The Tempered Expectations Thread

[RiggoDrill]

I am not going to get too excited over the beginning of the Shanahan era just yet, like many of you, I will wait to see the product on the field. However, I think it is entirely reasonable to expect Shanahan to work this team into a wild card berth next year.
The Super Bowl (or even contending for one) is several years (and several players) away from becoming a reality, but perrenial contention for the NFC East should be an immediate reality.

[tootergray34]

shanaMAN!

[skinsfan69]

i'm just glad we true professionals running the team. that's all we can ask for at this point.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Let's just call it the debbie downer thread, lol, j/k

Is anyone else worried that we'll see an improved team this year, with around 7 to 9 wins, that will be looking great for the future only to have a lock out over the labor agreement that cancels the 2011 season?

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

i'm just glad we true professionals running the team. that's all we can ask for at this point.

Exactly...funny how people dont mention the name Snyder in their complaining, he has proven to be one of two common denamenators in steady decline of this franchise and one of the worst owners in all of sports. Its ok to say it, by not it almost a defense to him. Dont understand it.

But Im thrilled at this point and like it was mentioned before above, "this change feels different" and I think Danny Boy has finally "got it": he knows nothing about football and building a championship team.

Bruce Allen is a class act, Im thrilled and actually proud. This is the best organizational move since hiring Joe Gibbs the first time. HTTR

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Listening to the press conference, it did seem like Shanahan hired Allen, and not the other way around. If that's the case, we have even more reason for skepticism, because a deliberate effort was made to make us think it was the other way around. If we're being lied to about that, who knows what else we're being lied to about.

I also thought the comparison to gibbs-bethard-cooke was interesting. the impression i got (and this could just be my skepticism coloring my perception) was that Snyder would "mediate" between Allen and Shanahan. Snyder can't "mediate" if he's not at "the table." And why would he be at the table, if he's not going to remain very hands-on in all football matters?

I have no doubt that Shanahan's contract garauntees him total control. But how long will Snyder honor that?

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by GoSkins!

Every time a thread like this is started, Sally Jenkins gets new wings.

Lol, I was thinking the same thing. I just read her article and was thinking how miserable it must be to be her and look at everything through crap covered glasses.

This is where I see this hire as different from any other one in the past:

-Schottenheimer had stated 3 weeks prior to his hiring that he could never work for someone like Snyder. He was at the point where his legacy as a coach was still very much in question and it seemed (and was noted by Peter King at the time) almost like a money grab. Snyder made him the highest paid coach in the league and he came in trying to make it all about Marty. I remember George Michael a few months back saying that on the 1st day of camp he knew it wasn't going to work. Marty rubbed everyone the wrong way and there was no buffer (more on that in a minute) so the ego clash was immediate and brutal. He took the dictatorial role too seriously (alarms on the doors at camp?) and lost the team. Sure he got them back but it was too late in Dan's eyes.

-Spurrier and Shanahan have no comparison. Little did we know how vastly underprepared Spurrier was to being an NFL coach.

-Gibbs, for as much as we love him around these parts, was also vastly unprepared to be an NFL coach in the 2000's when he was hired. He was away from the game for too long, didn't surround himself with contemporary coaches and it took him a while to get his sea legs. Let's not forget the influence of Vincenzo Ceratto either.

-Zorn, see Spurrier.

With Shanahan, we're getting one of the most respected and accomplished coaches active in the league today, active being a key word!! Although he was out of the league he was never away from the league. He's probably more prepared now than he was while he was coaching because he could focus on 32 teams each week rather than 2. In addition he brings with him one of the hot young coordinators (as opposed to Jack Burns) to run the offense. He's got the buffer in Bruce Allen that Marty lacked. He's not coaching to establish a legacy, he's trying to extend a legacy so rather than overcompensating for past failures (like Marty), he's going to be able to build on what's worked in the past. He also brings the immediate respect of players (unlike Spurrier and Zorn) who have to prove everything to him instead of vice versa.

I think it's going to be a process to turn us into winners but I am assured that it will happen. I don't expect a 10 or 11 win season next year but wouldn't be shocked by it either. For the first time in nearly 20 years we can unequivocally say we've got the best coach in the division, now it's time to get the tools for him to go to work!

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

i'm just glad we true professionals running the team. that's all we can ask for at this point.

Shanahan was not my first choice of coaches and I fear that it will be difficult for us to win Super Bowls, etc. We did not become the Patriots or Colts overnight.

But I do not think that Allen and Shanny would be here unless Snyder has had a sincere change of heart and is going to sincerely act on that change. So we are, indeed, being run by professionals, and that is a major step up.

It will be a lot harder now for fans of other teams to make us the butt of jokes.

[Longtimefan]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

i'm just glad we true professionals running the team. that's all we can ask for at this point.

