Malcom Kelly speaks...

[MTK]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

I read that post, and it occurred to me that we changed Lazor, and Byner, and both positions seemed to have taken a step up, but we kept Hixon, and WR's still seem to struggle. It just seems like an obvious call to make, so my question is why hasn't it? What is it that we as fans are not seeing that solid NFL coaches (Gibbs, Saunders, Zorn) all see in Hixon to keep him at the possible expense of the team?

Maybe he's simply not the problem?

Or are the fans watching from the stands and TV 3 hours on Sundays just so much more aware of what's going on 24/7 behind the scenes at Redskins Park?

[over the mountain]

Originally Posted by SBXVII

Thank You! I have preached the dump Stan Hixon for 2 years now and finally I see someone thinking the way I am. Everytime I mentioned getting rid of him people seemed to ignore my posts. lol. I'm sure he was an expert at the college level but no different then Spurrier he has not been able to carry it over to the NFL. Why he is even on the team still baffles me. I hope they get a genuine NFL WR coach next year. Someone who will coach seperation and route running at the NFL level.

^^ a few years ago i was calling for secondary coach gray's head when we were getting torched by the long ball and now the guy looks like he might be plucked for a d coordinator position this offseason . . . i guess im a lil hesitant to place blame on a positions coach nowadays, especialy since the media gives us so little insight to what they actually do.

go skins!!

[SmootSmack]

Well, the one thing I always found somewhat interesting is that up until this year the team didn't really focus much on young wide receivers, instead they went after veterans (Patten, Moss, ARE, Lloyd, Dyson, Caldwell, etc.) and I was never quite sure if that's an indictment on their faith in Hixon to develop young talent.

I wouldn't be totally shocked to see Hixon go next year, if for no other reason than I'm sure Zorn is going to slowly want to get his guys in here. For all I know, Hixon has become one of his guys though.

[GTripp0012]

People just want a fall guy to take the blame for 4 WRs on our roster having disappointing seasons.

It's not that people are unwilling to admit that the underachieving is the fault of the men who brought them in or *gasp* the players themselves, but that they'd rather not admit it if they can tidy it up and be all "look we're okay because Stan Hixon was the problem all along."

[jsnyder03]

I'm sure there is shared blame for our WR woes.

The rooks need time to learn the pro game before they can be integral members of the offense (a few rookie wr's have been productive, but that is more the exception than the rule).

The coach can't teach the athleticism (which Moss and Thomas have displayed..see 29 yard TD run vs the NY football Giants). What they can harp on is the little things (finish running your route, even when you don't think the ball is coming your way SM, catch with your hands, not your body, KNOW WHERE THE FIRST DOWN MARKER IS, etc).

These have been recurring problems and either the players are not coachable and need to be replaced, or the coaches are not coaching at a high level.

I don't think JC will ever be an elite QB, but if his wr's would concentrate and catch the 3rd down balls, find the sticks, etc, he can be a QB that a team can win a championship with.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

People just want a fall guy to take the blame for 4 WRs on our roster having disappointing seasons.

It's not that people are unwilling to admit that the underachieving is the fault of the men who brought them in or *gasp* the players themselves, but that they'd rather not admit it if they can tidy it up and be all "look we're okay because Stan Hixon was the problem all along."

I don't think that's what I am saying, but I am wondering, based purely on the on-field play, if we could benefit from a different coach. I think it is a fair statement that our WR's have underperformed expectations for the past several years. It may go back before Hixon's time. I don't know. I simply asked if someone with more knowledge of Redskins staff could say what it is that these 3 coaches, who I absolutely respect, think about Hixon's job performance.
Also, in Kelly's interview it is interesting that he says he's learned from the other receivers, but (from the snippet posted here) did not mention Hixon. I don't remember ever hearing people just out and out praise Hixon, or bash him, he just seems to be there on staff.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

I don't think that's what I am saying, but I am wondering, based purely on the on-field play, if we could benefit from a different coach. I think it is a fair statement that our WR's have underperformed expectations for the past several years. It may go back before Hixon's time. I don't know. I simply asked if someone with more knowledge of Redskins staff could say what it is that these 3 coaches, who I absolutely respect, think about Hixon's job performance.
Also, in Kelly's interview it is interesting that he says he's learned from the other receivers, but (from the snippet posted here) did not mention Hixon. I don't remember ever hearing people just out and out praise Hixon, or bash him, he just seems to be there on staff.

It's certainly open to debate, but I just don't see it. I'm not sure what he could possibly change to make people catch the ball, and run sharper routes. Even if he's doing a less than stellar job, I can't remember the last time that changing a position coach greatly improved a unit overnight.

