The critical error.

I am sure this has been discussed, but with the offseason fast approaching it is timely to review.

Our big mistake was hiring Saunders, and not a GM.

Other than Brunell, I had no problems with the way we were headed at the end of the 05 season. I even agree with the additions of Lloyd, and ARE, and am left to wonder where we would be if Gibbs was still running the offense.

I got this feeling after the atlanta game that there is a problem in the hiarchy of coaches. It seemed we played Gibbs style football to a 14-0 lead, and then handed it over to Saunders, to watch it go down the tubes. I'm thinking with a new Qb in Cambell, the safe bet is to keep running. Why else does Gibbs say "we got away from what we were doing?" Last time I checked he still had the headphones on. Why did they change game plans?

Ideally we should have hired a GM to allow Gibbs to focus on what got him to where he is: Coaching.

The lack of a GM in my opinion is what has hurt our defense. Letting Clark go for less, while getting the Arch deluxe fiasco is the quick read, but also losing Smoot, and Pierce were blunders as well. I wont get into Champ/Portis because each has helped their team respectively.

Gibbs is not a defensive minded coach, and that is where our team suffered most.

GW does his thing, with what Gibbs gives him. Archuleta was the equal to Brunell on the other side of the ball, but Gibbs loyalty is the offense, so he gave Brunell too long to ruin the season.

Gibbs is no spring chicken. I am alot younger than him, and cant see how I could effectively do both jobs. My thinking is that someone thought it would be easier on the old guy if he focussed on GM duties rather than coach.

This is not his strong suit.

If I were Danny, I would think twice before allowing a man who was personally bankrupt, to spend my money.

Stick to coaching

I agree with you, you dont hire a new OC in a year you want to go to the superbowl. You try to make it seem like Saunders is a bad coach though, because thats not the case, like we've heard it takes about a year to learn the offence.

It seems like everybody wants a new gm. If they are going to hire one i hope it is soon that way they can get in here see the needs and start addressing them. Hope it's not Casserly though, we need young blood.

I sort of ago here. Hiring Saunders was a mistake. The Joe Gibbs system worked, and we didn't need someone to break it up. Of course, that's what happened.

it seems as though this year was treated as a rebuilding year, whether intentionally or not.

a new offensive coordinator with a 35 year old QB? that sounds like a move toward the future rather than the present. same with drafting Rocky to replace Arrington, as well as signing AA to a long term deal and picking up Lloyd.

think about it, it seems like this year wasn't the priority, and we were moving towards the future.

No doubt in my mind that this year was a priority, I recall visions of Super Bowls actaully be talked about to the press when training camp started.

I prefer stability so Saunders stays, our offense is actually playing well at this point in time and it seems to get a little better each week. As it relates to the defense??? I'm not sure what happened there but there will no doubt be some attention paid to that side of the ball.

I think we would be in the same place with Gibbs running the offense himself, or offense was not very good last year, esp at the end, and it was CP and our defense that got us through. We still would have played Brunnell and it would have been the same story. Gibbs was way too conservative, and he knew it, which is why he brought in Saunders. We just all thought it would work out right away, but it hasn't, it will take time. And our O-line is not suited to that offense, it is setup to run the ball, so when we do that we play much better. I think Gibbs and Saunders will be able to create a nice little hybrid offensive plan during the offseason, players will be more used to it, and we will be rolling...assuming our defense gets straight as well, which I think will be a little more difficult.

I think we would be in the same place with Gibbs running the offense himself, or offense was not very good last year, esp at the end, and it was CP and our defense that got us through. We still would have played Brunnell and it would have been the same story. Gibbs was way too conservative, and he knew it, which is why he brought in Saunders. We just all thought it would work out right away, but it hasn't, it will take time. And our O-line is not suited to that offense, it is setup to run the ball, so when we do that we play much better. I think Gibbs and Saunders will be able to create a nice little hybrid offensive plan during the offseason, players will be more used to it, and we will be rolling...assuming our defense gets straight as well, which I think will be a little more difficult.

Good post, agree with every word...

I sort of ago here. Hiring Saunders was a mistake. The Joe Gibbs system worked, and we didn't need someone to break it up. Of course, that's what happened.

I thought hiring Saunders in the offseason was unnecessary considering the success of the 2005 season. The move did set us back this year, but I think the move will benefit our offense in the long run because Gibbs won't be around forever. If we didn't hire Saunders, he'd be somewhere else and in two years (the end of Gibbs's contract), we'd be out of luck.

I know it doesn't seem like a smart move now, but I think Gibbs was looking towards the future of this team. Hopefully, Campbell will be a lot more comfortable in Saunders's system next year and we can take steps forward to the playoffs.

What "young blood" are there? The Skins need someone who is proven.

It seems like everybody wants a new gm. If they are going to hire one i hope it is soon that way they can get in here see the needs and start addressing them. Hope it's not Casserly though, we need young blood.

I agree... I did not like the Saunders signing, and didn't understand why they'd do that after Gibbs led us to the playoffs... I think it is smart to keep him now that we have had him for a year though... I think this because it would be an even larger mistake to let him go and change the scheme after doing that so many times and to put a young QB through all that.

The marriage of a Liberal free wheeling offensive co-ordinator with a Conservative head coach, (who still wants to be able to veto a play call) coupled with a veteran end of career QB who's physical skills are best suited for an Ultra Conservative passing game plan and you have a recipe for inconsistancy and failure.

You can only hope a HYBRID (as another poster mentioned) effective offense may evole with time with the new QB. :point2sky

This reminds me of Gibbs' first season his first stint with the Redskins. The first half of the season was a disaster, because Gibbs tried to bring in his pass-happy offense from San Diego, but the personnel on the team were completely unsuited to the task. Eventually, he was able to merge his offense with the run-orientated offense the team was built to run, and that hybrid was the scheme that carried them to a championship the very next season.

Saunders is every bit the offensive genuis now that Gibbs was then, so look for a dynamic, hybrid offense next season. Now, whether the defense can return to '04-'05 form is another question entirely.

Our offense was atrocious for much of last year. They had to do something.

Look closer...Saunders comes from the same lump of coal as Gibbs....They essentially have the same offensive philosophy..He sets up a blazing passing game with the run. Sound Familiar?..Did you watch the Chiefs for the last 5 or so years? Priest holmes ripping defenses for obscene numbers. How bout the O-Line they had that Saunders built? Consistantly one of the best in the league. Gibbs is setting himself up to eventually be a GM. Lay off the Saunders decision....It was a great move that will pay off big time.

The biggest error if you really want to dwell...was the loss of Antonio Pierce...That was the first loss that helped undermine the Defensive chemistry.

Say it slowly....Saunders is Good:laugh: