Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=GusFrerotte;756606]Why bother getting him then and wasting picks? We could have just kept JC for the same results and kept two draft picks to help shore up our leaking offensive line. And if Shanny didn't want him, why did they acquire him? Like it or not, he is the best we have. Just dumb all around.[/quote]

Hmmm! Not sure about JC giving us the same results. After all, Oakland has benched his butt. I agree with everything GMScud wrote about on the O-line and such. Our O-line sucks badly and is the root problem with #2 & #3 getting beat up so badly.


(#2 & #3 is his total cost and equals his jersey number)

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=BigHairedAristocrat;756602]You mistakenly identify mcnabb as shanahans star qb. Mcnabb just isn't very good. [B]Shanahan doesn't want him. [/B]If he keeps playing like he has been, I dont want him either. If the new CBa allows Shanahan to franchise mcnabb we will. And we can probably trade him to Arizona for something of value.[/quote]

If Shanahan now doesn't want McNabb as his QB just 8 games after pegging him as his guy and giving up a 2nd and a 3rd or 4th to get him, then we're in trouble. Unless a team is the proverbial "a player away," giving up that much for one season out of a QB is ludicrous.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=GMScud;756638]If Shanahan now doesn't want McNabb as his QB just 8 games after pegging him as his guy and giving up a 2nd and a 3rd or 4th to get him, then we're in trouble. Unless a team is the proverbial "a player away," giving up that much for one season out of a QB is ludicrous.[/quote]

Maybe we should nickname #2 & #3 [B]Rental[/B]!

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

I guess I'm 1 of the only 2 who gave him an A. I felt Shanahan and Co. Has done a rather good job with what they were left with. On top of that the HC does not have his type of OL, he's making due with what he has. Then there is the change of the whole defensive scheme for which yet again we don't have all the right pieces.

I feel if the team came out and used the term "rebuild" ther would have been a lowered expectation and we all would be pleasantly suppressed right now mid season being 4-4. Instead they mentioned making a run at the play offs and people expected 9-7 and are criticizing and scrutinizing everything to include how he manages the team. I for a second time am excited about how he's managing the players, enough with the player type coaches.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=SBXVII;756652]I guess I'm 1 of the only 2 who gave him an A. I felt Shanahan and Co. Has done a rather good job with what they were left with. On top of that the HC does not have his type of OL, he's making due with what he has. Then there is the change of the whole defensive scheme for which yet again we don't have all the right pieces.

I feel if the team came out and used the term "rebuild" ther would have been a lowered expectation and we all would be pleasantly suppressed right now mid season being 4-4. Instead they mentioned making a run at the play offs and people expected 9-7 and are criticizing and scrutinizing everything to include how he manages the team. I for a second time am excited about how he's managing the players, enough with the player type coaches.[/quote]

I gave him a B but was thinking of giving him an A. If it wasn't for meltdown against the Texans and the dishonesty after Detroit I definitely would've given him an A. You can't make chicken parm out of chicken crap.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

I'm going to give Mike Shannahan a D. He doesn't deserve anything higher. Has our offensive line improved, NO, has our defense improved NO, has our offensive ranking increased, YES, we went from the # 20th ranked offense to the #18th ranked offense.

The only thing that has improved is our QB play. So far Shannahan hasn't done sh*t. No wonder this clown has only one 1 playoff game in the last 10 years. If McNabb wasn't our QB we'd be 0-8 right now.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

What sort of 8 game miracles were people hoping for exactly, particularly with the OL?

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=SBXVII;756652]I guess I'm 1 of the only 2 who gave him an A. I felt Shanahan and Co. Has done a rather good job with what they were left with. On top of that the HC does not have his type of OL, he's making due with what he has. Then there is the change of the whole defensive scheme for which yet again we don't have all the right pieces.

I feel if the team came out and used the term "rebuild" ther would have been a lowered expectation and we all would be pleasantly suppressed right now mid season being 4-4. Instead they mentioned making a run at the play offs and people expected 9-7 and are criticizing and scrutinizing everything to include how he manages the team. I for a second time am excited about how he's managing the players, enough with the player type coaches.[/quote]

I was actually the other person to rate A, though we do have three people now on the Shanahan Express.

