It's Talent, Not Coaching.

[Defensewins]

It is mostly a talent issue, but I agree with SouperMeister, Shanahan and Haslett do not get a free ride or get absolved of some of the issues. The defense's play is not progressing, in fact is regressing.
We have enough talent on that side of the ball that we should not be getting killed and run over in week week 8 or week 10 or 11 like we did.
I also fault the coaches for the way they are using the players and leaving other more talented players on the bench or in the wrong position. That is the coaches.

[wilsowilso]

Originally Posted by Defensewins

It is mostly a talent issue

The Redskins fanbase has quite simply forgotten what a talented team looks like.

Me included.

[Dirtbag59]

Originally Posted by wilsowilso

The Redskins fanbase has quite simply forgotten what a talented team looks like.

Me included.

What is this talent concept you speak of? Is it based on contract size because if thats the case we have a LOT of talent.

[irish]

Originally Posted by wilsowilso

The Redskins fanbase has quite simply forgotten what a talented team looks like.

Me included.

I agree 100%. Its been a long time since the Skins have been relevant in the NFL.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Defensewins

It is mostly a talent issue, but I agree with SouperMeister, Shanahan and Haslett do not get a free ride or get absolved of some of the issues. The defense's play is not progressing, in fact is regressing.
We have enough talent on that side of the ball that we should not be getting killed and run over in week week 8 or week 10 or 11 like we did.
I also fault the coaches for the way they are using the players and leaving other more talented players on the bench or in the wrong position. That is the coaches.

Agreed, and probably the most disappointing event of the last four games. The offense has progressed. The defense has regressed. The last four games look a lot like the Zorn era in terms of what we do well/not so well.

[DM72]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Agreed, and probably the most disappointing event of the last four games. The offense has progressed.

Was this quote a mistake?

[mooby]

So I was bored and I decided to spend some time looking at point margins in the NFL, and I know you shouldn't read very largely into point margins at the end of games simply because they can be deceiving. But if a team wins, say 31-6, there's no doubt who the better team was that day, or you could have a team win 27-24 and think it was a close game when the fact of the matter was it was never really close at all, until the final whistle.

I guess my whole point is I made a sample size (teams that win by 10 points or more) and analyzed it against all 13 weeks of the NFL season so far to see who was the best and who was the worst. Through 13 weeks only 2 NFL teams have not won a single game by 10 or more points. And those two teams are Washington and Carolina. Now I'm not saying we're Carolina bad, Carolina being 1-11 and the very worst team in the league, and most likely Andrew Luck's future team, but our largest margin of victory is 6 points, achieved in Week 1 against the Cowboys (2nd largest, 1st meeting with Philly, 5 point margin of victory), but I feel like it shows just exactly what kind of team we are, one that fights hard, but has to scrape to pull out every victory, and I doubt we'll beat a team thorougly enough this season that the outcome won't be in doubt heading into the final minutes. That's just indicative of how we play this season. We either get blown out, or it's a close battle that comes down to the wire.

And if anybody wants to know who leads the league in victories by point margins of 10 more, here's the list, up until this point at Week 13, not including Jets/Pats because that has yet to be played.

5 victories of 10 or more points:
Philadelphia, NYG, New England

4 victories of 10 or more points:
Seattle, St. Louis, New Orleans, Green Bay, Indy, Tennessee (with none coming after week 7), San Diego, Kansas City

3 victories of 10 or more points:
Dallas, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Chicago, NY Jets, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Jacksonville, Oakland

2 victories of 10 or more points:
Detroit, Minnesota, Miami, Cleveland, Houston, Denver

1 victory of 10 or more points:
Arizona, San Fransisco, Cincinnati, Buffalo

No victories of 10 or more points:
Washington, Carolina

Now don't read into this too much, as more often than not a large margin of victory doesn't mean anything other than one team had everything go right for it one day. I was just bored and decided to look up the stats. But I do feel like this is indicative how much talent we have, and how much trouble we have closing out games.

Our 5 wins

13-7 against Dallas
17-12 against Philadelphia
16-13 against Green Bay (OT)
17-14 against Chicago
19-16 against Tennessee (OT)

I'll end this by saying I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin.

[SolidSnake84]

All points above i mostly agree with. It's the truth. We don't have good players. Shanahan is doing the best he can with bad players. The defense has been ruined. We need to totally blow up this roster next year. WE HAVE TO GET YOUNGER!!!

