WP article: Time for Gibbs to walk away?

[freddyg12]

A little perspective on another beatdown. On 9/29/85 the eventual champ Bears stomped Gibbs' Skins, 45-10 (Keep in mind. Back then coaches didn't run up the score unless they had a personal beef w/each other. Ditka & Gibbs always respected 1 another.)

A year later, see the entry from wikipedia below (notice the injury list). In addition to that, we beat them in the 1987-8 playoffs & went on to win the super bowl.

My point?
Gibbs has been through this before & while I agree w/much of what Shapiro said, this team may not be as far away as we think.

"The Bears were heavy favorites in the post season. They earned a first round bye. But in the first game at Soldier Field, they were upset by the Washington Redskins. A holding penalty and a missed field goal by Kevin Butler frustrated the Bears in the first quarter. However, they still managed to take a 13-7 lead into halftime. But their usual stellar defense fell apart in the second half, allowing the Redskins to score 20 unanswered points.

"Maybe my dreams didn't come true," said Chicago Coach Mike Ditka. "The defense has to play outstanding and today they were just not up to the way the Redskins were playing."

Despite injuries to offensive linemen Joe Jacoby and Russ Grimm, they and the rest of the blockers were able to pick up the Bears patented blitzes. Quarterback Jay Schroeder was sacked only twice. He was also able to use the blitzes to his advantage, completing passes while being chased out of the pocket.

Trailing 14-13 in the 4th quarter, the Bears good fortune ran out, when the usually dependable Payton lost a fumble, which led to an 83-yard touchdown drive by the Redskins. The long drive perpetrated against the NFL's best defense seemed to take the wind out of the Bears' sails. A few minutes later, the Bears muffed a punt return which set up an easy field goal for the Redskins.

When it was all said and done, the Bears lost 27-13. Still, they had a fantastic season overall, despite their weaknesses on offense and the poor play of their quarterbacks."

[djnemo65]

Originally Posted by freddyg12

A little perspective on another beatdown. On 9/29/85 the eventual champ Bears stomped Gibbs' Skins, 45-10 (Keep in mind. Back then coaches didn't run up the score unless they had a personal beef w/each other. Ditka & Gibbs always respected 1 another.)

A year later, see the entry from wikipedia below (notice the injury list). In addition to that, we beat them in the 1987-8 playoffs & went on to win the super bowl.

My point?
Gibbs has been through this before & while I agree w/much of what Shapiro said, this team may not be as far away as we think.

"The Bears were heavy favorites in the post season. They earned a first round bye. But in the first game at Soldier Field, they were upset by the Washington Redskins. A holding penalty and a missed field goal by Kevin Butler frustrated the Bears in the first quarter. However, they still managed to take a 13-7 lead into halftime. But their usual stellar defense fell apart in the second half, allowing the Redskins to score 20 unanswered points.

"Maybe my dreams didn't come true," said Chicago Coach Mike Ditka. "The defense has to play outstanding and today they were just not up to the way the Redskins were playing."

Despite injuries to offensive linemen Joe Jacoby and Russ Grimm, they and the rest of the blockers were able to pick up the Bears patented blitzes. Quarterback Jay Schroeder was sacked only twice. He was also able to use the blitzes to his advantage, completing passes while being chased out of the pocket.

Trailing 14-13 in the 4th quarter, the Bears good fortune ran out, when the usually dependable Payton lost a fumble, which led to an 83-yard touchdown drive by the Redskins. The long drive perpetrated against the NFL's best defense seemed to take the wind out of the Bears' sails. A few minutes later, the Bears muffed a punt return which set up an easy field goal for the Redskins.

When it was all said and done, the Bears lost 27-13. Still, they had a fantastic season overall, despite their weaknesses on offense and the poor play of their quarterbacks."

Fair enough, but do you really think we could ever beat the Patriots with this team? Honestly? If we played 100 times could we win one?

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

Fair enough, but do you really think we could ever beat the Patriots with this team? Honestly? If we played 100 times could we win one?

Actually, yes. They are by far the better team, but I thought going in we had a chance. I thought we still had a chance when we got Brady's fumble. Once they got a fumble in return, the wheels came off. The D was clearly worn out, more mentally than physically.

JC missed a couple throws he shouldn't have in the 1st half & the fumbles were due mainly to poor blocks, although Vrabel made a hell of a play on the one when he snuck up under CP. Even a 52-7 game still hinges on a couple plays. Not saying we'd won, but if we score to make it 17-7 at half, you have a different game.

In addition, GW didn't want to blitz w/Rogers & Smoot healthy, but if we were to play them again I think he'd definitely have a different game plan that included at least a few blitzes.

We got whooped but I don't think we're as bad as we played. Much of it is psychological and Gibbs biggest task is to get this team to step up & take control like they did in 05 after losing to the g-men & oakland. That aspect of Gibbs is what I have confidence in.

[scowan]

You guys, I read an article a few years back that said there is not a lot of difference between teams that finish 10-6 or 6-10. A few plays here and there every week decides these team's fates. Teams that finish 11-5 or higher or 5-11 or lower are clearly better or worst than most teams they face. Last year the Skins were 5-11 with injuries and a QB change. The Skins were not that good at all. This year they are one of these teams that will finish somewhere between 10-6 and 6-10. I am personally hoping for the 10-6, or 9-7 side of this scale, but again a few plays here or there in each game will determine the Redskin's fates. A lot of those plays are luck and don't have anything to do with coaching, (missed FG, dropped pass, a fumble you don't recover) they are all "breaks" that either go your way or don't. We all know that the Skins have had a conservative game plan, the only fault with that to me is that Gibbs is trying too hard to control these "breaks", when you really can't. The best you can do with the talent of a 10-6 to 6-10 scaled team, (which IMO is the skill level of the team we have currently) is to play all out every play every week and hope more "breaks" come your way than the other team. Teams like the Pats, and the Colts don't play that way, because they are 11-5 or higher teams. The Skins are not.