The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

After the 2010 debacle that was McNabb/Haynesworth, etc. it was pretty clear that the Shanahan era was going to be a longer evolution. Last offseason was primarily built around remaking the defense to be younger, faster and stronger while trying to get by on offense with minor improvements thru the draft. Now however we are going to see what the team has at key offensive positions..

QB-Beck has basically 3/4 of a season to determine his future as a Redskin and our decision in the 1st round of the 2012 draft. Best case is that he develops into a slightly above average QB that's capable of putting up good numbers and leading the team to a some wins (a la Matt Schaub) or he becomes a career backup, maybe holding the position for 2012 while a rookie learns behind him.

RB-I'm somewhat surprised that Royster wasn't added from the PS with Hightower going down but I think Tim may have been one and done anyways as a Redskin. Now, Torrain and Helu will get more time and we can either see if they are a legit one two punch or if either of them distinguishes himself as the feature back.

WR-While Moss signed a 3 year deal when the lockout ended, he may have one more year after this one as a serviceable WR. With his injury and the continued mediocrity of Armstrong & Stallworth, Niles Paul and Hankerson have a chance to make an impact and show an indication if they can be reliable options in the passing game. Come week 12-17, if they are not active and in the rotation on a consistent basis, that's cause for concern.

OL-I don't think Erik Cook was ever supposed to be more than a depth player but with him being the starting center for the foreseeable future, Shanny and Forester can determine if he is a quality backup, potential starter or just someone else on the 53.

I am by no means throwing in the towel and saying 'play the kids' but by circumstance we should have a much better read on the near term future state of our team in the coming weeks and months.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

Blessing in disguise. This is a good thing due to bad circumstances.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=Paintrain;852663]After the 2010 debacle that was McNabb/Haynesworth, etc. it was pretty clear that the Shanahan era was going to be a longer evolution. Last offseason was primarily built around remaking the defense to be younger, faster and stronger while trying to get by on offense with minor improvements thru the draft. Now however we are going to see what the team has at key offensive positions..

QB-Beck has basically 3/4 of a season to determine his future as a Redskin and our decision in the 1st round of the 2012 draft. Best case is that he develops into a slightly above average QB that's capable of putting up good numbers and leading the team to a some wins (a la Matt Schaub) or he becomes a career backup, maybe holding the position for 2012 while a rookie learns behind him.

RB-I'm somewhat surprised that Royster wasn't added from the PS with Hightower going down but I think Tim may have been one and done anyways as a Redskin. Now, Torrain and Helu will get more time and we can either see if they are a legit one two punch or if either of them distinguishes himself as the feature back.

WR-While Moss signed a 3 year deal when the lockout ended, he may have one more year after this one as a serviceable WR. With his injury and the continued mediocrity of Armstrong & Stallworth, Niles Paul and Hankerson have a chance to make an impact and show an indication if they can be reliable options in the passing game. Come week 12-17, if they are not active and in the rotation on a consistent basis, that's cause for concern.

OL-I don't think Erik Cook was ever supposed to be more than a depth player but with him being the starting center for the foreseeable future, Shanny and Forester can determine if he is a quality backup, potential starter or just someone else on the 53.

I am by no means throwing in the towel and saying 'play the kids' but by circumstance we should have a much better read on the near term future state of our team in the coming weeks and months.[/quote]

QB-With all the talk about "play the kids" I'm supprised people seem to still want Beck, a 30 y/o QB who's 1st game was no more or no less impressive then the 31 y/o Grossman. I'm starting the chant for Crompton. Maybe after 3 more games which turn out the same Beck can be benched for the QB on the PS who's only 24 y/o. He's our future. ;)

RB-Yeah I don't know why they didn't promote Royster. I guess they figured between Torain, Hulu, Youg (FB), Seller (FB), Davis (TE), Paulson (TE), and maybe Banks they have enough runners. The team needs to start using Banks in the screen passes. Maybe one good run and the defense will have to account for him on the field.

WR-I hate to say it but Moss was our only WR who could be trusted to make the catch. Yet even he had a ball he tipped for an interception. What WR do we have that makes other teams scared? AA, Stallworth, Gaffney? They are not catching any deep balls. Austin and Paul need to step up big and make a deep catch. Make the defense spread out.

