Smoot Lays the Smack Down

Tell that to Bills fans. Or Chiefs fans. Or Packers fans who stick it out in the worst conditions. How about Browns fans who have been through hell and back. I guess it's just tough coming to terms with the fact that our fanbase is not in that elite group, especially given my passion, the passion of my family, and the passion that electrified our stadium not so long ago.

We have been to the playoffs twice in the last three years and are right in the thick of things this year. For people to not show up for a game of Sunday's magnitude because it was raining is shocking. We aren't the Patriots, OK, but we aren't the Bengals either. Our team is much more competitive than it was a few years ago and yet that doesn't seem reflected in the stadium.

This sense of entitlement that you demonstrate Prinze, while not uncommon among our fans, is ultimately self-defeating. It's costing us homefield advantage.

Thank you. I went to Lambeau Field twice in 2005 when the Packers went 4-12. I went in God awful conditions and the stadium was packed, the fans were out in full force, and the crowd noise was great. My question is, why can't a city like D.C., which is 10 times bigger than Green Bay, field a similar crowd?

Tell that to Bills fans. Or Chiefs fans. Or Packers fans who stick it out in the worst conditions. How about Browns fans who have been through hell and back. I guess it's just tough coming to terms with the fact that our fanbase is not in that elite group, especially given my passion, the passion of my family, and the passion that electrified our stadium not so long ago.

We have been to the playoffs twice in the last three years and are right in the thick of things this year. For people to not show up for a game of Sunday's magnitude because it was raining is shocking. We aren't the Patriots, OK, but we aren't the Bengals either. Our team is much more competitive than it was a few years ago and yet that doesn't seem reflected in the stadium.

This sense of entitlement that you demonstrate Prinze, while not uncommon among our fans, is ultimately self-defeating. It's costing us homefield advantage.

Actually i chalk it up to the game I'm what you can immune to the crap we deal out year after year. You wanna cry about fans come to LA where every fan shows up late and leave early. look i dont know what we're going through out there because i havent been to a game to see but when is it time? That we'll get them next year speech is no good over here with me. Thank god for my trojans.

Jim Zorn: I won't complain about the playcalling or the system. There is an adjustment time for you and the players.

But I have a problem with accountability of the players. If a guy is playing like crap, He needs to be benched.
It's obvious that players on the team arent worried about their roster spot.

If guys are going to drop passes and miss blocks, we might as well get young guys in there because anyone can drop a pass or miss a block.

Plankemeier needs to go. I don't think i've ever seen a punter as bad as he is.

Bring in someone to challenge Suisham. This is a pressure league and If he can't deal with it, He needs to go too.

I know it's hard to replace a linemen but they are playing like crap....

Smoot needs to see less time on the field.

Jason Taylor needs to be benched. Evans is flat out outplaying him, So is Wilson. Let's see what they can do.

Is Yoder doing anything? Why isn't davis getting more time? Get involved and make the defense atleast gameplan for him.

If Randle El is going drop balls, Put in Thrash or Thomas. Thrash isnt going to drop balls and Thomas atleast has the ability to make a play. A drop on third down is pretty much a turnover...
Also, What is being done to correct all the drops?

I love cooley but If he is going to continue to drop a ball every game, Bench him for a series or two. I know he is too talented to not play but you cant let those types of plays go unnoticed.

I think our fan dissension, if you will, is a symptom of a few things:

1) Huge overall drop off in performance (W-L wise) since Gibbs retired the first time

2) Moving the stadium from a metro-accessible, downtown location to a harder to reach, crappy location.

3) The gigantic price hike on EVERYTHING Redskins related

4) Adding nearly 40,000 seats to the new stadium as compared to RFK

I could probably ramble on, and I don't offer any of these things as excuses, just possible reasons. I love the Warpath, but overall our fanbase is kinda soft.

We are a joke on short yardage runs. The line does not blow anyone off the ball. All 5 guys are completely stuffed on EVERY SINGLE SHORT YARDAGE PLAY!Last year, this was a problem. This year, we rank in the top five in the NFL in value on short yardage runs.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Football analysis and NFL stats for the Moneyball era - Authors of Pro Football Prospectus 2008 (http://footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol)

So, I would recommend you tune in to this year's team on Sunday's because Portis has been pretty darn impressive in short yardage this year.

What do you think the problem is Gtripp? Is it Zorn's playcalling/schemes? Or it is JC/line/receivers?

What do you think the problem is Gtripp? Is it Zorn's playcalling/schemes? Or it is JC/line/receivers?I'm only a quarter away through the breakdown, but let me say that Zorn understands the game of football in a way that I could only dream of. If you stop him on one drive, he dials up something to beat you on the next drive. I think he could have used the conditions to his advantage much better, but overall, having Zorn calling plays is anywhere between a break even proposition and a huge advantage depending on perspective. His game management skills are iffy, but his understanding of NFL defenses probably exceeds Joe Gibbs.

Enemy number one is the inconsistency and unreliability of the receivers. In the first quarter, the OL was not an issue, in fact Campbell has not been pressured yet. The conditions are helping the OL for sure, but they are doing a good job in blitz pickup.

Campbell hasn't made any mistakes yet, but I'm confident that will change as the game goes along.

So, expect to see a mix between OL, WR, and QB play at the end of the day that kills the Redskins, but I'll have to get there first.

Well I am glad someone was impressed with Sundays run blocking performance.

I love the link. I'm not being sarcastic, I love statistics but are they that significant in this case?


The second, third and fourth best rushing teams( yards per game ) aren't ranked in the top 5. Atleast they got the Giants correct.

I'm not sure Denver has the best running line the league since they aren't ranked in the Top 15 in the league in yards but with the way they turn out RBs it's hard to argue against them.

I know there are other variables involved with their calculations but you can't tell me our short yardage blocking is as dominant as the stats say they are.

If you look at my post again, I said that the 5 guys on the line are stuffed, Basically stood up at the line on short yardage plays. I wasn't questioning Portis' ability to pick up the yardage. Offensive linemen are supposed to blow people off the ball on running plays, but that's not happening.

The article you posted also says:
A team with a very good running back will appear higher no matter how bad their line, and a team with a great line with appear lower if the running back is terrible.

I think it's safe to say Portis is a very good back...

Well I am glad someone was impressed with Sundays run blocking performance.

I love the link. I'm not being sarcastic, I love statistics but are they that significant in this case?


The second, third and fourth best rushing teams( yards per game ) aren't ranked in the top 5. Atleast they got the Giants correct.

I'm not sure Denver has the best running line the league since they aren't ranked in the Top 15 in the league in yards but with the way they turn out RBs it's hard to argue against them.

I know there are other variables involved with their calculations but you can't tell me our short yardage blocking is as dominant as the stats say they are.

If you look at my post again, I said that the 5 guys on the line are stuffed, Basically stood up at the line on short yardage plays. I wasn't questioning Portis' ability to pick up the yardage. Offensive linemen are supposed to blow people off the ball on running plays, but that's not happening.

The article you posted also says:


I think it's safe to say Portis is a very good back...All of the above is true. Just saying it's a rarity that we get stopped in short yardage this year.

Shawn Springs: you have done nothing for this team this year except getting injured and tackling teamates who have sure interceptions. I am confident you will be gone next season.