The Washington Redskins continue to hit new lows, as the team sets a record by playing the most winless teams to start a season and coming out of it with a 2-4 record.
Even the most negative Skins fan looked at the beginning of this year’s schedule and came out thinking they had a chance to be 5-1 going into their second real test of the season, next week’s Monday Nighter against the Eagles. Instead, the team is battling media reports, beleaguered coaches and lackadaisical play, and wondering if 3-15 is even possible.
At the heart of it all is the disorganization and ineptitude responsible for it all: the front office. And instead of addressing the big issues, they are throwing sponges in the ocean trying to stop the flooding. Step one happened yesterday. Jason Campbell was benched at half-time in favor of – as the announcers kept annoyingly calling him – “The Veteran Todd Collins.” The offense had two big plays that led to 6 points, one of which didn’t even have anything to do with the quarterback. The end result, however, was that the offense went from terrible to slightly less terrible.
Play-calling continued to be an issue, as well. The Redskins continued their usual patterns that my eight-year-old can call out from the couch. Particularly predictable is the fact that the team ALWAYS runs on second down when throwing on first down. The team took step two and relieved Jim Zorn of his play-calling duties. Nothing gets a team to buy-in like forcing coaching changes from the top-down. The play calls may get better, but who knows if it will help the poor execution and it most certainly will not turn the make-shift offensive line turn into the ’91 Hogs.
Ultimately, there are two guys that picked the players, coaches and offensive scheme (nothing more anti-Redskins than the West Coast Offense, but I digress), and the team will never see the success it had in the ‘80s and ‘90s until there is a fundamental shift in philosophy from the one guy that can’t change, and a change in identity of the second guy.
I’ll leave you with a quote from a member that goes by old-timer, that I hope finds its way to the desk to Daniel Snyder:
Cooke poached Beathard in 1978 from the Miami Dolphins, who he had previously helped go undefeated beating a great George Allen-led skins team in the 1972 Super Bowl. Beathard built the line and found Gibbs, and provided the foundation for Gibbs’ Super Bowl teams. He built the lines primarily through draft picks and picked up the skill players primarily in the free agent market.
If we want a real NFL GM, Snyder will have to do his homework and find another Beathard from the current solid NFL organizations like New England or Pittsburgh or Indy. Then Snyder will have to keep his grubby amateur hands off. Doubt this will happen, just dreaming here.
All I can add, is amen, brother.