Celebrate the best season the Skins have had in a long time

[KazooSkinsFan]

It's Superbowl Sunday and the end of the best season the Skins have had that Joe Gibbs wasn't HC in a long time. It would have been the 70s. What a season of accomplishment:

- Dan Snyder may not be a good owner yet, but at least he's now in the Owner's role with a strong front office to run the team.

- Mike Shanahan. What a great coach he is coming in and taking on the huge mess he inherited head on. He's also a class act and he knows football, we're in great hands.

- Discipline. Thanks to Mike, it's back and wow, we needed it.

- Clean cap. Tough season, but we didn't waste the capless year cutting old players and redoing contracts.

- Fat Albert. Again, Mike handled this masterfully dealing with the big, selfish baby head on without letting him impact the team.

- Kyle. An up and coming coach in the NFL, our O is going to improve with Kyle running the show.

- Switch to an attacking 3-4. No, the 3-4 isn't perfect, but you win in the NFL by making plays, not by slowing down teams and the 3-4 is that system.

- O-line. Yes, it's still bad, but it's an impressive improvement in one year given what we had to work with.

- Heart. We played a killer schedule. Yet even with the losses we stayed in games against very good teams and beat some very good teams. The team kept playing their guts out until the end.

The only negative in my view was McNabb. I loved the trade, but how he handled McNabb was odd. McNabb played like McNabb. His stats were down but with the O-line and lack of receivers that's obviously going to happen. Then he sits him and doesn't communicate with him even when communications were clearly an issue. Now he seems to be gone. I don't get that whole thing. McNabb played like McNabb. Either we wanted him or we didn't.

[DarthMonk]

A somewhat quirky and optimistic post but I'm sure you can support most of it.

It's Superbowl Sunday and the end of the best season the Skins have had that Joe Gibbs wasn't HC in a long time. It would have been the 70s. What a season of accomplishment:

I'm no big Norv fan but he and Marty had far better seasons.

- Dan Snyder may not be a good owner yet, but at least he's now in the Owner's role with a strong front office to run the team.

Hopefully true.

- Mike Shanahan. What a great coach he is coming in and taking on the huge mess he inherited head on. He's also a class act and he knows football, we're in great hands.

May be overstating but certainly a step up from Zorn.

- Discipline. Thanks to Mike, it's back and wow, we needed it.

Spot on.

- Clean cap. Tough season, but we didn't waste the capless year cutting old players and redoing contracts.

Actually, isn't cutting old guys a good way to use a capless year.

- Fat Albert. Again, Mike handled this masterfully dealing with the big, selfish baby head on without letting him impact the team.

This seems like an absurd statement. He certainly dealt with him head on but to call it masterful and to say it did niot impact the team seems ... almost silly.

- Kyle. An up and coming coach in the NFL, our O is going to improve with Kyle running the show.

I mostly like K. Shan and will not argue this.

- Switch to an attacking 3-4. No, the 3-4 isn't perfect, but you win in the NFL by making plays, not by slowing down teams and the 3-4 is that system.

Mostly agree. Pitt installed in 1983 and has perfected playing it and drafting for it. We must draft and acquire for it well also or it will fail. Time will tell.

- O-line. Yes, it's still bad, but it's an impressive improvement in one year given what we had to work with.

It's better but I feel like Shan is stubborn and should have played certain people (Montgomery??) way more.

- Heart. We played a killer schedule. Yet even with the losses we stayed in games against very good teams and beat some very good teams. The team kept playing their guts out until the end.

Agreed.

The only negative in my view was McNabb. I loved the trade, but how he handled McNabb was odd. McNabb played like McNabb. His stats were down but with the O-line and lack of receivers that's obviously going to happen. Then he sits him and doesn't communicate with him even when communications were clearly an issue. Now he seems to be gone. I don't get that whole thing. McNabb played like McNabb. Either we wanted him or we didn't.

I'm confused too but this was hardly the only negative.

You certainly went out on some limbs - part of a good post.

DarthMonk

[crazyhorse1]

It's Superbowl Sunday and the end of the best season the Skins have had that Joe Gibbs wasn't HC in a long time. It would have been the 70s. What a season of accomplishment:

- Dan Snyder may not be a good owner yet, but at least he's now in the Owner's role with a strong front office to run the team.

- Mike Shanahan. What a great coach he is coming in and taking on the huge mess he inherited head on. He's also a class act and he knows football, we're in great hands.

- Discipline. Thanks to Mike, it's back and wow, we needed it.

- Clean cap. Tough season, but we didn't waste the capless year cutting old players and redoing contracts.

- Fat Albert. Again, Mike handled this masterfully dealing with the big, selfish baby head on without letting him impact the team.

- Kyle. An up and coming coach in the NFL, our O is going to improve with Kyle running the show.

- Switch to an attacking 3-4. No, the 3-4 isn't perfect, but you win in the NFL by making plays, not by slowing down teams and the 3-4 is that system.

- O-line. Yes, it's still bad, but it's an impressive improvement in one year given what we had to work with.

- Heart. We played a killer schedule. Yet even with the losses we stayed in games against very good teams and beat some very good teams. The team kept playing their guts out until the end.

The only negative in my view was McNabb. I loved the trade, but how he handled McNabb was odd. McNabb played like McNabb. His stats were down but with the O-line and lack of receivers that's obviously going to happen. Then he sits him and doesn't communicate with him even when communications were clearly an issue. Now he seems to be gone. I don't get that whole thing. McNabb played like McNabb. Either we wanted him or we didn't.

Fine, humorous post. I love satirical writing.

[KazooSkinsFan]

It's Superbowl Sunday and the end of the best season the Skins have had that Joe Gibbs wasn't HC in a long time. It would have been the 70s. What a season of accomplishment:

I'm no big Norv fan but he and Marty had far better seasons

You're right in terms of record. I meant that we had the best season in terms of everything we accomplished, I didn't mean this year's record. In other words, all the other stuff in my post. In that regard, this was better then Norv or Marty. I think you meant record so we're not disagreeing on the content.

Also, Shannahan did do a great job handling AH. It was a monster mess. How strongly the team finished the season without caving really shows that he handled all the distractions well. If anything his handling AH was a highlight of his performance this year. He can only control his behavior and therefore he should only be measured on his behavior. Fat Albert continuing to dog it through the season would have killed his discipline drive. He did a great job handling AH.

[KazooSkinsFan]

It's Superbowl Sunday and the end of the best season the Skins have had that Joe Gibbs wasn't HC in a long time. It would have been the 70s. What a season of accomplishment:

- Dan Snyder may not be a good owner yet, but at least he's now in the Owner's role with a strong front office to run the team.

- Mike Shanahan. What a great coach he is coming in and taking on the huge mess he inherited head on. He's also a class act and he knows football, we're in great hands.

- Discipline. Thanks to Mike, it's back and wow, we needed it.

- Clean cap. Tough season, but we didn't waste the capless year cutting old players and redoing contracts.

- Fat Albert. Again, Mike handled this masterfully dealing with the big, selfish baby head on without letting him impact the team.

- Kyle. An up and coming coach in the NFL, our O is going to improve with Kyle running the show.

- Switch to an attacking 3-4. No, the 3-4 isn't perfect, but you win in the NFL by making plays, not by slowing down teams and the 3-4 is that system.

- O-line. Yes, it's still bad, but it's an impressive improvement in one year given what we had to work with.

- Heart. We played a killer schedule. Yet even with the losses we stayed in games against very good teams and beat some very good teams. The team kept playing their guts out until the end.

The only negative in my view was McNabb. I loved the trade, but how he handled McNabb was odd. McNabb played like McNabb. His stats were down but with the O-line and lack of receivers that's obviously going to happen. Then he sits him and doesn't communicate with him even when communications were clearly an issue. Now he seems to be gone. I don't get that whole thing. McNabb played like McNabb. Either we wanted him or we didn't.

Fine, humorous post. I love satirical writing.

Please. It was a great season. Shannahan is a very good coach. This season was a huge step in the right direction.

[Irn-Bru]

I think the year under Schotty was better. By the end of the year, we looked like a team ready to make a playoff run next season. We were younger, more talented, and better stocked at the key positions. What Schotty built in a year took Spurrier two years to undo, but I bet a Spurrier-like coach could tear apart our current team in just one season.

At least one of the seasons under Norv qualify as better years IMO than this past year. What Norv did worse (discipline) he made up for by getting a truly well-oiled machine on offense up and running.

[KazooSkinsFan]

I think the year under Schotty was better. By the end of the year, we looked like a team ready to make a playoff run next season. We were younger, more talented, and better stocked at the key positions. What Schotty built in a year took Spurrier two years to undo, but I bet a Spurrier-like coach could tear apart our current team in just one season.

At least one of the seasons under Norv qualify as better years IMO than this past year. What Norv did worse (discipline) he made up for by getting a truly well-oiled machine on offense up and running.

