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I support Jay Gruden and you should too...


ThomasRoane

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I wanted to get this in BEFORE the game with the brokebackers because regardless of the outcome I think us Redskin's fans FINALLY have the coach we've been waiting for so long.  I'll admit at first I wasn't quite sure.  I only knew I prefered him over Briles.  (LOL @ Briles - the coach who showed he couldn't beat an NFL style team vs Central Florida and just got taken to the wood shed by West Virginia!) 

 

Here are the traits that I really like about Jay Gruden: 

 

1.  Open minded.

 

The one thing that stood out most to me was after he was hired and asked about his philosophy on offense his response was that he 'liked plays that work.'  That showed me right there that he would be open minded.  He kept the running game (despite what some of you believe Cooley demonstrated it's the same zone scheme as before).  He has kept many of their quick-game concepts in place.  So that shows that he's not wedded to a 'system.'  Winning comes first in his mind. Jay doesn't seem to have any allegiance to a system; even though he gravitates towards the west coast passing game you see some boot concepts and some glimpses of timing routes (reminiscient of Gibbs early days as part of the Corryell system).

 

2.  Proper Player-Coach relationships.

 

There's no doubt that he is the boss and the players work for him.  He doesn't need to leak reports to the media to try to justify his actions.  As many have reported what you hear from him in the media about this or that player is exactly what he tells them to their face.  A player may not always like what's being said but they appreciate the fact that he treats them like men.  Cooley says that he is mostly very positive to them.  He likes to point out when a player does something extraordinary.  Which CC also said reminded him of Gibbs (if only he had a real GM the 2nd time around!). Jay G does not seem even a little bit intimidated by Robert's star power.  He doesn't hesitate to criticize or cool RG III's heels.  Which to me is just what Robert needs to become the franchise player we want (and need) him to be. 

 

3.  Accountability.

 

It's been a while now since we've seen players who are clearly not getting it done being benched.  He wasn't quick to do it at first but you have to chalk that up to getting to know what each player can and cannot do.  I think everyone knows (including Robert) that he is not going to baby anybody.  No matter where you were drafted, if brought in as a free agent, or just picked up off the street you either get it done or next man up.  That kind of atmosphere will lead to winning.  Because every player has one thing in common. They want to get paid and in order for that to happen they have to be on the field.  To be on the field (under Jay Gruden) they have to do their job to the best of their ability.

 

4.  Confidence.

 

You'd think that a first year coach with a losing record would be shaky and worried about his job.  I'm so impressed by his post game sessions.  He doesn't make excuses but at the same time you can tell he's got this attitude about him that 'yeah, we kinda suck right now but by God I'm going to get this team straight!'  He doesn't strike me as someone that Snyder or Bruce could bully.  This too will endear him to the players.  Because they'll know that they can't just go behind his back and cry to the owner.  They'll respect him because he isn't going to compromise.  There's no doubt that Jay is the man and they better play hard for him or else...

 

5.  Effort.

 

Regardless of the score, the players sure do seem to 'fight their guts out.'  They're working hard for him no matter how bad the outcome.  Problems are getting fixed.  Penalties are going down.  Special teams is still a work in progress but you can see that it's more a lack of talent than effort.  The offense goes as the QB and the Line goes.  Again, that's a talent issue right now.  Teams make mistakes when they're pressing (Kirk with int's, Alfred with his issues, and tight ends holding on to the ball, O-line failures, etc.) .  He has these guys playing scared and that's okay.  They should be!  Even on defense guys are flying all over the place trying to make something happen.  Players like Will Compton and Breeland see that this coach doesn't care about pedigree or draft status.  Can you play or not? 

 

 

Conclusion:

 

I've been coaching 30 years in this sport (8 championships) and let me tell you winning at ANY LEVEL in football is damn hard.  Don't believe me?  Try coaching a team yourself.  I make this appeal to so many of the Madden generation who think this should be so easy.  When dealing with egos and attitudes you really have to be a leader of men.  Not just a pusher of buttons.  I have to admit that I'm pleasantly surprised because I wasn't so sure about the guy in the beginning, but I think the Redskins have finally found the leader they've been looking for since Gibbs 1.0.  (Again, I still believe Gibbs 2.0 was hamstrung by crappy personnel managment and yet still earned two playoff appearances) 

 

I'm not 100% sold on Bruce Allen and the scouting staff but I'm wiling to give them a couple more years.  Breeland can play.  Will Compton can play.  Keenan can play.  Amerson can play.  Reid can play.  etc.  There's a lot of young talent on the team and I'm willing to give them a chance to surround Jay with some good young talent and you should be too. 

