The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

Chris Luva Luva wrote:The defense was really bad, but I swear a lot of yall would drink RGIII's bathwater if he asked you to.

If he isn't 100%, he shouldn't be on the field. He does NOT get a pass for rushing back and holding the offense back. Giving all of his 80% or whatever his health really is, isn't good enough and he doesn't deserve a pat on the back for it. Kirk Cousins should be our starting QB if Robert cannot help this team win.


As far as the defense is concerned.

- Fletcher is 1000 years old.
- Meriweather is still fragile.
- Hall is Hall.
- Doughty is Doughty.
- Rambo is a 6th round pick, despite the kool-aid we all choose to drink. He showed his true colors in the preseason.
- Amerson is a rookie but looks decent.

All that being said, they are who we knew them to be. With the CAP ramification and lack of picks to get RGIII, why did people think they were magically going to turn into a top 5 defense? People are talking about the Steelers and the Ravens, teams with multiple HOF players on them.... We have one and he didn't accumulate that resume mainly from being a Redskin.

And honestly, the defense could have had 4 interceptions in the 1st half and the offense would have done exactly jack-sh** with it. But I'm sure someone would have expected 4 more and complained that we didn't get 8.

Our offense scored three TDS. Teams just dont give away TDS. Each and every point in this league is earned. Like I said our offense isnt firing on all cyclinders. Yet our offense still managed to put up points. Defenses love to get shutouts if they have the option. No way I am buying the argument that teams played soft on us. When a team plays prevent they are trying to cover the long ball and quick scores. If an opposing offense poses no threat of quick scores there is no need to play a prevent against such an offense.

You can slice it however you want but our offense put up three TDs in each game. Had our defense put up a fight it would have been a close game.

I expect this defense to be top ten. We have the talent so I expect more.

Haslett from the time he has arrived until now. Still he has failed to show significant progress. Like I said our offense has shown improvement. Yet our defense is still a work in progress? You cant excuse that. He has had four years to prepare. Especially now that Haslett has talent to work with.

Haslett fails to put our players in the best possible situation to succeed. He is always one step behind. He is playing checkers while the opposing offense is playing chess.

My analysis for what its worth. I think this defense could be top ten with the current talent. If we use the players we have correctly.

CBs Amerson and Hall. Amerson has shown he can play. He is big fast and physical. More man to man coverage. Hall can still cover same with him more man to man. Use Halls aggressiveness, play to his strengths. Bump and run more man to man coverage.

Reed Doughtys strength is his tackling and being in the right position. Use him more around the line of schrimmage.

Merriwhether was playing well until he got hurt. He is injury prone. Need him to stay on the field.


More man to man coverage. Its a copycat league. We have the defensive players to run a scheme like Seattle. Seattle and the Forty Niners run a heavy man to man coverage with the four down lineman going after the QB. Mixed in with blitzes.

Perry Riley and London Fletcher. Riley has shown he can get to the QB. Utilize this. Fletcher is old but he can still play. Use him right.

It all points to Haslett being terrible once again. How else does a team give up 1000 yards in two games?

How many games should the Redskins spend trying to get Griffin comfortable and productive in the pocket?

They spent 2 games so far and the result 0-2. To my eyes he looks inept. What if things continue like this how many games should they go 3, 4, 5 or more? Should they invest the entire season letting Griffin learn how to perform in the pocket?

I ask these questions because it doesn't look like he's anywhere close to being effective. Maybe the light will go on next week and he'll look like he belongs out there but after watching duplicate performances I doubt it.

I think the Redskins ought to focus on winning this week and if Griffin comes out of the blocks looking as inept as he has the last two weeks they should sit him down early in the first half because they need to win and he isn't playing well enough to help the team. Cousins may be able to help the Skins win and stay in the division race. He's had success playing in the pocket and rolling out and he may be the best option for awhile.

The Skins need to try to win. It's too early in the season to throw in the towel and devote the year teaching Griffin Pocket 101, that can always wait to later in the year if they are out of it.

Chris Luva Luva wrote:IF that's true. That's worse than if they had started Kirk and brought Griff along more slowly...

Also, IF true it shows that the coaches truly think that RGIII is the weak link on the offense right now. And honestly, he appears to be.

100% disagree with you CLL; Our receivers and the middle of the Oline in the weak links on our offense. It seemed everytime RG3 dropped back to pass yesterday the whole interior of the line was getting pushed back so he couldn't step up and throw. Griff's only interception wasn't his fault; I couldn't tell at the game whether it was Robinson or Morgan but they both had a bad game. Robert doesn't look like he did last year but he's not playing like crap either and is definitely not the weakest link on the offense.

