2010 Redskins Post Mortem

[Skinsfan55]

After a 6-10 season in 2010, are we better off today than we were at the end of the season last year?

Last year we had a young QB who was thrown around as a possible franchise player. We had a feature back in Clinton Portis who was injured. We had Santana Moss and Chris Cooley as established threats and Fred Davis, Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly as possible up and comers. The offensive line was an absolute mess. Our defense was about to be turned upside down but we had young stars like Orakpo and Landry to go with vets like Hall and Fletcher. We had the best defensive tackle in the league too.

This season:

We have no clear cut answer at quarterback. Ryan Torain as a possible playmaker. Anthony Armstrong as a young deep threat to go with Cooley and Moss. We have Trent Williams locking down the LT spot with question marks everywhere else on the line. I wouldn't be surprised to see the defense feature 50% new players next season with only Carriker, Orakpo, Fletcher, Hall and Landry as likely returns from opening day.

All in all, it looks like there's a possibility we will be better next season, but really... we made very little progress in 2010, and that's mostly due to the miscalculation the organization made with McNabb. He was clearly not a good fit and his failure really held us back. Our fortunes next season really depend on what Shanahan does at quarterback.

Give Shanahan and Allen 3 years though and I like our odds of being contenders.

[gibbsfan]

Doing anything the right way takes time and
I hope this will come together in a few more years
They can start by getting rid of all this locker room cancers.

[REDEEMEDSKIN]

I blame GEICO for the mishaps of the 2010 Redskins season.

As one of the more prominent among THOUSANDS of official sponsors of the Washington Redskins, I think they bought the rights to the Kyle Shanahan offense.

How else do you explain MS turning to Sexy Rexy, if not ONLY to prove that running the offense is SO EASY....

Yup, even a caveman can do it!

[Irn-Bru]

After a 6-10 season in 2010, are we better off today than we were at the end of the season last year?

I think so. Last year we were 4-12 and on the decline. Aside from the opening few games, we were on a skid going into the final stretch of the season and played better, IMHO. And we finished fairly strong, considering how drastically our QB situation changed.

A couple of comments on your synopsis:

Last year we had a young QB who was thrown around as a possible franchise player.

This really isn't accurate. Campbell was at the end of a 5-year chance to do something in Washington that he was never able to turn into anything with. Campbell was not going to be the future quarterback of this team, although it was still surprising when they got rid of him altogether.

Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly as possible up and comers.

They key word there being "possible." I think that having Zorn as coach for their first couple of years was problematic, as they clearly got away with some very bad practice habits and felt complacent and comfortable in their position as starters.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the defense feature 50% new players next season with only Carriker, Orakpo, Fletcher, Hall and Landry as likely returns from opening day.

I'm honestly not sure that Carter is here next year, but in addition to the players you listed I also see Rogers, Buchanon, and Doughty as people likely to return. Either Horton or Moore might make a comeback, too.

Give Shanahan and Allen 3 years though and I like our odds of being contenders.

I agree. McNabb was clearly their biggest mistake. But I thought they handled the Haynesworth situation well, and even though they way they went about handling McNabb was pretty bad I'm glad that they at least made a clear decision and stuck with it. I'd hate to be in QB purgatory this offseason, so at least we have that going for us.

[gibbsfan]

I blame GEICO for the mishaps of the 2010 Redskins season.

As one of the more prominent among THOUSANDS of official sponsors of the Washington Redskins, I think they bought the rights to the Kyle Shanahan offense.

How else do you explain MS turning to Sexy Rexy, if not ONLY to prove that running the offense is SO EASY....

Yup, even a caveman can do it!

You know what makes me sad

YOU DO

[cowboykillerzRGiii]

We beat half the teams in the nfc playoffs made good roster moves and are headed in the right direction.
AA BB torain both Williams. Austin sexy Rex as a backup...
The guy thay backed up sackpo. Looked good. I dig the new nt looked beast today. Barnes doughty are coming up..
Buchanan growing on me if C-los had his hands wow.
J brown was an upgrade but needs to stay healthy.


