Red_One43 wrote:RayNAustin wrote:It's not the record that should be the measure of this coaching staff ... a little less good fortune early on and this team could be 1-13, or a little more good fortune could have them at 8-6.
The trouble here is really poor decision making .. poor talent evaluating .. poor personnel handling ... and the arrogance and ego that makes them believe they're right ALL OF THE TIME. This is what needs scrutiny ... not the first season win/loss numbers. You have to ask what has been done to strengthen the team going into the 2nd year? And the honest answer is NOT MUCH ... there is no NET GAIN here.. there are more holes and more question marks now than there was at the beginning of the year.
Galloway, R. Williams, Parker, Johnson? What was up with this? And then they cut Banks? (they were very lucky someone else didn't pick him up, and we were able to get him back). And I'm not going to even argue the Haynesworth fiasco ....
Even without all of that stuff, just the McNabb debacle alone is a deal breaker .... they give up two picks, and now McNabb isn't working out? How can this happen? They had 160 games of film on the guy ... and 8 games in, Boy Wonder was already lobbying for a QB switch? Either they didn't put the necessary talent around McNabb, and fit the scheme to his skill set, or they BLEW IT in their pre-trade evaluation... either way, it's all on them ... and it's a huge setback ... now, missing 2 picks and the guy that supposed to lead your team for the next 3 years is toast too? That's a triple whammy. And it's the kind of stuff that gets people fired.
The reality is, the o-line isn't showing great improvement either, possibly because a Rookie can't block 4 people, and still needs a lot of work, even after giving up a pick for Brown ... and RB is a question mark because of Torrain's health issues, and the fact that Portis is likely done, on top of needing a QB ?
Of course, it's just as bad (if not worse) on the other side of the ball ... and these guys SHOULD HAVE KNOWN that they didn't have the personnel for the 34. Yet the do it anyway, and alienate Haynesworth, and create a season long soap opera in the process .... and we don't have a viable nose tackle which is critical to running a 34 defense ... nor do we have the right LBs for the 34. Major issues in the secondary ... let's see ... what's left? Oh, we have a punter issue .. a long snapper issue and a potential kicker issue.
With missing picks ... and lots of holes to satisfy the new offense and defensive schemes .... and a coaching staff that has acted rather belligerently toward a couple of high-profile players .... (their treatment of McNabb is also renewing doubts about the handling of Fat Albert) ... I doubt the best free agents on the market will be placing the Redskins at the top of their wish lists ... who'd want to come in and deal with this train wreck and two faced coaches?
No, this is not a situation that begs "Give them a chance". What needs to happen is Shanahan 1 & 2, and Haslett need to go. Bring in a coach with a much bigger CLUE .. and a much smaller EGO, who can mend fences with Haynesworth and McNabb ...
Return to the 43 D ... that suits the Redskin current personnel ... and get your money out of Haynesworth. With the current roster, all you'd need is a solid FS, and another CB to be able to return to playing decent defense.
Use what draft picks and free agent moves you need to do to solidify the o-line, and scheme your offense around McNabb's skills. If you did this, you'd have a chance to put a much better product out there next season. But staying the course with Shanahan, and the possibility that he'll burn the #1 pick on a QB .... not much else can be expected over the next couple of years except more of the same. And, given the history thus far, there is no guarantee that they'll not blow whatever personnel moves they make in the upcoming offseason too, in which case, we might be looking at total implosion.
Do you remember Haynesworth form last season in the 4-3? Do you rmember him complaining and fueding with Blache so much that they sent him home from practice and didn't let him play in the last game. Did you read the comments from Jim Washburn, Hayneworth's D line coach in Tennessee, that it was 5 years of turmoil before he gave in (his words gave in) to Hyanesworth and let him free-lance. Let's see - Titans no Super Bowls with Hayneworth. Redskins 4-12 with Haynesworth in the 4-3. Oh by the way, Haynesworth's two All -Pro years were in contract years - one expiring contract and one franchise contract. All this guy did is expect favortism and special treatment. He was no team player. Shanahan set out to show the team that he means business and will not let one guy do what he wants to do. For a winning program in the long run, this needed to be done. You have no such characters on winning programs , like Indy, NE, and Pittsburgh. They get rid of all prima dona's and divas that do not put team first.
