Mike Shanahan Press Conference: "I haven't made a decision on the starting QB **UPDATE** per John Keim: Cousins will start

[H-O-G]

Mike, your concerned about RGIII's health?  So you start him against the #1 ranked KC Defense on an Icy/Snowy field for your QB coming off an ACL Tear?

 

oh oh oh

 

but the next week, RGIII would be facing a VERY struggling ATL def on an in door DOME 

 

 

**** YOU SHANAHAN

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

To date, Robert is 230 something (I'd have to look it up) in all time season sacks taken. 

 

Yeah, he's getting HORRIBLE punishment back there that warrants this. 

 

Hail. 

[Rodriggo]

What a pansy.

 

And to think so many people believed he was a real task master hard ***.

 

"Uh, uh, uh....we're gonna sit him now to protect our investment...."

 

Sure *******, sure. When he was actually injured you're Mr. Magoo, when you want to scuttle your ship you're all about his health and well being even though he's healthy and needs the reps.

 

Rise above it Rob.

[Gigantor]

About time they benched the Turd.

Let's see what a smart QB can do.

[Epochalypse]

Seriously, any player worth his salt is going to back the HC REGARDLESS of what they feel. 

 

It's career suicide not to. It would just mark you down for the next guy to think 'Oh HELL no. that one's an agitator. He's the first out of the door.'

 

Hail. 

RG3 isn't backing his HC, not worth his salt I guess?  If Shanahan is truly doing all this out of spite, no player "worth their salt" is going to back him.

 

Again, outside of RG3, I see NO PLAYERS (besides maybe Fred Davis who is in Shanahan's doghouse and admits to sleeping in team meetings and is one step away from an indefinite suspension for drugs) that is not supporting Shanahan.  Everyone apparently thinks the coach is on the way out and yet the players still are standing by him.  I can see the players supporting a coach who is trying to win but not doing it very well.  I cannot see a team supporting a coach is trying to destroy the team as he makes an exit strategy.

[Rodriggo]

About time they benched the Turd.

Let's see what a smart QB can do.

 

Who's your ideal QB Gigantor?

[TheGoodBits]

About time they benched the Turd.

Let's see what a smart QB can do.

 

100% chance Robert has a substantially higher intellect than you. You're also the ****iest "fan" ever.

[Sekhmet187]

Its funny everyone suddenly forgot that Shanny was ready to play to evaluate the players middle of last season when he thought we were basically done, quitting on playoff chances. That Fred Davis got canned for no real reason and hardly sees the field, most likely in an effort to keep him from getting a good payday somewhere else. And that our special teams is historically bad, yet he suddenly has decided to NOT bring in competition for a new punter or kicker, despite telling us in previous seasons how important competition is.

 

He hasn't really benched any of the oline, despite evidence that our RT needs to be replaced (and he even admitted that in the offseason), so he didn't try and shuffle the line at all. 

 

Lets face it, they packed it in once RGIII started off slow. They didn't try enough changes, they didn't try to make any real improvements. Thats on coaching. 

[TheGreek1973]

I was going to do a hypothetical here but I will wait after these 3 games.  Because the possibility of KC actually lighting things up and winning 3 games is not that farfetched when you are considering the next 3 Ds he will face.

 

Ahhh what the hell.

 

if he does the above to we get rid of him for a pick?  Because you know what is going to happen if RGIII starts the season slow again.  You will have a major divided fan base.

[You'reNext]

see this makes no sense.  no one would be foolish enough to think griffin has played well, hes definitely struggled sans a few games.  but that means griffin is the only player on this team that has been benched for performance outside of rambo for a few weeks.  why not polumbus?  why not chester?  why is rocca on the team?  why is forbath on the team?  why is niles returning kicks?

 

hes not benching griffin for performance, hes benching him to spite dan and play this ugly game of chicken.  just when you think it cant get any lower, we sink even further down.  this is brutal.

 

The move is likely coming from both Snyder and Shananahn.

 

The Skins were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs the weekend of the Chiefs game when they lost and the Eagles won.

So now all you are playing for is a higher 2nd round pick and an easier schedule next year by losing.

 

You play RGIII until playoff elimination which they did and then you shut him down.