 

All these calls about firing Gruden already have got to stop!  He doesn't treat your star player right? So what!?!?!  This ain't intramurals brother!  This is the NFL which Jerry Glanville aptly quoted can mean Not For Long (yes, I know he said that to a Ref but it applies to everyone).  He doesn't have time to kiss anyone's butt. I'm not a Robert Griffin, Kirk Cousins, Alfred Morris, or even a Ryan Kerrigan fan.  First and foremost I'm a Redskin fan.  One injury can end a player's career.  Give this coach time to grow and implement his philosophy and this program will be where it needs to be in two years or less.  And it starts with a win over dallass Monday night! (God willing!)

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I wanted to get this in BEFORE the game with the brokebackers because regardless of the outcome I think us Redskin's fans FINALLY have the coach we've been waiting for so long.  I'll admit at first I wasn't quite sure.  I only knew I prefered him over Briles.  (LOL @ Briles - the coach who showed he couldn't beat an NFL style team vs Central Florida and just got taken to the wood shed by West Virginia!) 

 

Here are the traits that I really like about Jay Gruden: 

 

 

 

Well stated!!   I wish I could give a 1000 likes. While I certainly have my opinions about a few others like Haslett and BA, I really like Jay and hope our fickle owner lets him have a real chance (not trying too make this yet another I hate Snyder thread just making a point). 

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You're third point about him benching people who aren't performing is what officially sold me on him.  Great thread, some good news for a change.  I swear, if I see another "We haven't had a QB in 20 years" thread, I'm going to puke.

 

LOL us old-timers find it rather humorous when they make those remarks.  We didn't really have a franchise QB during our Super Bowl years!  Theisman compensated with an average arm and below average height by being a gutsy leader who would do anything to win.  Doug Williams was so beat up by the time he came to Washington that had he gone a whole season he wouldn't have had enough to make that great Super Bowl run.  His back was so jacked up that within a couple of years he was out of football.  Mark Rypien was the first big ben.  Not athletic at all but big enough to take a hit and fortunately there wasn't many as the Hogs set a record for the minimal sacks allowed. 

 

It's not the QB that matters most.  It's the coach.

 

Just a couple more thoughts about him.  I like how he dealt with the D-Jax issue.  When confronted by the media about it instead of going off on D-Jax he promptly reminded them that he didn't get a penalty so nothing to deal with there.  Now, had he got a penalty then seeing how Jay is I don't think he'd bat an eye and getting on D-Jax in person.  As opposed to using a press conference like the big Tuna used to do; which always caused him to wear out his welcome.

 

I also forgot to mention how gifted Jay G is at Irish Diplomacy.  Which for you unfortunate that are not Irish should know is 'the ability to tell a man to go to hell that he looks forward to the trip.'  Jay mixes in humor with his critiques.  So the player gets the message without feeling like his manhood has been challenged. 

 

As for Snyder Goskins Jay doesn't strike me as the type who feels like this job is too big for him.  He gives me the impression that He is going to do this his way and if the owner doesn't like it then he doesn't care about being fired.  He coaches without fear. 

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Loving the fact that he is holding players accountable.

He seems to be getting more and more comfortable with each passing week.

If he is the one that has pulled in the reigns on RGIII and his tendacy to talk/twitter too much that it becomes a distraction? Color me very impressed.

It's night and day between last year and this year in that regard.

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Good op.  I liked your thoughts on Gruden.  My book is still open on him, but certainly think there are more positives that I see thusfar than negatives.  Think his eyes were not fully open even up to that first game as to the true status of the team, the other coaching on the team, and the players/talent on the roster. 

 

And I think the way he is handling Robert is correct.  Just recall last season, and all the hype and such swirling around "all in for week one".  To me, the HC/GM at that time could have/should have squashed a lot of that.....but did not.  Where is Robert this season since his injury?  I haven't seen a sports interview with Robert in a long while.  Maybe Robert has learned....but also maybe Gruden (and BA) were in his ear as well.   

 

And certainly have to give any HC at least a couple of seasons to get some of his type of players onto the team, have the team get used to his system, and his style.   Not as if we were annual contenders for the NFCE title and are now suddenly crappy because Gruden is HC..... 

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Great post and worth reading. thanks. Glad others feel the same way about Jay. I wasn't sure about the hire of Gruden back in January. But each week, the more and more I am a fan of Jay. Jay doesn't have much to work with, but he's doing the best he can. He needs Bruce to step up and help him on the talent situation. The problems with this team may be out of Grudens hands.

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I like Jay, he was dealt a rough hand having Griffin go out and being stuck with Haslett. I would still like to know if that was his call and we knew we were hiring Gruden all along. My one gripe with Jay is he isn't going to win in our division without running the ball more. I thought his game plan vs the Texans at the QB position was ultra conservative but from the limited snaps Griffin got week 2 it looked like he made the right adjustments.

