***Official*** 2009 Washington Redskins Thread (1 Viewer)

[duckhook]

"We've let everyone down, including ourselves, and we know that and we're just apologetic," "I think number one I feel bad for the fans. I feel sorry for the fans. And we're very, very appreciative of our great, loyal fan base. And I'm understanding; I mean, we just feel terrible," "We're disappointed and we're embarrassed. And we hope to get it going soon. We're disappointed."

But we're not too dissapointed for the fans to sue them, restrict their signs, treat them rudely in the stadium, tell them and the media why they are always wrong, and provide crappy traffic control for games.But yes, we still feel terrible for the fans. And if we ever wise-up and fix the on the field product, we'll feel just bad enough for them to increase ticket, parking, and food prices.

 

[Sidewinder16]

Paul Tenorio reminds us that Rocky McIntosh is quietly having a solid season, and during the final year of his rookie contract, no less. If he continues this season on the same pace, and the 'Skins don't extend him, he should rake in a good bit of cash during the off season, especially if next year remains uncapped (although he may end up a restricted FA; I'm still uncertain of all the intricate changes that would occur if no new CBA comes about).

 

[dgreen]

Paul Tenorio reminds us that Rocky McIntosh is quietly having a solid season, and during the final year of his rookie contract, no less. If he continues this season on the same pace, and the 'Skins don't extend him, he should rake in a good bit of cash during the off season, especially if next year remains uncapped (although he may end up a restricted FA; I'm still uncertain of all the intricate changes that would occur if no new CBA comes about).

Yes, I believe if next year is "uncapped" the number of years required to be an UFA is changed by one.

 

[fatness]

Redskins' passing game on ice Injuries severely hinder team's ability to go downfield

With his offensive line handling a four-man St. Louis Rams pass rush, Jason Campbell was able to survey the field to see whether any of his five receiving options had worked open. The protection sound, Campbell delivered a 24-yard strike down the left hash mark to Antwaan Randle El.

Those types of plays aren't likely to be a regular part of the Washington Redskins' offense in the second half of the season. The loss of left tackle Chris Samuels and right guard Randy Thomas already has hurt Campbell's ability to throw the deep ball. Since Samuels got injured early in a loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 4, the Redskins have completed only one pass that traveled farther than 25 yards - and that came from backup Todd Collins.

The Redskins' 16 passes of at least 20 yards rank 22nd in the NFL, and only five of those traveled 20 or more yards down the field. For the season, Campbell and Collins are a combined 5-for-21 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions on throws that exceed 20 yards.

"We tried to do that a little more with eight-man protections and two guys out," receiver Antwaan Randle El said. "It really limits you because they can play cover two and it's over with." If the defense plays cover two, it's two safeties and two cornerbacks against two receivers. Yep, it's then over with.

But when the Redskins send out three, four or even five eligible receivers, they don't make big plays. They don't score fast. Trailing by 17 points with 9:38 remaining against the Eagles, the Redskins needed points in a hurry. They took nearly five minutes to travel 80 yards before a fumble ended the drive at the Philadelphia 9. The distances of Campbell's passes during the drive: 12, 0, 12, 10, 1, 4, 1, 9 and 9 yards.

The inability to stretch the field is not new for the Redskins. As the offensive line began to wear down last year and Campbell's time in the pocket diminished, so did any sign of a vertical passing game.

Dear Mr. Cerrato,Please see bolded type.

 

[fatness]

You can tell this season really sucks. It's Wednesday night and none of us are talking about this weekend's game. We know what's coming.

 

[fatness]

"There's nothing different," Zorn said. "All three guys punt returned two weeks ago. Nothing has changed. Antwaan is our punt returner. Ypu're going to see Santana and DeAngelo. If he's involved more, it will be one or two reps."

Zorn said Randle El will return the first punt Sunday at Atlanta.

Elfin

 

[fatness]

Warpath Confidential is a relatively new site, started by John Pappas and Rich Tandler I believe. There have been quite a few good Redskin articles there. They just went to being a pay site. So they'll leave a few articles public, and hide most of the best ones for paying customers (which I do not plan to be).

 

[Marvelous]

"There's nothing different," Zorn said. "All three guys punt returned two weeks ago. Nothing has changed. Antwaan is our punt returner. Ypu're going to see Santana and DeAngelo. If he's involved more, it will be one or two reps."

Zorn said Randle El will return the first punt Sunday at Atlanta.

Elfin

I find it amazing that so many other teams can use low draft picks or undrafted free agents and turn them into good kick and punt returners. The Ravens and Bears always have a good returner, and it is not the same person every year.We are looking at a rotation between Randle El, Santana Moss, and D'Angelo Hall. We haven't developed a return person since Brian Mitchell.

 

[fatness]

We are looking at a rotation between Randle El, Santana Moss, and D'Angelo Hall. We haven't developed a return person since Brian Mitchell.

And who is the last WR they developed? Or QB?

 

[Marvelous]

We are looking at a rotation between Randle El, Santana Moss, and D'Angelo Hall. We haven't developed a return person since Brian Mitchell.

And who is the last WR they developed? Or QB?

Jason Campbell. Trent Green. Patrick Ramsey????I actually am amazed at how poorly the Redskins develop players at most positions. They have also spent two very high draft picks on safeties, which is probably the easiest position to get a mid/lower round pick to contribute well. Granted, Sean Taylor was a special player, so he may have been worth it. But when you can develop Ryan Clark, Chris Horton, Reed Doughtly into decent safties, do you really need a top 5 pick for safeties om back to back years?

