Must read article on state of skins organization!

[Cowboys22]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=2672668

Was it not skins fans that told us Parcells and JJ could never work or last and then that Parcells and TO would explode before we new it. Well, read this article and I think you will see that they need to start seriously worrying about the possibility of a coming total meltdown is Ashburn that could leave them with no coach, no players willing to lay it all on the line, but most of all no future to speak of!

[LaTunaNostra]

Reeling Redskins awash in troubles
By Tom Friend
ESPN The Magazine

They're irrelevant by Thanksgiving again, and somehow there hasn't been steam coming out of Joe Gibbs' ears. I covered Gibbs in the '80s, the glory '80s, when losses were like death, when he micromanaged, when he used to bring in his struggling players and offer them a bible. One year, the punt team couldn't cover a kick, so he hired a second special teams coach. One year, a player anonymously ripped his methods in the press, so he called a team meeting and ordered the mystery player to raise his hand. Nobody did. He might've been cut.

Joe Gibbs is having far more trouble in his second stint with the Redskins.That's ancient history now, because Joe Gibbs is 3-7 and, by all accounts, a grandfather figure at Redskin Park. You ask players what they think of him, and they say, "Good dude." If Joe Gibbs was 3-7 in 1987, nobody would've been saying "Good dude" -- they'd have been cursing him for the three-hour practices. Joe, the first time around, would've fixed this by now, but instead he appears to be a burned out coach again, who is allowing his defensive coaching staff to run amok.

For whatever reason, this stubborn, controlling, innovative Hall of Fame coach has chosen to be more of an observer this season, to be a CEO, to let his millionaire coordinators earn their keep. That's why the team doesn't have his smashmouth mentality anymore, his fingerprints. I asked an Indianapolis Colts defender what he thought of Al Saunders' Redskins offense, and he said, "Gimmicky." I asked a Redskins player what he thought of defensive guru Gregg Williams, and he said, "Arrogant. Thinks he invented the wheel."

It is a fractured team that, frankly, needs the old Gibbs to intervene. A year ago, when the team was 5-6, he held player meetings, got the pulse of the locker room and rode Clinton Portis and a stout defense to the second round of the playoffs. It was vintage Gibbs; he personally willed them to January. But now, on Thanksgiving weekend of '06, it's apparent last year taxed him way too much. He doesn't call plays anymore. He may or may not have the pulse of the locker room anymore. And he may or may not be fuming about it anymore.

So that's where we are, trying to understand why the Washington Redskins are the biggest flop, the biggest turkey of the season. You originally could've argued for Miami, or Tampa Bay or Pittsburgh, but not any longer. Miami's gotten hot behind Joey Harrington, and Tampa Bay lost its starting quarterback early, and Pittsburgh's suffering through a predictable post-Super Bowl malaise.

So, no doubt, that leaves the Redskins. Forbes Magazine keeps saying they are the most valuable NFL franchise, the Yankees of football. Their offensive and defensive coordinators earn approximately $5 million a year combined, their budget is the moon, and owner Dan Snyder's jet -- Redskin One -- is probably already fueling up to greet Nate Clements and Dwight Freeney on the first day of 2007 free agency.

They are money-driven, but not always money-wise, and the decisions to throw cash at every problem, or free agent, or coach, has created ego and narcissism. It's not necessarily Gibbs' fault, because he didn't draw it up this way or imagine it happening, but the almighty dollar has created too many power trips at Redskin Park, or as one Redskins player said, "Too many chiefs and not enough indians." Naturally, heads, or chiefs, may roll this coming offseason, including Williams' and some of Williams' staff. But that's getting ahead of ourselves, ahead of how this all came about.

To simplify matters, and to understand this year's 3-7 record, you have to go back to Gibbs' first comeback year of 2004. On offense, he put his old band together, bringing back coaches Don Breaux, Joe Bugel and Rennie Simmons, all good, loyal, stand-up guys who played huge roles in the Super Bowl years. They were all affable workaholics, and humble, too, but when they returned for Gibbs' second stint, they appeared bumbling and overmatched, stuck in 1983. And from what I'm told, no one felt that more than the defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams.

