Smoot lays the smack down (Skins/Bills) - mattyk edition

Only one Smackdown, to myself.

I believed that despite the fact we had an awful QB situation, a patchwork offensive line comprised of castoffs and hope-to-be players, a WR corp comprised of exactly the same and a RB group designed the exact same way that we could have a chance at a decent offense.

I believed that our 'retooled' defense made up of much of the same, players unwanted by their teams and average players who look good on our bad team-most of whom are still misfit for our scheme would improve and I wouldn't see the same of what I've been seeing for years. Blown assignments, big plays and horrendous tackling.

I smackdown myself for falling into the trap again. I know this is a long rebuild but I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe when Matt Williamson said coming off of the lockout that we had the least talented roster in the NFL. I didn't want to agree with the skeptics who said our start was a mere mirage. I had visions of playoffs and even in a thread last week I concluded we would finish 8-8.

I've now smacked myself into reality that we need to keep the coaching staff in place and let them build towards competing in 2014. I've smacked myself into the reality that John Beck, Rex Grossman, Ryan Torrain, Anthony Armstrong, Jabar Gaffney, Donte Stallworth, Terrence Austin, Logan Paulsen, Will Montgomery, Kory Leichtenstiger, Erik Cook, Jamaal Brown, Rocky McIntosh, Kevin Barnes, Reed Doughty, DeAngelo Hall and Oshimigo Atogwe will never be starters on a playoff team as individuals and will never post a .500 record or better collectively. I've smacked myself into reality that it's going to be a long time before I enjoy Sundays in the fall again.

oj's absence was huge paintrain. it was evident the whole game . . . oh thats right, oj doesnt like being referred to as oj. oj.

We haven't seen that yet. And if the defense is "somewhat okay" then that would be your upgrade considering last season's D.

It wasn't possible to address every single need. This year the focus was defense.

How about this -- instead of taking a dump on each and every coach that comes to town, how about the players step up for once? Did anyone catch the graphic about all of the coaches after their first 22 games in Washington? It doesn't seem to matter if you have a legend for a head coach, a bad head coach, or a pathetic, clueless head coach -- the results are always the same with this organization. So when your trying to figure out what's wrong with a team, isn't it EVER justifiable to look at the players?

Sure it is. And they are not doing their part.

But the buck stops with the FO and coaching. Just like in any other organization or company. The culture at the Skins right now is not a professional one nor is it a winning one.

I've been Kyle's biggest defender the last few weeks, but the playcalling was absolutely horrible today. Couple that with terrible WR and Oline play John "I Telegraph My Passes" Beck was not going to succeed.

For the defensive side, being on the field for that long against a prolific offense, I think they did well.

Kyle could have made perfect playcalls all day long, but won't matter much if these dopes don't execute.

I agree about the defense. They held the Bills to two TDs, forced a few FGs, and that was *again* having to deal with offensive teammates who have a problem turning the ball over.

We haven't seen that yet. And if the defense is "somewhat okay" then that would be your upgrade considering last season's D.

It wasn't possible to address every single need. This year the focus was defense.

How about this -- instead of taking a dump on each and every coach that comes to town, how about the players step up for once? Did anyone catch the graphic about all of the coaches after their first 22 games in Washington? It doesn't seem to matter if you have a legend for a head coach, a bad head coach, or a pathetic, clueless head coach -- the results are always the same with this organization. So when your trying to figure out what's wrong with a team, isn't it EVER justifiable to look at the players?

My comparison was to the team before Shanahan. Our defense was sh*t last year, this year's defense is of course better than last year's.

It's funny that you say that people take a dump on the coaches, b/c I feel that fans at least, always seem to be quick to blame the players.

You are right, the results seem to be the same, but I also feel that the coaches seem to be repeating the same mistakes. We are almost at the half season mark, and it seems that in today's NFL anything can happen, but I just don't have much faith in our outlook for the rest of the season. I would like to see the team play with a sense of purpose though. As people have pointed out, it seems that the only people doing that today were Fletcher, Rocca, and Davis.

Only one Smackdown, to myself.