I agree with you that Marty's team was better then we are, but Marty got a much better team then Mike did. I think we improved a lot more this year then under Marty. But if you're going to pick a year to challenge my claim this was the best one, I agree you picked the right one. Norv had weaknesses and needed to grow, but he was an NFL level head coach and Zorn wasn't.

[CanesSkins26]

- Dan Snyder may not be a good owner yet, but at least he's now in the Owner's role with a strong front office to run the team.

Way too early to make such a claim. Snyder's role is still unclear, Shanahan's abilities as a personnel guy are very much in question, and Bruce Allen helped run Tampa Bay into the ground. The McNabb and Brown trades didn't turn out well and outside of Williams the draft was nothing to write home about either. This front office has certainly not yet showed that it is strong.

- Mike Shanahan. What a great coach he is coming in and taking on the huge mess he inherited head on. He's also a class act and he knows football, we're in great hands.

Again, still way too early to say that. Since Elway retired he's been roughly a .500 coach and his last 4 seasons he's only had one winning season. Since 1998 he has won exactly one playoff game and he has been living off of his Elway-era accomplishments for a long time now. He has a lot to prove next season.

- Discipline. Thanks to Mike, it's back and wow, we needed it.

Yes and no. Yes, it seems that players are practicing harder. But at the same time we were penalized more in 2010 than in 2009.

Clean cap. Tough season, but we didn't waste the capless year cutting old players and redoing contracts.

Agree

- Fat Albert. Again, Mike handled this masterfully dealing with the big, selfish baby head on without letting him impact the team.

Both sides were wrong in this.

- Kyle. An up and coming coach in the NFL, our O is going to improve with Kyle running the show.

I agree that Kyle is a very good coach and I'm glad that we have him.

- Switch to an attacking 3-4. No, the 3-4 isn't perfect, but you win in the NFL by making plays, not by slowing down teams and the 3-4 is that system.

You can make plays running a 4-3 also. The Bucs showed that in 2003 and the Giants in 2008. It's a gross exaggeration to say that the 3-4 makes more plays than the 4-3 because there are many, many variations of each defense. Just because Blache ran a bend but dont break defense doesn't mean that our base 4-3 could not have been tweaked to be more of an attacking defense. I have no problem with the idea of switching to a 3-4, but the way we went about it was stupid.

- O-line. Yes, it's still bad, but it's an impressive improvement in one year given what we had to work with.

Agreed.

- Heart. We played a killer schedule. Yet even with the losses we stayed in games against very good teams and beat some very good teams. The team kept playing their guts out until the end.

Not really. We played 8 games against teams with losing records, 1 .500 team, and 7 games against teams with winning records. That's by no means a killer schedule. We lost 5 games against teams with losing records.

The only negative in my view was McNabb. I loved the trade, but how he handled McNabb was odd. McNabb played like McNabb. His stats were down but with the O-line and lack of receivers that's obviously going to happen. Then he sits him and doesn't communicate with him even when communications were clearly an issue. Now he seems to be gone. I don't get that whole thing. McNabb played like McNabb. Either we wanted him or we didn't.

Terrible trade. We are back to square one in terms of finding our qb of the future.

[UK Skins Fan]

The only negative in my view was McNabb. I loved the trade, but how he handled McNabb was odd. McNabb played like McNabb. His stats were down but with the O-line and lack of receivers that's obviously going to happen. Then he sits him and doesn't communicate with him even when communications were clearly an issue. Now he seems to be gone. I don't get that whole thing. McNabb played like McNabb. Either we wanted him or we didn't.

Terrible trade. We are back to square one in terms of finding our qb of the future.

Not sure about that. Certainly, we're no further along in finding our QB of the present, but McNabb never was the QB of the future in my opinion. Unless you believe that 2-3 years constitutes a future.

We never left square one in our search for the QB of the future! We've wasted one year, but when my team seems to have wasted the best part of two decades, I can wait another year.

But I really would like to be sitting here next year, typing comments agreeing with everybody on the subject of just how great our new starting QB is.

[SprintRightOption]

Both teams in the Super Bowl play the 3-4 defense. Coincidence or reason for their success?

[Paralis]

Both teams in last years' SB played a base 4-3. Coincidence or reason for their success?

[riggofan]

I don't know if you're right about any of this, but I'll just say I like your optimism.

[KazooSkinsFan]

I don't know if you're right about any of this, but I'll just say I like your optimism.

[chiefhog44]

Both teams in last years' SB played a base 4-3. Coincidence or reason for their success?

