If Shanahan's given up, what hope do we really have with him? A pretty darn disappointed and disillusioned long time backer of the HC.

[skinsfan1993]

I think that the book on Shanahan is that he never should have been the GM, he should have let a quality GM do player acquisitions (though he'd have significant input).

I agree with many here who have said that the "coach buying the groceries" doesn't work, and this is just another example. Parcells bought the groceries in New York (Jets) and Dallas, he never was better than 10-6. Holmgren bought the groceries in Seattle and Cleveland, and those were failures. Shanahan already failed in Denver buying the groceries, and he's failing exactly - literally exactly - the same way here. It's just not a viable model.

I think Shanahan should be stripped of GM duties, given that we simply have not drafted very well, but he absolutely should be retained as coach. Holmgren went to the Super Bowl after he was stripped of GM duties. He's done well in prioritizing the key spots on the team (QB, LT, pass rushers) but Shanahan the GM has probably done enough for him to be fired. The problem is how to do that without firing Shanahan the coach.

this is exactly why he was fired from denver. denver tried to strip GM duties from him, but his ego didn't wanna let that go, so denver fired him.

[jnhay]

It is year three and we have not seen improvement minus Morris/RGIII. It's not that we're losing it's how. Undisciplined play and mental mistakes repeatedly. Repeatedly. Repeatedly.

After seeing the way the defense looked stunned at Cam Newton faking a handoff and taking the ball himself, I completely agree with you on Haslett. As far as special teams goes, I withhold my opinion because I have to admit I have no clue exactly what's going on there.

Make no mistake though, I'm not saying Shanahan is doing a spectacular job. We'd have a winning record now if I were to say that. I'd just like to see Mike's plan allowed to come to fruition because it's been obvious to me that he actually does have a plan, unlike coaches/GMs in the past that seemed to just focus on filling gaps year to year.

[sharkproof]

ever think he's trying to light a fire under some of the sloppy azz mental lapsing play?

[Boss_Hogg]

ever think he's trying to light a fire under some of the sloppy azz mental lapsing play?

That idea has already been shot down, burned, decimated, etc.

[jnhay]

Really, Rich? How rich, Rich.

Of course, reporter who reports on one thing will defend his reporting in the face of it being criticized. Shocker.

Here, Rich, why don't I have some out of context fun!?

See how easy that is?

What's out of context there? Tandler's one of the writers I read a lot, and I wouldn't like him if he was prone to taking quotes out of context,

[sharkproof]

That idea has already been shot down, burned, decimated, etc.

Is that because too many are beyond playing with their heads in the game....? I can't take watching a guy get over the top on our safeties because they just mentally aren't doing their jobs. Also sloppy tackling... How more many whiffs do I have to watch? There are plenty of players that were no names that became names because they got a chance and made something of it. Pat Fisher wasn't the fastest QB or biggest by any stretch of anyone's imagination but he played with a ton of smarts and heart and the result was a good solid CB. RG plays with heart and smarts and a rabid determination....there are too many on this team that don't.

[The Tris]

Get over it. "BSPN" has shaped the way sports are covered and it has done nothing but benefit us diehard sports fans.

BTW. While Smith makes you want to smack the **** out of him sometimes, he nailed it here.

I legitimate despise everything about ESPN, and I look down on anyone who watches their programing outside of live events and documentaries. Watching ESPN for sports analysis is like watching TMZ for political coverage.

If you notice my posts the past 24 hours, I'm calling for Shanahan's head, but that doesn't mean I am going to given any credence to what commentators I don't have a modicum of respect for say, just because it overlaps with my opinions.

[KDawg]

What's out of context there? Tandler's one of the writers I read a lot, and I wouldn't like him if he was prone to taking quotes out of context,

Having spoken with him and met him, he's not a slime ball kind of guy. He's pretty straight forward.

[Dallsux]

Tom Coughlin, cough, cough.

