If we had just a little better QB...

[DCdemolition]

we would have won the last two games and would have sat at 8-6, atop the NFC East. In both games against the Eagles and the Bears, there were moments where a clutch quarterback could have lead the team into the endzone. In the Eagles game, had we converted at least one of the field goals in the first quarter into TDs the outcome would have been entirely different. Against the Bears, Tony missed many open receivers, namely Kijana Carter (wideopen) on the last drive. He isn't a clutch player - he is a career 70.1 rated passer, and that type of passer does not win you must-win games.

I have been very impressed by our defense however. They are currently ranked 17th in the league (they would be higher if it weren't for the massive amounts of yards given up in the 0-5 start). For next year, the defense can really become very good and move into the top 10, if not the top 5. We need a ligitimate run stopper. LaVar is an amazing athlete - we need either a quicker end/or a DL to go along with him.

On offense, Jim Raye must go. That in itself will improve it. Stephen Davis has played well this year, minus the Bears game. I wouldn't even be averse to bringing back Michael Westbrook at around $1.5-$1.75 million a year. The Quarterback has to be changed. Tony Banks is not a clutch quarterback; we could probably win 9 - 10 games with him next year - but think about it, do you really think Tony Banks can lead the Skins back from 10 down in the fourth quarter on the road against a team in the playoffs? I don't think he can. I don't want the Redskins to become like all of Marty's previous teams - they were great in the regular season but they never had a clutch player like an Elway or a Montana to lead them through the playoffs. My point is this: we need a clutch player on offense, who can manage the clock and motivate the team on the field. I just hope Marty sees the void at this position.

Otherwise, the Skins rebounded well after 0-5 and should get some consoloation for that effort - but they had the potential/talent to win this division; they squandered it, much like they have done ever since 1993.

[SonnyJ]

Anyone else notice with the Skins D that it seems to be feast or famine, at least lately?

Either the other team goes 3 and out, or they drive down the field for a score. After Bailey was called for holding, I cringed, knowing that the Bears would likely get points on the drive.

It just seems in the last two games that the other team has been able to get points whenever they have had the opportunity, while the Redskins have generated the absolute least amount of points, given their chances.

As far as QB goes, it's a no-brainer. People are complaining about the playcalling, specifically not running down there at the end of the game. Honestly, if I was Marty and seen the success the goal-line running offense has had, I'd want to throw the ball, too. They have been stuffed repeatedly.

Unfortunately, you're putting the game in the hands of Banks at that point, which is even more worrisome. I'd bet a lot of money that the Redskins would have more success running the ball in those situations if they had a competent QB taking the snap. They play the run hard, hoping Banks will throw the ball, knowing the chances are better than even that Banks will create a negative play for the Redskins.

Look at that third down play to Rasby. He might have been stopped short of a first down, it wasn't a great play call, but those are moot points anyway because Banks gave him NO chance to make a play.

He makes some beautiful throws, but follows up with equally poor throws and some god awful decision-making. He is the classic coach-killer, in league with Jeff George. A seemingly better attitude, mind you, but the same end result.

I've heard how Bill Walsh has said that Banks could be a superstar QB - with the right coaching. But a team would be crazy to spend the time and effort to develop a sixth-year QB on that chance that Walsh is right. And, while I have the utmost respect of Walsh's QB judgment (there's never been anyone better at it), what does he know of Banks beyond the physical tools? After six years, you would think that greater instincts and judgment would have been apparent. But his development seems to have been arrested at about the second year level and has never progressed beyond it.

Get him outta here. Let someone else tap his potential.

[bulldog]

one of the reasons for that is the defense is consistently limiting offenses to 3 or 10 points at the half but looks up at the scoreboard and sees ZERO on the board for us.

that is demoralizing to any defense. Tampa's defense sagged noticeably a few weeks ago when the offense was leaving them on the field for long stretches without scoring any points for them to work with.

Players don't play in a vacuum. The guys on defense and special teams are doing their jobs for the most part week in and week out while the offense is either late to the party or never bothers to show up.

You look at the NFC standings and Davis is the only Redskin with competitive numbers.

Our quarterback is low in the ratings. Our tight ends are nowhere near the top of the heap among pass catchers. Ditto for our wide receivers.

Our fullbacks have been rarely used as well and are only so-so in blocking at the point of attack.

The line has been solid overall, blocking for Davis and protecting the quarterback. 30 sacks given up is not a great total but given the ineptitude of the passing game it could be worse.

On defense the real achilles heel is the lack of size and youth on the defensive line which translates into only 19 sacks as a team.

That is only one or two more than Michael Strahan has all by himself.