OL-The new guys played admirably last week. I think they did pretty good holding their own. Maybe they get better over the season and become quite a suprise.

DL-Needs to get a pass rush going again.

LB-Need to stay in their lanes to stop the run.

CB-Wow if there was ever a position that needs to prove itself this week.

S-Keep Barnes out of the safety position. I don't recall anytime where he broke up a play or hit a WR. I thought he was playing two hand touch football.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

The Redskins wouldn't be the first team to have extreme pressure create a few diamonds. Step up, let's go!

HTTR!

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

Not sure why you think TH is one and done with the Redskins. He's by far the best back we've got (or until Helu develops). It's night and day when he is in the game compared to Torrain.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

^ Me neither.. We definitely need to resign Hightower, we need to have RB who can do blocking for passing plays; Hightower not only does that but he also punishes LBs and DBs for blitzing. What can be better than that?

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=GridIron26;852683]^ Me neither.. We definitely need to resign Hightower, we need to have RB who can do blocking for passing plays; Hightower not only does that but he also punishes LBs and DBs for blitzing. What can be better than that?[/quote]


You guys keep talking about the healthy TH, he won't be the same after this injury, I doubt the Skins stick it out with him.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

SBXVII pm me your address so I can send you your official I LOVE BECK T-shirt LOL

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=mredskins;852688]You guys keep talking about the healthy TH, he won't be the same after this injury, I doubt the Skins stick it out with him.[/quote]

He's still young enough where he can make it back, if not here then definitely somewhere else. I wouldn't write him off.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

The good thing about TH getting hurt so early this season is that he has plenty of rehab time before 2012.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

This team is still a long way from being consistently good but I do think Shanny has them on the right track to get there. This team has been over a decade in its destruction so its unrealistic to expect this mess can be fixed in a couple of years.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=SBXVII;852674]QB-With all the talk about "play the kids" I'm supprised people seem to still want Beck, a 30 y/o QB who's 1st game was no more or no less impressive then the 31 y/o Grossman. I'm starting the chant for Crompton. Maybe after 3 more games which turn out the same Beck can be benched for the QB on the PS who's only 24 y/o. He's our future. ;)

[/quote]

I'm with you. Part of me wants to play Crompton NOW, but that would be foolhardy. If Beck doesn't start clicking in the next few weeks, though...

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

Torn ACL's take time to heal and fully recover from. Many backs are never the same. My take on TH is that he comes back next year at a bargain price. If Helu takes over as starter, TH would probably be great as a 3rd down, generic back up. If Helu doesn't take over, not sure a recovering TH (acknowledging Lotus' point that he will have had extended recovery time) is the answer at RB.

If Helu does not live up to expectations, I think we add RB to the list of needs b/c, even if he returns, I don't think TH will be in a position to be a starter. With that said, I like the guy and hope he makes a full recovery.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;852690]SBXVII pm me your address so I can send you your official I LOVE BECK T-shirt LOL[/quote]

LOL. AWESOME!


I (heart) Beck.

How come no one has stepped up with a Beck logo? There was "Pineapple Jesus", "Sexy Rexy" logo with him passing the pig skin.

No Beck? WTF?

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=Lotus;852710]I'm with you. Part of me wants to play Crompton NOW, but that would be foolhardy. If Beck doesn't start clicking in the next few weeks, though...[/quote]

Now, now.... I'm atleast a gentleman. Grossman got 4 games this year, Beck should be given the same amount of games. If nothing seems to change (as I expect it not to) then I'd make the change to Crompton for atleast 4 games to see if he's worth keeping next year or not.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=JoeRedskin;852711]Torn ACL's take time to heal and fully recover from. Many backs are never the same. My take on TH is that he comes back next year at a bargain price. If Helu takes over as starter, TH would probably be great as a 3rd down, generic back up. If Helu doesn't take over, not sure a recovering TH (acknowledging Lotus' point that he will have had extended recovery time) is the answer at RB.

