In a Thursday column, Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post placed blame for the Redskins' struggles at the feet of the men who head the organization -- owner Daniel Snyder and his right-hand man, executive V.P. of football operations Vinny Cerrato.
In a rant directed primarily at Snyder, Jenkins calls Cerrato "a proven failure."
According to Dan Steinberg of the D.C. Sports Bog (a product of the Post), Cerrato responded during Thursday night's episode of Redskins Nation.
"I'm gonna send all my Super Bowl rings and national championship rings and conference championship stuff and I'm gonna e-mail it," Cerrato said. "You know, I'm gonna send her pictures of all those, you know, because "she probably doesn't know what they look like."
What...Nothing from his time with the Skins
"Sean Taylor is hands down the best athlete I've ever coached it's not even close" Gregg Williams 2005 Mini-Camp
He can't live in the past like that. The only response to a journalist as obnoxious as Sally Jenkins is to prove her wrong with your actions going forward.
It just kind of makes me sick that we have such clowns representing the Redskins... I've been calling for a personnel man for a while, specifically Holmgren with Gruden as HC... but I wonder if Zorn can keep his job as HC and still have Holmgren come on board.
"Guess [Ryan Kerrigan] really does have a good motor. And is relentless. And never quits on a play. And just keeps coming. And probably eats Wheaties and drinks Apple Pie smoothies and shaves with Valvoline." -Dan Steinberg DC Sports Bog
Irn-Bru wrote:He can't live in the past like that. The only response to a journalist as obnoxious as Sally Jenkins is to prove her wrong with your actions going forward.
I don't find her to be obnoxious at all, she's reasoned, intelligent and obviously attracting the attention of others considering her foray into television and history as a published author.
It's true she's critical of the Redskins... but in fairness, they stink.
"Guess [Ryan Kerrigan] really does have a good motor. And is relentless. And never quits on a play. And just keeps coming. And probably eats Wheaties and drinks Apple Pie smoothies and shaves with Valvoline." -Dan Steinberg DC Sports Bog
I don't find much that's objectionable in that article. However, just because I think she's obnoxious / not a good analyst doesn't mean I have to hate everything she does. My own view can be summed up as something like this: when she's on target, she's not original; when she's original, she's not on target. I simply expect a little more from a full-time, paid analyst.
In a Thursday column, Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post placed blame for the Redskins' struggles at the feet of the men who head the organization -- owner Daniel Snyder and his right-hand man, executive V.P. of football operations Vinny Cerrato.
In a rant directed primarily at Snyder, Jenkins calls Cerrato "a proven failure."
According to Dan Steinberg of the D.C. Sports Bog (a product of the Post), Cerrato responded during Thursday night's episode of Redskins Nation.
"I'm gonna send all my Super Bowl rings and national championship rings and conference championship stuff and I'm gonna e-mail it," Cerrato said. "You know, I'm gonna send her pictures of all those, you know, because "she probably doesn't know what they look like."
What...Nothing from his time with the Skins
Does he mean the SB rings he inherited in SF, and then turned the team into one of the worst in football during his tenure there. It was like when Casserly won a SB ring in Washington, followed by some of the worst years of football in DC under his watch.
And college football has NOTHING to do with pro football. Just ask Spurrier.
I think it's much too simplistic to just blame Cerrato & Snyder. The current wave of criticism I think is more valid when speaking of Snyder 5 or 6 years ago. Personally, I feel the decisions have been far better since that time.
No one was suggesting that it was anything but brilliant to bring back Gibbs, and though Gibbs success was limited, poor personnel decisions were Gibbs responsibility. I don't think Cerrato/Snyder made those decisions for Gibbs. I don't buy that.
Now, maybe the decisions made after Gibbs second retirement can be questioned.
In retrospect, what if Williams was hired ... Saunders and Blache assigned as OC and DC, and Collins continued as the starter running Saunders offense as effectively as he did in 2007? Could have been a major difference, and likely way better results than 8-8. The decision to go with Collins would have necessitated the need shop Campbell while he still had trade value in a move to trade up to grab Ryan or Flacco instead of taking Kelly, Thomas, and Davis, who thus far have failed to pay any dividends?
Instead, Snyder decided to fire Williams and Saunders, and bring in an inexperienced guy like Zorn to do with Campbell what Gibbs/Saunders obviously could not do. By hiring Zorn, ostensibly to coach up Campbell in an attempt to find an offense more friendly to him, Snyder dropped the ball again. I can buy that .... but I also remember how many here were supportive of bringing in someone to work with Campbell ... including the media and fans. So now ... everyone has amnesia, and Snyder is once again the idiot.