I don't recall Tom Coughlin winning a Super Bowl with 2 teams. He made it to the playoffs with 2 teams, but never won with the Jaguars.

[IWantMyATV]

Why would any coach ever again want to coach here if we make a mockery of our 5 year commitment to the shanaclan?

[Dallsux]

Why would any coach ever again want to play here if we make a mockery of our 5 year commitment to the shanaclan?

For real! We can't even get the PLAYERS to play here. Finding a coach to play here would be near impossible.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

Why would any coach ever again want to play here if we make a mockery of our 5 year commitment to the shanaclan?

yeah...because Snyder's bottomless wallet and RGIII aren't enough to convince a coach to come here.

Get outta here lol

[skinny21]

? He said this loss takes us from going into the bye week competing for a playoff spot and now going into the bye evaluating players. Seems like give up loser talk to me especially when just hearing Griffin IIIs presser about never giving up.

I can only hope that he's referring to the need to make changes. Maybe guys that aren't likely to be here next year (Hall? Williams? Polumbus, Doughty or Moss?) lose out to the young guys. Not that you give up your season, but have a closer eye on the future.

Maybe competing for the playoffs meant fewer changes personnel-wise.

Also, someone (or some people) mentioned he sounded defeated. Well, third-straight, really tough defeat... probably tough not to sound defeated. I will say he took it too far. I can understand his thinking, but you really have to watch yourself in these pressers (and everywhere else).

[DogofWar1]

yeah...because Snyder's bottomless wallet and RGIII aren't enough to convince a coach to come here.

Get outta here lol

He has a point though. Stability is important to a lot of potential coaches, they want to know they won't be tossed aside because of one bad year, especially early on.

But even more important is probably reputation. A failed stint as an HC can be a major setback for anyone who isn't established, and even established coaches can get hurt if things flop. Would Raheem Morris have accepted the HC job in Tampa if he knew the owners were only going to give him 75% of the cap to work with, and then can him the moment they underperformed? Almost certainly not.

Coaches want the support of the office, they want some stability, and they want to protect their reputations so that whenever they do leave, they have a shot at another decent job, and don't have to take a bunch of steps down.

That being said, the money and RGIII would be a major pull and would get an HC here.

I think, so long as the locker room doesn't completely turn against Shanahan, giving him one more year to fix things is warranted. If he hasn't turned it around by then, I think Snyder would be much more easily able to justify his actions, and wouldn't have to explain to future HCs why they shouldn't be worried about being canned early.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

He has a point though. Stability is important to a lot of potential coaches, they want to know they won't be tossed aside because of one bad year, especially early on.

But even more important is probably reputation. A failed stint as an HC can be a major setback for anyone who isn't established, and even established coaches can get hurt if things flop. Would Raheem Morris have accepted the HC job in Tampa if he knew the owners were only going to give him 75% of the cap to work with, and then can him the moment they underperformed? Almost certainly not.

Coaches want the support of the office, they want some stability, and they want to protect their reputations so that whenever they do leave, they have a shot at another decent job, and don't have to take a bunch of steps down.

That being said, the money and RGIII would be a major pull and would get an HC here.

I think, so long as the locker room doesn't completely turn against Shanahan, giving him one more year to fix things is warranted. If he hasn't turned it around by then, I think Snyder would be much more easily able to justify his actions, and wouldn't have to explain to future HCs why they shouldn't be worried about being canned early.

Yeah, I'm completely down on Shanahan but I'd still say he's earned at least starting 2013 as the coach because of Bob

But if he is let go, I'll shed no tears

[joeknows]

I'm sure his comment had nothing to do with the bye week coming up...you know, when every staff in the league goes back and evaluates their team and decides what and who to keep when it comes to playbook and players???

Nahh....couldn't be that....

Y'all need to take a Midol.

[Skinzerdie]

Received this in an email today, thought I might share it:

To whom it may concern,

I'm not special, I realize this. My story is no different than any of your own. I'm just the everyfan...

