2013-14 Season- Hopefully a Lesson Learned

[Braxford]

The best lesson that can be taken from a season that has disappointed fans and players is a simple one. Expectations don't mean anything, accomplishments do. After last years season both players and fans thought this could be special year, especially if RGIII came back healthy and played well like AP did last year for the Vikings.

 

Now it seems that the team might be turning against each other and fans are becoming more vocal in their disappointment. Many of the players on this team have not experienced great team accomplishments, at least in multiple seasons ( good playoff runs, Super Bowl wins) in the NFL. Exceptions to this are London Fletcher, Barry Cofield, Pierre Garcon, and Santana Moss. It can be understandable for players who have not achieved much team wise to possibly rely on a single year's accomplishment and that it will automatically carry over to next season.

 

Hopefully next year or at least in the coming years we as fans and the team ( including coaches) can look back at this season and realize that the lesson learned is that being great or even good in the NFL is a consistent team effort with every individual. This effort needed is every play in practice and games, every quarter, every game, every season. I am not questioning the heart or desire of the players or that of the coaches ( coaching ability might be another matter).

 

What I want to as you is what are the three most important developments that need to be made by the team and coaches for the rest of this year to help make sure that the lesson of this tough season is learned?

 

HTTR!

[Bigmuss1]

$36 Million Cap Penalty is the only lesson learned. Why is it so hard to understand the enormity of this sanction the NFL slapped the team with?

It has nothing to do with players not trying hard....

Lesson learned? Penalty gone, we have money moving forward! Get thru this season with NO major injuries.

[Braxford]

Just because I don't mention the cap penalty does not mean I understand the enormity of how this has affected the team. I think everyone on extremeskins knows how big of a screw over that was, is, and will be for a while.

[Bigmuss1]

If that were the case that "everyone" understood, half the threads on this site should not/would not have been started. People clearly don't understand....

[chipwhich]

Hopefully next year or at least in the coming years we as fans and the team ( including coaches) can look back at this season and realize that the lesson learned is that being great or even good in the NFL is a consistent team effort with every individual. This effort needed is every play in practice and games, every quarter, every game, every season. I am not questioning the heart or desire of the players or that of the coaches ( coaching ability might be another matter).

 

I have been hoping that since our last Super Bowl.

It's like ground hog day.

The lesson we all should have learned is this team needs a GM in charge of player personnel and a coach in charge of coaching.

The other lesson that needs to be learned is we shouldn't accept drama from the locker room.

We need to continue to build through the draft and stop crying about the penalty.  This franchise has spent plenty in free agency and been the biggest spenders and still haven't won a trophy with that approach.

Let's learn our lessons and stop blaming others for our failures.  Look within and fix what needs fixing, which starts with a GM in charge of player personnel.

[SkinsHokieFan]

 

Let's learn our lessons and stop blaming others for our failures.  Look within and fix what needs fixing, which starts with a GM in charge of player personnel.

 

And if that ever happens, we gotta wait till this GM proves himself before expectations rise.

 

Or else you end up with the pre Snyder 1990s

[chipwhich]

And if that ever happens, we gotta wait till this GM proves himself before expectations rise.

 

Or else you end up with the pre Snyder 1990s

 

Pre Snyder 1990's you had the end of one of the greatest decades in sports franchise history, the leaving of a coach, the death of an owner, the indecision and inability to sign Trent Green and trading for Brad Johnson because the ownership was controlled by a trust, and a GM who might have been fired had this mess not have happened.

[Voice_of_Reason]

If that were the case that "everyone" understood, half the threads on this site should not/would not have been started. People clearly don't understand....

If you look at my posting history, you'll see that I often bring up the cap penalty as a reason for some of the struggles. It's a huge issue, and cannot be overlooked.

However. Here's where the "it's all on the cap penalty" theory falls down: the Skins had virtually an identical roster last year, and won 10 games. There is only one new stater in offense, Jordan Reed.

On defense, there are a few new players at safety.

They lost 1 outstanding STer and backup defensive player in Lorenzo Alexander.

But that's it.

So, what is reasonable to expect is at least similar production. Maybe some type of a drop off because teams had a year to figure out the skins offense.

But the execution is SO bad. Personally, I blame almost all of the offensive drop-off on Griffin missing the entire off-season, and not being as much of a run threat. Because his running is not a focal point of the offense, teams are able to play the skins more "straight up" and he hasn't developed as a passer yet to off-set that.

And all that being said, they are still a top 5 offense, and top 10 in points scored per game.

There is no explanation for why the defense is to much worse than they were last year. Hall is playing better. Everybody else is playing worse.

And ST is historically bad. Which shouldn't happen. Even with the cap penalty.

So, yeah. The cap penalty was huge. It's 4-5 starters, and 3-4 roll players.

But, it's not the entire excuse. This roster, with more injuries, won the NFC East last year.

This year they are playing like poop. Part of it is inconsistent play by the QB, mostly because he missed the off-season, and just hasn't progressed.

But a large part is because players are not playing well on Defense and ST. And the coaching of both units is pretty horrid also.

At least offensively, they've shown signs of good things.

