Redskins Culture is embedded in the mentality

[joeken24]

Starting this thread with a quote from DJAX:

 

"We just knew that coming into the locker room that it is just a mentality thing," Jackson told reporters Sunday. "That (is) being part of a team and organization that is just known for winning. Regardless of the score and how many points you are down, there is always a chance you can win the game. "Being in that locker room, I just know how they (the Redskins) are, not saying anything bad about them, that is just how they are."

 

Last year the Redskins spoke about how with Alex Smith the players always believed they would win. What that tells me is that in prior years, that may not have been the overall belief in the locker room. Playing football up to college myself, I've experience team confidence (or swag if you will) and we won a lot of games. I've also experienced doubt. But my doubt was as a result of our QB that looked the part but never made plays. Nobody really had confidence in him because he never really had confidence in himself.

 

So flash back to the Redskins over the past several years.....I believe DJAX wholeheartedly. But I would say this losing mentality may come heavily from the head coach. During his presser, I can hear it in his voice and see it in his body language that he lacks a mentality that fosters winning. He strikes me as a glass half empty guy.

 

A large part of winning is a belief that you can win. IMO, Gruden and the organization as a whole, permeates the mindset of the players negatively. To the degree that even players that come from winning organizations can't break through.  Does it start from the top? I don't know. But I don't think anyone on this forum can deny that even if we were up 35 points (which is rare), we would still feel like something is going to happen to make us lose the game or end up sweating a win out. Its just sad.

[volsmet]

[wtfskins]

Awesome topic!  I believe every word DJax said.  The Redskins get rid of their best players every year.  Antonio Pierce, Kendall Fuller with us was playing lights out, swearinger, and many more fan favorites. Brian Orakpo, Thomas Robinson, this organization is a dumpster fire! 

 

 

[wit33]

It will take an unbelievable talent at head coach with EQ and leadership through the roof and an ELITE QB to turn this Redskin culture around. Just having An elite QB can help sprinkle in some magical years though— Come on Haskins!!!

 

It does appear from a player culture culture standpoint things are headed in right direction, especially with young guys. 

 

**The RG3 rookie year was only time in my 25 years of watching that I can remember the team and fans feeling like there was a legitimate chance to win each game, no matter the opponents QB. 

 

Once again... Come on Haskins!! 

[hail2skins]

Even under Gibbs in 2007, the week before the Skins played the Pats, heard players interviewed that said something to the effect of "even if we lose, we'll still be 4-3."

 

Yes, the Pats were having a season for the ages, but that pissed me off.

 

Now, we did go out and lose 52-7 lol...………………..

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

23 hours ago, hail2skins said:

Even under Gibbs in 2007, the week before the Skins played the Pats, heard players interviewed that said something to the effect of "even if we lose, we'll still be 4-3."

If I remember correctly, Gibbs was even less inspiring. Every interview that week was like, “We cannot win. Our score will be meager. We will suffer at the cruel hand of the hoodie. And, even if we could, what would we really win? Football is an opiate of the masses. A celebration of brute violence through which we attempt to quell the nausea of our existence. Victory is a fleeting joy that soon disintegrates into sorrow just as even when we celebrate the birth of a child, we also smell the acrid stench of the grave.”

 

or something to that effect.

[Rogue Jedi]

It's one of the reason why i'm hesitant to buy a McLaurin jersey.

He's everything you want in a franchise player: High character, high work ethic, high leadership and on-field skills to match. He's the type of guy who should retire a Skin.

But knowing this franchise, with this type of mentality and a seemingly ever-lasting dark cloud, he'll either be run out of town, or demand to be released/traded. Players with winning attitudes cannot thrive here.

[dyst]

A 20+ year “rebuild”. Pathetic ownership with grossly incompetent management is the reason why we continue to struggle while good teams stay good.

 

Eagles went from the Walrus to utter chaos with Chip Kelly losing all there top echelon players. Few years later they win the SuperBowl. Meanwhile, these clowns can’t figure it out.

 

Allen thinks we are close. Snyder is always “learning”. We’re so lucky.

[BurgundyBooger]

People rooting for Haskins to turn this culture around...lol. Culture is manifested, nurtured, and preserved from the top.

[skinzplay]

No GM or Team President in his right mind would entrust Gruden with setting the tone, the culture for his football team. No owner in his right mind would entrust Rasputin to find a HC and help to build an identity for a football team. I'm not going to say "we're doomed". Snyder is aware of what needs to be done. He's being hoodwinked with the "keep me around to get this stadium deal" jedi mind game; and with legacy hires that distract from the reality of the team president's utter ineptitude as a football mind. The only owner in the league who is more easily swayed by such nonsense is that guy out in Oakland. He and the Skins owner operate in a parallel universe.

