Poll: Which has contributed the most to the Washington Redskins 3-6 record? Injuries, Lack of Quality Depth, or Coaching?

[DogofWar1]

Take a look at these advanced statistics, a bit worrysome regarding %Deep (a statistic that measures the number of pass attempts >15 yards). RG3 is 30th at 16%!

http://wp.advancednflstats.com/playerstats.php?pos=QB

You have to wonder, is Kyle protecting his young QB from making mistakes, or is something wrong with RG3's deep ball? I'm just trying to make some sense of the non-existant vertical passing attack.

Considering the number of times he threw downfield, hit somebody in the hands, and they dropped it, I'm inclined to think it's Kyle, but not because he's protecting RGIII, but because he doesn't have faith that his WRs will catch the damn ball.

[The Robert Griffin Experience]

Take a look at these advanced statistics, a bit worrysome regarding %Deep (a statistic that measures the number of pass attempts >15 yards). RG3 is 30th at 16%!

http://wp.advancednflstats.com/playerstats.php?pos=QB

You have to wonder, is Kyle protecting his young QB from making mistakes, or is something wrong with RG3's deep ball? I'm just trying to make some sense of the non-existant vertical passing attack.

Here's what happens when a deep play is called:

>RGIII drops back/stands in the shotgun

>Reads the defense like a 10 year vet

>Polumbus gets destroyed as usual

>Ripple effect causes the protection to break down

>RGIII evades 3+ rushers

>Throws a beautiful deep ball that his the WR perfectly

>WR drops it

[skinny21]

I think we can all agree that our depth is not worse this year than last (when our defense was playing well). The things that have changed from last year are injuries to numerous key players, and the loss of Lou Spanos (and the subsequent change for Slowik and hiring of Raheem). As fans, we can't really judge the coaching change accurately, particularly with all the injuries. Tough to judge Slowik without Orakpo and tough to judge Morris with the safeties we have starting. On top of this, with each unit affecting the other, everything is FUBARed. Without insight from the players about the coaching difference, I think we're left with injuries.

We're clearly lacking both a pass rush and coverage - an obvious recipe for disaster. The biggest difference from last year is that are safeties are perhaps even poorer and we've lost two key pass rushers from a squad that pass rushed well last last year.

These two areas could dramatically improve next year even without the draft and FA. Three safeties who could all potentially play ahead of our current starters, and two pass rushers. Coaching is certainly suspect (though wasn't it last year too?), but injuries have destroyed this defense.

[MrJL]

Here's what happens when a deep play is called:

>RGIII drops back/stands in the shotgun

>Reads the defense like a 10 year vet

>Polumbus gets destroyed as usual

>Ripple effect causes the protection to break down

>RGIII evades 3+ rushers

>Throws a beautiful deep ball that his the WR perfectly

>WR drops it

I haven't seen enough deep attempts to claim that conclusively

[The Robert Griffin Experience]

Well, I was exaggerating...a bit.

[WheresRickySanders83]

Easy--injuries.

If I'd told you at the beginning of the season that we'd lose Rak and Carriker after Week 1, Merriweather would miss the first 8 games, Jackson would be suspended in training camp for the year, Davis would be lost for the year in week 7, Garcon would be out weeks 2-9, would you be surprised at the 3-6 record?

It's really that simple to me. RG3s top weapons are...Santana Moss and Logan Paulsen. Let that sink in. I don't buy into the other intangible nonsense floating around the water cooler and message boards today. Sports aren't that complicated. We sucked for years because we had trash at QB, and now we suck because we've lost most of our key players. We are dealing with an unprecedented number of injuries to key players that most teams--save for maybe a few like the Giants--could never dream of overcoming. It's like Dallas losing Dez Bryant, Wittten, Ware, and three key starters elsewhere.

We have been screwed by the worst onslaught of injuries to key players that I can recall as a Redskins fan, and there's nothing anyone can do about it other than ride the season out and hope RG3 remains in tact.

I didn't even mention Helu, who, despite Morris's emergence, could still be a valuable change of pace weapon if healthy.

[C26 Run]

Injuries are justified excuses, Quality Depth is an under appreciated but an over-used phrase, and our Defensive Coaching has been pathetic this past season.

:helmet:

[skins2victory]

We would be doing fine if the injury bug didnt strike so hard.......... But thats just the way it is........

I am not putting this on the coaches. This league is too stacked with good players, and when you lose as many good players as we have, it is very difficult to compete. The coaches are doing all they can do with what they have left at this point.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

I'm convinced Fred's injury crippled us offensively. The offense now looks like it has an anchor weighing down on it

[The Fax]

Here's what happens when a deep play is called:

>RGIII drops back/stands in the shotgun

>Reads the defense like a 10 year vet

>Polumbus gets destroyed as usual

>Ripple effect causes the protection to break down

>RGIII evades 3+ rushers

>Throws a beautiful deep ball that his the WR perfectly

>WR drops it

To be honest with you, I can't even think of enough times that we took a deep shot to decide if this is true or not. I have the repeating image of a fake-handoff, 10 yard pass and subsequent drop stuck in my head. I am starting to really HATE this option crap.