[DieHardSkinsfanNJ]

1. RG3 gets healthy 

2. Haslett goes

3. the cap 

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

If that were the case that "everyone" understood, half the threads on this site should not/would not have been started. People clearly don't understand....

And if those same people put all our ills on the cap penalty we'd be a pretty piss poor fan base and this place would be for the über homers only.

Hail.

[Burgold]

It's a pretty complex calculus.

 

Salay Cap bs

coaching-- getting players ready/improving them

play calling-- we're losing the chess match weekly

poor execution

players aging

eratic QB play (I think RGIII is healthy enough to play, but too concscious of his knee right now and that has taken from his ability to see the field, feel the pressure, etc.  I do think he was more than a one read qb last year.  I don't think he held the ball as long and his accuracy was certainly better.  I think there's a lot of mental, some physical, and some loss of offseason reps)

Overconfidence-- You could hear in the interviews leading up to the Eagles games.  They kept talking about last year's run and you didn't hear the intensity or drive, just sort of a belief of well, if they did it once it could be done again.  This team is being humbled this year they forgot how hard they need to fight.

A dog house that's gotten way too big... Not sure what Davis did, but I think the blackhole of Shanny's doghouse might wear on the team's psyche.  Could be wrong about that, but I think it might.

and a whole bunch more.

[StephenDavis]

$36 Million Cap Penalty is the only lesson learned. Why is it so hard to understand the enormity of this sanction the NFL slapped the team with?

It has nothing to do with players not trying hard....

Lesson learned? Penalty gone, we have money moving forward! Get thru this season with NO major injuries.

I'm sorry.  The cap penalty is just a bull**** excuse for people wanting to keep Shanahan.  The guy can't coach.  That's the problem.  

[Voice_of_Reason]

I'm sorry.  The cap penalty is just a bull**** excuse for people wanting to keep Shanahan.  The guy can't coach.  That's the problem.  

 

No, it's not bull****.  It's very real, and has a very real effect on the team.

 

My personal theory is that Griffin's Injury + the Cap Hit doomed this year.  They probably could have survived either separately, but not both together. 

[Burgold]

No, it's not bull****.  It's very real, and has a very real effect on the team.

 

My personal theory is that Griffin's Injury + the Cap Hit doomed this year.  They probably could have survived either separately, but not both together. 

 

It's real, but it's not the whole story.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

And if that ever happens, we gotta wait till this GM proves himself before expectations rise.

 

Or else you end up with the pre Snyder 1990s

 

Absolutely true, but I would take the pre-Snyder 1990s (1994-1999) over what's happened since. It was accomplished with the correct structure in place and it was attempted properly. It didn't ultimately work (the GM and the head coach weren't quite good enough), but I'd sign up today for the team to give that model a shot over and over again.

 

Casserly picked the players. Turner coached the team. We attempted to build through the draft and added pieces through FA when it made sense. In fact, 1994-1996 was about as close as we've come to witnessing a true, effective rebuild of our team. We were on the cusp of being a contender and just were not quite good enough.

 

Casserly and Turner emerged from the shadows of our last Super Bowl and turned an old, decaying team into a young and exciting one. We hit rock bottom when we finally gutted the roster in 1994, but then improved by 6 games over the next 2 years before we began to plateau in 1997.

 

So, I agree that we need to have the right people in place who could execute better than Casserly and Turner. But my dream is that we try to execute the exact same plan that they attempted in the mid-1990s.

[Voice_of_Reason]

It's real, but it's not the whole story.

Yeah, which is what I said in Post #8 above.

 

The same team, virtually, won 10 games last season. And now they look like a division 3 team.  

 

What changed? Nobody is going to convince me that Lorenzo Alexander is responsible for the swing.  

 

So, it's coaching not doing as good a job, and players not playing as well.

 

And a lot of it offensively is Griffin missing the off-season, and not being able to adapt to changes they need to make in the offense to account for changes in the defenses they are facing.

 

Defensively, it's that they have bad coaching and bad execution.  ST is just bad.  Everything about it is bad. 

[pjfootballer]

I have been hoping that since our last Super Bowl.

It's like ground hog day.

The lesson we all should have learned is this team needs a GM in charge of player personnel and a coach in charge of coaching.

The other lesson that needs to be learned is we shouldn't accept drama from the locker room.

We need to continue to build through the draft and stop crying about the penalty.  This franchise has spent plenty in free agency and been the biggest spenders and still haven't won a trophy with that approach.

Let's learn our lessons and stop blaming others for our failures.  Look within and fix what needs fixing, which starts with a GM in charge of player personnel.

I'm not so sure about this part.  There is a big difference in how you should spend as we did in the past and what we can do now. 

