Year 2 of Shanahan

[RayNAustin]

The defense is in the top 10 in points allowed, (12th in total yards allowed) which is better than the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, Patriots, Packers, Bears etc., and that is the MAIN measure of a defense ... how many points does it allow. And they've managed that even with an offense that can't score, or stay on the field. If the offense was performing at a respectable NFL level, the defensive stats would probably be even better. So people who complain about the defense just don't know what they are talking about.

The offense, on the other hand, has taken a turn for the worse, and there is no example in the recent memory that would overshadow the ineptness we see in the second year of the Shanaklan experiment, with the only arguable exception being the 2004 Redskin offense in the 1st year if Gibbs II.

Even under Zorn, the offense, BOTH YEARS were statistically better points wise, compared to year 2 of the Shanahan regime, and we've never seen such UNENDING QB controversy and personnel miscalculations and mishandling. Mike and Kyle look like the freaking Three Stooges, minus Moe, for God's Sake .... and for those of you who want to preach patience, I've got one message ..... as funny man Ron White would say ... "You just can't fix stupid". I would apply that theme to "you just can't fix poor judgment", and we've seen way to much of that coming from this vaunted, Super Bowl winning, well seasoned, head coach.

Now, for those who would say he was given a bad team, and it takes time to rebuild .... I say you can take as much time as you like .... 2 years ... 5 years .. whatever ... if the man choosing the talent keeps making the same poor decisions (McNabb, Grossman, Beck, Larry Johnson, Willie Parker, etc,, etc.,) then you are going to get more of the same. If you are selling at a loss, you won't make it up in volume!!

Are you hearing me? This guy is not a rookie coach ..... this guy was coaching against Joe Gibbs I ..... and I think anyone who thinks that his "judgment" or talent evaluation skills are going to improve somehow .. given a little time .... you're dreaming.

And it's not just judgment related to talent .. but common sense which seems to lose every battle with Shanahan's ego or desires. We had a decent defense and a roster suited for the 43 we were running, and like a spoiled child wgo has to have his way, he decides to overhaul the defensive roster, when the efforts would have been better directed at the offense.

I've personally seen plenty enough of Mike Shanahan, and his smug Son to last me a lifetime ... and there were many Denver fans that warned us not to be overly excited, or allow expectations to run wild. Many in Denver were extremely happy to see him go ... and now we should all recognize why, but, apparently, few people see the writing on the wall.

The only thing that will save this franchise from such mishandling and incompetence is a "Peyton Manning" type superstar QB who can single handedly win 10 games a year .... like what John Elway did for this beady eyed buffoon.

[Countertrey]

Improve the offense, and this becomes a top 10 defense... or better. The offense is the problem. That's not to say there isn't plenty of room to improve the d... but it is already a very competitive part of the team.

[Countertrey]

The only thing that will save this franchise from such mishandling and incompetence is a "Peyton Manning" type superstar QB who can single handedly win 10 games a year .... like what John Elway did for this beady eyed buffoon.

It's more likely the other way around... how many rings did Elway get before "that beady eyed buffoon" took over in Denver?

[die cowboys die]

our draft this year should be:

1. QB
2-7: OL

[die cowboys die]

...because a good QB and some OL depth are the only thing in the way of this team being very competetive. the rest of the team might not be spectacular but is competetive.

[crazyhorse1]

... All I expected out of this team this year was progress.
The last 2 gmes don't show progress, not even on the defense side.

Nobody can really ascertain what progress has been made or where we are as a franchise until AFTER the season

we are getting better and we will be contending for the playoffs next season

losing games is not good .. finding out who can play & contribute here (+ who cannot) is priceless

Where is the evidence we are getting better? We might be the worse team in the NFL right now. We might not win again this year.

[crazyhorse1]

our draft this year should be:

1. QB
2-7: OL

amen

[die cowboys die]

Where is the evidence we are getting better? We might be the worse team in the NFL right now. We might not win again this year.

Last year we were terrible at:

* Starting OL
* Backup OL (obviously)

* QB
* Defense

and weak or at least thin at RB.

this year we are terrible at:

* Backup OL (starters are not great but are at least remotely competetive)
* QB

those are really the only 2 areas of the game in which we are not competitive right now. if we have ey, Davis, Moss and Hankerson healthy next year, that is plenty of good enough receiving options to be competetive in that regard.

[Redskin in Canada]

I know most of you don't want to hear this, but you need some patience.

AMEN.

We knew we did not have a starting QB. We knew the OL was better than last year but still one of the weakest in the NFL. No surprises.