The Saints play a hybrid defense with both 4-3 and 3-4 characteristics, and I would hardly say that Indy got to the Super Bowl because of their D

[SkinsJock]

Thanks Kaz - I'm looking forward to this next 6 months and hopefully the players and owners will get this BS resolved and get back on track soon

I do agree that we had a good season especially when you look at the combination of players we had that were not here for anything close to what kyle or Jim wanted to do on offense and defense - rather that continue with players that did not suit what they wanted to do they brought in a few new players and began the process towards having a team on offense and defense that will do what Kyle and Jim want them to do on the field

I disagree with fans that think we should have stayed with the 4-3 because we had the players that better suited that defense - Haslett and Mike think that the 3-4 defense is the better defense and that's all that matters - we will be better defensively going forward and we were not going anywhere before

The same is true offensively - many mistakes were made but we will be better because of that

we are not close to being consistently competitive but I do tink we're headed in that direction




I do prefer Mike Shanahan to any other coach in the NFC East - that's another plus

[crazyhorse1]

Thanks Kaz - I'm looking forward to this next 6 months and hopefully the players and owners will get this BS resolved and get back on track soon

I do agree that we had a good season especially when you look at the combination of players we had that were not here for anything close to what kyle or Jim wanted to do on offense and defense - rather that continue with players that did not suit what they wanted to do they brought in a few new players and began the process towards having a team on offense and defense that will do what Kyle and Jim want them to do on the field

I disagree with fans that think we should have stayed with the 4-3 because we had the players that better suited that defense - Haslett and Mike think that the 3-4 defense is the better defense and that's all that matters - we will be better defensively going forward and we were not going anywhere before

The same is true offensively - many mistakes were made but we will be better because of that

we are not close to being consistently competitive but I do tink we're headed in that direction




I do prefer Mike Shanahan to any other coach in the NFC East - that's another plus

Realistically, we are in a real mess with holes everywhere, including QB. We are not yet on track for anything positive. To improve, we will have to have a hugely successful off-season. We were a terrible team last year with a less than average offense and the worse defense in the NFL. This "we took a step forward" business is pure nonsense.

[SkinsJock]

I'm looking ahead based on what we have - I don't think that looking ahead based on what happened here BEFORE Mike & Bruce arrived has any bearing whatsoever

some point to what Mike did elsewhere - OK - so what? he's here and he's dealing with what he's got - this franchise needed a HC like Mike to get it back in shape

some say he should have used what he had better both defensively and offensively - WHAT A CROCK - we had nothing but the off season award going for us - I think Mike looked at the defensive ratings and the players and decided that is not going to work - "we're changing to the 3-4
you know what? I like the intensity that the defense payed with and I think we'll see a lot more effective and exciting defense in the future - I believe the players on defense know that too
on offense they tried McNabb (Campbell was NOT an option) - no worries - we had to try something

we have begun the process and it will take time to replace EVERYONE - this franchise was too old and not assembled to play together under ANY offensive or defensive plan


we'll see these guys clean house some more here soon and we'll see players coming in here and understanding that the Washington Redskins Country Club is no longer open for membership




I'm looking forward NOT back - have fun with that stuff - it's been a mess since that little twerp bought the franchise from the Cooke family

[CanesSkins26]

on offense they tried McNabb (Campbell was NOT an option) - no worries - we had to try something

No worries? Seriously? We wasted two picks on an aging qb that isn't going to be here going forward. We got suckered in this trade by the Eagles who knew exactly what they were trading us. And it's not like McNabb turned out to be something unexpected. He was inaccurate in Philly with questionable practice habits. Shanahan and Allen should have known what they were getting, yet somehow Mike was surprised with how Donovan practices and plays once he got here.

You say "no worries", but the picks that we traded could have been useful in this draft to select our future qb. Instead, as usual, we are stuck with minimal draft picks and are going to have a hell of a time filling our many needs. Everything about this trade was a disaster.

[UK Skins Fan]

on offense they tried McNabb (Campbell was NOT an option) - no worries - we had to try something

No worries? Seriously? We wasted two picks on an aging qb that isn't going to be here going forward. We got suckered in this trade by the Eagles who knew exactly what they were trading us. And it's not like McNabb turned out to be something unexpected. He was inaccurate in Philly with questionable practice habits. Shanahan and Allen should have known what they were getting, yet somehow Mike was surprised with how Donovan practices and plays once he got here.

You say "no worries", but the picks that we traded could have been useful in this draft to select our future qb. Instead, as usual, we are stuck with minimal draft picks and are going to have a hell of a time filling our many needs. Everything about this trade was a disaster.