 

[dgreen]

"There's nothing different," Zorn said. "All three guys punt returned two weeks ago. Nothing has changed. Antwaan is our punt returner. Ypu're going to see Santana and DeAngelo. If he's involved more, it will be one or two reps."

Zorn said Randle El will return the first punt Sunday at Atlanta.

Elfin

This is ridiculous. It's somewhat of a small thing, but it still shows the overall crappiness of this organization. NO OTHER TEAM WOULD CONTINUE TO HAVE ARE RETURNING PUNTS. I don't care who returns punts, as long as it isn't Randle El. I'd rather see Heyer back there.Speaking of Heyer, any word on LT this week? Is it still Heyer or do we expect to see Levi?

 

[fatness]

There was a report out earlier this week that Hall and Moss would handle punts. Then it was backtracked into "they're all in the mix", and then into "nothing's changed, and Randle El will handle the first punt".

I think ownership was involved in that little drama.

 

[Sebowski]

Paul Tenorio reminds us that Rocky McIntosh is quietly having a solid season, and during the final year of his rookie contract, no less. If he continues this season on the same pace, and the 'Skins don't extend him, he should rake in a good bit of cash during the off season, especially if next year remains uncapped (although he may end up a restricted FA; I'm still uncertain of all the intricate changes that would occur if no new CBA comes about).

I have been far from impressed watching Rocky this year. He has regressed imo. I though this would be a break out year for him and he has been pretty invisible.

 

[Marvelous]

Paul Tenorio reminds us that Rocky McIntosh is quietly having a solid season, and during the final year of his rookie contract, no less. If he continues this season on the same pace, and the 'Skins don't extend him, he should rake in a good bit of cash during the off season, especially if next year remains uncapped (although he may end up a restricted FA; I'm still uncertain of all the intricate changes that would occur if no new CBA comes about).

I have been far from impressed watching Rocky this year. He has regressed imo. I though this would be a break out year for him and he has been pretty invisible.

One very odd thing about the article. The article states,

McIntosh is enjoying the best start of his career, ranking second on the team with 54 tackles, according to the Redskins' statistics

And then later states:

Tackles are not an official league statistic. The NFL credits McIntosh with 39 tackles this year

There is a pretty big difference between the Redskin stats and the NFL stats. Makes me wonder if the Redskins are fudging the numbers.

 

[Marvelous]

There was a report out earlier this week that Hall and Moss would handle punts. Then it was backtracked into "they're all in the mix", and then into "nothing's changed, and Randle El will handle the first punt". I think ownership was involved in that little drama.

Good theory. Nothing is normal at Redskin Park and I thought it was odd how Zorn backtracked so much on the punt returns. It is also odd that Randle El has such a stranglehold on the job when it is clear the stats show that he is not that good. Of course, that could be because of the punt return team as a whole and not just Randle El.

 

[dgreen]

Paul Tenorio reminds us that Rocky McIntosh is quietly having a solid season, and during the final year of his rookie contract, no less. If he continues this season on the same pace, and the 'Skins don't extend him, he should rake in a good bit of cash during the off season, especially if next year remains uncapped (although he may end up a restricted FA; I'm still uncertain of all the intricate changes that would occur if no new CBA comes about).

I have been far from impressed watching Rocky this year. He has regressed imo. I though this would be a break out year for him and he has been pretty invisible.

One very odd thing about the article. The article states,

McIntosh is enjoying the best start of his career, ranking second on the team with 54 tackles, according to the Redskins' statistics

And then later states:

Tackles are not an official league statistic. The NFL credits McIntosh with 39 tackles this year

There is a pretty big difference between the Redskin stats and the NFL stats. Makes me wonder if the Redskins are fudging the numbers.

Not sure I'd call it fudging the numbers. What do they have to gain by fudging Rocky's numbers? It looks like the stats on the Redskins site are very close to the NFL's stats for DBs and farther off for LB and DL. I'd guess the Redskins guy just gives more assists for piling on than the NFL.I think Rocky has been pretty good. I have no idea how good these guys are, but Pro Football Focus rates Rocky pretty highly so far this year.

 

[Maroney=Sped]

We are looking at a rotation between Randle El, Santana Moss, and D'Angelo Hall. We haven't developed a return person since Brian Mitchell.

And who is the last WR they developed? Or QB?

If you're referring to successful development, then I think Frerotte would count. Otherwise it's Rypien. As for WR's, I would actually say Michael Westbrook who I'd thought had turned the corner before that last knee injury in 2000. Before that, though, you're probably looking at Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders.

 

[Sidewinder16]

Portis on Snyder:

"Our relationship has been under so much scrutiny, and everyone think I get my own way and that I run to Mr. Snyder. I don't," Portis said. "I have a working relationship with Mr. Snyder. ...I think it's a great thing when you can go into work and speak to your boss. I've never had a 9-to-5, but I'm sure in the regular world, you speak to your boss when you go to work.

"So many people feel that I'm in charge and so many people [are] so worried about our relationship. I don't think our relationship is nothing major. I think we speak, we talk, we laugh, we joke and so on. I've never spent the night at his house or did anything special. It's just a cool relationship.

"But because I'm under so much scrutiny everyone thinks I have so much power. I kind of keep my distance. I speak and keep it moving. There's so much ill will toward me or what I'm doing. Not knowing, people always assume, 'How did Clinton get out of this?' It's not Clinton trying to get out of anything or being an [butt] kisser or running to Mr. Snyder. But I think I go out and bust my butt on the field, and he appreciates that."

Snyder is not the boss he needs to be talking to with any regularity. If you want to talk contracts, sure, go talk to Snyder. But when a football player goes to work every day, they should be far more worried about talking to their coach-boss than their owner-boss. Just more evidence of the backwards way things work within the organization.

 

[Sidewinder16]

I take solace in knowing that at least Sonny shares my point of view:

And of course, the Redskins' play-calling was brought up. Both Jurgensen and Theismann have been critical of the team's midseason switch from Coach Jim Zorn to offensive consultant Sherm Lewis as the play-caller. Jurgensen didn't seem to think such a thing would've ever happened during his playing days.

"I don't think they let the quarterbacks express themselves now. Because It's a coaches' game now," he said. "They call the plays. they choreograph games. We didn't have Bingo callers calling our games. We controlled the game on the field."

The Hall-of-Famer also had pointed words with the way the Redskins handled the entire situation.

"They can switch play-callers without it ever being released. A lot of coaches do that," Jurgensen said. "Joe Gibbs did it with Jack Burns. A lot of coaches do it. Andy Reid has done it. That could've been handled it and nobody would've known a thing about the plays except for Jason. He'd be the only one who had an idea that somebody else was calling the plays. Play-calling is the most overrated thing in the game, and they continue talking about it. All these coaches have these big menus, and all it is a big menu.... It's execution. It has nothing to do with the play you call."

 

[TxBuckeye]

Riggins says Snyder is 'a bad guy'

There's been no harsher critic of the Redskins this fall than John Riggins, from his YouTube laceration of the Skins' front office to his hour-long skewering of the franchise on a WTOP town-hall program with Frank Herzog.

And yet just when you think he's brought all the ammunition he can muster, Riggo nudges the rhetoric up another notch or two. The Hall of Famer was a guest on Showtime's "Inside The NFL" this week, which first airs at 9 p.m. on Wednesdays. The network sent out a release with some of the quotes, which I'm quoting from here.

UPDATE: Rick Maese watched the program and passes along additional quote. They're filled in as appropriate, and marked with an *** to indicate what's new.

James Brown: "John, you have been pretty doggone outspoken on the Washington Redskins and what is not working. Maybe it is an obvious question, but why so passionate? Why so intense in terms of your critique or criticism of the Redskins?"

John Riggins: "First of all, it's what I do, JB. I have been in broadcasting for the last 15 to 20 years, so it is sort of my job. And the other part is, and I've been asked this question a lot, when they say do you have an ax to grind? And I think any time an older player criticizes or says anything about his former team, unless he's throwing Bon Mots at them, that all of a sudden you get a, 'What's he griping at?' type of thing. Maybe that's the case. But truthfully, I do have an ax to grind and I just realized I have been a little bit disingenuous. But this is a bad guy that owns this team. I'll just tell you that upfront. Bad guy. And if the Commissioner is worried about potential new owners and saying some of these guys shouldn't apply, he might want to police his own inside guys...."

Brown: "Why is he a bad guy?"

Riggins: "Because his business practices, I think. I don't want to say they are unethical, but I don't think it's a place, a climate that is created there where people can be successful. It's driven all by his ego and everything has to come from him. And I just don't think you can be successful in those situations and when you are dealing with someone with the mindset of a child and yet owns a franchise in the NFL. I think you have some problems there."

***Phil Simms: All these years you've been following the football team -- and I kind of follow the Redskins enough -- I haven't heard you even be close to this vocal. What did it this year that made you go, 'I've had enough?'

***Riggins: Well, you see the decisions that are made. There was a moment in time before the season, they had a big brouhaha about the tickets, about how tickets were sold. I don't know if you guys are aware of that. They were basically doing things that were a little underhanded. Underhanded may be a strong word. Certainly, as I said, it isn't really the protocol that you'd expect from a professional franchise. This is something where right away, a lawyer comes and starts talking about it, instead of the guy-- they're not visible, they have no responsibility, other than hiding behind the mantle of being an owner and taking all the good and refusing all the bad. We've seen what's happened the last two weeks down there with Jim Zorn and bringing in an outside consultant and now this guy's part of the play-calling, and it's just a circus and a joke. And the fans after 10 years have gotten to the point where they sense it and they've had enough.

Cris Collinsworth: "We are talking about Daniel Snyder . Are you saying in some way he is unethical? Because I have dealt with him in the past and I have never sensed anything close to that. Or are you saying he has made bad decisions on the football side as an owner? Or what is specifically the issue?"

Riggins: "I am saying that I don't think that this franchise can be successful where you have people saying, 'Oh, this person Dan Snyder wants to win. He wants to win.' It's all about priorities. 'What's my priorities? The priority is it's all about me. I have to have my needs met, then I want to make money, and those are one and two, and then I want to win. You can see by the decisions that are made....I don't know if you have agreed with anything I am saying so far, but at this point, I would think you would say, 'Yeah, I'll go along with that.' This person knows nothing about football, absolutely nothing. I don't think they have a clue how a football team comes together, how it works. And yet they are the ones that are basically calling all the shots through a puppet, which is Vinny Cerrato. That is my take on it....I speak for the fans because these are the people that paid my salary for all these years. They are the ones that need to know that this is a bad guy."

Collinsworth: "There is a fine line between being a bad guy and a bad GM, if you will. Are you saying a bad guy as in the NFL needs to take a look at this?"

Riggins: "Let me put it to you this way, Cris, this person's heart is dark."

***Brown: Let me state some facts here John and get your thoughts. In 10 years that Dan Snyder has owned the team, six head coaches....

