SOW| It's Expectations That Need Adjusted Not Schemes (Also New Podcast is Up Link Included in Post)

[rd421]

Do you ever catch yourself realizing that sometimes things that are cliché are cliché for a reason? I mean there is a reason we thinking people who eat a gallon of ice cream at a time are fat…it’s because they are. Likewise there is a reason that the Redskins have been labeled a bad team over the last decade, and I hate to break it you Redskins fans…it’s because they have been a bad team.

I know, I know sharpen your pitchforks light the torches it’s time to lynch the Son of Washington guy, but let’s just be real for a minute. The last decade has not exactly been a shining display of football dominance. In fact you could argue that at the very best they have been more of an embodiment of football mediocrity.

I understand that bashing this team, this owner and more recently this coaching staff has become a complete cliché but I challenge you fellow Redskins masochists…remember the fat kid.

There is a reason this team has been the butt of everyone’s jokes, and yesterday I had my moment of clarity and realized why.

I was in my car listening to Anthony Armstrong address local media during yesterday’s open locker room when I had my light bulb moment.

“I think people know what I’ve been able to do for our team last year, they are probably just saying ok he’s out here let’s back up a little bit” Armstrong said, “It’s kind of frustrating when you can’t get on top of defenses like that…hopefully soon something will break”.

Armstrong is referring to the fact that last year he was a complete unknown in the NFL (playing in a league where the playing surface is turf laid on a grocery store parking lot will do that to a guy) and that this season teams knew what to expect and were adjusting to his game, taking away his strength (stretching the field with his speed) and shutting him down.

It hit me right then, the reason why everything has been so dark in DC since Redskins Park was turned into a billion dollar game of musical chairs.

This team never makes any adjustments of any kind.

Dating back to Gibbs’ second tour of duty this organization has been anything but consistent. Constantly during Gibbs’ return I heard “Gibbs can’t make any adjustments because the game has passed him bye” or “He just doesn’t have it any more he doesn’t understand that in the modern NFL you have to adjust to what the other team is doing”.

During the majestic reign of Jim Zorn things started pretty good. During the 2008 season’s 6-2 first half everyone in DC was prepping for a Redskins Super Bowl season, but then something happened. Apposing teams adjusted to Jim Zorn’s offense and do I really need to revisit the rest of that story?

The excuse then was that Zorn was over his head and not able to run a team properly…it wasn’t his fault he was just incapable of actually making adjustments in the offense that kept opposing teams off balance.

Then in January 2010 a beautiful thing happened Mike Shanahan took over as Head Coach in DC. I’m not going to lie all the agitation I had after two years of being Zorned went away pretty much immediately, honestly the hire had that affect on most of Redskins Nation. Fast forward a year and a half and again we find ourselves making excuses for why as soon as the league catches up to our schemes they fail.

If you believed Skins fans or even some in the local media, you would think that Mike Shanahan is the worst Head Coach in football (never mind the disaster that is Indianapolis) and that his son Kyle should be imprisoned in a max security federal ‘pen for crimes against humanity.

I find myself wondering, “Why, if every other team in the league can make adjustments and scheme the Redskins to shut them down, can’t Shanford and Son do the same”?

Then it hit me, and the answer is quite simple and you can thank good ‘ole Coach Joe for the answer.

When Gibbs retired again after the 2007 season he stayed on as a consultant to Dan Snyder and his racket ball buddy Vinny. During the absolute debacle of a coaching search that winter Gibbs told Snyder that the most important thing this team needed was something they struggled with while he was back…continuity.

Continue Reading Here

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Also we just released this weeks podcast we talk about my thought process on this piece as well as all sorts of Skins stuff. it is up on iTunes for all you Apple Fans or you can listen here.

[Jumbo]

You continue to excel in your efforts, amigo.

You are among that intelligent group, whether engaged in criticism, expressing pain and disappointment, the rare opportunities for praise, or simply embracing hopefulness against the fatigue of ongoing setbacks. You are among those I mention in the venting ( but serious) post below as not being part of the stampeding herd I indict therein.

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357708-CBS-Sports-quot-The-worst-coach-in-football-right-now...MIKE-SHANAHAN.-quot&p=8663394&viewfull=1#post8663394

Keep it up, brother. I wish you great success in these endeavors.

[rd421]

You continue to excel in your efforts, amigo.

You are among that intelligent group, whether engaged in criticism, expressing pain and disappointment, the rare opportunities for praise, or simply embracing hopefulness against the fatigue of ongoing setbacks. You are among those I mention in the venting ( but serious) post below as not being part of the stampeding herd I indict therein.

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?357708-CBS-Sports-quot-The-worst-coach-in-football-right-now...MIKE-SHANAHAN.-quot&p=8663394&viewfull=1#post8663394

Keep it up, brother. I wish you great success in these endeavors.

Thanks a ton Jumbo it means alot from you!

Also that post of your's was absolutely brilliant! I'm not sure if you ever hear the radio podcast but we went into the schedule and talked a little about what you posted at the end of your rant there.