What if now... a QB change is made, and the Redskins started scoring 30 points a game and finished with a 11-5 this year? The defense, no longer in the position of having to play it safe every game due to the lack of scoring, finished as the dominating defense it was expected to be this year? Would Zorn be on the way out and Snyder an idiot?
I don't think so. And I don't think you can support Campbell while continuing to criticize Snyder. If anything, Snyder's biggest failure in recent years was his failure to read the big red flag Collins performance hoisted up on the Redskin flag pole, and their failure to address it early enough.
RayNAustin wrote: In retrospect, what if Williams was hired ... Saunders and Blache assigned as OC and DC, and Collins continued as the starter running Saunders offense as effectively as he did in 2007? Could have been a major difference, and likely way better results than 8-8. The decision to go with Collins would have necessitated the need shop Campbell while he still had trade value in a move to trade up to grab Ryan or Flacco instead of taking Kelly, Thomas, and Davis, who thus far have failed to pay any dividends?
While I agree that drafting and trying so hard to make JC work has put this team back 5 years, Snyder and Vinny's issues go back even further.
The biggest mistake that was made by these two was getting rid of Schottenheimer and his staff -- a staff which included Miami head coach Sparano. Danny boy's biggest problem is that all he is is a fan with a lot of money. Most people on this website know football better than he does --- and Vinny for that matter.
But in terms of your Collins thing, I totally agree. Why this organization didn't see HUGE, ENORMOUS red flags waving after Collins came in and totally changed the mentality of an offense that couldn't score for 2 years under JC, is insane. I felt like I was taking crazy pills.
RayNAustin wrote: In retrospect, what if Williams was hired ... Saunders and Blache assigned as OC and DC, and Collins continued as the starter running Saunders offense as effectively as he did in 2007? Could have been a major difference, and likely way better results than 8-8. The decision to go with Collins would have necessitated the need shop Campbell while he still had trade value in a move to trade up to grab Ryan or Flacco instead of taking Kelly, Thomas, and Davis, who thus far have failed to pay any dividends?
While I agree that drafting and trying so hard to make JC work has put this team back 5 years, Snyder and Vinny's issues go back even further.
The biggest mistake that was made by these two was getting rid of Schottenheimer and his staff -- a staff which included Miami head coach Sparano. Danny boy's biggest problem is that all he is is a fan with a lot of money. Most people on this website know football better than he does --- and Vinny for that matter.
But in terms of your Collins thing, I totally agree. Why this organization didn't see HUGE, ENORMOUS red flags waving after Collins came in and totally changed the mentality of an offense that couldn't score for 2 years under JC, is insane. I felt like I was taking crazy pills.
Everything about that 2007 finish dictated a different approach for the offseason ... especially with Gibbs retiring. Finishing the final 4 games of 07 with an average of 26 points a game was truly startling, and should have been all the information the Redskins needed to realize that they needed to address the long term QB situation, then and there.
With Gibbs close relationship with Blank in Atlanta, and their QB situation, a Bobby Beathard type guy might have swung a deal with them ... a trade up ... Campbell and their #1 for Atlanta's #1 and take Matt Ryan, while starting the season in 2008 with Collins as the short term starter while developing the rookie, and making that rookie "play his way" into the starter role.
The Redskins have stubbornly ignored all of the warning signs with Campbell, and it looks to be that they have resigned themselves to play Campbell until the 09 season is toast. Then, Zorn will be gone ... Campbell will be gone ... likely Collins will be gone ... and they still have o-line issues to deal with.
This could definitely be a valid criticism of the FO. That, I buy. But I don't buy any argument that excludes Campbell as the most glaring failure.
Irn-Bru wrote:He can't live in the past like that. The only response to a journalist as obnoxious as Sally Jenkins is to prove her wrong with your actions going forward.
what he said - thank's FFA and for the other posts - Jenkins is a tool
we have issues and I'm not a Cerrato fan per se but this team and these coaches have other issues - to just jump on those 2 twits is not helping - what is going on with the players and coaches the past 2 games is just pitiful - the way this team is being managed might change and I do feel that would help this franchise in the long term but the effort from the coaches and the players the last 2 weeks was pathetic
these players and coaches just need to get it together and play some football - show some desire this week
Until recently, Snyder & Allen have made a lot of really bad decisions - nobody with any sense believes this franchise will get better under their guidance Snyder's W/L record = 45% (80-96) - Snyder/Allen = 41% (59-84-1)
RayNAustin wrote: In retrospect, what if Williams was hired ... Saunders and Blache assigned as OC and DC, and Collins continued as the starter running Saunders offense as effectively as he did in 2007? Could have been a major difference, and likely way better results than 8-8. The decision to go with Collins would have necessitated the need shop Campbell while he still had trade value in a move to trade up to grab Ryan or Flacco instead of taking Kelly, Thomas, and Davis, who thus far have failed to pay any dividends?
