Aldridge signing makes sense

The Washington Redskins moved to fill the roster spot opened yesterday by placing OG Randy Thomas on the season ending injured reserve.  Thomas tore his tricep in his arm and will miss the rest of the season. 

Instead of signing another offensive lineman, the Redskins instead inked RB Anthony Aldridge from the Houston Texans practice squad.  Aldridge was in training camp and preseason with the Redskins and was among the last roster reductions.  A hamstring injury and a critical fumble in the last preseason game made the decision to keep RB Marcus Mason over Aldridge a bit easier.  However, Mason did not solve a lingering problem the Redskins felt they needed to address, a change of pace running back.  Instead, Mason fits the pace of current running backs Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. 

Many of you DCPSR readers out there like our critical critiques of the Redskins, others think we are too negative.  I don’t personally think we are negative or postive, I think we just write, report and blog like we see it.  We aren’t hell bent on defaming Dan Snyder nor are we lured into preaching Snyder’s word.  It isn’t like this franchise has given much ammo to be postive about.  If they do, we do.  

So this will come as a shock to some, but there are some out there that do not understand the signing of Aldridge and not replacing Thomas with another offensive lineman. But, believe it or not, I like this move.  Yeah, there is a big question here.  How much will Aldridge be used?  What situations? 

Here is why adding another lineman, particularlay a veteran, makes no sense ot me.  The Redskins will likely replace Thomas with 2007 third round pick Chad Rhinehart.  Not a bad thing.  The Redskins have an entire season to now evaluate whether Rhinehart is part of the solution to an aging line, or whether he was a wasted pick.  It’s a 15 week evaluation.    

This whole thing with signing someone like Pete Kendall — my response is — why?  Is the goal not to get younger on an aging line. Don’t we have young lineman we are excited about, namely Edwin Williams, Chad Rhinehart, and Will Montgomery.  This is a great test.  Why always plug holes with aging veteran rather than find out what you have in youth?  Second, Montgomery and Williams are versitile in that they can play multiple position on the Line.  So depth purposes, it is still in tact without adding another Lineman.  

Adding Aldridge is a change in pace in the backfield.  He is very, very quick and adds the speed dimension that does not exist in the Redskins backfield.  The only question is — hwo do we use and what plays do we need called to make the change in pace. 

Uh-Ho, there is that term again — play calling. 

Kind of defeats the whole angle eh?