I believed that despite the fact we had an awful QB situation, a patchwork offensive line comprised of castoffs and hope-to-be players, a WR corp comprised of exactly the same and a RB group designed the exact same way that we could have a chance at a decent offense.

I believed that our 'retooled' defense made up of much of the same, players unwanted by their teams and average players who look good on our bad team-most of whom are still misfit for our scheme would improve and I wouldn't see the same of what I've been seeing for years. Blown assignments, big plays and horrendous tackling.

I smackdown myself for falling into the trap again. I know this is a long rebuild but I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to believe when Matt Williamson said coming off of the lockout that we had the least talented roster in the NFL. I didn't want to agree with the skeptics who said our start was a mere mirage. I had visions of playoffs and even in a thread last week I concluded we would finish 8-8.

I've now smacked myself into reality that we need to keep the coaching staff in place and let them build towards competing in 2014. I've smacked myself into the reality that John Beck, Rex Grossman, Ryan Torrain, Anthony Armstrong, Jabar Gaffney, Donte Stallworth, Terrence Austin, Logan Paulsen, Will Montgomery, Kory Leichtenstiger, Erik Cook, Jamaal Brown, Rocky McIntosh, Kevin Barnes, Reed Doughty, DeAngelo Hall and Oshimigo Atogwe will never be starters on a playoff team as individuals and will never post a .500 record or better collectively. I've smacked myself into reality that it's going to be a long time before I enjoy Sundays in the fall again.

I still don't think the D is as bad as people claim. Yeah we are giving up some big plays, but overall we hold teams to lower than their average. To me, that means we are NOT an average defense. I think we are a bit above average and are quite good at times. Our main weakness at D is our secondary. If you spread us out with 4/5 wide we can get burnt. But we do a good job of forcing teams to 3rd and long and we are pretty good in the RZ.

Honestly, the D has given us a fighting chance in each game. The offense is pathetic. Having no depth at Oline is really hurting us. The blame falls squarely on the FO. Olinemen get hurt all the time. We know this, but yet we get scrub WRs instead. I know that is gross oversimplification of the issue (I understand our receivers stink along with our QB) but plenty of teams are doing well with 2nd and 3rd string Olinemen.

NEWSFLASH: We are 3-3. Not, 0-6.

Ok, you had the restricted Free Agency off-season his first year and he was handcuffed with what he could do. (tried for Vincent Jackson but a no go) Sure he made a mistake with McNabb, but he also drafted a key part to the OL.

Second year during off-season is the lockout. He bolstered the defense considerable through the draft and free agency.

No QBs were on the market, and obviously none in the draft he deemed worthy of selecting at the spot we were at. (many teams reached) He turned the few picks we had into a masterful draft (even if they don't all pan out).

You can't turn shit into sugar my friend. Give the guy time and a chance to get more players in here with value.

Also, we've been hit hard with injuries, and our depth just isn't cutting it right now.

As I've repeatedly stated, I didn't expect a SB/playoff/winning record caliber team. But ever since the Giants game, the playing attitude of this team has been pretty poor. Also, the McNabb trade was a pretty big mistake and it probably set the team back a year or more in rebuilding.

Once again, for as much sh*t people talk about MS and how great he is, I would expect for this team to put up at least a fight. They haven't period. I hope it changes.

Sure it is. And they are not doing their part.

But the buck stops with the FO and coaching. Just like in any other organization or company. The culture at the Skins right now is not a professional one nor is it a winning one.

Agreed. It seems that fans seem to feel that the buck stops with the front office only when it comes to matters like the Haynesworth situation or whenever a player runs their mouth. But when it comes to actual performance on the field, everything seems to be focused 100% on the players. The players have to do their part and they are not. But so do the coaches. Right now both the coaches, players, and team leadership are not doing a good job.

The D is not bad by any means, they are much improved. The problem lately seems to be that they can't stop the running game, Bowen and Cofield have banished, the DB's suck!! That's the weakness. Hall, Wilson, Barnes are bad.

The problem with the D is that our current FO/coaching staff has not been able to put an offense decent enough to compliment the defense. This defense is not going to win games by itself, the offense needs to do something, but they don't.