[GURU]

One of the biggest problems, especially in the second half, is that the defense was constanly dealt a short field to defend. The offense kept going three and out, and the Bears kept getting the ball at midfield. The Skins defense actually did a pretty good job of holding up in the second half, considering how much time they were on the field. They should have given up only two field goals, which is actually pretty good considering the Bears only had to drive about 30 yards each time. It's not the defense's fault that the special teams gave up a TD.

The defense only yielded 237 total yards. They gave up 112 yards on the ground, but only 3.5 yards per rush. That should be enough to win most games.

And bulldog, it's not the lack of size that's caused problems in the pass rush, it's the lack of SPEED, especially on the outside. There's nobody on the line who can make blockers miss.

The Skins have been doing a pretty darn good job of playing run defense since they've started to gel as a unit. If you can't add a complete defensive lineman, I'd say the addition of an undersized pure pass rusher would do more to help the defense than a big, fat run stuffer. (Both would be nice, though)

[payton34]

What was banks stats for the game? It seemed like he was over 50% on 3rd down conversions. This game is what the bears have done all year. They keep teams out of the endzone. I'm not saying banks is the future, but I'd say he had a better than average game. He didn't make to many mistakes he just couldn't come up with the big play. I'd put more blame on the play calling.

[GURU]

payton34, you're not seeing Banks play week-in and week-out.

It's becoming a pattern, regardless of the opponent. How many of those 3rd down conversions were running plays?

Giving credit where it's due, the Bears did a good job of putting pressure on the QB. But at least half of those 6 sacks were ones Banks should not have taken.

I could see where you might think Banks was above average, given the play of the Bears QBs this season. That's not a slight. These are two very similar teams.

I think the big difference is that the Bears did a nice job of gelling in training camp and pre-season. The Skins, on the other hand, played like a team that didn't start to gel until three games into the season, and didn't win until the 6th week.

I like this Bears team. They are gutsy. They've been a pleasant surprise, and they are a likable team.

Come the playoffs, however, I think you will see what a difference QB play makes. St. Louis and Green Bay would beat this Bears team 8 times out of 10, mostly because of the guy under the center.

[Darth Tater]

I read a thought about warfare this weekend that I think very much applies to Football.

'It is not usually brilliant strategy the defeats the enemy, but the ability to take advantage the enemies mistakes that wins the day.'

[bulldog]

I agree but only to the degree that your own strengths as a commander and army 'force' the opponent into making what later turn out to be mistaken moves.

Banks has shown that he can nurse a 3 point lead and hand off the ball to Davis. He has shown that he can occasionally hit the deep pass off play action, once again, depending on the threat of Davis to freeze the defense.

The problem comes in when Banks has to rely on his own skills when the other team knows we have to pass.

While an Elway or Marino only comes along once or twice in a generation and no one expects Banks to be that type of player, I don't think asking Tony or whoever our starter is to rally us from a 3-7 point deficit against a 4-10 team at home with a playoff berth on the line is asking too much. Not for a professional starter.

That is just something we can't negotiate. We HAVE to have a quarterback that can read coverages and deliver the ball and keep the sticks moving when the end of the game is at hand.

Asking Banks to rally us from a 20 point deficit against the Rams or Steelers is asking too much. Beating Dallas is not.

[Chief skin]

Banks has got to go, he can not get the job done. We are seeing first hand why he was CUT LOOSE from other teams.

DEFENSE has performed very well (remember the offense has those typical 1- 2 - 3 punt drives) and the defense is back on the field getting pounded on, by the end of the third quarter they are worn, exhausted and probably would like to kill Banks.

[bulldog]

Mark Brunell on this team since August and the Redskins are 11-5 this season, folks. In the age of parity, a fine performance by a quarterback can make the difference between finishing first and fourth in your division.

Go ahead and look back. 9-7 loss to Dallas. Winnable game with a viable passing attack. 23-9 loss to the Giants when Banks makes key misthrows in fourth quarter. Also,a winnable game with an established passer. 20-14 loss to Dallas here, and 13-7 in the third quarter. Ditto. The second Eagles game, ball in Eagle territory THREE times in the last 10 minutes and ZERO points. Also a winnable game.

That's 4 games. Even if a guy like Brunell only came through in 2 of those games to lift us to a win, the Redskins are in the playoffs. If he does it 3 times we win the division and host a first round game.

Look up and down the Packers roster. Do the same for the Patriots or Dolphins. Do it for Tampa and San Francisco.

These aren't teams that have a large talent gap on the Redskins. These are teams that for the most part have gotten better quarterback play this season from their starters.

For some such as Brad Johnson and Jay Fiedler, their play has been more up and down, but I have seen both have 3 touchdown games with 250+ yards passing.

