Hey Jay Gruden, Welcome to Hell

[kleese]

That's all I could think about last night. A new guy comes in with a fresh face, fresh approach, fresh ideas, and energizes the fans and team a bit in the summer. Not a great roster, but enough talent to think that if pieces fall in place blah blah blah.

I like Gruden. I liked the hire and I'm certainly not giving up on him. But it took all of four games for him to adopt "the look."

It was the look Petitbone had at the end of the 1993 season. The look Norv adopted somewhere in the mid 90's... It was the same look he had in his last game against the Giants in 2000 when he sent Eddie Murray out to kick a field everyone (Norv included) knew he was incapable of making.

Spurrier added the famous gum flap to his look. Gibbs looking like he was on suicide watch at the end of the Bills game; Zorn's look after the swinging gate... Shanny's look during the Monday Night Massacre and most of the 2013 season.

The look of "uh oh, this is really bad. Didn't sign up for this."

Gruden had it last night.

Welcome to the Redskins Jay, you are now officially one of us.

In just four games Gruden now has one totally humiliating prime time division loss on his resume. A baffling defeat where from top to bottom the team looks like an absolute mess.

Yep, he's a Redskin now.

It's is both totally unfair and yet totally logical for fans to lump this latest debacle in with debacles of the past. In a fair world, Gruden would be given a totally clean slate where no past failures would color his present with the team. Life ain't fair though. Gruden will feel the pain and frustration of 20+ years....already. We all felt the same thing last night... Here we go again, same ole skins, etc.

The "culture" we so often discuss really is a phenomenon. Seemingly impossible to shake despite numerous efforts from all kinds of people with all kinds of approaches.

My fuse burned out early this year. I normally don't give up total hope until around Halloween or on a good year, Thanksgiving. But the really exciting part of the season ended for me last night. The 2014 season lasted about 19 days for me. Awesome.

What I mean by that:

These first four weeks, I was jazzed about the games. Giddy as they'd get close and nervous gameday morning. Excited that even though I thought we'd be 7-9, I had hope for better and was excited to see what the team might become. Interested in rooting against the other East teams thinking that maybe we'd be in the mix later this year.

After last night, that's all out the window. The truly competitive part of the season is over. We aren't winning jack or competing for the playoffs this year. That's clear.

Deep down I'm an optimist. It might be pretty darn deep after all these years, but it's still there. So I try to look for silver linings or reasons to still care about the games.

I haven't lost faith in Gruden or the QBs yet. I still have hope there. So I'd like to see us have some positives come out of this season still. Maybe if we can just survive until the BYE-- get there at 3-6 or something, we can rally in the second half and still reach that 7 or 8 win mark-- and at least say with a straight face that we improved and Gruden found a way to keep the season from nosediving. Maybe it will become clear where we are strong and where we need to get better.

Maybe just maybe at the end of the year we can say "that wasn't so bad" and legitimately look forward to the draft and 2015. But we could just as easily be looking at 3-13 again. And it will be hard to feel good about that.

I kind of feel bad for Gruden. Probably impossible to see from the outside how strong the force of losing is on the inside. Sucks you in like the vacuum in Spaceballs. Except this isn't as funny.

[Probos]

Yup,...I feel bad for the guy.  Hopefully it won't completely taint him for another HC job in the future.  Seems like a good guy and someone that could succeed in the right situation.  Unfortunately this probably won't be the one for him,....but,.....we'll see.

[Riggo-toni]

Hell will be next year when Dan reverts back to micromanaging form.

[StephenDavis]

Good post. You're right. I bet Gruden went to bed last night like, "damn what did I get myself into". I wonder what he thought about all those Giants fans there last night. Welcome to DC.

[Hail4Life]

I felt the same way for Jay last night but after sleeping on it I've come to the conclusion that this doesn't mean he is destined for the same path as Norv, Spurrier, Gibbs, Zorn, and Shanahan.  Yes we stunk it up last night but in just four games Jay has also done something we haven't seen in years, a convincing blow out win against an opponent - the Jaguars (yes I know they suck).  Not to mention an offense that has put up 37+ points in 2 of 4 games.  This is a learning year, I will be happy if we go 7-9.  As long as we see improvement this season we can expect good things in the future with Jay.  The future is not all doom and gloom.

[Koolblue13]

He looked defeated at half time last night

[Rodriggo]

Funny but too early. It was a close game late even with all the mistakes. Cousins threw five ******* picks for ***** sake.

 

Let the guy respond to this mess before giving him the Spurrier Death Mask.

[Garcon More Wine]

lol you are 100% spot on with the face.  last night jay had that look of "oh jesus what have i done?".  its gonna get worse before it gets better thats for sure, as we are starting 1-5 right in the face.

