Where do we begin.....Landon Johnson/Nat Webster, one of them has to start in the middle right? Then comes the Thurman hype. Both Antwan Peek and Lemar Marshall have lost their jobs in the last couple days.....Then Demorrio Williams seems destined to be the SLB at best.Well atleast my starting 3 are solid....London Fletcher, Ray Lewis and Zach Thomas.By no means did I think any of those guys were great players but really needed some playing time out of my backups.....bye week security or something.grrrrrr
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Little IDP venting (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter yortstop
- Start date
redman
Footballguy
I concur regarding Zach Thomas and Channing Crowder. And sorry but if you were counting on Lemar Marshall to be anything but a sub in the 'Skins lineup, then your disappointment is your own fault. Did you not draft any rookie LB's this year? If not, that seems like a strange choice in a year where there was a pretty good amount of LB's who'll likely have starting jobs within the next year or so.
Callas Disregard
Footballguy
Yeah, and I think I've got pretty "solid" RBs with Tomlinson, Alexander, and Edge. My WRs are "satisfactory" with Moss, Holt, and CJ. But I wish I had some depth at those positions. Darn, the talent pool just gets too diluted in these 4-team leagues.
Lemar Marshall - LB - WAS Lemar Marshall has been playing middle linebacker at Washington's recent mini-camp.
He's the early favorite to take over Antonio Pierce's old position. While not certain to earn the starting job, he'd be one of the top IDP sleepers in the game if it happens. Grab him him in all dynasty leagues. Jun. 19 - 12:52 pm et
Source: The Daily Press
Weiner Dog
Footballguy
He's not out of the woods yet...Redskins | Barrow about Two Weeks Away
Sun, 19 Jun 2005 15:21:26 -0700
Joseph White, of the Associated Press, reports Washington Redskins LB Mike Barrow (knee) is running full speed and should get a final clearance from a doctor in about two weeks, according to trainer Bubba Tyer.
Weiner Dog
Footballguy
It's not an AP article. However, KFFL is a solid source for football info.
link:http://www.kffl.com/hotw/nfl
Latest News Jun. 18, 2005 - 11:51 am et Redskins' LB Mike Barrow's lingering knee problems could result in his release.It's doubtful that Barrow is ever an every down LB again. Since signing with the Skins last season he has yet to play a down and we expect that trend to continue. Source: Washington Post Yeeek!!!!
mario8723
Footballguy
Excellent point indeed. This is simply a case of doing adequate enough homework.As a former Williams owner myself, I've pretty much known since last year that he was being looked at as the future at SLB for the near term. The signing of Ed Hartwell pretty much sewed that up now didn't it?
:X 
It's just a case of simply looking at the players involved. Is Keith Brooking going to move to SLB? Umm, no. And the Falcons certainly didn't spend all that money on Ed to line him up on the strongside.Luckily for me, I drafted Demorrio in the latter stages of the 4th round last year. I was able to turn him into a 2nd this year....to somebody who didn't do their homework 
Rovers
Footballguy
How is this, for an about face! ? Redskins look to fill the middle
By David Elfin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
June 20, 2005
The Washington Redskins' defense is like a three-day-old doughnut, tough all around except for the big hole in the middle.
That void, caused by the loss of free agent Antonio Pierce to the New York Giants, is problematic because the middle linebacker is the quarterback of the defense in Gregg Williams' scheme.
"It will definitely be tough to replace A.P.," linebacker Marcus Washington said of Pierce, who topped the Redskins' third-ranked defense with 160 tackles last year. "He was a heck of a leader. Everyone knows that Coach Williams' defense isn't the easiest in the NFL. As the middle linebacker, not only do you have to get yourself lined up, but you have to get the defensive linemen lined up. Sometimes they don't want to cooperate, so you have to go over and slap them on the bottom. And sometimes [safety] Sean Taylor doesn't really want to get in the huddle. A.P. would have to yell at him."
Of course, as Williams likes to note, at this time last year, Pierce was a backup outside linebacker with no experience in the middle. So the Redskins may yet find a standout among the staggering eight candidates attempting to replace Pierce.
One of those eight, ex-St. Louis and Carolina weak-side backup Brian Allen, summed up the situation the best when he said, "I'm an average player looking for an opportunity to be great."
• The old -- Mike Barrow has started 10 years in the middle and led his team in tackles in six seasons, including 2003. But Barrow injured a knee on the eve of training camp last year and missed the season. He didn't pass the team physical until Friday and was held out of minicamp as a precaution. Still, the 35-year-old Barrow, who a month ago seemed sure to be cut in order to save his $1.74?million salary against the cap, is perhaps the leader in the scrum in the middle.
"Mike's one of the smartest football players I've ever coached," said Williams, Barrow's position coach in Houston from 1994 to 1996. "He's very athletic. If Mike can play, we'll be fine."
Barrow, who traveled to Canada and Arizona to try to solve the mystery of his ailing knee, finally found the cure last month via a diagnostic ultrasound exam, which revealed scar tissue that hadn't shown up on MRIs. Once that was cleaned up, Barrow was on the way back.
"I'm running, planting and cutting freely," Barrow said with a smile. "I feel great. I'm in the best shape I've ever been in because I changed my diet and my workout program. Before I hurt my knee, I was one of the best middle linebackers in the league, and I'm fresher because I haven't been hit for so long. Thirty-five is just a number."
• The out of position -- Allen, Lemar Marshall, Warrick Holdman and Khary Campbell all have at least three years of NFL experience, but they have just one start in the middle among them. Linebackers coach Dale Lindsey considers Marshall a starter because he was one for most of 2004 in place of injured weak-side linebacker LaVar Arrington. With Arrington still sidelined, Marshall spent the entire offseason outside until moving into the middle this weekend.
"We put off moving Lemar because he was doing so well at the weak side," Lindsey said. "He did quite well [inside]. He showed good leadership. He knows the system. He fits the position pretty well."
The 232-pound Marshall worked on adding muscle and reducing his body fat this offseason in anticipation of switching inside.
redman
Footballguy
According to the Washington Post, which I regard as an infinitely better source on the Redskins than the Daily Press, Marshall is one of about 8 guys working out at MLB at this past mini-camp, including a healthy Barrow. I'm willing to bet that none of those other guys weighs less than Marshall's 232 pounds though. This is all beside the point. The original post claimed that Marshall lost his "starting job". The only place he's ever started is at WLB in place of an injured Arrington. Arguing that he's somehow destined to be the starter at MLB (even if we accept that as true) doesn't invalidate the criticism about the reference to him as a starter.
