The Tempered Expectations Thread

Let's take at face value that he's realized he needs to back away and not be so involved with the team and players. I can definitely buy that. The question is whether he's made a real decision to change or whether this is his way of trying to appease fans. If he's really trying to change then will he be able to maintain the new approach and see it through to fruition or not? If it's just an appeasement then nothing will really change all that much in the long run and we're screwed.

I just keep coming back to the thought that Allen and Shanahan wouldn't be here if they weren't given the keys and told to run with it. Shanahan most of all. Reading up on him the last couple of days the guy is definitely a control freak, but he's also extremely bright. Mark Schlereth seems to think Shanahan has learned his lesson from Denver in regard to personnel and will lean more on Allen to help him out in that area.

"Absolutely, I think it's going to work. He's a great football coach. Mike Shanahan's a very intelligent guy. He will grind, he's a great football coach, but he's very smart and he understands why he's no longer the head coach of the Denver Broncos. It's because of the personnel decisions. He made personnel decisions both in the draft and also as far as free agency is concerned that didn't work out. So he understands that aspect of it. Mike Shanahan, there's no question in my mind -- a Hall of Fame caliber coach, just not a Hall of Fame personnel guy. So I think he will defer in a lot of those scenarios to his general manager. They will work as a team. But make no bones about it, he can flat coach a football team. He knows this game inside and out."

link: Mark Schlereth On The Shanahan Hire (http://blog.redskins.com/2010/01/06/mark-schlereth-on-the-shanahan-hire/)

Funny stuff about Schlereth here too

I just keep coming back to the thought that Allen and Shanahan wouldn't be here if they weren't given the keys and told to run with it. Shanahan most of all. Reading up on him the last couple of days the guy is definitely a control freak, but he's also extremely bright. Mark Schlereth seems to think Shanahan has learned his lesson from Denver in regard to personnel and will lean more on Allen to help him out in that area.

Me too. Although I am skeptical of Snyder, Shanny simply would not be here unless something significant had changed.

Help me understand that statement. Correct me on my history if it's wrong. When Snyder bought the team in '99 we had records the previous 6 years of (1993) 4-12, (1994) 3-13, (1995) 6-10, (1996) 9-7, (1997) 8-7-1, (1998) 6-10. We had a record of 42-52-1 (.450) between the years after Gibbs retired and Snyder purchased the team. Since Snyder bought the team the winning percentage is .476. He's made the team the 2nd highest revenue grossing team in the world. He's tried, and failed miserably, to do anything his money can buy to improve the team and build a winner but sadly he's only brought us UP to the level of mediocre!

A lot of people act is if he took things over from Cooke and drove a Ferrari into a brick wall. Guys, we were already an IROC-Z T-top, he just tried to throw a spoiler kit onto it and sell it as a Ferrari.

Look, I am FAR from a Snyder apologist but I'm not a fan of hyperbole or media parrots either. [/rant]



Paintrain:

Indeed the Redskins of the mid-90s were not very good. The John Kent Cooke years left a lot to be desired when compared to the Jack Kent Cooke years.

However, when Danny Boy bought the team in the midst of the 99 season, he bought a team that made the playoffs. The team was not great and was not destined to become a dynasty, but it was solid and won more games than it lost.

The next year, the Skins were over .500 when Danny Boy fired Norv Turner in the middle of the year and the issue that caused the flare-up was that Norv refused to put Jeff George in as the starting QB. Amazingly, when Terry Robiske took over as interim coach, he surveyed the scene and decided that Jeff George was just the guy to lead the Skins; how insightful of him.

Oh, that was the year that the recently acquired Deion Sanders talked about not knowing "Coach Rabinsky" very well. Lots of respect in that locker room for and from the new acquisitions to the team courtesy of the Boy Wonder.

Danny Boy is not nearly the worst owner in sports. But what he did in his first ten years of ownership here was to take a solid-but-hardly-great squad, tear it apart to add "marquee players" and put the fans in DC thru a decade of less than mediocre football.

The fact that the Redskins are the second highest grossing franchise in sports - - not sure if that is still true - - means exactly NOTHING regarding the product on the field.

Gibbs also gave Shanahan the ok saying that Snyder would step back. So Snyder has obviously taken a backseat before.

I just keep coming back to the thought that Allen and Shanahan wouldn't be here if they weren't given the keys and told to run with it. Shanahan most of all. Reading up on him the last couple of days the guy is definitely a control freak, but he's also extremely bright. Mark Schlereth seems to think Shanahan has learned his lesson from Denver in regard to personnel and will lean more on Allen to help him out in that area.

I think that's the thing some people are wondering about that, word "defer". There are those who do not seem to think Allen"s track record in the area where Shanahan may need help is any better than his. (hence the suggestion of still another piece being needed).

Here's hoping that Shanahan can pull off something that at least six other coaches have tried and failed at when it comes to winning super bowls with one team and being able to dupllicate it with another. Vince Lombardi, Dick Vermiel, Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Holmgren and Joe Gibbs twice in the same city.

I think that's the thing some people are wondering about that, word "defer". There are those who do not seem to think Allen"s track record in the area where Shanahan may need help is any better than his. (hence the suggestion of still another piece being needed).

Here's hoping that Shanahan can pull off something that at least six other coaches have tried and failed at when it comes to winning super bowls with one team and being able to dupllicate it with another. Vince Lombardi, Dick Vermiel, Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Holmgren and Joe Gibbs twice in the same city.

Nice post. 100% agree.

If we do not up-grade our personnel department, when it comes to the draft and free agency we'll have to rely heavily on our scouting department. I'm not so sure that's a good thing.

I think that's the thing some people are wondering about that, word "defer". There are those who do not seem to think Allen"s track record in the area where Shanahan may need help is any better than his. (hence the suggestion of still another piece being needed).

Here's hoping that Shanahan can pull off something that at least six other coaches have tried and failed at when it comes to winning super bowls with one team and being able to dupllicate it with another. Vince Lombardi, Dick Vermiel, Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Mike Holmgren and Joe Gibbs twice in the same city.

That's an excellent point and one several here have brought up. JLC indicated in a blog post a couple weeks ago that Shanahan and Allen were planning to bring in someone like Eric DeCosta to help out in the personnel department. I really think their doing so is crucial to the team's success.

If I owned the Redskins I would ask about acquiring players too. Shanny said what he likes about BA, among other things, is that they don't always see things the same and he wants someone to give imput who disagrees with him. I think that is what Snyder really needs and I think he's got it. Vinny was a yes man. MS and BA are not. There is nothing wrong about an owner enquiring about players, he just needs someone to tell him no and why not.

I am not going to temper my expectations. I finally have people in place that I trust. I have done nothing but temper my expectations the past decade. I don't expect a Super Bowl next year but I think with a few good moves they could contend for the playoffs. People on this board were predicting playoffs last summer with Zorn and Vinny running things. Turnarounds in the NFL can happen quickly and as bad as they were this year a lot of the losses were close and could be wins next year with better coaching and improved talent in certain areas. I think a true Super Bowl contender is a few years away but a fun team that plays meaningful games in December is possible next year.