[Dissident2]

I reject this idea that Jay or anyone else who's gone before him is an outsider without the ability to impact this "culture." That's what he's being paid to do. It's probably a bigger task than he expected, but so effing what? Figure it out or move out of the way for the next sucker.

 

I like Jay, actually. I like him a lot. There's something about him that I believe in, even after this dismal start. But how he handles this crapfest is what will define him, just like how Kirk handles actual game pressure is now defining him. If he can't change it, it's inevitably on him.

 

As far as the "culture" goes, though, I have believed for years that this is something that starts at the top and trickles down to everything and everyone else. Sadly, there's not a damn thing ANYONE can do about that.

[Garcon More Wine]

Funny but too early. It was a close game late even with all the mistakes. Cousins threw five ******* picks for ***** sake.

 

Let the guy respond to this mess before giving him the Spurrier Death Mask.

 

in what universe is losing 45-14 a close game????  it was 38-14 less than a minute into the 4th.

 

that game was a bloodbath.

[Boss_Hogg]

LOL he did look defeated last night. His actions remind of that seen in the Waterboy where Henry Winkler pulls a Homer Simpson and disappears into the throng of players on the bench.

 

"hey Grudes where you going?"

"I'm gonna get a hot pretzel"

 

**** my life

[No Excuses]

We didn't even get blown out by a great team. The Giants are gonna be pedestrian this year.

Poor guy. I like his offense too. This is just the black hole of the NFL. We are what the Clippers used to be in the NBA.

[pjfootballer]

Hell, I don't even look forward to the draft anymore. Nothing about this team excites me anymore. Nothing.

[Cooleyfan1993]

in what universe is losing 45-14 a close game????  it was 38-14 less than a minute into the 4th.

 

that game was a bloodbath.

he means it was a close game (down by 10 points before all the interceptions started being thrown) in the 3rd quarter. when we got that interception in the end zone, the score was 24-14, and all we needed was a Touchdown a field goal to tie the game.

[SkinfanAZ]

I truly like Jay Gruden and really think he can do amazing things here.  With that said, Haslett can't and needs to go.  Data and history don't lie.  He needs to be fired and we need fresh blood in on D.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I think Fat Gruden is going to be okay. If we don't stat getting the anonymous sources and sniping in the press that often happens here, he will be fine for a few years.

[No Excuses]

I think Fat Gruden is going to be okay. If we don't stat getting the anonymous sources and sniping in the press that often happens here, he will be fine for a few years.

When have we not had anonymous leaks related to this franchise?

I've been reading this board since 2004. Every year there are leaks on here or sourced to other people. There isn't a bigger clown show than the Redskins. It's a country club for Dan and his buddies.

[Rodriggo]

in what universe is losing 45-14 a close game????  it was 38-14 less than a minute into the 4th.

 

that game was a bloodbath.

 

It was a 14-24 with 6:26 to go in the 3rd WITH possession.

 

Granted I had switched the game to my computer and started playing Destiny but it was still close.

[DarkLink]

New coach, same problem. Are we ever going to get to the root of the problem?

[nemocystem]

There isn't a bigger clown show than the Redskins.

I think Raiders, Browns, & Jaguars fans would beg to differ. It's bad...it's been bad a loooooong time...but those teams have it something awful. We're just more media covered than the other guys because of our location, & our division.

[No Excuses]

I think Raiders, Browns, & Jaguars fans would beg to differ. It's bad...it's been bad a loooooong time...but those teams have it something awful. We're just more media covered than the other guys because of our location, & our division.

We are just as bad as those teams. We are almost approaching 30 ****ing years of putrid horse ****. We are a turd franchise just like the Raiders.

[skins island connection]

Either Allen or Snyder himself has to do something with the defensive coaches in general; Haslett and Morris have proven they cannot get the job done. When LBs are covering Cruz its time to move on. This experiment with Haslett has gone on long enough, its time to seriously look for another DC, the faster the better. This time, don't wait to pull the trigger and let a good candidate get signed to another team, because every year teams go on hunt for new OC/DC/HC.

 

 But it touches on a different angle; what accountability do the scouts have in this? Its one thing regarding defense, but even the offense can be questioned. The tallest WR on the team is Garcon [ 6'0 ] and TE Paul  [ 6'1 ]; Paulsen is 6'5, but he appears to be running while towing a car, lumbering, thinking he can hurdle and usually ends up losing the ball; not high on his ability.

 I don't think we need to get into the o-line probs, its clear that capable players need to be found.

 

 We all have seen teams go from worst to first in a year, and we've all seen offenses and defense do the same; why is it such an impossible task to take on here?

[mike tatertot]

That's all I could think about last night. A new guy comes in with a fresh face, fresh approach, fresh ideas, and energizes the fans and team a bit in the summer. Not a great roster, but enough talent to think that if pieces fall in place blah blah blah.

