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


GibbsFactor

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

 

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

When Mike Shanahan was here Mike Shanahan was the defacto GM, not Bruce Allen.

The team we have right now is Mike's team, Mike's players some of Mike's coaches and even some of his scheme.

 

To hold Bruce Allen responsible for the past when he wasn't in charge is unfair imho.

 

However; from here on out everything that happens is on him.

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The one thing I think that goes under the radar some is why Shanny was fired in Denver.  He was fired not because he stank as a coach but because he was mediocre for a long time -- he can build an offense but the rest of Denver's team was pretty bad.  And Shanny was lampooned for hiring bad D coordinators. 

 

As much as Greg and Gregg's defenses let us down at time, they were still pretty good.  Shanny came here and on script, did some nice things with the offense but our defense quickly turned from good to bad-abysmal.   The special teams got worse, too.  I am not totally sold on Bruce but he has inherited for the most part Shanny's team.     He needs time to put his stamp on it. 

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No way in hell I want to wait 4 years to find out Bruce has no business running a NFL team. I guess those saying he should get 4 years like finishing dead last in the division. It doesn't take 4 years to know if someone will work out when his past record in TB showed he has no business being a GM. Waiting 4 years will only get us more wasted draft picks and poor FA signings along with the few talents we have here will decline in age. 

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Bruce can be a high level Stan Kasten type exec. Looking at the very big picture of the football organization and representing the team at NFL meetings.

 

He cannot be a day to day GM. That needs to come from the outside, that person needs to be given all the resources (i.e scouts and analytics people) that he needs, and everyone needs to give him 4 years of full drafts to build this thing

 

Agree 100%. Bruce has done some nice things for the PR side of the team like having the "Homecoming" game and getting the old timers back invovled. He needs to stick to that side of the business and let a real football guy be the GM.

 

There's also ZERO reason why he is the one in charge of  challenges. Jerry Jones doesn't even do that.

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When Mike Shanahan was here Mike Shanahan was the defacto GM, not Bruce Allen.

The team we have right now is Mike's team, Mike's players some of Mike's coaches and even some of his scheme.

 

To hold Bruce Allen responsible for the past when he wasn't in charge is unfair imho.

 

However; from here on out everything that happens is on him.

Here's what I can hold him responsible for, which is after Mike Shanahan was fired:

 

1. The decision not to get rid of Haslett and Morris at the same time as Shanahan, Kyle, the Slowiks, Burns, etc.  He could have done that. Didn't.  I'm not as down on Haslett as some, and I understand the situation that he's working with talent wise. But that's a move that almost had to be made.

 

2. Signing Orakpo to the Franchise Tender without a clear understanding of how they were going to use him to make that investment worthwhile. Which really cut down on the ability to spend money elsewhere, along the OL, DL, Secondary.    

 

3. Assessing the state of the OL, and deeming that it didn't need an immediate, complete overhaul.  And that guys like Chester and Polumbus could go into camp as starters.  

 

4. Drafting a whole bunch of backups when there were possibility to get guys who could come in and contribute right away.  They KNEW Murphy was a backup, Moses was a backup, and Long was a backup the second they drafted them.  I said in the draft thread, and in the "wish I got that guy" thread, stay put at 33, pick up Bitonio, who seemed like the most ready to play OL at that position.  At least he goes into camp with a chance to compete for a starting job.  none of the first 3 draft picks went into camp with a chance to compete for a starting job.  

 

5. Allowing a first time HC to have a first time OC.  I like both, but the GM's got to step in there.  I think some of our offensive problems with scheme and playcalling is because of inexperience by McVay and Gruden's over-loaded. 

 

6. Not figuring out a better strategy to approach the secondary.  And that's not saying that they needed to bring in one of the high money guys, but thinking that Hall/Amerson/Clark and Merriweather could cut it with the backups they had is not very smart.

 

7. Not fixing the damn kicking situation.  Pooch kickoffs on MNF because your kicker can't reach the endzone?  Can't happen.  

 

8. Determining that the entire scouting department and talent group were good and didn't need to get upgraded.

 

9. Not hiring a real, true-blue, experienced talent evaluator to serve as his right hand guy.  Somebody from outside the organization who could lend a new perspective.  

 

10. Conducting a mockery of a coaching search.  He knew who he was going to hire, and just had to wait until the Bengals lost.  I'm not saying that it was the wrong hire.  But the search was a joke.  

