AP: NFL 2004: Redskins revival relies on Gibbs

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NFL 2004: Redskins revival relies on Gibbs

Monday, September 6, 2004

Associated Press

ASHBURN, Va. -- The familiar high-pitch laugh isn't heard as often these days. The regular season is drawing near, and Joe Gibbs is getting more and more serious.

"Certainly I am nervous and anxious about it," the Washington Redskins coach said. "We open with a real good football team, and every week is going to be a life-and-death struggle."

While there are those who say a three-time Super Bowl winner in the Hall of Fame has nothing to prove, Gibbs feels that very legacy means he has everything to prove in his first season in 12 years. He's got to show he still has the touch, not only to satisfy himself, but to satisfy the fans who are expecting nothing short of an overnight miracle.

Success is long overdue in Washington, where change has been the only constant since Dan Snyder bought the team in 1999. Yes, there is excitement about this year's team because of Gibbs, but there was also a tremendous buzz in 2000 over a star-loaded team that featured Deion Sanders and Bruce Smith.

And in 2001, when coach Marty Schottenheimer returned to the NFL after a two-year retirement. And in 2002, when mega-college coach Steve Spurrier made the jump to the pros.

"I'm sick and tired of us changing coaches all the time," said Gibbs, repeating the message he's heard from his players. "I said, 'I am, too.' Let's don't do that anymore, OK?"

So is this the year in which the regime change actually works? It had better be, for Snyder's sake, because he certainly can't top the hiring of Gibbs, who signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract.

The players say they're more optimistic than before, but they're repeating some of the same lines they used to praise the arrivals of Schottenheimer and Spurrier.

"He's definitely a winner," linebacker LaVar Arrington said. "The atmosphere that has been created around here is definitely a product of him, but he's earned the right to create this atmosphere. Coach Gibbs, you're going to tell him 'No'? You tell me one person in this building that's going to tell coach Gibbs 'No.' "

Gibbs' every move and word have been eagerly analyzed. He and Paul Brown are the only coaches in NFL history to return to the sidelines after being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Gibbs works primarily with the offense, and he has gone to great lengths to keep his game plan under wraps in the name of surprise. In some ways, the more exciting coach to watch has been assistant Gregg Williams, the ex-Buffalo coach who is in charge of the defense. Williams blitzed all 11 players on the very first play of spring practice and installed an aggressive scheme players love.

Of course, Gibbs and Williams are only as good as the talent they put on the field.

Mark Brunell, 33, did nothing special to win the quarterback job over struggling Patrick Ramsey. The veteran needs to find a rhythm and show a bit more fire to prove he's not on the backside of his career.

Clinton Portis becomes the latest laboratory case of whether Denver's running backs are good only because of a great offensive line. Portis rushed for more than 3,000 yards in two seasons with the Broncos and now has to prove he's worth a $50.5 million contract.

Washington's offensive line was supposed to be a strength, but Jon Jansen is out for the season with a ruptured Achilles' tendon, and Chris Samuels and Randy Thomas are fighting nagging injuries.

The defensive line raises the biggest doubts. There's no pass-rushing threat, so Arrington and Marcus Washington will be blitzing early and often from their outside linebacker positions.

Three-time Pro Bowler Arrington, playing for his fifth defensive coordinator in five years, could have his best season because his aggressive style fits Williams' plans. However, middle linebacker Mike Barrow (knee) didn't play in the preseason.

No one player can replace departed four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey, but the combination of free agent Shawn Springs at cornerback and first-round draft pick Sean Taylor at safety might come close -- if Springs can stay healthy and Taylor isn't too reckless. The Redskins don't have much depth in the secondary, either.

No wonder Gibbs is nervous. An improvement from last year's 5-11 record seems certain, but a wild-card playoff spot is probably the most realistic goal.

"Everybody can kind of figure out what you're feeling -- apprehension," Gibbs said. "I don't really know what's going to happen. You've got to live your way through it and we'll see how we play."<