We just never get that kind of production. Banks has a game like that once a season and then settles into the usual 15 for 31 for 185 yards and 0 td's.

That's his average type game. And it just isn't enough of a contribution to warrant a second look after 7 years in the NFL.

If Marty moves to re-sign Banks, and I were Snyder, I would pull the plug and hire Ron Wolf even if it means giving him a nominal stake in the team.

[Darth Tater]

Thing about somebody like Brad Johnson is that he'd kill the other team when he only had to throw around 22 passes.

The thought I refered to earlier is in reference to our propensity to not take advantage of our oppenents mistakes (how many times in the second Eagle game did we blow them while in the Bears game I can think of at least three) while our opponents seem to always be able to take advantage of ours!

[OrangeSkin]

It's hard to get excited over a turnover anymore. It just makes you feel sorry for the defense because the offense can't do anything with it.

[TennesseeCarl]

I've been feeling the same way, Orangeskin. Getting the ball doesn't seem to help - the Bears were obliging enough...so was Philly. We just can't do anything with the ball.

And how many of you yell at the t.v. as you watch the play develop, "Get rid of the D##m ball, Tony!" It drives me nuts.

At least we've cut down on the number of Kurps, but that's largely because first downs are so scarce.

[joe]

I've been off for a few days, so I have not been able to take part in any debates that might have been going on after the Chicago loss. But it seems to me that better play at the quarterback position would have had us in the playoffs.

That said, I am not convinced that Banks is not the answer. Six years is nothing for a QB who has changed teams 4 times. If Banks knew this offense as well as Farve does the offense in GB, always knowing just where all 5 receivers in a red zone pattern are going to be all of the time, who knows how effective he could be?

Someone else mentioned Walsh's compliment of Banks. I am inclined to go with Walsh. He does know QB's. Besides, who out there is better?

Just some thoughts.

[GURU]

Joe, you just hit on something. The problem is, after starting 12 games in this offense, Banks never seems to know what route his SECOND option is running, let alone the 4th or 5th.

If the first option is covered, he starts dancing around and SEARCHING for a receiver. The thing is, he should already know where that guy is.

Banks just doesn't seem to have the capacity to slow his mind down and run through his progressions in the heat of battle. After 6 seasons, you either get that part of the game, or you won't ever. Banks hasn't got it.

We've already had this discussion about Walsh in another thread. He's nowhere close to 100% on his QB evaluations in the past. He's got his share of misses.

[indyskinsfan]

Remember how the Eagles got him? They didn't exact scare the he** out of anyone, before they drafted him.

Since he went in the first, naturally the hype and promo's, sponsors, family and friends all chip in to put him out there. We all knew he was a good kid from Syracuse, but so was Gary Beban (oh, uh, didn't he win the Heismann ahead of Simpson, Theismann? )

Now after the ballyhoo about the Skins enamored picks and stars brought on board along with "Ray Rhodes", no one was supposed to do anything against a secondary, defensive line with ALL #1's and a capable LB corps, coupled with hard hitting safeties.

Along comes McNabb, who jukes, scrambles, rumbles and stumbles, even "flies" for 125 yards rushing. Well, now, on paper against an All Star cast, he was forever etched in eternal memory of the greatest performance by a QB of All Time.

NAAAAAAAA! Please! It was Dan Snyder that was hated and all the media needed was a "Hero" and all of a sudden the Campbell Soup Kitchen Express was getting bandwagoneers!

Oh well, as soon as the market changes, they may blame it on McNabb for not doing anything like that game since.

Here's why he really, really got those yards that day:

Deion Sanders(I believe, not much of a tackler on the corner), a safety (Shade)that wasn't nearly fast enough to get to him to lay the wood, a DT (Stubbafield) who acknowledged he took something off on most plays when he played for us and hold, that was never, ever called.

Yet that ONE play can get you all of those endorsements, even though the performance wasn't even stellar for the past two years. Even if he was in the top ten, it wasn't like he posted Young, Warner, Moon, Montana, or Fouts numbers or anything. He actually posted them like Dilfer, Johnson, Fiedler, Kitna, a wounded Favre, an ailing and very dizzy Aikman, and King.

Dam* maybe I ought to play, so I can get a lucrative Campbell Soup Deal.

Why haven't they rung, Darrell Green, Bailey Marco Coleman, Arrington, Samuel, Jansen, Davis, or even BMitch's number for a promo? Why? because the target in the NFL was Dan Snyder, no one else, almost like they had a secret envelope passed around. How many plays and games in kind, have we seen from our guys that matched it?

Now McNabb will HAVE to live up to the billing or Campbell's soup will blame it on him for a lack of interest, Not the other guy - Kurt Warner

[ by indyskinsfan on December 28, 2001.]