Sadly, I have to agree. Disaster may be a little strong, but it certainly doesn't qualify as hyperbole. Whether anybody likes to hear it or not, this is a rebuilding franchise, and those were draft picks we couldn't afford to lose unless we got excellent value for them. That's two more players for our appalling defensive front seven that we could have picked up with those draft picks. Sure, we might just get something back in a trade, but I wouldn't place a bet on us getting anything worthwhile back.

I'm not able to just write off that McNabb trade without a care in the world. In retrospect, it appears now to have been a gamble, or a leap of faith. It certainly doesn't look part of any cohesive plan for building this team into a consistent winner.

[SkinsJock]

I'm not writing it off - I just don't understand what good comes from not only pointing to this trade as a mistake but trying to make out like that it's a HUGE mistake - the NFL is full of stories of trades that did not work out - tis is just another one of them - MOVE ON

I'm for making the most of what we have and what we've learned - we were a disaster, totally - some just want to take anything and everything bad that's happened and point to that - FINE - go start a thread for all the worry warts and have fun commisserating with yourselves


this thread is not saying we didn't make a bunch of blunders - it's just pointing out, among other things, that we're in a lot better shape because we have these guys in charge here than we were 12 months ago


I'm glad we have a real HC and not an icon like Cowher or a TV guy like Gruden - Shanahan is just the guy we need as a HC and a disciplinarion


and guess what? HE"S STILL HERE and he'll show all the naysayers and doubters that he's THE MAN

I'll tell you what, if he does not get to finish what he started, at the VERY LEAST, the next guy is going to take over a franchise on the way up, not down like Shanahan did

[CanesSkins26]

It certainly doesn't look part of any cohesive plan for building this team into a consistent winner.

This is the key and most troubling part of the trade.

[CanesSkins26]

this thread is not saying we didn't make a bunch of blunders - it's just pointing out, among other things, that we're in a lot better shape because we have these guys in charge here than we were 12 months ago

In what way are we in better shape? Can you point to any position other than LT and say that we are in better position now that we were a year or two ago? If anything, I think there is even more uncertainty now because a number of key players have gotten older. You can talk all you want about how great Mike Shanahan is, and he has certainly done some things very well, but in the most important area - player personnel - we are still very much a mess.

[SkinsJock]

We could have used the draft picks and we should have done a lot of other things - WOULDA, COULDA, SHOULDA


we are better off MAINLY BECAUSE we no longer have Snyder & Cerrato - that's a huge plus and it ONLY happened because Shanahan would not have come here with that FO

there have been a number of mistakes this past year BUT there is no doubt in my mind that we are better off ALSO because this FO and these coaches demanded the players be more accountable - there are many that could not handle that and they were limited in their opportunities and are most likely gone


we have a lot of issues but I'm glad we have a a HC like this guy in place

like I said - no matter what - this franchise will be better off after another year under these guys - take it to the bank

[UK Skins Fan]

I'm not writing it off - I just don't understand what good comes from not only pointing to this trade as a mistake but trying to make out like that it's a HUGE mistake - the NFL is full of stories of trades that did not work out - tis is just another one of them - MOVE ON

I'm for making the most of what we have and what we've learned - we were a disaster, totally - some just want to take anything and everything bad that's happened and point to that - FINE - go start a thread for all the worry warts and have fun commisserating with yourselves


this thread is not saying we didn't make a bunch of blunders - it's just pointing out, among other things, that we're in a lot better shape because we have these guys in charge here than we were 12 months ago


I'm glad we have a real HC and not an icon like Cowher or a TV guy like Gruden - Shanahan is just the guy we need as a HC and a disciplinarion


and guess what? HE"S STILL HERE and he'll show all the naysayers and doubters that he's THE MAN

I'll tell you what, if he does not get to finish what he started, at the VERY LEAST, the next guy is going to take over a franchise on the way up, not down like Shanahan did

Well, no good comes from pointing out the mistake, but no good comes from ignoring it either Not everybody who leans toward the view that it
was a mistake can be categorised as a doom merchant and dismissed as such Jock. Sure, we've got a few of those around here, but there are plenty of fans like me from the more positive end of the spectrum who have been left scratching their heads as a result of the Redskins' acquisition of, and subsequent treatment of McNabb.

I still believe that we're in much better hands with Shanahan and Allen (hence my sig), but questionable decisions deserve to be questioned.

[UK Skins Fan]

we are better off MAINLY BECAUSE we no longer have Snyder & Cerrato

On that point, we can agree 100% Although the shadow of Snyder remains looming over us - let's hope he remains in the shadows for a long time to come.