What I perceive as the biggest problem with the redskins the past 10+ years has been the constant switching of coaches and seemingly knee-jerk reactions. I want a coach to finally have a good three years at Redskins Park before people start asking for his head and grading him C, D or F.

I have said this before, but the redskins lack talent at a lot of positions. Joey Galloway is evidence enough to see this. Shanahan has been able to use what he has and found immense talent in no-name people to make us at least competitive every Sunday.

So we sit at 4-4. But, now we have a coach who isn't afraid to make a decision, won't suck up to players, seems to put the people out there that want to work for it, and is great at finding talent.

When i watch other football games, I've seen Qb's that have 4 or 5 full seconds to find an open receiver, and it's funny to see their drives stall, or no one can get open, or all these problems they have. After watching how some good/elite teams play offense, I don't even know how McNabb has time to complete a pass.

He's made some interesting decisions, I'll give him that, but with only 8 games to see results, I'm not going to say the were bad. I want to see a full body of work, such as 48 games. Wouldn't that be nice?

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

I give Shanahan a B, because he's already at the halfway point and the team is clearly improved from last years squad. The only thing I question about him/don't like what he does is his arrogance. I liked what he did with Haynesworth to an extent, but after a while, it just got to the point where he was looking like a smartass towards AH, especially when we needed him for the Colts game, and AH wanted to play after his brothers death, but Shanahan felt he didn't have enough practice, my question to shanahan is did it even matter, being that we only played the game with one down DL for most the game?

I would have also put in a claim for Randy Moss.

I would have been playing with the 4-3 a little bit, to utilize your teams strengthens and show the other team different looks, since the 3-4 has had its growing pains for sure.

I would have never lied to the media constantly saying that McNabb wasn't conditioned enough and doesn't know the 2 minute offense enough. I would have just said Donovan wasn't doing well, so I decided to take him out.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=CultBrennan59;756739]I give Shanahan a B, because he's already at the halfway point and the team is clearly improved from last years squad. The only thing I question about him/don't like what he does is his arrogance. I liked what he did with Haynesworth to an extent, but after a while, it just got to the point where he was looking like a smartass towards AH, especially when we needed him for the Colts game, and AH wanted to play after his brothers death, but Shanahan felt he didn't have enough practice, my question to shanahan is did it even matter, being that we only played the game with one down DL for most the game?

I would have also put in a claim for Randy Moss.

I would have been playing with the 4-3 a little bit, to utilize your teams strengthens and show the other team different looks, since the 3-4 has had its growing pains for sure.

I would have never lied to the media constantly saying that McNabb wasn't conditioned enough and doesn't know the 2 minute offense enough. I would have just said Donovan wasn't doing well, so I decided to take him out.[/quote]

Well someone else got to Moss first, so that's really a moot point.

As far as the 4-3, we've been playing it more than just a little bit...

There may be a lot more to the McNabb story than we know. Do I think he should have been pulled with 2 minutes to go? Absolutely not. There's just no way MS was giving the real reason, so he made up some cockamamie reasons... Does he really care what the media (or we) think? Probably not.

We should all remember that Shanahan is what we were asking for in the dark days of years past. Someone with great football creds, willing to kick ass and take names. He's doing it his way and his way seems way better than whatever came before him. Excluding JGII, of course.

Let's give the man a provisional B+ and show some patience. It's gonna be a 3 year process if we do it right...

HTTR since '66

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

I gave him a B.

Ive never been a huge Shanahan fan, and really wanted Gruden. But with what hes done with the team since the season has started has pretty much been what weve all wanted.

The one really dumb move hes made so far wasa benching McNabb with 2 mins to go, im completely cool with McNabb being bench but not with 2 mins to go for a guy who hasnt really played in almost 2 years.

Also im not crazy about cutting Devin Thomas, he seemed like he was playing hard every time he was on the field (for teams) and i could care less if he had dreams of become a actor or model. Maybe he was messing up in practice. I trust that it wasnt just personal with Shanahan, or at least i hope it wasnt.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=SCRedskinsFan;756761][B]Well someone else got to Moss first, so that's really a moot point.[/B]
[/quote]

Not really. We were ahead of the Titans in the waiver order. It's not like beat us to him. We passed on him.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

I gave him a B. Solid job overall, my one major gripe was his handling of this McNabb situation. The more he talked about it, the worse it got. If he would have just come out from the start and said 'McNabb was struggling so I went to Grossman looking for a spark', I think this wouldn't have gotten so out of control. Instead he just kept adding fuel to the fire.