Williams told people that the offense was almost "high school" that first year. Gibbs, Breaux and Bugel were practically holding caucuses before every play call, continually wasting timeouts, and the defense was forced all year to carry the team. And in all fairness, Williams' group was spectacular. He used about three basic defenses and coverages, blitzed from all angles and asked his players to fly to the ball and play uninhibited. They were the No. 3 defense in the NFL, and a young middle linebacker named Antonio Pierce, an undrafted free agent from Arizona, was the absolute key to the unit. An injury to Michael Barrow forced Williams to move Pierce inside, where he'd never played before, but Pierce was smart, got people lined up, played sideline to sideline and was particularly fierce against the run. It was a pleasant surprise, and with the ball-hawking rookie safety Sean Taylor free to roam the field behind him, it was a physical, championship-type defense.

Williams, who'd been fired the previous year as the Bills' head coach, had a ton of adulation tossed his way, and his swagger at Redskin Park was unmatched. He liked to tell people that he'd only agreed to take the job if Snyder "didn't stick his nose" into personnel matters, and Snyder -- who wanted to win in the worst way -- had agreed. That gave Williams a feeling of invincibility, and considering the egg that the offense laid that year in comparison, he probably deserved to feel that way.

But it was a blind confidence, and when Pierce became a free agent after the 2004 season, and talks began to stall, Williams, according to Redskins sources, claimed Pierce was "replaceable." It was the first hint of arrogance under the new Gibbs regime, a sense that Williams felt it was his system, not the players, that dominated offenses. Cornerback Fred Smoot was also a free agent at the time, and again, Williams felt Smoot was expendable, even though losing a starting linebacker and a starting corner would necessitate an extensive defensive overhaul.

Of course, that made a mess of the draft. Instead of selecting the pass rusher they needed -- Shawne Merriman or Demarcus Ware -- they had to waste their first-round pick on replacing Smoot, and took a shot at Auburn cornerback Carlos Rogers. All their other picks basically went to Denver in a trade to get Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell, and so they had to replace Pierce from within. That meant Lemar Marshall, a career outside linebacker and converted DB, had to move inside for 2005, which was an outright risk.

But actually, again, Williams overachieved. Marshall played the pass better than Pierce did, although Williams did have to scheme more to stop the occasional bleeding on defense. He went often to Cover 2 defenses, meaning his safeties would play deeper, and his front seven would have to stop the run themselves. In other words, no "eight men in the box" to stop the run. But Tatum Bell and Tiki Barber exposed that run defense early, and the safeties were told they had to step up and stop the run from Cover 2, until the front seven got their act together. The insertion of LaVar Arrington into the run defense (for Warrick Holdman) helped get that solidified, although Arrington was again a clear victim of Williams' ego. Arrington was the highest-paid defender, and prone to freelancing -- he acted like he was bigger than the team -- and Williams was there to humble him. He made him a scapegoat, and wouldn't even talk to him at times, but once Arrington finally shut his mouth and acquiesced, he got to play. Was he an impact player anymore? No. But he helped stop the run, allowing them to play the Cover 2, and the defense went on a late-season tear to help get hobbling quarterback Mark Brunell to the playoffs.

The Skins finished as the No. 9 defense in the league, and Williams was naturally an absolute god in the minds of fans, and to some degree, Gibbs and Snyder. It's likely he would've been a front-runner for the Rams', Vikings' and Texans' head coaching jobs, but the Redskins tied him up with a ridiculous three-year contract worth a reported $8 million and a promise that if he didn't replace Gibbs as head coach, he'd earn another cool million. Well, that was power, and when it came time to recruit prospective free agents, Williams was heard bragging that he made more money than the head coaches he was recruiting against, that he carried more lumber than some head coaches in the league. Whether it was true or not, he believed it, and the players believed it, and that's how this all started heading downhill.

