Redskins Show their Offense, Defense, & STs are Balanced - In That They're All Terrible

You nailed just about every point. 1-15 looks like a very real possibility. 4-12 now sounds like wishful thinking.

Back to the gravity-defying ice cubes in the artwork again, I see…..guess the art department is like the rest of us….still in a state of shock after seeing THE RAMS whip up on the ’Skins!

All I can say is ouch!

You know…like the croc of s**t theory that Trent WIlliams being out was the only reason the ‘Skins got whupped.
Kevin’s onto something. In the Peoples Republic of Shanahanastan putting square pegs into round holes appears to be the national sport.

And almost every team that has switched to a 3-4 has had growing pains. It happens. I said all offseason that our personnel wouldn’t start to match our scheme until after this year. But everyone expects instant transition. Lack of patience is exactly what has derailed the management of our team for over a decade now. You can’t make a winner overnight.

As far as the “sky is falling” routine… Whatever. We played well for 2 weeks and laid an egg yesterday. It’s a long season; don’t write it off now. We might end up with the number 1 pick this year; we might end up winning the NFC East. Who knows?

The personnel to match the 3-4 is wishy washy. The NT, which by the way I say the Redskins draft in the first round next year if the value is there, is getting slaughtered and taken out of the plays. Sadly, Andre Carter, is trying his best to do what is asked of him but it just isn’t working out, he needs to go. Lorenzo Alexander looks better in coverage IMO and for whatever reason, he’s not in there enough. There will have to be some adjustment for the defense and I expect that will happen.
The most disturbing thing I saw yesterday was our secondary, I’m not sure what’s going on but they looked terrible. It could be just a by product of the front 3 getting pushed back consistently and so the secondary ends up adjusting the most and therefore looking like they did yesterday. Someone should check the stats for how many times we allowed the Rams to convert a 3rd down, especially 3rd and long. It seemed as though we just couldn’t get off the field. I think the cat is out of the bag on how well the front seven fits the 3-4.
Offensively, I think it was easy to see what a difference good O lineman make. Trent Williams not being in there makes a significant difference but wasn’t the only thing wrong yesterday. IMO the C and G positions are very average. Rabach may need to be replaced to see any sustainable, significant jump up in the running game. I still think the offense is making some progress and it showed at times in the running game but only in the first half. That 14 point deficit to start the game was really what lead to the loss. Even though we were leading at one point, the defense was already on the field far to long.
If you want a better team down the road, they need to go through growing pains most likely for a few years, especially the younger players, Shanahan just can’t have them step into starting roles and leave them. It leads to mediocricity and he knows this from his 20+ years of experience. I’m sure if Shanahan could have picked ALL his players, many would not be on the team, but he couldn’t and he’s playing the hand he’s been dealt. Next, all you NFL coaches on here will be calling for his firing and next year at this same time with a different coach the same thing will be going on. It’s like a treadmill of insanity.
Now, on to all the Worldy crisis phanatics who are in a heightened state of hysteria and can’t understand that everything is not perfect like it is in there basement when mommy brings down dinner and does there laundry for them. Try stepping into the real world for a minute, it’s where things go wrong and things get adjusted. We were 4-12 last year and need some rebuilding, and consensus for expectations seem to be about 8-8 this year, and that’s where we are headed. Over reaction can lead to the same thing we had the last two years and for once I’m glad Snyder is NOT listening to the crazy lunatic monday morning QB comments. Many things have clearly looked like a real NFL team the first 3 games as compared to the last 2 years. Leave the planning up to the football experts, not the basement dwellers. If you could do it better, apply for the job, until then, GET A LIFE!

To say the very least. Our offense is struggling from offensive line and receiver woes while our defense is struggling from defensive line woes. Our rush game is failing because we get no push in between the tackle. Our passing attack is predictable without anyone aside from Moss at wideout. Our defensive line isn’t doing the most important part of a 3-4, forcing double teams to free up backers. The only guy benefiting from our 3-4 right now is Landry. We aren’t getting pressure, so our other DBs are having hell covering WRs for 4-5 seconds. Rogers and Hall both look good so far, but they can’t cover forever. Moore is good too, but he shouldn’t have to make unassisted open field tackles in a defense where backers are supposed to have already swarmed him. The 3-4 isn’t a bad idea, but the transition will be terrible at this rate. I am a 4-3 kind of guy myself, because I think it is retarded to take your best pass rusher, and not rush them every down. If you want more people to cover, you bring out your nickel and dime packages, not screwing with two defensive ends and pretending they are OLBs. I think the 3-4 is a mistake for the skins, at least this year. Maybe it’ll be better in the future, but I think we could change back to the 4-3 THIS WEEK, put Orakpo and Carter at DE, and manage a better defense on a week of practice then what we have now. Absolutely rediculous.