Not sure if he's just not a great communicator, funny because normally his style is very Belichick like in that he doesn't offer up much of anything. Or maybe this was all to give McNabb a public kick in the pants since private ones haven't worked, regardless of what his plan was right now it just looks bad. If McNabb heats up and the team wins 9-10 games it probably goes away. If not it's only going to fester the rest of the way and end in a one and done for #5.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

Yeah, my guess is either the team as a whole or McNabb has to play lights out the rest of the way for this to considered a "misunderstanding" between the two parties.

The media won't let this rest just because the Skins had a bye week and with every dirt ball McNabb throws, the fan base will continue to grow impatient. But it wouldn't be D.C. if there wasn't a quarterback controversy.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=Mattyk;756877]I gave him a B. Solid job overall, my one major gripe was his handling of this McNabb situation. The more he talked about it, the worse it got. If he would have just come out from the start and said 'McNabb was struggling so I went to Grossman looking for a spark', I think this wouldn't have gotten so out of control. Instead he just kept adding fuel to the fire.

Not sure if he's just not a great communicator, funny because normally his style is very Belichick like in that he doesn't offer up much of anything. Or maybe this was all to give McNabb a public kick in the pants since private ones haven't worked, regardless of what his plan was right now it just looks bad. If McNabb heats up and the team wins 9-10 games it probably goes away. If not it's only going to fester the rest of the way and end in a one and done for #5.[/quote]

I think you're right on here Matty.

In my own opinion, I don't think DM has a god image but I think the fact that he felt needed here would have helped him more than (Your just another number round here with sheriff Shanny in town.)

I think he responded well to being benched in Philly because of the mutual respect with Andy. But personally, I don't think he is going to respond to the public slap on the hand by Shanny.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

As questionable as Coach mike has been I rank and grade Kyle lower. I'm starting to worry the reins will be passed to him. I dont think he is that productive in the absence of a Schaub/AJohnson. Tough shoes to fill but no one has been able to define why McNabb is struggling b/c the OL only as of late are at fault.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

A "C" is an average grade.

4-4 is an average record.

Therefore MS gets a "C."

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

So far he gets a B+ in my book.. He was charged with more important tasks than just winning ballgames when he was hired and from all accounts, it's been an overwhelming success. He was brought in to instill an overall culture change-from the top down in the organization and he has done it. Accountability is now present where it was missing before. Discipline is obviously more prevalent than it was in year prior. As it's been said many times over, it's clear the grown-ups are in charge now.

The Trent Williams draft pick looks like a winner, bringing in Torrain, bringing up Armstrong, moving Landry to SS, promoting Banks from the PS all seem like positive moves for the team short and long term. While I didn't care for the way he handled the McNabb situation, I think he handled Haynesworth like no other coach could/would have, he made the right call in retrospect on Devin Thomas so he has enough credit for me to give him a pass on McNabb with an eye open to how it turns out the rest of the way.

As for our record, we're just about (if not sightly ahead) where I expected us to be at the break. I figured we'd lose to Indy, GB, Houston and Philly and beat Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit. Shows how much I know! I think we won games (Green Bay, Dallas) that we would have found a way to lose in years prior. We were inches from also winning the Houston game and a healthy RB away from probably winning the Detroit game as well. To be sitting at 4-4 with a new offense, new defense and the number of injuries we've had is a testament to Shanahan's program.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=SFREDSKIN;756241]
This is what Jake Plummer had to say about Shanahan:[B]

"It just seemed like every game I could have completed these four more passes or these five more shots here and it would have been perfect. And that just wasn't my personality... But Shanahan wanted perfection and he wore a lot of us down there."
[/B][/quote]
Isn't this what everyone should want? I would never hire someone who didn't want to do his job to perfection and I expect nothing less from myself. Praise, praise poke. We can always do better and should strive to do so.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

Plummer seems to be a little thin skinned

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

I also give MS a B.

