My Thoughts About Improving The Team

[OldSchool]

1. Recognize Griffin is a bust and move on without him. Trade him if a team is foolish enough to take him but releasing Griffin would a step forward in my view. If the team can free up cap money by cutting or trading him that would help but just getting him off the roster would be a plus. I never believed in him and he hasn't improved.

2. Play McCoy the rest of the season and next season if he performs. Focus on McCoy or Cousins for next season while the draft picks and cap money is used to improve the secondary and offensive line. McCoy probably isn't a long term solution but improving the QB position can wait until the secondary and OL are upgraded.

3. Improving the defensive backfield should be the top priority. I think we need a lock down corner more than anything so use the top pick for one or if the class is full of CBs draft a OT.

4. The second need is getting some bigger stronger OL that can open more running holes. I'd take a couple of big road graders in the first 3 or 4 picks. After a right tackle I don't know guards or a center should be taken but get a couple.

5. Leadership changes. I believe Synder picked Griffin but if Griffin was a Bruce Allen idea or Allen didn't try to change Snyder's mind he should be canned. Any part of the leadership that failed to warn Synder didn't serve well and bears some responsibility for the worst draft trade in the history of the league. Perhaps the defensive coordinator needs to go although I think he's short handed.

[StorminMormon86]

How exactly would playing McCoy for the remainder of the season benefit anything? We're out of the playoffs, and McCoy is universally known by just about everyone that he's not the long term answer. Now if it were simply to evaluate the other young players on offense, I could see where the argument could be made to go back to Cousins (IMO the jury is still out on him, he's only played ten games), but I don't see any real legitimate reason as to why you would go back to McCoy.

And I think you give Griffin a short leash against the 49ers before cutting all ties with him. If he looks like he did against the Bucs, Gruden will surely lose the locker room if he continues to start him.

[SportsTACcom]

Our thoughts on improving this God awful team is hoping and praying that Snyder wants to take over that Los Angeles market and takes this franchise and we can get a fresh start with an expansion team and an owner that cares about the community!

Redskins fans deserve better!

http://sportstac.com/13/post/2014/11/re ... owers.html

[SkinsJock]

a few games ago the story from Gruden was that the balance of this season was to find out which players would be here next year

most of us assumed this would also be used to help coach up Griffin into being more effective at reading defenses & playing QB

I think that Gruden needs to give Griffin as much help as he can - HE OBVIOUSLY IS NOT PLAYING WELL

unless he's clearly showing no progress, Griffin is STILL the best option for this franchise going forward

[OldSchool]

a few games ago the story from Gruden was that the balance of this season was to find out which players would be here next year

most of us assumed this would also be used to help coach up Griffin into being more effective at reading defenses & playing QB

I think that Gruden needs to give Griffin as much help as he can - HE OBVIOUSLY IS NOT PLAYING WELL

unless he's clearly showing no progress, Griffin is STILL the best option for this franchise going forward

You are probably going to be the last man on the ramparts defending or holding out some hope for Griffin. I never had any hope for him at all and deeply resented Snyder for squandering 4 high picks on college option quarterback, I want him gone and forgotten.

[OldSchool]

Our thoughts on improving this God awful team is hoping and praying that Snyder wants to take over that Los Angeles market and takes this franchise and we can get a fresh start with an expansion team and an owner that cares about the community!

Redskins fans deserve better!

http://sportstac.com/13/post/2014/11/re ... owers.html

Won't that be wonderful!

[OldSchool]

How exactly would playing McCoy for the remainder of the season benefit anything? We're out of the playoffs, and McCoy is universally known by just about everyone that he's not the long term answer. Now if it were simply to evaluate the other young players on offense, I could see where the argument could be made to go back to Cousins (IMO the jury is still out on him, he's only played ten games), but I don't see any real legitimate reason as to why you would go back to McCoy.

And I think you give Griffin a short leash against the 49ers before cutting all ties with him. If he looks like he did against the Bucs, Gruden will surely lose the locker room if he continues to start him.

I was big Cousins supporter but he didn't curb his interceptions. I don't know why he is interception prone. Too fast a release, inconsistent mechanics, trying too hard, reckless or a combination of things. I suspect part of his problem is he tried too hard and the Skins relied on him too much. They had so many passing attempts he was racking up 300 yard games instead of being a game manager while he got comfortable as a starter. Maybe if he was playing on a better more balanced team that didn't have him throw 35+ times a game he might have settled in I don't know.

As for McCoy, I haven't seen him play enough withe Skins to know yet. I wouldn't object if they brought back Cousins for the balance of the year, if Gruden thought he should, but my preference would giving McCoy a chance to claim the starting job.

[riggofan]

How exactly would playing McCoy for the remainder of the season benefit anything? We're out of the playoffs, and McCoy is universally known by just about everyone that he's not the long term answer. Now if it were simply to evaluate the other young players on offense, I could see where the argument could be made to go back to Cousins (IMO the jury is still out on him, he's only played ten games), but I don't see any real legitimate reason as to why you would go back to McCoy.

And I think you give Griffin a short leash against the 49ers before cutting all ties with him. If he looks like he did against the Bucs, Gruden will surely lose the locker room if he continues to start him.

Its a good question, man.

I will say in McCoy's defense that I don't personally know if he's a long term answer or not. My opinion on him is basically based on seeing him as an unsuccessful rookie on a bad Browns team. If Gruden has a higher opinion of him, I don't have any problem with seeing him or Cousins over the last six games.

I also don't have a problem with Gruden putting RGIII out there v. the 49ers to see if he can bounce back. The guy had a terrible game on Sunday, but its still just one game.

I guess what I'm saying is that I just hope Gruden has the opportunity to do what HE thinks is best. If this decision is all about what Snyder and Allen want, we should consider ourselves hosed for the foreseeable future.

[grampi]

How exactly would playing McCoy for the remainder of the season benefit anything? We're out of the playoffs, and McCoy is universally known by just about everyone that he's not the long term answer. Now if it were simply to evaluate the other young players on offense, I could see where the argument could be made to go back to Cousins (IMO the jury is still out on him, he's only played ten games), but I don't see any real legitimate reason as to why you would go back to McCoy.

And I think you give Griffin a short leash against the 49ers before cutting all ties with him. If he looks like he did against the Bucs, Gruden will surely lose the locker room if he continues to start him.

You know what? I'm sick of people saying "if Robert looks as bad as he did last week" garbage...people have been saying that for the last two seasons...HE'S NOT GETTING ANY BETTER AND HE'S NOT GOING TO! It's time to pull the plug on the RG3 project!

[SkinsJock]

How exactly would playing McCoy for the remainder of the season benefit anything? We're out of the playoffs, and McCoy is universally known by just about everyone that he's not the long term answer. Now if it were simply to evaluate the other young players on offense, I could see where the argument could be made to go back to Cousins (IMO the jury is still out on him, he's only played ten games), but I don't see any real legitimate reason as to why you would go back to McCoy.

And I think you give Griffin a short leash against the 49ers before cutting all ties with him. If he looks like he did against the Bucs, Gruden will surely lose the locker room if he continues to start him.

Its a good question, man.

I will say in McCoy's defense that I don't personally know if he's a long term answer or not. My opinion on him is basically based on seeing him as an unsuccessful rookie on a bad Browns team. If Gruden has a higher opinion of him, I don't have any problem with seeing him or Cousins over the last six games.

I also don't have a problem with Gruden putting RGIII out there v. the 49ers to see if he can bounce back. The guy had a terrible game on Sunday, but its still just one game.

I guess what I'm saying is that I just hope Gruden has the opportunity to do what HE thinks is best. If this decision is all about what Snyder and Allen want, we should consider ourselves hosed for the foreseeable future.

HOPEFULLY Gruden is making ALL the football decisions - that game was bad for everybody including the staff

We are not in great shape right now BUT we are royally screwed if Snyder is getting involved with things again

[StorminMormon86]

I was big Cousins supporter but he didn't curb his interceptions. I don't know why he is interception prone. Too fast a release, inconsistent mechanics, trying too hard, reckless or a combination of things. I suspect part of his problem is he tried too hard and the Skins relied on him too much. They had so many passing attempts he was racking up 300 yard games instead of being a game manager while he got comfortable as a starter. Maybe if he was playing on a better more balanced team that didn't have him throw 35+ times a game he might have settled in I don't know.

