We're not "close" to anything

[Neophyte]

We are "scoring in the red zone" away from being really good.

Pretty much. I have noted in another thread that if this team had put up 21 points in every contest this year we would currently be 8-4 and I think we would all be pretty happy with that. We have had enough Red Zone chances in every game (except maybe the Pats game) to have put up 21 points if they could get TDs rather than FGs and not turn the ball over. We are just having to settle for 3 too much and giving the ball up in scoring position to much. It really is that simple, at least this season it is.

[#98QBKiller]

1. False. No Randy Thomas, no Jon Jansen, no Mike Sellers. Bye bye running game.

2. False. We pass the ball well, when we call pass plays.

3. False again. Look at the stats. We typically stop the run. Giving up a hundred yards against the Bills was an aberration.

4. Wow, ALSO false. Redskins have been one of the best teams at preventing the big play. We get beaten deep over the middle, mainly because Taylor has been out for the past three weeks (and won't be back ever :cry: ).

5. True.

Well, 20% of your points are good.

Agreed and remember that 22 of the rushing yards we gave up against the Bills were when we had 10 players on defense.

[redskins0756]

How about we fire Snyder and everyone here pool their money together to buy the skins

[alleycat]

lemme know what ANY team would do with 2 starting O-line out for the season. A 3rd and forth lineman hurt for weeks.Your MAIN RUN BLOCKER #45 out.

Your Number 1 or 2 WR hurt.

Starting CB on IR.

#1 CB injured

#1 Safety out with a knee and then RIP 21

What team could overcome the O-line injuries !!

[alleycat]

How about we fire Snyder and everyone here pool their money together to buy the skins

We still wouldn't have enough.

I don't know that Snyder is the problem.

[PorkSkins]

IMO, we all hate to hear the word rebuild. This team has never gone through a major renovation through the draft that I can remember. We have always continued to plug in a veteran player here and there with a sprinkle of one or two draft picks. I know this is all a moot point because we don't have the stockpile of picks, but we really need to start developing our own players. It would be nice if we could pull off some sort of blockbuster trade for one of our stars to gain a bunch of picks, but it will never happen. I used to love the over the hill gang but wth today's speed, I don't know if they could keep up, literally. I'm a lifelong fan and will live and die with whatever our team owner and coaches come up with. Please, don't trade any picks.

[JoeKnowsBest]

I'm growing to admire Snyder. Let him be. Can't you see the improvements he's made in the last several years? He's been soaking in his time with Joe Gibbs and he has taken good care of his players during this tragic event. He even reached out to the owners of the Denver Bronco's who had to deal with much the same thing with the death of Darrent Williams.

Leave Snyder be. He's a young guy (and a die hard Redskins fan) who was just been learning the NFL bussiness these last 7-8 years. Now he knows what the league is all about so he's starting to get on top of it all.

[Ghost of]

We're Darryl Hall and John Oates...So Close, Yet So Far Away...

If you look at this year and how the Skins played against the best teams in the NFC, I'd have to say that they are definitely capable of being in the playoffs RIGHT NOW. I think, actually, it's kind of absurd to say otherwise.

The team can't finish and has been snakebit with injuries. Most teams don't have their best defensive player who is also very young murdered in the middle of the season. That is an enormous personnel and emotional loss. That isn't why the Skins lost yesterday.

Every year it's the same thing. We lost close games to teams in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Many elements of this team have changed. One thing remains constant. What's sad is Gibbs doesn't even need to make HUGE changes. He just needs to become aggressive and realize that after several losses, you have to do things DIFFERENTLy than you've been doing them. Stop with the stupid jumbo and one wideout that no one is buying 4-8 yards from the goalline. Why would you jumbo it up on the 7 yard line like we did earlier this year?

GO FOR WINS, stop 'reverting' in the red zone, let Jason play, stop relying on the kicker's leg to save you, let Saunders have TRUE freedom, not pick a formation and then have him select plays OR if he's the one behind the jumbo/1 WR then tell him to stop.

We've had some major injuries and it's hard to overcome that but we were definitely a contender this year and I think it's absurd to say otherwise.

Every year there is some team meeting with Gibbs telling him the same things from 2005, the same things we've been talking about with regard to his coaching. AT SOME point, you'd think it would have sunk in. It's one of the most frustrating things I've ever seen in my life to watch. We only have 16 shots per year and when the coach demonstrates his lack of faith in the unit that he is most closely connected to repeatedly and loses 4-5 games (conservative estimate) due to his fear, it makes you want to rip things out of walls.

Maybe with the injuries we still don't do well enough to make noise in the playoffs but this team should only have 3-4 losses right now.

[youngestson]

We are "scoring in the red zone" away from being really good.

There are too many problems with the defense to be really good. We are red-zone scoring away from being better, not really good. History shows teams who depend on winning shoot-outs fail in the playoffs.