Better team then we've had. Line backer DE and oline isneeds some love... And of course. Qb.
The way the new hc and GM have been so far I. Like our teams possibilities for next year

[tribeofjudah]

I blame GEICO for the mishaps of the 2010 Redskins season.

As one of the more prominent among THOUSANDS of official sponsors of the Washington Redskins, I think they bought the rights to the Kyle Shanahan offense.

How else do you explain MS turning to Sexy Rexy, if not ONLY to prove that running the offense is SO EASY....

Yup, even a caveman can do it!

You know what makes me sad

YOU DO

"it's just cuz Yellow makes me sad"

[tribeofjudah]

We beat half the teams in the nfc playoffs made good roster moves and are headed in the right direction.
AA BB torain both Williams. Austin sexy Rex as a backup...
The guy thay backed up sackpo. Looked good. I dig the new nt looked beast today. Barnes doughty are coming up..
Buchanan growing on me if C-los had his hands wow.
J brown was an upgrade but needs to stay healthy.


Better team then we've had. Line backer DE and oline isneeds some love... And of course. Qb.
The way the new hc and GM have been so far I. Like our teams possibilities for next year

We'll get better and better.........that's for sure.

[Red_One43]

Last year last two games:

Giants 45 Redskins 12
Cowboys 17 Redskins 0

This year last two games:

Jaguars 17 Redskins 20
Giants 17 Redskins 14 (Check out the last 6 games against the Giants)

I will take this season (Shanahan's first year) over last year ( Zorn's second year) any day. I will remind you all that Joe Gibbs II was 6-10 his first year here and he had a top ten defense. Steve Spurrier was 5-11 before Gibbs II took over.

[KazooSkinsFan]

After a 6-10 season in 2010, are we better off today than we were at the end of the season last year?

Why yes we are. Great post, amigo...

[chiefhog44]

First of all, we would have been 0-16 this year had Zorn stuck around. There is NO doubt about that. We would also be in position to draft Luck, so I'm not sure if we're better long term for that or not.

Secondly, you have to love some of the young players we found this year. If that's not an improvement from years past...just going out and finding some new young hungry players, I don't know what is. We haven't experienced this kind of youth movement in about 10 years.
Players who should be on or competing for the starting team next year, that were either picked up in the offseason, not on the team or not on the starting line at the beginning of the year.

On offense...K. Williams, Torain, AA, BB, the ENTIRE O-line except for Rabach (Leichtensteiger, Montgomery, J. Brown, T. Williams) Grossman (that's almost 85% turnover from last year). I for one asked for them to blow this up this time last year. Did anyone catch Lichtensteiger's comments about them just wanting to go out and hurt people. That reminds me of the line from the old Bronco teams. Love it.

On Defense...Carriker, Riley, Bryant, and some others who will make good back-up's. Barnes, Kemo, Jackson.

Don't get me wrong, we have a long way to go.

Thirdly, listen to Fletcher's postgame interview on redskins.com and you be the judge whether the players feel like they are better or not.

2 more years fella's.

[langleyparkjoe]

my dog said we're better this year.. even she knows the obvious

[TCIYM]

Phillip Daniels tweets "I don't think we are that far away from doing something special."

[Skinsfan55]

I'm honestly not sure that Carter is here next year, but in addition to the players you listed I also see Rogers, Buchanon, and Doughty as people likely to return. Either Horton or Moore might make a comeback, too.

I meant opening day starters. I should have been more specific. I would think we'll have a new nose tackle, a new end, 3 new linebackers a new FS and a replacement for Rogers at CB next season.

[chiefhog44]

I'm honestly not sure that Carter is here next year, but in addition to the players you listed I also see Rogers, Buchanon, and Doughty as people likely to return. Either Horton or Moore might make a comeback, too.

I meant opening day starters. I should have been more specific. I would think we'll have a new nose tackle, a new end, 3 new linebackers a new FS and a replacement for Rogers at CB next season.

I think we found our starting NT in Bryant. The dude played VERY well and he is a monster. We have Riley, Fletcher, Orakpo, and Alexander who I think could work for another year. We need a CB and a DE.

