now you are seeing Clinton get those seven, eight, nine ten yard gashes which were very difficult for him to get last year when he was facing eight in the box. You have to understand when you are watching this game is that the other team is pretty darn good as well, and they have stars on their side. When you play Washington, and I'm sure that most of the viewers of hR can figure this out, what would you try to take away? Well I'm going to double and try to take away Santana. I'd have a LB try to bump and grab Cooley as much as possible. I'd put my safeties up and force them to throw...

KS-I'm glad that you mentioned that because I think a lot of Redskins fans, and maybe fans in general forget that the other team has eleven professionals out there that are just as good if not better. I think that a lot of fans expect perfection all the time.

DW-Well, that's the beauty of being a fan. If you want it all to be logical and to make sense, then you kill the spirit of being a fan. Fan is short for fanatic. It's like talk radio, we aren't supposed to have an answer for everything, but you are supposed to probe it. There aren't any dumb questions. I watch and I ask "how come we aren't doing this more" if it seems like it works, that's human nature. Coach Thompson asked the question today on SportsTalk 980 "is this a good team?" I still believe that this still can be a good team. Every week that they lose, it makes me sound like I've had too many Miller Lites, but until I see them out of it and based on what I've seen here since 1991, I see stability, I see it moving in the right direction. Disappointing as it may be because of these last two weeks with manageable, winnable games, you look back and you get Tampa under your belt and now they are on a winning streak and are playing pretty good. The Raider game here, you could mention that you hadn't lost at home and that was great, but now that's over. So the question now is, and LaVar mentioned today on 980 is he wants to challenge the team from within. I heard Jon Jansen say the same thing on the Sports Reporters. We are the stage now that if these guys don't take control of it on their own, we are going to be singing the same old tune at the end of the year. It's so easy to say the staff should do this, I'm not into any of that. They, the players have to do this on their own, and they have to go out there and make those plays. The fan thinks your team should run every play just right. Well, when you go around this league half the cities in the NFL are mad as all get out today. I'm out in Green Bay doing the Monday Night Football broadcast and I'm watching a great fanbase, 63,000 packed in up until the last snap be disappointed with a team they thought would be a whole lot better then where they are. It happens, it happens. This club is at a very vulnerable point right now, because losing can become a habit, just like winning. They have got to snap out of this thing and turn it back around, get that optimism going again and move into December with a good run going. The three game win streak was nice, but the streaks that are most important and what you need are in December.

[rskinsfan10]

http://www.hailredskins.com/images/docsquare.jpg


KS-Well, we are what we are this point, which is 5-5. It's time to put the Raiders in our rear view mirror and to look ahead. What are Doc Walker's keys to securing a victory against the San Diego Chargers?

