Are we 4-2 because of Gibbs, or in spite of him?

[paulskinsfan]

So, the defense is back and it is run totally by GW. The offense goes through Saunders, but if we have the lead then Gibbs greatly influences the playcalling to be more conservative. If GW is calling all the defense, and Saunders calls the plays until we get a lead, that begs the question: Are we 4-2 because of Joe, or in spite of him?

[GMScud]

I think this is a good thread. IMO we are 4-2 because of him, but NOT because he's doing a good job on Sundays. I think his premium on character and intelligence in players, along with his disciplined approach has greatly improved the stability of the team/organization. And as far as game preparation goes, he's second-to-none. He has gotten The Danny to almost completely disappear from the day-to-day stuff, which is also good for stability. And as great as Williams has been, does anyone think he or guys like Bugel and Saunders would be here if it weren't for Gibbs? Again, I don't think Coach Joe does a great job during the actual game itself. But as far as building a stable organization, a good locker room, and a great group of coaches, that's directly his doing.

[SBprimetime]

In every single thread I read Saunders is calling the plays, but then when we start doing shitty it's because Gibbs just decided to start calling plays at that moment and take our team down the drain. I highly doubt the Gibbs takes over playcalling at random moments and singlehandedly causes all of our second half collapses.

[saden1]

We are 4-2 because of GW.

[GTripp0012]

Pretty much irrelivant of him. He's definately made some downright wrong game decisions, but he's well respected in the locker room and by a majority of fans.

There are coaches out there who are better than Gibbs, but no one nearly as important to the history of this franchise. Plus, there are a ton of coaches out there who don't command respect like Gibbs does.

We're 4-2. Joe Gibbs happens to be our coach. That's about as well as I can put it.

[SFREDSKIN]

We are 4-2 because of Gibbs. Who do you think calls the shots from the draft to the game plan. Do you credit our 3 SB's to Richie Petitbon (sp)? It's a team effort, ultimately the head coach is the one held accountable. He's responsible for the players he picked, his handpicked coaching staff, etc. Just ask Scott Linehan the Rams coach.

[rypper11]

I say it is because of Coach Joe but it has nothing to with his playcalling or any other gameday duties.Gibbs is the ultimate NFL CEO. He has final say in shaping the roster and determining the makeup of the coaching staff. He stayed the line w/ GW when a lot of people were blasting the D and he allowed JC to develop a little before rushing him in like most of us wanted. During Gibbs 1.0 he was hands off D and ST and the same is true today.
He trusts people to do their job and he butts out.

[jgalecpa]

I think it is because of him.

Think about the years "BG" : Between Gibbs.

What did we have, one playoff year in 12?

Now we are looking at possibly being in the playoffs for the 2nd time in 3 years.

Also,the caliber of picks in recent years (a topic of a recent thread), has given GW the players that are making the D what it is today.

Where would we be this season WITHOUT Sean Taylor, London Fletcher, Fred Smoot, etc.?

Just my 2-centavos.

J-Dawg.

[Bill B]

I know a lot of people are frustrated with Gibbs, but if 60% of your starting offensive line goes down I don't know how many teams in the NFL would fare much better.

Not to mention how many games has Jason Campbell started now? How many qbs become dominate in their first real season in action - I would guess it probably take 2-3 years of actually game experience to fully develop into a bonified QB.

What we forget to remember is who was repsonsible for bringing in Greg Williams in the first place? - last I remember Gibbs was the one on Redskin One flying to Buffalo - in fact this was his first "mission" - getting Williams to revamp the defense. Gibbs than went out and got some of the most experienced coaches money could buy - not a bad move if you ask me.

Yes the decision making as far as player acquisition is quite debatable - in fact I have posted on here before in favor of bringing in a seperate, proven GM because I am of the belief that a coach thinks more short term while a GM often takes a longer term forecast as far as player acquisition goes - hence this is why we traded away a lot of draft picks for immediate results with Llyod, Duckett and so on. I hope that we move away from this way of doing business, because draft picks outside of the 1st round are often the lifeblood of your team.

I think Gibbs as Coach is just fine. Gibbs as GM - well that is a whole seperate thread that has been beaten into the ground on this board already.

[GhettoDogAllStars]

Originally Posted by jgalecpa

Where would we be this season WITHOUT Sean Taylor, London Fletcher, Fred Smoot, etc.?

I always thought Taylor and Fletcher were GW's moves.

[skinsguy]

We're 4-2 because of Joe Gibbs.

[SmootSmack]

We've won 4 games because of Joe Gibbs, Gregg Williams, Al Saunders, Dan Snyder, Louis Riddick, Vinny Cerrato, Jerry Gray, Joe Bugel, Greg Blache, Jason Campbell, Santana Moss, Clinton Portis, Shawns Springs, Andre Carter, Khary Campbell, Rock Cartwright, and so on

We've lost 2 games because of Joe Gibbs, Gregg Williams, Al Saunders, Dan Snyder, Louis Riddick, Vinny Cerrato, Jerry Gray, Joe Bugel, Greg Blache, Jason Campbell, Santana Moss, Clinton Portis, Shawns Springs, Andre Carter, Khary Campbell, Rock Cartwright, and so on

Team effort. You can pin all the wins and losses on just one person.

However, one man signs all their checks so...We are 4-2 because of Dan Snyder

[Daseal]

Taylor and Fletcher were GW moves. If memory serves correctly Gibbs wanted Winslow, but GWill talked him into Taylor.

Since as fans we have no clue who is responsible for game plans, half time adjustments, playcalling, etc. I feel I can't answer the question. It's in spite of whoever turns our offense off at half time.

[Paintrain]

Both.. He's brought a level of order, discipline and professionalism that was lacking before he got here that has permeated the organization.. He also has brought conservatism and a mentality of fearing turnovers and playing not to lose that has resulted in a tough loss vs. the Giants..

[JWsleep]

Looking at the specifics of game-day stuff, rather than the overall organizational stuff, I think we are 4-2 because of him, but we might be 6-0 if he'd back off a bit on the ball-control with the lead thing, and give Campbell some more room to improvise and throw. But we could be 2-4 for the same reason. It's a tough call--hence the endless discussions.

On redskins radio (skins.com) today, he had a few questions about why he doesn't pass more. He said what he always does: what he likes is balance. And I don't think that's a bad thing the way our (healthy) team is built--with Portis and a strong o-line, we should be able to cram it down the Cardinals or Packers throat, score a last TD on a back-breaking time eating drive, and keep these pass-happy attacks off the field. But we don't have that o-line now, and Portis hasn't really flashed anything on his own (nor has Betts). Given that, we should throw more, but did that work in GB? We threw way more than we ran in the second half there, and lost it.

I think the balance philosophy is actually very good--if we can execute it. One: we have a good D: keeps opponents scores down. Two: you do not want to get into a bombs away shootout with the likes of Brady, etc. Three: a dominate run game forces safeties into the box, allowing for play-action (see, for example, the missed TD pass in Philly: that was classic Gibbs to me, though we missed it). Four: if you get more plays on offense than the other team, you tend to win. Five: it takes the pressure off of JC--not a bad thing until he's got some seasoning (people love to forget this one, especially given Brady. BUt most QBs need some time to grow).

We need to execute, though, to make this work. But I really do think it's the best strategy in the long run for stopping these high-powered offenses. The Key is 3rd down conversions on O, especially 3rd and short--that stat has been telling for us this year.