The PROBLEM is in my opinion: EXPECTATIONS.

Once we got to a good start, fans took for granted a win of the division and a run at the playoffs. We were never there. It was an unreasonable EXPECTATION. The kind of blind faith most of us Skins fans dream about: a competitive team in the playoffs at last.

Reality check: Let's go back to a 8 - 8 season at best, please.

[Redskin in Canada]

our draft this year should be:

1. QB
2-7: OL

I can live with that but I would seriously give some of the lower picks to other positions of need based on best value available.

[CanesSkins26]

:roll:

I bet if we cut Shanahan and moved on to the next coach, we'd see a ton of threads next year talking about how no one could win here because Snyder doesn't let any continuity develop.

We've been here before, people.

I honestly cannot believe people want to move on to the next coach already. I've seen it in a couple of random comment threads on news articles. I'm not a ticket-holder, so I can't gauge the atmosphere at games. But is our fan base really that stupid?

You make good points. However, you also only focus on one part of Shanahan's job - coaching - and that really isn't the problem. The problem
is that Shanahan, no matter his official title, is also the GM here and he is not good at that job. He struggled in that dual role in Denver, it's what
ultimately got him fired, and he should never have been given the authority
over player personnel matters when he was hired here. Like in Denver,
Shanahan the GM is screwing over Shanahan the coach.

What is wrong with his player personnel moves? The guy drafted, T. Williams, Helu, Hankerson, Riley, Kerrigan, J. Jenkins plus a bunch of other contributors. All of these players are good to all pro already. I am really psyched about the future of some of these guys. I haven't been able to say that about many drafts in the last 15 - 20 years. As for his free agents, the guy brought in Otogwe, Hightower, gaffney, Wilson, Bowen, Coefield, and Jamal Brown. All of these players are Solid. He got rid of Haynesworth, Portis, Thomas, Kelly, rabach, Daniels, Campbell, R. Thomas among others. Most of these players are out of the league, over 30, cancers, or a QB that I think sucks. He has the line, QB and depth to left to address. What exactly do you think is so poor? That he made a mistake on McNabb? That he wasn't able to do more on offense in the offseason? Come on now. Be patient. I actually had a blast watching this game. Sure we lost, but, watching, Hank, Riley, Kerrigan, Davis, Bowen, Barnes, and Helu make plays today is REALLY encouraging, because most are under the age of 26 I think

If those guys are all pros that means that 80 percent of the NFL is all pro caliber. How many good games have Hankerson and Helu had? Jenkins hasnt played a down (nobody's fault) but we have no idea if he's good or bad. Trent so far hasn't played up to his draft position. Kerrigan has played very well for a rookie.

As for the other players you mentioned.... Brown is a turnstile over at right tackle, Gaffney is essentially useless, Wilson has been a huge downgrade from what we had, Hightower was ineffective before he got hurt, Cofield isn't good, and Bowen is mediocre. Otogwe was a nice pickup.

[Russ Penman]

yes lets fire the coaching because after a year and half we arent a playoff team.. This talk is ridiculous.. The coaching staff was handed a terrible team with needs EVERYWHERE

So far they have made upgrades to the best of their abilities.. We improved our D Line.. Added a future star in Kerrigan ...Have a quality LT.. found a reliable RB in Helu.. look like we got a WR in Hankerson and so on..

While these moves dont make us an automatic contender its a start and building a team takes time.. Lets give him the FULL length of his contract (GASP) and see what happens..

I know people are going to say well look at the 49ers and the difference a new coach made for them but in their case Harbaugh was handed a good team that needed minor tweaks .. sorry to say it but we were not a few tweaks away and if he came here we wouldnt be 7 & 1...

Then there is the talk of he staked his reputation on the QBs .. OF COURSE he did .. He isnt going to say our QBs are terrible we cant win with them.. have some common sense people .. The coaching staff didnt see a QB they liked in the draft so we waited.. and YES i know there are a few QBs that were drafted who look good and maybe we missed on but hindsight is 20/20 and alot of teams miss on players and QBs in the draft every year ..

BE PATIENT!!

Dude no one is expecting a playoff team, but I think we should be able to expect to be able to score a darn touchdown in a game. We get blanked in Buffalo and Dallas scores 44 points, we can't score one touchdown on a then 1-7 team? We have a Head Coach that "is sticking with Beck" only to run back to Grossman? Sorry this team, the coaching staff and the owner are jokes. There is no credibility and this be patient crap is old, especially watching the Giant's and 49ers yesterday. A college coach comes in and has his team playing well, meanwhile back here in DC a 2 time Super Bowl winning coach has this team playing like what? This team isn't even worth being broadcasted. Seriously this is pathetic excuse for a professional football team.