DW-The Chargers game is going to interesting because Tomlinson is the best in the game. Not only will they run him, but they will throw it to him as well. Every back that has come here against this team, his numbers have been lower then his average. They are very good in that aspect. The turnovers, the takeaways, the big hits. The Dallas game, the hit that Taylor, The Tarantula didn't get credit for, when he that kid he blew him up, but they didn't credit for the fumble. There have been so many plays this year where we didn't get credit for the fumble, but those things you have to keep at it, keep hammering away. Sooner or later they will turn your way. Drew Brees is accomplished, and the Chargers have a nice thing going for them. Gates has a foot injury, but I believe he will play. He'll be out there. The key is going to be how does Gregg Williams find a way to keep Tomlinson in the backfield in passing situations, trying to keep them off balance. If they do catch it, there needs to be some punishing hits. Special teams, there has only been one big run, but they haven't given up anything either. They have had some pretty good runs, but there are going to be a lot of new kids on teams this week with the new receivers, and it's going to important that they hit the ground running. The offensive line will be going against Shawn Merriman. Lights Out will coming back into town, and he can rush the passer, but I'll put Rock and Big Chris up against anybody in the league. Chris has to hold down a guy fifty times a game. The guy gets one sack when they played the Eagles, and people want to holler that Chris got beat. You have to remember that Chris has a sprained knee, plays the whole game and gives up one sack out of fifty-five plays. that's what I'm talking about when we say fanspeak, guys not understanding everything. If he gets beat four or five times, then we have a problem. If you double with him, it's not just all on him. We've seen a couple of times where the backs have knocked his guy down into the QB. Sometimes the QB doesn't step up the way he's supposed to. There are a lot of variables that go into why you have breakdowns. I think we have to realize that sometimes the other team is just better. Just like with LaVar. When LaVar blows through that line and makes that play when it's third and one, what do you think their coach is saying on that play? There are guys that are just better, Shawn Springs shuts a play down because he just better. Taylor makes a play because he is better. Thing is, you don't have eleven of those guys. You have to get all of those guys to play at a really high level. The Skins backs have been up against the wall since 1991. We've been saying the same 'ol thing every year with different characters, but I believe this year is different because I think that the team is all on the same page. There has been some bitching, some finger pointing which a lot of it I didn't like. Players talking about "if we had a pass rush". Well, if I'm on the d-line I can turn around and say "well if we had someone that could cover" and then you are starting to point fingers at everybody. I don't like to hear that. I'd much rather hear "my bad, lets crank it up and go after it again". Like they say about Brett Favre, that he has amnesia. You don't see his body language change after a bad throw, because he can still come back and beat you with a TD. If his WRs could catch like his old group could, they my have beat the Vikings. You need your players that you have to make plays. This team needs someone to jump into that Santana zone, that Cooley zone. Man, Cooley is in a zone. This brother gets open, he makes the catch, and he's running. We need or third and fourth guy, whether it's Brunell or Portis, to get just as hot as those two. Sellers has been on fire, but you lose the Caveman now because of the broken rib, so maybe Rock Cartwright steps up into that group. You have to have other guys to step up. I'm concerned this week because you don't want to be in a season threatening game. You would like to be up a notch where if you made a mistake it kills your season. I think that this is a game that they have to win, they simply have to win it. It's a big week for the burgundy and gold. We have to get some answers to the questions we have. We have to get some production, because if not, it's going to get ugly.

KS-So, Doc Walker is on his way to Detroit, right?

DW-Yeah, we have the turkey game on Thursday, then Sunday we have the Jets and the Saints. I'm all over the place.

KS-Well Doc, I thank you for your time and we look forward to what you will be bringing to the table here at hR.

DW-Hey man, it's going to be fun to be apart of this. We all just have to sit back and watch this together and see how it unfolds. We have to remember, with the limited access, a lot of times you have to wait and see what's happening. If you aren't able to sit down behind those closed doors, if you aren't in those meeting rooms, you are never really 100% certain. You have to use your instincts, your experience. That's the thing about pro football. Those guys spend eight, nine hours over at that park every day, working on this, working on that. We cannot look at it in three hours and say "oh yeah, well this is this and that is that" because you really don't know. You don't know until they tell you this is what we are attempting to do here. Here are the reads, this is what this guy was told to do here, and this is what he did or didn't do. That's how I look at the game. Is that fun, no. It's fun to be emotional, to let it just hang all out. We watch the Skins and we ask ourselves why does it seem that we do so much to beat ourselves? It's like Washington is out there playing against twelve men? The statistics are there and they look good, but what does that really mean? The only statistics that count are the records. Are you 5-5, or 6-4, or 7-3? Dallas and NY aren't playing great, but as much as it pains me to say this they are leading in the one statistic that really matters, which is wins and losses. At this point, we have to keep it close. We can't let it get more then a game or two behind or it will be all over for us. that's the reality of the situation and where we are right now.

[rskinsfan10]

I apologize for intially locking this thread. You guys are free to discuss Doc's comments here.

[GolfFreak]

Wow, that's awesome stuff Kenny!!! I love it.

[danny's stogie]

First off all, what a fantastic addition to HR. Thanks Doc for the insight.

Secondly, can we please post this in bold on HR's frontpage:

The offensive line will be going against Shawn Merriman. Lights Out will coming back into town, and he can rush the passer, but I'll put Rock and Big Chris up against anybody in the league. Chris has to hold down a guy fifty times a game. The guy gets one sack when they played the Eagles, and people want to holler that Chris got beat. You have to remember that Chris has a sprained knee, plays the whole game and gives up one sack out of fifty-five plays. that's what I'm talking about when we say fanspeak, guys not understanding everything. If he gets beat four or five times, then we have a problem. If you double with him, it's not just all on him. We've seen a couple of times where the backs have knocked his guy down into the QB. Sometimes the QB doesn't step up the way he's supposed to. There are a lot of variables that go into why you have breakdowns.

Samuels has been one of the most highly criticized Redskin players over the last couple of years, but that's the life of an Olineman, all the blame and no glory. So please, Samuels bashers, take a second look before blaming him for the protection problems. I'm really happy with Samuels. Sure he gets beat once every fifty plays, but is he still a top tackle, certainly, plus he has all the attributes of a true Redskin. He plays hurt, he plays hard, he's a great guy and although he's not the most vocal of Olineman, he wears his heart on his sleeve and lives and dies with this team. So here's to you Chris, I hope you're a Skin for life and then some.

[ph33rtheD]

very good read

[whitskins]

First off all, what a fantastic addition to HR. Thanks Doc for the insight.

Secondly, can we please post this in bold on HR's frontpage:



Samuels has been one of the most highly criticized Redskin players over the last couple of years, but that's the life of an Olineman, all the blame and no glory. So please, Samuels bashers, take a second look before blaming him for the protection problems. I'm really happy with Samuels. Sure he gets beat once every fifty plays, but is he still a top tackle, certainly, plus he has all the attributes of a true Redskin. He plays hurt, he plays hard, he's a great guy and although he's not the most vocal of Olineman, he wears his heart on his sleeve and lives and dies with this team. So here's to you Chris, I hope you're a Skin for life and then some.

I like that quote a lot as well but some people will always love to use Samuels as their whipping boy. There is a sentiment out there that dominant left tackles are simply out there for the plucking in the NFL and we could have cut Samuels and paid half as much for a better player. Who those players are, however, remain mysteriously unnamed.


Oh yes, and thanks to hR for lining up this great new addition to the site, I'm a HUGE Doc Walker fan and love the fact that he is a part of the hR family. Great job guys!

[Dolla Bill]

There was one question that I wish I would of pulled the trigger early enough to get it through, but i'll ask it now. How is it having a left handed quarter back affecting the offensive line? I know that usually the best pass rushers line up on the blind side, but I was wondering if this kind of thing messes with the heads, or game planning for the offensive line besides the obvious things. Anyways, excellent questions and awesome answers by the Doc. Keep 'em coming guys.

[LATrueRedskin]

Good stuff, this is going to be fun reading.

DW-That happens sometimes. It really does. You know that Clinton isn't out there trying to sabotage his own success. The last two weeks, I saw a guy who has ran differently. The fumble are unfortunate, but he's a pro back. He has to deal with that, overcome that. Hopefully against the Chargers it's something that never enters his mind, because if he starts cradling that ball again with two hands, then it's hard to have balance. You won't get those big runs from him. You just don't see backs in the NFL running like that.


Yeah, I'm not a fan of when CP does that either. It's OK to do it when in traffic, but tuck that thing away and run, Clinton, you're faster than most people on the field anyway.

[skinsfan811]

KS-Do you think that with so much being said about the turnovers, and using Portis as an example because he fumbled twice this week after protecting the ball pretty well this year, are the guys trying too hard to minimize the turnovers they commit? Brunell's fumbles, Cooley's fumbles, is it possible that they are a bit uptight and not as loose as they could or should be because they are concerned with trying to not turn the ball over?

DW-That happens sometimes. It really does. You know that Clinton isn't out there trying to sabotage his own success. The last two weeks, I saw a guy who has ran differently. The fumble are unfortunate, but he's a pro back. He has to deal with that, overcome that. Hopefully against the Chargers it's something that never enters his mind, because if he starts cradling that ball again with two hands, then it's hard to have balance. You won't get those big runs from him. You just don't see backs in the NFL running like that.