***Riggins: Let me stop you there, JB. In all fairness, he inherited Norv Turner and then Terry Robiskie was an interim. So it's really four. He hired Marty Schottenheimer, he hired Steve Spurrier, he hired Joe Gibbs, and he hired Jim Zorn. Everybody says six coaches; I'll defend him on that. And remember this, I defended this person his first year or two in the league. Everybody across the country was jumping on him, 'Oh man, this guy is an upstart. He's bad news,' and all this stuff. I was saying give him a chance. He was very succesful in one operation. Usually those people can transfer that into another business or another corporation, whatever you want to call. And so I said, 'Give him some time, let him figure it out.'

***Brown: Even if you do that...even if you say, 'OK, four head coaches because Norv Turner, he inherited.' That was the year he won a division title then. Since then, not a division title, not a successful franchise for those four. You talk about selecting people. My question is, what do you think about their selection -- his and Vinny Cerrato's selection -- of Jim Zorn?

***Riggins: Once again, I think you hire a guy-- I remember Phil saying it last year, he's a tremendous quarterback coach. If you had a young son that you want somebody to coach, Jim Zorn would've been that guy. But remember, I think, it's a big leap, particularly when you don't really have the power and not necessarily the acumen, having built your way up to that from a quarterback coach all the way to the head coach of this franchise. You have to assume by now the manipulation that went on behind Jim Zorn's back or basically being told, 'Jim, this is what we're going to do.' I mean Jim Zorn could've very well said, 'Gee whiz, Albert Haynesworth's great, but we need offensive linemen. I've got a bad offense here. I've got to fix my offense.' But priorities weren't for that. Priorities were, 'Let's go out here and sign Albert Haynesworth so we can bandy about the headline that I paid -- me, big guy -- paid 40 million and all this owners, 'look at me.' I mean, it's all about, 'Look at me.'

Collinsworth: "Fix the Redskins. They make you the general manager tomorrow, who are you hiring as a coach?"

Riggins: "I can't answer your question realistically, because I couldn't be the General Manager with that ownership in place. I said I had an ax to grind. The ax to grind is that people need to know if you are going to go to these games and support this team, that money goes in this person's pocket. And you know what? Bad guys shouldn't be enriched."

***Brown: Two things. One, are you concerned -- and you have always been one to call it as you see it, clearly -- any concern about your outspokenness now and how this will impact one way or another your legacy as Redskin great?

***Riggins: You know, I'm not smart enough to think of that kind of stuff, JB. Honestly, when it's all said and done, it'll raise my status even higher. It ain't why I'm doing it. Sure it is. Of course it's why im doing it. It's all about me. Don't you guys get it? [Chuckles]

The Redskins, through a team spokesman, declined to respond to Riggins's comments.

By Dan Steinberg | November 4, 2009; 8:31 PM ET

 

[buster c]

Here's the money quote if you didn't feel like sifting through the above clip:

"It really hurts," Snyder said. "We are really trying very, very hard, everyone at Redskins Park, the coaches, the players. The organization is really, quite frankly held up well, and I think we've got an opportunity the rest of the season to hopefully get it going. But to date we've let everyone down, including ourselves, and we know that and we're just apologetic. We've blown some games that obviously we think we should have won."

The organization is really, quite frankly held up well?

Really?

1. Vinny Cerrato, Redskins VP of Football Operations, admitted the Redskins needed to address the offensive line in the offseason. Yet, take a look at the Skins draft picks this decade under his "guidance".

2. The team has been known to sue fans who fail to fulfill their season ticket contracts, regardless of life-long loyalty or how dire their financial situation appears.

3. Six head coaches in ten years. Six. In ten years.

4. Miserable stadium atmosphere. But hey, what's $20 for a hot dog and a beer between friends?

5. Signs have been banned from Fedex Field, prompting fans to try this. Also, signs have been banned. From a sporting event. Is there even a precedent for this?!

6. A former assistant coach, out of football for five years, was hired midseason as an offensive consultant. He was calling a bingo game when Snyder drunk texted called him.

7. Playcalling duties were stripped from the head coach and given to said offensive consultant, who had never before had success calling plays at the NFL level.

8. The locker room environment is more uncomfortable than the Obama/Gates/Crowley beer summit.

9. With Chris Cooley out, Fred Davis is now the starting tight end. Yet, oops! Just like the offensive line, he can't block. Tight Ends coach Scott Wachenheim: "We just went through the fundamentals. From stance, steps, hand placement, eye placement -- things you would teach a Pop Warner football player. Just started back at square one and just started building on that." Awesome. Our million dollar second round investment, who never really had a shot at success catching passes anyway, is getting the Pop Warner crash course one week before doubling John Abraham, with Levi Jones or Stephon Heyer no less. Great drafting, guys.

10. A revolution against the front office is in the works.So, held together well?

I'm not quite sure I'd call it that. Trainwrecks are more held together than this ****.

link

 

[Sidewinder16]

So what's more perplexing, that Greg Blache is staunchly standing up for Snyder against Riggins, or that Blache seems to check out PFT first thing in the morning.

 

[dgreen]

So what's more perplexing, that Greg Blache is staunchly standing up for Snyder against Riggins, or that Blache seems to check out PFT first thing in the morning.

Yes, I found that hilarious.

 

[Sidewinder16]

From Blache's comments:

My wife and I are involved in hospice, and there's been countless times he's come and helped us with issues with hospice.

So, is this Blache's personal reason for not speaking to the media anymore? Is his wife, or some other family member dying? If so, that sucks. I can understand why he wouldn't want to mess with the media with that on his mind (if true).

 

[Sidewinder16]

John Keim's opinion on a Jason Campbell quote that bothered me:

Quarterback Jason Campbell admitted that playing on the road right now might be easier for the offense.