There are some who are wishing for a little more. Some believe there is another piece than needs to be added to this puzzle. I say that because there are highly skilled and knowledgeable NFL people who have repeatedly questioned both Allen and Shanahan's record when it comes to personnel selection. That appears to be basically the only real area of concern and it's something I think Redskin fans are going to be monitoring very closely as we move foreward towards the draft and free agency. They're going to want to know just what type decisions are going to be made where player personnel are concerned, and if (based on the record of these two men) are they going to be the right people to make those decisions. We shall surely see.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Is anyone else worried that we'll see an improved team this year, with around 7 to 9 wins, that will be looking great for the future only to have a lock out over the labor agreement that cancels the 2011 season?

2011 strike shortened? it's destiny Skins SB Champs for 2011-12 season!

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Bolded the important points. Nothing mind-blowing here, other than the fact that Gibbs beleives Snyder will step back (for now).

Gibbs told Shanahan that Snyder won't interfere | ProFootballTalk.com

Gibbs told Shanahan that Snyder won't interfere
Posted by Michael David Smith on January 7, 2010 9:40 AM ET

New Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan has final say over all football decisions. But can Shanahan be sure that owner Daniel Snyder won't meddle?

Shanahan says he feels confident that Snyder will support him in every way -- including getting out of the way -- and that he feels that way in part because of a conversation he had with former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs.

"All I can tell you is what Joe Gibbs said to me," Shanahan said on SIRIUS XM's Mad Dog Radio. "He said, 'Mike, you're going to get the best owner in sports.' He said, 'I've never met a guy more positive. He's got so much passion for the Redskins. He's loyal. He grew up with them. He wants to win. He's going to give you every opportunity to be successful.'

"I've known Joe for over 20 years. He said, 'He will not interfere at all. All he will do is give you support.' When Joe Gibbs tells me that, a guy that I've admired, I think you can put that in the bank."

Those comments echo what Shanahan said at his introductory press conference, and the idea that Shanahan is running things was one of the central themes of the press conference -- to the point that Snyder stayed in the back didn't take part in the press conference at all.

Whether Snyder can continue to remain in the background remains to be seen. But for now, the Redskins are Shanahan's show.

[SmootSmack]

As a head coach, I have no concerns really about Mike Shanahan. And I'm beyond giddy about Kyle Shanahan. As an organizational leader, you won't find many better than Bruce Allen.

As evaluators of talent, I'm moderately satisfied with Shanahan and Allen.

Where I have some concern is with how the team will be put together personnel wise. Allen and Shanahan both know talent when they see it, but both have a tendency sometimes to overvalue talent or, more often, realize that the talent may not match the value they're giving it but take the risk anyway. Shanahan especially is a high-risk, high-reward kind of guy. I'm interested to see how the team is "reloaded" this off-season but I guarantee there will be at least one or two serious head scratchers.

And as I mentioned earlier in this thread, or maybe in another, this is not the same situation as Marty. Not at all.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Peter King and Randy Cross this morning were talking about the OL on NFL radio, and they were discussing the fact that it doesn't take as long to get the zone blocking scheme up and running effectively over man schemes. I guess because it's more scheme over talent.

We've been zone scheme since 2008. We just don't have a whole lot of zone-scheme players outside of Heyer, and I think that really hurt the running game this year.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by BigHairedAristocrat

Listening to the press conference, it did seem like Shanahan hired Allen, and not the other way around. If that's the case, we have even more reason for skepticism, because a deliberate effort was made to make us think it was the other way around. If we're being lied to about that, who knows what else we're being lied to about.

I also thought the comparison to gibbs-bethard-cooke was interesting. the impression i got (and this could just be my skepticism coloring my perception) was that Snyder would "mediate" between Allen and Shanahan. Snyder can't "mediate" if he's not at "the table." And why would he be at the table, if he's not going to remain very hands-on in all football matters?

I have no doubt that Shanahan's contract garauntees him total control. But how long will Snyder honor that?

What gave you the impression that Snyder would be mediating anything?

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

Exactly...funny how people dont mention the name Snyder in their complaining, he has proven to be one of two common denamenators in steady decline of this franchise and one of the worst owners in all of sports. Its ok to say it, by not it almost a defense to him. Dont understand it.

But Im thrilled at this point and like it was mentioned before above, "this change feels different" and I think Danny Boy has finally "got it": he knows nothing about football and building a championship team.

Bruce Allen is a class act, Im thrilled and actually proud. This is the best organizational move since hiring Joe Gibbs the first time. HTTR

Help me understand that statement. Correct me on my history if it's wrong. When Snyder bought the team in '99 we had records the previous 6 years of (1993) 4-12, (1994) 3-13, (1995) 6-10, (1996) 9-7, (1997) 8-7-1, (1998) 6-10. We had a record of 42-52-1 (.450) between the years after Gibbs retired and Snyder purchased the team. Since Snyder bought the team the winning percentage is .476. He's made the team the 2nd highest revenue grossing team in the world. He's tried, and failed miserably, to do anything his money can buy to improve the team and build a winner but sadly he's only brought us UP to the level of mediocre!

A lot of people act is if he took things over from Cooke and drove a Ferrari into a brick wall. Guys, we were already an IROC-Z T-top, he just tried to throw a spoiler kit onto it and sell it as a Ferrari.

Look, I am FAR from a Snyder apologist but I'm not a fan of hyperbole or media parrots either. [/rant]