Message from Coach Gibbs
 

Stick with it, folks. Rome wasn't built in a day.

From Gibbs press conference yesterday:

[COLOR=DarkRed]"What I try to tell the players is, we're looking for long-term and we're looking for a core group of guys. What are those kinds of guys? They're Redskins. When I say that, what's that mean? It means what's happening right now on our football team. A guy gets two shoulder stingers and goes back in and makes two of the biggest plays of the game. We have stories where the trainer tells a guy he shouldn't play and he turns around and two minutes later he's back in the game. We have those kinds of stories going on, and if you have the right kind of character, what you're looking for is that core group to build long-term tough guys that are smart guys. We went through some real adversity. I don't know, we may have to go through more adversity. That's also a time where you get to study each other, they get to study us, we get to study them. And rarely in life do you get to have great things where you don't have to go through some adversity. That's just the way life works. That's generally the way I feel it works. I'm just saying that's what I try to tell them. It's more about character. If you pick the right guys, you'll be okay."[/COLOR]

That was his same winning formula in NASCAR. He surrounds himself with the kind of people it takes to win (kind of the anti-Spurrier). I think Spurrier may have been successful if he was the same way.

Interesting.......I think he was talking about Smoot.

Could this mean that we will re-sign him in the offseason?

[QUOTE=Redskins_P]Interesting.......I think he was talking about Smoot.

Could this mean that we will re-sign him in the offseason?[/QUOTE]

I'd be VERY surprised if we don't.

Long-term is the thing to keep in mind here. Gibbs is working on building a winner, it's not going to happen overnight.

Smoot is definitely a Redskin. I don't see Gibbs letting go of him for anything. Smoot won't want to wander anywhere else either. That guy loves the team he plays for and he plays will a hell of a lot of passion. He is like Deion Sanders...w/o all the BS.

(BTW, did you all see him lay some wood down on Sunday night!!!)

yeah and after what Smooty did (who I absolutely love) did this past weekend he will be one of those core guys. His performance was gutsy and he made big tackle after big tackle he never shied away from sticking his nose into the mix I loved it. SMOOTY ROCKS......

Smoot was amazing; just like the Dallas game last year. He hurt the shoulder, and on the next play back, he goes in low with the shoulder to make the big tackle. He talks the talk, and he walks the walk.

Now's he gonna head south and heal up:

"The bye week is coming," Smoot said. "I think I can come back good and healthy. I'm going [home] to Mississippi and I'll get my mom to put a little red clay on it for me."

SMOOOOOOOOT!

In high school we used to rub some dirt on an injury, I guess down south they rub some clay on it. Hey whatever works!

Smoot is a gamer, I love the guy

Anybody out there who thinks he's lost it is mistaken. If you were to walk away from your job and returned 12 years later things would be very different. Everything in the game is constantly evolving. So it's going to take some time to adjust. What Gibbs brings to the table though is something that in every team sport is vital. Loyalty, accountability, trust, and an overall sense of family within the team. It's something all great coaches seem to have & I think he'd be successful in any era. The way the team is united right now in the rough times is a testament to that. I think the foundation is there and once he get's his offense up to speed all the doubters will disappear.

:twocents:

they better have cap room to resign Smoot

Print that press conference quote up and frame it.

[QUOTE=4TH RING]Anybody out there who thinks he's lost it is mistaken. If you were to walk away from your job and returned 12 years later things would be very different. Everything in the game is constantly evolving. So it's going to take some time to adjust. What Gibbs brings to the table though is something that in every team sport is vital. Loyalty, accountability, trust, and an overall sense of family within the team. It's something all great coaches seem to have & I think he'd be successful in any era. The way the team is united right now in the rough times is a testament to that. I think the foundation is there and once he get's his offense up to speed all the doubters will disappear.

:twocents:[/QUOTE]
This is right on the money. Gibbs knew it would take time to get caught up, so what did he do? He hired the top defensive guy available to get the defense to carry the team in the meantime. Granted, no one expected the (passing) offense to be quite as anemic as it is, but he most definitely knows what he's doing.
I know it isn't true, but sometimes I almost get the impression that this bad start was intentional....to see how the players respond to adversity to find out who the real Redskins are. Like I said, I don't think it was, but if the long term results of a 1-4 start are anything like the 0-5 start in '81, that's fine with me!