The first thing Williams did was wave goodbye to Arrington after the 2005 season, and deservedly so, because Arrington wasn't worth his contract or his griping. But Arrington was still, other than Taylor, the Redskins' most physical player, and he'd been disrespected by Williams publicly. And that's what didn't sit well with the teammates Arrington had left behind. Some players said they felt Williams never took the blame around Redskin Park, just passed it on, and now that he'd just received this jumbo pay hike, he was going to be even more incorrigible. The players felt it. They saw him jettison another cover corner, Walt Harris, who's intercepting passes now in San Francisco, and steady Ryan Clark, who has Troy Polamalu's back in Pittsburgh now, and veteran safety Omar Stoutmire, who's starting in New Orleans. They saw a revolving door. Again.

So that takes us to now, takes us to a Gregg Williams defense that is ranked last -- last! -- in the NFC. Opposing quarterbacks have a collective 103 passer rating against them, and on third downs, the Redskins give up a first down 43.5 percent of the time. They can't get off the field, and now it's the offensive coaches who have to be wondering if Williams is "high school."

Daniel Snyder isn't one to be patient with a struggling team.The problem, according to a notable Redskins player, is a scheme, a staff and a play-calling regimen that is flawed and predictable, and a sense that Williams is on too much of a power trip to adjust.

"Why are we the 30th defense in the league? I think coaches got arrogant, I think Gregg got arrogant," the player said Tuesday, asking not to be identified. "They thought they figured it all out. They thought, 'We can win with scheme, we don't need players.' Don't be mistaken, this is a player-driven game, and so you need players. Any time in life when somebody thinks they've got it all figured out, it's going to come and get you. It's going to come and get you … the sentiment is a lot of guys are mad because the coaches think it's all about them. They think they're f------ geniuses, thinking they can just let guys go and get away with handling people badly."

To be specific, Redskins defenders, particularly in the secondary, have regressed, Taylor being the main culprit. Out of the University of Miami, Taylor was arguably the most-talented cover safety to enter the league in years. His first preseason game, he intercepted two passes, returning one for a score. But he's been tinkered with so much now, Redskins players say he no longer plays on instinct.

A lot of Taylor's woes can be traced a lot to the hiring of Steve Jackson as Redskins safety coach. Jackson came with Williams from Buffalo, where he was a lower-level defensive coach, and Jackson supposedly was hurt when Williams chose DeWayne Walker as his main secondary coach in 2003 and 2004. He wanted the job himself, and when Walker left after the 2005 season, he assumed he'd get it. But Williams' old defensive coordinator in Buffalo, Jerry Gray, had just become available, and Williams hired him. Jackson was ticked.

So Williams threw him a bone, a bone which has literally torn up the secondary. He made Jackson safeties coach and Gray cornerbacks coach and allowed Jackson to run his own meetings. That means that the Redskins' safeties and corners do not meet together, which is practically unheard of.

"Talk to any coach in the league, and ask them, 'Have you ever heard of corners and safeties not meeting together?'" the Redskins player says. "They'd say, 'What are you talking about?' That's crazy. But ever since minicamps, OTAs, training camp, we hadn't met as a secondary. On the field, the corners will start making a call or doing something, and the safeties will be, 'What are you talking about? We didn't go over that.' So now the corners are expecting help in certain situations, and the safeties aren't getting there in time. And people got beat in the secondary.

"Everybody was saying they had to start meeting together. So the last three weeks they have. But 40 percent of the time Steven Jackson's not in the meeting. Because he pouts, because Jerry's running the meeting."

On the field, Jackson's (and presumably Williams') techniques aren't working, either. The innovators of Cover 2, such as Monte Kiffin and Tony Dungy, want their safeties staying deep, 2 yards inside the numbers and staying squared up. They want them reading the quarterback and breaking downhill on everything.

But Jackson began teaching Taylor and Co. not to read the quarterback, but to read the receivers' breaks and releases and react accordingly. He wanted them to be aggressive out of Cover 2, to help on the run, even though Cover 2 is not known to be a run-stopping defense. Williams wants to call it a lot because, ideally, if you can stop the run with a Cover 2, you have the best of both worlds, because it's specifically designed to prevent the deep ball. But Jackson kept exhorting Taylor and his early-season safety mate, Adam Archuleta, to be aggressive playing the run out of the Cover 2, and they began to get beat on the play-action pass repeatedly.