If Helu does not live up to expectations, I think we add RB to the list of needs b/c, even if he returns, I don't think TH will be in a position to be a starter. With that said, I like the guy and hope he makes a full recovery.[/quote]

Lots of RB's come back kicking arse also. Wasn't it Steven Davis who was cut from the Skins after an injury, then went to the Panthers and lit it up there for a few (about what 7-10) years.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

How about Terry Allen?

I can't see any scenario short of acquiring Adrian Peterson where Tim Hightower isn't on our roster in 2012...even if we did acquire Peterson

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

We're in year #2 of MS and BA. Small steps. I think we had a good draft. Next year we'll have Jenkins, TH, CC healthy hopefully, SM, a second year Kerrigan, Lightensteiger, Trent Williams in his prime, and a full draft class which will most likely contain a 1st round qb.

I wanted to see some improvement this year...but it might not be measured in wins and losses. It's going to be tough to gauge w/ the injuries, but regardless I happy where we are. Year 4 I want to see some wins.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=redsk1;852721]We're in year #2 of MS and BA. Small steps. I think we had a good draft. Next year we'll have Jenkins, TH, CC healthy hopefully, SM, a second year Kerrigan, Lightensteiger, Trent Williams in his prime, and a full draft class which will most likely contain a 1st round qb.

I wanted to see some improvement this year...[B]but it might not be measured in wins and losses. [/B] It's going to be tough to gauge w/ the injuries, but regardless I happy where we are. Year 4 I want to see some wins.[/quote]

The improvement can not be measured by wins. The improvement of the offensive line and defense is massive. The year before Shanahan was hired the level of play and talent level on this team was one of the league worst. This improvement in the level of play is still present even despite all of the injuries. That says even our backups are better. But we are still losing win-able games.
One of the few areas where we regressed is replacing Carlos Rogers with Josh Wilson. Rogers is playing very well and getting noticed in SF. Wilson has been a downgrade. Kevin Barnes has not impressed with his opportunity of more playing time. I am glad Shananhan and Haslett are giving the young guys like Barnes a look and more playing time, to see wha twe have. But I am growing tired of seeing Barnes get beat. I have seen enough of Barnes to know he is not an NFL starter and most likely never be more than a good back up. Wonder why we have not seen more of Buchanon and Westbrook?

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

Learning the depth of your team for each position is defintely the silver lining when it comes to injuries. I posted this in an another thread but the Redskins were the 10th oldest team at the start of the season:

[url=http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/44505/2011-nfl-team-age-ranks-at-53-man-cuts]2011 NFL team age ranks at 53-man cuts - NFC West Blog - ESPN[/url]

I think 2 years ago we were the oldest. At the end of the day i dont really think it matters how old your team is because there are guys like Fletcher or Daniels who continue to play at a high level into the golden years. Old "vets" also seem to help younger players learn the nfl ropes. That said, i do think its important to have a good mix of young guys on the team that can take over when a player retires/gets cut.

We do have a lot of unproven (usually younger) guys and hopefully they will step up and take advantage of an opportunity whether its from injury like Cook at center or from poor play like Beck at QB. My biggest concern is on the defensive side of the ball, hopefully players will just get better in their positions as time goes on. And WR should have a lot of good battles.

Oh yeah, Hightower is definitely going to be here next year.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

^^ You two are correct about improvement perhaps not showing up in wins. Look at the Lions. Last year they turned an important corner although such was not well reflected in their record. This year the improvement for them comes to fruition in the standings.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=SBXVII;852716]Lots of RB's come back kicking arse also. Wasn't it Steven Davis who was cut from the Skins after an injury, then went to the Panthers and lit it up there for a few (about what 7-10) years.[/quote]

If you call this lightin it up, then your absolutly correct.

2006 St. Louis Rams
Atts 40 Yds 177 TD 0

2005 Carolina Panthers
Atts 180 Yds 549 TD 12

2004 Carolina Panthers
Atts 24 Yds 92 TD 0

2003 Carolina Panthers
Atts 318 Yds 1,444 TD 8

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=SBXVII;852716]Lots of RB's come back kicking arse also. Wasn't it Steven Davis who was cut from the Skins after an injury, then went to the Panthers and lit it up there for a few (about what 7-10) years.[/quote]

Stephen Davis had one more good year left in the tank and then he was done. Injury or no injury, he accumulated enough wear and tear to be nearing his expiration date.

And ACLs do take a long time to fully recover from, and by fully, I mean do things on that knee like it was [I]before[/I] the injury. Wes Welker is beasting now, but he sure as hell wasn't doing that last year.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

th should be resigned.
high hopes for helu I just think he needs to get the ball more... more than torrain or closer to a 60/40 at least ..

wr - Austin needs more looks... hankerson hopefully shapes up and gets.his mind on football and not twitter...

CB - really wish we could have worked it out wit Los ..

s - lets hope otogwe gets back and Landry settles down into playing smarter football.

another thing... wither get banks the ball on some screens or wildcat or he's gonna become worthless on the roster soon

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=Meks;852738]th should be resigned.
high hopes for helu I just think he needs to get the ball more... more than torrain or closer to a 60/40 at least ..

wr - Austin needs more looks... hankerson hopefully shapes up and gets.his mind on football and not twitter...

CB - really wish we could have worked it out wit Los ..

s - lets hope otogwe gets back and Landry settles down into playing smarter football.

[B]another thing... wither get banks the ball on some screens or wildcat or he's gonna become worthless on the roster soon[/B][/quote]

Bullee DAT. Seriously though before the season started I feared the new kickoff rule would minimize Banks' contributions to the roster, and so far they have. He really hasn't had very many opportunities to break one so far, and I'm not sure whether it's him in a slump or bad blocking, or a combo of both, but he really hasn't made the impact he made last year.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=SBXVII;852674]QB-With all the talk about "play the kids" I'm supprised people seem to still want Beck, a 30 y/o QB who's 1st game was no more or no less impressive then the 31 y/o Grossman. I'm starting the chant for Crompton. Maybe after 3 more games which turn out the same Beck can be benched for the QB on the PS who's only 24 y/o. He's our future. ;)
[/quote]

Similar to how Clinton Portis was still "young" at age 28 while he was old in terms of wear and tear, John Beck is the opposite, being old in total years but not that old in terms of use or wear. I see Beck auditioning for two jobs: the starter spot and the backup QB spot. He will have to make one spot or the other to stick. Ideally, he wins the starter job and everyone's happy, but not all is lost since if he wins the backup job, that means we don't need to worry about having a flaky QB like Kyle Boller or David Carr taking the reins for our new QB.

John Beck will likely not impede the draft choices for a QB in the future since he is likely to ultimately be our Todd Collins. But there are games still to be played before that projection, or the more optimistic and pessimistic ones, becomes reality.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=SmootSmack;852718]I can't see any scenario short of acquiring Adrian Peterson where Tim Hightower isn't on our roster in 2012...even if we did acquire Peterson[/quote]What if they draft a guy at the RB position in or above the fifth round? Does Hightower, coming off injury, really have a great shot to beat out a rookie?

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=SirClintonPortis;852744]Similar to how Clinton Portis was still "young" at age 28 while he was old in terms of wear and tear, John Beck is the opposite, being old in total years but not that old in terms of use or wear. I see Beck auditioning for two jobs: the starter spot and the backup QB spot. He will have to make one spot or the other to stick. Ideally, he wins the starter job and everyone's happy, but not all is lost since if he wins the backup job, that means we don't need to worry about having a flaky QB like Kyle Boller or David Carr taking the reins for our new QB.

John Beck will likely not impede the draft choices for a QB in the future since he is likely to ultimately be our Todd Collins. But there are games still to be played before that projection, or the more optimistic and pessimistic ones, becomes reality.[/quote]

I'm not saying he's worthless or that he has been rode hard and put away wet for a lot of years. I was refering to his age. I know he has had very little playing time and the problem is ...it's probably for a reason. I'm hedging my bet that Beck will not be that much of an improvement if at all over Grossman and the most of you all would like to see him gone. To me, Beck is a nice insurance policy as a second string QB. You guys can't tell me you guys would not be playing Newton or Dalton over Beck. Heck at this point I'd play Tebow over Beck.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=CrustyRedskin;852727]If you call this lightin it up, then your absolutly correct.