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When Mike Shanahan was here Mike Shanahan was the defacto GM, not Bruce Allen.

The team we have right now is Mike's team, Mike's players some of Mike's coaches and even some of his scheme.

 

To hold Bruce Allen responsible for the past when he wasn't in charge is unfair imho.

 

However; from here on out everything that happens is on him.

You're exactly right. Bruce is only responsible for the events that have transpired since Shanahan was terminated. I wasn't a fan of Bruce assuming the GM position, and I definitely haven't been a fan of many of the decisions that have already been made on his watch. However, it's disingenuous to lay all of the current mess at his feet and deem it the house that Bruce built. Realistically, we are one offseason and 5 games into the Bruce Allen regime. I believe that because Bruce isn't cut from GM material, and because he opted not to truly take the existing dysfunctional structure to the ground (i.e. naming new heads of pro/college scouting, hiring a true personnel expert running that side of the show to counterbalance his administrative strengths, conducting a coaching search based purely on merit which involved bringing an entirely new coaching staff etc...) that Bruce's tenure here is likely to end in shambles. However, the bitter harvest we are reaping right now is only partly of his making.

 

PS: Right on, VoR, I agree with each of those criticisms and felt that way at the time. However, unlike you, I think Haslett is perhaps the biggest impediment, aside from hiring a top flight GM, preventing the Redskins from fielding a competitive team from week to week. 

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 I blame those damned fugly yellow pants. Nostalgic, hogwash; bring back the white pants or even white/white unis.

 

 Oops, wrong thread, and my 'back' button doesn't work :P .

 

 One COULD blame Snyder, for hiring Allen, but overall this has Allen's signature all over it. I haven't kept track of him pre-Redskins so I can't make a knowledgable reply, but generally it either goes to the GM or owner, and Snyder has taken so much of a whipping that he actually stepped back and let someone else do the work, so I can't really place blame on him.

 

 Now, the biggest issue IMO is why Haslett was still kept here; if anything, I would have preferred to keep Kyle and get rid of Haslett, because at least Kyle was TRYING to get the offense going.

If Gruden doesn't separate himself from Haslett, he might be looking at a pink slip as well if this doesn't turn around. No blaming Cousins, Griffin, this is Gruden's deal, he chose to keep Haslett on to repay a favor, and look what it got us.

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PS: Right on, VoR, I agree with each of those criticisms and felt that way at the time. However, unlike you, I think Haslett is perhaps the biggest impediment, aside from hiring a top flight GM, preventing the Redskins from fielding a competitive team from week to week. 

Chuckle, we can debate Haslett all day.  I think Buddy Ryan or Bill Belicek would struggle to get much out of this group of players.  Better? Sure.  Because they're better coaches.  

 

But how you coordinate a defense when your DL/OLB can't generate pressure with 4 guys, you've got 2 OLBs that both specialize in rushing the passer, you've lost your starting NT (Cofield), the backup NT (Nield), and the 3rd stringer is horrid (Goldston), your CBs can't cover long enoug to allow the pass rush to get there, you've got a 2nd year guy and a rookie 4th round pick as your staring CBs, a guy who is 98 years old as a FS, the SS isn't good, and the nickle back situation is abysmal, I have no idea.

 

I blame Haslett generally because the defense doesn't seem prepared.  But I view him as an average DC. When they have good players, they'll do ok.  When they don't, they won't.  Shrug.

 

I don't see him as the Anti-Christ that others do.

 

Still, I think he should have been fired before the new HC was selected, and a new DC should have been brought in.   

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Leadership starts at the top.

 

I think the Redskins need to clean house.

 

Give Bruce and everyone under him the boot. Then build this team up, starting with good coaches and then building up the offensive line up.

 

I don't understand this teams shyness with going HAM with bringing in offensive linemen.

 

 

Get rid of the speed bump zone crap too.

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Ok.  I started a thread in January called "The House that Bruce Built." Where I basically laid out all the decisions Bruce made and that he was going to have to live with the outcome. 

 

I don't think he's a great GM.  Great Redskins.  Not a great GM.

 

But.  You can't blame the salary cap penalty on Allen.  And it almost sounds like you're defending Vinny over Allen.  Which is absolutely ludicrous.  The contract that Vinny signed, with $40+ Mil Guaranteed to a head-stomping lunatic was the reason for the cap penalty.  And that's already gone down as the worst contract ever signed.

