Defensive Line Play vs Redskins

[San Jose Bills Fan]

There's been a lot of discussion on John McCargo and his development as a player. More so than how McCargo played, I was distressed by the play of starters Kyle Williams and Chris Kelsay.

 

First however a little context. Washington's offensive line is perhaps the top unit in the league. With Rabach, Samuels, Jansen, Thomas, and Pete Kendall they are outstanding. Throw in starter-quality reserves like Fabini and Wade and OL coach Joe Bugel (if assistant coaches got into the hall of fame he'd be there) and the ingredients are top quality. They are also very large.

 

That being said, they manhandled the Bills D front, particularly in my eyes (and my HD DVR's eyes too), Williams and Kelsay. Williams was tossed around like a beach ball by Kendall and Samuels and Kelsay was engulfed repeatedly and as usual, unable to generate a pass rush. Albeit he did draw a holding penalty and the Redskins only had a small handful of 7-step drops.

 

Still, the more I rewound and replayed each play (I do this to isolate each player, and to confirm down and distance, field position, formations for both units, etc) the more I asked myself: Did the Bills really give extensions to these two players? Granted they are both (yawn) high-motor, character guys...football junkies who do everything in their power to improve, they buy into the offseason program, yada yada yada. The only problem is that neither one of them is a bona fide starter in this league. Williams again was being roughly manhandled, just blown off the line and Kelsay was a complete non-factor. To me Williams is a bench warmer and Kelsay is a good depth player.

 

Lest you think I'm just being negative, Ryan Denney and Spencer Johnson played much better than the aforementioned. Spencer has much better surge and anchor than Williams. While I don't think he'll give us much when they move him to end, he appears to be an effective tackle. Ryan Denney is a much better all around player than Kelsay. He plays the run better and gets into passing lanes when he can't get the pressure. Problem is, he typically backs up Schobel, not Kelsay. If the Bills really wanted to start their top four, it'd be Schobel, Stroud, Spencer Johnson and Ryan Denney. Again, I'm not trying to be negative, just stating it as it looked to me. By the way, Chris Ellis looked very promising. His raw skills are obvious and he has some polish as well. I'm hopeful, verging on optimistic that he can give us a boost this year.

[John from Riverside]

There is a very strong possibility that it could be Spencer and Stroud on the line together......

 

I just wish McCargo would shine.