ckparrothead
Premium Member
I have to say, that this dream of Rod Gardner and Chris Samuels for Ogun is just that...a pipe dream. The Skins are trying to make their run this year, not next year. The Gibbs plan is not a longterm one, he's too old for that and he probably won't last in DC more than 2 or 3 years, not unlike Parcells in Dallas. To give away Samuels and Gardner now would decimate their offense. It would be one thing if they had someone ready to step in for Samuels and Gardner, but they don't. Far as I can tell Samuels' backup LT is Brandon Winey, or Kenyatta Jones. Both are disappointments.
Gardner is backed up by Darnerian McCants, James Thrash, and Taylor Jacobs (who I'm not even sure played a single down in 2003).
Do they need to replace newly acquired Phillip Daniels or Renaldo Wynn that bad, that they would give both of those guys up? Probably not. In fact what I was hearing with the Ogun for Samuels thing was that THEY wanted the draft picks, as in we give them Ogun and a 2nd or 3rd for Samuels.
Now, if we're speaking realistically about Rod Gardner, I'd have to say its a possibility. They love Ogun. They want him. They have their misgivings with Gardner despite his production (if you've seen him play on a consistent basis as I have, you know these misgivings mainly pertain to boneheaded drops that have plagued him throughout his career...stats be damned). He doesn't have that great of deep speed but has the ability to be a deep playmaker, much like Gadsden was actually a deep playmaker for the Phins early in his career before we turned him into a short possession receiver (one of the worst moves ever IMO).
But would we want to give up Ogun for Gardner straight? Not me. Gardner is not the type of premier player that Ogunleye is, so its not worth it. But can we pry out a guy like Samuels too? VERY doubtful, since I personally believe it was doubtful we could have even pried Samuels out for Ogunleye STRAIGHT UP...I think the Skins wanted more, and there's no authoritative source that says otherwise.
My answer would be Ladell Betts. This guy I HAVE seen play, and man do I like him. You know, I wonder why Joe Gibbs authorized giving up the best corner in pro football AND a second rounder, for Clinton Portis, when you've got Ladell Betts there to tote the rock. Betts is a between the tackles runner who was wallowing away in Spurrier's system. What impressed me about Betts is even though Spurrier was having him do things that OBVIOUSLY were as foreign to Betts' game as chili sauce in a cheesecake, Betts managed to excel in a lot of ways that impressed me. This is a guy that was drafted too low when he came out...and looked impressive doing all the wrong things in Spurrier's monkey-@ss system.
If you ask me if I would trade Ogunleye for Gardner and Betts...I would seriously have to think about it. Morris...he looks impressive in camp, and Minor, he does too...but is that going to work in games? I have my doubts. I think we're seeing phantom optimism. I think Betts would partially solve our RB problems, maybe even give us that one guy again who could tote the rock in all situations. And Gardner, would be like an instant replacement for David Boston. He might not have the same potential David did, but I personally expected closer to 800 yards out of David rather than the 1600 yards people were envisioning. Chris Chambers was still by far the best WR on our roster. Gardner would give us another threat.
And if Bowens, Grigsby, and gasp...T.J. Bingham? are really doing what they need to do, in preseason GAMES just like Ogunleye did in his preseason debut against the Buccaneers (a game that I was at by the way) the year he started and gathered 9.5 sacks....then perhaps this would be the best move for us, to seal the most holes we can, while still allowing the D to be good because of the unbelievable secondary we'll be fielding (believe it, Poole is for real, and if Howard slips up in the slightest way, Poole will overtake him)
Gardner is backed up by Darnerian McCants, James Thrash, and Taylor Jacobs (who I'm not even sure played a single down in 2003).
Do they need to replace newly acquired Phillip Daniels or Renaldo Wynn that bad, that they would give both of those guys up? Probably not. In fact what I was hearing with the Ogun for Samuels thing was that THEY wanted the draft picks, as in we give them Ogun and a 2nd or 3rd for Samuels.
Now, if we're speaking realistically about Rod Gardner, I'd have to say its a possibility. They love Ogun. They want him. They have their misgivings with Gardner despite his production (if you've seen him play on a consistent basis as I have, you know these misgivings mainly pertain to boneheaded drops that have plagued him throughout his career...stats be damned). He doesn't have that great of deep speed but has the ability to be a deep playmaker, much like Gadsden was actually a deep playmaker for the Phins early in his career before we turned him into a short possession receiver (one of the worst moves ever IMO).
But would we want to give up Ogun for Gardner straight? Not me. Gardner is not the type of premier player that Ogunleye is, so its not worth it. But can we pry out a guy like Samuels too? VERY doubtful, since I personally believe it was doubtful we could have even pried Samuels out for Ogunleye STRAIGHT UP...I think the Skins wanted more, and there's no authoritative source that says otherwise.
My answer would be Ladell Betts. This guy I HAVE seen play, and man do I like him. You know, I wonder why Joe Gibbs authorized giving up the best corner in pro football AND a second rounder, for Clinton Portis, when you've got Ladell Betts there to tote the rock. Betts is a between the tackles runner who was wallowing away in Spurrier's system. What impressed me about Betts is even though Spurrier was having him do things that OBVIOUSLY were as foreign to Betts' game as chili sauce in a cheesecake, Betts managed to excel in a lot of ways that impressed me. This is a guy that was drafted too low when he came out...and looked impressive doing all the wrong things in Spurrier's monkey-@ss system.
If you ask me if I would trade Ogunleye for Gardner and Betts...I would seriously have to think about it. Morris...he looks impressive in camp, and Minor, he does too...but is that going to work in games? I have my doubts. I think we're seeing phantom optimism. I think Betts would partially solve our RB problems, maybe even give us that one guy again who could tote the rock in all situations. And Gardner, would be like an instant replacement for David Boston. He might not have the same potential David did, but I personally expected closer to 800 yards out of David rather than the 1600 yards people were envisioning. Chris Chambers was still by far the best WR on our roster. Gardner would give us another threat.
And if Bowens, Grigsby, and gasp...T.J. Bingham? are really doing what they need to do, in preseason GAMES just like Ogunleye did in his preseason debut against the Buccaneers (a game that I was at by the way) the year he started and gathered 9.5 sacks....then perhaps this would be the best move for us, to seal the most holes we can, while still allowing the D to be good because of the unbelievable secondary we'll be fielding (believe it, Poole is for real, and if Howard slips up in the slightest way, Poole will overtake him)