[tribeofjudah]

I'm honestly not sure that Carter is here next year, but in addition to the players you listed I also see Rogers, Buchanon, and Doughty as people likely to return. Either Horton or Moore might make a comeback, too.

I meant opening day starters. I should have been more specific. I would think we'll have a new nose tackle, a new end, 3 new linebackers a new FS and a replacement for Rogers at CB next season.

I think we found our starting NT in Bryant. The dude played VERY well and he is a monster. We have Riley, Fletcher, Orakpo, and Alexander who I think could work for another year. We need a CB and a DE.

#50 Rob Jackson is looking promising too...

[cowboykillerzRGiii]

I agree chiefhog44........... A young lb to learn under Fletch, Lo, and Osakpo might be a good idea. Maybe someone who is still big but a tad smaller and faster and a good coverage player.

But CB?
C-los probably gets resigned hall, I like Buchannon over Rogers. We got westbrook and looks like Barnes moves to Safety. I think he's a good fit w LL and have enough depth at CB. With Kemo and Bryant that's good depth at NT unless Kemo moves outside?

[Irn-Bru]

We are still in need of a stud FS, though. Moore, Doughty, and Barnes just don't cut it. A solid player in that position would be the perfect complement to Landry.

[Snout]

We are better this year, but compared to fan expectations, we probably did not improve fast enough from last year to this year.

In particular, the chorus last year was that Allen and Shanahan are football guys and they know what they are doing and know how to build a winning football team. The McNabb deal showed that they actually had little foresight and long term strategy. They gave up important draft picks for a guy who in hindsight was a bad fit, and now they get nothing in return for what they traded away. That was stupid. Does a real GM make stupid mistakes? Everyone makes mistakes, but compared to the "these are real football men" bandwagon, this was a letdown.

Of course, it is good to see other talent step up and take advantage of opportunities.

Now we wait for the draft. I am hoping and praying that we continue to build up the trenches and resist the temptation to waste our top draft pick on the next franchise quarterback. I have zero confidence that Allen and Shanahan know how to spot a franchise quarterback in the draft.

[langleyparkjoe]

I think we found our starting NT in Bryant.

I agree with that

[PAPDOG67]

I meant opening day starters. I should have been more specific. I would think we'll have a new nose tackle, a new end, 3 new linebackers a new FS and a replacement for Rogers at CB next season.

I think we found our starting NT in Bryant. The dude played VERY well and he is a monster. We have Riley, Fletcher, Orakpo, and Alexander who I think could work for another year. We need a CB and a DE.

I'm a big fan of Jackson. He was un-blockable at K-State. Anyone know where we pick with so many teams finishing 6-10??

#50 Rob Jackson is looking promising too...

[SkinsJock]

The most important player is the QB and I understand why they had to make a move for McNabb - we were hopeless with Campbell and would have been worse this year - the ramifications of the trade are not done but we had to try and fix that position

sooooo - here we are - WE NEED A QB - Grossman is an improvement over Campbell but he worries me - I don't think he's going to be a capable starting QB - Hopefully we find someone OR we are going to have to draft a guy that can play soon - especially if we cannot find someone to replace Grossman


THEN - we need to make sure we get the offensive guys we need to make this offense work

I used to think that good franchises found a way to run the ball and have a defense that could stop the other team's run game - I WAS WRONG
this 3-4 defense will be fine here with some more players that suit what the 3-4 requires



This is now a passing game and we need to get offensive linemen, receivers and running backs plus some O line depth
basically - we need to be a lot more effective on offense



FIRST of all - we need to resolve the QB position, again

[SkinsJock]

The 2011 NFL draft has Dallas picking at 9 and us at 10 - Iguess that's because of the strenghth of schedule deal because as I understand it we "finished" at 4 in the NFC East?

[CanesSkins26]

From Dan Steinberg...

Best and worst from the Redskins' season-ending 17-14 loss to the Giants.

