My Thoughts About Improving The Team

[Skins Fan in Indy]

I want RGIII as the quarterback for the Washington Redskins and even thou it sucks right now, frustration has set in and times are hard. I expected RGIII to be more advanced then he is now but I am giving him the patience he needs only because Gruden is only in his first year. RGIII plays let this year then I will have to rethink things. The Skins have to decide by May 2015 to pick up the 2016 option for RGIII or not I believe. I hope RGIII can get it together so we dont have to go into the off season as him being the focus the entire off season. There are much bigger issues to worry about.

[Deadskins]

I was never sold on drafting RG3. But it's been 3 games he's played in this year.

...and all 3 of those games have been losses.
(The last two may have been avoided by NOT starting Robert.)

I don't disagree with you. Just pointing out that he's only played in 3 games (not counting the Jags game). And he looks identical (or even a bit worse) than 2013. That's alarming.

Not really. Once again, he's coming off an injury, and he needs to shake off the rust. Personally, I don't think he played poorly in the Houston game. A couple of costly red zone turnovers killed us there. Too bad he got injured so early in the Jags game, because he was looking really good (alot like 2012). I felt like he did an OK job in the Minnesota game (until that final play), but the defense let us down. He played poorly in the Bucs game. So, I see that as a .1-1-2 record on this season.

[riggofan]

Will the circus ever leave Washington? Not as long as the Redskins continue to build losing teams. When you lose year after year -- 2012 was a definite aberration --it’s natural to wonder why and then everything is put under the microscope. Things that don’t factor into wins and losses suddenly look like they do. And when there are people in the building who point fingers -- be it players, coaches or higher -- guess what happens? Drama. And when you have a high-profile quarterback who has many detractors, it multiplies. You want the solution? Build a good organization. That leads to a question -- why haven’t they done so? -- that takes too long to answer.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/ ... redskins-8

[crazyhorse1]

I'd like to hear someone deal with the fact that we are the only team in the NFL that is in the top four in both offense and defense. That must be understood if we are going to get better. Fumbles? Interceptions? Special teams? Penalties? Inexplicable failures at critical times? Countless mental errors. Gentlemen, seems like the coaching. Shanahan was too old and tired; Gruden is too young. Or maybe our players are just too darn stupid and/or unmotivated.

[Irn-Bru]

I'd like to hear someone deal with the fact that we are the only team in the NFL that is in the top four in both offense and defense.

[Deadskins]

I'd like to hear someone deal with the fact that we are the only team in the NFL that is in the top four in both offense and defense.

Yeah, me too. You got a link for that CH1?

[SkinsJock]

riggofan - the FO has to do a better job - we don't need better players, we need players that play together as a unit

just adding elite players is not as important as finding players that make the other players around them better

this is a team game and the players for the most part are all very talented

just adding players to the O line is only the beginning - it takes time for them to become even an average line and really gel

we do not have an average line and while Griffin (or whoever the QB is) has not helped the line by making bad decisions - the offensive line has not helped the offense much at all

[PulpExposure]

I'd like to hear someone deal with the fact that we are the only team in the NFL that is in the top four in both offense and defense. That must be understood if we are going to get better. Fumbles? Interceptions? Special teams? Penalties? Inexplicable failures at critical times? Countless mental errors. Gentlemen, seems like the coaching. Shanahan was too old and tired; Gruden is too young. Or maybe our players are just too darn stupid and/or unmotivated.

8th in offense, 10th in defense.

In Yards. Which it's pretty clear is a terrible measuring stick of how good your offense and defenses actually are. By what matters, points, we're 22nd in offense, and 24th in defense.

[riggofan]

riggofan - the FO has to do a better job - we don't need better players, we need players that play together as a unit

There isn't an eye roll emoticon big enough to fully express my response to that mealy mouthed crock of meaninglessness, so I'm just going to mozy along.

[PulpExposure]

Oh and there's a relatively awful dissection of RG3's play against the Bucs by Chris ey at the WashingtonPost.

Full of pictures that will make you sick.

Conclusion:

"My ultimate evaluation is: he is gun-shy in the pocket, he is so so concerned about anyone putting a hand on him in the pocket…he doesn’t feel what’s going on around him, he doesn’t see what’s going on down the field, he’s not capable of moving and scrambling to make a good throw, he’s inaccurate when he’s on the move, and he’s really inefficient,” ey said. “And as a player, if I were on that team — and I will promise you, all the players would feel this way, because I would feel this way, and you’re wrong to not feel this way — he will not allow you to get better as a player, the way he played in this one week.