As for McCoy, I haven't seen him play enough withe Skins to know yet. I wouldn't object if they brought back Cousins for the balance of the year, if Gruden thought he should, but my preference would giving McCoy a chance to claim the starting job.

Not trying to toot the Cousins should start horn, but he only has ten games experience as a starter.

Here's the problem with benching Griffin and inserting McCoy: what happens if McCoy has a game like Griffin did on Sunday?

[StorminMormon86]

I will say in McCoy's defense that I don't personally know if he's a long term answer or not. My opinion on him is basically based on seeing him as an unsuccessful rookie on a bad Browns team. If Gruden has a higher opinion of him, I don't have any problem with seeing him or Cousins over the last six games.

Fair enough. However, I think the sole reason McCoy was brought in (and kept after the preseason) was the insecurity over whether or not Griffin would stay on the field all season. And McCoy came dirt cheap.

I guess what I'm saying is that I just hope Gruden has the opportunity to do what HE thinks is best. If this decision is all about what Snyder and Allen want, we should consider ourselves hosed for the foreseeable future.

This is my main concern. Which is why it would be somewhat "refreshing" if Gruden were to bench Griffin. Because that would mean Gruden is the one calling the shots and not Snyder/Allen.

[StorminMormon86]

You know what? I'm sick of people saying "if Robert looks as bad as he did last week" garbage...people have been saying that for the last two seasons...HE'S NOT GETTING ANY BETTER AND HE'S NOT GOING TO! It's time to pull the plug on the RG3 project!

I'm sick of people randomly reappearing on this board after Griffin either has a wonderful game or a horrendous game.

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

[fredp45]

I'm apparently the last guy on this board holding out hope RGIII is the guy... He certainly could improve, don't get me wrong.

However, I don't believe you can judge a qb if they don't have good protection and weapons to work with. We do have weapons but I don't see our oline protecting our qb's or opening up running lanes, when we need to run.

All good teams protect their qb's. I believe job 1 for this team in the off-season is improving our line. While I'm certainly not an oline expert, I can see pretty clearly this group of guys are NOT good. Chester is so bad, it's scary!

Also, we want RGIII to be a pocket passer...that's not what he is...He's good at improvising. He did pretty darn well year 1 -- in fact, rookie of the year. Now that he's learning how to slide, or get out of bounds, (most of the times) let him go. Let him roll out and make space. If under duress, run, slide or throw it away.

To go get a new qb and put them behind this oline doesn't solve a thing. I will be able to tell if Dan is NOT involved if we draft lineman this draft and sign big guys in free agency.

Side note -- I am NOT impressed with Haslett. We need a good defensive coach.

[grampi]

You know what? I'm sick of people saying "if Robert looks as bad as he did last week" garbage...people have been saying that for the last two seasons...HE'S NOT GETTING ANY BETTER AND HE'S NOT GOING TO! It's time to pull the plug on the RG3 project!

I'm sick of people randomly reappearing on this board after Griffin either has a wonderful game or a horrendous game.

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

So what? If he keeps getting injured and then only plays a few games each year because of it, do we keep playing him indefinitely regardless of how poorly he's playing in the hopes that he's gonna get better? At some point the team needs to cut it's losses and move on...

[StorminMormon86]

So what? If he keeps getting injured and then only plays a few games each year because of it, do we keep playing him indefinitely regardless of how poorly he's playing in the hopes that he's gonna get better? At some point the team needs to cut it's losses and move on...

IMO, the ties will be cut with Griffin if one of the following happens:

-He suffers another major injury.
-He continues to regress in his play.

His leash may not be as long as people are thinking.

[Skins Fan in Indy]

All I know is that Gruden is a first year coach and he is using what he inherited. The offense has weapons and the defense has flashes of greatness. The house either needs to be cleaned from the top down or we just need to give Gruden a couple years to see what he can do. And for the record the Redskins are a disaster and need some serious help and I love my Skins and it really sucks to be a Skins fan right now. So who do we get behind, is it going to be Snyder or Gruden??? Either way we will be bottom feeders for awhile longer.

