WP article: Time for Gibbs to walk away?

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

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 ... (snip) ... But 3 1/2 years into a Superbowl rebuilding project, with unlimited resources and unlimited support, is that enough?

This is an excellent question. Sometimes I do wonder, just how talented is this team? Trying to look at it objectively, from an outsiders point of view -- one might say the following ...

-- Santana Moss has really only had one good year. Is he a flash in the pan? Was 2005 his peak?

-- Clinton Portis. Against NFC East opponents, arguably the most important contests of the season, he averages just 73 yards per game over 17 games. Either he truly isn't 100% healthy, or we have ourselves an average running back. Even for as young as he is, the wear and tear is starting to really show.

-- Was Randle El designed to be a #2 receiver? Or was his role primarily a returner and #3 slot/slash type player? Just what is his role supposed to be?

-- Offensive line. It was really good last year, but everybody else wasn't. Talk about bad timing. Another unit that was reaching its peak, and needed to move in the direction of a rebuild.

-- Quarterback. The future is indeed bright for Jason Campbell, but he's not there yet.

Is three and a half years enough time? Like I said earlier, the gap shouldn't have been this wide between us and the Patriots. I think there have been some dismal personnel decisions with Gibbs calling the shots. If you're rebuilding, then why bring in Brunell in a "Win Now" philosophy? How much further ahead would Campbell have been if he'd gotten the chance to start earlier?

When you really look at it, we need help at offensive line, wide receiver, cornerback, and defensive end. That's a fair amount of work to do after four years of 'rebuilding'. Overall, it's been a mix/mash with one good year out of three, and a shaky 4-3 record in year four with a murky, could be decent, could be ugly outlook.

I think we can all agree this isn't the state Gibbs wanted to be in at this point.