Alot of callers and posters talk about how he did nothing to upgrade the o line and it doesnt matter who you put back there if you dont have an o line.

these people, atleast the ones i hear who have time to sit around and call in on radio shows during the day, are so damn unrealistic and impatient.

he drafted trent with the 1st and took a gamble with a former pro-bowler who was coming off an injury that i dont think anyone had a real concrete answer to his recovery time. if our o line depth wasnt so bad i dont think Shanny and Allen make the move for brown but given the cards they were holding i think they felt like they had to take some kind of calculated risk/gamble.

also while it was hard to let go of guys like rock, betts, etc it was something that had to be done to make room for some younger hungry guys like torain and williams. if we had kept rock and betts, i dont think torain or williams takes a snap yet this year.

I am also impressed with the way the FO is watching and playing the avail players out there during the season. Shanny constantly talks aobut always looking to upgrade talent and im gald they put in alot of work finding some diamond in the rough. Banks, torain particularly.

Shanny has the personality to seemingly keep the DS in the owners box too.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

I gave Shanny a D, which I realize is a little harsh but after a guy wins the big one (twice) and takes time away from the game I think the grading scale should get a little tougher.

- Don't pretend Shanny took over a franchise w/o any talent or promise. He took over a FO (namely from the owner IMO) that was in shambles and an embarrassment. Roster wise, he got a sub-par offense but a very, very good defense. Shanny decided to blow up the defense. It doesn't make sense for 2 huge reasons. First, we were arguably a player or two away from an elite defense. Build around phat Al and an emerging dominant DL, get Landry to SS and add the best FS available. Maybe upgrade a LB spot. Presto! We're a dominant, well-oiled defensive machine (think the Giants right now:)). Instead by changing to the 3-4 we missed out on the opportunity to take the defense to the next level immediately. But maybe a bigger issue is the opportunity cost of focusing on the defense when the offense needed/needs so much help.

- Shanny neglected the offense. TO is still one of the best WR in the game. We have a pitiful WR corp and could have grabbed him. Silly not to. Our oline is still a disaster. The interior of the line is among the worst in football and that's all on Shanny. He kept Rabach, and our guards either seem not to fit his scheme or just don't have the talent.

- IMHO Shanny has bungled the two major personnel issues to emerge since he got here: Albert and now McNabb. It's just a matter of pride and ego...hard to think of anyone with a bigger ego than our current HC. His way or the highway...He's always right...etc etc.

- Our QB situation still isn't solid. Won't surprise me a bit if we're searching for a new solution during the off-season.

All that said...I love the fact that we're more fun to watch now! My expectations for W-L are right about where the team is, but I enjoy what I see on gameday :)

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

I gave him a B. He has done exactly what I expected him to do. He has coached well. In my mind, our offense is almost talentless, and our defense has quite a few holes (d-line), but we have competed in every single game so far. We might not be the best team, but think about how we were last year, and how much better we are now. He has also made some poor personnel moves trading for McNabb and Brown. That's high 2nd 3rd 4th picks that were pissed away so we could be mediocre in the present. That is the formula that got us into the mess that we are in today, and is ridiculous to continue. Since 2005, when I started following football in-depth, I have noticed that Shanahan has consistently made poor trades and poor free-agent signings. I cannot think of one that has worked out the way that he has hoped, but can think of many busts.
So in summary, a good coach, but has poor personnel decisions that will screw us over in the future.
On a side note, I like how he handled Haynesworth, but I don't like the direction the McNabb situation is turning.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=The Goat;757156]I gave Shanny a D, which I realize is a little harsh but after a guy wins the big one (twice) and takes time away from the game I think the grading scale should get a little tougher.

- Don't pretend Shanny took over a franchise w/o any talent or promise. He took over a FO (namely from the owner IMO) that was in shambles and an embarrassment. Roster wise, he got a sub-par offense but a very, very good defense. Shanny decided to blow up the defense. It doesn't make sense for 2 huge reasons. First, we were arguably a player or two away from an elite defense. Build around phat Al and an emerging dominant DL, get Landry to SS and add the best FS available. Maybe upgrade a LB spot. Presto! We're a dominant, well-oiled defensive machine (think the Giants right now:)). Instead by changing to the 3-4 we missed out on the opportunity to take the defense to the next level immediately. But maybe a bigger issue is the opportunity cost of focusing on the defense when the offense needed/needs so much help.

