stwasm Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Washington wasn't a great team by any means, but under Gibbs, Saunders and Williams, they were able to rally emotionally and play inspirational football when it most needed to. Sure, the Redskins showed how far from the NFL's elite they were in getting throttled by the Patriots, but in the weaker NFC, they still managed to make the field over more talented teams such as the Vikings, Saints, Bears and Eagles. It was inevitable Gibbs would retire -- heck, he's done it before -- but just because he did it right after the '07 season didn't mean the Redskins needed to blow up the whole sideline thing. Williams, who once seemed in position to succeed Gibbs, has joined his fellow coordinator Saunders on the firing line. What's weird is there's still not a head coach to replace Gibbs in place, yet the hired Jim Zorn and the promoted Greg Blache have already been named the respective replacements for Saunders and Williams. Owner Daniel Snyder has been known for spending crazy money on overrated free agents -- Adam Archuleta, anyone? -- with not nearly the results to justify the price. In addition, there have been some trades along the way that have limited what the Redskins could do to improve themselves in the draft, the NFL's most important personnel upgrade resource. Just look what they got when they got back to drafting high in '07: Landry. So considering how that isn't the ideal business model to produce consistent winning football in the salary-cap era, Gibbs' staff did pretty darn well in getting the team to the playoffs in two of the past three seasons. Sure, it may have seemed like a patchwork situation, but the team has enough young skilled players in place (again, starting with Campbell and Landry) to linger in contention in what's become a very tough NFC East. Saunders and Williams both got off to slow starts despite their high-profile resumes and past great successes, but much of it had to do with having the right personnel in place, which really didn't happen until this season. They got their players to respond late, and the familiarities with their personalities and play-calling styles were part of it. The Giants are in the Super Bowl, the Cowboys had the best record in the NFC and the Eagles still have the foundation to come back strong. So New York, Dallas and Philadelphia are already in position to contend next season. The Redskins aren't in a position to start over completely on the sidelines and expect to stay at that level, considering the collective stability of the other three teams in the division. It already would have been tough if Gibbs had come back, and not having Saunders or Williams anymore on top of Gibbs stepping down makes it a whole lot tougher. Unfortunately, in a league where you can no longer afford to take the time to truly rebuild, the pressures of being in the high-profile and highly competitive NFC East allow for nary a second to catch your breath. By hastily blowing things up, the Redskins have blown a chance to stay in the same airspace with their archrivals. Click here for the rest of the article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttr77 Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Every time I see another negative article in a national publication, I cringe. We can all sit here on this message board and cry foul, but the rest of the league reads this stuff. And don't think for a second that other players, coaches, and agents aren't paying attention to the dysfunction. Danny has a reputation for overpaying. Good - because that may soon be the only way he will be able to get people here. And isn't that just what we want - players and coaches coming here with money as the main motivator? :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsrevival Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I don't really buy into the whole changing the sideline thing is bad... I think in sports you really don't know what the heck is going to happen until the season starts. Did any of us think Norv would take the Chargers as far as they went? I'm sure none of us thought Dallas would have the regular season they had or that the Giants would win three road games and make it to the superbowl. So yeah, we're making changes and media and fans can guess or speculate about how it's all going to unfold... Truth is none of us know until these guys suit up and play... I don't think the changes are bad as far as our DC and OC are set up. We can bring in some one like Fassel or someone with no HC experience like Meeks, but we won't know if it's going to be good or bad until the games are played... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heidenreich Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 But we overpaid Arch because WILLIAMS wanted him. They left that part out. In the grand scheme of things, coaches mean jack. It's the players that matter..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Stop already. That's a no brainer article that is going to be written about a hundred times this week by every writer who needs a story. The same article was written last year about the Cowboys. I'm all for continuity, but think this team needed a new direction... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cphil006 Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 We hada successful run under Gibbs, 2 playoffs in 3 years. now we go a "different" direction. Good or bad remains to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGSKINS Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 All this :cry: is getting on my nerves. I have feeling that alot of crow is going to be served come november of 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLongshot Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I find it ironic they talk about the "stability" of the other teams, when Dallas basically did the same thing last year. Course, not many thought all the changes that Dallas made would get them the #1 seed before the season either. The defense isn't going to be much different than last year with Blache running things. I suspect that Zorn probably will start with Saunders' plays and terminology as a base for his playbook, so the adjustment probably won't be as great as some people suggest. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyConway Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 So Vinnie Iyer is writing us off for next season already? Pretty ridiculous. His last paragraph sums it up well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paintrain Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I find it ironic they talk about the "stability" of the other teams, when Dallas basically did the same thing last year. Course, not many thought all the changes that Dallas made would get them the #1 seed before the season either.The defense isn't going to be much different than last year with Blache running things. I suspect that Zorn probably will start with Saunders' plays and terminology as a base for his playbook, so the adjustment probably won't be as great as some people suggest. Jason Good point, the Cowboys overhauled last year.. The Giants changed both coordinators in the past 3 years.. The Eagles are stable, but have finished last 2 of the last 3 years.. We're an easy media target right now, that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
36HAMMER Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 as i thought about this new coach i figured it depended on how danny saw the team. we are old on the o line and randy and john j can't stay healthy last 2 years and the hurts double because they are the heart and leaders of the o line.moss is great when he is on but inconsistant, randle el has gotten better,caldweel is worth another look,lloyd should go.we also need de and tackle help, lb help and depth and saftey help and especailly cb help.if danny thought he might as well blow it up and rebuild it right then get a new coach and start over, some one young, if you think you can address most of these needs and get under the cap enough to do it then keep in tact and go on.zorn will be fine and by keeping blatche the d stays basically the same.some of our older guys with big contracts need to come off some major money.but will they.sinse williams is no longer in the mix i still like russ grimm, a young passionate coach who knows what it takes to play and win in this league.fassel doesn't do anything for me good or bad.gonna be interesting guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins fan1010 Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Sorry, but I started tuning out when he wrote that the Skins weren't as talented as the Bears, Vikings and Eagles. Did he even watch any of those games last year? How about just the highlights? I think I would have agreed with the rest of the article if he didn't write blatantly biased BS up top. Bears? Viking? Saints? Eagles? Bwaa haa haa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.