This opinion is subject to change and change drastically if Haslett is still calling the defense next year though. Hopefully he is as tough on his coaching staff as he is the players. The worst thing that could happen to us this year is if we continue to lose while the defense plays good enough without Hall and Orakpo.

Yep, it's way too early to pass judgment on Gruden. Heck, I don't even judge Bruce yet. Hopefully they can win In spite of the obstacles surrounding them.

I don't think it's too soon to make a judgement on Bruce... He doesn't know his head from his ass when it comes to players. I don't mind him sticking around to do contracts and PR, but his role with players via the draft or free agency needs to be eliminated. He doesn't seem too sharp with reviews either although we have gotten screwed a few times. With the way reviews have gone this year, I'm still shocked they reversed that TD/ball knocked loose INT in the endzone against the Giants.
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As for Snyder Goskins Jay doesn't strike me as the type who feels like this job is too big for him.  He gives me the impression that He is going to do this his way and if the owner doesn't like it then he doesn't care about being fired.  He coaches without fear. 

 

 

I agree totally. My point was I am more worried about dan getting impatient, especially when jay gets back in his face a few times. Hopefully he will see that as a strength and will not get rid of him without giving him a real chance.
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Well put OP. Gruden is one of the few bright spots this season. Apparently a lot of our fan base has just become used to Dan Snyder firing coaches left and right that they are just expecting him to get canned. Let's hope Snyder has finally learned from that and keeps Jay around. We do need to get rid of Haslett though. I'll give Kotwica more time as our ST coach as there isn't a lot of talent to work with there yet.

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I think most of us do. I think it's stupid not to support him. There's a long line of people ahead of Gruden who should lose our support first. Start at the top.

 

Snyder

Allen

The Scouting department

Haslett

 

 

This are my top four, miles ahead of any other coach or player. Haslett is the only coach right now that I want banished from Redskins park. He's been given more than enough time, this job and others.

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Nicely done OP. Holding players accountable is a big plus in my book. I also like Gruden's bluntness and his sense of humor. As with any play caller, there are questionable calls, but the critics will quiet down when the team starts winning. (Notice I said "when" not "if".) I have confidence that he'll right this ship even if it takes another year or two. The big question is whether or not Danny boy has the patience to wait it out. The average tenure of a head coach in the NFL is what, 3 1/2 years or so? We need to stand behind him and give him a chance.

 

As for Hasbeen, I just hope he's gone ASAP.

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man, great OP, I'm seeing something here that we have not seen in a while. I'm sure there more examples, but these stand out ... 

 

I love how we went for it on 4th against the Cardinals, and I think the same game, love how we marched down the field right before half to get three ... that was just refreshing. 

 

I love how he's not afraid to use DY

 

Love his candor ... I can believe him. I don't love how he saysl "hope" a lot ... check it out next time. But hell, St. Joe could be wishy washy like that. 

 

Handling Robert well so far. 

 

I think, while not earth shattering, it was a decisive and some what bold move to sit Kirk. 

 

It was a total failure, but the onsides attempt a few weeks ago showed me a little something. 

 

Aflred and the running game are struggling bad ... I wonder what he does there?

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Jay will never succeed so long as Snyder is his boss.

 

2cents.gif

You're probably correct. But at least Jay hasn't given us a reason to dislike him yet. In fact, he seems to be the most honest and confident coach Snyder has hired. The dude knows what he has to work with, and it aint much.

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 Knowing he doesn't have all of the tools he needs makes me take the wait-n-see approach.

 

BUT, one thing is clear; if he is holding people accountable, then this offseason he needs to take a stance on removing Haslett. If he gives Haslett another year I will puke. Yes, he's not the decision-maker in that process, but he has enough pull and say-so to demand a better DC, and Haslett has been a glaring problem here for years.

 

 No, I can't support failure. Gruden's job is to coach success; if we don't have the players/personnel to get it done, then get rid of them and bring in someone to fill their spot. Accountability has to be demanded and enforced, players have to take their job seriously, and execution and fundamentals are pre-requisites to putting on the burgundy & gold. 

 

A player's draft position or salary shouldn't dictate their starting status, favortism should be overshadowed by performance. Gruden's track record isn't stellar by any stretch, and his association with Haslett, coupled with his limited NFL coaching experience, and quite possibly a little coattail riding off of his brother, leads me to think some may be sipping, or gulping, the kool-aid a little too quickly.

 

His judgement should be based on winning; its too early right now, but status quo will not get him future employment.

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