I hope that CP doesn't start to cradle the ball.He's had success the last two weeks by going back to the style of running he hads in Denver's scheme.He's bounced balls outside more often, and he's had a good amount of quality runs.

I totally agree with what Doc' said on ther subject.And once again...thanks for putting this together guys, great job!!!

[BurgundyNGold]

First off, I think this is an excellent addition to hR. It was a fabulous read and, as usual, we have been able to get some great insight to the team through Doc's eyes. Thanks!

I do have a couple of differences of opinion though. I disagree that we should give the DL a pass. You cannot realistically expect any DB to hold coverage 5, 6 or more seconds like our DBs have to do on seemingly every play. The pressure from our front 4 is attrocious and it is killing our D.

Also, while not crucifying Samuels, I'm no longer buying ito the media hype about Samuels anymore. Is he a good OLT? Yes, but sometimes he plays very average. Maybe a top 10 OLT, but more likely right around 10 right now. People can come up with whatever rationale to excuse when he plays poorly and they may be right in some of those instances. However, you rarely if ever hear about other "premier" OLTs during the course of the game unless it's to heap praise on them. When was the last time the announcers stopped to heap praise on ANY member of our OL, let alone Samuels? IMO, if we have to hear Samuel's name during the course of the game -- and it doesn't involve the announcer saying what a great job he's doing -- then he's got things to improve upon and it's fair game to call him out.

I also expect CP to tear it up this weekend. I think maybe 150 yards.

:Peace:

[whitskins]

First off, I think this is an excellent addition to hR. It was a fabulous read and, as usual, we have been able to get some great insight to the team through Doc's eyes. Thanks!

I do have a couple of differences of opinion though. I disagree that we should give the DL a pass. You cannot realistically expect any DB to hold coverage 5, 6 or more seconds like our DBs have to do on seemingly every play. The pressure from our front 4 is attrocious and it is killing our D.

Also, while not crucifying Samuels, I'm no longer buying ito the media hype about Samuels anymore. Is he a good OLT? Yes, but sometimes he plays very average. Maybe a top 10 OLT, but more likely right around 10 right now. People can come up with whatever rationale to excuse when he plays poorly and they may be right in some of those instances. However, you rarely if ever hear about other "premier" OLTs during the course of the game unless it's to heap praise on them. When was the last time the announcers stopped to heap praise on ANY member of our OL, let alone Samuels? IMO, if we have to hear Samuel's name during the course of the game -- and it doesn't involve the announcer saying what a great job he's doing -- then he's got things to improve upon and it's fair game to call him out.

I also expect CP to tear it up this weekend. I think maybe 150 yards.

:Peace:

Whether or not the announcers make note of it, Doc is right that Samuels is dominant far more often than he is not. I've seen Jansen give up a lot more pass rushes this year than Samuels has, but he doesn't get nearly as much flack for it from the fans (if any at all). For some reason we still have tight ends and RBs taking on strong edge rushers one on one, and very often we lose that battle and then some blame Samuels when he was not at fault. He has obviously given up sacks this year, but I think the blame is often out of proportion. The vast majority of the time he owns his defender.

I was thinking about this today and I think a big reason Samuels is getting ragged on so hard this year is because often the sacks he has given up have lead to fumbles, so they stand out far more in our minds. But IMO Samuels is by far the most reliable pass protector we have on the line.

[PennSkinsFan]

[B][I]I think Joe suffered from the same thing that Gregg Williams suffered from, which is how limited the remaining players are when you lose parts of the puzzle.


Good point by Doc. I think we have seen tha this year on defense, the inability of the team to recover an Williams to recover with key injuies. It's about depth and our depth is not as good as we thought. Prioleau got ravaged when Taylor was out. Losing Grif killed us. And as well as Salave'a plays at time he simply is not 100%. We need to invest on Dline and defensive depth.

[Joe-T]

I like the addition of Doc , it's good stuff keep it up .