As awful as Heyer was, it wasn’t all him. The 3-4 has to go, or this season is lost. I said months ago, that Shanahan’s fateful decision to switch to the 3-4, not having the necessary personnel, could well cost him his job, ruin his tenure as head coach of the Redskins, and doom them to several mediocre or worse seasons. Like Jim Zorn’s early decision that Jason Campbell was his QB – the die was cast. But Mike’s mistake was worse than Jim’s. Mike made other bad decisions – not beefing up the O-line (sticking with Heyer), not beefing up the WRs (sticking with Galloway), not getting another good RB, etc. But the 3-4 move, cleverly turning a top 10 defense into one of the worst in the league – that was the real killer. Looking at the schedule, it’s hard to see even three more wins (TB, JAX?). And we can’t even say “wait till next year”.

Better teams loose to lesser teams in the NFL, and turnovers and penalties and mistakes are normally the reason why. Is the season over? No, not by a longshot, but we will have to beat some of the leagues best teams to make something happen. There is a lot of time to turn this ship around. If we can follow this loss up with some good wins against tougher opponents I’m sure the tunes will change around here just like they have changed since week one. The NFL season is a long bumpy ride and we’ve gotta hang in there with Shanny and company. I know this leaves a bitter taste, but I have faith they can rebound, and a win against the Eagles would go a LOOOOOOOONG toward putting this loss behind us.

Coaches should be able to match the best scheme for the players they have, and for us that is definitely a 4-3. I hate that that feel they have to have THEIR scheme, I know it’s a different sport but I remember Pat Riley changing his style to fit the players he had when he left LA and went to NY. Why can’t this happen in the NFL?

However, an equal part of our problem is that our players are bad and no scheme fixes that. I wanted to write about how back in 2001 we had a new coach the D looked AWFUL (I remember being at a game against the Chiefs and thinking it was the worst defensive performance I had ever seen) and we started 0-5 but turned the season around and made a decent finish. However, that would be rationalizing this awful team and getting sucked into false hope, which personally I am trying not to do ever again. We suck. It’s obvious.

Gibbs II was the only time since Snyder took over the team that there was a consistent head coach for several years. We made the playoffs twice. It’s amazing what can come of a consistent system. I’m just hoping we give Shanny the time to bring in the type of players he wants. It’s going to take several years to replace the crap that cerratto filled the roster with. Trent Williams and Orakpo are excellent building blocks to start with though.

Guys and Gals,

What were you expecting from a team that went 4-12 last year and had only 4 picks in this past years draft? Every year it’s the same thing, fans, bloggers, media, “this is going to be the year the Skins turn it around.” Give me a break, until this franchise rids itself of the past mistakes (no draft picks, suspect free agent signings, no franchise quarterback, letting the star players (and I mean that loosely) have free reign with no consequences, etc.) then this team will continue to suck. McNabb is not the answer he’s just a band-aid on a leaking dike.
The receivers are mediocre, yes fans even Devin Thomas. The defense has forever been mediocre in that it never caused turnovers, so now guys are playing out of position. If freakin Albert Haynesworth had any kind of self worth and actually believed in doing what is best for the team, then he would clog the middle so Fletcher and Rocky could hopefully make plays instead of playing DE where the defense can just run the other way and keep him out of the play.
So forget it Redskins fans, the Skins are exactly what they’ve been for the past 10 years, a below average football team with below average players getting paid superstar salaries. Shame on Redskins fans for thinking anything different after just one “off season with a new coach” you all should no better. Support the team and quit whining when you knew this was a possibility. Give Allen and Shanahan a few more years before you throw the book at them, as for the ST’s coach, toss that loser, he’s been awful for years.

Hey it was rough against the Rams, won’t lie about it. Made me sick. However, I knew going in this was a year of re-building, even with Shanahan and McNabb. Beating dallas weel 1 was glorious, if we go 2-14 (beating them again haha) I would be happy. I am almost 44, been a Skins fan all my life, seen better, seen worse. I grew up in NY fighting annoying Giants fans, nothing will shake me from my loyalty. I still love watching the games and will root to the bitter end. Go Skins!