[paloosa]

In my opinion it starts with coaching itself. Players play the scheme they are taught and it never seems to change. Lets take a look at the other teams that play good defense. These teams create a pass rush, get sacks, play tight man to man coverage on the WR's and they can tackle. It is called discipline. Discipline is drived from good coaching. This team has no discipline. They lead the league in penalties, they make mistakes to kill their own drives or keep the other teams drives alive, and they just don't play with any sense of pride. That comes from poor coaching. The O-line seems to foget to know how to block and the defense forgets how to cover. The players on this team were pain stakingly picked by Shanahan and his coaches. So the blame lies with the coaching. You can say that they have to execute the plays but if your coaches are not putting them in the right and best situations to be successful then they will fail.

We beat the Saints 3-5, Bucs 4-4 and Vikings 5-4. These teams don't jump out as teams that are very good. Then we lose to the Panthers 2-6, Rams 3-5, Bengals 3-5, Giants 6-3, Steelers 5-3, and Falcons 8-0. So we have beat only one team with a winning record so far and we have lost to three teams we should have beat in the Bengals, Rams, and Pathers. No excuses. For god's sake the Colts have a winning record after shaking up their roster and we have just as good or if not better talent. It comes down to coaching plain and simple. Jim Haslett is being out coached every game and it should tell you something about him when I hear that surrounding the Ram game. Fisher said that they knew what his defense was going to do because he was predictable. This team is still in the hunt for a division title because the Eagles and Cowboys are just as bad as we are. So it is going to be up to the team to play all out and take no prisoners otherwise we are giving the Rams two presents this year. A win and a top 10 #1 pick.

[WheresRickySanders83]

I'm convinced Fred's injury crippled us offensively. The offense now looks like it has an anchor weighing down on it

Teams can now just keep everyone back and rush four. Garcon and Davis change everything. It's unreal that we lost both to non-contact injuries, too. I just can't believe this.

[steve09ru]

There really have only been a couple drops on deep balls - This is one part of RG3's game that I have actually been a little disappointed in. It seems like every deep pass is overthrown.

[justice98]

There really have only been a couple drops on deep balls - This is one part of RG3's game that I have actually been a little disappointed in. It seems like every deep pass is overthrown.

The last few games they haven't taken a whole lot of shots at all. I don't think there were even that many attempts beyond 20 yards last game.

[UK Skins]

I think it is coaching. From the poor play-calling, to the lack of half-time adjustments, to the huge number of penalties, the bad time-management, and now an ability for players to execute simple tasls like catching the ball, tackling, kicking, etc. That all boils down to coaching in some way or another.

Now we are hearing whispers that we have so many injuries because of something wrong with our training regime (a theory that I actually buy into) and that falls under coaching too.

[Probos]

All of the above.

[DGreenHTTR21]

Ok I admit I have been highly critical of Shanahan the last few days and certainly he has not been perfect as a coach. It is clear to me now though our struggles are mostly due to injuries and a one dimensional d coordinator. These are the fundamental problems. These problems will haunt any team in the nfl. What concerns me the most is how flat and dumbfounded we have looked since Cruz broke our hearts.

I know from my experience playing sports which u can take with a grain of salt that there are no ingenious adjustments for shanahan to make. We are stuck with hankerson and Robinson. We are stuck with ma doo doo and doughty. All that shanahan can do is inspire his players and hope one besides rg3 and Morris steps up and makes a difference. Shanahans press conference comments stem from his frustration that he has put his faith in all these players and no one has stepped up to the plate. It doesn't take everybody to step up and it doesn't mean for them to turn into pro bowlers over night. Look at the Vikings victory. Multiple players stepped up and brought something to the table. Madieu had his int td. Lorenzo Alexander had a couple of sacks out of no where. When a team plays inspired a few players, maybe different ones in each game will step up. That is how under talented teams win until they have the talent where the whole team can just play ok and still be better than the opponents like when the falcons beat us.

It's disheartening as a fan to see the team play flat when rg3 is sacrificing his body and having his passes dropped all game long. Shanahan and we as fans are waiting for one of these draft picks to outplay their draft position like Morris has or for one of these veterans to how they deserve a spot in the nfl. It just hasn't happened enough and no one has emerged as remotely reliable.

