Czabe: The three things the Redskins are good at, are also terrible

[Riggo#44]

I really have come to love Czaban. Love this article: http://www.theczabe.com/the-post/hype-nostalgia-excuses/

 

 

These are the three things the Washington Redskins do well. And all of them are counter-productive to delivering winning football, on a sustained basis.

 

The hype comes in the off-season, with big free-agent signings and wild swings and misses on QB’s or coaches.

 

The nostalgia gets layered on all the time now, because it’s all the team has left to sell.

 

And the excuses never end. “Salary cap penalty! Mike Shanahan’s fault! Injuries!”

 

This is why the metrics on 21 years of futility are as staggering as they are.

 

Two playoff wins in 21 years. Two division titles.

 

0 seasons of 11 wins or more.

 

Unfortunately, this is never going to change. Snyder is too much of a fan, and this is one of the only things Mr. Pants n' Picnics does well...

[DJD2]

Hard to argue with any of this.

[Burgold]

Hard to hate the hater when hate is earned. sigh

[pjfootballer]

Sigh, can't disagree with one thing he said.

[Gregpeck99]

I love nostalgia ... I'm thinkin they will move the team to LA and change the name to "Ramskins."

[Riggo#44]

What's funny is how much Czabe was reviled here, not too long ago...

[GoldSkinner]

It's easy to say we suck; to throw out unflattering numbers and statistics. Any monkey with Internet can do that.

 

What are his solutions? Yeah, I can say a house looks like ****, but I'd have to know something about architecture and carpentry to furnish a solution on how it could be constructed better. All these pundits and glorified bloggers like Czabe make their easy money telling us what we already know, but where are the true sports aficionados who provide ideas on how to fix it?

[skins4eva]

I really have come to love Czaban. Love this article: http://www.theczabe.com/the-post/hype-nostalgia-excuses/

 

 

Unfortunately, this is never going to change. Snyder is too much of a fan, and this is one of the only things Mr. Pants n' Picnics does well...

 

Snyder isn't a fan.  That's just a BS marketing ploy.

[RFKFedEx]

What's funny is how much Czabe was reviled here, not too long ago...

 

Czabe was absolutely hated here during Gibbs. The Gibbs' 'stopping the team bus to greet fans at the park' incident before the loss at Indy in 2006 comes to mind. Czabe went nuts and deemed it the official beginning of the end of G2.0.

[Thirtyfive2seven]

One can only hope that this is an effort to move the team.  That would be amazing.  Maybe that's why Snyder surrounds himself with hollywood ppl.  He wants to be just like Al Davis or something.

[zoony]

Hard to hate the hater when hate is earned. sigh

 

 

Thats how I feel about pretty much every single journalist at this point

 

Yah, there are some real haters out there, and some real pieces of human ****.  But what can we say?  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing

 

Lay it on UnWise Mike, this team is a ****ing joke.

[RhodeIsland Ave]

In times like this, I'm reminded of the scene from Major League:

 

Bring out the tarp

Cover the field.

I can't watch this anymore.

It's over, turn the lights out.

Let's get the bulldozers in here.

Turn this place into a parking lot

[gortiz]

What's funny is how much Czabe was reviled here, not too long ago...

You think that has changed? Czabe is witty, deep down a fan, and does not hold any punches.

But he can come off worse than Jerry Springer at times and that rubs a lot of us the wrong way.

[skins island connection]

 1 other thing the Redskins are good at;

 

 pissing me off !!!

[MattFancy]

Sigh, can't disagree with one thing he said.

 

Nope. That's the worst part. When guys alot of us here didn't used to like because of the way they bashed the team and how they were doing things, are suddenly looking like the smart ones, there's not much we can do.

[hail2skins]

Like the part about the nostalgia being shoved down our throats......I roll my eyes when I see that Papa John's commercial with Riggins and the Hogs eating pizza in the back of the truck. 

 

I know we are rooting for Big Jake to finally make it into the HOF.....he is a semifinalist again and we'll see what happens this time around.  Art and Darrell were inducted in 2008......at least we were coming off Gibbs 2.0 and two playoff berths.  Grimm went in 2010......yes, the Zorn era ended in disaster, but there was a sense promise with Bruce and Shanny.

 

If Jake goes in this year, it'll certainly be cause for celebration, but will heighten that contrast between the glory days and where this organization has wandered.  Sad.

[redskins55]

This is not your big brother's Redskins anymore. The Redskins really haven't done a big free agent splash in a while. Jackson was a gift because he wanted to play the Eagles twice a year. We didn't outbid anyone. We haven't spent big in free agency since Haynesworth 

 

Our problem is the good ole boy network. We hire to many buddies and friends and not enough competent coaches who will make each other better. Bruce Allen hired his buddy Gruden who kept his buddy Haslett who SUCKS! 

