Sally J.'s latest is spot on

In 2005 Sally definitely had an axe to grind. Every time they suffered a tough loss she wrote a column and then dissappeared after they made their run but I think her last several Redskins related articles have been spot on.


I agree, I read her article last night and am of the opinion what she had to say only echoes what she's said many times before, as well as the opinions expressed by many here from time to time, see last thread on Snyder. Her opinion IMO is not an attack on Snyder personally, it's the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts some people.

She makes it sound like Snyder has never claimed responsibility for anything. And people here make it sound like Jack Kent Cooke never inquired about what was happening on the field or made his opinion felt

Sally is right when she says that the success or failure of an NFL team starts at the top. That's because the owner is ultimately responsible for putting the right executives in place to get the job done.

With that obvious point out of the way, everything else she said is bullshit.

She doesn't have a clue about what is really going on in the Redskins organization. If she were to climb down from her catbird seat in her highrise Manhattan apartment and come to Washington now and then to sample the mood at Redskins Park, then she might learn something of value that she could impart to the rest of us.

You know that the powers at the Washington Post must truly hate Dan Snyder when they will pay someone who lives in NY and does no actual reporting to routinely trash him.

She makes it sound like Snyder has never claimed responsibility for anything. And people here make it sound like Jack Kent Cooke never inquired about what was happening on the field or made his opinion felt

Sure, it's a fairly broad brush she's painting with, but that's intentional in that she notes 10 years is long enough to establish a track record. As a fan though, I can only remember a few interviews prior to the season opening in which DS said he's "learned" from his mistakes. I don't recall him doing any tv interviews or making any public addresses to the fans. He clearly wants to dictate the terms of any media relations, which takes a lot of effort these days, and adds to the poor perception of him, fair or not.

JKC definitely ran the team in a completely different way. Of course, he questioned his coaches, he was very hard on Gibbs when the team was off to an 0-5 start. But he had a structure in place that worked to build a winner. When asked about Art Monk leaving, JKC said that he wasn't going to step in because then he would be doing someone else's job, but he said sadly that the whole thing was mismanaged. That's an unfortunate example, but the best one I can recall in terms of him saying that he stayed out of personnel.

Sure, it's a fairly broad brush she's painting with, but that's intentional in that she notes 10 years is long enough to establish a track record. As a fan though, I can only remember a few interviews prior to the season opening in which DS said he's "learned" from his mistakes. I don't recall him doing any tv interviews or making any public addresses to the fans. He clearly wants to dictate the terms of any media relations, which takes a lot of effort these days, and adds to the poor perception of him, fair or not.

JKC definitely ran the team in a completely different way. Of course, he questioned his coaches, he was very hard on Gibbs when the team was off to an 0-5 start. But he had a structure in place that worked to build a winner. When asked about Art Monk leaving, JKC said that he wasn't going to step in because then he would be doing someone else's job, but he said sadly that the whole thing was mismanaged. That's an unfortunate example, but the best one I can recall in terms of him saying that he stayed out of personnel.

Well it's assumed that JKC ran the team in a completely different way

But let me ask you this then...just how many owners in the NFL do we hear from during the season? How many make public addresses to fans? How many say "my fault'?

So glad I didn't pick up season tickets. $30-50 for nosebleeds.

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I am coming around on the Snyder-is-the-problem argument. But the kicker is it isn't because of anything anyone has said. Not a single thing a former player, journalist or fan has ever said has affected my thoughts. What is affecting my thoughts are the results. Obviously something ain't right and Snyder is the linchpin so it appears there is a good chance it is him.

That aside, what drives me nuts is all the stuff people say basically comes down to this: "He is bad". There's no context...there's no contrasting to other more successful owners in a meaningful way. What exactly does he do that is wrong? Is he the only owner doing this? All the arguments break down in my mind because those making the arguments make no attempt to show they actually know WTF they're talking about. If you want to make an argument that he isn't very good based on results I can buy that...it doesn't help achieve a better understanding though and is therefore basically a pointless discussion. If you want to argue that specific things he does are bad then tell me why...prove it. Otherwise I don't know what to think and my default mindset is that if you can't tell me why then you don't actually understand and therefore your opinion is worthless. I am tired of hearing he sucks...someone tell me what it is that he does wrong...not what you think it is. I suspect most can't do that and I suspect most of the reasons aren't very good at all.

Well it's assumed that JKC ran the team in a completely different way

But let me ask you this then...just how many owners in the NFL do we hear from during the season? How many make public addresses to fans? How many say "my fault'?

Exactly...I strongly suspect that a lot of what DS does is done by many other owners. Everyone acts like all the owners in every other city act so differently but no one one proves it. Again, I am tired of hearing "it" and want to hear "why" what he does is bad. There are 31 other teams, some very successful on a consistent basis. What is it that the owners in those cities do that makes them better?

Sally has bashed the organization for a long time. When the team is losing she's on her high horse smiling. When the team is winning you don't hear from her.

but what is getting under my skin more is the fans are starting to complain, the media is starting to complain, and now there is damage control happening. If there is anything taking place on this team to correct the problems no one sees it. Yet Zorn comes on Redskins Nation and touts how the team is getting better. The players are showing up on the media circles saying "It's only 3 games", "Give us a chance", "Hang in there with us", etc. etc. etc. It feels like a Pep rally to keep spirits up and I just don't feel it. If anything to me it's making it worse. For me. I can't speak to everyone elses feelings.

If everyone can take a moment to reflect...when Spurrier was here all the players where saying the same sort of things. After Spurrier left is when we heard about all the stupid stuff that went on and how the players didn't buy into the system that was not working. Maybe we will hear something interesting about Zorn some day also.

At least Jerry Jones admits the he's making lots of personnel decisions and meets regularly with the media to discuss, explain and defend those positions. Snyder's too gutless to come out of the shadows, acknowledge what everyone already knows is the truth and face the music. Coaches and GMs around the league meet with the media to discuss and explain their decisions. Snyder, as the main personnel decision-maker, should do the same. It's cowardly to do otherwise.