Quote:
Originally Posted by Paintrain
So to give some insight into the 'pass' that I give Shanahan for the past two years it's based on a couple of major circumstances.
1. The final 2009 roster that he inherited was probably one of the worst in the entire NFL. Just for context our leading rusher that day was Quinton Ganther. Our leading receiver, Malcolm Kelly, our second leading tackler was Kareem Moore.. Our WR depth chart was Moss, Randle-El, Thomas, Kelly and former great Marko Mitchell. Our RB were Quinton Ganther and Marcus Mason. Our OL that day was Stephon Heyer, Dockery, Rabach, Edwin Williams and Levi Jones. Our DL featured Andre Carter, Phillip Daniels, Corneilus Griffin, Albert Haynesworth, Renaldo Wynn and Anthony Montgomery-ALL of which are now out of the league.
Matter of fact 33 of the 53 man roster on the final day of that season are no longer in the NFL. Hell, even 10 of the 12 on our injured reserve are out of the league! (only Doughty and Rinehart remain) There was not much to build on at all and only 2 top level players in Rak and Fletcher. A complete overhaul was needed. Gibbs left Zorn an old, mismatched roster that was built for a 2008 playoff run but no long term sustainability. That's why the comparisons to the Lions and 49ers are flawed, they had SOMETHING to build off of. This was a 3-4 year project to begin with.
Quick final note to add, from the 5 draft classes that preceded Shanahan there are a total of 4(!!!) players on the 2012 roster. Reed Doughty, Fred Davis, Rob Jackson and Brian Orakpo. 4 players from 5 classes and only 2 starters. By far the worst in the league.
2. This is the first fully functional offseason of his tenure. 2010 had stunted free agency because of the labor discord and 2011 of course had the lockout and no offseason program. For most teams it didn't have the same impact as it did with us but don't discount the time that was missed. Even this offseason was impacted by the cap penalties, but that was self inflicted.
Those are the major factors of why I give the coaching staff a 'pass' from the previous two years. No question mistakes were made. Campbell could have been retained to play out his contract rather than wasting time and picks/money on McNabb, Rex and Beck. They probably could have done a complete housecleaning in 2010 and not tried to 'go for it' with old retreads like Willie Parker, Larry Johnson and Joey Galloway. The Jammal Brown debacle could have been avoided. For the coaching side, I've got no issues with Kyle YET-but let's see what he does now that he has talent that can execute his scheme. Haslett has been fine, we improved in '11 and should do so again in '12.
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Really good post. I knew Shanallen inherited a very poor team, but those numbers are downright scary from the 09' roster and the draft classes that preceded this regime.
Here is an interesting article that could lend some hope as well.
Redskins wins in 2012: How many you got?
Given how close we were in so many games, and we did it with a turnover machine at QB. Rex could move the ball, but when it comes to the redzone, you need one of three things imo (All three would be near unstoppable in the redzone)
1) You need a tall receiver to go up and make a catch over the DB's. We didnt have that.
2) You need a QB with a gunslinger arm. So they can fit the ball into tight spaces since the end zone brings a lot less space for the DB's to cover. Grossmans major problem, he tried to be Brett Favre while possessing a noodle arm. Interception, here I come.
3) You need a dominant power running OL. Which will most likely never happen in a ZBS.
Im intentionally not including a running attack from the QB since I want RG3 to stay healthy. Cam Newton/Tim Tebow proved that can work as well.
We had zero of 3 last year. If RG3 develops, we have 1 of 3, and if Briscoe develops, we may have a second. He showed some of that last year in Tampa.
With a QB like Grossman, you need to hit on a whole lot of long distance TD's because he wont get it done on a regular basis in the red zone, he just doesnt have the arm. Not to mention that he doesnt have the arm to connect on many long passes.
Im still not predicting a winning season, but if we stay relatively healthy, I believe 8-8 or close is realistic.