Where did the bootleg go?

That is actually the staple of this offense ... a zone blocked run and a bootleg coming off of it when the other team keys on Morris.

TimSkin wrote:

Chris Luva Luva wrote:IF that's true. That's worse than if they had started Kirk and brought Griff along more slowly...

Also, IF true it shows that the coaches truly think that RGIII is the weak link on the offense right now. And honestly, he appears to be.

100% disagree with you CLL; Our receivers and the middle of the Oline in the weak links on our offense. It seemed everytime RG3 dropped back to pass yesterday the whole interior of the line was getting pushed back so he couldn't step up and throw. Griff's only interception wasn't his fault; I couldn't tell at the game whether it was Robinson or Morgan but they both had a bad game. Robert doesn't look like he did last year but he's not playing like crap either and is definitely not the weakest link on the offense.

This...

I get trying to develop Bob's pocket skills... but this O-line is not built to pass protect. The kid is getting hit on almost every play. No way to build confidence. If he is able to run the read option, then call it more, to slow down the pass rush... otherwise, you really need to simply fold up the first half of the season.

Countertrey wrote:

TimSkin wrote:

Chris Luva Luva wrote:IF that's true. That's worse than if they had started Kirk and brought Griff along more slowly...

Also, IF true it shows that the coaches truly think that RGIII is the weak link on the offense right now. And honestly, he appears to be.

100% disagree with you CLL; Our receivers and the middle of the Oline in the weak links on our offense. It seemed everytime RG3 dropped back to pass yesterday the whole interior of the line was getting pushed back so he couldn't step up and throw. Griff's only interception wasn't his fault; I couldn't tell at the game whether it was Robinson or Morgan but they both had a bad game. Robert doesn't look like he did last year but he's not playing like crap either and is definitely not the weakest link on the offense.

This...

I get trying to develop Bob's pocket skills... but this O-line is not built to pass protect. The kid is getting hit on almost every play. No way to build confidence. If he is able to run the read option, then call it more, to slow down the pass rush... otherwise, you really need to simply fold up the first half of the season.

a perfect example of this was early in the game 3rd and long pinned deep in our own territory Robert takes the snap and has Montgomery's back in his face by the time he dropped back and set his feet. Pierre ran a deep comeback but slipped and fell but Robert had to throw the ball way to soon and it just would've gone over his head any ways. Yes Pierre fell down but if you at least give the kid the chance to step up and throw that could be a first down or he could at least have time to go to another option.

riggofan wrote:I mean, does anybody really believe we could have plugged Kirk Cousins in the past two games and had better results?

Yes, we quite possibly could have. But then RGIII would still have to shake off the rust when he eventually did come back. It's worth it to have some problems early on to be back on track later in the season.

Payton Manning started 2-3 last year. His stats were so-so but I remember his play was definitely off.

Tom Brady started 3-2 in 2009 and had multiple ratings below 60. His start was pretty average as well and he had 6 more months to recover

Give it time. When he heals and gets his feet right, he hits all those passes. He did last year on half a leg. He hits those passes, and he injects some confidence in everyone.

Deadskins wrote:

riggofan wrote:I mean, does anybody really believe we could have plugged Kirk Cousins in the past two games and had better results?

Yes, we quite possibly could have. But then RGIII would still have to shake off the rust when he eventually did come back. It's worth it to have some problems early on to be back on track later in the season.

Respectfully, I just don't understand why anyone would think that. The big knock on RGIII right now is that he isn't running, so its exposing how weak our offensive line is, especially the right tackle. (I think that's the point CLL has been making, and there is probably some truth to it.)

I like Cousins, but I doubt he is any more mobile than Robert. I guess maybe you could argue that he's less "rusty", but he's still going to have to play behind that same line.

StorminMormon86 wrote:

riggofan wrote:lol. Oh good grief. Its week 2 and we're already calling for the QB to be benched AND the coaches to be fired.

Gotta love Washington.

To be fair, I think pretty much every single team has these "knee jerkers". My timeline on facebook was blowing up yesterday with people screaming for Tyrod Taylor to come in and replace Joe Flacco. Sometimes it's best to ignore the idiots and hope they go away.

I know you're right about this. All I can say is that I can't WAIT until we get our first win, so fans can start knee jerking the other way.

riggofan wrote:

Chris Luva Luva wrote:1. This offense will not work if RGIII doesn't run. Why? See point #2.
2. RGIII is NOT a pocket passer AT ALL. Can he makes reads and throws from the pocket? Yes. Theres more to it than that. RGIII cannot move within the pocket. He cannot buy himself time. His legs are either on or off, there's no middle ground, yet... Those skills were supposed to be groomed this offseason, but he was too busy rehabbing.

