WP: Decrying the Silent Treatment, Archuleta Speaks Out

[gimpy007]

This is ridicules and in no way am I convinced that it is just coincidental that GW just happens to be one of the only coaches in the NFL that has disgruntle players year after year to the point they go public with it.

In my opinion GW is an ego-maniac and needs a serious butt kicking. AA even states in the article that Gibbs took some time to talk to him, but that nobody from the defensive coaching staff took the time to talk to him. This is on GW. He is the DC. Gibbs needs to put him in check. I pray this is one of the things Gibbs was hinting about when he said he had a lot of evaluating to do this off-season.

[Rskins06]

This kind of player treatment on defense has carried over the years GW has been here. LeVar was treated the same way, I wonder how many of the players were treated the same way.

It seems GW thinks he knows EVERYTHING about defense and does not use players to their strengths which is rediculous.

The day you believe you know EVERYTHING about your job is the day you need to leave your job as no one will be able to tell you ANYTHING.

AA should stay and be put in a position which utilizes his strengths. Maybe a Hy brid LB.

[The Sisko]

Archuletta may not have been what he expected when Williams made the pitch to bring him in. However, giving him the silent treatment only says Williams is acting like a petulant child and blaming Archuletta for his own mistake. I swear Williams must have learned his people skills from Dan Snyder.

However, credit Archuletta for handling it with aplomb. Obviously, based on the quotes from the players, they seem to have formed an opinion of who's acted like a man and who's acted like an old b!@#* in all of this.

The only person who should be out of here on an earlier plane than Archuletta is Steve Jackson. As for Williams, I sincerely hope that he gets a great offer for a HC job somewhere and a mutual decision is arrived at that he should walk.

Greg Blache has a great history as a DC and I'd have no problems handing the defense over to him. We'd get a good, proven guy promoted (sort of) from within who could provide quality coaching AND continuity. Williams, exit stage left. :ciao:

[dexter's manley]

This debacle is a microcosm of everything wrong with this dysfunctional organization. There is nothing classy about this franchise right now - the fact that they threw money at this guy and he SUCKS is their fault. It was an horrendous move, and they'd rather ignore it than evaluate the mistakes they made. I'm not standing up for Archuleta, who has been horrible when he's played. But he deserves to be treated a little better - and this isn't the first time this coach, this team and this organization have alienated a player through childish, immature actions. There's a lot of talk around Redskins Park about accountability, but not a lot actually happening. This team and franchise are in shambles, and it's not going to get better any time soon. It totally sucks, but that's the truth. Deal with it.

[JKS1414]

Seems to me that this type of treatment of the players is taking place all of the time under Williams. We need only look back to the way LaVar was treated last year to see that this pattern is repeating itself all over again. There seems to be problems with the entire defense staff, not just Jackson or Williams, but all of them. Players in Buffalo quit on Williams for the very same reasons and you could hear rumblings of trouble from players (AP stands out, who left as soon as the season was over for NY & Smoot the following year....he didn't even look at an offer from the Skins before going to the Vikings) after year one. In year two, you have the LaVar situation, which I will add only became a non-issue once the Redskins starting winning toward the end of the year (winning really does take care of everything). I believe a true measure of the teams problems on defense this year could be directly related to how the coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball is treating the players. It really may be time for Williams and a few others from this staff to go......a team can not win when the players have no will to go through a wall for their coaches and it appears that Williams & at least Jackson, if not others have lost the defensive players of this team.

To treat AA, and LA for that matter, in the way they were & are being treated is wrong, regardless of how poorly they played. Seems to me that Williams is more trouble then he's worth.

As a side note: We have all heard that players in Buffalo hated Williams because of the way he treated the players, has anyone thought that the hiring of Greg Williams after Joe Gibbs came came back really could be the real reason Champ Bailey wanted out of DC so badly? I know Synder treated Champ badly by not really offering him a fair deal before his expired, but it seems before Williams was hired Champ was willing to talk deal and AFTER Williams was hired all Champ wanted was out of DC.

The way I see it the hiring of Greg Williams may have cost the Redskins Champ Baliey, Antiono Pierce, Fred Smoot, and LaVar Arrington. Hmmm, I wonder how much deeper the Redskins could have gone in the playoffs last year and how much better the defense would be this year with those four players added to what we already have. Just makes you think.....maybe the problem isn't with the players after all.