While I agree that drafting and trying so hard to make JC work has put this team back 5 years, Snyder and Vinny's issues go back even further.
The biggest mistake that was made by these two was getting rid of Schottenheimer and his staff -- a staff which included Miami head coach Sparano. Danny boy's biggest problem is that all he is is a fan with a lot of money. Most people on this website know football better than he does --- and Vinny for that matter.
But in terms of your Collins thing, I totally agree. Why this organization didn't see HUGE, ENORMOUS red flags waving after Collins came in and totally changed the mentality of an offense that couldn't score for 2 years under JC, is insane. I felt like I was taking crazy pills.
This could definitely be a valid criticism of the FO. That, I buy. But I don't buy any argument that excludes Campbell as the most glaring failure.
The JC experiment is what has defined this FO, IMHO. They invested too much and they have done everything possible to make a mediocre (at best) QB into a good one, while ignoring the fact that there is no possible way he will become a good QB. The FO's inability to see or understand actual talent is going to ruin this organization.
If I were Snyder, this is what I'd do. I would give Zorn the remainder of the year to get the offense producing with Collins as the primary. I'd sign Garcia as a backup, and I'd begin my offseason strategy to position the Redskins for one of the top QBs in 2010. Bradford or McCoy would be my focus. The rest of the draft would be dedicated to finding 2 good bodies for the o-line.
If Zorn's offense continued to sputter, and the Redskins finished any lower than 10-6, Zorn would be gone. 10-6 or better, and a decent improvement in production, he stays.
And then I'd send a dozen dead roses to Joe Gibbs with a picture of Jason Campbell attached that said thanks.
RayNAustin wrote:If I were Snyder, this is what I'd do. I would give Zorn the remainder of the year to get the offense producing with Collins as the primary. I'd sign Garcia as a backup, and I'd begin my offseason strategy to position the Redskins for one of the top QBs in 2010. Bradford or McCoy would be my focus. The rest of the draft would be dedicated to finding 2 good bodies for the o-line.
If Zorn's offense continued to sputter, and the Redskins finished any lower than 10-6, Zorn would be gone. 10-6 or better, and a decent improvement in production, he stays.
And then I'd send a dozen dead roses to Joe Gibbs with a picture of Jason Campbell attached that said thanks.
Bradford may not come out. Tony Rice looks good, but I am not sure about his arm strength. I also would consider Tebow, but I am extremely bias because of how much I respect what he does off the field.
But, yes, priority #1 is getting a good QB via the draft. HOWEVER, if we want to position ourselves to get a good QB, we should probably keep JC in the game and continue losing.....
And an FYI about Gibbs and JC ---- he wanted Aaron Rodgers more, but he was drafted one above JC. The skins FO didn't think Green Bay was going to draft a QB in the first round. At least that is what I heard from some "people" -- could be wrong though because I don't know how well they really know Gibbs.
RayNAustin wrote:If I were Snyder, this is what I'd do. I would give Zorn the remainder of the year to get the offense producing with Collins as the primary. I'd sign Garcia as a backup, and I'd begin my offseason strategy to position the Redskins for one of the top QBs in 2010. Bradford or McCoy would be my focus. The rest of the draft would be dedicated to finding 2 good bodies for the o-line.
If Zorn's offense continued to sputter, and the Redskins finished any lower than 10-6, Zorn would be gone. 10-6 or better, and a decent improvement in production, he stays.
And then I'd send a dozen dead roses to Joe Gibbs with a picture of Jason Campbell attached that said thanks.
Bradford may not come out. Tony Rice looks good, but I am not sure about his arm strength. I also would consider Tebow, but I am extremely bias because of how much I respect what he does off the field.
But, yes, priority #1 is getting a good QB via the draft. HOWEVER, if we want to position ourselves to get a good QB, we should probably keep JC in the game and continue losing.....
And an FYI about Gibbs and JC ---- he wanted Aaron Rodgers more, but he was drafted one above JC. The skins FO didn't think Green Bay was going to draft a QB in the first round. At least that is what I heard from some "people" -- could be wrong though because I don't know how well they really know Gibbs.
I don't think that's the case. First, Rodgers fell way lower than expected,(he was slotted as a top 10) and all of the pre draft activity on Redskin 1 was visiting Campbell.
In addition, Rodgers was there for the taking when we picked the other Rogers with our first pick.