[Russ Penman]

yes lets fire the coaching because after a year and half we arent a playoff team.. This talk is ridiculous.. The coaching staff was handed a terrible team with needs EVERYWHERE

So far they have made upgrades to the best of their abilities.. We improved our D Line.. Added a future star in Kerrigan ...Have a quality LT.. found a reliable RB in Helu.. look like we got a WR in Hankerson and so on..

While these moves dont make us an automatic contender its a start and building a team takes time.. Lets give him the FULL length of his contract (GASP) and see what happens..

I know people are going to say well look at the 49ers and the difference a new coach made for them but in their case Harbaugh was handed a good team that needed minor tweaks .. sorry to say it but we were not a few tweaks away and if he came here we wouldnt be 7 & 1...

Then there is the talk of he staked his reputation on the QBs .. OF COURSE he did .. He isnt going to say our QBs are terrible we cant win with them.. have some common sense people .. The coaching staff didnt see a QB they liked in the draft so we waited.. and YES i know there are a few QBs that were drafted who look good and maybe we missed on but hindsight is 20/20 and alot of teams miss on players and QBs in the draft every year ..

BE PATIENT!!

Dude no one is expecting a playoff team, but I think we should be able to expect to be able to score a darn touchdown in a game. We get blanked in Buffalo and Dallas scores 44 points, we can't score one touchdown on a then 1-7 team? We have a Head Coach that "is sticking with Beck" only to run back to Grossman? Sorry this team, the coaching staff and the owner are jokes. There is no credibility and this be patient crap is old, especially watching the Giant's and 49ers yesterday. A college coach comes in and has his team playing well, meanwhile back here in DC a 2 time Super Bowl winning coach has this team playing like what? This team isn't even worth being broadcasted. Seriously this is pathetic excuse for a professional football team.

[Russ Penman]

yes lets fire the coaching because after a year and half we arent a playoff team.. This talk is ridiculous.. The coaching staff was handed a terrible team with needs EVERYWHERE

So far they have made upgrades to the best of their abilities.. We improved our D Line.. Added a future star in Kerrigan ...Have a quality LT.. found a reliable RB in Helu.. look like we got a WR in Hankerson and so on..

While these moves dont make us an automatic contender its a start and building a team takes time.. Lets give him the FULL length of his contract (GASP) and see what happens..

I know people are going to say well look at the 49ers and the difference a new coach made for them but in their case Harbaugh was handed a good team that needed minor tweaks .. sorry to say it but we were not a few tweaks away and if he came here we wouldnt be 7 & 1...

Then there is the talk of he staked his reputation on the QBs .. OF COURSE he did .. He isnt going to say our QBs are terrible we cant win with them.. have some common sense people .. The coaching staff didnt see a QB they liked in the draft so we waited.. and YES i know there are a few QBs that were drafted who look good and maybe we missed on but hindsight is 20/20 and alot of teams miss on players and QBs in the draft every year ..

BE PATIENT!!

Dude no one is expecting a playoff team, but I think we should be able to expect to be able to score a darn touchdown in a game. We get blanked in Buffalo and Dallas scores 44 points, we can't score one touchdown on a then 1-7 team? We have a Head Coach that "is sticking with Beck" only to run back to Grossman? Sorry this team, the coaching staff and the owner are jokes. There is no credibility and this be patient crap is old, especially watching the Giant's and 49ers yesterday. A college coach comes in and has his team playing well, meanwhile back here in DC a 2 time Super Bowl winning coach has this team playing like what? This team isn't even worth being broadcasted. Seriously this is pathetic excuse for a professional football team.

[welch]

It will get worse before it gets better. Team has non-star QBs. OK. Bad OL and bad receivers. Therefore, not QB or RB will do well.

Improved defense.

Not much better, but better than with Haynesworth.

Patience.

[SkinsJock]

We may not have much here but I'd rather have Bruce & Mike in charge than whomever is running the Eagles, Giants or Cowboys

Mike AND Kyle need to do better with the offense - the key is to add a good QB


I agree with RiC - most feelings here are exacerbated by unreasonable expectations



This team is not far off from being a competitive unit and will be MUCH better with another draft and some free agents

WE MUST FIND A GOOD QB .... a good back-up QB wouldn't hurt as well

[roybus14]

Same of results, different leaders.........Franchise Curse! When Dan Snyder bought this team professing his longtime love for this team, he never embraced many of those who put trophies in the cases.