 

This team has no identity whatsoever. No culture at all, and as the guys have said here, that starts with the leadership. I love the theme of this thread; important discussion to have.

[kingdaddy]

It's very simple to me. With all the new players we brought in, especially Haskins, it's time to identify who is the best head coach to take this team to a level where winning is expected. Jay has had a tough hand dealt to him the past two seasons with injuries and I get the organization wanting to be fair to him, but I haven't seen enough from him to justify keeping him around. Start the search and get this thing turned around. And make Doug Williams the GM while we're making changes.

[JoeJacobyHOForRIOT]

Its too early in the season for this bull****. I'm not talking about OP's thread or the responses, I'm talking about that pit in my stomach and utter disgust how another season is down the crapper and we are a incompetent clown team once again. Its week 2 for Christ sake......

 

 

[hatchetwound]

I'm not sure..... Is it just another case of Desean being a classless poop talker?  

 

I really want to believe that.   But with what we saw Sunday, with the exception of the final drive, it sure felt that way.  That was a team that looked like it wouldn't know what winning smells like if Joe Gibbs himself sat on their face.  If this is true.... how do you fix it?  It's not like you can just sign Rudy and have the team rally around him.  One player wont do it.  You need to clean house.  Get the malcontents out and get young, hungry talent.  Easier said than done, I now

[NoCalMike]

We need a coach that is going to come in here and immediately get rid of any player(s) that don't buy into the system and working hard to foster a winning culture.  I don't care what their talent level is.   Mediocrity has been the expectation with this franchise for too long. The few times they have finished with a winning record, it feels like they sort of stumbled into it, and then where most teams build on it, this team immediately goes backwards the following season. 

 

A good example is Morgan Moses talking to the media about "issues with the coach"  Why of all people is Mr. 3 False Starts and 2 holds per game Morgan Moses speaking up.  Dude needs to get back to the practice field and work on his technique before he ever begins to think it's his place to rant to the media.  

[TD_washingtonredskins]

14 hours ago, Sacks 'n' Stuff said:

If I remember correctly, Gibbs was even less inspiring. Every interview that week was like, “We cannot win. Our score will be meager. We will suffer at the cruel hand of the hoodie.

 

And, even if we could, what would we really win? Football is an opiate of the masses. A celebration of brute violence through which we attempt to quell the nausea of our existence. Victory is a fleeting joy that soon disintegrates into sorrow even as we celebrate the birth of a child, we also smell the acrid stench of the grave.”

 

or something to that effect.

 

In fairness, that was Coach's shtick even when we were a model organization and were in the middle of our golden age. He ALWAYS played up the opponent and downplayed his teams. In some ways, I think the players followed suit more than they truly believed what they were saying. 

[Dissident2]

15 hours ago, BurgundyBooger said:

People rooting for Haskins to turn this culture around...lol. Culture is manifested, nurtured, and preserved from the top.

 

Exactly. Hasn't 20 years of crud made that apparent by now? The coaches, players, etc., come and go. One constant remains. That's where the culture - or lack thereof - emanates from. It won't change until he's either gone or he turns over the entire running of the football side of the team to someone with a soul and a brain. Basically he needs to pull a George Costanza and hire exactly the OPPOSITE kind of person he thinks should run the team. I feel for any talented player or coach who ends up in this dungheap of a franchise. It's gotta suck the joy of the game right out of you to have to answer to "people" like Snyder and Allen. It's certainly sucked the joy of the game right out of me to have to watch the same sideshow every year. 

 

 

[NoCalMike]

Part of me thinks there is a small window for when you draft players, to have them truly buy in to the system, team, franchise organization. If you don't do that, then they are simply on auto-pilot until their contract is up so they can go elsewhere.

 

How many defenders do we have now that went to Alabama? That is a disciplined structured winning culture.  Imagine going to that, to this team.  We as fans hang onto the hope that these handful of players are going to magically change the culture, but the reality is that kind of thing likely starts from the top in ownership, then management, then the coaching staff.  Those 3 levels of the organization need that in place to make sure the players experience it and adjust accordingly. 

[SkinsFTW]

We see it coming but somehow the players don't?

 

[cakmoney61]

Management has been a problem for years along with poor coaching and untimely injuries to key personnel.  Since Snyder won't fire himself, I would target a change at head coach.  