Everybody says how great McNabb is, but he had his worst outing as a pro yesterday, and he is having the worst season since he was a rookie. He is 34 years old, right?? He isn't going to improve, at this point he will regress, as any older QB does, with the exception of a few like Favre, Garcia, etc....

Let's hold out hope for a strong finish, but i dont think it will happen. 6-10 maybe the best we can do.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

All points above i mostly agree with. It's the truth. We don't have good players. Shanahan is doing the best he can with bad players. The defense has been ruined. We need to totally blow up this roster next year. WE HAVE TO GET YOUNGER!!!

Everybody says how great McNabb is, but he had his worst outing as a pro yesterday, and he is having the worst season since he was a rookie. He is 34 years old, right?? He isn't going to improve, at this point he will regress, as any older QB does, with the exception of a few like Favre, Garcia, etc....

Let's hold out hope for a strong finish, but i dont think it will happen. 6-10 maybe the best we can do.

He did?

[Hog1]

It is difficult for the younger fans on the site to understand what the Skins teams of the past were like. In their SB years they were generally.....if not totally dominant. In their off years, they were a powerhouse. They were....feared.
DAMN, I hope they can regain some of that success...this is tough stuff to watch.

[SolidSnake84]

Yeah i would love to just see a DOMINANT team on Offense and defense. The best year i can remember is 2005, but it was our defense that was feared...We had better years i'm sure, but in my short life 2005 and 1999 come to mind....

[mredskins]

Peter King this morning in MMQB article:

I can't imagine what you're thinking if you're a Redskins fan today. Maybe this: Is it really possible that we traded Cerrato, Zorn and Campbell for Allen, Shanahan and McNabb ... and got worse?

Read more: Ravens-Steelers lives up to hype; Maurice Jones-Drew MVP talk - Peter King - SI.com

[Chico23231]

I agree with most things being posted. I have no doubt its talent.

Defense: Switching to the 3-4 with noone on our roster who are the 3 down linemen in the 3-4 is f*cking killing us. WE NEED A F*CKING NT. Albert is not gonna be that guy and is not a DE in the scheme. Kemo is more a liability than a constant contributor. Gholston is depth. We seriously need a DE as well. LB-Rocky needs to go, no extention for him. Safeties and corners- Kareem Moore cannot f*cking tackle, get him the f*ck out of here. Safties need to know how to tackle. Carlos needs to be re signed, Id like us to bring up Barnes and see if he can beat out Buchanon for 3rd CB.

Offense- Interior Line- Cut Rabauch, cut Artis Hicks. Let Big Mike, Heyer, Montgomery compete for RG. Heyer is good depth...keep him. We need a center and a competent LG. Lickinwhater is inconsistent, good depth though. Bring up Capers and Cook and develop them in depth or possible starters. RB-We need a number 1 and 2 RB. Right now we have 3 number 3s. WR-We need a number 1...keep Moss and Armstrong looks like a great number 3 who could further develop.

Those are my changes...

[mredskins]

More Peter King, this is the stuff that makes it hard to be a Skins fan our team stinks and our future doesn't look bright, at all.

The Redskins are awful. Four sacks of Donovan McNabb, and seven pressures, in Washington's embarrassing 31-7 loss to the Giants. Two interceptions of McNabb. Three drops by McNabb's receivers. Six fumbles. Six! And this ultimate indignity: How beautifully fitting that Devin Thomas -- a second-round pick of the 'Skins in 2008, a high-profile example of their draft failings, cut by the Redskins earlier this season and picked up by the receiver-needy Giants -- would make the special-teams play of the game.

Rushing from the inside of the formation early in the fourth quarter with the Redskins trying to rebound from a 28-7 deficit, Thomas jousted with Washington safety Kareem Moore and made a left-handed deflection of a Hunter Smith punt near the goal line, and the wounded duck ended up feebly making it to the Washington 13. It had to be the sweetest play of the star-crossed Thomas' short career. And one of the ugliest of the Redskins' season.

Washington, 5-7 with four teams playing well on the end-of-season schedule, is done, and Mike Shanahan now has to make the decision that will define his coaching tenure, in my opinion. He has to decide whether to keep Donovan McNabb for the long-term and build the team around him. It's a tough call because McNabb looks mostly old and ineffective.


Read more: Ravens-Steelers lives up to hype; Maurice Jones-Drew MVP talk - Peter King - SI.com

[SmootSmack]

I think people are being way too quick to can Kyle Shanahan.