[Bishop Hammer]

It's easy to say we suck; to throw out unflattering numbers and statistics. Any monkey with Internet can do that.

What are his solutions? Yeah, I can say a house looks like ****, but I'd have to know something about architecture and carpentry to furnish a solution on how it could be constructed better. All these pundits and glorified bloggers like Czabe make their easy money telling us what we already know, but where are the true sports aficionados who provide ideas on how to fix it?

Totally agree playa. Theres nothing I hate more than people who point outv everything sucks but don't point out ways to solve the problems.

[Riggo#44]

It's easy to say we suck; to throw out unflattering numbers and statistics. Any monkey with Internet can do that.

 

What are his solutions? Yeah, I can say a house looks like ****, but I'd have to know something about architecture and carpentry to furnish a solution on how it could be constructed better. All these pundits and glorified bloggers like Czabe make their easy money telling us what we already know, but where are the true sports aficionados who provide ideas on how to fix it?

 

He answers this question, in a bleak, accurate statement of this organization:

 

 

So what’s the formula? What’s the fix? There is no fix, and I wish I had a “formula” for turning this around. I don’t. All I know is that doing more of the three things I listed to start this column is the absolute wrong way to go.

 

Stop making ANY roster moves that have even a “whiff” of marketing attached to them. Severely limit the tired and (frankly) embarrassing “tradition” bull**** about what this franchise used to be back in the 80’s, since it only clouds the team’s judgement about how bad they currently are now.

And for god’s sake, STOP MAKING EXCUSES.

You suck. Own it.

Show me you truly understand this, before I dare to expect anything different in the future.

 

We can sit and rant about "bringing in a REAL GM!!!!" or "Start Cousins!!!!" or "FIRE HASLETT (which they just did, thankfully)/GRUDEN/EVERYONE!!!" etc. etc. etc. But Czaban puts it all into a nice simple, realistic answer: There is no fix. There is no answer, so long as we focus on hype, "tradition," and excuses. There is no answer. There is nothing. Not until this team completely changes from top-to-bottom...and that is not happening.

[TimmySmith]

Snyder isn't a fan.  That's just a BS marketing ploy.

He is a fan of making money, and a huge one.  As far as the Skins go, he probably could not have named 30 players when he bought the team.  Anyone who knows of him prior to ownership knows this.

[skinsphan]

I've accepted nothing is ever going to change. I don't think we will win more than 5 games a season for the foreseeable future.

[TexasSkinsFan]

The hype comes in the off-season, with big free-agent signings and wild swings and misses on QB’s or coaches.

 

Is it just me or have we not figured out the most successful trait all NFL teams have in common in this league today is? They all have the longest tenured head coaches in the league who also have the best production out of the QB position in the league. They are tied but if you have no production out of your QB position where do you end up? In QB hell, where more then half of the leagues coaches are tenured less then 3 years because they are in hell. 

 

The longest tenured nfl head coaches in the NFL today

 

1. Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000 - Brady
2. Marvin Lewis (Cincinnati Bengals): January 14, 2003
3. Tom Coughlin (New York Giants): January 6, 2004 - Manning
4. Mike McCarthy (Green Bay Packers): January 12, 2006 - Rodgers
5. Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints): January 18, 2006 - Brees
6. Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers): January 22, 2007 - Rothesberger
7. John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens): January 19, 2008 - Flacco
8. Mike Smith (Atlanta Falcons): January 24, 2008
9. Rex Ryan (New York Jets): January 19, 2009
10. Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks): January 9, 2010 - Wilson
11. Jason Garrett (Dallas Cowboys): November 8, 2010 (interim; permanent since January 2011)
12. Jim Harbaugh (San Francisco 49ers): January 7, 2011
13. Ron Rivera (Carolina Panthers): January 11, 2011
14. John Fox (Denver Broncos): January 13, 2011
15. Jeff Fisher (St. Louis Rams): January 13, 2012
16. Joe Philbin (Miami Dolphins): January 20, 2012
17. Dennis Allen (Oakland Raiders): January 24, 2012
18. Chuck Pagano (Indianapolis Colts): January 25, 2012
19. Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs): January 4, 2013
20. Doug Marrone (Buffalo Bills): January 6, 2013
21. Mike McCoy (San Diego Chargers): January 15, 2013
22. Chip Kelly (Philadelphia Eagles): January 16, 2013
23. Marc Trestman (Chicago Bears): January 16, 2013
24. Bruce Arians (Arizona Cardinals): January 17, 2013
25. Gus Bradley (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 17, 2013
26. Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans): January 2, 2014
27. Lovie Smith (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 2, 2014
28. Jay Gruden (Washington Redskins): January 9, 2014
29. Ken Whisenhunt (Tennessee Titans): January 13, 2014
30. Jim Caldwell (Detroit Lions): January 14, 2014
31. Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings): January 15, 2014
32. Mike Pettine (Cleveland Browns): January 23, 2014

 

 

Now take that list and look at the most winnest teams in the nfl are. The most successful teams in the NFL today have the longest tenured head coaches and the best QB's.  

