NewCliche21 Eats Crow: 2015 Edition

[NewCliche21]

Every day, every single day, my wife says that I'm wrong about something about which I'm right.  The dishwasher DID run, the litter WAS done, I DID clean the baby's bottles.

 

Sometimes, though, I'm just wrong, and it pisses me off.  I should've run the dishwasher when I thought of it, we did NOT have enough milk for the week, the Roomba does NOT fit under that couch.  It annoys me that I'm wrong because, as rare as it happens, I hate being wrong.

 

For our 2015 Redskins, though, I think I had more wrong than ever, and it was mostly fantastic.  I'm going to keep this RGIII-free intentionally; I don't want this thread devolving into that same old conversation.

 

1)  Jay Gruden.  When we were down 24-0 against Tampa, I was numb with spurts of furious and depressed.  One thing was hopeful though:  at least we won't have to deal with this idiot next year.  Well, about 35 minutes of football later, it turned around.  I'm actually now excited to see Gruden back in 2016.  I don't think that he's Joe Gibbs, but I don't think that Coughlin or Tomlin are either and they have a couple of Lombardis.

 

2)  Kirk Cousins.  I was upset that we didn't trade him prior to this season.  He was a backup, we already had Voldemort as our starter, and he sucked when he played.  Then the second half of Tampa happened and he never looked back.  He looks like a boss, a real quarterback, like a REAL one.  Maybe not a Brady or Manning but I do think that he could be good enough to win us a Super Bowl or six.

 

3)  Joe Barry.  Our defense was not lights out, but I didn't even think that the bulb was screwed in when he was hired.  Maybe I just REALLY wanted Fangio, but I just saw my Timehop the other day and man was I mad that we got Barry.  Then we had injury after injury and our defense was STILL ranging from a C- to a B- when I thought its apex would be an F+.  When players go down you see what coaches can do (a la Gibbs during the strike not missing a beat), and our defense was steady.  Led the league in turnovers and almost always gave our offense a chance.  That's coaching, so credit goes to Barry.

 

4)  Morgan Moses.  I thought that he would be another turnstile at right tackle, but that side was actually pretty good.  No Hog, but with Callahan and Schreff next to him, we may have approaching a couple of bookends.

 

5)  Sean McVay.  There was that NFL Films mic'd up or whatever where Kirk said basically, "Keep your foot on the gas!"  and McVay admitted that he was just learning, too.  I like that lack of arrogance.  Did he still make mistakes?  Sure, but our offense looked unstoppable at times.

 

6)  Our depth.  Thomas, Foster, Compton (the one NOT reporting as an eligible receiver), Jarrett, Everett, Blackmon, Hall at FS, and so on.  Man, injuries didn't seem to faze us that much, and I thought that even before the season started that we were a house of cards with a tornado on the way.

 

Some players were disappointments, but I don't view that as eating crow (Robinson, Paea, etc.).  Some players were as bad as I thought that they would be, but that sucks and I wish that I were wrong about them.

 

Our team seems to genuinely be on an upswing with GMSM, and for the first time in a very long time, I'm excited for next year and can't wait to fill my plate with crow as players and coaches prove me wrong.

[Koolblue13]

It's the first time, in a very long, long time, that when our season ended, even in disappointing fashion, I sat back and smiled.

 

We've got a solid team, from bottom player, to the coaching staff, to the front office and even, yes, the owner did it right this year.

 

A lot of us were wrong about a lot of different things, but lucky for us, the Redskins felt so right.

[Wildbunny]

Great writeup!

 

Honestly, I'm glad I wasn't wrong. I used to back Cousins up after 2012, thinking and saying we should ride with him, because I was scared of RG3 injury history. But that got me scared of it last year. I really felt stupid about that.

Gruden? I was ok with his hire, but never think he was as bad as some tthought he was last year. I was still scared that I might be wrong about him. Same with Barry, I was OK with giving him another try. See what he can do with a few years more under his belt.

 

This year was all about heart and passion, scores, W/L ratio, playoffs, were not that important. But getting to them was really the icing on the cake. I'm really glad of the outcome of the events. We still have long way to go, lots of work to do, lots of improvment, on every side of the ball. But that feels great.

 

And since you started the thread about eating the crow, I have to admit some guys have proved me wrong.

 

- First and foremost:TE Coach, Wes Philips. In my evaluation of the coaches thread last year, I was ready to give him the axe because I thought this group had regressed all year. I wasn't that happy to see him hanging around, thinking we could improve.

Then, the year started with Niles Paul, who was supposed to take the starting duty to Reed got injured for the year. Then, it's Paulsen going down, our only real blocking tight end that went down for the year. Leaving us with Jordan Reed, that have a huge history of concussions... It really felt bad to me. GMSM got guys like Derek Carrier, Je'Ron Hamm, Anthony McCoy, to play at that position. We even had to deal with Alexander Smith by the end of the year. So I have to tip my hat for Wes Philips, he had a strange year of coaching, having to go through a carousel at TE, and still managed to get it going. Carrier was an interesting addition before going down. And we all saw how Reed unveiled in front of us this year.

