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Originally Posted by djnemo65
It's a well-reasoned, well-written article, even though I don't necessarily agree with all of it.
While Sherrif is absolutely correct that this question doesn't need to be pondered until after the season - hell, the Skins could win out and go to the Superbowl and then we would view things very differently - the main indictment of the article, that Gibbs 2.0 is lacking something on a tactical level, unfortunately has to be seriously considered.
The mark of a great coach in this league is doing less with more - think what Crennel is doing, or Herm Edwards, or Gruden in Tampa this year. Either the Skins aren't as talented as we think or they aren't extracting the most from the talent they have; either way, Gibbs is accountable for that.
I have yet to have seen a game in this second tenure where I felt our offense was superior on a purely strategic level. Sure there have been moments in 2005 where we overpowered people with what was probably superior talent, but when have we had a win where we beat a better team just by being better prepared than them? Where is that signature upset? This weekend was a chance to show, even if we can't beat the Pats, we can play with them and we were utterly humiliated. Not only was their talent superior but we weren't prepared and didn't adjust to anything they were doing.
Did anyone hear Doc's interview of Campbell this week on his radio show? SportsTalk 980 - Washington, DC. I was stunned by the ferocity with which Doc hammered Jason, even though I had to agree with him, particularily when Doc questioned him on their strategy for attacking Asante Samuel. Why no adjustments? Why no change in approach when the game was getting out of hand?
I'm still drinking the Kool-Aid, and I still think we are going to the playoffs. But the larger issue here, that we are not maximizing our talent and never out-strategizing our opponents, is unfortunately carrying a lot of merit.
4-3 is fine. 5-3 will be great. The playoffs will be exciting. But 3 1/2 years into a Superbowl rebuilding project, with unlimited resources and unlimited support, is that enough? |
Great post, and I agree 100%. Halftime adjustments, "surprise" wins over "favored" opponents, always stepping up for divisional games, blue collar players who came out of nowhere to have the games of their lives for the Redskins, and above all else, playing with discipline and pride -- these are the traits of Joe Gibbs football as we remember them.
Now, we know that many of the things that contributed to that atmosphere of winning are no longer here -- I've always lamented the departure of Bobby Beathard and anybody who was a Skins/Gibbs fan back in the day knows full well what Bobby meant to our organization. Cerrato is no Bobby Beathard. Shapiro isn't the first to suggest we try to get Scott Pioli, who may be one of the only modern dudes I've ever heard legitimately compared to Beathard.
And, I think Shapiro is dead on questioning the mentality of current players. I don't know that the team we have now has the right combination of fire, respect for the institution and the Man who's trying to restore greatness to it, and overall work ethic that we need. The phrase "true Redskin" is tossed about an awful lot, but we still end up with guys making an uncharacteristic number of mental mistakes, coughing up the football, playing without intensity, or worst of all, just not playing much at all (Lloyd, Arch Deluxe, et al).