According to the Redskins player, Jackson then began berating his players profanely -- although he tends to go lighter on Taylor -- and they reached bottom in Philadelphia, when Donte' Stallworth beat Taylor deep for an 84-yard touchdown. Witnesses say that at that point, the other defensive coaches became officially peeved at Jackson for making Taylor "play like a robot," and for turning him into a confused, regressing player who now tunes out coaches and teammates.

"And then Steve Jackson began pouting at practice," the player said. "He pouts at practice. He'll stand by himself and won't coach anybody. This last game in Tampa, we had a player at halftime go up to him and say, 'Are you going to just sit there and pout, or are you gonna f------ coach your guys up?'"

Williams, in the meantime, has not backed off of calling the Cover 2, perhaps out of stubbornness. And the rest of the league has clearly caught on.

"Guys are saying teams have figured Gregg out, his M.O.," the Redskins defender said. "They know he's going to play the run with Cover 2. They know he's going to come and blitz [leaving corners on an island] on third down, and none of our blitzes are getting there anymore. We're trying to get too cute, we're trying to reinvent the wheel, instead of understanding what wins football games.

"Gregg Williams, I don't understand. They're so arrogant around here, they think they can stop the run in Cover 2. When it's an obvious running down, he calls Cover 2. That's a seven-man front. They're going to get 4 yards a carry every time. There might be some games where, hey, we're playing the crap out of the run in Cover 2. Well, that's great. Then, you call it. But when you're getting gashed Cover 2, Cover 2, and they come out in two tight ends, two running backs, and one wide receiver and we're in Cover 2. … And if we don't call Cover 2, we blitz. And you live by the blitz, you die by the blitz."



Getty Images
Gregg Williams has led the Redskins' defense since being fired at Buffalo.There have been myriad scapegoats, too, all players that Williams asked for. Scapegoat No. 1: Andre Carter. He was brought in to rush the passer, but players say Williams calls so many run stunts, he's not being allowed to do what he does best: speed rush.

"Last year, the D-line started playing well when they straight started rushing the passer," the player said. "They could beat guys one on one and get in a rhythm and tee off. Now, we're trying to get too exotic, so we've got Cornelius Griffin doing exotic stuff, who doesn't rush on third down anymore basically. … All these stunts and games? The D-linemen are just saying, man, just let us go, just let us go."

Scapegoat No. 2: Archuleta. Bears coach Lovie Smith, Archuleta's former coordinator and mentor in St. Louis, badly wanted him in Chicago, and Archuleta preferred Smith, too. But the Redskins offered the richest deal ever for a safety, and Archuleta accepted it -- according to his agent Gary Wichard -- because Williams promised him he'd blitz him more than Smith, that he'd keep him in the box. Instead, Archuleta's blitzed only a handful of times, and has been benched for Troy Vincent and now Vernon Fox.

Wichard says that Jackson and Williams haven't spoken to Archuleta since the Redskins' bye four weeks ago, and that rookie Reed Doughty, who's been mostly inactive this year, is getting reps ahead of him in practice this week. That means Archuleta, who signed for a $10 million bonus last spring, is on the scout team, which baffles plenty of NFL executives.

Scapegoat No. 3: Rogers. He's the cornerback that was left on an island on the go-ahead touchdown Sunday against Tampa Bay's Joey Galloway. Williams blitzed and missed, costing the team the score. Afterward, Williams took public blame for the call, a rarity, but a Redskins player said, "No, he didn't. In meetings, Carlos still heard about it."

So what you have, according to one Redskins player, is a fractured defense that isn't playing passionately for Williams anymore. After making examples of Pierce, Smoot, Arrington, Harris, Clark, Stoutmire -- and now Carter, Archuleta and Rogers -- the morale appears beyond repair.