- Second is Dashon Goldson. I wasn't a big fan of the move. I wasn't even sure he would make the 53. Then the guy got named Team Captain and I was like... what the ****? Guy is on the team for 6 months and he's team captain? Where's Kerrigan? Hall? Then the guy settle our secondary for the year. He wasn't perfect in any means, but we haven't witnessed guys running free in our backfield like they used to last year. And somehow, I tend to believe that both he and Hall are huge reasons why so many of our youngsters developed this year.

- Another one? Chris Baker. I was about to think that he would not make the 53 with all our signings on the DL. Hat down here again man. What a year... So proud of him.

- Then? Dustin Hopkins. I feared his signing... I knew about the liability of Cobra Kai on Kick Offs, but I was OK for this as long as he was steady on FG. Who was that guy that got cut after losing the competition to the guy that lost it to Cobra Kai the year before? He was supposed to get the job done? Really. Yeah, he got the job done. Booting on KO, clutched on FG, even the longest ones... Welcome to the Redskins man! Well deserved year.

- Finally, like NC, I thought Moses wouldn't got it as RT. Especially after Scherff was drafted. I thought that Trent/Scherff would be our Samuels/Jansen tandem... I was so wrong here again... Guy took the job, settled our right side, kicked Scherff inside, and now, I feel good about our OL. A young hungry OL that could be scary in two or three years.

 

So yeah, I hate being wrong, but thanks to all of them for proving me wrong. That really feels good.

 

One last thing, I would love to know what really happened during the half against Tampa, because something special had to, as this team, this year, was born at that point. Now, I'm excited for 2016 more than ever. Just can't wait. THANK YOU GUYS!

[skins island connection]

The OP's title says a lot; "2015 Edition", meaning its just another year of you being wrong.

WELCOME TO OUR WORLD !!

 

But, I can say this; you may not be wrong afterall.

Here's why.

 

1. Yes, Gruden seems to have gotten things turned around, but next year will tell if this was a flash-in-the-pan 1-year coaching butt-luck, or if he's really truly on to something. So you got another year to let the crow simmer on that one.

 

2. Cousins stepped up big time the 2nd half of the season, and surprised many people. Personally, not to brag, but I defended him, saying that he deserves to get a shot at the starting position, and make our assessment of him after the season. He didn't disappoint.

BUT, now the bar has been moved up on him, so the pressure will be on next year to replicate this season, or at least the 2nd half. If he doesn't, it will depend on how much he dropped off. So there's wiggle room there.

 

3. Barry, I'm uneasy with. I literately had blood flowing in certain parts of my body when Haslett was finally canned [ tried to clean it up ] and when Barry came in I just knew the defense would be much better. It did seem better at times, they looked more aggressive all season, but when the paloffs got here it was same **** different day.  More wiggle room there.

 

So, its hard to say, unless you were absolutely in disapproval of Cousins starting, Gruden giving him the chance, and holding your breath until you were proven right. Next season will tell us what direction we're going. There's a lot of work to do, players to find and cut, and fighting the injury bug away from Redskins Park will be a chore, but for now, until next year proves this year was no fluke,  forget the crow, just settle for a Caesar salad; that way, at least your movements will be consistent.

[dyst]

This year was much better than expected. Kirk played like an actual QB, Gruden did better, Reed stayed healthy, we got solid contributions from the rooks, the defense did alright and we finally made the playoffs.

The challenge comes next year. Maybe Kirk takes a step back, Gruden sucks, Reed gets hurt, our rookies from this year have a sophomore slump and the new rooks don't pan out, and the defense drops the ball completely.

I hope we have another thread like this next year too.

[NewCliche21]

Nah, I did 2015 because it was the 2015 season.  I almost wrote 2016.

 

Your points are essentially asterisks to everything that I said, and I think that you're right on all of them.  The point, though, is that this is for 2015, from the final gun of our last game of 2014 to the 00:00 of our playoff game, while what you were saying was more comparing 2015 to possible future years.  Could all of these people blow it?  Sure, but for now I was wrong, and I'm happy about that.

This year was much better than expected. Kirk played like an actual QB, Gruden did better, Reed stayed healthy, we got solid contributions from the rooks, the defense did alright and we finally made the playoffs.

The challenge comes next year. Maybe Kirk takes a step back, Gruden sucks, Reed gets hurt, our rookies from this year have a sophomore slump and the new rooks don't pan out, and the defense drops the ball completely.

I hope we have another thread like this next year too.

 

I used to do these threads each year, but we were so bad so often there weren't a lot of times that my natural propensity for pessimism was wrong.  Flashes in the pan, like Carlos Rogers actually having a ton of performance once we started playing press instead of 5-yard cushions (some things never change).

 

But yeah, this time next year I hope to not be able to post this thread for a couple weeks, because I can only do it once we're done for the year.  Hopefully in 2016 (season) our last victory will be in February, and then I can be wrong about thinking that 19-0 was impossible. 