“This was one week,” ey emphasized. “And this was an evaluation of one week. I thought he played okay in Minnesota. So keep this in mind. If he continued to play like this for one or two more games, he really decreases the value of who he is moving forward at any point in the NFL, with any other team. He really hurts what he can do potentially. Because any scout, coach, fan can look at this film and say, if this is who he is, we can’t get better as a team.

“If I’m Sean McVay and Jay Gruden right now — no joke, if I’m them right now — I’m sitting in an office on a Tuesday, scratching my head and saying I don’t know what we can put in. We’re really struggling to execute and get the ball in the right direction on easy plays. Like, EASY plays. So I don’t know what we install. I’m not sure, as a staff, how you walk into that install meeting [Wednesday] and say these plays are gonna be great, this is gonna be good here, these spots are [gonne be] here against this coverage. Based on that performance, it’s a real struggle to continue to grow as an entire group of guys.

“That’s where I say you’ve installed an offense, and you want to get better, but the quarterback has to be good enough to see how other things work, see how what you’re doing can work,” ey said. “You can fail. You can throw the ball and fail. You can have misses. But he’s not even taking chances to miss. In this one game.”

It's worth the read. If you need to be more unhappy about Sunday.

[SkinsJock]

I wonder how long these stalwarts will be here ... not that they're bad or anything ...

Tackles - Compton, Moses & Polumbus and Guards - Lauvao, LeRibeus and Long

what a group - be interesting to see who picks them up to bolster their offensive line

just my thoughts about 'improving the team'

[SKINS#1]

After reading the ey article where he provides some detail of why the offense is failing, it is clear it is not on the O line or receivers but it is RGIII failure to execute basic football plays. I am at a loss to understand why. As stated by ey these are easy plays that must be made.

[riggofan]

:lol: I wonder how long these stalwarts will be here ... not that they're bad or anything ...

Tackles - Compton, Moses & Polumbus and Guards - Lauvao, LeRibeus and Long

what a group - be interesting to see who picks them up to bolster their offensive line

just my thoughts about 'improving the team'

Wow, we just spent two third round picks six months ago on Moses and Long and you're already suggesting they need to be released and replaced? So your plan to improve the team is to toss out our most recent draft picks and replace them with...?

Either way, I'm confused by your comments. I thought a few posts ago you wrote that we don't need to get better players we just need to get guys to play better together?

[Deadskins]

it is RGIII failure to execute basic football plays. I am at a loss to understand why.

It's not really that complicated.
2012 - No one has seen anything like RGIII, and they tell him so.
2013 - Wants to come back to that same 2012 spotlight, but physically can't. As a result, the entire team is deflated by the lack of the 2012 RGIII, including Bob himself. Fans turn on him quickly, and he starts pressing. He takes shortcuts that result in poor mechanics, while at the same time, defenses know that he is not the serious scrambling threat he was before, so they tee-off on him making him a bit gun-shy.
2014 - Just as he's starting to forget 2013, he gets injured again, and many fans cheer because they stupidly want his understudy. While he is out, he hears all the talk about how he's a bust, and he's done. His understudy's understudy plays decently, and the defense has a great game, and we beat Dallas, Then, he comes back, plays decently, but the defense lets him down, and in the fans' eyes it's his fault, because surely Colt would have won that game. Suddenly it's 2013 all over again. He's pressing, playing scared, other players aren't picking up their games, the defense is sucking, the o-line is sucking, even the place kicker is sucking, and it's all his fault.

I'm actually surprised he's handled it all as well as he has.

[riggofan]

I think you lost me at 2014.

[SkinsJock]

Long & Moses will get a chance to show that the guys that thought they could help this O line knew what they were doing

I just wonder how many of those guys will help an offensive line in the years to come

or if any of them have any trade value

[StorminMormon86]

I think you lost me at 2014.

And FWIW, C00ley has said that 3 players on our offense are having pro bowl years...guess who 2 out of the 3 are? Offensive linemen!

[StorminMormon86]

It's not really that complicated.

You're right!