If this is true then we wasted those draft picks on RGIII. He'll never last in the league if he has to run as much as he did last year.

I understand your point about mobility and moving out of the pocket. I'm talking specifically though about designed running plays. There was a lot of griping on the radio yesterday that RGIII wasn't running.

Obviously the defense isn't to blame for the offense not putting up points, but is it really so unusual for the offense to start a game with a three and out? Or to not put up points early in the game?

Do you know how many points the Broncos put up in the first quarter yesterday? ZERO. In the meantime, their defense did their job and held the Giants to THREE.

Freaking defense Haslett has to get it together. We know RG3 is giving us his all. I expect that from our defense too. Haslett is playing checkers while the rest of the league is playing chess. Look at the strides our offense has made. Now look at how the defense looks in the same time. Four years and no progress with Haslett. My patience has been thin with Haslett. After this year I want him gone. I do hope he can get this defense better this year but seriously he has sucked for the majority of time he has been with our team. I would say fire Haslett now but I am not sure if the other assistants would be any better. Then again could it get any worse? This may seem like I am overreacting. But seriously am I? Our defense is putrid. Someone has to be accountable. We all know Haslett by now.

I totally agree man! Been saying it after he was here a year that Hasslet was a waste of time for this team. I have never been a fan and now I can't stand the guy. He is ruining this team right now! They are even getting ate up by the run which was our strength. Terrible just terrible!

OK I am tired of complaining about Haslett. I think Haslett is watching film as we speak. Talking it over with our defensive players and making adjustments.
It cant get any worse. So we should see improvement from here on out. We have talent on the defensive side so I have faith they will improve.

C'MON MAN ....

the season is 16 games and while the first 2 games have been BAAAAD - there is no way that we should be over reacting by getting rid of players and coaches

everyone needs to chill out and let these guys show us that they know what they're doing - the players and coaches can do much better than they have

give 'em a break and support them ... don't put them down after just a couple of games

Yes you are right. Everythings gonna be alright.

Yeah I'm bummed about the defense, but I'm not personally a "fire the coordinator" guy.

I do agree though that this is two years in a row our defense has started off the season a mess. No doubt Haslett has faced some big issues with either injuries or the cap penalties. But our D has been atrocious, and it seems like a lot of knowledgeable football people are pointing at the fundamental stuff. Like tackling.

riggofan wrote:Yeah I'm bummed about the defense, but I'm not personally a "fire the coordinator" guy.

I do agree though that this is two years in a row our defense has started off the season a mess. No doubt Haslett has faced some big issues with either injuries or the cap penalties. But our D has been atrocious, and it seems like a lot of knowledgeable football people are pointing at the fundamental stuff. Like tackling.

I agree that we can't even consider firing Haslett during the season, but he has to go after this season even if the defense makes a good improvement. Here is the def rankings the past three yaers under Has:

year pts yds
2012 22 28
2011 21 13
2010 21 31

the three years prior to Has:

year pts yds
2009 18 10
2008 06 04
2007 11 08

Yes, Haslett's Ds have generated more turnovers, but he plays a risk reward scheme with no clue as to when to play it safe (caugh, Dallas 3-19, caugh). He is a riverboat gambler that bluffs when he should fold and goes all in when he should stand pat.

I sent a text to my brother that said what Has needs to do is take a series and decide what he thinks they should do and then do the opposite, then the next series he should do what he thinks is right, and then the next series he should put the defensive plays on a dart board and throw darts to select the play. In other words his instincts suck. I'm not saying he has bad plays, he just has no clue when to call them.

There is a reason he was out of the NFL when Shanny came knocking.

I don't believe I know more than Haslett...and neither should any of the folks on this board!! While we're sleeping, eating, working, posting on this board, Haslett is studying the film! I don't think he's the problem.

Our DBs are not that good. We're seeing the impact of the $36 mil hit right now. A lot of skins fans over value our players AND 4th round draft picks. There's a reason why Rambo wasn't picked early in the draft. Amerson had coverage issues in college, that's why he was a 2nd rounder (maybe we reached for him).

Not to say they both can't come on be good players, but can anyone on this board HONESTLY say -- they thought these two rookies would come out and play like pro bowl players? Come on...be honest.