 

You also have two road games.  Atlanta and Giants.  So you no longer need RGIII to sell tickets/concessions/merchandise from Snyder's $$$ point of view.  The Dallas game wil pay for itself simply by it being Redskins-Cowboys.

 

The worst case scenario is RGIII suffering another knee injury in the last 3 meaningless games.  As long as that doesn't happen it's the right decision.  The people who are saying otherwise are trying to stir up drama.

The Dallas game will

[mammajamma]

this is going to get even worse when (not if) cousins comes in and plays well against a terrible defense in ATL... real fair comparison

[Boss_Hogg]

About time they benched the Turd.

Let's see what a smart QB can do.

 

Hey everyone, I found Mike's ES handle.

[Cyclops]

I don't really get how quickly people have turned on Robert. Do people not remember him putting the team on his back last year for the 7 wins? He was playing at a MVP level when it was obvious the coaches gave up at 3-6. Pull your heads out of your asses people.

[Rodriggo]

Again, outside of RG3, I see NO PLAYERS (besides maybe Fred Davis who is in Shanahan's doghouse and admits to sleeping in team meetings and is one step away from an indefinite suspension for drugs) that is not supporting Shanahan.

 

Just curious, how are players "supporting Shanahan?" By doing their jobs?

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

RG3 isn't backing his HC, not worth his salt I guess?  If Shanahan is truly doing all this out of spite, no player "worth their salt" is going to back him.

 

Again, outside of RG3, I see NO PLAYERS (besides maybe Fred Davis who is in Shanahan's doghouse and admits to sleeping in team meetings and is one step away from an indefinite suspension for drugs) that is not supporting Shanahan.  Everyone apparently thinks the coach is on the way out and yet the players still are standing by him.  I can see the players supporting a coach who is trying to win but not doing it very well.  I cannot see a team supporting a coach is trying to destroy the team as he makes an exit strategy.

 

With the greatest of respect, this is naivety at best if your a player that wants to keep his reputation and have a career in this game. 

 

Hail. 

[redskins4ever28]

I have been a defender of RG3 all year but, hes been terrible.

Its a shame we traded 2 1st rounders and a 2nd away for a QB who wasnt even in a pro style offense, nor did anyone know if he could be a good pocket passer. No idea what Mike was thinking.

I hope Cousins kills it, I hope he does amazing and I hope we can somehow trade RG3 for a 1st round pick and get something back for him before its too late, cause honestly guys, we are all in denial, yes the defense sucks, yes our WRs sometimes cant get open, but the truth is, Griffins bad. Hes really bad.

We ar elucky he got rookie of the year, maybe a team fell in love with him and will give us a 1st round pick for him. Cause otherwise, well, we are stuck with him and last years gimmick offense/luck will never be replicated.

I loved RG3, I wanted him to be great, I sat back after he did so well last year and thought to myself "dont get your hopes up yet, you know how this team lets you down and how bad their luck is, dont get your hopes up yet" But, after the last game of the season against Dallas, I finally said "f it hes the man, Im buying a jersey" Bought me my children and my wife his jersey. Then this year it all went downhill from there. Hes been the laughing stock of the nfl. We use the pistol formation 90% of the time, which I get it, its just a formation, but man what other team runs a freaking pistol as much as we do?

I tried to be optimistic, I really did. But the truth is, hes bad. If someone offered us a 1st rd pick for him right now, I would take it with NO questions asked. This is such a shame.

Why couldnt have we just tanked in 2011 so we could have gotten Luck? No use dwelling on the past, last year was magical, but thats all it was, juts magic, it wasnt skill, it wasnt greatness, it was mostly magic/luck.

Heres the thing, I know some of you will get mad for me saying this because you all want to defend the guy. Just as I did all year trying to defend him. But, its over guys, the magic carpet rides ended. Hes not any good. As much as we can sit here and say "well his knee this and his knee that" it has very little to do with his knee. Yes, hed be faster without the brace and if he was recovered a little more, but his staring down receivers, his decision making etc has nothing to do with his knee. Hes not a good NFL qb guys. I hate to admit it, I HATE to admit it, but hes not.

I pray to God Kirk COusins is the next Brady so we have a shot at being good again in the next 5 years, otherwise, its going to be the Skins forcing RG3 to start the next few years, and it taking too long to realize hes bad, then we blow up start all over again rinse and repeat.