[doughtydoubter]

I dont think kelly is the problem..if you ask me are and thrash have far more dissapointing seasons than the rookies. If they dont impact next year however we can let the malcolm and devin thomas bashing commence

[SBXVII]

We traded for Moss cause he was doing so well in NJ. He comes here and yes he is our best WR but he catch's maybe one or two bombs a game. Perhaps it's cause other teams game plan around him and double him.
ARE was supposed to take our team to the next level and has not.
Thrash did ok in his first stint with us and did pretty well in Philli. When he came back he has not done a whole lot. Don't tell me others are better then him.
Lloyd...he was supposed to take us to the next level as ARE. He was doing pretty good in Chicago at the beggining of the season.
Am I missing someone?...other then Kelly and Thomas? I understand Kelly was injured and Thomas was raw. I would think the Vets should know how to do their job they just need to keep practicing it. That means Hixon could focus his attention on the rookies teaching route running and catching as well as getting them into football shape.

I almost forgot.....the WR we traded for Moss did well in NJ, came to us and did mediocre, went back to NJ and has done well putting up the yrds. Now who is to blame for that? Head coach? Position coach?

[A10sROCK]

I like Kelly's attitude at this point in the season. Not much production but then he's been hurt for most of the season. That drop he had in the Giants game was just heartbreaking.

If he can become a real factor on the field he will have a future here. However, with the aging of our WR group he's got to step up BIG next season or they'll bring in other solutions.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by SBXVII

We traded for Moss cause he was doing so well in NJ. He comes here and yes he is our best WR but he catch's maybe one or two bombs a game. Perhaps it's cause other teams game plan around him and double him.
ARE was supposed to take our team to the next level and has not.
Thrash did ok in his first stint with us and did pretty well in Philli. When he came back he has not done a whole lot. Don't tell me others are better then him.
Lloyd...he was supposed to take us to the next level as ARE. He was doing pretty good in Chicago at the beggining of the season.
Am I missing someone?...other then Kelly and Thomas? I understand Kelly was injured and Thomas was raw. I would think the Vets should know how to do their job they just need to keep practicing it. That means Hixon could focus his attention on the rookies teaching route running and catching as well as getting them into football shape.

I almost forgot.....the WR we traded for Moss did well in NJ, came to us and did mediocre, went back to NJ and has done well putting up the yrds. Now who is to blame for that? Head coach? Position coach?

Up until the Giants game I do not recall any conversation about our players dropping a bunch of balls. I do remember that conversation last year but all of a sudden after a game where just about all our WR's dropped a ball its now a big assue.

[Spence]

Malcolm Kelly must be smoking some bad granola.

[holcknowsbest]

i love kellys ability and skills....the problem is, results. i think the world of this guys talent and size much like another guy who everyone is giving a pass to right now because he is a young qb, but he needs to make plays and without excuses....players make plays no matter whos around them, just more when there is more talent around them. i think malcom kelly and devin thomas will have to be used more down the stretch and i am almost positive that we will use them more.....sometimes whiley qbs are known to hold thier cards until they really need them. hopefully our boy 17 will deliever as well.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by holcknowsbest

i love kellys ability and skills....the problem is, results. i think the world of this guys talent and size much like another guy who everyone is giving a pass to right now because he is a young qb, but he needs to make plays and without excuses....players make plays no matter whos around them, just more when there is more talent around them. i think malcom kelly and devin thomas will have to be used more down the stretch and i am almost positive that we will use them more.....sometimes whiley qbs are known to hold thier cards until they really need them. hopefully our boy 17 will deliever as well.

Ok, that point was the Giants game, and we saw one shot (the reverse). No more holding cards at this point. We need every game now.

[JWsleep]

Given that all the WRs (but Santana) are struggling, it's hard to pin this on Kelley and calling him a bust. Maybe it's Hixon, but I doubt it. Most likely it's the fact that the offense is not in synch yet, meaning they WRs are not running the precise routes and perhaps more important, JC is not letting the ball go early enough to hit things in rhythm. My guess is that this takes time. Given the precise nature of Zorn's passing game, it's not so surprising to me. When we face teams with serious front 7s, we struggle. There is NO extra time to let JC wait for a WR to clear, to let a WR adjust to press or zone, or whatever. Until those things are automatic, we're going to struggle.

Another point. I wonder (and this has been mentioned elsewhere) if Buge's run game is hurting the pass game. The "mid-West coast" hybrid may be tipping off the Ds and taking things away from Zorn's planned WC O. Now, I think Zorn was quite right to keep the Buge's run game this year, but I wonder what he'll do for next year?