Washington Redskins vs Detroit Lions Pregame Thread

[MTK]

Originally Posted by The Goat

You knew what to expect with Haslett. I do know why he would/should be the fall guy. This isn't his team, his vision. The offense has been nearly as bad as the defense through Mikes tenure, with last year being the outlier.

I know you love to to pile on Shanahan at any chance, but as defensive coordinator the performance of the D ultimately falls on Haslett. That just comes with the territory. He needs to get things figured out.

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

I know you love to to pile on Shanahan at any chance, but as defensive coordinator the performance of the D ultimately falls on Haslett. That just comes with the territory. He needs to get things figured out.

Well yes and no.Haslett is responsible for the defense Now,but it was Shanahans hare brained ideal to hire Haslett and blow up our 4-3 defense that was never suited to run the 3-4 and weve pretty much sucked since then,so you could kinda say its all Shanahans fault

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by htownskinfan

Well yes and no.Haslett is responsible for the defense Now,but it was Shanahans hare brained ideal to hire Haslett and blow up our 4-3 defense that was never suited to run the 3-4 and weve pretty much sucked since then,so you could kinda say its all Shanahans fault

Well, for one thing Haslett wasn't Shanahan's 1st or even 2nd choice. In fact, and this is going to open up a whole other can of worms, I think a "higher power" may have strongly suggested Haslett. Do I know this for a fact? No, but I do know about some other things which would lead me to think that's quite possible.

As for switching from a 4-3. No problem with that at all. We were in a 4-3 with guys like Carter, Wynn, Daniels. You look at where the league was headed offensively, what players on D were becoming available via the draft and FA, and you make a decision based on that as far as where you want the D to be in 5 years (from Mike's 5 year plan). I don't think the "we were a 4-3 in 2009 defense, so we should stay that way" argument holds much weight

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Well, for one thing Haslett wasn't Shanahan's 1st or even 2nd choice. In fact, and this is going to open up a whole other can of worms, I think a "higher power" may have strongly suggested Haslett. Do I know this for a fact? No, but I do know about some other things which would lead me to think that's quite possible.

As for switching from a 4-3. No problem with that at all. We were in a 4-3 with guys like Carter, Wynn, Daniels. You look at where the league was headed offensively, what players on D were becoming available via the draft and FA, and you make a decision based on that as far as where you want the D to be in 5 years (from Mike's 5 year plan). I don't think the "we were a 4-3 in 2009 defense, so we should stay that way" argument holds much weight

Well the facts are Shanny hired Haslett,as for the rest that is just conjecture.

How you dont have a problem with the switch to the 3-4 is beyond me,weve sucked big time since we've done it.Add that to the fact that we MILLIONS of dollars invested in haynesworth to anchor the 4-3.
Would Haynesworth still have acted the same way if we hadnt made the switch,who knows,we'll never know the answer to that

[Chief X_Phackter]

Originally Posted by htownskinfan

Well the facts are Shanny hired Haslett,as for the rest that is just conjecture.

How you dont have a problem with the switch to the 3-4 is beyond me,weve sucked big time since we've done it.Add that to the fact that we MILLIONS of dollars invested in haynesworth to anchor the 4-3.
Would Haynesworth still have acted the same way if we hadnt made the switch,who knows,we'll never know the answer to that

Doesn't matter, because chances are he would have played the same way regardless...piss poor...

Besides, it's not Shanny's fault MILLIONS of dollars were invested (wasted) in Haynesworth before he took over...similar to the fact that it's not Lombardi's fault the Browns drafted Richardson #3 overall. He still has to make decisions based on what he thinks is best for the team - in his vision.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

I know you love to to pile on Shanahan at any chance, but as defensive coordinator the performance of the D ultimately falls on Haslett. That just comes with the territory. He needs to get things figured out.

I agree that Shanahan can't be held responsible for the effectiveness of the week to week defensive gameplan, but rewind half a decade to the Gibbs era, and we were just in a different category in terms of defensive ability. You didn't have to worry about the week to week defensive gameplan six years ago. Strong defense was the expectation.

The organization is different now. Defense is a struggle. It's a struggle when Haslett is on point and it's a struggle when he's doing things that don't make sense. He's going to have to accept responsibility when the unit performance is unacceptable, but I don't know if Haslett is the reason the defense has gone backwards in the last five years.

I just don't think there has been a high priority on acquiring and keeping great defensive players.

I think we have some really good defensive players, and some really good defensive prospects, and it's on Haslett to turn those guys into a strong unit, but we're also forced to rely on no-upside guys like Baccari Rambo and EJ Biggers in major roles, and that's a tough thing to scheme around.