Big C's "Is It the Talent" Poll

There are a few factors going on. Teams figured out the whole Cover 2/Tampa 2/G-Dub 2 scheme, and it completely threw off Williams. Compile with injuries, and he's trying to completely get a defense up to speed during the season, instead of during training camp.

Saunders brought in a completely new offense. It's been said that it takes at least a year for a new system to gel enough to compete.

The talent is there, player and coach wise. I chose the last option only because I term misuse in the fact that Williams needing to make more adjustments (which he did) and they brought in Saunders, when the offense was doing fine without him.

On offense I think the talent is there, but the transition to Saunders' system and the overall inexperience of Campbell meant that the team couldn't or didn't play up to their potential. I hope Campbell has better timing with his WRs next season and I hope the running game/offensive line play is up to last year's level because that would make us tough to slow down.

On defense I really have to say that I don't think the overall talent level was very high. There are a couple of good players who were frequently taken out of position because of the many bad players. The amount of missed tackles, missed sacks, and missed turnovers made me sick on a weekly basis.
Our secondary was terrible and I blame that on the fact that we didn't have good depth. Springs played okay when he was healthy and Rogers left a lot to be desired. Rumph, Wright, Jamoh, and whoever else played like crap and I'm glad most of them are gone.

So, I don't know how to fix the team. I don't think we're screwed but I'm not nearly as optimistic as I was last offseason (thank God it's only March). I think our offense will be better just because they've had a whole offseason together. I think the D needs to remember how to tackle and crush the pocket.
That's all for now.

I think we're trying to fit players around schemes more than we're trying to fit schemes to players.

Yes, last season went downhill because of unusual and unforeseen circumstances (injuries, new coaching systems, underperforming vets, late-season QB change, etc) and I agree that u can't evaluate a FO's performance based on a single season's outcome. However, Cerrato and the others have repeatedly and gotten things wrong. Many of their high-profile draft picks haven't panned out the way that they should have. On top of that they have traded away picks like they were just afterthoughts and spend lavish sums on players that have ended up not only underperforming but have messed with the teams chemistry. Even the players that we have developed we have let go to FA and trade. I just think that for a great franchise like the washington redskins, its a shame that we expect so little from the FO because we have been trained to overlook their role as a product of the "skins being the skins". For that reason it is time for some change

IMO we just don't have the players. Some guys got real old real quick. We have potential on offense but defense needs a major overhaul. Who on our front 7 scares anybody? Smoot and Fletcher will help a little. At least Fletcher knows how to tackle guys and he can provide leadership. But the line is a joke. We can't rush the passer for shit. And can someone in our secondary learn how to wrap up and tackle somebody? Some of our problems on defense comes down to fundamentals.

Yes, last season went downhill because of unusual and unforeseen circumstances (injuries, new coaching systems, underperforming vets, late-season QB change, etc) and I agree that u can't evaluate a FO's performance based on a single season's outcome. However, Cerrato and the others have repeatedly and gotten things wrong. Many of their high-profile draft picks haven't panned out the way that they should have. On top of that they have traded away picks like they were just afterthoughts and spend lavish sums on players that have ended up not only underperforming but have messed with the teams chemistry. Even the players that we have developed we have let go to FA and trade. I just think that for a great franchise like the washington redskins, its a shame that we expect so little from the FO because we have been trained to overlook their role as a product of the "skins being the skins". For that reason it is time for some change

I get so tired of people blaming coaching systems/playbooks. It's a bunch of BS. Our offense sucked in the begining becasue we didn't have a good QB and the line was playing below average. New Orleans got new playbooks on offense and defense. The differnece is they have good players that play well together.

I agree with the EGO on this one...

Offense has all the talent to be virtually unstoppable

Defense had the right mix in 2005 and then the coaches/ players ego's got in the way and we let some key people go chasing big name free agents.

I beleive this year we are doing business differently than in the last couple of off seasons, we are making better decisions. I think it has taken a little more time than most expected for Joe to addapt to the new NFL, but I think Joe has a good game plan and he's sticken to it, and it's going to take a team effort all the way across the board to make it work. With that being said if anyone can get it done, he's got my vote.

Excluding a couple of moves I believe we can make in the Draft or FA on the D- line, we have all the tools, including team chemistry to be really good with the players we have on both sides of the ball. Furthermore, I think this year we are in for a real surprise, Joe is going to make a BIG statement, that the game hasn't passed him by.

As far as the GM I'm not against it at all, a smart GM that can get along, working with Joe and the rest of the FO. would be a great move. Free up the coach's time to do what he does best,coach. We all know Joe's time is limited.

I think he wants nothing more than to set our team structure up for long term sucess. Return this GREAT TEAM TO GLORY, then ride off into the Carolina sunset. :)

I get so tired of people blaming coaching systems/playbooks. It's a bunch of BS. Our offense sucked in the begining becasue we didn't have a good QB and the line was playing below average. New Orleans got new playbooks on offense and defense. The differnece is they have good players that play well together.I agree with you, and I disagree. Let me elaborate...

I agree wholeheartedly that the Coaching staff can not be blamed for sustained failure. Good schemes can provide a decisive edge on a single game level, but over the course of the season, NO coach will outscheme all his opponents. If the end of the season rolls around, and a team has on the whole put in a sub par performance, then only the players are to be blamed. The coaching factor will ALWAYS even out over 16 games. Coaches will not be a decisive factor between a 10-6 team, and a 5-11 team.

Early season, the losing was almost exclusively a defensive issue. Through the first half of our season, the only thing this team had going for it was the passing game. Our passing game completely fell off the map once Brunell was replaced by Campbell. This wasn't because Campbell was playing exceptionally poorly, but because our offense missed our "puss-armed" QB coming out and completing 63% week in and week out. Campbell was throwing at a Vick-like 51% through his first five starts and our offense was suffering. We lost a very significant yard and a half per attempt with #17 in. Luckily, Cooley made a gamebreaking play vs. Carolina and the defense held New Orleans quiet, or JC would have been without a win this year.

The line certainly picked up their play in the 2nd half giving Campbell time that Brunell never had, and opening planet sized holes for Ladell Betts that Portis never had. But our power/short yardage running game completely sucked all year, and without Brunell to complete short 3rd down passes, the combination of Campbell's inaccuracies and lack of a short game made us one of the leagues worst teams in third and short.

It was so bad that the 2006 Redskins had a better shot to convert 3rd and 5 than they did to convert 3rd and 2. No lie.

In summary: quit blaming coaching staffs, quit blaming Brunell, fix the defense, and god damn it fix the short yardage running game (get another TE who can block in there).

Lets get er done.

i really agree with the short yardage problem. its kind of ironic that this was the redskins specialty in coach Gibbs first go round. the skins couldn't convert a short yardage situation last year for sh**. and i am not quite sure why? and i am really puzzled why the wouldn't go to duckett in those situations