- Shanny neglected the offense. TO is still one of the best WR in the game. We have a pitiful WR corp and could have grabbed him. Silly not to. Our oline is still a disaster. The interior of the line is among the worst in football and that's all on Shanny. He kept Rabach, and our guards either seem not to fit his scheme or just don't have the talent.

- IMHO Shanny has bungled the two major personnel issues to emerge since he got here: Albert and now McNabb. It's just a matter of pride and ego...hard to think of anyone with a bigger ego than our current HC. His way or the highway...He's always right...etc etc.

- Our QB situation still isn't solid. Won't surprise me a bit if we're searching for a new solution during the off-season.

All that said...I love the fact that we're more fun to watch now! My expectations for W-L are right about where the team is, but I enjoy what I see on gameday :)[/quote]

I think our D is not as talented as you think. Our DL is junk, and we don't have a rusher to complement Orakpo (who is junk in coverage). Having a few guys with big statistics can be deceiving as to how good our defense is.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

A good solid B.

He has taken a group of misled over payed molly coddled whiners and turned it in the proper direction. Cooley said it best with " Mom and Dad are home" .

Haynesworth is playing better than he has since he arrived. Portis and Torain both are running better than I ever expected, and CP is back with fresh legs. As far as the O line there is only one good O line player on our team and he's a rookie. That will be corrected over time. Anyone who thinks we can find a Jacoby/Bostic/ Grimm group again better check into rehab. It won't happen again. Rabach has got to go, Heyer always stinks. Old guys need to hang up the cleats and make way for some younguns.

Andy Reid is a great coach. Sending DMac to us was a skillful move. It's no ones fault we took the bait but ours. MS needed a leader McNabb's a leader. But his overall QB skills are gone. Sure he can hit the big play once in awhile, but he will throw it into the ground on an open receiver in the flat on the very next play. You think Andy Reid would have sent us a QB that could beat him for the next 3 years? We won that game against Philly by defense. Once Vick was gone we had a good shot and took it. Mc Nabb is beat up. He is also a warrior and will keep going until he cannot go anymore. I honestly think that MS did this (benching) to stoke him up so he will beat Philly again. It worked with Elway when he was benched and they put in Kubiak. Next game Elway was his old self. I feel that with the buy week and the firestorm around the benching, the Skins will come out and perform way better than anticipated. I don't want to predict a victory because every time I do they lose. But I will be up for the game and any self respecting Redskin fan will be right with me. Grossman will be okay if he gets enough work but he is not the answer for the long term.

All I need remember is the last 20 years, to have a coach who is in charge and not afraid to make the tough unpleasant calls is what I have been hollering for since Gibbs left the first time.

Norv, Robiskie, Spurrier, Shottenheimer,Gibbs 2.0, and finally Zorn......... I'll take Shanahan over all of that group. It still gonna take some time to purge the Cerratto virus but it will get better.
Next year draft QB first, O-line second and a good receiver or two we are back to glory days.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=The Goat;757156]I gave Shanny a D, which I realize is a little harsh but after a guy wins the big one (twice) and [B]takes time away from the game I think the grading scale should get a little tougher.[/B][/quote]Excellent point, and I think the thing that people are missing here.

Prevailing thought throughout the thread suggests that Shanahan is doing well enough with what he has. This is wrong. Absolutely wrong. Haslett, I think, is doing [I]well enough[/I] with what he has. Not great, but good enough to keep the team competitive. Lou Spanos, yes. Danny Smith, yes. Maybe even Keenan McCardell, sure.

Mike Shanahan hand built this offense. They traded for McNabb, traded for Jammal Brown, drafted Trent Williams. This administration -- not the previous one -- extended Casey Rabach's contract. This coaching staff added Lichtensteiger and Hicks. This coaching staff kept freakin Will Montgomery over a couple of guards with upside in Rinehart and Edwin Williams. This offensive line was handpicked to start by Shanahan with the lone exception of Derrick Dockery, who hasn't played an offensive snap since Week 2 (and wasn't good anyway). It was their decision to make a move at the QB position that only made sense for THIS season, and go get Donovan McNabb.