[max21]

I’m starting to hate Desean Jackson again 

[joeken24]

1 hour ago, max21 said:

I’m starting to hate Desean Jackson again 

I would say to that...the truth hurts. 

[joeken24]

Two points:

 

I've argued fervently with a lot a folk in this forum about the front office. Particularly when they proclaimed Dan and Bruce are bad people. My stance was that its short sighted to claim someone a bad person off reports. I don't like most so-called reporters because they frequently fail to investigate **** and they're easy to simply push a dialogue about a person based on where the wind is blowing, twitter feeds and the like. I've actually witnessed the good Dan. I have god-children that are living in less than perfect conditions around Stanton road. Dan actually was there....in the area...actually in their apartment providing needed items for the kids. So I admit I have a soft spot for him in that regard. 

What I will say is that I believe Dan and Bruce have too much passion for the team. Its understandable. Bruce used to be a child running around in the locker room while his dad coached the team. Dan was and probably still is an extreme skins fan like you and I. Problem is, they lack the ability to stay in their lane. They've also experienced the same lack luster performances from what they thought were good coaching staffs. Hell, I think we all found some sort of hope whenever a new coaching staff arrived (with the exception of Zorn). But just like us, they were let down. So here's where I think they both can do the team a favor. First off, hire a general manager and relegate Bruce to President of off the ****ing field ****. Next, start pushing Sage into the vents of the locker room. Dan should hire someone to teach him to meditate and practice positive mindfulness. We all should do that after games like this weekend. Coaches and player should also start practicing mediation and positive thinking as well as yoga. 

 

Point 2

Apparently this is why the Patriots are successful although I believe they have pristine belief in winning along with below....

 

Current and former players are quoted in interviews on the conditioning they undergo (I suppose their entire defense can play without getting gassed like we hear about from this team), and how it is grueling, and more intense than other franchises. Their conditioning is tailored to specific game situations, with sprints for a specific number of yards, and chasing kicks and throws that would be made late in the 4th quarter of a game. Belichick reportedly also makes the Patriots run up a hill close to their Foxborough stadium, which the players unanimously hate. But they credit their endurance, especially late in the game, to their conditioning. They practice the same way week one as they do in the playoffs, so their conditioning is completely ingrained by the time they reach the playoffs.

 

I've heard most of this year's Skins rookies say that practice is not as hard as their college practices. Maybe its time for Gruden to stop being a player's coach.

 

 

[sportjunkie07]

Post 2 wins the thread. 

 

I've never seen a team so consistently give up. When they start to lose momentum there is just no way to stop it. 

 

Sure it happens, but such things happen consistently with the redskins. 

 

The players need to be energized to stop the bleeding, become focused on playing sound football, and win their matchups. 

 

It is up to the coach to ensure that this occurs by firing people up, benching players that aren't performing, adjusting game plans on the fly, and instilling a never give up attitude. 

 

I don't see that with gruden or manusky. 

[Burgold]

4 hours ago, sportjunkie07 said:

Post 2 wins the thread. 

 

I've never seen a team so consistently give up. When they start to lose momentum there is just no way to stop it. 

 

Sure it happens, but such things happen consistently with the redskins. 

 

The players need to be energized to stop the bleeding, become focused on playing sound football, and win their matchups. 

 

It is up to the coach to ensure that this occurs by firing people up, benching players that aren't performing, adjusting game plans on the fly, and instilling a never give up attitude. 

 

I don't see that with gruden or manusky. 

They always say that a team takes on the personality of the coach. Jay is soft in practice, gives excessive days off to his vets, coddles his rookies (won't let them get preseason reps) and has been known to throw in the towel in games (Down less then a touchdown game expiring and will punt). If Jay Gruden has any iron in him it's thin and rusted.

 

This team needs to eat more spinach.

[Skinsinparadise]

This team hasn't consistently won with any coach under Dan.  The last 4 years have actually been the high water mark for consistently under Dan, ironically.  Is Dan just a terrible picker of head coaches and that's always been the operative point, and we all have faith that this time he will get it right?  New coach = new culture = all will finally be OK?

 

I am ok with Jay, I don't live and die with him though.  But count me out of the idea that the new spanking shiny new coach changes the culture here.    Don't get me wrong I understand the thought, I used to buy into it, too.  I worshipped Shanny for example when he first came and others, too.   To me the culture change has to start at the top and its not even close.   As Sheehan is saying on the air now (and he ironically is far from in love with Jay) that every coach leaves here worse off then what they are capable of and there is a reason for it.