 

What Allen was trying to do was move the bulk of the guaranteed money into the uncapped year.  Which was legal. And it was an attempt to get the cap hit off the books in a way to do the least amount of damage.  

 

If he hadn't done it, they would have taken the cap hit anyway. There was nothing to do.  Either the 'Skins were going to take the cap hit from releasing him, or they tried to dump it in the uncapped year, and then Mara didn't like it.  

 

Blame Bruce for not firing Haslett when he had the chance.  The cap penalty was not his fault.  

I am glad someone other then me blames vinny for the cap hit.  It stated when that piss poor contract(s) were signed.

 

As for Bruce...It may take 5-6 years to un vinny this team.  Please give him more time.

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All of his own making.

No question it was a disgrace what Mara and Goddel pulled but Allen knew the risk after the warnin and STILL gambled in what proved to be a VERY costly gamble.

No sympathy for him there.

Hail.

You would have preferred the entire amount in 1 year?

Or keep AH around longer to lessen the impact?

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I can't believe people are still crying about the cap hit.  I will give you a hint.  Cap hit or not, we wouldn't be a good team.  We probably would have made even more stupid moves under this ShanAllen fiasco.


I wish Shanny had more money to screw us up with.   You can't make this stuff up.

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It starts with Danny boy......again.

But, but, he spends money to try and win! Yeah? Well he might as well wipe his ass with that money because that's what hw gets out of that money. He's got no plan. He never has a plan.

I'm amazed that people still defend this incompetent ass of an owner.

Bruce Allen's first draft is looking like a complete cluster **** of a disaster.

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Change is why we suck ... Look at any and is mean any sucsessful program in any sport and you will see a solid stable underpinning of the team ... An underpinning that has seen good and bad ...

I think Hasslet is timid as a defensive co-ordinator and not the chess player on the field and he needs to be gone ... But we really do not know him as a person . He has been head coach before and seems to not be seeking that post again knows the ropes knows Washington and when it comes to I think he will be the guy to fall on his sword ... I would be intreagued to see if Mr Philips does not appear at some point as an advisor .

We cannot fix what is broken if we change everything every couple of years ... Is it the scouting ... Is it the decision makers ... Is it the roster .... It is all three .... Stop pouring bad on bad we need to stop the blessing before getting dressed ( or we end up a mess again)

5 games in we as a fan base need to grow some balls love what we have hope it comes together instead of looking for that next snake oil sales man in the shinny suit who promises it can be fixed in a couple of shakes ... All the while he is eying up retirement properties on the west coast ...

Man sometimes

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Bruce Allen is a good PR guy and a cap manager. Not a good personnel guy. This is widely known in the league. Should be the figure head President but not active GM. I thought Morocco Brown would have been a good GM. Not sure why they didn't promote him.

 

Why the heck we didn't go secondary in the second round of this year's draft was beyond me. OL would have been a good pick as well but DE was ridiculous as our highest pick. Cap money going past 2014 was the only possible motivation (Murphy cheaper Orakpo alternative).

 

We'll never know the full story of the RG3 trade and salary cap hit. It for sure hurt our team, showed up in 2013 and lingering to 2014.

 

Who falls in love with a QB and trades 3 #1's and a #2? Who sells "expired" beer because they can buy it cheap. Who keeps the team in the bottom of the league for almost their entire tenure? Dan Synder.

 

It starts with him. Allen is just a nice face to the franchise, but the power is still with Synder. He had to give up some to Shanny during the Shanahan years, but once he was fired we were told Synder gave Bruce Allen control but the reality is Allen defers to Synder for most big decisions.

 

It almost seems like this team is cursed. Every decision has the promise of a new lease on life and fresh start but it always ends up the same.

 

Synder is a relatively young owner and has no signs of letting up, so its going to be a really long ride. Not sure how much longer I will be on this train.

 

Sorry for the rant but I am literally disgusted.

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I am glad someone other then me blames vinny for the cap hit. It stated when that piss poor contract(s) were signed.

As for Bruce...It may take 5-6 years to un vinny this team. Please give him more time.

Vinnys been gone, almost, 5 years. There comes a point to let it go focusing on the here and now. Hes gone now thats all that matters.