Although opinated, most of those who were responsible for those trophies were not embraced at the Park. Snyder decided to do things his way and allow for the handling of numerous situations badly.

Lavar, BMitch, Marty and list goes on. You pay over the hill FAs but guys like Ryan Clark, Carlos, etc. can't get a sniff. All of these things come back to get you in the long run.

Now you've had the guy who put the trophies in the case comeback. And now you have a guy with two of his own trophies come here and you got the same results. The players on this roster can't be that awful. After all, these are HOF coaches who should be able to get something out this team, right?

Now you have the current HOF coach looking like "du-du" because he staked his reputation on his QBs and look at what you got. I'd have to question his sanity for putting his rep on the line for these two guys. Beck was done right before game 1 when the HOF coach named Rex the starter. Beck's energy and pop left. He started the off-season and pre-season like he was the man and his energy showed it. Now, when he does get his shot, his energy is not there and he looks lost.

The best thing for this organization to do is to let Shanny and Bruce continue to stockpile young players and then get the right people in here who can coach them.

[StorminMormon86]

Dude no one is expecting a playoff team, but I think we should be able to expect to be able to score a darn touchdown in a game. We get blanked in Buffalo and Dallas scores 44 points, we can't score one touchdown on a then 1-7 team? We have a Head Coach that "is sticking with Beck" only to run back to Grossman? Sorry this team, the coaching staff and the owner are jokes. There is no credibility and this be patient crap is old, especially watching the Giant's and 49ers yesterday. A college coach comes in and has his team playing well, meanwhile back here in DC a 2 time Super Bowl winning coach has this team playing like what? This team isn't even worth being broadcasted. Seriously this is pathetic excuse for a professional football team.

+1

People can preach "patience" all they want. Shanahan was obviously not being very patient by pulling Beck after three games (which were 3 of our toughest games on our schedule this year) and throwing in Grossman.

[RayNAustin]

The only thing that will save this franchise from such mishandling and incompetence is a "Peyton Manning" type superstar QB who can single handedly win 10 games a year .... like what John Elway did for this beady eyed buffoon.

It's more likely the other way around... how many rings did Elway get before "that beady eyed buffoon" took over in Denver?

Only if you have zero memory of history, or a severely skewed form of logic is that the "likely" assumption. But if one considers history and logic, that is indeed the least likely scenario.

The better question is ... how many Super Bowls appearances has Shanahan made without Elway? The answer is Zero. How many Super Bowls did Elway appear in WITHOUT Shanahan? The answer is 3. Based on that knowledge, it's pretty clear who was the major force behind Denver's 5 Super Bowl appearances.

Another very important question could be asked ... since Elway retired (we can forget Super Bowls) how many playoff games has Shanahan won? The answer is also ZERO.

Now, looking over his entire career ... Shanahan has been a mixed bag of success and failure .... out of his 18 years as a head coach, he's had 7 successful seasons (success=10+ wins and being contenders), and 11 seasons of basically mediocre 500 teams or worse.

In his last 5 years (and this is pretty important in this "what have you done lately" world) Shanahan is BELOW 500 .... his last three years in Denver was a mediocre 24-24 ... here in Washington he has been less than mediocre at 9-16, which will surely be worse by the end of 2011 ... worst case scenario, he'll be 9-23 ... best case scenario 11-21.

In case your math is fuzzy ... Shanahan is unlikely to achieve a 500 record by the time his Redskin contract expires, unless the Redskins magically become the New England Patriots next year .... doubtful, given that we seem to be going backwards at the moment, and still don't have a reliable QB ... with emphasis on "reliable" ... not Super Star.

And after hand selecting McNabb, Grossman, and Beck .... what makes anyone think the Shanahan is going to "break the code" next year?

[elprez19]

Not only are we the worst team in the league but the damn colts are going to prevent us from grabing the best qb next year. That means the stinking colt will have had 2 of the hightest rated qbs that have come out the last decade. When are the skins going to catch a break? This really makes me hate the colts with a passion. They dont deserve LUCK!

[RayNAustin]

Dude no one is expecting a playoff team, but I think we should be able to expect to be able to score a darn touchdown in a game. We get blanked in Buffalo and Dallas scores 44 points, we can't score one touchdown on a then 1-7 team? We have a Head Coach that "is sticking with Beck" only to run back to Grossman? Sorry this team, the coaching staff and the owner are jokes. There is no credibility and this be patient crap is old, especially watching the Giant's and 49ers yesterday. A college coach comes in and has his team playing well, meanwhile back here in DC a 2 time Super Bowl winning coach has this team playing like what? This team isn't even worth being broadcasted. Seriously this is pathetic excuse for a professional football team.

