Some optimism on the 'Shanaplan'

Yep, and we've seen it play out clearly. Also the lack of a playmaking WR. Let's be real, Gaffney, Stallworth, Armstrong, Anderson? They would never see the field on a contender or at best be a #4 WR. Look at GB, Jennings, Driver, Nelson all playmakers. Look at SF, Edwards, Crabtree, Ginn all first rounders. Now none of them is a STAR but all of them fit a role and have playmaking ability. We need a bonafide star at the wideout position via trade or free agency in the upcoming offseason.

I would feel better if we had a proven #1 WR going inot next season but it's also possible that if we had a QB any where near as good as Rodgers that some of our current WR's would look like playmakers. And without Rodgers we might look differently on all the GB WR's that we now take for granted as being playmakers.

Our offseason focus has to start and end with QB and OL.

I agree. And I actually think we may have more then 6 players that could start on good teams. Not every starter on good teams is a star...we have plenty of NFL caliber starting players. As far as the offense though It's very hard to evaluate what we have at the skill positions with our banged up OL and poor QB play. I do agree though that it's likely we need a #1 WR. Hank is the only one who appears to have to tools to become a #1 but with his rookie season being cut short it will be impossible to project him into that role in the off season.

I'm curious, of our 22 healthy starters (as of yesterday) who would start for a good team in the NFL? I'd go with T. Williams, F. Davis, C. Cooley, L. Fletcher, A. Otogwe and L. Landry. It's not about 'stars' but it's about the ability to consistently win matchups at a high level. Let me be clear, I'm talking about starters on a top 8 team in the NFL, not just someone who would start on another bad team.

I'm not about to join in with a chorus of excuses for the job Mike Shanahan has done -- those that can find forgiveness in this are more faithful than I will ever be -- but I do have this to say: this team looks a lot worse coming off a six game losing streak than it has realistically played.

So there's some legitimate reason for optimism after this game. The offense is bad, and has very few young pieces for the future. I'm thinking it may not be unsalvageable. I don't think this coaching staff can fix the issues or it already would have. But we'll have a healthier OL next year and that should have a trickle down effect to the rest of the offense.

I'm not making excuses for the Shanny regime so far, just giving a perspective outside of the 'he's lost it, fire him, what the hell are we doing' chorus. That being said, I am far from giving up on this coaching staff. Part of the full 'Shanaplan' as I see it is a 5 year build before Mike steps off of the sideline and upstairs for good and hands things off to Kyle. And that's not a bad thing. One thing we've sorely lacked is a long term plan, vision and system. Look at the successful teams, they have had a system in place from the top down for a long time and stick with it through good and bad. Even through coaching changes they don't vary from the system. At the end of Mike's contract, Kyle would have had 7 years as a coordinator, hopefully be 3 years into a young stud QB and have the pieces to fully run a Pittsburgh style 3-4 defense.

I think I am okay with the Shanaplan. I would feel better about it if he had actually not wasted last year with the McNabb debacle, but you win some you lose some. Now I want his a$$ to focus on building up the offense, the way he's been building up the defense over the past two seasons.

I agree with the OP on nearly all points.

Certainly, we need to draft the QB with whom we're going forward. He will probably be our 1st Round pick in this year's draft. We also need a top-notch receiving threat. I think we need these two things above all else.

I don't agree that we just need backups on the OL. I think we could improve the team greatly with better starters at C and G. Then the current starters would provide us with very good, versatile backup linemen.

It would be nice to have more help at CB.


Absolutely right!

The Skins have one OL who is "above average" at his position in the NFL and that is Trent Williams. Maybe some day one of the other four will achieve that status - - and that includes the injured Kory Lichtensteiger who will probably return next year. But if this is the OL that starts next year, you can forget a playoff run no matter who is the new "QB-darling".

Speaking of which, neither of the two guys currently on the game-day roster for this team should be back. They need to draft a QB AND they need to get another vet off the waiver wire/scrap heap to play until the new QB is ready. We know what these two guys can do and it is insufficient - - to be very polite.

Personally, I think they need more help at safety than they do at CB; but I do agree that upgrades to the d-backfield are necessary.

Our offseason focus has to start and end with QB and OL.

That's it right there. The O-line has to get better. And man oh man, we've GOT to draft the right QB. It's so huge.

I'm curious, of our 22 healthy starters (as of yesterday) who would start for a good team in the NFL? I'd go with T. Williams, F. Davis, C. Cooley, L. Fletcher, A. Otogwe and L. Landry. It's not about 'stars' but it's about the ability to consistently win matchups at a high level. Let me be clear, I'm talking about starters on a top 8 team in the NFL, not just someone who would start on another bad team.