[skins111111]

I want more.......So how often will Doc interviews be posted?
It really is sweet to have them here at HailRedsliks.

[NCskinsfanatic]

Great stuff guys, I'd like to thank HR and Doc for their time and effort in making this all possible. Just three short years ago I actually spent hours scanning the ESPN ticker and reading the Virginia Pilot to get a taste of redskins news..... now I'm well informed and slightly addicted to HR...thanks again!

[RedskinsDave]

Doc, do you think there is any substance to the claim that the more things change the more they stay the same? It has been years since this team has found ways to win instead of ways to lose.

[bgforever]

First off all, what a fantastic addition to HR. Thanks Doc for the insight.

Secondly, can we please post this in bold on HR's frontpage:



Samuels has been one of the most highly criticized Redskin players over the last couple of years, but that's the life of an Olineman, all the blame and no glory. So please, Samuels bashers, take a second look before blaming him for the protection problems. I'm really happy with Samuels. Sure he gets beat once every fifty plays, but is he still a top tackle, certainly, plus he has all the attributes of a true Redskin. He plays hurt, he plays hard, he's a great guy and although he's not the most vocal of Olineman, he wears his heart on his sleeve and lives and dies with this team. So here's to you Chris, I hope you're a Skin for life and then some.


That was awsome Kenny! Thanks to you and Doc.
Ok DANY'S STOGIE, I am not one to shrink from the admission, that I had a leaning of choice words for the offensive line. I am well aware of Samuel's, and other player's hurts and pains, and although I am not a basher, nor should I be considered one when I offer an opinion, I had been up and down with my liking of his play. Not because he's so LOW, but that I think of him so HIGH :) I do think we CAN find OT's for nearly half the amount for a good OT, but never would I assume they'd be exactly like Chris or even perform at the level I saw him perform at. (However, there are times players are allowed to play, because as Gibbs has explained, the players will let you know, if they can go or not from an injury). This is what a fan like me and as Doc Walker called by yaking "fanspeak". I am sure there are folks here with much harsher tones for Chris Samuels and others on the Washington Redskins roster, during these trying times, but mine was never the hurtful, disrespectful kind - which I consider the word to match with BASHING

[bgforever]

Whether or not the announcers make note of it, Doc is right that Samuels is dominant far more often than he is not. I've seen Jansen give up a lot more pass rushes this year than Samuels has, but he doesn't get nearly as much flack for it from the fans (if any at all). For some reason we still have tight ends and RBs taking on strong edge rushers one on one, and very often we lose that battle and then some blame Samuels when he was not at fault. He has obviously given up sacks this year, but I think the blame is often out of proportion. The vast majority of the time he owns his defender.

I was thinking about this today and I think a big reason Samuels is getting ragged on so hard this year is because often the sacks he has given up have lead to fumbles, so they stand out far more in our minds. But IMO Samuels is by far the most reliable pass protector we have on the line.

yeah that is one reason I am at fault, but more emotion than anything, certainly not knowledge (oh lord would my head swell :) ). He validates a lot of things I wanted to know in greater detail and he CONFIRMS the team's direction, which many of us still believe, but also states the usual additions are still to come. I like point about amnesia and COOLEY - I saw him play one time and then it was Soooo limited to like three plays, I said, now there' s fullback! When I saw him in a Skins uni, I thought , omg, the second coming of Riggo! Now Doc Walker's saying the same field presence is in Cooley. Nice!

[NCskinsfanatic]

Man what a phenomenal addition Doc has been in just a couple of weeks.....I love the old school attitude he brings to his analysis of our skins and it carries that much more weight knowing his history with our gret franchise. I'm glad to hear that he belives, as do I, that this team has improved and is continuing to do so. I'm keeping the faith Doc, no quitters here in this redskin fanatics household........:typeR2: !

[skinfan43]

It's really a pleasure to hear these opinions from an "O.G." who's been in the trenches with Gibbs, and won it all w/him. I get more and more pumped up every week, Doc...you 'da man!!

[skins74]

Doc is right on the money. They need to execute.