Len Pastabelly on Gibbs' Retirement: "Just An Ordinary Joe"

[djnemo65]

Yeah, the problem is that Lenny assumes Gibbs inherited a winning team, which he didn't. He inherited a team that had been in disarray for over a decade, with only one playoff appearance over 12 years or whatever. Thus, to look at his record as an indicator of his success is just plain dumb. Would we say Romeo Crennel has failed, even though his record is well under 500 for his tenure? Of course not. What matters when taking over a perrenial loser is getting them into the playoffs and building a solid winning infrastructure. Gibbs has done that.

F off Lenny. Read Clayton and Boswell's articles for some notes on how to properly address the retirement of a legend.

[724Skinsfan]

I always thought we should pay Lenny P...pay him no mind, that is.

Clearly the man has major self-esteem issues. All of his life he's had to hear nothing but wonderful praise about how great a man Joe Gibbs is. All of this praise does is reinforce his own negative self-image, thus causing Lenny to lash out at the image that cause him so much pain. Lenny needs a hug from someone and to be told that "it's not his fault."

[henry12portis26]

why does this guy speak or write... has he ever been a NFL Coach, I would like to see this lard-ass coach when he is 66 years old ... if he doesnt die from a donut overdose by then... fat pig

[BrudLee]

ProFootballTalk.com

Florio says it more tactfully than I am capable of doing.

Playoff berths between 1.0 and 2.0? 1 in 13 years.

Playoff berths during 2.0? 2 in four years.

So, basically, yeah. Gibbs made this team and franchise better. He also set standards for professionalism that were forgotten here. Like some of the naysayers, I really wanted Spurrier to succeed. But when the OBC started an end of the season presser by saying (paraphrasing) "5-11 - gotta do better than that. Any questions?" we all should have known that this team's standards were too low. The 2006 Redskins had the same record, and there was accountability, there was a firm stated desire for improvement, and there was hope - hope that was delivered upon with a playoff appearance despite remarkable adversity.

[EternalEnigma21]

Originally Posted by BrudLee

But when the OBC started an end of the season presser by saying (paraphrasing) "5-11 - gotta do better than that. Any questions?" we all should have known that this team's standards were too low.

do you remember the one after game presser when we had been beaten pretty handily, when all he would say is how well he thought we punted that day?? lmao what a buffon

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Daseal and Irish,

Did "Gibbs II" meet our expectations? No, we all thought Gibbs' mere presence at Redskins Park would restore our franchise to greatness. In that regard, our expectations were too high. We expected Gibbs to step in after an 12 year hiatus and take a disorganized franchise with a weak roster and, overnight, to bring us Super Bowl berths in short order.

Is Gibbs II's record, when viewed in a vacuum without regard to history, satisfactory? No, any time your team posts a losing record over the course of 4 years fans will be upset.

HOWEVER, we should not look at Gibbs' record in a vacuum. As has been pointed out many times, Gibbs took a joke of a team with a pretty sad roster (Ramsey was our #1 QB, Trung Canidate was our #1 TE, Zeron Flemister was our #1 TE, etc.) and restored it to respectability. That is quite a feat. Gibbs took us to two playoff appearances in four years. Gibbs won a playoff game. Gibbs made us a contender. Gibbs brought us a good staff. Gibbs brought us a roster filled with guys like Chris Cooley, Laron Landry, Carlos Rogers, Rocky McIntosh, the departed Sean Taylor, Jason Campbell, Clinton Portis and the list goes on.

Despite Gibbs' recent retirement, the final chapter on Gibbs II has not been written. Wait a year or two, see how our younger players develop, see how this team fares with Gibbs' legacy, and then judge him. But, given the general state of things at Redskins Park, the future, IMO, looks brighter than it has in decades.

[SkinEmAll]

Nicely put. And I agree that what we wanted was 4 superbowls in his first 5 years, but hey Ill take 2 playoffs, a real good roster, coaching staff and respect back to the organization moving into the future.

[Daseal]

Daseal and Irish,

Did "Gibbs II" meet our expectations? No, we all thought Gibbs' mere presence at Redskins Park would restore our franchise to greatness. In that regard, our expectations were too high. We expected Gibbs to step in after an 12 year hiatus and take a disorganized franchise with a weak roster and, overnight, to bring us Super Bowl berths in short order.