Oh yeah, of course he's talking about Smoot (among others)....Fred will be a LIFETIME Redskin!

We can use every once of cap room on Smoot and I wont care (exaturation). That is a guy that we NEED to have on this football team. I really wish we resigned him already, but thats the only thing I want to see in the offseason. This guy has to be a lifetime Redskin. Sunday wasent the first time he came up like that, remember the chest injury he suffered against Tampa last year? It kept him out a week, but he still went back into the TB game after it happend and kept playing. That guy is a warrior.

Sign Smoot before the end of the season. It will go over huge in the locker room as players will see a guy playing with heart and character being rewarded w/out the usual BS offseason signing shenanigans.

I feel like I remember Cerrato being quoted somewhere (about a month ago) saying that resigning Smoot was the number one priority. I was never a huge Smoot fan before (don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike him or anything), but this season is really turning me into one.

Honestly, before Champ left, I thought Champ was the man, and Smoot was just a really good CB. Now that Champ has left, Smoot has really seemed to step up even more. If I could, I'd sign Smoot myself in order to get him here for the rest of his career. Shoot, I'd cut off two arms and a leg to ensure he stays here.

Smoot & Springs!
 

Everyone thought it was Champ! But Smoot & Springs are great! Add ST, and we have a good start in the secondary. We need a couple more warriors though, with Bowen out!

I was not a big backer of Springs, but he also walks the talk! He was on the Monday night post game show, and he's bigger than I thought, and is clear headed and concisive in speaking! Kind of the Anti-Smoot! He levels out our Secondary!

[QUOTE=Redskins_P]Interesting.......I think he was talking about Smoot.

Could this mean that we will re-sign him in the offseason?[/QUOTE]

He was referring to Smoot. Gibb's the President of the team. If he wants Smoot, Smoot is here for the duration that he's here.

[QUOTE=bridaman51]they better have cap room to resign Smoot[/QUOTE]

Smoot will probably be re-signed at the end of this season. Players that are certainly being considered for release are McCants, Noble, Samuels and Gardner. I'm sure at least two out of the bunch will not be here freeing up a considerable amount of cap money.

[QUOTE=backrow]Everyone thought it was Champ! But Smoot & Springs are great! Add ST, and we have a good start in the secondary. We need a couple more warriors though, with Bowen out!

I was not a big backer of Springs, but he also walks the talk! He was on the Monday night post game show, and he's bigger than I thought, and is clear headed and concisive in speaking! Kind of the Anti-Smoot! He levels out our Secondary![/QUOTE]

I wouldn't classify Springs ability to articulate as anti-Smoot. If anything it is complimentary. Springs is from Maryland. Smoot is from Mississippi. As a southerner, I'm proud to see a young man who speaks from his heart and doesn't care about using perfect English grammar.

Smoot is incredibly important to this team. And barring some major interpersonal catastrophe in the locker room, he's got to be one of the guys on Coach Gibbs' "core player list". So, I'll buy that Gibbs will push to sign Smoot as a top priority.

However, I'm not going to sit here and delude myself into believing that Smoot will re-sign here for a significant discount over what he can make elsewhere. The Redskins will have to come up with a package that is as beg as the deal he and his agent get somewhere else.

In the past, Danny Boy has structured deals such that other teams could not quite match them and do whatever else they needed to do - remember the Jetskins? So, what happens if an owner like Robert Johnson of the Jets decides to return the favor and give Smoot such a huge signing bonus that it would strap the Redskins down for any other free agent signings?

I'm not saying this "payback" will happen, but Smoot could draw some really big offers at the end of the year - particularly if he makes the Pro Bowl which his agent will use as a lever to raise the price even higher.

While I understand what Gibbs is trying to do with building for the future the reality of what he has done and how today's nfl work do not match up. The salary cap prohibits teams from really building for the future. In today's nfl the future is next year not 5 years. The only way this "future building" can be done, as New England has done so successfully, is through the draft. However Gibbs gave away draft picks to get a pretty much over the hill Bruenell. I have a bunch of faith in Gibbs but I hope when he's talking future me means next year because in % years the ship will have sailed and the skins will still be standing on the dock waving good-bye.