Though it is SUPER unlikely and I know that...if this team can win Sunday and in Seattle they have a chance to string a few wins together and forget all this. It happened in 05 and in 07, improbable yes...impossible not at all.

[Oldfan]

SOW ~ When it comes to building a winner consistency is key, instead of turnover with coaches and coordinators it’s time that Redskins Nation practice a little patience while the Shanahans overcome a decade of disaster.

While I agree with your conclusion, I disagree with your argument, or let's say I disagree with what you seem to be saying.

Success in anything requires good execution of a good plan. Which coach/manager in our Snyder past had a plan worth sticking to? Please don't offer Marty (unless your goal is to piss me off:)).

My jury is still out on Mike Shanahan. He stumbled out of the gate, but picked himself up this past offseason. I see a plan that might work, now we have to see whether he's capable of executing it well.

[rd421]

My point is that it's stupid to give up on this thing man it takes time and the plan here is solid there is just a TON the Shanny has had to fix.

[TheLongshot]

While I agree with your conclusion, I disagree with your argument, or let's say I disagree with what you seem to be saying.

Success in anything requires good execution of a good plan. Which coach/manager in our past had a plan worth sticking to? Please don't offer Marty (unless your goal is to piss me off:)).

My jury is still out on Mike Shanahan. He stumbled out of the gate, but picked himself up this past offseason. I see a plan that might work, now we have to see whether he's capable of executing it well.

Problem is, we haven't had a plan that lasted longer than two years. Even Gibbs changed things up halfway through. It also doesn't help that every time we changed horses we had a massive talent purge every time. Kinda hard to build anything with that.

Course, it shouldn't surprise folks that the greatest success in the past decade was with the coach who was here the longest. Not everything Gibbs did was liked, but at least he had a vision and stuck to it to get the most out of this team. We need to stick with SOMETHING, or else we have nothing.

[Oldfan]

Problem is, we haven't had a plan that lasted longer than two years. Even Gibbs changed things up halfway through. It also doesn't help that every time we changed horses we had a massive talent purge every time. Kinda hard to build anything with that.

Course, it shouldn't surprise folks that the greatest success in the past decade was with the coach who was here the longest. Not everything Gibbs did was liked, but at least he had a vision and stuck to it to get the most out of this team. We need to stick with SOMETHING, or else we have nothing.

Gibbs roster building plan in 2004 violated the principles of basic economics. We were lucky that it took only three seasons to break down. The price we paid was that the strongest unit on our team, the O-line, became our Achilles heel and it still is. Had we stuck with the Gibbs 2004 plan in order to maintain consistency, the Skins would have gone straight to the bottom.

---------- Post added November-3rd-2011 at 12:54 PM ----------

My point is that it's stupid to give up on this thing man it takes time and the plan here is solid there is just a TON the Shanny has had to fix.

When I said that Shanny stumbled out of the gate, I was thinking of two decisions in particular that set us back: The win-now move to trade for McNabb, and the decisions to change the schemes radically on both sides of the ball -- making several useful players obsolete and putting Mike further in the hole than he was with the troops Vinny left him.

[TheLongshot]

Gibbs roster building plan in 2004 violated the principles of basic economics. We were lucky that it took only three seasons to break down. The price we paid was that the strongest unit on our team, the O-line, became our Achilles heel and it still is. Had we stuck with the Gibbs 2004 plan in order to maintain consistency, the Skins would have gone straight to the bottom.

We did anyways. I never claimed that Gibbs' plan was great. It was obviously a plan by a coach who knew his tenure was short. But then you change schemes and suddenly a lot of players who made sense before now aren't really in the plan. When you do that every two years, it is going to be no wonder why your team doesn't do well. You can see that historically with other franchises as well.

When I said that Shanny stumbled out of the gate, I was thinking of two decisions in particular that set us back: The win-now move to trade for McNabb, and the decisions to change the schemes radically on both sides of the ball -- making several useful players obsolete and putting Mike further in the hole than he was with the troops Vinny left him.

Funny, but you kinda mandated change above, but then you critisize Shanahan for changing things to better fit what he wants to do. Which is it?

[Oldfan]

...Funny, but you kinda mandated change above, but then you critisize Shanahan for changing things to better fit what he wants to do. Which is it?

There's no contradiction. I didn't mandate change. I said that we didn't want consistency with poor plans. And, I pointed out that Mike made his job more difficult by changing the schemes quickly rather than gradually.

[rd421]

There's no contradiction. I didn't mandate change. I said that we didn't want consistency with poor plans. And, I pointed out that Mike made his job more difficult by changing the schemes quickly rather than gradually.

I really don't believe the plan is poor I just think the talent to execute that plan isn't here or up to speed

[Mahons21]

I really don't believe the plan is poor I just think the talent to execute that plan isn't here or up to speed

He was referring to past regimes, not Mike S.

[rd421]

He was referring to past regimes, not Mike S.