[Tyron Biggums]

Here's the thing: if the players don't rise up against Shanahan making this move, and they actually play better, doesn't that say a lot of what the rest of the team thinks about RG3?

 

Again, I don't know what's going on behind the scenes unlike many of you who have it all figured out.  But I know that if the team comes out and busts their butts for Cousins, and doesn't have any issue with RG3 being inactive, it puts all this talk about "Shanahan's devious scheming" in a different light.  I cannot fathom that if the team agreed that what you all say is going is actually going on they'd in any way support it.

 

If the team rebels, yep most likely this season is largely on Shanahan.  If not, you may need to at least consider alternative options.

Was the KC game not enough to let you know that the team has quit on Mike?

 

I am not getting into what the players may or may not think about RG3. I am simply putting the facts out there that Mike is using both QBs as hostages to get his $7 million.

 

Will it make a difference if Kyle has suddenly installed a decent offensive game plan? These players are all professionals they are going to go out and do their jobs. To the extent they apply themselves might be indicative of how they feel towards Mike. Hell they might play hard out of fear he will smear their name in the media as well.

 

Hail

[bradboyd80]

Yeah this whole situation stinks. MS also claims the "best players play" and that he doesn't play back ups for the future, or just for the sake of getting them reps. If he wanted to protect RG3, he would have done so last season during the Seattle game, or started KC in week 1. 

[Sekhmet187]

I don't really get how quickly people have turned on Robert. Do people not remember him putting the team on his back last year for the 7 wins? He was playing at a MVP level when it was obvious the coaches gave up at 3-6. Pull your heads out of your asses people.

 

I've been wondering that myself. So many people have assassinated RGIII's character, basically calling him some ego maniac that has ruined the team and is some diva, despite their being no proof or evidence of this whatsoever, outside of his willingness to speak his mind in press conferences. 

 

Its one thing to say he played poorly in comparison to his rookie year, but no fan is really doing that. They're either saying hes the worst QB in the league and needs to improve otherwise hes a bust, or they're saying that hes selfish and only wants things to go his way and will kill the team or coach. I can't understand how our fanbase turns on people so easily. 

 

In all honesty, there is a large portion of the Redskins fanbase that has about as much loyalty as Benedict Arnold, and all the excuses in the world as to why they should feel that way.

[Epochalypse]

this is going to get even worse when (not if) cousins comes in and plays well against a terrible defense in ATL... real fair comparison

Atlanta is 21st against the pass this year.

 

Teams RG3 has faced this year:

 

Dallas 32nd against the pass

Philadelphia 31st against the pass twice

Minnesota 30th against the pass

Denver 29th against the pass

San Diego 28th against the pass

Oakland 23rd against the pass

 

Yeah not fair to compare.

[XtremeFan55]

What if Cousins comes in and looks spectacular and the redskins win the last 3 games in impressive style.  What would that tell you?

 

That maybe RG3 should not have started the season after spending all offseason rehabbing (and making a movie out of it) and not being able to work on his craft as a drop back quarterback?   Maybe waiting till the bye week would have changed our season.

 

All the drama going back to the Seattle playoff game began with second guessing Shanahan for playing RG3 when RG3 was really at fault for pushing to play and saying he was fine.  Remember the Cleveland game that Cousins started a week after Rg3 was injured and RG3 was trying to convince Shanahan he could play?

 

Going thru all the drama from the past year I would say at least a third of the problem was RG3.  Snyder also played a major role by showing obvious favoritism to a player that just has to have an effect on the other players.  I'm willing to bet RG3 may have lost alot of respect in the locker room based on comments like Moss saying RG3 has to take some of the blame...etc. Especially if the stories are true about Snyder flying down to Alabama and hanging around for RG3's surgery.  Sending his limousine and security guards to take care of his wife.  And the latest about RG3 having a special parking spot in the stadium.  When players see all that it's going to breed resentment especially when RG3 doesn't produce and the team loses.

 

Shanahan probably wants out and is fed up with being courted by Snyder back in 2009 then signing after being promised he could build a team the right way...only to have Snyder go back to his old ways.  You can't blame Shanahan for all this since I bet any coach worth his salt would be upset.  Difference is....Shanahan will not go away quietly and will expose to the football world to what it's like working for the Redskins under Snyder.