Best Sporting Event of the Weekend: Well, it wasn't this game. I know at least two non-media members who went pretty much directly from Pittsburgh to FedEx Field -- thanks for the ride, Jenn and Kenny! -- and more power to them. But I couldn't do it. On Saturday night, I went to a sporting event that was thrilling and memorable and touching, the kind of thing you'll flash back to again and again. I just wasn't ready to follow that up with a three-point Redskins home loss. In fact, I only watched the game in bits and pieces, and I didn't feel sorry for what I missed.

Worst Stretch: Since the midway point of the 2008 season, the Redskins have won 12 games and lost 28. That's a winning percentage of .300 over two-and-a-half seasons. From 1987 through 1991 -- five full seasons -- the Redskins lost a total of 27 regular-season games.

Worst Stretch, Part II: Over the last two seasons, the Redskins are 12 games under .500. Over the past 40 years, that's the franchise's fifth-worst back-to-back seasons: 60-61 (19 games below .500), 93-94 (18 games below .500), 94-95 (14 games below .500), 61-62 (13 games below .500).
Worst Home-Field Advantage: The Redskins finished 2-6 at home. That's their worst home record since going winless at home in 1994.

Worst Place Kicking: Graham Gano ended the season with 11 field-goal misses. He made 69 percent of his kicks, which ranked 38th in the NFL. The 11 missed kicks were the most by a Redskin since Chip Lohmiller missed 12 in 1993.

Worst Quarterbacking: Rex Grossman and Donovan McNabb combined to throw 19 interceptions and lose five fumbles this season. That's a combined 24 quarterback turnovers. Last year, the Redskins only had 18 quarterback turnovers, plus one on a fake field goal pass. In 2008, they had seven. In 2007, they had 21. In 2006, they had 11. So the Jason Campbell Redskins never had as many quarterback turnovers as this outfit.

Worst Defense: The Redskins yielded 6,228 yards this season. That's more than 1,100 yards more than last season, and more than 1,600 yards more than in 2008. It's also the most yards the Redskins have ever allowed in one season.

Worst Heartbreak: The Examiner's John Keim reported that the Redskins tied an NFL record with nine games decided by three points or less. They're the seventh team to reach that mark. The Redskins went 4-5 in those games. They went 1-3 in their final four games, with a total point differential of -4 in that span.

Worst Heartbreak, Part II: The Redskins went 3-2 against teams that qualified for the playoffs, including 2-0 on the road. They went 3-8 against teams that missed the playoffs.

Worst Hard Truth: "You know, their fans were all cheering and what not," Giants defensive tackle Barry Cofield said after the game, via SB Nation DC. "That shows you the state of their team, that they were cheering about us failing. That's when you have no success, those are the kind of things that excite you."

Worst Prediction: After the draft, DeAngelo Hall told a crowd of Redskins fans that he expected 11 or 12 wins this season.

"It's based on the talent we feel like we've got," he said then. "It's based on the improvements I feel like we've made. It's based on the scheme. The scheme alone is gonna give us four or five more wins. The games we lost by two, three points, we'll win those games, easy. We'll dominate our division, off of bringing Donovan McNabb in here, a guy who's dominated the division in the past. So that's just an educated guess. That's an educated guess, and I stand behind. I'll stand behind that. I'll fight and claw to try to make that happen."
Worst Marketing Campaign: "The Future Is Now."

Worst Crowd Shot: The TV broadcast had boatloads, especially late, but I'll chose the one you see above. That was taken with about four minutes left in the first quarter, so there really wasn't any sort of excuse. But hey, what can I say? I didn't go, either.

Best Parts of This Season: Brandon Banks. Anthony Armstrong. Beating the Cowboys. McNabb's post-game speech in Philadelphia. DeAngelo Hall's four interception game. The fact that it's over.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcspor ... worst.html

[SKINFAN]

Doing anything the right way takes time and
I hope this will come together in a few more years
They can start by getting rid of all this locker room cancers.

I agree 100%

If we can't find time to do it right, how are we going to have time to do it twice. =) my fav quote from my gramps. It's a rebuilding year, FOR REAL this time.