WP The Insider: Is Bruce Allen to blame for the Redskins' current mess?

[GibbsFactor]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2014/09/29/is-bruce-allen-to-blame-for-the-redskins-current-mess/

 

In case you’ve been missing Mark Maske’s First and 10 feature this season, a Monday-morning whirlwind analysis of happenings around the NFL, Redskins fans ought to check out item No. 5 from this morning. It reads, in part:

Mike Shanahan is gone. Kyle Shanahan is gone. And yet the Redskins still are 1-3 after Thursday’s ugly performance against the Giants. That’s with the Seahawks and Cardinals up next on the schedule, meaning the Redskins are eyeing the possibility of a 1-5 start.

Perhaps the Shanahans weren’t the entire problem, huh?

and

The Redskins’ record since Allen took charge is now 25-43 (it is 25-46 if one counts the three losses at the end of the 2009 season following Allen’s mid-December hiring). The team received a two-year, $36 million salary cap penalty imposed by the NFL for the manner in which it structured players’ contracts during the sport’s season without a salary cap in 2010. Allen has called the salary cap penalty unfair and damaging, and the Redskins and Cowboys made a failed attempt to challenge their salary cap reductions in arbitration. But others have said teams were warned at the time not to do such things, and the fact remains that 28 other NFL franchises didn’t do such things (the Raiders and Saints were found guilty by the league of similar infractions, but to a lesser extent, and weren’t penalized).

On Allen’s watch, the Redskins also traded three first-round picks and a second-round selection to the St. Louis Rams for the draft choice used in 2012 to take quarterback Robert Griffin III. Griffin now is working his way back from the second major injury of his NFL career, a dislocated ankle. Backup Kirk Cousins, whom Allen refused to trade in the offseason, followed a highly productive first start in a near-miss loss at Philadelphia with a dismal, five-turnover outing against the Giants. Cousins now has 14 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions in the NFL. He has a 1-5 record as a starter.

There’s more, plus other interesting stuff, if you click the link. But Maske’s piece dovetails nicely with what Insider readers were discussing in the comments this morning: The lack of impact from the homegrown talent.

 

All one has to do is look at the 0-5 challenge record this year for tangible evidence of his incompetence.

[Boss_Hogg]

This guy

 

[GibbsFactor]

No... It's not Snyder's fault.   He's stepped back and given controls over to Bruce right?   That's the word.  This is Bruce's show.  He's the President.    

 

If Snyder were to hire a real football man to run this thing, maybe we'd finally see better results.     Bruce can do good things from a historical point of view with the team...  bring alumni back, raise money, what ever he does...   Just get him out of running the organization, take all decisions making ability away from him.

How many former Bucs do we need on this team??

[Voice_of_Reason]

Tons of discussion on this going on in the "House the Bruce Built" thread.  

 

Short answer is he's in charge, he's responsible.  

[Boss_Hogg]

No... It's not Snyder's fault.   He's stepped back and given controls over to Bruce right?   That's the word.  This is Bruce's show.  He's the President.    

 

If Snyder were to hire a real football man to run this thing, maybe we'd finally see better results.     Bruce can do good things from a historical point of view with the team...  bring alumni back, raise money, what ever he does...   Just get him out of running the organization, take all decisions making ability away from him.

How many former Bucs do we need on this team??

 

Snyder brought Bruce here, then promoted him last summer.

 

It's his fault.

[SWFLSkins]

You know I would give it at the least three years for the GM taking over what was an owner ran team. He just this year set up what is going to be the talent procurement team. The cap hit hurt for sure, depth was scarce, free agency limited. Last year was a wash, this year while disappointing was not entirely unexpected by everyone. Griff got hurt again, Kirk is basically a near rookie QB, with a rookie QB Coach, I say give Bruce this year, next and one other. Changing the culture of the team is not easy. I don't know if he can do it, but we need to find out. Too much jumping ship, means the destinations keep changing. 

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

Everyone sucks

Even the Waterboy and the guy in charge of headsets

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Rhetorical piece from the writer?

 

YES!

 

As he was quick to point out that great introductory pressure (when I foolishly bought into him, lapped his words up and believed this was a positive structuring. More fool me. AGAIN!    ); the buck well and truly stops with him.

 

He should stand and fall like ANY other GM on his acquisitions.

 

Whether lil' Danny will can his buddy is another story again. But so long as Allen is running the football side with his talent eval, Gruden is working with one hand tied behind his back.