"I think guys are fed up, man," the Redskins player said. "This is what I heard. Guys are talking. They're saying that's why Gregg started losing the team in Buffalo. Because guys got sick of it, sick of getting disrespected. There's a difference between being hard and coaching and disrespecting people all the time and calling people out. He started calling three or four guys out in the team meeting the Saturday night before the Philadelphia game. Just calling certain guys out for certain behavior and this and that. We're talking about 12 hours before the game, and you're calling different guys out for stuff? On- and off-the-field stuff? Just talking mess, going through your rant or whatever. Man, look, guys are getting fed up. And they're saying, a lot of guys in Buffalo, his last year in Buffalo, a lot of guys started popping back to him, popping off to him. Because you can't be a Buddy Ryan anymore in this league. You can't do it.

"And Gregg Williams says all the time, it's not my money. If Gregg was the one writing the checks, I don't know if he'd handle it that way. But he says it in meetings. He gives us speeches about, 'If you don't know what to do, you're going to be standing next to me on the sideline, I don't give a f---. That's where you're going to be. I need to be able to trust you. Hey, it's not my money. I don't care how much you make, I don't care who you are, I'm not the one writing the check, you need to know your assignments, know what to do.' That's what Gregg says. I wonder how Snyder would feel if he heard that one."

Snyder, according to sources, knows all about this, and, there is a sense the front office will push to replace Jackson and perhaps even Williams next season. At the same time, Williams still has supporters in the organization, too. They say the players ripping him have axes to grind, that Williams isn't the one whiffing on tackles and botching coverages. They say it's horrendous that one angry, anonymous player won't go on the record with his complaints, and they point out Williams hasn't played with a full roster all season. For instance, Williams has had to operate much of the year without a healthy Shawn Springs, his best corner, and without safety Pierson Prioleau, who was going to start for Archuleta on opening night until he tore his ACL on the opening kickoff. It doesn't help, either, that linebackers Marshall and Holdman aren't tackling well (Marshall's coming off of shoulder surgery), and there are some defensive players who aren't afraid to point the finger at themselves.

"You can't argue with Gregg Williams because we were No. 3 and No. 9 [in total defense] in previous years, so you can't argue that he's not a good coach," defensive end Phillip Daniels told the Washington Post last week. "The thing for us to do as players is we've got to look at ourselves in the morning to say, 'What can I do to help this team?' Whether it means studying more or anything little, technique and stuff like that, we've got to do it all right for it to work. And right now I don't think all the guys are doing all their technique and studying as hard as they need to study."

The question has been whether the CEO, Gibbs, will address this, and apparently, he's just decided to become more hands-on again. Up until now, he's been preoccupied with the offense, concerned that Saunders isn't pounding the ball enough, frustrated by injuries to Portis and Moss and resigned to the fact that Campbell is his future at quarterback. But on Wednesday, he couldn't ignore the team's general malaise any longer. In his regular team meeting, he essentially stomped his feet for the first time since last season, told his players they aren't playing physical enough, that it's time to play more smashmouth, that everybody would be evaluated from here on out. Whether he was talking about the coaches, too, who knows? Whether he will start from scratch defensively next season, who knows? But if Williams is unable now to stir the passions of the defense, Gibbs had little choice but to butt in.

Of course, players say Gibbs wasn't theatening or nasty that day, and whether it worked or not won't be clear until Sunday's home game against Carolina. But if the Skins collapse again, what will the Hall of Fame coach do next? Call another meeting and ask the angry, dissenting players to raise their hands? That would be so 1980s of him. That would be a start.


Tom Friend, a Senior Writer at ESPN Magazine, covered the Washington Redskins for the Washington Post from 1987 to 1989.

[Yakuza Rich]

So Williams threw him a bone, a bone which has literally torn up the secondary. He made Jackson safeties coach and Gray cornerbacks coach and allowed Jackson to run his own meetings. That means that the Redskins' safeties and corners do not meet together, which is practically unheard of.