[Irn-Bru]

You know what? I'm sick of people saying "if Robert looks as bad as he did last week" garbage...people have been saying that for the last two seasons...HE'S NOT GETTING ANY BETTER AND HE'S NOT GOING TO! It's time to pull the plug on the RG3 project!

I'm sick of people randomly reappearing on this board after Griffin either has a wonderful game or a horrendous game.

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

[Irn-Bru]

So what? If he keeps getting injured and then only plays a few games each year because of it, do we keep playing him indefinitely regardless of how poorly he's playing in the hopes that he's gonna get better? At some point the team needs to cut it's losses and move on...

IMO, the ties will be cut with Griffin if one of the following happens:

-He suffers another major injury.
-He continues to regress in his play.

His leash may not be as long as people are thinking.

I agree. This franchise does not belong to him the way it seemed to immediately after our 2012 campaign. I personally would like to see him here, starting, next year, but it would only be a mild surprise to me if we got rid of Robert during this offseason. Gruden and Allen might discuss it and come to the conclusion that we'll be better off getting whatever we can for him and simply moving on.

[PulpExposure]

So what? If he keeps getting injured and then only plays a few games each year because of it, do we keep playing him indefinitely regardless of how poorly he's playing in the hopes that he's gonna get better? At some point the team needs to cut it's losses and move on...

IMO, the ties will be cut with Griffin if one of the following happens:

-He suffers another major injury.
-He continues to regress in his play.

His leash may not be as long as people are thinking.

I think that's completely fair.

But you missed one:

-He continues talking too much to the press

[StorminMormon86]

I agree. This franchise does not belong to him the way it seemed to immediately after our 2012 campaign. I personally would like to see him here, starting, next year, but it would only be a mild surprise to me if we got rid of Robert during this offseason. Gruden and Allen might discuss it and come to the conclusion that we'll be better off getting whatever we can for him and simply moving on.

If he gets benched this year at some point, I still don't think that would be the death knell for Griffin. I'd much rather (if we were to keep him going into 2015) have a true open competition for the starters job and go from there.

[Irn-Bru]

Oh, yeah, that is a decent scenario too. Though if we take that approach I think we are basically admitting that we no longer have a long-term starter, and whoever wins the job will basically be warming the seat until we make our next major franchise-level investment in the position.

[EA7649]

I agree and disagree with old-school. The parts I disagree with is Robert should continue to start unless he is pulled from a game of he's playing awful. Its a lost season...

Lot I agreed though, see how the players play the rest of the season to show worth.

I hate to think this and I hope I'm wrong. If Robert no longer has a legit chance to play well with Washington due to the line, Tom Brady sucked beginning of this year with a bad line, it'd be difficult for a lot of qb's. Robert will be very good for another team shoving it in redskins fans and media. He'd sure as heck get less criticism it's almost unfair for him. What he said was correct, just to the wrong audience.

I bet you, oldschool, is so happy to watch this failure. Remember cousins was maybe equally as bad. But maybe this system will be good for McCoy next season if Robert doesn't show his worth.

[EA7649]

By the way there are 4 posts already giving suggestions to improve the team

[hanburgerheel]

There is a great deal of blame to go on the coaching staff here. I think Jim Haslett should have been fired in 2012, without exception or delay. He is an abomination. Look at how many losses of this team in two years have been totally because of defensive failure. The offense only scored 7 points against Tampa, an that was an exception.

I also agree that the offensive line is pretty bad, but two of the QB's manage to elude sacks and one gets sacked all the time. From what I can tell, Kyle Shanahan managed to assemble an offensive scheme that exploited RG3's Baylor greatness. Then he got hurt (which was inevitable). Griffin can only be the ROY-version by using that offensive scheme of early-mid 2012, and Gruden does not plan on using such an offense. Griffin, in my opinion, looks totally lost and lacks confidence and leadership in blatant ways.

The O-Line is still able to allow Alfred Morris to perform well. It's clear we have a strong running back. We have some great WR's when there's a QB to get them the ball. The O-line does need at least one, or two, stronger members, however.

The defense has talent but lacks coaching. As I already said, Jim Haslett is awful and should never have been here this long.