In 2012 Kyle Shanahan implemented an offense very similar to the one Griffin ran at Baylor. Basically, Griffin had one read to look at before he either decided to pitch it to Morris (or Helu, or another checkdown) or take off running. Guess what? It caught defenses by surprise, because it was something new that they hadn't seen before. And guess what? Because of the threat of Griffin taking off and running that usually left his #1 read wide freaking open...every...single...time (Garcon, remember him?). The only problem with this type of offense was once Griffin became a runner, this opened up the possibility of him getting hurt. And he did. Fast forward to 2013. Everyone is concerned with Griffin's health. They try to make him a drop back passer and run less read option stuff. It was ugly. Here we are in 2014, with similar (some even believe worse) results like last year.

So what is it: do we want to run plays like 2012 and increase Griffin's career ending injury ten fold? Or do we want to try to develop Griffin into a pocket passer and go through more growing pains for another 2-3 years?

[riggofan]

Long & Moses will get a chance to show that the guys that thought they could help this O line knew what they were doing

I just wonder how many of those guys will help an offensive line in the years to come

or if any of them have any trade value

hah. Not sure I'm following you there. I'm hoping that those two players at least will pan out for us. I also really hope Gruden gets Chester out of there ASAP and we get to see what Long can do.

Moses supposedly did OK filling in for Trent on Sunday. This breakdown was pretty in depth:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/foo ... on-played/

Moses played well in Williams’s absence, drawing praise from Jay Gruden after the game. One of the Redskins’ biggest tests this week was how they were able to handle the stunts by the Buccaneers’ defensive line. I wrote last week about how Tampa Bay frequently used the ‘TEX’ or tackle-end exchange stunt. Moses came in and picked it up well.

Pretty good read if you have the time.

[SkinsJock]

I hope Long and Moses can contribute .. I doubt that Chester, Compton, Lauvao, LeRibeus or Polumbus will ...

[StorminMormon86]

A lot of people should listen to the Drive on 980. C00ley will pretty much hang up or cut off anyone who brings up "more time for Griffin in the pocket" or "better protection from the o-line".

[Deadskins]

I think you lost me at 2014.

Which part?

[OldSchool]

ey's been saying it for awhile Griffin doesn't mentally process things on the field well enough to play QB. Cousins and now McCoy handle things so much faster and effectively because they understand the playing field so much better than Griffin. Anyone that wasn't drinking the koolaid has been seeing Griffin's deficiencies since 2012 also. Now after nearly 3 years in the NFL Griffin still doesn't think fast enough to even execute the simple stuff correctly. Megabust, time to cut him lose and clear the air in Ashburn.

[riggofan]

I think you lost me at 2014.

Which part?

Just the whole mental part of it. He's not playing well because his feelings are hurt or whatever. Maybe you're right about that for all I know, but if that's really the case and he lacks that mental resiliency then we need to move on from this guy TOMORROW.

He had a healthy offseason to get himself prepared to play this season which was not the case at all in 2013. I know the ankle injury was a setback, but its not at all comparable to the ACL. If his feelings were hurt by the fans or the media criticism, it should have been motivation to come out against the 1-8 Bucs and shut the critics up. Instead he played one of the worst games I've seen from him.

Quarterbacks get beat up and criticized constantly. As much as I hate to say it, look at freaking Romo. That guy just keeps shaking it off and coming back.

I guess we'll see. I think this 49ers game is really important for Griffin, and I'm really hoping he plays well.

[Deadskins]

I think you lost me at 2014.

Which part?

Just the whole mental part of it. He's not playing well because his feelings are hurt or whatever. Maybe you're right about that for all I know, but if that's really the case and he lacks that mental resiliency then we need to move on from this guy TOMORROW.

He had a healthy offseason to get himself prepared to play this season which was not the case at all in 2013. I know the ankle injury was a setback, but its not at all comparable to the ACL. If his feelings were hurt by the fans or the media criticism, it should have been motivation to come out against the 1-8 Bucs and shut the critics up. Instead he played one of the worst games I've seen from him.

Quarterbacks get beat up and criticized constantly. As much as I hate to say it, look at freaking Romo. That guy just keeps shaking it off and coming back.

I guess we'll see. I think this 49ers game is really important for Griffin, and I'm really hoping he plays well.

I never said he wasn't playing well because his feelings are hurt. I'm saying he's gun shy and everybody blaming him for everything is making him press, and just making everything worse. He may never get his confidence back, in which case you are right, we should probably move on. I don't have a solution, I'm just telling you what I see.