PA Season Ticket Holder
05-11-2003, 02:27 PM
As more NFL teams adopt offenses that emphasize passing, it’s becoming important for defenses to have quality depth in the secondary. Generally, teams need at least three quality starting cornerbacks in the defensive backfield to counter the multitude of three- and four-wide receiver sets used in the NFL today.
With Pro Bowler Champ Bailey and third-year cornerback Fred Smoot set to start at corner this season, the Redskins felt a need for a veteran backup who could adequately serve in nickel and dime packages and step in as a starter if the need arises.
Alex Molden fit the bill perfectly. The 5-10, 190-pound cornerback, a tough and experienced player who combines speed and physicality, played the last two seasons in San Diego and the previous five in New Orleans. He was released by the Chargers in a salary cap maneuver.
It is expected that Molden will compete for the third cornerback position with second-year player Rashad Bauman. But Molden said he aims to compete for a starting job in training camp.
“I’m going to push everybody,” he said. “That’s not my ceiling, to be the fourth or third corner. I want to be out there. I’d be selling myself short if I was just trying to be the nickel or dime guy.
“With Champ Bailey and Fred Smoot, we have some excellent corners here. But coaches told me that everyone has a fair chance and that they’re going to put the best players out there. So I’m going to come in here and learn as much as I can, go out there, and just apply my knowledge on the field.”
Molden started 16 games last season for the Chargers and has started 56 of 96 games in his career. He finished the 2002 season second on the San Diego defense with three interceptions, a career-high 79 tackles, two sacks and nine passes defended. He best game came the last week of the season versus Seattle, when he recorded an interception, a sack, nine tackles and two forced fumbles.
“We want everybody here to compete for a starting job,” defensive coordinator George Edwards told reporters during the team’s mini-camp earlier this month. “If you’re a backup and you’re not competing for a first job, then you’re not being what we want you to be. We feel like everybody’s here to compete to be number one--because that’s what it’s going to take for all of us to be number one.”
http://www.redskins.com/story.asp?ContentID=11690
With Pro Bowler Champ Bailey and third-year cornerback Fred Smoot set to start at corner this season, the Redskins felt a need for a veteran backup who could adequately serve in nickel and dime packages and step in as a starter if the need arises.
Alex Molden fit the bill perfectly. The 5-10, 190-pound cornerback, a tough and experienced player who combines speed and physicality, played the last two seasons in San Diego and the previous five in New Orleans. He was released by the Chargers in a salary cap maneuver.
It is expected that Molden will compete for the third cornerback position with second-year player Rashad Bauman. But Molden said he aims to compete for a starting job in training camp.
“I’m going to push everybody,” he said. “That’s not my ceiling, to be the fourth or third corner. I want to be out there. I’d be selling myself short if I was just trying to be the nickel or dime guy.
“With Champ Bailey and Fred Smoot, we have some excellent corners here. But coaches told me that everyone has a fair chance and that they’re going to put the best players out there. So I’m going to come in here and learn as much as I can, go out there, and just apply my knowledge on the field.”
Molden started 16 games last season for the Chargers and has started 56 of 96 games in his career. He finished the 2002 season second on the San Diego defense with three interceptions, a career-high 79 tackles, two sacks and nine passes defended. He best game came the last week of the season versus Seattle, when he recorded an interception, a sack, nine tackles and two forced fumbles.
“We want everybody here to compete for a starting job,” defensive coordinator George Edwards told reporters during the team’s mini-camp earlier this month. “If you’re a backup and you’re not competing for a first job, then you’re not being what we want you to be. We feel like everybody’s here to compete to be number one--because that’s what it’s going to take for all of us to be number one.”
http://www.redskins.com/story.asp?ContentID=11690