 

Hail.

[nfl guru]

17 losses in the last 21 games and as it stands, we have very little young talent to develop on defense.  Jury is out on Gruden, but anybody that had a hand in bringing back haslett deserves to face the music

 

Everybody is gonna say give him more time, but Ive seen this story before.  Great PR and contract guy, terrible at assembling a good roster. Bruce gotta go IMO

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Everyone sucks

Even the Waterboy and the guy in charge of headsets

 

Sandler's a 'Skin?

 

Sweet! Another celeb fan.

 

Something positive through yet another horrid year.

 

Hail.

[TheGreek1973]

_{What this article didn't say is the Redskins won their division in 2012, and their QB has been hurt.  It doesn't take much for a team to nosedive if you lose two or three key parts.}

[zoony]

No... It's not Snyder's fault.   He's stepped back and given controls over to Bruce right?   That's the word.  This is Bruce's show.  He's the President.    

 

If Snyder were to hire a real football man to run this thing, maybe we'd finally see better results.    

You do realize what you did there, right? Hahaha

[Old Bay]

Yes he is responsible.  But I think he's responsible form this season forward.  He was the GM in name only when Shanahan was around so I only give him partial credit for the previous 3 years of mostly sadness.  Yes we still suck and he is accountable for it now.  I don't think starting over after this year is smart, either. 

[Taylor 36]

This guy

 

<Snyder Photo>

Nice try, but you missed by a large margin.  Snyder has stepped back and done EVERYTHING that the fans have wanted him to do since day one. 

 

The problem is Allen.  I was flamed at the beginning of the year when the pieces of this coaching staff were put together for saying that I was not impressed and that I forsaw more losing ahead because Allen had turned us into the Washington Bucs.  Jay, being a first time HC in this league, should have more time to prove himself, but to date, his decision making has not been very impressive.  Some of the play calling has been far worse than anything we saw during the Shanahan era, and this board was constantly forming lynch mobs to go after Kyle.  After Gruden, we have a list of unprovens or people who have proven that they aren't good coaches/coordinators.  Sticking with Haslett was and continues to be a huge red flag that is waived in the fans faces, while it is a huge white flag in the faces of our opponents.  Special Teams is still a huge mess, and it is now becoming obvious how badly Allen ignored it in the office season.  Allen has been given full GM control; this is his mess!

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

Sandler's a 'Skin?

Sweet! Another celeb fan.

Something positive through yet another horrid year.

Hail.

I hope not

We have enough ****ty, money grabbing ppl associated with this team.

[SkinsFTW]

3 firsts and a 2nd for an injury waiting to happen at QB.

 

That was all on Shanahan supposedly but more likely Snyder wanted RG3 from day 1 and let it be known to all that the price didn't matter and Shanny ran with that.

 

Either way that pretty much dooms the next 4-5 years after all the fail picks from 2005-2009. We'd have to hit on all our picks for the next few years to even be competitive.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Nice try, but you missed by a large margin.  Snyder has stepped back and done EVERYTHING that the fans have wanted him to do since day one. 

 

.....

 

The only thing with that man (and I've argued the same long and hard on here in lil' Danny's defence the past 4 years or so); is he was the one who gave the power over to the WRONG guy on the football side instead of doing the one thing he STILL hasn't done and going out and hiring a proper FOOTBALL GM.

 

Now the current structure is about as close as he's ever come to that, so there is that step in the right direction to cling to; but until Snyder goes full hog and hires that GM it ultimately falls on him whichever way you cut it.

I hope not

We have enough ****ty, money grabbing ppl associated with this team.

 

Well Hell.

 

Just because you're mired in Arsenal and Redskin Hell, you're trying to bring everyone else down with you.

 

One positive I find in my famous fan argument with Dallas fans and you even take that away from me.

 

DAMN YOU!

 

Hail.

[GibbsFactor]

You do realize what you did there, right? Hahaha

 

Sure, it's Snyder's fault for hiring Allen in the first place.  He succumbed to nepotism.   Facts are Bruce Allen never had the resume to apply for the position in the first place.   The challenges have shown me the light.    How on Earth can one be 0-5 in challenges?   It's pure incompetence.   Bruce Allen must go and Snyder needs to try again, this time with a football mind that is PROVEN and one that has NO past ties to this organization.