"The reason I say that is because if there's a bad play or a throwaway we know why we have to do it," he said. "The fans don't understand. They just think everything is always open. You don't have to worry about hearing negativity. On the road you can regroup on the sidelines and move forward."

Our take: That might be true, but it makes it seem as if you're paying too much attention to the fans and the booing in games. That isn't good for any team, but this might be a bit too honest -- and revealing.

I don't know what Campbell's definition of "open" is, but I know that on MNF I saw Drew Brees throwing to receivers with DBs in their back pockets...and completed passes occurred.The astonishment being exhibited by those in the organization when fans react negatively to negative plays was ridiculous to begin with, but is now reaching complete ignorance. If you want a fan to cheer, give them something to cheer about. Quit worrying "about hearing negativity" and start worrying about getting something positive done on the field.

 

[fatness]

From Blache's comments:

My wife and I are involved in hospice, and there's been countless times he's come and helped us with issues with hospice.

So, is this Blache's personal reason for not speaking to the media anymore? Is his wife, or some other family member dying? If so, that sucks. I can understand why he wouldn't want to mess with the media with that on his mind (if true).

That's what I was thinking, too. There's really nothing football-related in what Blache said about Snyder. It was more a personal defense of him which would be understandable if Blache's wife is suffering from cancer and Snyder's being as helpful as he can about that. And I wish Blache well and commend Snyder if he's helping him out in some way.At the same time, the crux of the criticism of Snyder is of his terrible running of a football team. And to pretend that the criticisms are personal is at best a misunderstanding (on Blache's part, for example) or willful lying (like Larry Michael on the radio a couple weeks ago) or just plain being a crybaby (like Vinnie).

 

[fatness]

The astonishment being exhibited by those in the organization when fans react negatively to negative plays was ridiculous to begin with, but is now reaching complete ignorance.

Yes it is.They apparently got used to (and were fooled by) the powderpuff treatment the Redskins usually get from the press and fans around here. That stuff is over now.

 

[fatness]

You can tell this season really sucks. It's Thursday afternoon and none of us are talking about this weekend's game. We know what's coming.

Hunter Smith is out for the Atlanta game by the way. I guess they'll have Randle El punt, also. With his head.

 

[Marvelous]

Portis on Snyder:

"Our relationship has been under so much scrutiny, and everyone think I get my own way and that I run to Mr. Snyder. I don't," Portis said. "I have a working relationship with Mr. Snyder. ...I think it's a great thing when you can go into work and speak to your boss. I've never had a 9-to-5, but I'm sure in the regular world, you speak to your boss when you go to work.

"So many people feel that I'm in charge and so many people [are] so worried about our relationship. I don't think our relationship is nothing major. I think we speak, we talk, we laugh, we joke and so on. I've never spent the night at his house or did anything special. It's just a cool relationship.

"But because I'm under so much scrutiny everyone thinks I have so much power. I kind of keep my distance. I speak and keep it moving. There's so much ill will toward me or what I'm doing. Not knowing, people always assume, 'How did Clinton get out of this?' It's not Clinton trying to get out of anything or being an [butt] kisser or running to Mr. Snyder. But I think I go out and bust my butt on the field, and he appreciates that."

Snyder is not the boss he needs to be talking to with any regularity. If you want to talk contracts, sure, go talk to Snyder. But when a football player goes to work every day, they should be far more worried about talking to their coach-boss than their owner-boss. Just more evidence of the backwards way things work within the organization.

I think if I talked regularyly with the CEO of my company, my co-workers would wonder what is going on.There are many levels between Portis and Snyder, starting with the running backs coach. Portis should go to them rather than go over their heads.

 

[dgreen]

John Keim's opinion on a Jason Campbell quote that bothered me:

Quarterback Jason Campbell admitted that playing on the road right now might be easier for the offense.

"The reason I say that is because if there's a bad play or a throwaway we know why we have to do it," he said. "The fans don't understand. They just think everything is always open. You don't have to worry about hearing negativity. On the road you can regroup on the sidelines and move forward."

Our take: That might be true, but it makes it seem as if you're paying too much attention to the fans and the booing in games. That isn't good for any team, but this might be a bit too honest -- and revealing.

I don't know what Campbell's definition of "open" is, but I know that on MNF I saw Drew Brees throwing to receivers with DBs in their back pockets...and completed passes occurred.The astonishment being exhibited by those in the organization when fans react negatively to negative plays was ridiculous to begin with, but is now reaching complete ignorance. If you want a fan to cheer, give them something to cheer about. Quit worrying "about hearing negativity" and start worrying about getting something positive done on the field.

Yep, I've been saying recently that one of Campbell's biggest faults is that he only throws it when someone is open. He doesn't give his receivers a chance to make a play. And, his definition of open seems to require quite a bit of separation.Also, booing can be about any number of things. In general, it's about overall failure. Outside of Heath Shuler, most booing I've heard is about a team's (or unit - offense/defense) overall performance over an extended period of time. When Campbell hears boos after a throw-away, it's related to the fact that it was on 3rd down and completes their 4th straight 3-and-out after failing to score 20+ points again. It's not about that one play. Heck, it's not even about one game or one season.

 

[Marvelous]

I take solace in knowing that at least Sonny shares my point of view:

And of course, the Redskins' play-calling was brought up. Both Jurgensen and Theismann have been critical of the team's midseason switch from Coach Jim Zorn to offensive consultant Sherm Lewis as the play-caller. Jurgensen didn't seem to think such a thing would've ever happened during his playing days.

"I don't think they let the quarterbacks express themselves now. Because It's a coaches' game now," he said. "They call the plays. they choreograph games. We didn't have Bingo callers calling our games. We controlled the game on the field."

The Hall-of-Famer also had pointed words with the way the Redskins handled the entire situation.

"They can switch play-callers without it ever being released. A lot of coaches do that," Jurgensen said. "Joe Gibbs did it with Jack Burns. A lot of coaches do it. Andy Reid has done it. That could've been handled it and nobody would've known a thing about the plays except for Jason. He'd be the only one who had an idea that somebody else was calling the plays. Play-calling is the most overrated thing in the game, and they continue talking about it. All these coaches have these big menus, and all it is a big menu.... It's execution. It has nothing to do with the play you call."

The way the Redskins announced it, I thought Vinny was trying to tell everyone that he was doing something about the offense. I guess that was much more important than trying to work with Zorn and help them out.

 

[dgreen]

You can tell this season really sucks. It's Thursday afternoon and none of us are talking about this weekend's game. We know what's coming.Hunter Smith is out for the Atlanta game by the way. I guess they'll have Randle El punt, also. With his head.

With this defense, I think they have to take a safe approach. Punts > turnovers. Well, I guess without Hunter Smith, that may not be true. But, still, cut down on the turnovers against Philly and they had a chance. Sure, it would be great to score 20, but they have to play to the strengths of the team and that's defense right now.

 

[Sebowski]

That's what I was thinking, too.

There's really nothing football-related in what Blache said about Snyder. It was more a personal defense of him which would be understandable if Blache's wife is suffering from cancer and Snyder's being as helpful as he can about that. And I wish Blache well and commend Snyder if he's helping him out in some way.

At the same time, the crux of the criticism of Snyder is of his terrible running of a football team. And to pretend that the criticisms are personal is at best a misunderstanding (on Blache's part, for example) or willful lying (like Larry Michael on the radio a couple weeks ago) or just plain being a crybaby (like Vinnie).

Blache was defending Snyder from Riggins' "black heart" "bad man" comment.

Portis on Snyder:

"Our relationship has been under so much scrutiny, and everyone think I get my own way and that I run to Mr. Snyder. I don't," Portis said. "I have a working relationship with Mr. Snyder. ...I think it's a great thing when you can go into work and speak to your boss. I've never had a 9-to-5, but I'm sure in the regular world, you speak to your boss when you go to work.

"So many people feel that I'm in charge and so many people [are] so worried about our relationship. I don't think our relationship is nothing major. I think we speak, we talk, we laugh, we joke and so on. I've never spent the night at his house or did anything special. It's just a cool relationship.

"But because I'm under so much scrutiny everyone thinks I have so much power. I kind of keep my distance. I speak and keep it moving. There's so much ill will toward me or what I'm doing. Not knowing, people always assume, 'How did Clinton get out of this?' It's not Clinton trying to get out of anything or being an [butt] kisser or running to Mr. Snyder. But I think I go out and bust my butt on the field, and he appreciates that."

Snyder is not the boss he needs to be talking to with any regularity. If you want to talk contracts, sure, go talk to Snyder. But when a football player goes to work every day, they should be far more worried about talking to their coach-boss than their owner-boss. Just more evidence of the backwards way things work within the organization.

I think if I talked regularyly with the CEO of my company, my co-workers would wonder what is going on.There are many levels between Portis and Snyder, starting with the running backs coach. Portis should go to them rather than go over their heads.

This is so blown out of proportion to me it is ridiculous. So what if players talk to Snyder. Nothing wrong with open communication and open doors in my book. Jerry Jones is friendly with players. Aurthur Blank had a relationship with Vick, Mark Cuban is always with his players. Who cares?

 

[Maroney=Sped]

Jerry Jones is friendly with players. Aurthur Blank had a relationship with Vick, Mark Cuban is always with his players. Who cares?

None of those teams are (or in the case of Blank-Vick, were) regarded as the most focused, disciplined, unified or successful. Just sayin'.

 

[fatness]

This is so blown out of proportion to me it is ridiculous. So what if players talk to Snyder. Nothing wrong with open communication and open doors in my book. Jerry Jones is friendly with players. Aurthur Blank had a relationship with Vick, Mark Cuban is always with his players. Who cares?

So what if players can go to Snyder to override coaching decisions. Who cares, right?

 

[fatness]

Blache was defending Snyder from Riggins' "black heart" "bad man" comment.

Agreed; Blache was sticking up for him personally, not in any way about football operations. He didn't address the main parts of what Riggins said, which follow, and which are criticisms of how the football team has been run, and which led to the "black heart" and "bad man" comments.

This is something where right away, a lawyer comes and starts talking about it, instead of the guy-- they're not visible, they have no responsibility, other than hiding behind the mantle of being an owner and taking all the good and refusing all the bad. We've seen what's happened the last two weeks down there with Jim Zorn and bringing in an outside consultant and now this guy's part of the play-calling, and it's just a circus and a joke. And the fans after 10 years have gotten to the point where they sense it and they've had enough.

This person knows nothing about football, absolutely nothing. I don't think they have a clue how a football team comes together, how it works. And yet they are the ones that are basically calling all the shots through a puppet, which is Vinny Cerrato.

You have to assume by now the manipulation that went on behind Jim Zorn's back or basically being told, 'Jim, this is what we're going to do.' I mean Jim Zorn could've very well said, 'Gee whiz, Albert Haynesworth's great, but we need offensive linemen. I've got a bad offense here. I've got to fix my offense.' But priorities weren't for that. Priorities were, 'Let's go out here and sign Albert Haynesworth so we can bandy about the headline that I paid -- me, big guy -- paid 40 million and all this owners, 'look at me.' I mean, it's all about, 'Look at me.'

I said I had an ax to grind. The ax to grind is that people need to know if you are going to go to these games and support this team, that money goes in this person's pocket. And you know what? Bad guys shouldn't be enriched."

 

[Sebowski]

This is so blown out of proportion to me it is ridiculous. So what if players talk to Snyder. Nothing wrong with open communication and open doors in my book. Jerry Jones is friendly with players. Aurthur Blank had a relationship with Vick, Mark Cuban is always with his players. Who cares?

So what if players can go to Snyder to override coaching decisions. Who cares, right?

This drives me crazy. There are no credible reports that say Portis goes to Snyder about coaching decision and Dan makes the changes. People just "slippery slope" that out of nothing because Portis and Snyder get along better than most players and owners do.

 

[Sebowski]

Blache was defending Snyder from Riggins' "black heart" "bad man" comment.

Agreed; Blache was sticking up for him personally, not in any way about football operations. He didn't address the main parts of what Riggins said, which follow, and which are criticisms of how the football team has been run, and which led to the "black heart" and "bad man" comments.

Riggins has lost all credibility with me. That might as well have been Warren Sapp, Matt Millen, or Emmit Smith talking. Those are the jobs he is angling for anyway....

 

[Bizkiteer]

Why does it seem like the last 5 pages of this thread are the same? Yep, the season sucks. Yep, the team has a lot of holes to fill. Yep, the front office is a joke. Yep, the owner likes to get his hands dirty in football affairs. Yep, we always have to spend a lot of $$$ on a FA. Yep, we have a lot of talent that is under performing on the team. Yep, we have a ton of bad contracts for some over their prime players. Yep,....etc. etc. etc.

Sheesh, it's like watching Groundhog Day, but the only problem is there is no Bill Murray in it.

 

[fatness]

Riggins has lost all credibility with me. That might as well have been Warren Sapp, Matt Millen, or Emmit Smith talking. Those are the jobs he is angling for anyway....

Snyder has lost all credibility with me. An apology that's given in response to a question from someone paid by the Redskins? Your heroic efforts at PR on his behalf are noted, though.

My antennae went up on Snyder’s impromptu news conference because the team has stated ad nauseum that he doesn’t give interviews during the season, and then the reporter who queries him also moonlights for the team during the preseason. Despite the sincerity in his comments, the skeptic in me took this to be an artful dodge by Snyder to avoid what surely would have been an overwhelming barrage of tough and critical questions had more media been there.

Snyder’s impromptu news conference may have been genuine. However it’s hard to give him the benefit of the doubt given that outside of Tuesday’s event, Snyder has been dead silent through the 2-5 start, and the ticket, sign and t-shirt scandals. It’s hard not to see the move as a way to apologize without having to answer harder questions about what’s happened to the team on his watch.

Washington Examiner

 

[fatness]

The various combinations used on the line so far have given up 23 sacks, tied for 28th in the NFL, and have paved the way for just 3.9 rushing yards per attempt, 26th in the league.

But Chris Samuels isn’t walking back through that door. For that matter, Russ Grimm and Joe Jacoby aren’t either. They will play with the hand they’ve been dealt. Or, more accurately, the hand they dealt themselves, given Vinny Cerrato’s aversion to either drafting offensive linemen or making the acquisition of quality backups a high priority.

Rich Tandler

 

[fatness]

Antwaan Randle El will remain the Redskins primary punt returner. Earlier this week it appeared that coach Jim Zorn had demoted ARE as the primary punt returner in favor of DeAngelo Hall and Santana Moss. ARE has been ineffective as a punt returner this season, and for much of his time in Washington. In 2009, ARE is already half way to the number of fair catches he had 2008 while already fielding a fourth of the number of punts from last year.

Zorn told ESPN 980 on Tuesday, that the “situation has changed” with regard to ARE. “Not totally his problem, but with some of the production problems that we've had there, I'm starting to interject with other guys."

However, as Rich Tandler reports ARE didn’t know about the switch and Zorn has backtracked a bit from his statements earlier in the week. ARE will be the primary punt returner against Atlanta this Sunday, with Hall in the mix as well.

So, who told Zorn to change his mind? It wasn't Randle El.

 

[fatness]

Well, if Turner had final say over personnel, as Snyder claimed, Jeff George never would have been a Redskin. In fact, Turner and Snyder had some knockdown dragouts over Snyder's offseason decision to sign George. Eventually, Turner reluctantly went along, knowing he couldn't overrule the owner. But it was with the understanding that Brad Johnson would have his contract extended, so there would be no doubt that Johnson was the Redskins' guy. Then Snyder changed his mind about extending Johnson, which infuriated Turner.

Link

Spurrier certainly did not land a five-year contract from the Redskins because of his attention to detail on defense and with the special teams. He is here because of his mad scientist-like approach to offense. You either believe in it or you don't. If you don't believe in it, then why are you paying him $5million a season?

Dan Snyder is probably asking himself that question this week after he overrode the objections of Spurrier and released quarterback Danny Wuerffel and running back Kenny Watson.

Snyder again finds himself in the peculiar position of paying a coach not to be who he is and dismissing his judgment in his one area of expertise. Snyder ended up there with Marty Schottenheimer as well, in the Brad Johnson-Jeff George ordeal, and we know how that turned out.