[Oldfan]

Yusuf06---Greg Blache has a great history as a DC and I'd have no problems handing the defense over to him. We'd get a good, proven guy promoted (sort of) from within who could provide quality coaching AND continuity. Williams, exit stage left.

Like Gregg Williams, Blache has the same egotistical 'drill sargeant, my way or the highway,' management style which plays well when things are working out and comes apart like a cheap suit when they're not.

[drowland]

They know he was the source for that ESPN article that is why he is getting the silent treatment. He knows that so why cry like a baby when you have consequences for your actions?

They were giving him the silent treatment before the Tom Friend article came out.

[doom44]

Blame it on Williams? Too easy and not fair.

Lavar was hurt...Known as a freelancer. He gave lip service but never bought in.He signed with the giants...he is dead to me as a player.

Champ Bailey chased the money and had "other issues"

Antonio Pierce and Ryan clark were what I believe to be big GW blunders. This was our biggest loss.

Smoot was a great player but too rich for the cap...not GW's fault he flew.

I just cant slam a guy who had us a top 10 Defense 2 of the last 3 years...A buddy Ryan disciple. The internal defensive strife may be hard to overcome but I still think Greg is the guy minus a few problem assistants. Greg Blache is an excellent guy to take over if Williams leaves. We are really in a win/win situation here.

[GregMSkin]

For those who thing AA deserved this because of his play, I offer you this:

The play of Andre Carter, for the first half of the season.

Warrick Holdman for the LAST TWO seasons

Carlos Rogers for this season.

For a professional team to have this happen, more than once, is an embarrassment to the highest degree.

Gibbs should be embarrassed, and if he's not, then he needs to resign. This happened under HIS WATCH.

I'm disgusted by this team, and the way they conduct themselves.

[laxpck]

I am disgusted by AA

Sellout no good F'er. Get off our team.

[CPortJGibbs89]

"Here's a guy who had the big number, the big expectations, all because of that big contract and he's been selfless about it even when you think that some of the things happening to him haven't really been too fair," one veteran said of Archuleta. "You watch how he's handled this whole thing and it says something. It says a lot about him."

I am surprised no one posted this quote in the aritcle. One player is actually defending AA on how he has been treated. Any guesses on who this player is, I think it was Troy Vincent it just sounds like him. I think this whole thing has been a complete disaster and I think Gibbs has to think long and hard this off-season about what happened and why this keeps happening to players. I agree with the people saying who the hell wants to come sign with us when year after year we have players getting treated like this. This **** really upsets me and makes it hard to defend the redskins when we do **** like this to people. What a joke this all was.

[headexplode]

Most fans have really begun to question the so-called "character" of this team, particularly members of the defensive staff. Williams' decision-making this year (and to a larger degree Gibbs' as well) makes you wonder whether he's putting the team before his pride. The way they treat "core Redskins," their obstinate refusal to play McIntosh while starting Holdman--who has been a major liability all year--their unexplainable, egotistical but totally predictable benching of Archuleta even though he was playing no worse than any other player on the team (he lead the team in tackles at one point). And it doesn't seem like they're even close to learning from their mistakes. Williams is still an arrogant prick at his press conferences and still acts like his defense is third in the league. Part of me says give him another year; part of me says this is the beginning (or the continuation) of a disturbing trend and his "genius" is more trouble than it's worth.

[scruffylookin]

Greg Blache wore out his welcome in Chicago. They couldn't get rid of him soon enough.

I don't think he would be much of an upgrade in the "people skills" department over Gregg Williams.

[Dirk Diggler]

However, credit Archuletta for handling it with aplomb. Obviously, based on the quotes from the players, they seem to have formed an opinion of who's acted like a man and who's acted like an old b!@#* in all of this.

If being the unnamed source in the article that blasts the defensive coaching staff and then giving the media the silent treatment so you don't have to field questions about it makes you a man - um, ok.

He didn't act like a man. He acted like a little weasel.

