Clutch and Execution Problems

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

Actually I know what it is, playoffs teams make that play and others make excuses.

My expectations is improvement on the offense. Havent seen it, dont care we down to a couple RB, we have been able to run the ball with K Williams several occasions.
Minnesota loses its head coach our game week and the team has been in disary most of the season. Lotta people on here expecting a win and a decisive one at that. This was a game we shoulda and had to have. Im generally not satisfied with no progress, limited improvement on the offense.

The thing that really pisses me off is the fact this year the NFC is up for grabs, not alot of dominace from anybody, if we could get just half our sh*t together we could be in it.

Im just kinda tired on giving passes out after yesterday. Minnesota defensive is far from good. If you look at the game its not just that play or another...its been a litany of errors.

I don't understand the whole expectation that a team changes it's HC so we should dominate. Did the NYG dominate Dallas? Did we dominate the Rams when Haslett took over? I know Smootsmack posted a list of other mid season changes where the team didn't improve, but this Vikings team was in the NFC championship last year. They respect Frazier and played for him yesterday. This wasn't a constant bottom feeder going through another cycle. It was a team in disarray, and stood up and showed respect for itself and it's new coach.

I still wish we had won, and think we lost mainly due to the decisions made regarding the OL.

[#56fanatic]

This has been an issue for the Redskins since 2000. We under achieved the year we essentially bought a championship. untimely drops, penalties, sacks, which ever the case may be have always been a thorn is this teams side. Playing down to opponents has hurt this team for years. Good teams/franchises just dont lose games to winless teams, or 1 or 2 loss teams. Sure it happens in the NFL, but it happens to us every year. We play really well one week, then revert to the same stuff the next week. Instead of building on a nice win, we take two steps backwards. Hopefully Shanny can turn the mentality of this team around and we will start winning these games. We have played more 3-7 point games in the last 5 or so years than any team in the league. So its obvious that this team shoots itself in the foot repeatedly every year.

[skinsfan69]

Moss' drops yesterday were costly, Cooley had a huge drop, so did Armstrong. McNabb was OK but the underthrow to Armstrong could've been 7 but he had a linemen pushed into his face. McNabb also can't hit anyone in stride it seems. The block in the back by Riley was so piss poor. No reason to even try to attempt that block. Good teams don't make these kind of mistakes and when they do they're good enough to overcome them. We're not good enough to overcome mistakes.

[rbanerjee23]

Did you guys listen to the post-game interviews? Buchanon said that 10-6 was not that far off. Goes to show how badly Shanahan has prepared this team that they are thinking about 5 games rather than focusing on one. This was a Vikings squad we should have beaten at home, and is arguably the second worst loss all season.

I've lost a lot of faith in the Shanahans, especially Kyle

[MTK]

I honestly don't think yesterday was a "bad loss". Going in I really thought it was a 50/50 type of game. The Vikings have struggled but are still very talented, and you had to figure they were going to come out with a more focused and back to basics attack with Childress out of the picture.

I just don't see where we were supposed to be that much better than them, especially with all the injuries.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by rbanerjee23

Did you guys listen to the post-game interviews? Buchanon said that 10-6 was not that far off. Goes to show how badly Shanahan has prepared this team that they are thinking about 5 games rather than focusing on one. This was a Vikings squad we should have beaten at home, and is arguably the second worst loss all season.

I've lost a lot of faith in the Shanahans, especially Kyle

Kyle has really nothing to do with Buchanon, and I'm guessing you missed the part where he said you got to start with one first. I think you're just grasping here

[Longtimefan]

From an offensive standpoint it's so difficult to gauge the true worth of it until we can field the most important ingredient necessary to make it all work. Some people want R/B's some want W/R's, both are worthless when the heart and soul of the offense is in complete shambles. This offense is going to remain inconsistent until the most important part of it is addressed in a serious way.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

Actually I know what it is, playoffs teams make that play and others make excuses.

My expectations is improvement on the offense. Havent seen it, dont care we down to a couple RB, we have been able to run the ball with K Williams several occasions.
Minnesota loses its head coach our game week and the team has been in disary most of the season. Lotta people on here expecting a win and a decisive one at that. This was a game we shoulda and had to have. Im generally not satisfied with no progress, limited improvement on the offense.

The thing that really pisses me off is the fact this year the NFC is up for grabs, not alot of dominace from anybody, if we could get just half our sh*t together we could be in it.

Im just kinda tired on giving passes out after yesterday. Minnesota defensive is far from good. If you look at the game its not just that play or another...its been a litany of errors.

Maybe your expectations are a little high for a team that was just 4-12 a season ago? A lot of people on here expect quite a bit of stuff that is really unrealistic. This team will do well to be .500, which will be a big improvement from a year ago. If they wind up going 9-7, I will be extremely impressed.