 

The fact that the Redskins have gone through so many Coaches and QB's the past 20 years is a problem but it is not the problem. The problem is that the Redskins haven't found that QB they desperately need. That's the coach killer, and Gibbs almost almost had it. The Packers took him one pick before we got Campbell. None of these guys coaching have yet to get it right. Why can't they get this one thing right with so many swings and misses? 

 

And they are mired in it again with the biggest draft trade bust in NFL history to add to that list you wrote hanging in the balance (excuse yes) but honestly the blame goes back to one person.

 

The one consistent thing that Snyder has shown is his ability to mix it up and try and get it right. I would do the same thing, probably with a 2 year expectation not some 5 year country club like he has. 

 

Through the years his coaching picker hasn't worked even when it did work (ie they got in the playoffs Gibbs and Shanahan) because the QB situation has never been solved. Gibbs showed us that even with subpar play you can win in this league but he didn't finish out his coaching here because he never solved the QB dilemma.

 

If Gruden doesn't fix this problem next year he will likely be fired and  the carousel will continue. 

 

But what other choice do they have? I like Andy Reids approach, every year he brings in a new QB no matter the round because he knows that without a franchise QB he will be out of a job quickly. We don't do that. We stick with some loser for whole seasons at times only then to say well he sucks when the entire world already knows he sucks. The fans have been waiting forever for a franchise QB and we don't have one now. Until we do the coaches and QB search will only continue.

 

But you can't blame them, It's the game they all play. 

 

Being in the NFL QB hell position we have been in for so many years might as well call it our unicorn. They have no other choice but to continue searching for the unicorn. You don't get out of this hell until you do find that unicorn and maybe one day Snyder will wise up to this and find it? It would almost assuredly mean our head coaches were staying longer. I hope because we had a coach who was willing to start Colt McCoy and actually got something out of him that Gruden is a real coach and can get us out of this hell but the carousel does not stop for us or any team until the unicorn is found. That's not just us, that's everybody

[s0crates]

I didn't want to start a new thread for it, but Steinberg's piece today hit the nail in the head:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/12/30/redskins-have-spent-21-years-in-the-wilderness/

"'Welcome, after a lengthy absence, to Losing Big Time in the NFL,' Michael Wilbon once wrote to Redskins fans. 'It’s ugly, isn’t it? And the games are only the half of it….This is a day-to-day, year-after-year proposition in the Tampas and Cincinnatis of the world. Long after every other team in the NFL has passed this way, it appears to be the Redskins’ turn.'

Wilbon published those words on Dec. 28, 1993. Which means they celebrated their 21st birthday as the Cowboys were stomping on the Redskins Sunday afternoon.

Losing Big Time in the NFL, in this town, is now old enough to drink. Better make it a double.

. . ."

Two decades of futility. Anybody who thinks rearranging the deck chairs will save this sinking ship hasn't been paying attention.

[thebluefood]

I didn't want to start a new thread for it, but Steinberg's piece today hit the nail in the head:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/12/30/redskins-have-spent-21-years-in-the-wilderness/

 

Great article. This one got me:

 

 

 

“I’ve never felt this way at the end of the season,” Andy Pollin said. “I go back to ’66. I can’t think of an end of the season like this.”

It sounds like even the folks who remember the first "dark ages" are saying this is the worst era of Redskins football history. I don't know how fans felt back then, but at least there was some semblance of hope by the mid 60s. The team finally integrated and acquired several HOFers through the draft (Chris Hanburger) and free agency (Bobby Mitchell, Sonny Jurgensen, Sam Huff). They were bad, but at least they were exciting. 

 

Plus, GPM was on his way out, thus ridding the team of its biggest obstacle to the team's success. Dan Snyder is not selling the team and he's a spring chicken, relatively speaking. Unless he loses all his money, we're probably stuck with him until I'm well into my middle aged years.

 

That's the worst sign to me. At least there was hope and unparalleled talent during those times. Now? Fans, including myself, have completely resigned themselves to decades of incompetency.