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I think people get confused with semantics.  When someone says GM here, it seems the thought is all about personnel, when really a GM is in charge of every aspect of a football team.  Given that Allen has run the football operations for two other teams, it is hard for me to say he's not a real GM.  You can question his results, but he does have the resume for the job.  I don't think anyone would question if he should be here if his title was different, but he was basically doing the same job.  People are stuck on GM=personnel guy, which isn't always true.

 

A more fair question is whether or not Scott Campbell should keep his job.  He's now run the personnel department for 5 years and supposedly has had more of a voice in who has gotten selected since Vinny was sent packing.  Results are very mixed. While you could point to Shanahan for making final decisions, Campbell has been running the draft for a while.

 

For me, it is hard to rate Allen as an executive because things have been so dominated by Shanahan.  For me, a guy gets more than just a few months at a job, particularly since the team that Shanahan had built was so deficient in so many areas.  Personally, I like the choice of Jay Gruden as head coach, and I'd want to see how that plays out.

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I dont consider this a Mess.  Forget last year... If you bring up last year than you have to bring 2012.

 

We have the youngest roster we've had in years and we are developing them with expereince.  We have no large has been contracts anymore.  I do believe we have some depth that will continue to get better.  Yes, we are losing and its not easy to accept but we have young players who need game expereince.  We have been in every game except NY and didnt get it done.  It could have been, with a few less fumbles and a few more plays, 3-2.  It didnt happen but lets look further into the year say after 10 games and see where we are.  We obviously need to upgrade areas,  the Oline and safety for sure in offseason.  If we win this week, the next 4 games after will be the tell all. (6-4 im predicting)  I am not nearly as worked up as some of you but it would be a mistake to make wholesale changes from the top down again.  We have solid talent.    Finally, I know its a popular theme but Haslett does need to move on.

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I think people get confused with semantics.  When someone says GM here, it seems the thought is all about personnel, when really a GM is in charge of every aspect of a football team.  Given that Allen has run the football operations for two other teams, it is hard for me to say he's not a real GM.  You can question his results, but he does have the resume for the job.  I don't think anyone would question if he should be here if his title was different, but he was basically doing the same job.  People are stuck on GM=personnel guy, which isn't always true.

 

A more fair question is whether or not Scott Campbell should keep his job.  He's now run the personnel department for 5 years and supposedly has had more of a voice in who has gotten selected since Vinny was sent packing.  Results are very mixed. While you could point to Shanahan for making final decisions, Campbell has been running the draft for a while.

 

For me, it is hard to rate Allen as an executive because things have been so dominated by Shanahan.  For me, a guy gets more than just a few months at a job, particularly since the team that Shanahan had built was so deficient in so many areas.  Personally, I like the choice of Jay Gruden as head coach, and I'd want to see how that plays out.

 

Nobody is stuck on anything.  We know all that.  Or at least I do.  I will semantically break it down for you.  I want Danny to hire a real GM.  I want this GM to come in and look at our whole team which includes coaches, players, scouts, everything.  I want this GM then to architect a solution.  This involves a strategy.

 

Danny hired Bruce as a figurehead (that isn't a real GM).  Danny's plan failed.  He then made the figurehead a GM (again bad plan) and basically our figurehead applied a couple of patches he thought was needed to make us win this year.

 

Other than the sweet paycheck, there is no reason to take the job as the Washington Redskins head coach.  It's a license to fail.

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Again, what do you define as a real GM that Bruce isn't?  Not a personnel guy?  Sure.  That's why you hire one.  What else?

 

Presumably, when Bruce was hired a few months before Zorn was fired, he was doing that evaluation of the rest of the organization.  While his hands were tied as far as who the head coach was going to be, he probably did have a lot to say about who else he kept or hired.  I do not at all think that Bruce was a figurehead.  Just because one doesn't have all the responsibility doesn't mean he doesn't have some.

 

Also, the problem with your plan probably would either require firing Gruden after one season, or sticking your FO guy with a coach he never hired.  Such situations rarely work out well.

 

As said above, let things play out with Gruden before you talk about firing Allen.  Washedup2 has a good point that we have been in most of these games, despite numerous injuries.  It is frustrating, but a coach deserves a couple of seasons to prove himself and doesn't need massive shakeups in who he's working with in the front office while he's doing it.

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