We may have the talent, but does the talent have the football smarts to become a better team? So many times, we're dumbfounded at the fact that this team always seems to underachieve when they need the wins the most. Almost to the point to where we expect them to make the mistakes and foolish penalties that cost the Redskins victories. That comes from players who just don't seem to have the high football IQ that the elite players have. Don't get me wrong, the Redskins have the playmakers who have the football IQ needed to win, but they're overshadowed by those who just don't have it.

If football was completely physical, there would be no reason why the Redskins couldn't win the Super Bowl with the talent they have on the team. But, football is just as much mental (if not much more) than physical, and that is where you separate the good teams from the bad teams, elite teams from the good teams. Look at the Redskins teams from the glory years. I believe wholeheartedly that those teams in the 80's and early 90's were champions because the majority of the players on those teams had high football IQs. I think that is why Gibbs was successful with your average "joe" players. He got smart players on his team even though they were not always the most talented team on the field.

For this version of the Redskins to remotely resemble those teams of the 80's, we need more high football IQ players who can work together to make the team better. And, it starts up front. The hogs of the 80's were smart players and worked very well together. That is probably at least 70% of the reason why those teams of the 80's won on a consistent basis.

Until Mike, Kyle, and Jim can get the right players together, I am not really expecting much more than .500 from this team.

[GTripp0012]

Havent done the play-by-play yet, but I'm guessing theres not much at play here besides just not being good enough to win these games comfortably. Run/pass balance is an easy target because the game was close and we sure could have run more, but if you're trying to score points, and you're not going with the best you have (passing game), then you have no one to blame but your own coaching staff.

I think we went with the best style of attack we had for the Vikings, and we executed, uh, I'd say well enough to beat a below average team like the Vikings. We needed to get in the end zone once more than we did and I think the drops are mostly responsible for why we did not.

[LavaRnChad]

Originally Posted by Dirtbag359

This has probably been the thing that has bothered me the most over the past year. So many times the Redskins have had a chance to gain an advantage during games and so many times they've come up short. Today's examples were as follows.

Brandon Banks Punt Return: A block in the back against a player that had no chance of stopping Banks

Brandon Banks Kick Return: Getting the Skins to the Vikings 30 yard line and coming away with only a field goal

James Davis: Tripping on a play where he had what might have been the most wide opening running lane the Line has provided throughout the course of 2010.

And it's not just today. The countless dropped Int's, the wide open deep passes that are either underthrown, overthrown, or flat out dropped, bobbled holds on kicks, the holding calls on pivotal plays. And of course the one that bothers me more then the rest combined, getting turnovers that lead to red zone chances and then being lucky to come away with 3 points.

Maybe Zorn was right, this group of guys simply can't execute.

All these things point to coaching. Shanny and his staff will not get it done.

[sportscurmudgeon]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

Maybe your expectations are a little high for a team that was just 4-12 a season ago? A lot of people on here expect quite a bit of stuff that is really unrealistic. This team will do well to be .500, which will be a big improvement from a year ago. If they wind up going 9-7, I will be extremely impressed.

We may have the talent, but does the talent have the football smarts to become a better team? So many times, we're dumbfounded at the fact that this team always seems to underachieve when they need the wins the most. Almost to the point to where we expect them to make the mistakes and foolish penalties that cost the Redskins victories. That comes from players who just don't seem to have the high football IQ that the elite players have. Don't get me wrong, the Redskins have the playmakers who have the football IQ needed to win, but they're overshadowed by those who just don't have it.

If football was completely physical, there would be no reason why the Redskins couldn't win the Super Bowl with the talent they have on the team. But, football is just as much mental (if not much more) than physical, and that is where you separate the good teams from the bad teams, elite teams from the good teams. Look at the Redskins teams from the glory years. I believe wholeheartedly that those teams in the 80's and early 90's were champions because the majority of the players on those teams had high football IQs. I think that is why Gibbs was successful with your average "joe" players. He got smart players on his team even though they were not always the most talented team on the field.

For this version of the Redskins to remotely resemble those teams of the 80's, we need more high football IQ players who can work together to make the team better. And, it starts up front. The hogs of the 80's were smart players and worked very well together. That is probably at least 70% of the reason why those teams of the 80's won on a consistent basis.

Until Mike, Kyle, and Jim can get the right players together, I am not really expecting much more than .500 from this team.

Sorry to disagree here, but the physical talent on this team is a light-eyar away from being a Super Bowl winner.

90% of the offensive lines in the NFL are better than this one.

75% of the WR corps in the NFL are better than this one.

The running backs - - even when every one of them is fully healthy - - are ordinary at best.

The defensive line is mediocre.

Purely on physical talent, this team will overachieve if it finishes 8-8.

