Burgold Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I trace it back to November of 2008. That's when it broke. After years of determination, stubbornness, and faith the fans had enough and rose up. The compact was broken. Fans shouted, "Fire Vinny or else!" Zorn and Vinny cobbled together a great first half of 2007, but then the wheels came off. After years, decades really, of frustration the always sold out Redskins Stadium finally began to feel the pinch. Empty, unused seats, and aftermarket seats that sold cheaper than a McDonalds' hamburger combined with the vocal discontent (and probably the impact of multiple losses) forced management to listen. They fired Vinny. There was peace in the Kingdom, but it was a short-lived peace. Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan came in. From a small contingent, there were grumblings from day one. People questioned Allen's eye and what Shanahan had accomplished post-Elway. Worse, his first two seasons were as bad or worse than Zorn. His assembled staff on the defensive side inspired no one. More, the faith was broken, despite Mike's pedigree, people looked for fault more than hope. Mike gave them little to believe in either until a magical year. Robert Griffin III's first season was like the Fountain of Youth. Everyone, almost everyone got excited. This felt good. It was not a gimmick offense. The QB was accurate, hit every throw, and he and Morris scared the league. All the grumblings became stilled. RGIII's jersey became the most popular in the country. Then the injury and the subsequent failure. Without RGIII's magic, the Shanny's lost big. Dissention rose fast. All the goodwill fell away as quickly and with as much heat as a gas fire. People cursed Shanny, Haslett, and even Allen despite the fact that two of those three faces remained. Gruden was hired and given no honeymoon. His first season never earned one either. It was pretty much bad from start to finish. Now, Gruden starts his sophomore year, Griffin may be discarded, and Haslett has been replaced with Barry. Barry, a coach with a horrific backstory. As the Redskins look out into the season, they should notice that the torches haven't been lit. It's worse than that. The fan base just barely cares. They are not passionate enough to burn the team down anymore. And so I say this with love and warning to Snyder, Gruden, Allen, and even McCloughan (who must be given the benefit of the doubt.) Be right. If you think Griffin is a lost cause then the guy you championed better be great. If you staked your name on Barry than he better be good. Jay, if you think that RGIII is not worth adjusting your system for then your system better be right. It better be effective and successful. McCloughan is watching hoping that you prove yourselves, but waiting to see. Worse, the fans are not ready to revolt. They're ready to turn off the TV and tear up their tickets. From reading the Twitters and following the board throughout the offseason that's the sense I get. It's not be right or get out. It's get out or I'm done. So be right. There are a lot of good things, many good players, and many reasons to succeed. The bar of success isn't even all that high, but you better not fall short. Be right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC9 Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Too much of a "black or white" outlook for a team with so many holes and so far to go. That's to say, Griffin can be a lost cause - and the "championed" one is not on the team yet. I like the piece overall, though, BG. We all love going back to the first dark times in recent history (second half of 08 and then 09) Still remember living in Seattle when Vinny was fired, and my mom called me at 4am my time to tell me Vinny had "resigned". That was a great phone call. The team has made a lot of strides in the right direction. But we need to be more realistic about expectations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted August 31, 2015 Author Share Posted August 31, 2015 I hear ya, DC9, but the crazy part is... my metric for success this season is 7-9. They can be a losing team and be successful. I also want to see a team that forces three punts a game. I'm not demanding Super Bowls or even playoffs. I am not saying Cousins or McCoy need to be probowlers. I am saying we need to see signs of success. More, I need to see that the decisions they make are the right ones. If you decide to start Chris Chester for a year and never let anyone else sub him out... well, Chris Chester better perform. You better be right and see something in Chris that makes even experimentally putting in Stabby or Long a ridiculous notion. If you decide that Roberts is your punt returner again after a year of ineffectiveness, then he better not be fumbling footballs and averaging less than five yards a return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsGuy Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 A long-winded way of saying the fan's anger has turned to apathy and may turn into disillusionment? It's possible. Though I don't think so here on ES. There are too many that are now happy being miserable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velocet Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Zorn and Vinny cobbled together a great first half of 2007, but then the wheels came off. Gibbs was still the coach in 2007. Be right. You first. velocet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spjunkies Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 This is the best post on this site in years. I totally agree with you. Be right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bob Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I just wish that The Daniel would really just let McGM make the calls. If he wants to cut RGIII, then let him. The only battle right now should be if Gruden wants RGIII off the team and McGM isn't sure that's the right move. Gruden might not last long simply because he wasn't hired by McGM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I would say that I want them to "be right" more often than not. Obviously, every organization is going to make mistakes each and every year. Hell, the current example of a great team paid huge money to a bust QB before they were able to find their franchise guy in the middle rounds. So, I want the trend to go up (for the first time since the mid-1990s) for several seasons. My message would be less "be right" and more "improve". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted August 31, 2015 Author Share Posted August 31, 2015 I still contend that the GM acquires the players and the coach picks 'em. If Gruden doesn't want RGIII then he should have the right to bench or even cut him, but sticking with the theme here... if he does so he better be right. So, I want the trend to go up (for the first time since the mid-1990s) for several seasons. My message would be less "be right" and more "improve". I don't know... "Just Improve" doesn't have the same panache. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I still contend that the GM acquires the players and the coach picks 'em. If Gruden doesn't want RGIII then he should have the right to bench or even cut him, but sticking with the theme here... if he does so he better be right. I don't know... "Just Improve" doesn't have the same panache. Very true - dress it up a little bit with some marketing buzzword. In the end, I'd like to see this team rise over a couple years. I've referenced this era in our history a few times, but the 1994-1996 Turner teams were being built the way I want this team to be. Not personnel-wise, but I loved watching a young team slowly and naturally grow. 3 wins in 1994, 6 wins in 1995, 9 wins in 1996. Granted, Turner wasn't the guy to take that team over the top AND they never really completed that team rebuild, but that was the correct approach. Since then, everything has included quick fixes and shortcuts. Even our competitive teams (1999, 2005, 2007, and 2012) were very top-heavy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tshile Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I agree that whether Cousins is the answer or not is not tied to whether Griffin... i don't even know how to finish that... should be the starter? should be on the roster? should be deactivated? traded? cut? This is so ridiculous. I've been as hard as anyone on Griffin this preseason, but this is absolutely ridiculous. Things must have been way worse than I thought. edit: I'm not even mad at the Griffin situation, as it directly relates to Griffin, because I trust SM to make the right decision either way. I'm actually just mad at how much of a ****ing clown show this organization appears to be. Again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xameil Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I just wish that The Daniel would really just let McGM make the calls. If he wants to cut RGIII, then let him. The only battle right now should be if Gruden wants RGIII off the team and McGM isn't sure that's the right move. Gruden might not last long simply because he wasn't hired by McGM. Yeah...pretty sure Snyder is letting the GM make the calls. So there ya go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper Skins Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bowhunter Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 First off, let me say "Great post Burgold!" and I agree. However, no team/GM/Coach/leader is always "right." As I tell my employees, I care less about what decision is made than I do about how you reached that decision. We will all eventually make a bad decision, but there needs to be a sound process in place for the formation of that decision. Sadly, "whims," "media circus,' and "fans pouting" are usually not the most sound components of reaching the best decision. Building a winning football team in front of an empty stadium will begin to fill a lot of those vacant seats. With the exception of the (most) ES readership, most fans don't eat, drink and sleep Redskins football. The market reaches a ton of casual fans that bring their money as they jump aboard the bandwagon. This is where the NFL makes its money. Not from the loyal fan who still wears his Rypien jersey every year, but from the soccer mom who buys a new jersey every season to wear at her Superbowl party. So the reasoning behind whatever decision is made has to leave us fans sitting out in the cold. I'm sure that a lot of "fans' will threaten to follow RG3 and leave our Redskins behind. Some will swear to never buy another jersey until Snyder sells the team. Many will jump off the bandwagon because firing Barry is just another lion on our coaching carousel. Burgold, you speak a lot of truth in your post. Just Be Right. Short term gain isn't the answer. Make every decision based upon sound reasoning and show us. The seats will fill, the mascot noise will die, and Snyder will be cherished. Just be right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PortisBetts Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Thats all we are asking for. Someone in this damn organization to, for once in 25 years, be right, about something. Anything. Just 1 right answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsinparadise Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I think this is different from a Redskins point of view. In Scot McCloughan for once they hired a guy who is considered elite at what he does. Previously, they put previous question marks and failures in that decision making role, expecting a different result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfl guru Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Scot instills faith but he needs time. Its our top bottom set up, its tough to trust in a trio of Gruden/Mcvay/Barry with a crummy roster left over by Bruce Allen. Its just not a setup for success, I look for individual improvement as we fight for 5, 6 wins this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Adama Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Burgold, a very Om-esque post! Very good job. I like what you had to say, for the most part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodriggo Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Be right. Perfect. Says it all. Even us Griff backers know it's not working and open to change but they better "be right" b/c if he's flying around again winning games on his next team....this franchise will be eviscerated once and for all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinInsite Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Forget being right, how about pick a QB and stick with him for the whole season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Going Commando Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I'm right there with you Burgold. I'll add: Come up with a long term plan and ****ING STICK TO IT FOR ONCE! We hire a coach and he's on the ropes the next season. We spend a ton to draft a QB and he's on the ropes the season after he wins ROTY (the greatest rookie season a QB has ever had no less). ****, how about we name that QB our starter moving forward and then we're talking about dumping him after the third game in the preseason. We couldn't even stick to a plan for more than two ****ing weeks!! **** that. The team is a dumpster fire. Let's hope that, whatever else they do, they win a lot of games this year. Otherwise I'm just not going to give a **** about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldysknzfn1 Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Good read! I agree..I just hope we win..naïve? Yes..I hope they know what it is they're doing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Be right, huh? I said Jason Campbell would be Gibbs' Tony Banks. I said when Allen was hired here it was the equivalent of the Niners hiring Nolan - a guy with a bad track record brought in because of the family name. I hated the Shanahan hire and especially hated the Haslett hire. I hated retaining Haslett even more. I predict Barry will be a disaster, Cousins will be benched by game 5 due to turnovers, and Gruden will be fired at the end of the year. Actually that last one I already predicted back in 2013. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sacks 'n' Stuff Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 During the 2012 offseason when it was pretty obvious we were going to make a move at QB, somebody asked me what we were going to do. I'm not making this up... My answer was "Whatever we do, it will be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgold Posted August 31, 2015 Author Share Posted August 31, 2015 I fear every one of those predictions for this year, Riggo. I think this is a proving year or a culling year. I believed it since they announced McCloughan's hiring. Nothing has changed my mind yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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