Link

Bruce Smith did worse than go to Dan Snyder, he (and Fred Drasner) used to go to Snyder's father and had Snyder's father berate Dan Snyder for not seeing to it that Smith got more playing time

Link

 

[Sebowski]

Antwaan Randle El will remain the Redskins primary punt returner. Earlier this week it appeared that coach Jim Zorn had demoted ARE as the primary punt returner in favor of DeAngelo Hall and Santana Moss. ARE has been ineffective as a punt returner this season, and for much of his time in Washington. In 2009, ARE is already half way to the number of fair catches he had 2008 while already fielding a fourth of the number of punts from last year.

Zorn told ESPN 980 on Tuesday, that the “situation has changed” with regard to ARE. “Not totally his problem, but with some of the production problems that we've had there, I'm starting to interject with other guys."

However, as Rich Tandler reports ARE didn’t know about the switch and Zorn has backtracked a bit from his statements earlier in the week. ARE will be the primary punt returner against Atlanta this Sunday, with Hall in the mix as well.

So, who told Zorn to change his mind? It wasn't Randle El.

Why wasn't it Randle El? How can you imply it was Snyder? Are they BFFs like Portis too? I've never heard that. This is just more speculation that will get a life of it's own. I bet it was Randle El. Zorn doesn't exactly exude authority. IGoing by your logic wouldn't Snyder be insisting that his newest toy Deangelo Hall return the punts? I wish he would.

 

[fatness]

Why wasn't it Randle El? How can you imply it was Snyder?

So what's the likelihood of these things happening in the NFL?A. A player telling a coach to play him, and the coach complying.B. An owner telling a coach to play a certain player, and the coach complying.

 

[fatness]

Update on Cooley from ESPN980 this morning: his ankle was broken but the bones were not displaced. Surgery connected the bone with 3 screws. Through the skin.

Through. The. Skin.

At first I was thinking how creepy that was, and then I pictured Cooley using the screws to hang post-it notes on and stuff and it didn't seem so bad.

 

[DCThunder]

Update on Cooley from ESPN980 this morning: his ankle was broken but the bones were not displaced. Surgery connected the bone with 3 screws. Through the skin.Through. The. Skin.At first I was thinking how creepy that was, and then I pictured Cooley using the screws to hang post-it notes on and stuff and it didn't seem so bad.

It's not really that big a deal. The screws are inserted through the skin but then the skin covers up the top of the screw. It's not like you can see the metal screwhead on top of the skin. The X-rays look pretty cool, though. My wife had a similar procedure when she broke her femur and they had to put a 37 cm plate in her leg. While there is a big incision from her knee to her hip, the screws went in from the other side and there are a couple of holes where they were inserted through the skin.

 

[Maroney=Sped]

Update on Cooley from ESPN980 this morning: his ankle was broken but the bones were not displaced. Surgery connected the bone with 3 screws. Through the skin.

Through. The. Skin.

At first I was thinking how creepy that was, and then I pictured Cooley using the screws to hang post-it notes on and stuff and it didn't seem so bad.

 

[buster c]

This is so blown out of proportion to me it is ridiculous. So what if players talk to Snyder. Nothing wrong with open communication and open doors in my book. Jerry Jones is friendly with players. Aurthur Blank had a relationship with Vick, Mark Cuban is always with his players. Who cares?

So what if players can go to Snyder to override coaching decisions. Who cares, right?

This drives me crazy. There are no credible reports that say Portis goes to Snyder about coaching decision and Dan makes the changes. People just "slippery slope" that out of nothing because Portis and Snyder get along better than most players and owners do.

SE-BO! SE-BO! SE-BO! YOU TELL "EM, BOY!no credible reports about Dan Snyder doing ANYTHING other than hiring competent football men and staying out of the way!SE-BO!!!

 

[burgundy and gold]

Why does it seem like the last 5 pages of this thread are the same? Yep, the season sucks. Yep, the team has a lot of holes to fill. Yep, the front office is a joke. Yep, the owner likes to get his hands dirty in football affairs. Yep, we always have to spend a lot of $$$ on a FA. Yep, we have a lot of talent that is under performing on the team. Yep, we have a ton of bad contracts for some over their prime players. Yep,....etc. etc. etc.Sheesh, it's like watching Groundhog Day, but the only problem is there is no Bill Murray in it.

hey man you're spot on! These chumps on here keep crying day after day! Personally I support Snyder, Cerrato, Gibbs, Zorn, Portis, Campbell, ..... ALL REDSKINS!!! I support everything Redskin. Gibbs said Snyder was a great guy and who am I gonna believe Riggo or Gibbs. I mean cmon ... I still love Riggo but Gibbs has the most moral authority to me. Seems like Snyder has done more for the needy and sick than alot of other people rich or not. His job is to spend money on players and that's what he does. You creeps on this thread need to give it a break. Don't be a hypocrite. If you own a team then to hell with anybody who tries to say you can't have input. Most of the time people are playing amatuer detective and speculating or making up #### about what goes on at Redskin park behind closed doors when they couldn't possibly know and are always doing bad math and saying that x must mean y or some other sum ####. And as for at the stadium, I'd probably get arrested if I saw some ####### with a sign that's putting the Skins down. I won't even let you boo next to me (and I'm 6'5, 275, mostly muscle, and fully trained). I'm glad they sued those losers who got the expensive seats and then didn't pay for them. The parking thing works out fine for me because I use the metro and then walk a block or two to the stadium and you wimps who cry about the traffic jams are the same basttar-ds who can't drive and jam up the beltway every dam day. This team will be fine. The defense is damn good. The recievers are coming along nicely. We need to adress the olineman through the draft and free agency this summer and if there's a qb with better upside than Campbell out there then for him otherwise stick with the guy and give him some protection.