[str8jacket]

I agree that the guy wasn't playing well. I think well we all do. And maybe part of it was learning a new scheme and pass coverage, but that article surely doesn't speak highly of the defensive staff of a whole. That not a single coach really explained to him what he could do to improve and get back on the field. That's not a very good thing and doesn't look good on their part. Who knows maybe a communication breakdown on the d staff end might be a big part of their problem. Think they need to improve in that area or players might not want to come to DC.

[The Sisko]

If being the unnamed source in the article that blasts the defensive coaching staff and then giving the media the silent treatment so you don't have to field questions about it makes you a man - um, ok.

He didn't act like a man. He acted like a little weasel.

I haven't been around as much as I have historically. Did I miss something? In other words, do you have any proof that it was Archuletta that opened his pie hole for Tom Friend's ESPN article?

[chow184]

I haven't been around as much as I have historically. Did I miss something? In other words, do you have any proof that it was Archuletta that opened his pie hole for Tom Friend's ESPN article?

true that

as I recall it was just a highly respected veteran member of the defense, IMHO it's peirson preilou(or springs but springs denied it).

the guy sounded like he'd been here a while,knows what went on earlier to other players;lavar,ryan clark,antonio,smoot;hasn't played in a while(guy sounds like he hasn't been practicing)

and even if archuleta did he was getting the silent treatment BEFORE THE ARTICLE.Then also throw in the fact that everything said in the article was the truth,not slanderous rotten lies,but the honest dirty truth.

[TheLongshot]

I think this whole thing has been a complete disaster and I think Gibbs has to think long and hard this off-season about what happened and why this keeps happening to players. I agree with the people saying who the hell wants to come sign with us when year after year we have players getting treated like this. This **** really upsets me and makes it hard to defend the redskins when we do **** like this to people. What a joke this all was.

Just curious, but what players are you talking about? Really, the only player that you can say that has been treated similarly to Arch is Lavar. And, at the end of the day, it was pretty obvious why Lavar wasn't playing: because he just wasn't ready to play.

In Arch's case, I think it is slightly different. Because the defense was having problems in the passing game, Williams decided that he needed a different type of player in that position. Everyone here seems to know what Arch gives you, which is a guy who is pretty strong in run support and can hit, but is a liability in coverage. I believe the Skins knew this when they got him, and were going to use him for his strengths, but injuries and some breakdowns in coverage caused him to be used in a way that they weren't planning. So, to get things working, they sat him down, because the new role didn't play to his strengths, and they needed to get things working again.

I find it interesting that Arch hasn't been "Keyshawned". The team could have very easily had deactivated him for the rest of the season, but he's still out there on special teams, and occasionally sees the field on defense (granted, not often, but since Vincent has been hurt, how often have you seen him on the field? Not at all.)

To be honest, I'm not sure what Arch's future on this team is. I could see situations where they keep him or they get rid of him. It is going to be interesting to see what they do.

Jason

[GrimReefa]

Just curious...how many of you read this article, and the AP one posted on ESPN.com, and thought,

"Damn! Where have I read this before?"

And then gone...

"Oh, yeah, right; LaVar, last year."

Right down to the repeated "He had a good week of practices" and "We have packages for him".

I wonder if the turnover problem stems from the fact that the playmakers don't really care to make the extra effort to strip the ball for the guys in charge...

[CPortJGibbs89]

Just curious, but what players are you talking about? Really, the only player that you can say that has been treated similarly to Arch is Lavar. And, at the end of the day, it was pretty obvious why Lavar wasn't playing: because he just wasn't ready to play.

In Arch's case, I think it is slightly different. Because the defense was having problems in the passing game, Williams decided that he needed a different type of player in that position. Everyone here seems to know what Arch gives you, which is a guy who is pretty strong in run support and can hit, but is a liability in coverage. I believe the Skins knew this when they got him, and were going to use him for his strengths, but injuries and some breakdowns in coverage caused him to be used in a way that they weren't planning. So, to get things working, they sat him down, because the new role didn't play to his strengths, and they needed to get things working again.

I find it interesting that Arch hasn't been "Keyshawned". The team could have very easily had deactivated him for the rest of the season, but he's still out there on special teams, and occasionally sees the field on defense (granted, not often, but since Vincent has been hurt, how often have you seen him on the field? Not at all.)