+1

People can preach "patience" all they want. Shanahan was obviously not being very patient by pulling Beck after three games (which were 3 of our toughest games on our schedule this year) and throwing in Grossman.

Excuse me? Three of the toughest games? Would that include the 1 win Panthers and the 1 win Bills ? Did you see how badly the Cowboys TORCHED Buffalo's defense yesterday? 44 - 7 It looked like they were playing Pascalula High .... the same defense that SHUT OUT the Redskins ... not even a 3 pointer could we manage against that hapless defense. We made them look like the 85 Bears ... and it seems to be a pattern developing.

It's the upcoming schedule of 7 final games that include the Cowboys, Jets, Giants, Patriots, Eagles, Seahawks, and Vikings that should be easier than the Panthers and Bills?

Good lord.

[StorminMormon86]

Yes they were tough games. Cam Newton shredded our D, the Bills destroyed Beck with ten sacks. FYI, the Bills were 4-2 when we played them. And the Panthers were in every single one of the game they lost. And yes I'd consider those three teams tougher than the Seahawks, Vikings, and Eagles any day of the week.

[KazooSkinsFan]

This is year 2 and we can't score 1 TD against a 1-7 team. Let's face it let's cut ties, move the team to California and get someone to start a new Redskins's team here in DC. I can't take this embarrassment anymore. Every team we play look like world beaters, why cause nothing Daniel Snyder does works. It's really just that simple.

I'm all for it. You go first and the rest of us will be right behind you. Promise...

[everydayAskinsday]

yes lets fire the coaching because after a year and half we arent a playoff team.. This talk is ridiculous.. The coaching staff was handed a terrible team with needs EVERYWHERE

So far they have made upgrades to the best of their abilities.. We improved our D Line.. Added a future star in Kerrigan ...Have a quality LT.. found a reliable RB in Helu.. look like we got a WR in Hankerson and so on..

While these moves dont make us an automatic contender its a start and building a team takes time.. Lets give him the FULL length of his contract (GASP) and see what happens..

I know people are going to say well look at the 49ers and the difference a new coach made for them but in their case Harbaugh was handed a good team that needed minor tweaks .. sorry to say it but we were not a few tweaks away and if he came here we wouldnt be 7 & 1...

Then there is the talk of he staked his reputation on the QBs .. OF COURSE he did .. He isnt going to say our QBs are terrible we cant win with them.. have some common sense people .. The coaching staff didnt see a QB they liked in the draft so we waited.. and YES i know there are a few QBs that were drafted who look good and maybe we missed on but hindsight is 20/20 and alot of teams miss on players and QBs in the draft every year ..

BE PATIENT!!

Dude no one is expecting a playoff team, but I think we should be able to expect to be able to score a darn touchdown in a game. We get blanked in Buffalo and Dallas scores 44 points, we can't score one touchdown on a then 1-7 team? We have a Head Coach that "is sticking with Beck" only to run back to Grossman? Sorry this team, the coaching staff and the owner are jokes. There is no credibility and this be patient crap is old, especially watching the Giant's and 49ers yesterday. A college coach comes in and has his team playing well, meanwhile back here in DC a 2 time Super Bowl winning coach has this team playing like what? This team isn't even worth being broadcasted. Seriously this is pathetic excuse for a professional football team.

That "college" coach also was handed a good team with talent everywhere .. they had been underachieving and he came in made the difference..

He would not be doing the same for our team.. We dont have the talent they have all over the field and they have wisely upgraded there OLine through the draft over the last couple of years which we have not..

He was handed a team that could win.. all he had to do was make a winner out of Alex Smith..

[Russ Penman]

The we don't have talent is a crock, We let go of Andre Carter, Carlos Rogers and of all people Mr Wide Reciever Brandon Lloyd, Carter set a franchise record in NE last night with 4.5 sacks. Brandon Lloyd has more touchdown receptions yesterday than we were able to score and old Mr. Stone Hands himself leads the interceptions with 5. Amazing that here why do nothing but on other teams WITH QUALITY COACHES they perform!! I guess this point too will be argued. Sorry But again it shows that the coaches here now and the one prior all sucked and were here to get a check. Jim Haslett did nothing in New Orleans, nothing in St. Louis and hasn't done nothing here accept not blitz rookie QB's and blitz veteran QB's. I think the coaches are going over to SE DC and getting and smoking dippers and then coaching. Cause for real, this is crazy!