Yea the Zorn thing was a total flop but I believe 100% in the Shanaplan he and Bruce have this team going in the right direction NO STAFF CHANGES

[KCClybun]

I kind of felt this way about McNabb last season. Everyone kept saying "We just need to adjust to his strengths, then we'll be fine!" Well, how do you adjust to a guys strengths, if he can't get the BASICS of what you're trying to do down? If he can't do the simple things, how do you know he's going to be able to do the more complicated things it may take to adjust? And that applies to most of the team.

Good article.

[Mahons21]

Yea the Zorn thing was a total flop but I believe 100% in the Shanaplan he and Bruce have this team going in the right direction NO STAFF CHANGES

I can cheers to that, I've been defending this regime since day one.

[rd421]

I can cheers to that, I've been defending this regime since day one.

I think the biggest issue is fans have been brainwashed by the old Snyder Mentality win immediately or your gone... I mean the fact that fans are calling for haslett and Kyle to be fired 1.5 years in is just silly IMO

At some point people have to realize what is actually taking place

[Captain Injury]

I like your content. I urge you to proofread.

I'm not judging Shanahan until the end of his fifth year. That's what he asked for, so after 20 years of stinking out loud I can wait to see what the man comes up with. Winning isn't as important to me as pride. We have a team we can be proud of due to the work ethic and attitude. We have a bunch of raw young talent. We are missing a few big pieces and we are sure as hell not polished. I think we're 2 drafts away from a playoff team, but I enjoy rooting for this team again. I think we go 8-8 this year.

year one 6-10

year two 8-8

year three 9-7

year four 10-6, with zero to one playoff wins

year five 11-5, with NFC championship appearance

Shanahan is a class coach. I live in Philadelphia, and everyone hates the Skins. They talk trash like nobody's business, like you'd expect from scummy Philly fans. I haven't met one yet who doesn't respect Shanahan, though. Lots of people I meet think the Redskins are on the up. Are Philly fans geniuses? Of course, not. It's just a measure of Shanahan's clout in the NFL community. He's good and he's asked for time. Give it to him.

[TSO]

I really, really enjoy your articles rd421. You have a good head on your shoulders, don't engage in bashing for the sake of bashing, and can understand what's going on with the team rationally. I hope people read this and take it to heart.

That being said, I do have one criticism I hope you find constructive. And I hope you take it constructively, because I honestly believe that even if you didn't change a thing or improve on a thing I'd still love your articles... but the poor usage (or sometimes lack thereof) of punctuations along with other grammatical errors take away from what is otherwise a great, great read.

If you could fix that, you could put your stuff up with the best of them. But, again, if you don't it's not a big deal and it certainly doesn't ruin the enjoyability of your articles!

[SkinsFTW]

I haven't met one yet who doesn't respect Shanahan, though. Lots of people I meet think the Redskins are on the up. Are Philly fans geniuses? Of course, not. It's just a measure of Shanahan's clout in the NFL community. He's good and he's asked for time. Give it to him.

That's my biggest problem with Shanahan since he was in Denver. Everybody, every year, always talked about him being one of the top 5 coaches in the league, offensive genius, future HOF coach, etc. The only problem was he only won a single playoff game in his last 10 years in Denver. To me he was always the overhyped coach, just Snyders style.

I'm all for giving him the time though, hes already here and it would be another 3-5 years rebuild no matter who we brought in to coach other than a Parcells/Belichick tag team.

[Wyvern]

I agree with the OP -- lack of familiarity with the play schemes means the Skins can't adjust as smoothly to whatever other teams are doing to stop Washington's basic game-plan. Maybe we should be realistic and remind ourselves this still is another rebuilding year, and maybe even acknowledge how the alarming number of injuries might be setting the Skins timetable back. Perhaps a little more patience and pragmatism is in order?

Washington fans also need to be realistic that not all the personnel pieces are in place at this time. That too, impacts how well your team can adjust and compete. And with the lockout, and the Skins needing to overhaul their salary structure -- there wasn't enough time to sign up every uber-talented free agent out there.

Maybe people are forgeting that Shanahan/Allen are having to do some damage control on the reputation the Skins currently labor under out in realm of free agency. Until the team starts proving it it 'playoff-worthy' some free agents are still going to be looking elsewhere for their chance at a Super Bowl ring. And Shanahan/Allen also need to get past the old Cerrato type of signings (Haynesworth notably), so negotiation is based on reasonable expectations. They are making good solid signings, as they rebuild the team.

It's going to take time -- to instill 'scheme-memory' to allow adjustments and to find and sign the players who can execute better than their opponents. I suggest that we, as a fanbase, show some class -- let's actually give Shanahan that 3-4 years needed to fix the Skins problems that were created over the last 10+ years.

[NickGiaquinto1]

Is anyone allowed to disagree? And still be a fan?

From the moment shanny was hired I thought it was a bad idea.. A guy pushing 60 with total control who had already run a franchise into the ground when he had total control.

Yes he had to fix allot but his changes ignored talent on hand and his personell decisions in year one and two have set the team back even farther. Also the way he protected his son, putting him above the team and players is troubling.

The way the team quit playing vs buffalo last week was reminiscent of the spurrier and zorn debacles.

I sure hope he can turn it around but IMO come Jan 2013 Snyder will start another search.