[goskins10]

Well I will throw in here:

 

1. First the obvious one - Kirk Cousins. I supported Robert vociferously 2013 and 2014. In fairness, being an engineer, I am numbers driven. And the numbers said Robert was the better option. But in this case I was wrong. I will say once Jay made the change I was all in. I still had my concerns with Kirk but I could see the need for a change. He did not disappoint. I do not see him reversing, but even if he does, we still needed to move on from Robert.

 

2. I have supported both Jay and Joe Barry from the start. I stand by that . However, I had no faith in Matt Cavanaugh. Again, a look through the data said he was just with a lot of teams, with mostly negative results. But wow was I wrong there. Matt has done a tremendous job!

 

3. I was ready to kick Sean McVay to the curb. I am still not 100% on him, but I saw a lot of improvement. He really come of age with Kirk. They grew together as a team. That OC/QB relationship is absolutely critical. Those two just seem to be on the same page. I can see them growing even more as a team.

[RedBeast]

Not wrong, just some mistakes. No one can guess the future.

I am positive you weren't the only one on this board who thought this way. I had no idea what to expect, but was happily surprised!!!

[LD0506]

So basically a thread manning up to preseason pessimism being usurped by a better-that-expected season and a hopeful tone for the future..............

 

How did I get there and what happened to ES?

[SkinsGuy]

One place I admit I was wrong was the Redskins taking Brandon Scherff over Leonard Williams.

 

I thought back then that move might be the wrong choice, but Scherff, outside of a few rookie moments, has played well. He is one of those big, physical, mauling type OL that plays mean. Just like the Redskins needed.

 

This year's draft, I won't question any of Scott's moves. I'll just watch it unfold.

[Qdeathstar]

I feel like your post is overly optimistic. We still got a lot of holes to fill, though I'll agree it seems we are making strides.

[abdcskins]

I think Moses and Scherff did an excellent job.  Both looking like great picks.  The line did really well for most of the year, with occasional lapses.  It's impossible to find an offensive line that stands tall each and every play.  They did well.

 

I agree the depth was really good too.  Guys came out of nowhere and performed well.  Shout out to Chris Thompson who I think can really become a great 3rd down/change of pace RB.  Not bad for a 5th rounder.

[SkinsFTW]

The only crow for me is that I had no idea Gruden would ever run the ball so much that I was yelling at him to stop.

I didn't really expect him to bring Cousins along as well as he did considering how it went last year.

We can probably thank having a real GM, like we asked for for years, he's probably the difference between Gruden being forced to give Qbs the quick hook because the owner wouldn't let Allen leave Gruden alone about it. I'm sure Scot took a lot of heat over that decision.

[pjfootballer]

One place I admit I was wrong was the Redskins taking Brandon Scherff over Leonard Williams.

I thought back then that move might be the wrong choice, but Scherff, outside of a few rookie moments, has played well. He is one of those big, physical, mauling type OL that plays mean. Just like the Redskins needed.

This year's draft, I won't question any of Scott's moves. I'll just watch it unfold.

Williams had 3 sacks, 29 solo tackles, 0 forced fumbles and 0 Ints.

Our second rounder had 8 sacks alone.

[HapHaszard]

The view from my Burgundy and Gold glasses was much clearer than most years..... and i didn't even clean the lenses.

[Bang]

Way to man up, NC! Nice write up, and i can't disagree with a word,, although it seems like you've gone from despair to hope for a Super Bowl or six...   what the hell,why not, right?

 

I'm eating a bit of crow on joe Barry, and Ben Kotwika has gotten my eye off of him. Competent special teams,, who'da thunk it?

 

 

 

~Bang

[bird_1972]

Williams had 3 sacks, 29 solo tackles, 0 forced fumbles and 0 Ints.

Our second rounder had 8 sacks alone.

BOOM!

 

Great post, PJ.

[Tyron Biggums]

I will eat my crow as well. I had zero faith in Gruden going into the 2015 season, but he showed a lot of growth from his first season. His passing game/scheme is a standout IMHO. The first down play calling left a lot to be desired to me.

 

 If he continues the growth trend I will be very pleased.

[TheItalianStallion]

I will eat my crow as well. I had zero faith in Gruden going into the 2015 season, but he showed a lot of growth from his first season. His passing game/scheme is a standout IMHO. The first down play calling left a lot to be desired to me.

 

 If he continues the growth trend I will be very pleased.

 

Is the first down play calling on Gruden or McVey, though?

[roanoker]

The upside is that eating crow is a lot better than what Dallas fan had to eat this year... I love it

[DC9]

Gruden actually isn't a bad coach.  He's coached in 3 different leagues and 12 seasons.  He never had a losing record in any of those seasons until the 2014 Redskins.

 

Hopefully we can continue to grow from where we are today.  I love the attitude in the building.  It's night and day.

[Wildbunny]

Gruden actually isn't a bad coach.  He's coached in 3 different leagues and 12 seasons.  He never had a losing record in any of those seasons until the 2014 Redskins.

 

Hopefully we can continue to grow from where we are today.  I love the attitude in the building.  It's night and day.

 

Still more than half our fans it's all due to Scott.They ALL deserves credits for this year, and we can only hope for this to keep going next year.

And signs are already pointing in this direction (Manusky). Though the KC signing will be a huge one.