***Official*** Washington Redskins 2013 Thread (2 Viewers)

[fatness]

Nobody's offering a 2nd round pick for Cousins now.

 

[fatness]

Jordan Reed is done for the season according to Fox Sports.

 

[(HULK)]

What if cousins comes in and dominates totally. Like a 140+ QBR and 15 TDs over the next 3 games?

We still trade him? Keep him and have a full blown controversy? Trade Griffin?

Not saying it's likely, just thinking what if

 

[(HULK)]

Jordan Reed is done for the season according to Fox Sports.

yes, but the supporting notes say that shanny said today he has not considered shutting him down, so it's completely weird for them to report that.

 

[fatness]

Jordan Reed is done for the season according to Fox Sports.

yes, but the supporting notes say that shanny said today he has not considered shutting him down, so it's completely weird for them to report that.

I see what you mean. The Post beat reporter isn't saying he's shut down, and this is later than the Fox report. Thanks.

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

I was shuttling around in the car today and had sports radio on. All Shanny, all the time. You'd think people would run out of things to say after, I don't know, 6 or 8 hours.

 

[fatness]

What if cousins comes in and dominates totally. Like a 140+ QBR and 15 TDs over the next 3 games?

We still trade him? Keep him and have a full blown controversy? Trade Griffin?

Not saying it's likely, just thinking what if

It would be a good problem to have. Not a likely one, but a good one. The answers of course won't come until there's a new coaching staff (and GM possibly), and until any real offers are received for him. Right now we just have a handful of NFL GM's speculating on what someone else might offer. That's very different than making a real offer.

 

[(HULK)]

Jordan Reed is done for the season according to Fox Sports.

yes, but the supporting notes say that shanny said today he has not considered shutting him down, so it's completely weird for them to report that.

I see what you mean. The Post beat reporter isn't saying he's shut down, and this is later than the Fox report. Thanks.

the quality of reporting has really gone in the toilet this year.

 

[dgreen]

I'm done with all the theories. Honestly, I'm not sure I care what's going on behind the scenes. Sure, it would be very interesting (or maybe not if most of this is totally made up) if somehow we could magically get the full, honest truth about what all has happened, but that's not going to happen. As with many of the Redskins' dramas, we hear many stories that lead to many theories that lead to many questions and we never really get the full story.

 

[packersfan]

What if cousins comes in and dominates totally. Like a 140+ QBR and 15 TDs over the next 3 games?

We still trade him? Keep him and have a full blown controversy? Trade Griffin?

Not saying it's likely, just thinking what if

It would be a good problem to have. Not a likely one, but a good one. The answers of course won't come until there's a new coaching staff (and GM possibly), and until any real offers are received for him. Right now we just have a handful of NFL GM's speculating on what someone else might offer. That's very different than making a real offer.

It could be a good problem or an absolute nightmare if Cousins isn't traded. Then you're asking your new head coach to spend his first season dealing with a potential quarterback controversy. That's the last thing I'd want to put on his plate.

 

[dgreen]

What if cousins comes in and dominates totally. Like a 140+ QBR and 15 TDs over the next 3 games?

We still trade him? Keep him and have a full blown controversy? Trade Griffin?

Not saying it's likely, just thinking what if

It would be a good problem to have. Not a likely one, but a good one. The answers of course won't come until there's a new coaching staff (and GM possibly), and until any real offers are received for him. Right now we just have a handful of NFL GM's speculating on what someone else might offer. That's very different than making a real offer.

It could be a good problem or an absolute nightmare if Cousins isn't traded. Then you're asking your new head coach to spend his first season dealing with a potential quarterback controversy. That's the last thing I'd want to put on his plate.

If the HC can't handle a quarterback controversy, then I don't want him as the HC.

 

[fatness]

What if cousins comes in and dominates totally. Like a 140+ QBR and 15 TDs over the next 3 games?

We still trade him? Keep him and have a full blown controversy? Trade Griffin?

Not saying it's likely, just thinking what if

It would be a good problem to have. Not a likely one, but a good one. The answers of course won't come until there's a new coaching staff (and GM possibly), and until any real offers are received for him. Right now we just have a handful of NFL GM's speculating on what someone else might offer. That's very different than making a real offer.

It could be a good problem or an absolute nightmare if Cousins isn't traded. Then you're asking your new head coach to spend his first season dealing with a potential quarterback controversy. That's the last thing I'd want to put on his plate.

If you hire a novice like Zorn then yeah, it could be a problem. With a "real" coach it would not be, and they'd address it early. The locker room would handle it fine, and only the fans would be in consternation.

 

[packersfan]

It's not so much the HC being able to handle it. I'm just not sure it's smart to put him in a position where he even has to handle it. There's enough on his plate just taking over a new team. Why add something so completely unnecessary to the mix that will hang over the team for months and maybe the entire season?

 

[jbz]

What if cousins comes in and dominates totally. Like a 140+ QBR and 15 TDs over the next 3 games?

We still trade him? Keep him and have a full blown controversy? Trade Griffin?

Not saying it's likely, just thinking what if

Happily accept the 1st rounder that Minnesota offers and be done with it.

There's no scenario out there that equals trading RG3. Snyder would never sign off on that. Go to a Redskins game and count the number of RG3 jerseys compared to all others combined. It's not even close. That's just the $ side of it too. RG3 just came off one of the best rookie seasons in history, had a knee injury at the end of it and struggled this year. That's not enough to punt on him (and the draft picks used to get him) yet.

 

[Bob Magaw]

At half time of the TNF game, Michael Silver, citing the proverbial "behind the scenes source", stated the decision to sit RGIII was performance based. Was Shanahan the source? If so, what did Silver expect him to say, that he was trying to provoke Snyder into firing him so he can get $7 million in 2014 for losing most of the four years in his contract? Did Shanahan tell him off the record he never talks on an off the record basis?

I think a few other things said, the coaching staff was expecting to be fired, and (this is from memory) they were glad, because they hated it there? I think they also mentioned for the first time I have ever heard, that the trade for RGIII that involved a king's ransom of picks (actual words, I think), was due to Snyder. Did that report come from the camp of Snyder or RGIII? Or was it maybe some more damage control spin by Shanahan? Was Shanahan complaining that the trade was jammed down his throat when RGIII led WAS to the playoffs. When he was basking in the glow of what a brilliant, genius move it was, did he make sure to properly credit Snyder last year?

To quote the famous post-modernist philosopher Ocho Cinco, "Child, please!"

* If Snyder can't come up with grounds to terminate him without breaking the terms of the contract, and in the end is legally obligated to pay Shanahan anyways, what is the end game? He still fires him, right? With all the shots taken at the owner, no way he can come back. So the firing seems inevitable. So why not now? Only two reasons I can think of. The already mentioned desire for Snyder to not be perceived as meddlesome, to make the looming, imminent HC vacancy more appealing. Odd that he would make his prized franchise QB go through this experience for such a nebulous purpose? The other reason that was broached earlier, with the season over and RGIII getting hit a lot (and remembering how last season ended), maybe Snyder does want him shut down and not at risk of further injury in meaningless games (and on the bonus plan, the worse they do, the higher the 2014 second rounder will be)... only this way, it is Shanahan's idea, so it suits Snyder's purposes for Shanahan to take the heat for the controversial decision (which Madden found harmful to the integrity of the league).

 

[jbz]

It would have been a lot more understandable to everyone if Shanny just said he was benching RG3 because he was playing poorly. This injury protection story is nonsense.

 

[Sebowski]

 

[Darryl Talley]

You reckon Garcon will produce this weekend? Had a nice game in Cousins' lone start last season vs CLE (was Haden covering him?)

 

[thayman]

And that's where I got lost too. If he was worried about his health, why did he play against KC? We were eliminated from the playoffs the previous week and the weather was terrible on probably the worst field in the league.

You're also right that he said he would let RG3 continue to play. So what happened to change his mind so quickly? I'm not terribly pissed about sitting RG3, but the reasoning is stupid and people shouldn't buy into it. Shanahan is so full of crap.

His reasoning changed like this: "Hmm, what I've done so far isn't enough to get Dan to fire me. I'll just up the ante and provoke him some more. I'll beat him."

Then shame on Snyder for keeping that cancer around. An owner that's willing to watch his franchise crumble and erode around him for the sake of his own image or reputation is not one that's going to attract, keep and adequately support quality coaching talent.

At least we can take comfort in knowing the future of the franchise. The next coach is doomed to fail like the last 6 (I'm willing to give Robiskie a pass).

Snyder has been soundly ridiculed around the league and harshly on these annual threads of ours for years. He is finally not having knee jerk reactions and is backing off the operations and he's letting a cancer coach stick around? Washington Fans don't get it both ways.

 

[fatness]

At half time of the TNF game, Michael Silver, citing the proverbial "behind the scenes source", stated the decision to sit RGIII was performance based. Was Shanahan the source? If so, what did Silver expect him to say, that he was trying to provoke Snyder into firing him so he can get $7 million in 2014 for losing most of the four years in his contract? Did Shanahan tell him off the record he never talks on an off the record basis?

To answer your questions:

Yes.

It's doubtful Silver talked to Shanahan. Shanahan leaks things through Adam Schefter, to pass along.

lol

 

[Hang 10]

At half time of the TNF game, Michael Silver, citing the proverbial "behind the scenes source", stated the decision to sit RGIII was performance based. Was Shanahan the source? If so, what did Silver expect him to say, that he was trying to provoke Snyder into firing him so he can get $7 million in 2014 for losing most of the four years in his contract? Did Shanahan tell him off the record he never talks on an off the record basis?

I think a few other things said, the coaching staff was expecting to be fired, and (this is from memory) they were glad, because they hated it there? I think they also mentioned for the first time I have ever heard, that the trade for RGIII that involved a king's ransom of picks (actual words, I think), was due to Snyder. Did that report come from the camp of Snyder or RGIII? Or was it maybe some more damage control spin by Shanahan? Was Shanahan complaining that the trade was jammed down his throat when RGIII led WAS to the playoffs. When he was basking in the glow of what a brilliant, genius move it was, did he make sure to properly credit Snyder last year?

To quote the famous post-modernist philosopher Ocho Cinco, "Child, please!"

* If Snyder can't come up with grounds to terminate him without breaking the terms of the contract, and in the end is legally obligated to pay Shanahan anyways, what is the end game? He still fires him, right? With all the shots taken at the owner, no way he can come back. So the firing seems inevitable. So why not now? Only two reasons I can think of. The already mentioned desire for Snyder to not be perceived as meddlesome, to make the looming, imminent HC vacancy more appealing. Odd that he would make his prized franchise QB go through this experience for such a nebulous purpose? The other reason that was broached earlier, with the season over and RGIII getting hit a lot (and remembering how last season ended), maybe Snyder does want him shut down and not at risk of further injury in meaningless games (and on the bonus plan, the worse they do, the higher the 2014 second rounder will be)... only this way, it is Shanahan's idea, so it suits Snyder's purposes for Shanahan to take the heat for the controversial decision (which Madden found harmful to the integrity of the league).

I'm glad nobody is buying this garbage that was obviously leaked by ratface himself. What a POS he is.

 

[fatness]

PFT

The latest twist in the Godfather RGIII saga comes from Mike Silver of NFL Network, who reports that owner Daniel Snyder was the “impetus” for the trade that sent three first-round picks and a second-round pick to the Rams for the ability to trade up and draft Griffin.

We say in response, “Baloney.”

Shanahan has final say over the composition of the roster. If Shanahan didn’t want to trade for Griffin, all Shanahan had to do was say so. While standing pat for, say, Ryan Tannehill would have placed extra pressure on Shanahan to earn an extension, Shanahan should have taken a stand if the owner were trying to impose his unqualified will on the football operation.

Even if it’s true (and we doubt that it is), Shanahan forfeited the ability to complain about the decision to give up so much to get Griffin by ultimately signing off on the trade. If Snyder pushed the issue and Shanahan ultimately went along to get along, Shanahan opted to try to have it both ways.

If Griffin had worked out well (like he did last year), Shanahan could be regarded as a genius. If Griffin didn’t work out (like he didn’t this year), Shanahan or someone close to him could start leaking like a racehorse the notion that Shanahan didn’t want Griffin in the first place.

Snyder has remained silent throughout the past few days of dysfunction. At first, we thought he was making himself look bad by letting Shanahan make him look bad. The truth may be that Snyder has opted to simply let Shanahan make himself look bad, before firing Shanahan for cause.

 

[fatness]

Wide receiver Santana Moss said Thursday that Kirk Cousins faces difficult circumstances as he takes over for Robert Griffin III as the Washington Redskins’ starting quarterback this week.

“It’s kind of tough to put him into this situation right now and hope for him to be excellent,” Moss said at Redskins Park. “It’s almost like setting a guy up for failure.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2013/12/12/santana-moss-says-playing-kirk-cousins-now-is-almost-like-setting-a-guy-up-for-failure/

 

[fatness]

Here's the whole fusillade fired by Shanahan, leaked through several reporters he doesn't regularly talk to.

Appearing on Thursday's edition of "NFL Total Access Kickoff," NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport said that Griffin is, in fact, "extremely angry" to be shut down for health reasons.

And it turns out, owner Daniel Snyder was actually "receptive" to Shanahan's idea of preserving the franchise quarterback to ensure a full offseason, NFL Media columnist Michael Silver said.

The fissure between head coach and owner originated when Snyder surrendered a "king's ransom" for the opportunity to draft Griffin, Silver reported. Contrary to previous speculation, Snyder -- not Shanahan -- was the "impetus" behind the blockbuster trade, per Silver.

That dynamic between quarterback and owner has led to a lack of trust between Shanahan and Griffin.

Despite what Shanahan has said publicly, Silver's sources affirm that the coach switched quarterbacks for performance reasons. Shanahan didn't believe he could maintain credibility in the locker room if he continued to start a struggling Griffin.

Sources close to the Redskins' coaching staff tell Rapoport that the coaches believe they will be fired, but there's been no official determination from the organization. At this point, they want to be cut loose so they can be "put out of their misery," Rapoport said.

Shanahan will not resign, however. "He's not going to be walking away from the Washington Redskins with nothing less than the $7 million due next year," Rapoport said.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000297289/article/rgiii-extremely-angry-redskins-coaches-ready-to-be-fired

Basically Shanahan says he didn't want Griffin, he benched him for performance reasons, Snyder's all cool with everything, he thinks he'll be fired, and THAT HE WON'T RESIGN.

The whole thing is bull#### of course. He just wants to get fired, get paid, and get out of there. On Saturday I expect him to walk up and punch Tanya Snyder.

 

[MattFancy]

Either Silver was fed some completely BS info or Shanny straight up lied to EVERYONE on Wednesday. So was he benched for performance or for health reasons? Someone isn't telling the truth there. And he Shanny did it to save his "credibility" with the players? What about firing underperforming coaches like Haslett and Burns? Benching guys like Polumbus? I don't buy Silver's report on that for one second.

And the his Second thing about Snyder forcing him to make the trade? Again, more BS! So Mike Shanahan had full control over everything but trading for RG3? He had power to trade for McNabb and Jamal Brown? The power to sign any FAs he wanted. Hire the staff he wanted. But he didn't have the power to make a trade for a franchise QB? Give me an effing break.

Again, either someone is feeding Silver BS on a platter or Shanny lied to everyone. But I thought he was being honest with everyone on Wednesday?

 

[Hang 10]

Either Silver was fed some completely BS info or Shanny straight up lied to EVERYONE on Wednesday. So was he benched for performance or for health reasons? Someone isn't telling the truth there. And he Shanny did it to save his "credibility" with the players? What about firing underperforming coaches like Haslett and Burns? Benching guys like Polumbus? I don't buy Silver's report on that for one second.

And the his Second thing about Snyder forcing him to make the trade? Again, more BS! So Mike Shanahan had full control over everything but trading for RG3? He had power to trade for McNabb and Jamal Brown? The power to sign any FAs he wanted. Hire the staff he wanted. But he didn't have the power to make a trade for a franchise QB? Give me an effing break.

Again, either someone is feeding Silver BS on a platter or Shanny lied to everyone. But I thought he was being honest with everyone on Wednesday?

And what were we told last year? That the browns actually offered MORE for the #2 pick but it was Shanahan's relationship with Jeff Fisher that sealed the trade. But I'm sure that was just Snyder making the guy with total control use his leverage.

 

[MattFancy]

Either Silver was fed some completely BS info or Shanny straight up lied to EVERYONE on Wednesday. So was he benched for performance or for health reasons? Someone isn't telling the truth there. And he Shanny did it to save his "credibility" with the players? What about firing underperforming coaches like Haslett and Burns? Benching guys like Polumbus? I don't buy Silver's report on that for one second.

And the his Second thing about Snyder forcing him to make the trade? Again, more BS! So Mike Shanahan had full control over everything but trading for RG3? He had power to trade for McNabb and Jamal Brown? The power to sign any FAs he wanted. Hire the staff he wanted. But he didn't have the power to make a trade for a franchise QB? Give me an effing break.

Again, either someone is feeding Silver BS on a platter or Shanny lied to everyone. But I thought he was being honest with everyone on Wednesday?

And what were we told last year? That the browns actually offered MORE for the #2 pick but it was Shanahan's relationship with Jeff Fisher that sealed the trade. But I'm sure that was just Snyder making the guy with total control use his leverage.

Lol I forgot about that part. I guess Shanny did it as a favor to Snyder

 

[RGIII HTTR]

At half time of the TNF game, Michael Silver, citing the proverbial "behind the scenes source", stated the decision to sit RGIII was performance based. Was Shanahan the source? If so, what did Silver expect him to say, that he was trying to provoke Snyder into firing him so he can get $7 million in 2014 for losing most of the four years in his contract? Did Shanahan tell him off the record he never talks on an off the record basis?

To answer your questions:

Yes.

It's doubtful Silver talked to Shanahan. Shanahan leaks things through Adam Schefter, to pass along.

lol

Schefty may not be his only story boy...it appears that Silver has done his bidding once before.

Rich Tandler ‏@Rich_TandlerCSN11h
Silver also had the discredited report about RG3 not wanting bad plays shown to team. Wonder Silver’s arms hurt from carrying Shanny’s water

 

[MattFancy]

At half time of the TNF game, Michael Silver, citing the proverbial "behind the scenes source", stated the decision to sit RGIII was performance based. Was Shanahan the source? If so, what did Silver expect him to say, that he was trying to provoke Snyder into firing him so he can get $7 million in 2014 for losing most of the four years in his contract? Did Shanahan tell him off the record he never talks on an off the record basis?

To answer your questions:

Yes.

It's doubtful Silver talked to Shanahan. Shanahan leaks things through Adam Schefter, to pass along.

lol

Schefty may not be his only story boy...it appears that Silver has done his bidding once before.

Rich Tandler ‏@Rich_TandlerCSN11h
Silver also had the discredited report about RG3 not wanting bad plays shown to team. Wonder Silver’s arms hurt from carrying Shanny’s water

Tandler was going off last night on Twitter. Nothing but respect for him from now on. He was telling it like it is and basically calling out Shanny for being a lying sack of ####.

 

[RGIII HTTR]

As more drama unfolds and without listing all the new wrinkles, one thing is clear to me...if what Mike Shanahan was doing was anything close to be a right decision, why is everyone so apposed it and taken back by it? Former players, announcers, writers, ex-coaches, and everyone else has taken issue with the decision and of course how it was all handled.

 

[MattFancy]

As more drama unfolds and without listing all the new wrinkles, one thing is clear to me...if what Mike Shanahan was doing was anything close to be a right decision, why is everyone so apposed it and taken back by it? Former players, announcers, writers, ex-coaches, and everyone else has taken issue with the decision and of course how it was all handled.

The only 2 people I've heard support it are Cooley and Galdi. I don't think I've heard anyone else come out and say that it is a good move. You're certainly not seeing many people come to Shanny's defense. And most people think Shanny is completely full of #### in this whole thing.

 

[Hang 10]

At half time of the TNF game, Michael Silver, citing the proverbial "behind the scenes source", stated the decision to sit RGIII was performance based. Was Shanahan the source? If so, what did Silver expect him to say, that he was trying to provoke Snyder into firing him so he can get $7 million in 2014 for losing most of the four years in his contract? Did Shanahan tell him off the record he never talks on an off the record basis?

To answer your questions:

Yes.

It's doubtful Silver talked to Shanahan. Shanahan leaks things through Adam Schefter, to pass along.

lol

Schefty may not be his only story boy...it appears that Silver has done his bidding once before.

Rich Tandler ‏@Rich_TandlerCSN11h
Silver also had the discredited report about RG3 not wanting bad plays shown to team. Wonder Silver’s arms hurt from carrying Shanny’s water

 

[Marvelous]

A lot of this stuff does not add up. Adam Schefter, who everyone knows is tight with Mike Shanahan, confirmed on the radio this week that Shanahan considered quitting last offseason. And Snyder knew about it.

The part about packing his office up before the Seattle game cannot be true. No one noticed it. Plus, if the Redskins won and RGIII was not injured, would he still quit after the Seattle game? No one quits right after a playoff win.

Also, if Shanahan was ready to quit last offseason and give up $14M in salary, why would he clinging onto the Redskins now for the remaining $7M. Once again, it makes no sense.

Brian Billick is saying that a move as big as benching RGIII needs to be an organizational decision that includes the GM and owner. And this type of move is made by a coach who plans to be back next year. In Shanahan's press conference, he said we ran the idea of benching RGIII past Snyder and would not have done it without his buy in.

So the big question: why are the Redskins (presumably Shanahan) leaking stories to the media? It does not serve anyone.

 

[Marvelous]

Here is the last thing anyone wants to talk about: How the Redskins performed on the field.

Each week, Chris Cooley grades out the Redskins based on tape review and shares his observations on his show. Yesterday, he went over the defense and special teams.

A quick summary:

Jarvis Jenkins has his best game last week. Gave him a B. Cooley apparently has been quite critical of Jenkins in the past. Still said he lacks burst at the LOS.

Barry Cofield is simply not a NT and cannot occupy blockers.

Goldston hustles, but is simply outmatched. Cooley gave him a D and said he should not be on the team next year.

Kerrigan is not generating pass rush now and is unlikely to get any sacks the rest of the year. He has previously said Kerrigan is horrible in pass coverage and should not be asked to drop back. But he has a motor, so he will get into his share of plays.

Orakpo was invisible last week. Cooley is not an Orakpo fan. Said he lacks an inside more and needs to rush 10 yards beyond the LOS on the outside, which is where a tackle wants an outside pass rusher to go.

Fletcher is not diagnosing plays nearly as quickly and is dropping back on run plays to make tackles. He also turns his head when getting blocked, show he does not want to take on blockers. Everyone expected Fletcher's play to fall off a cliff due to age. It has happened.

Cornerbacks Hall and Amerson got a C at best. He said KC ran 8 slants, and the Redskin CB played back and never adjusted. After 8 slants, you need to cover more tightly. So this could be a scheme issue.

On special teams, Josh Bellamy (WR) will be a star. He is excellent.

Other players (Trenton Robinson, Jose Gumbs) are just bad and lack talent for special teams.

He mentioned Niles Paul's comment about people who think they are too good for special teams. Cooley said it was specifically about Josh Morgan, who is one of the blockers in front of Paul on kickoff returns. With 8 kickoff returns, Morgan may have touched someone 3 times. Not even blocked, just make some sort of contact.

Cooley said the blockers in front of Paul are bad (Gettis, Morgan, and another person). After the kickoffs, they are looking at each other wondering what happened since they don't block anyone.

Cooley mentioned that Helu and Royster were wings on punt coverage teams (I think the two outside guys). Both are completely ineffective. Royster, even single teamed, cannot get 20 yards down field, much less near the return guy.

He said the whole special teams just lack talent. He did mention the salary cap hit really impacted the depth and special teams.

 

[MattFancy]

A lot of this stuff does not add up. Adam Schefter, who everyone knows is tight with Mike Shanahan, confirmed on the radio this week that Shanahan considered quitting last offseason. And Snyder knew about it.

The part about packing his office up before the Seattle game cannot be true. No one noticed it. Plus, if the Redskins won and RGIII was not injured, would he still quit after the Seattle game? No one quits right after a playoff win.

Also, if Shanahan was ready to quit last offseason and give up $14M in salary, why would he clinging onto the Redskins now for the remaining $7M. Once again, it makes no sense.

Brian Billick is saying that a move as big as benching RGIII needs to be an organizational decision that includes the GM and owner. And this type of move is made by a coach who plans to be back next year. In Shanahan's press conference, he said we ran the idea of benching RGIII past Snyder and would not have done it without his buy in.

So the big question: why are the Redskins (presumably Shanahan) leaking stories to the media? It does not serve anyone.

None of it makes any sense. The quitting thing, I agree, is BS. Why would he consider quitting after the Dallas game, but then want to come back after RG3 gets hurt? That makes no sense. Who would want to quit after winning a division, but then want to come back after a playoff loss?

Why is it coming out that Shanny didn't want RG3? No one was reporting this last season when we were winning. If it was known he didn't want him, why didn't this come out last season? We were 3-6 last year, why didn't it come out then? And why did Shanny have control over every other personnel decision except for trading for RG3?

Now we're hearing Shanny benched RG3 for perfomance reasons to save credibility with the team. If he was so worried about credibility, then how does Haslett, who has been a complete failure here, still have a job? What about Burns with one of the worst Special Teams units in the history of the NFL? What about Tyler Polumbus aka the human turnstile? How come their poor performance is okay, but not RG3's? And this was the day after he told the world he was being honest with them and RG3 was being benched so he would be healthy for the offseason. So which is it?

Nothing in this entire situation makes any sense to me or alot of people it seems. Who is leaking stories? Is it Shanny? Fred Davis? Kyle? Someone else in the organization? For a team with so many stories leaking out of the last few weeks, they sure as hell don't seem to be worried about where they are coming from. Can we trust anything Schefter/Graziano/Silver tell us anymore since it seems clear they have an in with Shanny? Is he just feeding them stories to save face?

I can't remember a bigger circus around a sports franchise in my life. This makes the whole A-Rod/Yankees/MLB thing look normal.

 

[dgreen]

As more drama unfolds and without listing all the new wrinkles, one thing is clear to me...if what Mike Shanahan was doing was anything close to be a right decision, why is everyone so apposed it and taken back by it? Former players, announcers, writers, ex-coaches, and everyone else has taken issue with the decision and of course how it was all handled.

The only 2 people I've heard support it are Cooley and Galdi. I don't think I've heard anyone else come out and say that it is a good move. You're certainly not seeing many people come to Shanny's defense. And most people think Shanny is completely full of #### in this whole thing.

I'm not as down on the idea as was originally. I certainly wouldn't classify it as a horrible move. Is it good? No idea. But, I don't think it's completely off-the-wall awful.

I tend to be a fan of unconventional approaches. I think my gut reaction was mostly based on the not-so-sound "But this isn't how football does things" logic. I really can't come up with a iron clad reason why Griffin needs to be playing. More reps? Nah, he's had a ton of reps for someone his age. I don't think 3 more games is going to make or break his future development. Griffin won't handle it well or it will psychologically damage him going forward? If so, then good to find that out now and it probably means he's not The Guy for us.

Look, I'd start him the last three games. But, I'm not going to say that sitting him for 3 games somehow dooms the future of the franchise.

 

[MattFancy]

As more drama unfolds and without listing all the new wrinkles, one thing is clear to me...if what Mike Shanahan was doing was anything close to be a right decision, why is everyone so apposed it and taken back by it? Former players, announcers, writers, ex-coaches, and everyone else has taken issue with the decision and of course how it was all handled.

The only 2 people I've heard support it are Cooley and Galdi. I don't think I've heard anyone else come out and say that it is a good move. You're certainly not seeing many people come to Shanny's defense. And most people think Shanny is completely full of #### in this whole thing.

I'm not as down on the idea as was originally. I certainly wouldn't classify it as a horrible move. Is it good? No idea. But, I don't think it's completely off-the-wall awful.

I tend to be a fan of unconventional approaches. I think my gut reaction was mostly based on the not-so-sound "But this isn't how football does things" logic. I really can't come up with a iron clad reason why Griffin needs to be playing. More reps? Nah, he's had a ton of reps for someone his age. I don't think 3 more games is going to make or break his future development. Griffin won't handle it well or it will psychologically damage him going forward? If so, then good to find that out now and it probably means he's not The Guy for us.

Look, I'd start him the last three games. But, I'm not going to say that sitting him for 3 games somehow dooms the future of the franchise.

I think it's a bad move from the way it looks. It comes off as Shanny holding him hostage. If he came out after the Giants game, when we were eliminated, and said, "We have nothing to play for at this point, we're going to rest Robert and some of the other guys and see what we have depth wise", I would've been a little disappointed, but I would've okay with it. No point in getting key guys hurt when your season is clearly over and there's nothing to play for. If he would've sat him for the KC game because of the weaher, I could've accepted that too. But to let him play the KC game in terrible conditions and then to say, "we're sitting him the rest of the way for health reasons", right after the story comes out about him being upset with Snyder/RG3 being close, just seems way too fishy to me.

I do think he could use some more reps, hell even Mike said it himself after the Giants game, so what changed? I agree 100% the last thing he need is for him to go down with a major injury right now in a totally lost season. I just think the way Shanny went about it all reeks of BS. That's what I'm more mad about than shutting RG3 down.

 

[Marvelous]

A lot of this stuff does not add up. Adam Schefter, who everyone knows is tight with Mike Shanahan, confirmed on the radio this week that Shanahan considered quitting last offseason. And Snyder knew about it.

The part about packing his office up before the Seattle game cannot be true. No one noticed it. Plus, if the Redskins won and RGIII was not injured, would he still quit after the Seattle game? No one quits right after a playoff win.

Also, if Shanahan was ready to quit last offseason and give up $14M in salary, why would he clinging onto the Redskins now for the remaining $7M. Once again, it makes no sense.

Brian Billick is saying that a move as big as benching RGIII needs to be an organizational decision that includes the GM and owner. And this type of move is made by a coach who plans to be back next year. In Shanahan's press conference, he said we ran the idea of benching RGIII past Snyder and would not have done it without his buy in.

So the big question: why are the Redskins (presumably Shanahan) leaking stories to the media? It does not serve anyone.

None of it makes any sense. The quitting thing, I agree, is BS. Why would he consider quitting after the Dallas game, but then want to come back after RG3 gets hurt? That makes no sense. Who would want to quit after winning a division, but then want to come back after a playoff loss?

Why is it coming out that Shanny didn't want RG3? No one was reporting this last season when we were winning. If it was known he didn't want him, why didn't this come out last season? We were 3-6 last year, why didn't it come out then? And why did Shanny have control over every other personnel decision except for trading for RG3?

Now we're hearing Shanny benched RG3 for perfomance reasons to save credibility with the team. If he was so worried about credibility, then how does Haslett, who has been a complete failure here, still have a job? What about Burns with one of the worst Special Teams units in the history of the NFL? What about Tyler Polumbus aka the human turnstile? How come their poor performance is okay, but not RG3's? And this was the day after he told the world he was being honest with them and RG3 was being benched so he would be healthy for the offseason. So which is it?

Nothing in this entire situation makes any sense to me or alot of people it seems. Who is leaking stories? Is it Shanny? Fred Davis? Kyle? Someone else in the organization? For a team with so many stories leaking out of the last few weeks, they sure as hell don't seem to be worried about where they are coming from. Can we trust anything Schefter/Graziano/Silver tell us anymore since it seems clear they have an in with Shanny? Is he just feeding them stories to save face?

I can't remember a bigger circus around a sports franchise in my life. This makes the whole A-Rod/Yankees/MLB thing look normal.

We know Shanahan lies all the time and that isn't going to change. And Shanahan really does not handle the media well at all.

But I am starting to think a lot of this is media driven. And I am starting to think Shanahan may be coming back next year.

Finally, I think RGIII's benching is 100% based on performance, but Shanahan did not want to come right out and say it.

 

[MattFancy]

A lot of this stuff does not add up. Adam Schefter, who everyone knows is tight with Mike Shanahan, confirmed on the radio this week that Shanahan considered quitting last offseason. And Snyder knew about it.

The part about packing his office up before the Seattle game cannot be true. No one noticed it. Plus, if the Redskins won and RGIII was not injured, would he still quit after the Seattle game? No one quits right after a playoff win.

Also, if Shanahan was ready to quit last offseason and give up $14M in salary, why would he clinging onto the Redskins now for the remaining $7M. Once again, it makes no sense.

Brian Billick is saying that a move as big as benching RGIII needs to be an organizational decision that includes the GM and owner. And this type of move is made by a coach who plans to be back next year. In Shanahan's press conference, he said we ran the idea of benching RGIII past Snyder and would not have done it without his buy in.

So the big question: why are the Redskins (presumably Shanahan) leaking stories to the media? It does not serve anyone.

None of it makes any sense. The quitting thing, I agree, is BS. Why would he consider quitting after the Dallas game, but then want to come back after RG3 gets hurt? That makes no sense. Who would want to quit after winning a division, but then want to come back after a playoff loss?

Why is it coming out that Shanny didn't want RG3? No one was reporting this last season when we were winning. If it was known he didn't want him, why didn't this come out last season? We were 3-6 last year, why didn't it come out then? And why did Shanny have control over every other personnel decision except for trading for RG3?

Now we're hearing Shanny benched RG3 for perfomance reasons to save credibility with the team. If he was so worried about credibility, then how does Haslett, who has been a complete failure here, still have a job? What about Burns with one of the worst Special Teams units in the history of the NFL? What about Tyler Polumbus aka the human turnstile? How come their poor performance is okay, but not RG3's? And this was the day after he told the world he was being honest with them and RG3 was being benched so he would be healthy for the offseason. So which is it?

Nothing in this entire situation makes any sense to me or alot of people it seems. Who is leaking stories? Is it Shanny? Fred Davis? Kyle? Someone else in the organization? For a team with so many stories leaking out of the last few weeks, they sure as hell don't seem to be worried about where they are coming from. Can we trust anything Schefter/Graziano/Silver tell us anymore since it seems clear they have an in with Shanny? Is he just feeding them stories to save face?

I can't remember a bigger circus around a sports franchise in my life. This makes the whole A-Rod/Yankees/MLB thing look normal.

We know Shanahan lies all the time and that isn't going to change. And Shanahan really does not handle the media well at all.

But I am starting to think a lot of this is media driven. And I am starting to think Shanahan may be coming back next year.

Finally, I think RGIII's benching is 100% based on performance, but Shanahan did not want to come right out and say it.

I think alot of it has been overblown no doubt. Shanny has clearly been trying to work over the media though.

The benching very well could be because of performance, but then why aren't other players getting benched for the way they've played?

 

[dgreen]

The benching very well could be because of performance, but then why aren't other players getting benched for the way they've played?

Well, you also have to someone to replace the player. A performance-based theory would include the assumption that Cousins can perform better. Some of the OL may not be performing, but they also have nobody else to turn to who they think can do better.

My problem with a performance-based theory is that, at this point in the season, what's the big deal? I mean, we're 3-10 and NOW you're going to make a move to improve performance? Why? So we can maybe get to 4-12 or 5-11? What's the point? A couple years ago, I thought they needed to go with Rex over Beck at the end of the season because Beck was so bad that it was hard to evaluate the rest of the team. Rex at least gave the offense enough plays so that you can run a decent number of offensive plays and do some evaluations. I don't think that's the case with Griffin, though. He's not a total disaster like Beck.

 

[dgreen]

I really think Griffin will still be great and has a bright future. But, I think my main fear right now is that the coaching staff may not believe that anymore. And, for all the bashing we'd like to do of the coaching staff, they are still an NFL coaching staff. The Shanahans are certainly smart enough to have a pretty accurate opinion about all of this. So, if they don't think Griffin can be The Guy, then that scares me a bit. Sure, they may not be here next year and someone else will come in. But, what will they find? Will they find the same things Mike and Kyle found with Griffin? Or, hopefully, is this year really all about the knee recovery and the lack of an offseason? I think that's most likely because those appear to be the two biggest variables this year. Part of me, being a lifelong fan of DC sports, is considering the idea that he'll never be what we want him to be.

 

[packersfan]

I don't know how good RG3 will ultimately be although based on what he showed when healthy last season I think there's plenty of room for optimism. But if I was a Washington fan I wouldn't place any consideration onto what Mike Shanahan may think about him at the present time. It seems rather clear objectivity has left the building in DC.