RayNAustin wrote:No one was suggesting that it was anything but brilliant to bring back Gibbs, and though Gibbs success was limited, poor personnel decisions were Gibbs responsibility. I don't think Cerrato/Snyder made those decisions for Gibbs. I don't buy that.
Gibbs himself said personnel decisions in that time were the result of a three-person "think tank." VC was an equal third at the top of the process.
But Vinny thinking all that SF and ND bling is a reflection of his abilities is total bunk.
It's akin to the ring Jason Buck got while with the 1991 Redskins.
Who? My point exactly.
For the record, he's a DE from BYU who played in eight games that season, starting one, with 1.5 sacks.
RayNAustin wrote:If I were Snyder, this is what I'd do. I would give Zorn the remainder of the year to get the offense producing with Collins as the primary. I'd sign Garcia as a backup, and I'd begin my offseason strategy to position the Redskins for one of the top QBs in 2010. Bradford or McCoy would be my focus. The rest of the draft would be dedicated to finding 2 good bodies for the o-line.
If Zorn's offense continued to sputter, and the Redskins finished any lower than 10-6, Zorn would be gone. 10-6 or better, and a decent improvement in production, he stays.
And then I'd send a dozen dead roses to Joe Gibbs with a picture of Jason Campbell attached that said thanks.
Bradford may not come out. Tony Rice looks good, but I am not sure about his arm strength. I also would consider Tebow, but I am extremely bias because of how much I respect what he does off the field.
But, yes, priority #1 is getting a good QB via the draft. HOWEVER, if we want to position ourselves to get a good QB, we should probably keep JC in the game and continue losing.....
And an FYI about Gibbs and JC ---- he wanted Aaron Rodgers more, but he was drafted one above JC. The skins FO didn't think Green Bay was going to draft a QB in the first round. At least that is what I heard from some "people" -- could be wrong though because I don't know how well they really know Gibbs.
They are gonna keep JC in and he will be playing for his future with the team. We stink to a relative level the rest of the year, and he doesn't throw a crapload of td passes, he'll be gone. Then I would think they would have to go QB 1st round next year, even though they are deficient at WR and on the O-line. We've seen how well drafting WR's goes for them, so maybe that will be a FA thing. Plus there's some young guys who could conceivably be good in their third year. O-line will probably be ignored as usual, once again building a team in the wrong way.
Personally, I think Bradford is a bit overrated. There isn't a lot of room for accurate pocket passers with ok arm strength in the NFL, so hopefully he doesn't make it to the skins anyway. I don't know what he would do behind our line. McCoy is mobile and accurate, with ok arm strength. Throws a catchable ball. Snead has a great arm and is good in the pocket. Gets himself into some trouble, but hey. I don't know where Claussen would go if he entered the draft, he's got some questions still at this point. Tebow isn't an NFL QB. Jake Locker is picking up a lot of steam as a possible top ten pick, the guy out of Washington. He looks real good on film, big arm, quick. Although, watching that game against USC I can tell you he is already dealing with receivers that have better hands than the skins receivers.
RayNAustin wrote:If I were Snyder, this is what I'd do. I would give Zorn the remainder of the year to get the offense producing with Collins as the primary. I'd sign Garcia as a backup, and I'd begin my offseason strategy to position the Redskins for one of the top QBs in 2010. Bradford or McCoy would be my focus. The rest of the draft would be dedicated to finding 2 good bodies for the o-line.
If Zorn's offense continued to sputter, and the Redskins finished any lower than 10-6, Zorn would be gone. 10-6 or better, and a decent improvement in production, he stays.
And then I'd send a dozen dead roses to Joe Gibbs with a picture of Jason Campbell attached that said thanks.
Bradford may not come out. Tony Rice looks good, but I am not sure about his arm strength. I also would consider Tebow, but I am extremely bias because of how much I respect what he does off the field.
But, yes, priority #1 is getting a good QB via the draft. HOWEVER, if we want to position ourselves to get a good QB, we should probably keep JC in the game and continue losing.....
And an FYI about Gibbs and JC ---- he wanted Aaron Rodgers more, but he was drafted one above JC. The skins FO didn't think Green Bay was going to draft a QB in the first round. At least that is what I heard from some "people" -- could be wrong though because I don't know how well they really know Gibbs.
As for Gibbs wanting Rodgers more than Campbell, it just doesn't make any sense given what we know. They moved up in the draft and let everyone know they wanted Campbell. Rogers was expected to go much earlier in the draft than he did - the NFL had him in New York and most projections had him in the top 10. The only way moving to where they did to get Rodgers makes any sense is if they were somehow smarter than everyone else and knew he was going to slide that far, and they were putting out a smokescreen about Campbell. Unlikely. If they were really targetting Rodgers, they would have moved higher in the draft.