Like you, my Dad was a Redskins fan.

Like you, I was bred on the burgundy and gold.

Like you, I've spent thousands of dollars on Redskins tickets and gaudy merchandise.

Like you, I have a job that I slave away at all week, largely in effort to purchase more obnoxious Redskins paraphernalia.

Like you, I wake up early and go to work on Monday with one thing on my mind: Sunday.

Like you, I have watched the Redskins each and EVERY Sunday -- at times with wreckless abandon -- with a total disregard for myself and others, for as long as I can remember.

Like you, I have remained loyal to this once proud franchise, in spite of decades of mediocrity that's welcomed and warranted merciless ridicule.

Like you, I have continued to believe, over and over and over and over again, in next year.

...But unlike you, I'm not accepting any more excuses from this lousy organization. This professional football team -- if that's what we're choosing to call it -- clearly isn't any better than it was twenty years ago, much less one year ago. At this present juncture, it's win or else -- PERIOD! Otherwise, consider me a casual observer.

To those of who will shamelessly accuse fans like myself of being uninformed, irrational, and/or disloyal for truculently bashing and/or abandoning this pathetic excuse for a franchise, perhaps it's time you find a new passion, because you clearly don't bleed burgundy and gold. For us fans who do, however, bleed the colors of Riggins, Green, and Monk, deeply caring about our football team isn't as futile as you "level-headed" armchair experts like to make us feel it is. For us true fans, the Redskin roots run deep -- and so do the cuts.

But what I want to know is, how are we the illogical ones here? At this point, after being this miserably bad for this long, how is saying "to hell with this team!," a knee-jerk reaction?

Just tell me, how long does this team have to be in the basement of the NFC East? How long does this team have to be a laughingstock?

And most importantly, tell me how many more times does this team have to disappoint you and **** on your heart year-in and year-out before we -- the one's who decide to abstain from our fanhood indefinitely -- are recognized as the reasonable fans with good sense?

Christ... if the 2X Superbowl winning, offensive genius, Coach Mike Shanahan, can give up on this team, why can't we?

I mean, seriously, why continue to subject ourselves to this? What are we -- masochists?

I'm sorry, but we fans deserve better than this. We've invested far too much and gotten far too little in return for far too long-- there's just no justifying it anymore. It's totally, completely, and entirely unacceptable.

To hell with the rest if you "fans," you smart marks without a clue...

**** this team until further notice!

Sincerely,

the everyfan

Can I get an Amen?

[Hunter_R]

If anybody is curious, here's Stephen A. Smith's rant.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8596167/mike-shanahan-washington-redskins-not-giving-2012

[elkabong82]

It is what it is. At least we are competitive in most every game and have a rookie QB and HB to be excited about. The most important thing IMO we need to fix this offseason is the medical and training staff. Injuries are decimating us every season it seems, and players have not typically had good things to say about them.

Part me can't help but wonder how we'd be faring right now with a different FA class brought in had we not been screwed over by Mara. That plus the injuries to starters has hurt us the most, even more than Haslett's ineffectiveness.

Maybe Shanny's words were taken out of context, maybe not. What he said was true, and maybe it's the wake up call the team needs. Even Darrell Green and Charles Mann said the team isn't executing properly.

If we get new medical and training staff and a new DC, I'll be happy heading into next season. I will say karma is a ***** and Mara eventually will get what's coming to him for his slimeball tactics. In the meantime we'll have to jettison more vets, bring in more youth, and be patient as the team grows. I think it will still be with Shanahan. He had the offense working very well until Davis went down. Just have to find a legit deep threat in the offseason and a DC who is well enough at his job to keep the D in the top 20, IMO, and we can contend.

[PapaLazarou]

If anybody is curious, here's Stephen A. Smith's rant.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8596167/mike-shanahan-washington-redskins-not-giving-2012

Strong words, but sound arguements.