2006 St. Louis Rams
Atts 40 Yds 177 TD 0

2005 Carolina Panthers
Atts 180 Yds 549 TD 12

2004 Carolina Panthers
Atts 24 Yds 92 TD 0

2003 Carolina Panthers
Atts 318 Yds 1,444 TD 8[/quote]

I guess you right, but for some reason I can remember every time I saw him playing the Panthers were racking up yards with him, or he was possibly not racking up the yards but he was breaking long runs now and then some for TD's.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=SBXVII;852757]I guess you right, but for some reason I can remember every time I saw him playing the Panthers were racking up yards with him, or he was possibly not racking up the yards but he was breaking long runs now and then some for TD's.[/quote]

When he was in Carolina i think there was another running back there that got most of the carries but SD made a helluva back up. I cant think of the RB's name though. I remmember he started in the Super Bowl against New England and Davis came offf the bench.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=SBXVII;852755]I'm not saying he's worthless or that he has been rode hard and put away wet for a lot of years. I was refering to his age. I know he has had very little playing time and the problem is ...it's probably for a reason. I'm hedging my bet that Beck will not be that much of an improvement if at all over Grossman and the most of you all would like to see him gone. To me, Beck is a nice insurance policy as a second string QB. You guys can't tell me you guys would not be playing Newton or Dalton over Beck. Heck at this point I'd play Tebow over Beck.[/quote]
Read more closely, I'm not hyping up Beck as a sure starter. In fact, the likely outcome will be a Todd Collins for us. But his lack of success at age 30 needs to account for the fact that a Mormon mission "suspended" his career. Hence, he still can add some things to his game in order to become something worth to us, either as a starter(less likely) or a backup(more likely). I stated that I would love to have our backup QB set so we don't have trot out a Kyle Boller or David Carr instead in case the "future" QB we take or find through UDFA gets hurt. Not once did I insinuate that I'd rather have Beck over Newton. But [B]we don't have a ****ing Cam Newton here,[/B] so let's see if this guy(who came for free) can be something worthwhile here, and if he's a good backup, then that's fine, since teams do need a capable veteran backup.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=SirClintonPortis;852768]Read more closely, I'm not hyping up Beck as a sure starter. In fact, the likely outcome will be a Todd Collins for us. But his lack of success at age 30 needs to account for the fact that a Mormon mission "suspended" his career. Hence, he still can add some things to his game in order to become something worth to us, either as a starter(less likely) or a backup(more likely). I stated that I would love to have our backup QB set so we don't have trot out a Kyle Boller or David Carr instead in case the "future" QB we take or find through UDFA gets hurt. Not once did I insinuate that I'd rather have Beck over Newton. But [B]we don't have a ****ing Cam Newton here,[/B] so let's see if this guy([U][I][B]who came for free[/B][/I][/U]) can be something worthwhile here, and if he's a good backup, then that's fine, since teams do need a capable veteran backup.[/quote]


Came for free? Hello our secondary has been reeling since we lost Doug Dutch.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=GTripp0012;852750]What if they draft a guy at the RB position in or above the fifth round? Does Hightower, coming off injury, really have a great shot to beat out a rookie?[/quote]

The roster would have room for both

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=Lotus;852710]I'm with you. Part of me wants to play Crompton NOW, but that would be foolhardy. If Beck doesn't start clicking in the next few weeks, though...[/quote]

It doesn't matter what QB they start, with the lack of talent at WR the end result will be the same.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=SBXVII;852715]Now, now.... I'm atleast a gentleman. Grossman got 4 games this year, Beck should be given the same amount of games. If nothing seems to change (as I expect it not to) then I'd make the change to Crompton for atleast 4 games to see if he's worth keeping next year or not.[/quote]

If it does change, I'm sure you will be salty.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=mredskins;852773]Came for free? Hello our secondary has been reeling since we lost Doug Dutch.[/quote]

Aha! I've been caught.

Sike.