[VuV]

1. Every team has injuries... thats an excuse QUOTE]

An excuse? That is reality.

Name one super bowl participant in that past 20 years that has lost TWO starters for more than 10 games in the regular season?

Name one that has lost its starting right tackle for the season and still made it to the big game?

Injuries are part of the game for sure, but to say they shouldn't be taken into account when evaluating a team is absolutely ridiculous.

How good do you think the Cowboys would be without:

Roy Williams, Terrence Newman, Mark Columbo, Leonard Davis for the entire season???

and then take out:

Demarcus Ware, T.O., Gurode, & Crayton for a few games.

They would be 5-7 at best just like the Skins are.

My comparison may seem ridiculous, but is it really???:

Taylor = Williams

Newman = Rogers

Columbo = Jansen

Davis = Thomas

Ware = Washington

T.O. = Moss

Gurode = Rabach

Crayton = El

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that Moss is as good as TO, but these are our starters at each of those positions. I don't think ANY team could overcome these types of injuries.

[ashsra]

The arrogance of our owner is the main reason we continue to struggle. He's constantly looking for a quick fix by throwing big money to average players in hopes they'll become something special once they get here. B-Lloyd and Adam Archuleta weren't great players before they got here, yet we threw them tons of money. This leads to a vicious cycle where we are constantly carrying dead cap space because of the guaranteed money. Until Snyder wakes up and realizes good teams build through the draft, the frustration will continue.

[dol90]

i am a season ticket holder. As you can see, I do not post often. I feel a need to vent, so if you disagree with my points , please be gracious.

i am tired of yelling for our defense in the third and/or fourth quarter when we are ahead knowing we are going to lose because our coaches are a bunch of *******.

i am tired of watching our poorly coached d backs not making tackles because they apparently have forgotten they have arms they could use.

i am tired of rooting for a team that plays not to lose instead of playing to win.

i am tired of a coaching staff that cannot manage the clock as well as a 30 yr old high school coach can

i am tired of watching a man i admire greatly for his personal beliefs blemish his hall of fame career by putting a team on the field like norv turner did and then sound like norv after the game.

i am tired of an owner who made a lot of money doing one thing(Iam ok with that . i hope we all make a lot of money) thinking that means he knows football.

(I recognize that making this post indicates that I think I know football. I do! He does not!)

to finish, the redskins are not close to anything until a real gm is hired.

imagine what a good football mind could do if we kept our draft picks and used the money our stadium generates on a few good free agents each year. I know every team has to deal with the salary cap, but we are always dealing with dead cap money.

one final mini-rant. if you yell O during the national anthem, then you can kiss my ass. I am from richmond and am tired of saying this to my friends that come to the games with me. "i know we are not in baltimore. I know it is not baseball. I know it is disrespectful to yell that during the national anthem. I know it is a shame that people who do that have the right to vote and procreate"

[dol90]

wow. i just read ashsra's post before mine, that pretty much made the same point i finally made without all the venting.

oh yeah . one last vent. i hate it when the cheerleaders wear jackets!! free the twins!!

[Dick Edds]

you're only as good as your backups. We need to hope we hit it the draft big woith a few of the mid round and late round draft picks. DLine/Oline and DB help in the draft ... maybe a skill position player in a later round.

We are not "close" to being a team the caliber of NE, IND, PITT ... but we aren't far from being in the mix in the NFC. Would you really have thought that Dallass would would be in the SB this year? It's looking likely, but I would have bet against that this off season.

A few wins now would help too ... we are in position to cut/restructure some of our under performing FA's and have a full set of draft picks. It's a start to building a consistent contender. IMO

[ClintonINFORSIX26]

We have most of the right players in place. I think the teams struggles are more decision making then anything else.

[TheLongshot]

Many elements of this team have changed. One thing remains constant. What's sad is Gibbs doesn't even need to make HUGE changes. He just needs to become aggressive and realize that after several losses, you have to do things DIFFERENTLy than you've been doing them. Stop with the stupid jumbo and one wideout that no one is buying 4-8 yards from the goalline. Why would you jumbo it up on the 7 yard line like we did earlier this year?

GO FOR WINS, stop 'reverting' in the red zone, let Jason play, stop relying on the kicker's leg to save you, let Saunders have TRUE freedom, not pick a formation and then have him select plays OR if he's the one behind the jumbo/1 WR then tell him to stop.

Where have you been, Ghost? Under a rock?

Gibbs HAS been doing all of those things. In the last three games, it has been in Campbell's hands, passing far more than running. We've still lost all of those games, including a few mistakes by Campbell himself. Hell, on one series on Sunday, he called three straight passes in the end zone. Ironically, the only TD we did score was because we ran the ball.

Jason