I'm not making excuses for the Shanny regime so far, just giving a perspective outside of the 'he's lost it, fire him, what the hell are we doing' chorus. That being said, I am far from giving up on this coaching staff. Part of the full 'Shanaplan' as I see it is a 5 year build before Mike steps off of the sideline and upstairs for good and hands things off to Kyle. And that's not a bad thing. One thing we've sorely lacked is a long term plan, vision and system. Look at the successful teams, they have had a system in place from the top down for a long time and stick with it through good and bad. Even through coaching changes they don't vary from the system. At the end of Mike's contract, Kyle would have had 7 years as a coordinator, hopefully be 3 years into a young stud QB and have the pieces to fully run a Pittsburgh style 3-4 defense.

I don't answer that question by matching up players on other teams. The way I would answer it is to look at our players and ask myself if we can build a top 8 team with this person starting. I think in the future we can have a top team with these players starting:

1. T. Williams
2. F. Davis,
3. L. Fletcher,
4. A. Otogwe
5. L. Landry
6. Kerrigan
7. Orakpo
8. Jenkins
9. Moss
10. Cofield
11. Chester
12. Rocca
13. Wilson

I am sure if i took the time to see where they fit best I could place all these guys in a good teams lineup. And we also have some other young players who could become good starters with more experience. The bottom line is we suck at QB and when you don't score it makes everyone look bad and leads fans to think that there are no good players on the team. I don't think it's true...sure we still have holes and a lack of depth but the roster is 1000% better then it was when Vinny got canned.

I think our Oline is actually pretty solid, and our depth has looked solid as well.. LB's and Oline are something we shouldn't worry about at the moment

I don't answer that question by matching up players on other teams. The way I would answer it is to look at our players and ask myself if we can build a top 8 team with this person starting. I think in the future we can have a top team with these players starting:

1. T. Williams
2. F. Davis,
3. L. Fletcher,
4. A. Otogwe
5. L. Landry
6. Kerrigan
7. Orakpo
8. Jenkins
9. Moss
10. Cofield
11. Chester
12. Rocca
13. Wilson

I am sure if i took the time to see where they fit best I could place all these guys in a good teams lineup. And we also have some other young players who could become good starters with more experience. The bottom line is we suck at QB and when you don't score it makes everyone look bad and leads fans to think that there are no good players on the team. I don't think it's true...sure we still have holes and a lack of depth but the roster is 1000% better then it was when Vinny got canned.
I completely forgot about Kerrigan and Rak and in my original 6 had them in place of Atogwe and Cooley. (damn multitasking and forgetting what I was doing!) I think there is some young talent and we will be much better 12 months from today than we are today.

I'm not making excuses for the Shanny regime so far, just giving a perspective outside of the 'he's lost it, fire him, what the hell are we doing' chorus. That being said, I am far from giving up on this coaching staff. Part of the full 'Shanaplan' as I see it is a 5 year build before Mike steps off of the sideline and upstairs for good and hands things off to Kyle. And that's not a bad thing. One thing we've sorely lacked is a long term plan, vision and system. Look at the successful teams, they have had a system in place from the top down for a long time and stick with it through good and bad. Even through coaching changes they don't vary from the system. At the end of Mike's contract, Kyle would have had 7 years as a coordinator, hopefully be 3 years into a young stud QB and have the pieces to fully run a Pittsburgh style 3-4 defense.I don't think Shanahan has "lost it", I just don't think he was a smart hire, or more to the point, a hire that suggested that we had broken out of the loop of hires/fires that alternated between someone unproven and an overvalued retread. It was natural to follow Zorn with Shanahan, much as it was natural to follow Spurrier with Gibbs. Gibbs, at least, made a ton of sense as a hire for the franchise in 2004, Shanahan made no sense, ever. He's pretty much coached like a guy who doesn't have a clue, and I don't understand why more was ever expected.

A 5-year rebuild seems like a total give up at winning at this point. Just move in the right direction. I don't think Kyle is ever going to head coach any team, much less the Redskins. I don't know or think that this will be his last shot at calling offensive plays in the NFL or at least college, he's young enough to earn a chance.

The biggest problem with a 5-year rebuilding plan is that it is essentially an admission that nothing we're doing right now matters. Rookie contracts are only 4 years long, and beyond that, the entire roster has already been overturned since the Shanahan's took over. It's not that there aren't positives to take away from the last two years, it's just that we have no more young talent now than we did when Shanahan took over, gutted the young talent from the roster, and set us back.

No, I'm not suggesting he's going to cut Kerrigan or Orakpo or something crazy, but the Cerrato picks that panned out are all at the end of their contracts and there's still no clear picture as to where guys like Landry, Fred Davis, Will Montgomery, Rob Jackson, Graham Gano, Anthony Armstrong, and Darrel Young fit into a long term organizational philosophy. Fletcher is at the end of his contract, as is Carriker, Golston, Buchanon, et al. The Shanahan pickups that have contributed such as Banks, Wilson, Gaffney, Chester, Torain, Cofield, and Bowen, have done so incredibly inconsistently.

Who are the best players on the Redskins? Ryan Kerrigan, London Fletcher, Brian Orakpo, Fred Davis, LaRon Landry, Santana Moss? Anyone else belong in the top six? That's two Cerrato acquisitions, three Gibbs acquisitions, and just one from Shanahan/Allen.