It makes absolutely no sense to justify the offensive struggles as a hangover from the Zorn era because all of Zorn's toys are gone. None of the OL contracts from Zorn's tenure exist. That OL is gone. The most targeted complementary receivers last season were Devin Thomas and Antwaan Randle El. They are gone. The running backs who replaced Portis last year: Betts, Cartwright, Mason, and Ganther. All gone (and still in the league, with the exception of Mason). There's no Jason Campbell or Todd Collins or Colt Brennan, Jordan Palmer, or Chase Daniel to blame the offensive woes on.

This IS the offense that Mike Shanahan dreamed up in a year of sitting out from coaching. Look around. This [U]is[/U] the final product. There is no great future plan that is being built to. You can blame injuries if you wish, because injuries have cost us Portis, Cooley, Trent Williams, and Jammal Brown for different lengths of time, but still, who is going to be accountable for a largely disastrous offseason? It's Shanahan, obviously.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

The topic of McNabb's benching seems to be the sticking point for most fans. So I ask, could it be that MS is taking a page out of Bilicheats scripts and used the wrong script at the wrong time?

When he was fired he went to see how the Steeler's and Patriots run their 3-4 defense. He was pretty set on running a 3-4. I think the rumblings about the team maybe running some 4-3 schemes was to throw off other teams game planning. But I still think he (MS) kinda looks up to what Bilicheat has done in New England and is trying to model his coaching style a little after him.

The problem is (I think) MS is not used to fans who are so well knowledged or the media from this area asking such detailed questions for their fans. He even said it after one of the preseason games that the DC media is so much different from the Denver media and he evaded a question which I think he felt might have helped out opponants for our future. I think he might even take offense to our media asking questions which would require him to divulge too much info.

I see the Haynesworth issue as the same sort of thing. He didn't want to divulge too much info for other teams to start game planning around AH. So MS was evasive and kept saying well he'll play if he's fit to play. Then you had AH running around taking offense to the media questioning him about what MS said about him which AH might not have known was said.

I guess basically I see the media as the problem. No offense to any media guys out there but perhaps cutting back on the questions that divulge too much info might be helpful even though its the detailed questions thats news worthy.

However I just have a hard time penalizing him for a crappy offense when he's trying to use the hand he's been dealt. Give him credit he picked up a LT. Now if he goes out and picks up a Center or RT this coming draft it will say a lot to me that he's doing his best to fix the problem. But I still have to give him an "A" at this point for making this team look and play competative each week. Look past the Rams and Lions. Both teams are better then I thought they would be. We beat the Packers who I figured would be one of the play off teams and probably will. We have a close game with Indy. Again another play off team I figured. I think the second half of the season will tell us more about us and our division rivals since we start playing teams they played already.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

I think Shanahan has done fairly well so far with the exception of benching McNabb last game. Yes, he did hand pick the current starters on the offense after purging a decent chunk of last years roster; however, there was only limited options for him to upgrade with. The lack of draft picks and FA available made this year more of a "do what we can to hold over till next year". Trading for McNabb and Brown were quality moves imo because it gave him a leader he could trust (or was the thinking when he traded for McNabb) and a former pro-bowler to protect him who was seen at the time as a definite upgrade over Heyer.

The WR situation has left something to desire (would love to see Williams and Galloway released in favor of Austin and anyone else, including the new PS addition - Taurus) but I believe that will be addressed in next years draft.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[B]Goat, [/B]

Your right Shanahan didn't take over a team with out any talent but he did take over a team that had little to no talent on the OL. Everyone has said year in and year out if the OL was better and the QB had time to throw the ball this team would be better. The OL really has not changed talent wise even though they added new pieces to the puzzle. Trent is clearly our best OL. Hopefully MS can make the OL better this offseason cause lord knows he didn't have much to work with and very little OL in the free agency market.