 

Good luck finding a decent coach.  Snyder will probably have to up the ante to $ 10 million a year to get someone decent but that coach will come here knowing he's lame duck from the start.

 

And if Cousins looks great and the team miraculously transforms and wins impressively...then Shanahan came walk away showing the fans that he knows football and how to coach it.

 

I look at all this as a proud coach who will not take the abuse sitting down after being sabotaged by a immature quarterback and meddlesome owner who doesn't keep his promises.

[Sekhmet187]

I have been a defender of RG3 all year but, hes been terrible.

Its a shame we traded 2 1st rounders and a 2nd away for a QB who wasnt even in a pro style offense, nor did anyone know if he could be a good pocket passer. No idea what Mike was thinking.

I hope Cousins kills it, I hope he does amazing and I hope we can somehow trade RG3 for a 1st round pick and get something back for him before its too late, cause honestly guys, we are all in denial, yes the defense sucks, yes our WRs sometimes cant get open, but the truth is, Griffins bad. Hes really bad.

We ar elucky he got rookie of the year, maybe a team fell in love with him and will give us a 1st round pick for him. Cause otherwise, well, we are stuck with him and last years gimmick offense/luck will never be replicated.

I loved RG3, I wanted him to be great, I sat back after he did so well last year and thought to myself "dont get your hopes up yet, you know how this team lets you down and how bad their luck is, dont get your hopes up yet" But, after the last game of the season against Dallas, I finally said "f it hes the man, Im buying a jersey" Bought me my children and my wife his jersey. Then this year it all went downhill from there. Hes been the laughing stock of the nfl. We use the pistol formation 90% of the time, which I get it, its just a formation, but man what other team runs a freaking pistol as much as we do?

I tried to be optimistic, I really did. But the truth is, hes bad. If someone offered us a 1st rd pick for him right now, I would take it with NO questions asked. This is such a shame.

Why couldnt have we just tanked in 2011 so we could have gotten Luck? No use dwelling on the past, last year was magical, but thats all it was, juts magic, it wasnt skill, it wasnt greatness, it was mostly magic/luck.

Heres the thing, I know some of you will get mad for me saying this because you all want to defend the guy. Just as I did all year trying to defend him. But, its over guys, the magic carpet rides ended. Hes not any good. As much as we can sit here and say "well his knee this and his knee that" it has very little to do with his knee. Yes, hed be faster without the brace and if he was recovered a little more, but his staring down receivers, his decision making etc has nothing to do with his knee. Hes not a good NFL qb guys. I hate to admit it, I HATE to admit it, but hes not.

I pray to God Kirk COusins is the next Brady so we have a shot at being good again in the next 5 years, otherwise, its going to be the Skins forcing RG3 to start the next few years, and it taking too long to realize hes bad, then we blow up start all over again rinse and repeat.

 

Oh cry me a river. don't go off on the sob story about how much you "wanted" RGIII to be great when you're giving up on the guy after 13 games of one bad season in only his second year as a pro. Thats pathetic and I don't really care if it offends you. Its one thing to say hes bad right now, its a whole nother thing to say hes going to be a bust and fans are in denial because you've somehow "seen the light" as you panic and proclaim a kid a bust after only having 12 bad  to semi-bad games in a roughly 27 game career.

[War Paint]

About time they benched the Turd.

Let's see what a smart QB can do.

Grow up.

[Epochalypse]

Just curious, how are players "supporting Shanahan?" By doing their jobs?

Just curious, their job is to play football, do you think they are doing their jobs?

 

They are supporting Shanahan in the media.  That is not their job.  Again, if Shanahan is trying to destroy the team, the players themselves would know and would say something about it.  I'm still not hearing that.

[wrecker]

Great numbers against three upcoming 3 are meaningless. Completely meaningless. All it will do is mess up our draft order at this point and create a QB controversy. An apples to apples comparison is the only way to compare them fairly.

I feel so bad for Kirk. I stated earlier that he is in a no win situation.

 

If he stinks everyone will be talking about wasting a 4th round draft pick.

If he does great everyone will be saying it was meaningless against bad defenses......alas...