Problems at the core

[The Huddle]

Originally Posted by mike340

Okay, so you want to discount what Gibbs has done here on his return and say that the end of last year was a fluke. I guess they were also lucky last year that they were in almost all the games. The only ones they lost by more than 7 points were the blowout in NY and the final loss to Seattle in the playoffs. In addition, the Redskins had one of the two hardest schedules in the NFL last year. (The Chargers were the other team near us in this statistic.)
This year Springs was out a lot and Prioleau was out the whole year. This killed us, since Williams's defense is predicated on being able to pressure the QB, but we couldn't afford to blitz since we didn't have any cornerbacks. If we pick up Clements we may be OK. (I don't know how good he is, I just know he's the best one available.) Rogers seems to play OK when he doesn't play frightened. Let's hope they can get this turned around next year.

Close games and tough schedules don't matter. Wins are the only thing that counts.

I don't think anyone wants to "discount what Gibbs has done here on his return"- the fact is, what he's "done" is go 21-27 with one playoff appearance and two losing seasons in three years.

Your arguement about the defense definately has some merit but can't explain away a 5-11 record. Yes, those loses hurt, but every team suffers injuries, and good teams find a way to adapt and overcome them. Springs and Prioleau are good players but a lot of people (not necessarily you) are trying to turn them into the second coming of Darrell Green and Kenny Houston and it's just not so.

As I said earlier, I've got no problem with giving Gibbs II a fourth year, but if we sit through another disappointing season in 2007 does anyone really want to see a fifth?