The Redskins could have loaded up and paid the big bucks in this past years thin FA market, but they chose to wait this one out for the deeper market coming up. They passed on Karlos Dansby, Alan Faneca and others who would have filled crital needs, but ONE THING that had to change was the culture of SPENDING - that changed. Did you notice that the front office restructured contracts namely Hall and HAynesworth to get them off the salary cap books should a cap return. They did this to poisiton themselve to get the players they want in this year's draft.
Ahh ... you don't like Haynesworth. Got it. But what I don't get is how you surmised that my post had anything to do with Albert Haynesworth. The issue isn't about Haynesworth ... it's about the coaching staff. The Haynesworth saga is simply a symptom of a much larger problem which really took form in a perceived lack of respect on both sides, progressing to a full blown battle of wills ... which did nothing to help a team in transition or a struggling defense right it's ship. Two childlike EGOS battling each other, to the detriment of the team. And both are partially responsible for the never settled impasse.
And you may take note here ... I have not, nor am I defending Albert Haynesworth's behavior. He's a selfish, immature numbskull ... however, if the NFL were to ban such types from the league, or teams chose to deal with such players in the manner the Redskins did, it's likely that the NFL would have to reduce the franchise count by a team or two. In other words ... Haynesworth isn't unique in this regard ... and there are many similar examples ... including many worse.
With that said, the handling of this rather temperamental and self absorbed fellow by Shanahan compounded the problems ... in fact, one could argue that the manner in which Shanahan chose to deal with him from the very outset PRECLUDED any possibility of a positive outcome.
Now, if Haynesworth was the ONLY example ... then one might have a case for assigning 100% blame on Albert. But given the rather clumsy, arguably disrespectful manner in which McNabb has been treated, only reinforces the view that Haynesworth was also mishandled.
Now, if you are trying to imply that Haynesworth could not have helped the Redskin D this year, nor did he contribute much last year ... you're wrong. The Redskins D last year saw a dramatic improvement in sacks by the addition of Albert .... the best total since the 3rd ranked 2004 Redskin D. This year, if the current pace continues, we'll see a double digit decline in sacks, no doubt due to Albert's absence and diminished role, to one degree or another.
The fact that the Redskins changed the defensive scheme from a 43 to a 34 was obviously going to impact Haynesworth if he was to be relegated to the nose tackle position, yet I see no evidence that the staff expended any real effort to alleviate his legitimate concerns ... they chose to take the hardline stand that he was being paid, and he was to do as he is told. And that's a legitimate bottom line position ... but not what one would call a diplomatic starting point. This was the genesis of the battle of wills that continued right up to his suspension .... along the way, Shanahan, in my view, went out of his way to punish Haynesworth for his perceived insubordination, rather than offer any path for Albert to save face. No, to the contrary, Shanahan embarrassed him with the "Conditioning Test" fiasco ... deactivated him on occasions during the season when healthy and available to contribute ... among other actions contrary to any demonstration of a desire to mend fences.
One could certainly argue that Albert brought all of this upon himself, but I think such an argument would have to ignore all of the unnecessary private and PUBLIC eye poking that in fact took place.
The McNabb situation is a completely different scenario ... however, no one can legitimately claim that McNabb was handled properly, or with proper respect , regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the coaches dissatisfaction with his on field performance. Consequently, this reinforces the view that Shanahan's mentality is that of a tactless dictator ... who views the players as pawns on his personal chess board. This behavior also suggests that his ego and image is more important than the team.
The overall view that I present regarding Shanahan is one of multiple issues ... poor judgement in talent evaluations (many examples) ... poor judgement in matching scheme to personnel (last place defense, and a struggling offense) ... and an egocentric manner in which he has chosen to implement these "Changes", exemplified by the dismissive manner he chooses to employ in player dealings.
Overall, it looks more like he's concocting a "Milkshake of Madness" than building a cohesive structure that portends good things coming on the near horizon.
My personal opinion is that he's done less with more ... than just about anyone I can recall as a Redskin coach. I also believe that his son, Kyle, is way less of a genius than is advertised.