I like Gruden. I liked the hire and I'm certainly not giving up on him. But it took all of four games for him to adopt "the look."

It was the look Petitbone had at the end of the 1993 season. The look Norv adopted somewhere in the mid 90's... It was the same look he had in his last game against the Giants in 2000 when he sent Eddie Murray out to kick a field everyone (Norv included) knew he was incapable of making.

Spurrier added the famous gum flap to his look. Gibbs looking like he was on suicide watch at the end of the Bills game; Zorn's look after the swinging gate... Shanny's look during the Monday Night Massacre and most of the 2013 season.

The look of "uh oh, this is really bad. Didn't sign up for this."

Gruden had it last night.

Welcome to the Redskins Jay, you are now officially one of us.

In just four games Gruden now has one totally humiliating prime time division loss on his resume. A baffling defeat where from top to bottom the team looks like an absolute mess.

Yep, he's a Redskin now.

It's is both totally unfair and yet totally logical for fans to lump this latest debacle in with debacles of the past. In a fair world, Gruden would be given a totally clean slate where no past failures would color his present with the team. Life ain't fair though. Gruden will feel the pain and frustration of 20+ years....already. We all felt the same thing last night... Here we go again, same ole skins, etc.

The "culture" we so often discuss really is a phenomenon. Seemingly impossible to shake despite numerous efforts from all kinds of people with all kinds of approaches.

My fuse burned out early this year. I normally don't give up total hope until around Halloween or on a good year, Thanksgiving. But the really exciting part of the season ended for me last night. The 2014 season lasted about 19 days for me. Awesome.

What I mean by that:

These first four weeks, I was jazzed about the games. Giddy as they'd get close and nervous gameday morning. Excited that even though I thought we'd be 7-9, I had hope for better and was excited to see what the team might become. Interested in rooting against the other East teams thinking that maybe we'd be in the mix later this year.

After last night, that's all out the window. The truly competitive part of the season is over. We aren't winning jack or competing for the playoffs this year. That's clear.

Deep down I'm an optimist. It might be pretty darn deep after all these years, but it's still there. So I try to look for silver linings or reasons to still care about the games.

I haven't lost faith in Gruden or the QBs yet. I still have hope there. So I'd like to see us have some positives come out of this season still. Maybe if we can just survive until the BYE-- get there at 3-6 or something, we can rally in the second half and still reach that 7 or 8 win mark-- and at least say with a straight face that we improved and Gruden found a way to keep the season from nosediving. Maybe it will become clear where we are strong and where we need to get better.

Maybe just maybe at the end of the year we can say "that wasn't so bad" and legitimately look forward to the draft and 2015. But we could just as easily be looking at 3-13 again. And it will be hard to feel good about that.

I kind of feel bad for Gruden. Probably impossible to see from the outside how strong the force of losing is on the inside. Sucks you in like the vacuum in Spaceballs. Except this isn't as funny.

My fuse burned out early this year. I normally don't give up total hope until around Halloween or on a good year, Thanksgiving. But the really exciting part of the season ended for me last night. The 2014 season lasted about 19 days for me. Awesome. Amen, been doing and saying the same thing for the past 15 seasons!

[Paul Cumberland]

Yes, Jay now knows what it feels like to be a coach of this team..  he'll get it from all sides in the coming days, i'm sure - from the ownership, to the media, to the fans - till he wins another game...  if he somehow pulls out an 8-8 or even 7-9 record this year, i'll be shocked and elated, actually.  and if he doesn't, along with the FO, get this team competitive in the next 2 years, we'll be getting another new coach and starting all over again....  it's become a crazy cycle of futility the last 20 years...  no consistency in any aspect aside from ownership....  rip, jack kent cooke... we miss you dearly.

[MustangSteve]

The look of "uh oh, this is really bad. Didn't sign up for this."

Gruden had it last night.

Welcome to the Redskins Jay, you are now officially one of us.

.

Yep, he's a Redskin now.

My fuse burned out early this year. I normally don't give up total hope until around Halloween or on a good year, Thanksgiving. But the really exciting part of the season ended for me last night. The 2014 season lasted about 19 days for me. Awesome.

After last night, that's all out the window. The truly competitive part of the season is over. We aren't winning jack or competing for the playoffs this year. That's clear.

 

Hate to admit it but all is true and nothing is going to change unless major changes are made. I like what Gruden has started here, but all of it will fade fast if he thinks the mess last night will change on it's own. He will be just another coach shown the door and we will continue to see this team lose year after year. 

 

I agree with you about our QB's and offense, they can win games with help from the rest of this team, but help will not come and can not come unless a major change is made by him. I am sick and tired of watching the same man and unit fail week after week and year after year. That is where the change must start, and until that change is made, then nothing will change for this team.