 

Back in the days of Vinny, we would do the following:

 

- trade away any and all draft picks

- sign guys past their prime to enormous free agent deals

- sign guys who did NOT fit the scheme that we ran

 

This effected our:

 

- depth by not having a young "drafted" backup or being able to sign a backup that wasn't a "scrub"

- when the older player got hurt, we had no flexibility with the cap

 

 

The current regime has had a different approach since the first year:

 

- keep or acquire more draft picks (yeah, we gave up some 1's for Griffin, but mostly we've kept or added)

- sign free agents to cap friendly deals who are not over the age of 27

- sign/trade for players that actully DO fit the scheme (Carricker, Bowen for example)

 

The thing is, I want us to do a combination of both.  I want them to keep their full compliment of draft picks AND sign as many free agents as they can, as long as they stick to the criteria above (under 27, cap friendly deals, scheme). 

 

You NEED to do both.  With only 7 picks a year average, you cannot rebuild a team.  In years past, the draft was 20 plus rounds, you could do that.  With the cap penalty ending next season, if we DON'T go out and spend money, I'll actually be pissed.  All this crap about the cap penalty "Saving the Front Office from themselves" is a load of malarkey.  Bruce Allen's specialty is contracts and cap management.  I just can't see us going out and signing a "Julius Peppers" because of his name anymore. 

 

This is one area that I actually have faith in the FO to do the right thing.

[Bigmuss1]

I'm sorry. The cap penalty is just a bull**** excuse for people wanting to keep Shanahan. The guy can't coach. That's the problem.

Excuse?????? Wow....

No, it's not bull****. It's very real, and has a very real effect on the team.

My personal theory is that Griffin's Injury + the Cap Hit doomed this year. They probably could have survived either separately, but not both together.

Hallelujah!!!!

[pjfootballer]

Excuse?????? Wow....

Hallelujah!!!!

Agreed.  People don't realize that with that extra $18 million a year, we could have signed maybe 3 or 4 Grade A starters or 5 Grade B starters, plus re-signed our STs ace, Lorenzo Alexander. 

[Momma There Goes That Man]

If that were the case that "everyone" understood, half the threads on this site should not/would not have been started. People clearly don't understand....

 

There is more to our 3-7 record and the many threads posted on here than just a cap penalty. 

[mike42]

Cap penalty ins't the source of our problems on the field. Players took pay cuts. We have enough talent on defense to be average, not the worst.The coaching staff is the issue.

 

Last year, we were banged up and managed to go into the post season...Why are things different this year? Lack of adjustments being made by the coaching staff.

[Voice_of_Reason]

Cap penalty ins't the source of our problems on the field. Players took pay cuts. We have enough talent on defense to be average, not the worst.The coaching staff is the issue.

Last year, we were banged up and managed to go into the post season...Why are things different this year? Lack of adjustments being made by the coaching staff.

Or it could be players not playing as we'll.

Or, combination of both. (Which gets my vote)

[AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy]

Our team hasn't played well this year. I know we can talk scheme, cap penalty, playcalling, RG3s knee (which I think was the biggest culprit this year), etc.

All of our guys need to take a look in the mirror, stop with the whining, grab their balls, and make more plays on the field. The character of our guys is being questioned right now, it'll be interesting to see how they respond on Monday. I expect them to fight it out. I will be surprised if this team rolls over and plays dead, and I know that is a minority opinion.

[mike42]

Or it could be players not playing as we'll.

Or, combination of both. (Which gets my vote)

I think your right. It is a combination of both. The defenses poor tackling, being one of many examples. Coaching staff should be held some what accountable for players on going blunders. To me, this team doesn't look prepared or motivated on Sundays. There's more to coaching than using a play book.

[Voice_of_Reason]

I think your right. It is a combination of both. The defenses poor tackling, being one of many examples. Coaching staff should be held some what accountable for players on going blunders. To me, this team doesn't look prepared or motivated on Sundays. There's more to coaching than using a play book.

 

Agreed. But, there's only so much scheming or motivating you can do. 

 

Look, I put blame on both players and coaches.  But, unlike some on here, I actually hold players accountable for their play, and don't:

1. Blame the coaches for bringing them in

2. Blame the coaches for not coaching them up.

 

There are times that players just have to play better.  If you're making Millions of dollars a year, you should just be able to go out and do your job.

 

Which is why I'm completely done with Fred Davis.  Every media outlet was reporting that, in a contract year, he was falling asleep in meetings, and generally not putting in the time for preparation.  Are you kidding me? That allows a rookie to perform better than you do.

 

And I think that a number of guys on the pass-rushing crew have under-performed, specifically Barry, Orakpo and Kerrigan.  They are all having "ok" ho-hum kind of seasons, and do something good every now and then.  But at those positions, you need to line up and whip the guy in front of you. And that's not happening.  And all three should be able to do it.  

 

If you're a player, it's your responsibility to make sure there's no way that anybody can take your job. 

 

For whatever reason, I think that there are just a bunch of players who didn't come in with an attitude this year that they were going to have to work their tucus off. They thought that they could coast, and Griff would bail them out. A lot like he did last year.

 

But that didn't happen. Cooley has alluded to this several times.

 

And something defensively that can't be overlooked is that London Fletcher, for however great he has been, is just not himself, and that leaves gaping holes in the defense.  Couple that with a lack of pass rush, and an inexperienced secondary, and Boom goes the Dynamite. (side note: The Keenan Robinson injury is probably more significant than anybody realized.)