[chipwhich]

Now the current structure is about as close as he's ever come to that, so there is that step in the right direction to cling to; but until Snyder goes full hog and hires that GM it ultimately falls on him whichever way you cut it.

 

 

All that arguing you did with me last season, and you finally come around to what I have been saying for years.  I am the way, the truth, and the life.  Congrats for following.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

_{What this article didn't say is the Redskins won their division in 2012, and their QB has been hurt.  It doesn't take much for a team to nosedive if you lose two or three key parts.}

 

A GM who's team implodes to THIS extent with the loss of 2 or 3 players (none of whom have as yet set the pro World alight); is a GM who's talent evaluation and team building skills aren't worth a damn.

 

All that arguing you did with me last season, and you finally come around to what I have been saying for years.  I am the way, the truth, and the life.  Congrats for following.

 

I never have argued against the premise of a proper GM as you well know smart Alec. I've been right there with you clambering for that for years.

 

I just foolishly, to my complete detriment, bought into the current structure this past Spring.

 

But as I'm in a good mood, I'll massage that ol' chip ego and apologise for arguing Allen's case with you hard this year. I got that one well and truly wrong.

 

You the man bro'!

 

Hail.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

The only thing with that man (and I've argued the same long and hard on here in lil' Danny's defence the past 4 years or so); is he was the one who gave the power over to the WRONG guy on the football side instead of doing the one thing he STILL hasn't done and going out and hiring a proper FOOTBALL GM.

Now the current structure is about as close as he's ever come to that, so there is that step in the right direction to cling to; but until Snyder goes full hog and hires that GM it ultimately falls on him whichever way you cut it.

Well Hell.

Just because you're mired in Arsenal and Redskin Hell, you're trying to bring everyone else down with you.

One positive I find in my famous fan argument with Dallas fans and you even take that away from me.

DAMN YOU!

Hail.

That's why I waxed your ass in fantasy this week

And Balo still has only one goal. His gf is still sexy tho lol

[GibbsFactor]

3 firsts and a 2nd for an injury waiting to happen at QB.

 

That was all on Shanahan supposedly but more likely Snyder wanted RG3 from day 1 and let it be known to all that the price didn't matter and Shanny ran with that.

 

Either way that pretty much dooms the next 4-5 years after all the fail picks from 2005-2009. We'd have to hit on all our picks for the next few years to even be competitive.

 

3 firsts and a 2nd doesn't matter anymore.  That's ancient history.  Shanahan was the only true football man here that had any competence in this game.  Think about that.    Bruce Allen should not be running this organization.  The man can't even get 1 challenge called correctly.  Not one.    He's a joke.  He's a silver spoon daddy made man that's really never accomplished anything on his own merit.

Bruce Allen is the George W. Bush of NFL GMs.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

That's why I waxed your ass in fantasy this week

And Balo still has only one goal. His gf is still sexy tho lol

 

You should see the owners .....

 

Hail.

[Boss_Hogg]

Nice try, but you missed by a large margin.  Snyder has stepped back and done EVERYTHING that the fans have wanted him to do since day one. 

 

The problem is Allen.  I was flamed at the beginning of the year when the pieces of this coaching staff were put together for saying that I was not impressed and that I forsaw more losing ahead because Allen had turned us into the Washington Bucs.  Jay, being a first time HC in this league, should have more time to prove himself, but to date, his decision making has not been very impressive.  Some of the play calling has been far worse than anything we saw during the Shanahan era, and this board was constantly forming lynch mobs to go after Kyle.  After Gruden, we have a list of unprovens or people who have proven that they aren't good coaches/coordinators.  Sticking with Haslett was and continues to be a huge red flag that is waived in the fans faces, while it is a huge white flag in the faces of our opponents.  Special Teams is still a huge mess, and it is now becoming obvious how badly Allen ignored it in the office season.  Allen has been given full GM control; this is his mess!

 

Who hired Bruce then promoted him?  Did Bruce do that himself?

 

Bruce has a track record of iffy personnel moves. He's a fantastic cap guy but a lousy personnel guy.

[GibbsFactor]

Who hired Bruce then promoted him?  Did Bruce do that himself?

 

Bruce has a track record of iffy personnel moves. He's a fantastic cap guy but a lousy personnel guy.

 

Do you know of any other team that has less cap space then the Skins right now?  There isn't any.  The 1-4 Redskins have the least amount of cap room in the NFL.   And they have ****ty players.   He's a great cap guy all right.