I see the defense as having a similar issue. Our DL is not 3-4 quality. Our LB's although one or two can play in this scheme the rest are not 3-4 quality. So now it goes to fans expecting a HC or DC to totally skip the style they want to run or would like to run and only utilize the scheme for the type of players they have.

I still say had the team came out and said "REBUILD" many fans would be sitting her right now saying "Wow, we are in rebuild mode and the team is 4-4 at the halfway point. " "Give them a couple of more years and we are talking Super Bowl." Instead we see the opposite, fans complaining that MS has ego issues (which sounds very similar to what fans said about Schottenhiemer), He's not playing the right scheme to his strength's defensively, He lied to the media (like Bilicheat has done), and we have only played 8 games.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=21SkinsFan28;757191]I think Shanahan has done fairly well so far with the exception of benching McNabb last game. Yes, he did hand pick the current starters on the offense after purging a decent chunk of last years roster; however, there was only limited options for him to upgrade with. The lack of draft picks and FA available made this year more of a "do what we can to hold over till next year". Trading for McNabb and Brown were quality moves imo because it gave him a leader he could trust (or was the thinking when he traded for McNabb) and a former pro-bowler to protect him who was seen at the time as a definite upgrade over Heyer.

The WR situation has left something to desire (would love to see Williams and Galloway released in favor of Austin and anyone else, including the new PS addition - Taurus) but I believe that will be addressed in next years draft.[/quote]

I have to agree with you. I hoped we would not have been interested in McNabb. I kept seeing injured McNabb and McNabb who throws dirt balls and over throws his receivers, however in hind sight perhaps a really good move cause McNabb probably has kept us in the games we have been in.

The benching issue I have no problem with since Reid even benched McNabb. Shanahan has benched QB's also. As long as he's fair and consistant I have not problem with it, but I don't think I would have done it in the game he did it in. If we are definitly losing a game then take him out to keep him from getting injured and see what Grossman can do. To be down only a TD and take out probably one of the best last minute QB's in the league for a QB that has not played all season and is sitting on the bench cold was not a bright thing to do. But the team did look flat and MS was looking for a spark. To bad he wasn't honest with the media about it.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

I should clarify: I actually agree with you on the benching point. Benching McNabb in general I wouldn't have a problem with if he isn't playing well / games out of reach so avoid the possibility of injury. The timing was my issue, with less than 2 minutes in a 1 possession game.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

C, the jury is still deliberating. The team still have some of the same problems as last year; weak offensive line with thin backups, poor third down conversions, poor defense on third and fourth down situations and sporadic offense. Is Shanahan completely to blame? I would say NO. He inherited a dysfunctional team and is doing a fair job to turn it around, BUT I have to question his methods. What little talent and team unity is being completely torn down by some of these head scratching soap-operas. The decision to keep Larry Johnson, Willie Parker through training camp as competition for Clinton Portis and then eventually letting Johnson and Parker go, is a head scratcher. Starting Joey Galloway and releasing Devin Thomas, is a head scratcher. Starting Kory Lichtensteiger over Derrick Dockery, is a head scratcher. The whole fiasco with Albert Haynesworth, is a head scratcher. The handling of Donovan McNabb is the biggest head scratcher of all. What coach in his right mind sits down his healthy starting quarterback when the game can be won. I don't care how bad of a game he is having. Would the Colts sit Manning, would the Patriots sit Brady, would the Chargers sit Rivers...hell no. I'm starting to see why the fans in Denver turned on him!

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

While I agree completely that MS benching McNabb with 2 minutes to go and the game on the line is baffling, I can tell you that there are a lot of Broncos fans (perhaps a majority) who would love to trade coaches with us...

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

Benching McNabb was a horrible decision. Even with that, we are 4-4 so I don't see how I could give anything lower than a B relative to last year.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

Some of the people here giving Cs and Ds are always going to give low grades and will never be satisfied. No point trying to convince them otherwise.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

[quote=SCRedskinsFan;757518]While I agree completely that MS benching McNabb with 2 minutes to go and the game on the line is baffling, I can tell you that there are a lot of Broncos fans (perhaps a majority) who would love to trade coaches with us...[/quote]

good point

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

This is a great thread!!!

The posts are insightful and well written and the differences of opinion very interesting. At the very least Shanny has made it fun :)

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

I gave Shanahan a "D" and here is my humble opinion as to why.