I know the players are trying there's no doubt. I don't know if defensively they are frustrated with hasletts scheme. I don't know if they are playing to not mess up and hoping the guy next to them steps up. No one is blaming them for lack of effort I see them running hard, I see them out there and they are trying, but its not enough. Good teams have guys from the shadows step up and make a difference.

You can blame shanny the gm for this. Maybe too many of these draft picks are a miss. If our bench was full of 8 year vets an we already knew where their ceiling was I could understand the lack off production. With this group I can't. Players need to dig deep and play with more confidence. A player who try's his hardest but can't be effective winds up on special teams see reed doughty. We cannot have starters of this caliber and we can't have back ups who have no standout qualities.

To sum it up, I think shanny did not expect his roster to be this lackluster,even after injuries, neither did fans. But it is his JOB to bring out all he can from these players or to develop them into what they can be to yield the best results possible. He needs to give them the best opportunity possible and give them a better d coordinator at least for next year but ASAP would be nice. Shanahan as a coach is trying to make what gm shanny created and its not working out. The saving grace is there are difference makers who are injured that make us wonder what if?

So keep the faith, shanahan wants to win as badly as us and was honestly expressing his disappointment just as we do when Hank drops a TD bomb or when Jarvis Jenkins gets .2 yards of penetration. He wants to do right and turn his roster he largely made into a successful unit. I believe he can still do it but he needs the players to play better and inspired and that is both of their jobs. Hopefully the team performs better to show that this rebuilding is not for nothing.

[Commander PK]

As fans, we can't really judge the coaching change accurately, particularly with all the injuries. Tough to judge Slowik without Orakpo and tough to judge Morris with the safeties we have starting. On top of this, with each unit affecting the other, everything is FUBARed. Without insight from the players about the coaching difference, I think we're left with injuries.

If I'd told you at the beginning of the season that we'd lose Rak and Carriker after Week 1, Merriweather would miss the first 8 games, Jackson would be suspended in training camp for the year, Davis would be lost for the year in week 7, Garcon would be out weeks 2-9, would you be surprised at the 3-6 record?

It's really that simple to me. RG3s top weapons are...Santana Moss and Logan Paulsen. Let that sink in. I don't buy into the other intangible nonsense floating around the water cooler and message boards today. Sports aren't that complicated. We sucked for years because we had trash at QB, and now we suck because we've lost most of our key players. We are dealing with an unprecedented number of injuries to key players that most teams--save for maybe a few like the Giants--could never dream of overcoming. It's like Dallas losing Dez Bryant, Wittten, Ware, and three key starters elsewhere.

We have been screwed by the worst onslaught of injuries to key players that I can recall as a Redskins fan, and there's nothing anyone can do about it other than ride the season out and hope RG3 remains in tact.

I didn't even mention Helu, who, despite Morris's emergence, could still be a valuable change of pace weapon if healthy.

We would be doing fine if the injury bug didnt strike so hard.......... But thats just the way it is........

I am not putting this on the coaches. This league is too stacked with good players, and when you lose as many good players as we have, it is very difficult to compete. The coaches are doing all they can do with what they have left at this point.

All these posts kind of sum up what I have come to realize. Like it or not, and I don't like it....we cannot judge the direction of the team on what we have on the field right now. We just can't. We are not seeing the best pieces to the puzzle. We are not seeing the vision realized with players who were not supposed to be on the field unless disaster struck, which it did injury wise.

I don't see how we can really blame anyone for the lack of quality depth to replace the players we lost either...unless we blame Mara. The team was completely screwed by cap gate, and I guarantee you there are several players on this team right now that would not be without the penalty. In turn, there are players we definitely would have signed if we had the cash to do so.

For me, if you have to blame the coaches you must blame Haslett and Smith. Two blocked punts, and a blocked field goal are unacceptable. Smith has long since worn out his welcome. Haslett's defense when healthy has not been as good as it should be. However, the offense when healthy has been very efficient. The top two weapons we have for RG3 right now in the passing game are Santana Moss and Logan Paulson. I did let that sink in, and I also realize that Santana while a great player for this team is not somebody you want being in your #1 or #2 spot anymore, and Logan has a ton of heart, but he is a lumbering bruising type of player. Not a speedster, and he doesn't have even close to the athletic ability of a Fred Davis, or even a Chris Cooley in his prime.

If coaches must be changed, for me it's Haslett and Smith, and the training staff needs to be SERIOUSLY scrutinized to see if there is some problem with the preparation of the players that is playing a role in all these injuries. Besides that we are just going to have to take it as it comes this season.

[RG3forPrez]

I think it is coaching. From the poor play-calling, to the lack of half-time adjustments, to the huge number of penalties, the bad time-management, and now an ability for players to execute simple tasls like catching the ball, tackling, kicking, etc. That all boils down to coaching in some way or another.

