Pocket$ $traight
10-20-2009, 12:07 PM
Just like any Redskins fan I have been thinking about the offseason and season to date. I have thought about where they really went wrong and have concluded that unrealistic expectations fostered by the organization is the biggest mistake.
Now a lot of us are guilty of pointing to the 6-2 start in 2008. Jason Campbell essentially played perfect at quarterback so this was, in fact, an illusion. 2008 should have shown everyone that our team was not good enough to compete over a 16 game season. So the organization should have come out and said something to the effect of "We are disappointed with how we finished 2008. We have identified two main areas of weakness, Offensive and Defensive line and we are not going to be able to address both in one offseason".
In the offseason they chose to address the D-line, which I think they did a pretty good job of. Between Haynesworth, Jarmon, and Orakpo along with some veterans who have some left in the tank I think most people would say that the D-line should be a strength for years to come.
They made a couple of moves to address the O-line but obviously not enough and I don't think anyone expected that by week 6 our two best lineman would be out for the year.
However, the TRUE problem was Snyder and Ceratto coming out and telling the fans that we expected to get to the playoffs if not win the division. We are the 4-10 team, not a playoff team and the organization needs to admit this.
Now, here is why there is some hope for 2010. For the first time in a long time, we essentially have all of our draft picks and it just so happens that it may be in the year when we have our best draft position. With an uncapped year, they can dump the terrible contracts, rebuild through the draft, and sign a FA lineman or two.
I disagree with blowing the whole thing up. There is no reason to do that. However, it would be a good idea to bring a real GM in who could nail these low draft picks that we are most likely going to receive.
Now a lot of us are guilty of pointing to the 6-2 start in 2008. Jason Campbell essentially played perfect at quarterback so this was, in fact, an illusion. 2008 should have shown everyone that our team was not good enough to compete over a 16 game season. So the organization should have come out and said something to the effect of "We are disappointed with how we finished 2008. We have identified two main areas of weakness, Offensive and Defensive line and we are not going to be able to address both in one offseason".
In the offseason they chose to address the D-line, which I think they did a pretty good job of. Between Haynesworth, Jarmon, and Orakpo along with some veterans who have some left in the tank I think most people would say that the D-line should be a strength for years to come.
They made a couple of moves to address the O-line but obviously not enough and I don't think anyone expected that by week 6 our two best lineman would be out for the year.
However, the TRUE problem was Snyder and Ceratto coming out and telling the fans that we expected to get to the playoffs if not win the division. We are the 4-10 team, not a playoff team and the organization needs to admit this.
Now, here is why there is some hope for 2010. For the first time in a long time, we essentially have all of our draft picks and it just so happens that it may be in the year when we have our best draft position. With an uncapped year, they can dump the terrible contracts, rebuild through the draft, and sign a FA lineman or two.
I disagree with blowing the whole thing up. There is no reason to do that. However, it would be a good idea to bring a real GM in who could nail these low draft picks that we are most likely going to receive.