To be honest, I'm not sure what Arch's future on this team is. I could see situations where they keep him or they get rid of him. It is going to be interesting to see what they do.

Jason

The first player like you said was Lavar and he is saying the exact same things AA is saying. Last year I and most people here thought Lavar was just being a baby and wanted him to shut up. Now AA is getting the same treatment and its just rediculous. Williams should have known what he was getting and realized he cant plug just anyone into his incredible "system". Then we have Pierce leaving after the first year trashing our FO and we all just laughed and said he was bitter but yet two other guys feel the same way. Gregg is becoming a joke to players and no one is going to want to come play for this ******* if we keep doing this to players. I mean its sad this happened to Lavar but when it happens again under the exact same circumnstances you gotta wonder what the **** is going on at redskins park. Oh and AA is gone after tonight.

[Joeythetapeworm]

You can't play good football without communication.. And if GW did in fact leave AA out in the cold, then I will have to rethink my stance on this situation..

We knew when we got him that AA wasn't a good cover safety and to isolate him like that just because he isn't doing something well, especially when we knew ahead of time is uncalled for..

You pretty much hit on my feelings dead on with that post. I've supported Williams pretty much unconditionally becuase, frankly, our D was really good his first two seasons here, as well as because we all knew that Lavar can be a real moron. That said, Archuleta has, without a doubt, been far classier than Lavar was, and the story still sounds the same otherwise (the coaching staff giving us all the runaround, etc.)

I'm starting to think that Dale Lindsay, Steve Jackson, and most importnatly Mr. Williams should all have their jobs on the line based on their willingness (or lack therof) to change their methods. For Williams and Lindsay, solely in terms of treating players with decency; for Jackson, in terms of actual coaching ability. As others have said, Gibbs/Snyder/Cerrato need to at least consider giving Blache full reign.

[NAILBOMB9]

Here's the thing. This is a professional sport and I would assume that both the players and coaches would atleast somewhat behave in a professional manner. But, the silent treatment? You got to be kidding me! I would hope the defensive staff would have more people skills than a pissed off girlfriend.

Ask LaVar...GW looooves being an arrogant piece of ****!! I seriously don't care how good our defense is or isn't, I CANNOT stand him!!!

[Thirtyfive2seven]

This front office is in shambles. You simply never treat a player like that. Please someone tell me a defensive player that will WANT TO SIGN HERE NOW!???!?! Word travels fast amoung the fraternity that is the NFL and when players catch wind of the truth, which I"m sure they already have, it's going to be hard to get them to sign. It makes you wonder if throwing money at them is indeed the ONLY way to get them to come here. It also makes you wonder if throwing money at them makes they not even care anymore and put forth 100%. Sure you can say that some free agents have player wonderfully here, but others....

Just makes you think

[str8jacket]

This front office is in shambles. You simply never treat a player like that. Please someone tell me a defensive player that will WANT TO SIGN HERE NOW!???!?! Word travels fast amoung the fraternity that is the NFL and when players catch wind of the truth, which I"m sure they already have, it's going to be hard to get them to sign. It makes you wonder if throwing money at them is indeed the ONLY way to get them to come here. It also makes you wonder if throwing money at them makes they not even care anymore and put forth 100%. Sure you can say that some free agents have player wonderfully here, but others....

Just makes you think

I agree. I think as an orginazation we are on the verge of becoming the Cardinals or Lions just taking a different route there. Their owners are too cheap, ours is just the opposite. And when word of the organization having these kind of issues-Arrington, Archuletta, and Springs joking about players not being around the next year who is gonna want to play here. 31 other teams have money that they pay out too. Why go to a team that may essentially ruin your career and in the end make alot less cash. We always talk about keeping a core and building a team when in actually top to bottom it looks like a house cleaning may be due and set us back even more. Something has to change. This is kind of unacceptable from my standpoint.:gaintsuck

[Jizmaglobin]

I agree. I wonder if a lot of this is Gibbs trusting Williams with all things defense, personel included. Maybe it's time for Gibbs to have a sit down with Williams.

Myself,i've always felt like GW was over rated and on some days like last weekend over rated never got a chance to come out of my mouth because of everything else i was calling him.:2cents: