Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

Probably the most unenthusiastic I've been about this team in years. I'm looking for reasons to waste my Sunday's this season but everything seems to point to a long depressing Redskins season. The team has looked terrible in preseason. Factors that kill my optimisim are:

-Oline still not creating holes in running game

-Cousins running for his life making the same stupid mistakes and turnovers to cost us games.

-All of our rbs are either rookies, unreliable, or unproven. And none of them are gamechangers. (By the way Alfred Morris looks great in Dallas)

-We let both Jackson and Garcon go and sign Pryor as our #1 who's been a ghost in 3 preseason games and can't seem to catch the ball. Doctson is a bust until proven otherwise. Jordan Reed is guaranteed to end up on the injury report at least half the season.

-Run defense still suffers with no true impact nose tackle. Phil Taylor out for season. No interior push from the Dline or pressure without blitzing. Expect more rotating barely starter quality guys like Ziggy Hood on the line all season.

-Breeland continues to give up big plays and Josh Norman exposed by elite WRs (AJ Green, Julio Jones etc.)

Jay Gruden/Joe Barry rookie level gameplanning and adjustments.

-Junior Galette........

This script seems all too familiar.

Is it really that bad? Any reason to believe this team is capable of proving me wrong this year?

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

4 wins, heh?

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

Some of you guys bite way too hard on the preseason.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=MTK;1172926]Some of you guys bite way too hard on the preseason.[/quote]

Agree with this. They didn't even try to show anything they would pull out in games.

Defense should be better. Offense, not sure how it doesn't get worse, that's how highly I value the deep threat that was Jackson. Overall, back in the same place, 8-8 or maybe squeak back to 9-7.

There's enough promise to hope that things break just our way and we end up in the playoffs.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

To me it will boil down to whether the improvements in the D (and I think they will be tangible) will outweigh any backslide on O. We would have won a few more games had our D not been just average, and it would have put less pressure on offensive side of the ball. I think we picked up more on D -- Swearinger, Gallette (healthy), J. Allen, Zach Brown (people seem to forget what an improvement he will be), and R. Anderson -- those are 5 solid contributors, and if McGee and McClain improve the D line (or Iannodis with another year under his belt), that's gravy. I also think Cravens to safety will help too (assuming he can get healthy). Breeland has looked pretty sharp this preseason as well. Overall, I think the D will take some significant strides forward (they had only one place to go), and should make up for any setbacks with our offensive production.

Having said that, I am worried about the O line which has not looked great, although it is preseason, and like most folks in this forum (I think), I would like to have kept at least one of DJax or Garcon.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

Back to back winning seasons with a top 10 offense... And u are already doom and gloom because of bs practice games that players don't even care about winning... Wow

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Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

Idw pile on, but this is pretty hilarious. Bro you must not have been around long enough to remember the glory days preseasons that didn't matter once the regular season started. My #1 goal in preseason is no injuries, and while it hasn't been bad we haven't made it through unscathed. Performance means nothing in preseason.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=MTK;1172926]Some of you guys bite way too hard on the preseason.[/quote]

I would agree but, last year's preseason seemed rather lethargic as well and it did cast a reflection on the season. Wins and losses in the preseason are a moot issue, it is all about execution. There was improvement in the last game, so we will see if it continues in game 4.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=FlyerSkin;1172939]I would agree but, last year's preseason seemed rather lethargic as well and it did cast a reflection on the season. Wins and losses in the preseason are a moot issue, it is all about execution. There was improvement in the last game, so we will see if it continues in game 4.[/quote]

This year's preseason was vastly different then last year's. Last year KC and the starting offense maybe played 2 quarters over 3 games. JG was far more relaxed then this year. This year he held the offense accountable in all 3 games, making them stay out until they executed some plays. I think that will have a tremendous positive impact when the games count.

Yes the game plans were vanilla, and yes the oline looked less than stellar, but our line revolves around TW, if he is playing, and you could tell he was playing at a preseason pace. Unless something is significantly wrong with him, there is no reason at all to think he won't be a pro bowl caliber LT again this year.

Tonight's game is so meaningless, I bet half the starters don't even make the trip. But come next week, I expect to see the best game 1 of a season that JG has put together. When you put Reed, Crowder, Kelley (especially the Kelley who was running in game 3), Thompson and the rest on the field our offens has multiple potent weapons, and KC is mature enough to march them down the field consistently.

Our D has solid players across the board now, and potential playmakers in Allen, Kerrigan, Norman, and Anderson. Will strong offenses give us challenges, of course. But last year we were bottom dwellers on D with the staff and players infighting all season. I think our coaching staff is better (not sold on the DC unfortunately), and the locker room will be better with the likes of Anderson and Allen setting a brutal tone.

preseason records mean nothing, but I love the change in coaching mentality enough to think that this preseason will be Gruden's turning point as an NFL head coach.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

I am somewhere in between right now. Not excited b/c I have lived with mediocrity and the continual promise that we will break out of it only to have fall back to double digit losses. After 25 years of this cycle, call me jaded. At the same time, I will watch and hope. I think the D has made some good acquisitions. I think the offense will be solid, but am less enthusiastic than I was originally. This is mainly because I am now concerned that the Pryor/Doctson replacement plan will be a much larger step down than I originally thought.

DJax, for all his faults, meant we were a threat to score at any time. When he played, opposing D's backed way the f* off or got burned. I thought Pryor and Doctson could make up for that by being much better red zone targets. Now, I just want to see them catch the ball and get on the field.

Now, before you pull out the "back to back winning seasons" on me, let me just say: 8-7-1, 9-7. Yes. They are winning seasons. In one, we won only one more game than half of the games played. In the other, we won half our games and only achieved a winning season by TYING A GAME (Yay! We are winners b/c we tied a game! lol). As a result of these slightly better than purely mediocre seasons, some are hopeful of bigger and better things. To me, however, this has been the cycle since the early 90's - we suck, we achieve mediocrity, fans get excited, we sink back to sucking. Rinse & Repeat.

If I felt like Gruden had turned the corner, maybe I get excited. I just haven't seen anything to convince me that he has. I think mediocrity may be the best he's got. If so, he's gone after this year or next and back to sucking we go. On the other hand, if we start fast out of the gate and are 5-3 or 6-2 by midseason, I will pull a [I]mea culpa [/I]and be hooked all over again. I just don't see that happening. c'est la vie.

For now, I'll watch the games but will not pass up a beautiful fall afternoon with my family outside of the Plato's cave that we Skins fans have constructed for ourselves over the last 25 years.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

As always, cautiously optimistic with a sprinkle of pessimism. I'm excited to see how the defense is going to be this year. I think in terms of player personnel, it has been upgraded, but it will remain to be seen in terms of DC.

I still feel we needed to have kept either Jackson or Garcon. That's the pessimism sprinkle. I'm suspect over the health of Doctson, and I'm not quite convenienced Pryor is going to have reliable hands, but we'll see. Also keep thinking Kelly is either going to regress and get pushed out by Perine by mid-season, or he's going to be "beast mode 2.0". I was more impressed by him in game 3 of the preseason.

I kind of feel this is all or nothing for the 'skins. I just don't believe 8-8 or 9-7 should be sought after. I think a playoff berth and a playoff win should be expected. This is Gruden's fourth year, it's time to make it happen if it is.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=JoeRedskin;1172942]I am somewhere in between right now. Not excited b/c I have lived with mediocrity and the continual promise that we will break out of it only to have fall back to double digit losses. After 25 years of this cycle, call me jaded. At the same time, I will watch and hope. I think the D has made some good acquisitions. I think the offense will be solid, but am less enthusiastic than I was originally. This is mainly because I am now concerned that the Pryor/Doctson replacement plan will be a much larger step down than I originally thought.

DJax, for all his faults, meant we were a threat to score at any time. When he played, opposing D's backed way the f* off or got burned. I thought Pryor and Doctson could make up for that by being much better red zone targets. Now, I just want to see them catch the ball and get on the field.

Now, before you pull out the "back to back winning seasons" on me, let me just say: 8-7-1, 9-7. Yes. They are winning seasons. In one, we won only one more game than half of the games played. In the other, we won half our games and only achieved a winning season by TYING A GAME (Yay! We are winners b/c we tied a game! lol). As a result of these slightly better than purely mediocre seasons, some are hopeful of bigger and better things. To me, however, this has been the cycle since the early 90's - we suck, we achieve mediocrity, fans get excited, we sink back to sucking. Rinse & Repeat.

If I felt like Gruden had turned the corner, maybe I get excited. I just haven't seen anything to convince me that he has. I think mediocrity may be the best he's got. If so, he's gone after this year or next and back to sucking we go. On the other hand, if we start fast out of the gate and are 5-3 or 6-2 by midseason, I will pull a [I]mea culpa [/I]and be hooked all over again. I just don't see that happening. c'est la vie.

For now, I'll watch the games but will not pass up a beautiful fall afternoon with my family outside of the Plato's cave that we Skins fans have constructed for ourselves over the last 25 years.[/quote]

Dear Jaded,

The worst thing about this season is that it will be so successful (10-6 or better) that you will be brought back into the land of believing. Only to have your team dismantled by the villanous duo of the franchisetag monster and the oneyearcontract walking dead.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

The Vegas over/under is 7.5

Mediocre is the unbiased assessment of those who know what they're doing. Expectations for 4 wins are as ludicrous as expectations for 12.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=JoeRedskin;1172942]I am somewhere in between right now. Not excited b/c I have lived with mediocrity and the continual promise that we will break out of it only to have fall back to double digit losses. After 25 years of this cycle, call me jaded. At the same time, I will watch and hope. I think the D has made some good acquisitions. I think the offense will be solid, but am less enthusiastic than I was originally. This is mainly because I am now concerned that the Pryor/Doctson replacement plan will be a much larger step down than I originally thought.

DJax, for all his faults, meant we were a threat to score at any time. When he played, opposing D's backed way the f* off or got burned. I thought Pryor and Doctson could make up for that by being much better red zone targets. Now, I just want to see them catch the ball and get on the field.

Now, before you pull out the "back to back winning seasons" on me, let me just say: 8-7-1, 9-7. Yes. They are winning seasons. In one, we won only one more game than half of the games played. In the other, we won half our games and only achieved a winning season by TYING A GAME (Yay! We are winners b/c we tied a game! lol). As a result of these slightly better than purely mediocre seasons, some are hopeful of bigger and better things. To me, however, this has been the cycle since the early 90's - we suck, we achieve mediocrity, fans get excited, we sink back to sucking. Rinse & Repeat.

If I felt like Gruden had turned the corner, maybe I get excited. I just haven't seen anything to convince me that he has. I think mediocrity may be the best he's got. If so, he's gone after this year or next and back to sucking we go. On the other hand, if we start fast out of the gate and are 5-3 or 6-2 by midseason, I will pull a [I]mea culpa [/I]and be hooked all over again. I just don't see that happening. c'est la vie.

For now, I'll watch the games but will not pass up a beautiful fall afternoon with my family outside of the Plato's cave that we Skins fans have constructed for ourselves over the last 25 years.[/quote]

I'm pretty much with you Joe, but I'm still watching regular season games. Nowadays I'll watch the start of some preseason games but definitely not all the way through. Idc who makes the cut, just give me a good football team.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=VirgilTibbs;1172924]Probably the most unenthusiastic I've been about this team in years. I'm looking for reasons to waste my Sunday's this season but everything seems to point to a long depressing Redskins season. The team has looked terrible in preseason. Factors that kill my optimisim are:

-Oline still not creating holes in running game

-Cousins running for his life making the same stupid mistakes and turnovers to cost us games.

-All of our rbs are either rookies, unreliable, or unproven. And none of them are gamechangers. (By the way Alfred Morris looks great in Dallas)

-We let both Jackson and Garcon go and sign Pryor as our #1 who's been a ghost in 3 preseason games and can't seem to catch the ball. Doctson is a bust until proven otherwise. Jordan Reed is guaranteed to end up on the injury report at least half the season.

-Run defense still suffers with no true impact nose tackle. Phil Taylor out for season. No interior push from the Dline or pressure without blitzing. Expect more rotating barely starter quality guys like Ziggy Hood on the line all season.

-Breeland continues to give up big plays and Josh Norman exposed by elite WRs (AJ Green, Julio Jones etc.)

Jay Gruden/[COLOR="Red"]Joe Barry[/COLOR] rookie level gameplanning and adjustments.

-Junior Galette........

This script seems all too familiar.

Is it really that bad? Any reason to believe this team is capable of proving me wrong this year?[/quote]

Joe Barry is gone dude.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[URL]http://www.thewarpath.net/parking-lot/63848-boobs.html[/URL]

Works for me.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=RedskinMike;1172954]Joe Barry is gone dude.[/quote]

Yes, his replacement is also a coordinator that's been fired multiple times. I'll give Manusky a chance (like I have a choice) but his resume doesn't bode well. Especially for a team with minimal defensive talent and several question marks.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=RedskinMike;1172954]Joe Barry is gone dude.[/quote]

:laughing2

Oh man. Thank you.

It's Redskins football and a new year...fuck man, how can u not be excited?

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=JoeRedskin;1172942]I am somewhere in between right now. Not excited b/c I have lived with mediocrity and the continual promise that we will break out of it only to have fall back to double digit losses. After 25 years of this cycle, call me jaded. At the same time, I will watch and hope. I think the D has made some good acquisitions. I think the offense will be solid, but am less enthusiastic than I was originally. This is mainly because I am now concerned that the Pryor/Doctson replacement plan will be a much larger step down than I originally thought.

DJax, for all his faults, meant we were a threat to score at any time. When he played, opposing D's backed way the f* off or got burned. I thought Pryor and Doctson could make up for that by being much better red zone targets. Now, I just want to see them catch the ball and get on the field.

Now, before you pull out the "back to back winning seasons" on me, let me just say: 8-7-1, 9-7. Yes. They are winning seasons. In one, we won only one more game than half of the games played. In the other, we won half our games and only achieved a winning season by TYING A GAME (Yay! We are winners b/c we tied a game! lol). As a result of these slightly better than purely mediocre seasons, some are hopeful of bigger and better things. To me, however, this has been the cycle since the early 90's - we suck, we achieve mediocrity, fans get excited, we sink back to sucking. Rinse & Repeat.

If I felt like Gruden had turned the corner, maybe I get excited. I just haven't seen anything to convince me that he has. I think mediocrity may be the best he's got. If so, he's gone after this year or next and back to sucking we go. On the other hand, if we start fast out of the gate and are 5-3 or 6-2 by midseason, I will pull a [I]mea culpa [/I]and be hooked all over again. I just don't see that happening. c'est la vie.

For now, I'll watch the games but will not pass up a beautiful fall afternoon with my family outside of the Plato's cave that we Skins fans have constructed for ourselves over the last 25 years.[/quote]

Exactly how I have felt for pretty much over a decade. The rinse, spin, and repeat crap is what is killing my enthusiasm. It is getting increasingly harder to really be interested when my alma mater's (Univ of Dayton)football team, which is non scholarship, seems to play with more passion and a true desire to win than the bums the Skins put on the field year in and year out for at least the past decade. It is really a sad state of affairs, and it is true with most of the NFL, with the exception of the really good franchises.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=JoeRedskin;1172942]I am somewhere in between right now. Not excited b/c I have lived with mediocrity and the continual promise that we will break out of it only to have fall back to double digit losses. After 25 years of this cycle, call me jaded. At the same time, I will watch and hope. I think the D has made some good acquisitions. I think the offense will be solid, but am less enthusiastic than I was originally. This is mainly because I am now concerned that the Pryor/Doctson replacement plan will be a much larger step down than I originally thought.

DJax, for all his faults, meant we were a threat to score at any time. When he played, opposing D's backed way the f* off or got burned. I thought Pryor and Doctson could make up for that by being much better red zone targets. Now, I just want to see them catch the ball and get on the field.

Now, before you pull out the "back to back winning seasons" on me, let me just say: 8-7-1, 9-7. Yes. They are winning seasons. In one, we won only one more game than half of the games played. In the other, we won half our games and only achieved a winning season by TYING A GAME (Yay! We are winners b/c we tied a game! lol). As a result of these slightly better than purely mediocre seasons, some are hopeful of bigger and better things. To me, however, this has been the cycle since the early 90's - we suck, we achieve mediocrity, fans get excited, we sink back to sucking. Rinse & Repeat.

If I felt like Gruden had turned the corner, maybe I get excited. I just haven't seen anything to convince me that he has. I think mediocrity may be the best he's got. If so, he's gone after this year or next and back to sucking we go. On the other hand, if we start fast out of the gate and are 5-3 or 6-2 by midseason, I will pull a [I]mea culpa [/I]and be hooked all over again. I just don't see that happening. c'est la vie.

For now, I'll watch the games but will not pass up a beautiful fall afternoon with my family outside of the Plato's cave that we Skins fans have constructed for ourselves over the last 25 years.[/quote]

I think Gruden is going to be Snyder's Huckleberry.

I like Gruden. Can't put my finger on why. But I think he's going to be around for a long time. Hopefully I'm right because that means we're winning, a lot.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

Gruden should get more credit for bringing some stability to the franchise. Given the sad state of affairs before he got here I'll gladly take 9-7 and 8-7-1 as a sign of significant progress.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=MTK;1172964]Gruden should get more credit for bringing some stability to the franchise. Given the sad state of affairs before he got here I'll gladly take 9-7 and 8-7-1 as a sign of significant progress.[/quote]

Yeah agree, especially with dreck of a defense during those two seasons.

I want to see him break through, get over the hump. Norv was a player's coach, too. I think he got Snydered before we really found out whether he could break through. Based on his head coaching performances at stops since, I think the answer was no all along. But there's this nagging thing in the back of my mind - is Gruden a little too lax?

The constant turnovers and penalties that plagued the Norv teams had an undisciplined feel about them. Is our tendency to start games slow, and our tendency to lose in week 1, a sign that the coach needs to instill more discipline and urgency? Can we be a proactive team, rather than one that reacts to being punched in the mouth in the first quarter?

But these are nice problems to have, we're over .500 the last two years. Gruden deserves credit for designing an offense that gets players open, identifying their strengths and playing to them. He deserves credit for developing Cousins into a good quarterback. And most of all, deserves credit for making the tough decision to bench the organization's superstar high draft pick at QB, to go with Cousins in the first place. That was not an easy decision, and he was proven correct.

Let's see what he can do with a better defense. I want to see if he knows how to hire a defensive coordinator. I felt, when Manusky was selected for DC, that Gruden should have broadened his search. He did meet with Gus Bradley and others, and ultimately went with Manusky. A good head coach is a good CEO, does he know how to identify leaders who can effect change? If Manusky was the right choice, we'll know it based on the defense. And if the offense stays in top gear without McVay, then we'll know that Gruden has always had a hand in it.

This season will tell us a lot. There are enough questions where I can't blame anyone for having doubts, but Gruden has also shown enough to justify optimism as well. All in all I'm glad he's our coach, and he's easy to root for. It's nice to be able to hope for better and know that there are genuine reasons to think it could actually happen.

HTTR

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

I think by week 8 or 9, we need another thread to reevaluate our feelings upon the team and see if they have changed since this thread. Have expectations been reached, not reached, or have they been exceeded?

Personally, I view this year as a make or break year. It is only a successful year if they win more than 8 games, make the playoffs, AND win a playoff game. Naturally #3 can't be had without #2, but if they go 9-7 and miss the playoffs, I think the year is a failure. 10-6 and no playoffs? Maybe not much of a failure, but still disappointing.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

But if they went 9-7 would you tear it down and start a rebuild with a new coach?

Not sure I'd do that.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=Schneed10;1172989]But if they went 9-7 would you tear it down and start a rebuild with a new coach?

Not sure I'd do that.[/quote]

It would depend on the losses right? There are certain time management issues that JG has consistently struggled with, as well as early season dumb losses.

That said, I truly expect to see Gruden take an important step this season, starting with winning his first opener in his 4 years here.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

gruden is more like the players friend,not coach.they need a coach that will tear a yard out of their asses if they screw up.can you imagine the hell the players would catch if a player came out and said that pro practices were easier than college ones if bill parcells,bill cowher or even joe gibbs was the coach?redskins organization is terminally ill and i dont see it changing.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[QUOTE=insane4theskinsi;1173077]gruden is more like the players friend,not coach.they need a coach that will tear a yard out of their asses if they screw up.can you imagine the hell the players would catch if a player came out and said that pro practices were easier than college ones if bill parcells,bill cowher or even joe gibbs was the coach?redskins organization is terminally ill and i dont see it changing.[/QUOTE]



That's the nature of the current CBA, not a Redskins issue.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[url=http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20560111/sua-cravens-washington-redskins-22-pondered-retiring]Su'a Cravens of Washington Redskins, 22, pondered retiring[/url]

At this point Scott's best pic is Scherff and I can't really think of another good one. The lost McC has not been that big of deal.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[QUOTE=mredskins;1173094][url=http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20560111/sua-cravens-washington-redskins-22-pondered-retiring]Su'a Cravens of Washington Redskins, 22, pondered retiring[/url]



At this point Scott's best pic is Scherff and I can't really think of another good one. The lost McC has not been that big of deal.[/QUOTE]


Crowder?

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=MTK;1173095]Crowder?[/quote]

Ok 2.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

After seeing the video of cravens and compton talking, it's clear he's not there mentally in football. He doesn't want to play

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Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=mredskins;1173094][url=http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/20560111/sua-cravens-washington-redskins-22-pondered-retiring]Su'a Cravens of Washington Redskins, 22, pondered retiring[/url]

At this point Scott's best pic is Scherff and I can't really think of another good one. The lost McC has not been that big of deal.[/quote]

Love how you hear about 1 draft pick's commitment to the game wavering and you use it as an attack on a guy who's no longer here. If McC is so worthless, why do they still use his scouting services? Surely a guy as worthless as that doesn't offer any value to us as a team.

S/N I didn't believe it initially but this leaves no doubt. If Cravens isn't 100% committed, he's wasting his and our time. I'd rather there be no doubt so we can move on if need be.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=mooby;1173138]Love how you hear about 1 draft pick's commitment to the game wavering and you use it as an attack on a guy who's no longer here. If McC is so worthless, why do they still use his scouting services? Surely a guy as worthless as that doesn't offer any value to us as a team.

S/N I didn't believe it initially but this leaves no doubt. If Cravens isn't 100% committed, he's wasting his and our time. I'd rather there be no doubt so we can move on if need be.[/quote]
Was not an attack on McC. Just pointing out his pics were not so great here. Scherff and Crowder are the only 2 I can think of that are worth a damn. Honestly, if we are still using his scouting reports, we might want stop. Though, I will say this past draft does seem promising.

Re: Need Reasons To Get Excited
 

[quote=mredskins;1173144]Was not an attack on McC. Just pointing out his pics were not so great here. Scherff and Crowder are the only 2 I can think of that are worth a damn. Honestly, if we are still using his scouting reports, we might want stop. Though, I will say this past draft does seem promising.[/quote]

McL was also the reason behind us picking Breeland - we used his service that year.