I think RG3 has a lot of room for improvement. If he's willing to put in the time and he gets good coaching I don't see any reason why he can't return to the level of play he displayed as a rookie. Plenty of people in Carolina and around the NFL wanted to bury Cam Newton in his second season too. How's that one working out now?

 

[MattFancy]

The benching very well could be because of performance, but then why aren't other players getting benched for the way they've played?

Well, you also have to someone to replace the player. A performance-based theory would include the assumption that Cousins can perform better. Some of the OL may not be performing, but they also have nobody else to turn to who they think can do better.

My problem with a performance-based theory is that, at this point in the season, what's the big deal? I mean, we're 3-10 and NOW you're going to make a move to improve performance? Why? So we can maybe get to 4-12 or 5-11? What's the point? A couple years ago, I thought they needed to go with Rex over Beck at the end of the season because Beck was so bad that it was hard to evaluate the rest of the team. Rex at least gave the offense enough plays so that you can run a decent number of offensive plays and do some evaluations. I don't think that's the case with Griffin, though. He's not a total disaster like Beck.

Good points. If it was performance, why not pull him when the team was still in contention? It's not really like he's played any worse the last few weeks than he did earlier. One could argue, the Giants and Vikings games were 2 of his better games this season (at least the 1st half of the Giants game). Was his performance of late really that bad? Not to my untrained eye.

Could Cousins come in and play better? Sure I guess he could. What will it mean if he does? I have no idea.

As far as the OL, you're telling me we don't have anyone that could play better than Polumbus? Gattis or Compton couldn't be much worse, could they?

 

[RGIII HTTR]

My problem with a performance-based theory is why RG3 only? Haslett, K. Burns, Shanny Jr all deserve to be fired or have some of their duties stripped. As for players, most of the defense could sat down for performance and EVERY SINGLE PLAYER on the special teams deserves to be sat down. Why is Rocca still punting for our team? There are just too many other players (and coaches) that should be sat down for performance earlier in the season and for their ongoing poor performance that make RG3 being sat down for that reason hard to comprehend on so many levels.

The other part that everyone blowing things out of proportion is tied to the story the broke before the KC game. That story, the over the top poor KC performance, and Shanny poor handling of the media basically became an atomic bomb.

 

[dgreen]

Plenty of people in Carolina and around the NFL wanted to bury Cam Newton in his second season too.

People in the Panthers organization? I'm not concerned about fans and media wanting to bury Griffin. That's fine. Fans and media overreact to every play of every game. I'm more concerned if actual NFL people want to bury him.

 

[dgreen]

As far as the OL, you're telling me we don't have anyone that could play better than Polumbus? Gattis or Compton couldn't be much worse, could they?

Remember when people said, "Beck couldn't be worse than Grossman"? Um, yeah, he was. So, yes, I think it's definitely possible that the backup OL are worse than the starters. Coaches see these guys every day. I'm pretty confident that NFL coaches have the more talented guy on the field a very high percentage of the time. Sure, they'll make mistakes and are perfect, but I think they have a good reason for starting Polumbus over Compton.

 

[packersfan]

Plenty of people in Carolina and around the NFL wanted to bury Cam Newton in his second season too.

People in the Panthers organization? I'm not concerned about fans and media wanting to bury Griffin. That's fine. Fans and media overreact to every play of every game. I'm more concerned if actual NFL people want to bury him.

The coaching staff never lost faith as far as I know but he was criticized internally at times. Steve Smith being the most vocal.

My main point, though, is Cam had a tough second season like Griffin has for many of the same reasons too (poor decisions on the field, questionable decisions and comments off it). Things have turned out just fine for Cam and he may lead the Panthers deep into the playoffs and maybe even the Super Bowl. I think things will be fine with Griffin if he puts in the work in the offseason. It's not like he's lacking talent. I think it comes down to just how good he wants to be and how hard he's willing to work to get there, which is true of many, if not most, young players in the league.

 

[MattFancy]

As far as the OL, you're telling me we don't have anyone that could play better than Polumbus? Gattis or Compton couldn't be much worse, could they?

Remember when people said, "Beck couldn't be worse than Grossman"? Um, yeah, he was. So, yes, I think it's definitely possible that the backup OL are worse than the starters. Coaches see these guys every day. I'm pretty confident that NFL coaches have the more talented guy on the field a very high percentage of the time. Sure, they'll make mistakes and are perfect, but I think they have a good reason for starting Polumbus over Compton.

I see your point. But in a lost season, what could it hurt? Why not see what Gattis or Compton have. If you're pulling the plug on your frannchise QB, why not just throw in any other back ups at this point?

 

[fatness]

Rich Tandler ‏@Rich_TandlerCSN11h
Silver also had the discredited report about RG3 not wanting bad plays shown to team. Wonder Silver’s arms hurt from carrying Shanny’s water

 

[fatness]

So the big question: why are the Redskins (presumably Shanahan) leaking stories to the media? It does not serve anyone.

Shanahan is polishing his image in "every place that doesn't follow the Redskins". And look at the suckup coverage he's getting from friends in the national sports media like Schefter and Silver. They reach a lot more people than do Tandler and Keim and Sheehan (who surprisingly is on Shanahan's ### about this).

He's a lying sack of #### trying to polish his reputation among people who don't follow him much.