[over the mountain]

I like what we have seen from the offensive side of the ball. man, defense couldnt get off the field yesterday.

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by sportscurmudgeon

Sorry to disagree here, but the physical talent on this team is a light-eyar away from being a Super Bowl winner.

90% of the offensive lines in the NFL are better than this one.

75% of the WR corps in the NFL are better than this one.

The running backs - - even when every one of them is fully healthy - - are ordinary at best.

The defensive line is mediocre.

Purely on physical talent, this team will overachieve if it finishes 8-8.

I totally agree. The FO has overrated our talent for years, always marketing the team as if the latest draft pick or big free agent signing will put us over the top. Until the FO gets real about building something lasting, the best we can ever hope for is to squeak into the post-season as a #6 seed. It all starts with addressing the O-line IMO.

[Chico23231]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

Maybe your expectations are a little high for a team that was just 4-12 a season ago? A lot of people on here expect quite a bit of stuff that is really unrealistic. This team will do well to be .500, which will be a big improvement from a year ago. If they wind up going 9-7, I will be extremely impressed.

We may have the talent, but does the talent have the football smarts to become a better team? So many times, we're dumbfounded at the fact that this team always seems to underachieve when they need the wins the most. Almost to the point to where we expect them to make the mistakes and foolish penalties that cost the Redskins victories. That comes from players who just don't seem to have the high football IQ that the elite players have. Don't get me wrong, the Redskins have the playmakers who have the football IQ needed to win, but they're overshadowed by those who just don't have it.

If football was completely physical, there would be no reason why the Redskins couldn't win the Super Bowl with the talent they have on the team. But, football is just as much mental (if not much more) than physical, and that is where you separate the good teams from the bad teams, elite teams from the good teams. Look at the Redskins teams from the glory years. I believe wholeheartedly that those teams in the 80's and early 90's were champions because the majority of the players on those teams had high football IQs. I think that is why Gibbs was successful with your average "joe" players. He got smart players on his team even though they were not always the most talented team on the field.

For this version of the Redskins to remotely resemble those teams of the 80's, we need more high football IQ players who can work together to make the team better. And, it starts up front. The hogs of the 80's were smart players and worked very well together. That is probably at least 70% of the reason why those teams of the 80's won on a consistent basis.

Until Mike, Kyle, and Jim can get the right players together, I am not really expecting much more than .500 from this team.

Good post...I gotta disagree with the talent, i think we are pretty average with starters, but lack good depth. I dont think Im asking too much with just seeing some improvement with the offense...I see it in 3rd downs situations and I see it with the play of individuals (K Williams and Armstrong) and even some playcalling, but I still see many errors on O, D and the killer which was the block on special teams. Your right about finding guys to work together as team, its a learning curve for sure...like I said, this year seems to hold more opportunity than the past for average teams, like ours, to be able to get in the mix. Look at Tampa or Chicago this year, they're taking advantage of it. Why not us? Im not writing us off, but man that loss really hurt. I predicted 8-8 for us...9-7 could get us in the playoffs. Now that woulda impressed me.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by Chico23231

Good post...I gotta disagree with the talent, i think we are pretty average with starters, but lack good depth. I dont think Im asking too much with just seeing some improvement with the offense...I see it in 3rd downs situations and I see it with the play of individuals (K Williams and Armstrong) and even some playcalling, but I still see many errors on O, D and the killer which was the block on special teams. Your right about finding guys to work together as team, its a learning curve for sure...like I said, this year seems to hold more opportunity than the past for average teams, like ours, to be able to get in the mix. Look at Tampa or Chicago this year, they're taking advantage of it. Why not us? Im not writing us off, but man that loss really hurt. I predicted 8-8 for us...9-7 could get us in the playoffs. Now that woulda impressed me.

I think we have better than average talent in the starting positions, but not every starting position. And, like you said, we don't have the depth. This is something I truly believe MS will address in the seasons to come, because he's been known to draft for depth.

What I hope to see happening is for our young guys to continue to work hard and improve. Guys like Brandon Banks, Fred Davis, Brian Orakpo, Trent Williams, and Anthony Armstrong are prime examples of what the 'skins should be looking for. We can also throw in Laron Landry as well, but I'm really talking about our first and second year players (I know that Fred Davis is technically in his third year.) These guys appear to be working hard and it's showing on the field. Not saying the other guys don't put forth the effort, but when you have guys who others would think would be long shots (Anthony Armstrong, Brandon Banks,) make it and produce in the NFL, that is the talent you want to build your team around. Those types of guys are the ones who are hungry and will give it 110%.

But in addition to that, we also need players who have high football IQs. Peyton Manning isn't necessarily the best athlete to ever step out on a football field, but he's one of the smartest, which makes him an elite player. That's what we need, young, hungry players who have high football IQs. That's what turns teams into champions.