Propping up the sky around here

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Good thread. But while I appreciate the attempts by some to stay positive, I can't help but feel we have a disaster of a season on our hands.

We've struggled with the bottom feeders of the league so far, just wait til we hit the real meat of the schedule (especially with no Samuels).

At this point I really think we're looking at a top 5 pick for next year. And this isn't a knee-jerk thought process I've got here, my optimism has been on a gradual decline all year.

This simply is not a good team fellas. And the double whammy is it's not well coached either. I'm not trying to be negative, it's just my honest assessment.

Agreed, my assessment and expectations have gone from pre-season of 10-6 to we'll be VERY fortunate to reach 6-10. I don't feel however that as a result of that every thread needs to become a bitch and moan session where everyone and their mama is getting ripped.

[RobH4413]

Great thread.

I feel maxed out on negativity. This is lowest I've ever experienced as a Redskins fan in a loooooong time. I feel like we've hit bottom though. I can dust myself off, look around and see that I'm okay. I'm not here with all the same people I started with... but I'm still a Redskins fan. I have not torn down the redskins paraphernalia.

I'm hoping we're able to discover some line depth, and see what kind of action our offense can generate. I'm hoping the FO acts on what the players are calling for, and we ease up this slippery ass slope...and at least not fall as fast.

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by djnemo65

What I think is so frustrating to people is not so much the collapse of a season but the collapse of an era. This year is shot but there is no reason to believe we'll be able to contend for several years. What we are seeing is the final dissolution of a team that first started to come together with the Portis trade, the Griffin, Washington, and Springs free agent signings, and the addition of several other key players through the Gibbs years: the core Redskins. It's busted and we are (hopefully) going to be starting over from scratch next year with one playoff win and only a few key young players to show for it.

In today's NFL, there is absolutely no reason for teams to lose for prolonged periods, with the salary cap and draft structured to punish winning and award losing to an extent. Throw in the tremendous monetary advantage the Skins enjoy and you have a team that, at the very least, should be above average over any 5-10 year period. But here we are, in exactly the same position we were in when Spurrier split, with a team falling apart, lacking discipline, lacking leaders, lacking any sense of direction or purpose. And we have precisely one playoff win to show for it.

This is a tough pill to swallow and it's not so suprising to me that the angst is starting to bubble over. But doesn't it make us all feel better to come here and commiserate? The most awesomest Shakespeare play King Lear talks about such shared grief quite well.

When we our betters see bearing our woes,
We scarcely think our miseries our foes.
Who alone suffers suffers most i' the mind,
Leaving free things and happy shows behind:
But then the mind much sufferance doth o'er skip,
When grief hath mates, and bearing fellowship.
How light and portable my pain seems now,
When that which makes me bend makes the king bow,

Wow. Nicely done. An eloquent post. If we can't come together in tough times, what the else are we supposed to do?

The bolded part is something I've been saying for awhile -- "our core" is done. The window for those guys is getting slammed shut. And the younger guys brought in after the 2006 season aren't producing either. We are headed for a 1993-1994 type era when the old guard starts to drop off and a true rebuilding mode has to begin.

Right or wrong, Gibbs tossed aside building a foundation for the future for a 'win right now' philosophy. The problem with that is, if that plan doesn't come together, and the high-priced free agents who eat up cap space and cost you draft picks don't get you in position for a shot at a championship, your team gets set back for years. That's where we are right now.

The next half of the season is going to send this team over the edge, and it's not going to be competitive.

But hey, at least we have each other...

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

Two quick points. There's no reason we should flail for years to come after this season. We've got a very good defensive base for the next few years. If we re-sign (or find suitable replacements for) Rogers and McIntosh to combine with Haynesworth, Hall, Orakpo and Jarmon we're going to be ok on defense.

For as terrible as the offense has been, Moss and Cooley are two weapons most teams would love to have. I am interested to see what a new staff does with Thomas/Kelly. The O-line needs to be remade and we are probably looking at a new backfield but the cupboard is nowhere near as bare as the Spurrier era.

See, I'm not even sure we have that. All along, we've been led to believe that apart from all our failings, at least we have our D. Guess what? That's been sub-par, and the upcoming opponents are going to shred us alive.

Haynesworth was supposed to open things up for a jail-break type pass rush, and it just hasn't materialized. And how is it that adding a guy like Haynesworth has marked the decline of our run-stopping abilities? That just doesn't make sense. Until you realize that Cornelius Griffin is winding down, and that Golston and Montgomery aren't as good as we thought. Defensive end, finally, looks to be in relatively good shape if Jarmon, Orakpo, and Wilson are as good as advertised.

Then we've got a transition period approaching with linebackers -- Orakpo doesn't belong there, Fletcher is nearing the twilight of his career, and behind that you have ... Rocky McIntosh and H.B. Blades ?? Not good.

All along I suspected that we may have a problem in the secondary, and so far I've been right. Rogers is probably gone, Smoot needs to retire and DeAngelo Hall isn't going to form much of an intimidating cornerback tandem.

So in reality, we've got good safeties and a few good DEs -- we hope anyway. There's work to be done on the defensive side too.

[tryfuhl]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Good thread. But while I appreciate the attempts by some to stay positive, I can't help but feel we have a disaster of a season on our hands. .

When I saw you go neg I knew the board as a whole were likely on the same ship.. I was definitely

I'll still be there every week though, kind of a shame, but hey, it's just 3 hours a week, I spend that on more stupid stuff

[53Fan]

The negativity will go away after we beat KC and Philly. :cool-smil

[tryfuhl]

Originally Posted by 53Fan

The negativity will go away after we beat KC and Philly. :cool-smil

by under 5 points

probably not