Now we are hearing whispers that we have so many injuries because of something wrong with our training regime (a theory that I actually buy into) and that falls under coaching too.

Totally agree. Its 90% coaching to me. Anyone who says its injuries look at Green Bay. They have lost their starting running back, 2 best receivers, Tight end, their 2 best defensive players (Woodson and Matthews) yet they still win and convincingly. Sure they have better talent but they have double the injury issues we have. Its part of the game. I do think Fred Davis' injury was the dagger for our offense but IMO Orakpo and Carriker would not have changed the way this defense has played.

What hurts the most in all this is I saw a game yesterday between Miami and Indy, who going into week 9 last year were 0-15 combined. Now they are both playing for a playoff spot and that was a well played game....you can tell both teams are well coached unlike us. And this is their first yr with new coaches, no offensive systems, new defensive systems etc....I just do not think this is a 5 yr rebuild. Its already year 3 and besides QB and RB we havent gotten better. We have actually gotten worse. Very frustrating.,

[Smurf85]

We never had Brandon Meriweather and Tanard Jackson on the field together at the same time. They were supposed to be our starters, and from Day #1 neither have been on the field.

Yeah and whats your point. Jackson cant stop smoking weed and Meriweather can't stay healty. I'm pretty sure that's why both those guys were available. We knew the risk when we signed them. If anyone thought they were the answer to our secondary they were mistaken.

[Enter Apotheosis]

Yeah and whats your point. Jackson cant stop smoking weed and Meriweather can't stay healty. I'm pretty sure that's why both those guys were available. We knew the risk when we signed them. If anyone thought they were the answer to our secondary they were mistaken.

Meriweather's health wasn't a problem until he came here and it's only been a problem for so long because of a freak re-injury. He didn't miss a game with the Patriots.

[Smurf85]

Meriweather's health wasn't a problem until he came here and it's only been a problem for so long because of a freak re-injury. He didn't miss a game with the Patriots.

Yeah and he hasn't been that good the last few years either. I would be surprised to see him on the team next year.

[DCsportsfan53]

I chose lack of quality depth but really you could say lack of quality starters, too. The one thing I notice is we have a bunch of serviceable guys but no game changers (outside of RG3 of course) and we haven't in a long time. We just don't have that guy on either side of the ball that you look to to step up and make a play in crunch time. Good teams have an elite guy or two on each side of the ball, capable of dominating for stretches at their position and requiring game planning and extra attention from opposing teams. Outside of the rook, where is that guy on this roster?

[Smurf85]

I chose lack of quality depth but really you could say lack of quality starters, too. The one thing I notice is we have a bunch of serviceable guys but no game changers (outside of RG3 of course) and we haven't in a long time. We just don't have that guy on either side of the ball that you look to to step up and make a play in crunch time. Good teams have an elite guy or two on each side of the ball, capable of dominating for stretches at their position and requiring game planning and extra attention from opposing teams. Outside of the rook, where is that guy on this roster?

First of all I agree with you, but with that being said. I do believe we are very close on offense. Both RG3 and Morris need to progress and Garcon needs to get healthy. We have the pieces we need on offense, but I don't believe in the play calling. I also have the fear that we might not resign F.Davis which would leave a hole at TE. Other than that we need a little depth on the line. As for the defense were in trouble there. Orakpo can't stay healthy and Fletcher is old and it's starting to show. So we need pretty much a secondary and a LB or 2 and maybe DT. So there are a lot of holes on defense. So its going to be hard with a team that doesn't have a 1st round pick for the next 2 years.

[DCsportsfan53]

First of all I agree with you, but with that being said. I do believe we are very close on offense. Both RG3 and Morris need to progress and Garcon needs to get healthy. We have the pieces we need on offense, but I don't believe in the play calling. I also have the fear that we might not resign F.Davis which would leave a hole at TE. Other than that we need a little depth on the line. As for the defense were in trouble there. Orakpo can't stay healthy and Fletcher is old and it's starting to show. So we need pretty much a secondary and a LB or 2 and maybe DT. So there are a lot of holes on defense. So its going to be hard with a team that doesn't have a 1st round pick for the next 2 years.

Pretty much agree, except for the part about the play calling. The good news is, with a mediocre defense as opposed to a historically bad one we'll win quite a few games. Also, a lot times swagger and the right coach with the right guys can raise a defense above the sum of its parts. On offense it's different because if you don't have a QB you pretty much have nothing. The right D coordinator along with a few of "his guys" coming with him who can excel at their particular roles and it can be a lot better. Not having the next two firsts and the cap penalty hurts so we'll see. Hard to say right now that it doesn't look like it'll take all 5 years for Shanahan to build a winner, given circumstances and some mistakes on his part. The question is whether Snyder (I think he does) or the fans (don't think they do) have the stomach to be patient and how one affects the other.