We got Dutch back later that season. We signed him to the PS in December. Then we let him walk. Except for the time lost from we we traded him, we ultimately lost nothing.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=Brody81;852780]It doesn't matter what QB they start, with the lack of talent at WR the end result will be the same.[/quote]


this..

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

[quote=SirClintonPortis;852768]Read more closely, I'm not hyping up Beck as a sure starter. In fact, the likely outcome will be a Todd Collins for us. But his lack of success at age 30 needs to account for the fact that a Mormon mission "suspended" his career. Hence, he still can add some things to his game in order to become something worth to us, either as a starter(less likely) or a backup(more likely). I stated that I would love to have our backup QB set so we don't have trot out a Kyle Boller or David Carr instead in case the "future" QB we take or find through UDFA gets hurt. Not once did I insinuate that I'd rather have Beck over Newton. But [B]we don't have a ****ing Cam Newton here,[/B] so let's see if this guy(who came for free) can be something worthwhile here, and if he's a good backup, then that's fine, since teams do need a capable veteran backup.[/quote]

I think [B]SBXVII[/B] should play QB, I'm sure he would do better.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

I really hate 2012 draft talk in October of 2011. W - T - F

1. WR .. Moss is a total bummer, he is solid & always has been. Austin has shown me enough that he IS a playmaker. Niles PAUL seems to me to be a steal, I love this kid for some reason, he's tough on blocks and just seems ready to step up. Hankerson is the one that really bothers me, I was so juiced up when we drafted him. Hopefully he has finished his humble pie & can use his talents with this opportunity.

2. RB .. Hightower will be back next year, are you crazy ? He was in full BEAST mode when healthy. Helu is special and a GREAT pick, but I highly doubt he's an every down back. Torrain, there is the tricky one. If ATV can stay healthy & have a year like last year and the Rams game. This dude will make waves & take pressure of the QB.

3. CB .. Everyone is right about Los, we made a mistake. I don't think Josh Wilson is that bad, I just think we all got so frustrated with the non-playmaking ability of Los that in ultimately over shadowed his entire game. That being said, Los cost us at least half a dozen games by not catching an easy pick. I'd love to see them draft/trade/sign a STUD CB to go along with D-Hall.

4.Safety ... I know the bears just released Chris Harris, he was second team all Pro last year ? He should be on Redskins One right now.

5.QB ... Beck isn't on a 4 game trial to get "Crompton" some starts. Are you freaking kidding me. Crompton ??? C'mon man. Beck has the reigns for the rest of the season, he deserves his shot & I think if we revisit this thread in 4 weeks we may be saying some different things about all these guys. I don't even wanna think about drafting a QB in the 1st round next year. I can't take this every season. I want Beck to step up and earn the support of DC.

Bottom Line : The Young Guns have time to shine. Put up or shut up.

Let's go surprise those damn Bills and bring it. They are hurting on D & we need to take advantage of that neutral site. Helu & Paul going to have big big days.

Re: The Shanaplan Gets Accelerated
 

For all the talk that the Redskins cannot turn things around in a year (and that we need more like four), while I might be inclined to think a year is unrealistic, four seems indulgent. Look at the vastly improved Lions, Bills, and Raiders this season (heck, even the Bengals look decent). Granted, all three have been drafting a few players upon which to build a foundation for a few years, but so have we (e.g., Orakpo, Williams, Davis) -- just not enough of them. But these are each franchises that have been bottom dwellers for a long, long time. Why can't we seem to climb out of the cellar for anything other than a brief period when Gibbs II was here (for 2 of the 4 years)?

I think part is the competition of the NFC East. While the teams may not be the forces they were in teh 1980s and 1990s, it's still a smashmouth division and the Giants, Eagles, and Cowboys have each had better success than we have had. Part is clearly a decade of Cerrato -- whom I dislike perhaps more than Randy White, Michael Irvin, and some of my other favorite Cowboys to hate. Cerrato did more damage to us than any opposing team, player or coach ever did. But even this doesn't seem to explain why it is that our team has been just so flat out disappointing since about 1992.

I really, really hope BA and MS can turn it around. And maybe these young guys stepping up and playing well will be the first real signs of it.