Aaron Rogers is a stud...he looked over and saw a rookie CB, unfortunately, he looked deep and saw a rookie FS. Then he looked nearer the line of scrimmage and saw a backup SS in Reed and a 38 year old MLB. Those are the issues. Not the coacing staff. Coaches are as good as their talent. The NFL is probably the one league/sport where the talent level is NOT that different from team to team. The Raiders are 2-0 now!

If your team is ready to play and motivated, you win. I don't think our defensive guys are ready for Aaron Rogers and Michael Vick. I'm a bit worried they might not be ready for Stafford either!

Let's hope our offensive can move the ball and keep it away from Stafford, Bush and Johnson.

Am I the only one shocked that there hasn't been an overload of "mock drafts" for us next year? lol

fredp45 wrote:I don't believe I know more than Haslett...and neither should any of the folks on this board!! While we're sleeping, eating, working, posting on this board, Haslett is studying the film! I don't think he's the problem.

Our DBs are not that good. We're seeing the impact of the $36 mil hit right now. A lot of skins fans over value our players AND 4th round draft picks. There's a reason why Rambo wasn't picked early in the draft. Amerson had coverage issues in college, that's why he was a 2nd rounder (maybe we reached for him).

Not to say they both can't come on be good players, but can anyone on this board HONESTLY say -- they thought these two rookies would come out and play like pro bowl players? Come on...be honest.

Aaron Rogers is a stud...he looked over and saw a rookie CB, unfortunately, he looked deep and saw a rookie FS. Then he looked nearer the line of scrimmage and saw a backup SS in Reed and a 38 year old MLB. Those are the issues. Not the coacing staff. Coaches are as good as their talent. The NFL is probably the one league/sport where the talent level is NOT that different from team to team. The Raiders are 2-0 now!

If your team is ready to play and motivated, you win. I don't think our defensive guys are ready for Aaron Rogers and Michael Vick. I'm a bit worried they might not be ready for Stafford either!

Let's hope our offensive can move the ball and keep it away from Stafford, Bush and Johnson.

You make some good points. I dont doubt Hasletts will or work ethic or his heart I know he means well. Just as a tactician some times I disagree. But moving on. The good thing after bad games is that players and coaches are forced to go back to the drawing board. There is some good that can come from this. Also RG3 did get some valuable experience.

... Raiders are 1-1.. but great points!

riggofan wrote:

StorminMormon86 wrote:

riggofan wrote:lol. Oh good grief. Its week 2 and we're already calling for the QB to be benched AND the coaches to be fired.

Gotta love Washington.

To be fair, I think pretty much every single team has these "knee jerkers". My timeline on facebook was blowing up yesterday with people screaming for Tyrod Taylor to come in and replace Joe Flacco. Sometimes it's best to ignore the idiots and hope they go away.

I know you're right about this. All I can say is that I can't WAIT until we get our first win, so fans can start knee jerking the other way.

They'll be calling for the Queen of England to knight RGIII after our first win. It's ridiculous.

StorminMormon86 wrote:

riggofan wrote:

StorminMormon86 wrote:

riggofan wrote:lol. Oh good grief. Its week 2 and we're already calling for the QB to be benched AND the coaches to be fired.

Gotta love Washington.

To be fair, I think pretty much every single team has these "knee jerkers". My timeline on facebook was blowing up yesterday with people screaming for Tyrod Taylor to come in and replace Joe Flacco. Sometimes it's best to ignore the idiots and hope they go away.

I know you're right about this. All I can say is that I can't WAIT until we get our first win, so fans can start knee jerking the other way.

They'll be calling for the Queen of England to knight RGIII after our first win. It's ridiculous.

LMFAO. Its funny because its TRUE.

fredp45 wrote:I don't believe I know more than Haslett...and neither should any of the folks on this board!! While we're sleeping, eating, working, posting on this board, Haslett is studying the film! I don't think he's the problem.

I hear you, man. I definitely don't think I know more than Haslett. And anybody who doesn't think that players are the most important piece of this equation has never coached a sport before. Haslett has definitely had some legitimate obstacles to overcome - injuries, cap penalties.

Still, coaching does matter. There are some coaches in the league who just ALWAYS have good defenses. I'm sure you can name some of them. Marvin Lewis, maybe Wade Phillips, Dick LeBeau. Those guys.

If Haz can at least get this group to be a mediocre defense this year, I'll consider it something of a success. If not, I'd hope they're looking for somebody new in January.

Our O obviously has problems, but NO team is going to get many wins when their D keeps giving up 30 points in the 1st half alone...

grampi wrote:Our O obviously has problems, but NO team is going to get many wins when their D keeps giving up 30 points in the 1st half alone...

Grampi, I agree with you 1000%.