I know what we were getting when we got Shanahan. And unfortunately it wasn't someone that was going to completely rebuild and start from scratch, and sacrifice a losing season in order to be better in the future. I know what I just said is easier said than done (hell just about everything we say here is), but I still think we got someone that wants to try to win now, while trying to rebuild (which I think is a bit impossible).

Now, Shanahan's accomplishments with the team should not be overlooked. He and Bruce Allen have brought professionalism to the front office. I think they have been a welcome change in attitude and discipline to the team, that was lacking after two horrendous years with Zorn. However, I think this is the key to evaluate Shanahan. Zorn's short tenure was awful, as was Vinny's long tenure. And I feel that as fans it is easy to criticize any criticism of Shanahan, because compared to what we had he is leaps and bounds better.

I also like to mention that I think Shanahan's work with the Redskins alumni was genius. He drafted our Left Tackle of the future, and made some nice acquisitions that are working out well. The change to the 3-4 I see both as a positive and a negative. You can't ignore the fact that the team is taking the ball away more often and led the league recently in takeaways. The defense is more aggressive and physical than it ever was with Blache. And I think it has brought the best out of Landry, Orakpo, and Hall.

To wrap up, here is my criticism. I feel that the Haynesworth drama and the latest McNabb drama could have been handled differently. I really hope he didn't spend two draft picks to evaluate McNabb. If so, he should've just used those picks to improve the offense in other ways, and stick with Campbell. We probably would have a losing record right now, but for the sake of rebuilding I would be fine with this (probably not, but in the long run yes). I feel that the change to the 3-4 was unnecessary. While yes, it may be a trend, we didn't have the personnel for it and that wasn't the biggest issue with our team. I feel that any efforts into change our defense into a 3-4, should've gone into improving the offense. And improve it not for the sake of winning right away, but maybe set it up to win in the future.

So we move on to the second half of the season. I truly hope that at the end of the season I am eating crow and taking everything that I say back. But at this moment, I feel that we are middle of the road team, with a lot of question marks for the future.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

Look, I don't expect this team to dramatically improve this season. But it would be nice if we looked were heading in the right direction. Currently I have mix feelings about Shanahan. I know we won half of our games, but we still tend to play down to our opponents. I expect Mike to make the necessary changes and be well prepared for the second half of the season.

Re: Analyzing Mike Shanahan at the Midway Point
 

Good post Ruhskins.

I gave Shanahan a B-. The reason why is in a very short time Shanahan and Allen brought back winning and respectable play to Redskins football field. Allen and Shanahan arrived and cleaned house. It sent the message to all the remaining players that the free ride is now over.
I am most glad about that. We finally have a FO that can bring in good players and Vinny is gone! I hated Vinny from the day we hired him.

Major issues:
1) I also have a major problem with the way Shanahan has handled the player issues. At first it I thought Shanahan has a very large ego. But I soon realized the reality is Shanahan is actually insecure and really cares about how he is perceived in the press and publicly. I have no respect for any leader that try's to make points with player issues in public and especially in the media. While I agree with what he was trying to do, it is his process that failed. Player issues should be handled privately and behind closed doors, with minimal comment in the press. The McNabb benching has been terribly mismanaged. The large amount leaks in the press also are very disturbing and are still happening today.

2) Defense/Hasslett/Shanahan - have severely misused the personnel on defense. We are currently ranked 31st out of 32 teams in the NFL. We have been at the bottom all year. I am ok with this is long as we are trying to make positive change and I feel like we are trying to. But the choice of players being played at certain positions on defense is incredibly wrong and frustrating. There has been change and movement in the starting lineup, but not once have they tried the most logical ones.

D-line : Carricker, Kemo and Hanynesworth
OLb's: Orakpo, McIntosh and [B][U]Wilson [/U][/B]
ILB's: Fletcher, Alexander, Blades and Riley
Not once even in the preseason have they tried this, Why?

Andre Cater should only be used in four man lines and only on real obvious pass situations. He is a major liability in the 3-4 and anytime against the run. His 11 sackes from last year were along time ago have no chance of repeating itself in this defense.