[The Robert Griffin Experience]

When you read it again, I think it's clear Shanahan was definitely taken out of context. That wasn't a statement of "I give up on the season". It was a statement of "I called this team out and they still didn't show up to play, so now let's see who on this roster is worth keeping around going forward. But people see what they want to see. Half this ****ing board hated Shanahan from the beginning, and they seem almost overjoyed that they seem "right" about him. Yes we have a bad record, but if you can't see where we are better than we were 3 years ago then I don't know what to tell you. A functioning offense, actual talent on both sides of the ball (just misused on defense with a few major weak links in the back end). Franchise QB. Franchise LT and a solid OL overall except for RT. This is despite not really having anything to speak of at the skill positions.

We're not that far off. There is no need to start panicking now.

I'll tell you this, I'd rather have this team going forward than any team we've had this decade.

[bedlamVR]

I think people are taking this out of context - this throw away comment - I don't think Shanahan really meant he was shutting it down - he was really saying we are now going to see just what kind of a team he has actually built -

I was disappointed in the most recent loss - this game gave us a chance to stumble back to .500 - but look at Shanahans comments in the previous weeks -

" around about now you expect the veteran players to take over the team" - which tells me they were not

" this week is a must win " - trying to spark some urgency with the players

" We now go into an evaluation mode " - People took this to say he was shutting it down - but i think this was his dismay only a hand full of players on this team are taking responsibility for winning .- what he was looking for was a response from the players - and hopefully he will get it .

Everyone will talk about how every other coach has turned their teams around in 5 minutes - but look at the lions - Calvin Johnson - and a big chunk of their roster was drafted years before Schwartz came on the scene - we had Orakpo, Fred Davis and a bunch of special team hold overs ... i think people seem to misunderstand just how big a rebuild we have undergone - more than 100 million in contacts have been shed and not one of those players is still in the NFL playing at a decent level .

You also look at the salary cap fisasco- they would have been planning for years how to go about bringing in the players what areas they needed to target and the contracts etc etc - and then 10 minutes before the free agency broke out - to find out about the punishement through the media - would have been devestating to the plans ...

And then you get the injury bug - but not like the Giants who ALWAYS have had injuries in the secondary (and the same players) - but a bug that takes your best defensive players and some the best offensive players in the space of a couple of weeks ..

We all want it to be better but it is not a magic wand that can fix this - There is no coach in the world that could come in tomorrow and make a difference - Also what coach is going to want to come here - seriously - no first round picks - no capspace - and a half finished project and a media and fan base that will run you out of town when things go pear shaped .... Say KDAWG you do some coaching right ?

[Dirt]

I think people are taking this out of context

Yes. Very good post, thank you. There's a lot that's suddenly been forgotten, and far too much put into Shannahan's choice of words. He's not interested in being careful with his words, and speaking clearly to make everyone happy. He's speaking his mind, and he's done a lot of good things for the team. Including RG3, people. You're welcome lol.

Up until the last 2 weeks, things were ok, offense was nasty, defense bad, we're still competitive, things are ok. Now - they are not. It's "evaluation mode" time. He's saying this is not the 52 guys, unless they prove him wrong. He's willing to replace you, you're under evaluation. Good, they should be.

[The Tris]

Mike remains focused on hand selecting no name linemen to coach up to be NFLers. He by passes top rated linemen and takes reaches, like LeRib. Keeps waiting for Jamal Brown. Pulls Black out of retirement? Willie Smith is starting in Oakland last I checked.

At some point, it needs to be accepted that he cannot build a line.

Right now a torn sack of potatoes could RT @CBSRaiders: Rookie OT Bergstrom could replace struggling Willie Smith http://cbsprt.co/SvW5oX

Let focus on limiting our criticism to actual complaints, instead of just bagging on stuff to justify anger.

There are real things to be upset about, and then there are people just getting carried away.

[gaskinsfan]

After allowing time for things to settle and Shanny backing off comments, its still time to fire the guy.