Why are we giving Gibbs a pass?

[4mrusmc]

Originally Posted by superskins

i dont know if you noticed this or not but........it is joe gibbs. i think he may of won 3 superbowls or something like that. maybe

Yeah I noticed those 4 Super Bowls, 3 of which he has won. I for one was alive to see those games and cheered with great pride when all of that was accomplished. But, we won our last Super Bowl in 91'. We are now due for another run. Don't talk about what was done in the past. What are we doing now? Or, is this as good as it gets? I would hope not.

[Misterbillysells]

Yeah i dont know how you can really have a problem with the draft day acquistions under Joe Gibbs. I mean Sean Taylor is God, especially compared to KW jr. Carlos Rogers is still developing but is a much more productive player than Rolle, Pacman, and Mike williams. People might have been angry about drafting Jason Campbell but in retrospect to seeing how ramsey and brunnel panned out that might have been Gibbs' best move yet. And i think most people agree that Rocky is exactly what we need at OLB and just want to see him play more. So given the options I think Joe Gibbs has been a draft day genius, you can disagree with trading away picks, with free agent signings or with how the players are utilized, but Gibbs has drafted quality with the picks hes had each year.

[Rajmahal33]

No need for personal attacks b/c u can't put together a cogent response.

That being said, I disagree that blaming gibbs for last season or the way the team has been built is the right thing to go. This also doesn't mean that he should get a "free pass". Can we just chalk up last season to some very bad luck with injuries and a bad mistake on Gibbs part (which he admits) for sticking with brunell? I think after 3 superbowls we can allow him to get away with the brunell thing.

As far as not building the team properly, I dont know how much of that you can actually blame on him. As is well documented, Snyder is very hands on and when he wants a free agent he will go out and get them and he probably forces gibbs to deal with these whimsical signings. Who knows maybe gibbs hated bringing over arch but GW and Danny boy loved the guy so gibbs had to appear to be on board. My point is just that you can't blame one person for bad FO moves. If there has to be a scapegoat for the sake of closure, i would think that person should be vinny cerrato b/c he is the only expendable one in that bunch. I think what this franchise needs is a GM who is willing to stand up to the owner (and coaching staff) in certain situations and make wise decisions. Coaches always like to bring in players that they think will help them out but sometimes they need to be told that the guy isn't worth the price tag. That is something I can't fault gibbs for b/c he is not supposed to be a hall of fame deal maker and number cruncher. He is Joe Gibbs, hall of fame coach.

[70Chip]

I do cut Gibbs some slack. He's earned it. It's not like he's some yahoo that just fell off the turnip truck.

When Gibbs won a Super Bowl in his second year, that was extraordinary. I didn't expect it to happen as quickly this time. Three points I would make not as a defense but as context:

1. The Redskins were worse than people realized when Gibbs took over. A lot of the blame landed on Spurrier because it was the easiest story for the press to write, but those teams had horrible players. Bruce Smith? Unbelievable. If you want to bitch about a front-office, that was the time to do it.

2. The Redskins improved in 2005 but then took a step backwards. I think the reasons are two in number. Clinton Portis being injured and poor play by Greg Williams' defense owing mainly to bad personell moves. I think Williams has to take some of the blame there. His stock was high enough after 2005 that he would have gotten the players he wanted.

3. The Mark Brunell signing was a mistake. I don't want to kill Brunell. I don't think it represents a vast conspiracy that he was signed, blah, blah, blah, but looking at it overall I have to say we shouldn't have done it. That one's on Gibbs.

I think we would all do well to remember that things are never as bad or as good as they seem.

So, Joe will coach one or two more seasons and let's hope he has healthy Portis and Campbell turns out to be awesome and some of these coaches earn their money and we will have a definite chance. One thing I do know is that Joe Gibbs is a singular figure in Redskins history and nothing that happens would make me regret the fact of his return. I think he would say the same from his end.