Is Gibbs II's record, when viewed in a vacuum without regard to history, satisfactory? No, any time your team posts a losing record over the course of 4 years fans will be upset.

HOWEVER, we should not look at Gibbs' record in a vacuum. As has been pointed out many times, Gibbs took a joke of a team with a pretty sad roster (Ramsey was our #1 QB, Trung Canidate was our #1 TE, Zeron Flemister was our #1 TE, etc.) and restored it to respectability. That is quite a feat. Gibbs took us to two playoff appearances in four years. Gibbs won a playoff game. Gibbs made us a contender. Gibbs brought us a good staff. Gibbs brought us a roster filled with guys like Chris Cooley, Laron Landry, Carlos Rogers, Rocky McIntosh, the departed Sean Taylor, Jason Campbell, Clinton Portis and the list goes on.

Despite Gibbs' recent retirement, the final chapter on Gibbs II has not been written. Wait a year or two, see how our younger players develop, see how this team fares with Gibbs' legacy, and then judge him. But, given the general state of things at Redskins Park, the future, IMO, looks brighter than it has in decades.

Everything you've stressed here I agree with. You're saying Gibbs brought in some stability, coaching staff, and players -- no doubt about that,I can't think of someone who will contest that. My issue has been with the Xs and Os. All I was trying to say is that this article really wasn't that bad -- Gibbs had some problems in his tenure the 2nd time around when it came to the coaching aspect, why can't we just recognize that instead of fighting to hide it. He'll be the first person to admit he's far from infallible.

In short: Joe Gibbs was great as a team president, but his second stint lacked in the Xs and Os, the article I feel more or less says that he was a great leader of men, but not necessarily equipped to coach in the modern day NFL. People seem to act as if Gibbs could never do wrong, and that becomes annoying. He was great at leading and president type of activities, but he wasn't the same coaching powerhouse he was in the 80s and 90s.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Everything you've stressed here I agree with. You're saying Gibbs brought in some stability, coaching staff, and players -- no doubt about that,I can't think of someone who will contest that. My issue has been with the Xs and Os. All I was trying to say is that this article really wasn't that bad -- Gibbs had some problems in his tenure the 2nd time around when it came to the coaching aspect, why can't we just recognize that instead of fighting to hide it. He'll be the first person to admit he's far from infallible.

In short: Joe Gibbs was great as a team president, but his second stint lacked in the Xs and Os, the article I feel more or less says that he was a great leader of men, but not necessarily equipped to coach in the modern day NFL. People seem to act as if Gibbs could never do wrong, and that becomes annoying. He was great at leading and president type of activities, but he wasn't the same coaching powerhouse he was in the 80s and 90s.

The article says he doesn't understand the needs and perspectives of today's players, that he doesn't understand the salary cap. It doesn't even touch on his Xs and Os abilities. It's a terrible, spiteful article written by a terrible, spiteful man

[SkinEmAll]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

The article says he doesn't understand the needs and perspectives of today's players, that he doesn't understand the salary cap. It doesn't even touch on his Xs and Os abilities. It's a terrible, spiteful article written by a terrible, spiteful man

Amen. and goodnight

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

The article says he doesn't understand the needs and perspectives of today's players, that he doesn't understand the salary cap. It doesn't even touch on his Xs and Os abilities. It's a terrible, spiteful article written by a terrible, spiteful man

cant you get in trouble for talking like that about a fellow ESPN employee? lol
sounds like you know len personally

[SmootSmack]

What? Who edited my post? Len P. is a wonderful beacon of professionalism

[saden1]

Hey mods, we suspend or permanently ban stupid people from the forum why can't we ban Len Pastabelly from the forum? Is his opinion worthy of discussion?

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by saden1

Hey mods, we suspend or permanently ban stupid people from the forum why can't we ban Len Pastabelly from the forum? Is his opinion worthy of discussion?

It is kind of surprising we have a whole thread dedicated to his column, but not one on John Clayton's

[saden1]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

It is kind of surprising we have a whole thread dedicated to his column, but not one on John Clayton's

You know? I wish vBulletin allowed me to filter out threads/posts with his name on it.