In terms of the draft, next years draft will likely be one of the deepest ever. With the CBA expiring, so there could be a lockout in 2011 or at least a rookie wage scale, lots of juniors who might not otherwise will come out to make sure they get paid before a lockout or wage scale.
With the Cardinals reaching the Super Bowl, is Dan Snyder officially the worst owner in the league?
Irn-Bru wrote:He can't live in the past like that. The only response to a journalist as obnoxious as Sally Jenkins is to prove her wrong with your actions going forward.
Agreed of the places and poeple for him to respond...
"Sean Taylor is hands down the best athlete I've ever coached it's not even close" Gregg Williams 2005 Mini-Camp
RayNAustin wrote:If I were Snyder, this is what I'd do. I would give Zorn the remainder of the year to get the offense producing with Collins as the primary. I'd sign Garcia as a backup, and I'd begin my offseason strategy to position the Redskins for one of the top QBs in 2010. Bradford or McCoy would be my focus. The rest of the draft would be dedicated to finding 2 good bodies for the o-line.
If Zorn's offense continued to sputter, and the Redskins finished any lower than 10-6, Zorn would be gone. 10-6 or better, and a decent improvement in production, he stays.
And then I'd send a dozen dead roses to Joe Gibbs with a picture of Jason Campbell attached that said thanks.
Bradford may not come out. Tony Rice looks good, but I am not sure about his arm strength. I also would consider Tebow, but I am extremely bias because of how much I respect what he does off the field.
But, yes, priority #1 is getting a good QB via the draft. HOWEVER, if we want to position ourselves to get a good QB, we should probably keep JC in the game and continue losing.....
And an FYI about Gibbs and JC ---- he wanted Aaron Rodgers more, but he was drafted one above JC. The skins FO didn't think Green Bay was going to draft a QB in the first round. At least that is what I heard from some "people" -- could be wrong though because I don't know how well they really know Gibbs.
As for Gibbs wanting Rodgers more than Campbell, it just doesn't make any sense given what we know. They moved up in the draft and let everyone know they wanted Campbell. Rogers was expected to go much earlier in the draft than he did - the NFL had him in New York and most projections had him in the top 10. The only way moving to where they did to get Rodgers makes any sense is if they were somehow smarter than everyone else and knew he was going to slide that far, and they were putting out a smokescreen about Campbell. Unlikely. If they were really targetting Rodgers, they would have moved higher in the draft.
In terms of the draft, next years draft will likely be one of the deepest ever. With the CBA expiring, so there could be a lockout in 2011 or at least a rookie wage scale, lots of juniors who might not otherwise will come out to make sure they get paid before a lockout or wage scale.
I think that the points you and RayNAustin make are valid. I wasn't too sure that this was the case anyways, I just thought I would throw it out there. Regardless, it doesn't really matter --- we got who we got, for better or worse.
I do agree that this draft will be the best in a while. That is why I believe we should pick a player that would have the greatest impact on the team --- and that is at QB.
RayNAustin wrote:No one was suggesting that it was anything but brilliant to bring back Gibbs, and though Gibbs success was limited, poor personnel decisions were Gibbs responsibility. I don't think Cerrato/Snyder made those decisions for Gibbs. I don't buy that.
Gibbs himself said personnel decisions in that time were the result of a three-person "think tank." VC was an equal third at the top of the process.
But Vinny thinking all that SF and ND bling is a reflection of his abilities is total bunk.
It's akin to the ring Jason Buck got while with the 1991 Redskins.
Who? My point exactly.
For the record, he's a DE from BYU who played in eight games that season, starting one, with 1.5 sacks.
Saying it was a think tank, and misconstruing that to mean an "equal third" is a stretch. I suspect it was what Gibbs wanted, followed by a meeting between the three to determine if what Gibbs wanted was doable (vinny) followed by affordable (Danny).
RayNAustin wrote:Saying it was a think tank, and misconstruing that to mean an "equal third" is a stretch. I suspect it was what Gibbs wanted, followed by a meeting between the three to determine if what Gibbs wanted was doable (vinny) followed by affordable (Danny).
Fair enough. But he wasn't invisible in the process -- which is how some like to portray how the Gibbs 2.0 operations were built.
Manchester_Redskin wrote:I think Sally Jenkins is a closet Cowboys fan. I have never read any article of hers that shows the Redskins in a positive light
Well, when you think about have the Redskins done anything in the last 10 years that is positive?
