Thank god someone speaks the truth (
www.czabe.com):
December 12, 2006
The Smoldering Wreck of Joe Gibbs 2.0
The Redskins lost a game to the Eagles Sunday, that they rightfully, should have won.
Boo hoo.
Matching that against the Cowboys game at home – one which they rightfully, should have lost – we’re now even-Steven.
This is the NFL. And you are what your record says you are. Which for the Redskins, is now 4-9. And they deserve every bit of that. They are a bad football team, just like the 4-9 Cardinals, 4-9 Browns, and 4-9 Texans.
I could go over all kinds of turning point moments in this game, but what does it really matter? I could rave about Ladell Betts rushing numbers, but have you seen what everybody else has been doing against the Eagles? His performance was par for the course, nothing to get that excited about.
I could praise Jason Campbell for rallying in the 2nd half, after a vomit-on-yourself first 30 minutes, but these ups and downs were to be expected from a first year starter.
Perhaps one “new” conclusion I can draw about this team’s shortcomings (and for some, it’s hardly new) is that Joe Gibbs and Company are TACTICALLY INEPT on game day. When you see a coach burn a precious second half timeout just to “think about” going for it on 4th and 2, only to then send out the field goal unit?
My god. (Ooops. Sorry Joe. My God, capital letters. Forgive me…)
Then when you are closing in for the comeback killshot, 1st and goal from the 4, and you end up with a pathetic 12 men in the huddle penalty which forced you to throw for it and get sacked. I mean, come on.
How many f’in coaches does it take to screw in a lightbulb around Redskin Park?
The telling image came when the Fox cameras zoomed in on Joe, and you saw him mouth the words: “What happened there….”
Indeed, what did happen? We were hoping Joe, you would have a better handle on those things by now. We’re in what, year three now? How long will it take?
Gibbs doesn’t seem to have the foggiest idea yet on …
a. What to challenge via replay
b. When to burn your timeouts
c. When to seize the moment by going for it on 4th down
I said before, and I’ll say it again: Gibbs is coaching like a ‘Fraidy Coach. He’s tentative, and scared much of the time. He’s scared the fans will turn on him if he doesn’t stop the buses to say hello. He’s scared his reputation is being ruined in this town. He was scared to play Jason Campbell, until calls for Brunell’s head became totally overwhelming.
Howdya like Sean Payton going for an on-sides kick while LEADING 35-17 on the road at Dallas?
Balls, my friends, balls. Giant brass knockers.
The Joe Gibbs 2.0 era will last perhaps one more year, or maybe one more month. My gut hunch (and nothing more) is that Gibbs will step down as coach after this year, citing (pick your choice)….
a. Health reasons
b. Chance to let somebody else turn it around
c. Signal from God
d. Exhaustion
e. Sincere regret that he’s screwed it all up
The column by Tom Boswell last week was interesting for one quote Gibbs had about “I’m not turnin’ loose of it, ‘til we get it right.”
Has there ever been a more flawed premise than that? What the hell does he mean by “get it right.” This is an NFL franchise, not a Rubik’s Cube. You never truly “solve” things. They keep evolving, and changing. You have to evolve with it, and work through the down cycles.
Plus, if by some chance Gibbs ever did “get it right” and the team was in the playoffs for like the 2nd or 3rd year in a row (Gasp! Who could ever imagine that!) why on earth would he want to leave then?
When Gibbs does finally leave, he will have left the team in far worse shape than when he arrived. That much is certain. The draft picks have been squandered, and the salary cap filled to within an inch of overflowing with worthless “talent.”
NBC’s Football Night in America had an interesting piece about the upcoming free agency class, and how much most teams have under their cap to spend on those players. Most teams this offseason will be – on average - $20 million or more UNDER the ’07 salary cap.
The Redskins?
Just $1.0 million under.
Grab a Snickers, Redskins fans. This team is going to be bad, for a long time to come.