:lmao2: :suxskins:



YAKUZA

[Cbz40]

That's not an article it's a book.......Understandable...it concerns the demise of the skins.:D

[5Stars]

:dissskin: Good dog, Gibbs! Damn good dog...!!

[Yakuza Rich]

What's really sad is listening to people rave about Gibbs because he "tore into" a player in practice this week.

Excuse me, but if your head coach is unwilling and unafraid to tear into a player, there's a start of your problem right there. I wouldn't want a coach that rants all of the time either...but it's football, not a knitting class.


YAKUZA

[jesusphreak]

This is one of the better sports articles I've ever read.

[riggo]

thats some pretty in depth stuff. over the past week i've been thinking of who is to blame for the state of the team, and i was pointing to gibbs as the culprit, much as it pains me as a long time fan. i started thinking about williams and the autonomy he has with the D and with who he wants. he wanted arch. he wanted carter. the O has an excuse, at least. but besides these 2, the D is the same as it was last year when it carried this team over the last 5 weeks of the season and in tampa.

i think the article may be right on as far as williams losing his D cuz if his attitude. when you have mostly the same players from last year, what else can explain this incredible dropoff?

[zrinkill]

personally I dont think there is alot wrong with the Skins

I think the media is blowing things way out of proportion ..... the skins have an old QB and are having a down year ......

big deal ..... they will be back soon.

[InmanRoshi]

They are money-driven, but not always money-wise, and the decisions to throw cash at every problem, or free agent, or coach, has created ego and narcissism. It's not necessarily Gibbs' fault, because he didn't draw it up this way or imagine it happening, but the almighty dollar has created too many power trips at Redskin Park, or as one Redskins player said, "Too many chiefs and not enough indians."

Rick Gosselin was raving this offseason about what geniuses Gibbs and the Redskins were for taking advantage that there's no cap on coaches. Meanwhile, Parcells was stuck in the mud. Promoting no names from within.

When can we expect the followup "I was wrong column"?

[Daudr]

Wow, very interesting read. I don't think it's entirely correct, however. One of the biggest problems with their "revolving door" has more to do with a lack of available money than it does with Gregg Williams' arrogance. I'm quite sure he would have loved to keep some of those key defensive players. The problem is that Snyder wanted to blow his entire free agent money on offense.

One thing is absolutely clear with this article - the Redskin locker room has gone to hell. There is no way a reporter should have access to that much inside information unless there has been a total implosion. If they don't make radical changes in the coaching staff next year, they are in deep caca. Here's hoping they don't make those changes. :beer2:

[5Stars]

thats some pretty in depth stuff. over the past week i've been thinking of who is to blame for the state of the team, and i was pointing to gibbs as the culprit, much as it pains me as a long time fan. i started thinking about williams and the autonomy he has with the D and with who he wants. he wanted arch. he wanted carter. the O has an excuse, at least. but besides these 2, the D is the same as it was last year when it carried this team over the last 5 weeks of the season and in tampa.

i think the article may be right on as far as williams losing his D cuz if his attitude. when you have mostly the same players from last year, what else can explain this incredible dropoff?


Well, riggo, if that is the case, Gibbs is responsible also...he is the head coach...

One thing about Jimmy Johnson and Parcells is, they surround themselves with people that they "can trust"...if the head coach loses trust in a position coach, then it is up to the head coach to get rid, or change the way the coach is doing things...

Right now, all that Gibbs is, is a figurehead for you fans...and until you guys start wearing "bags on your head" on game days...Snyder and Gibbs will think that, "Well, at least the fans still pay to come see the games"...

That is all that Snyder cares about! If he is the ulitmate fan/owner that all Skins fans think he is...he will change his ways...

Look at Jerry Jones as the ultimate example of failure after Jimmy left...he brought in Parcells...

You might say, "Well, Snyder brought in Gibbs...?" The difference being, Parcells has TOTAL control of the team...offense, defense, special teams...

Gibbs, on the other hand, he gave away all his clout to some former coaches and now it looks like he has lost the team...and the coaches, and the players!

Good luck with all that!!

[burmafrd]

Makes sense too. Williams was very unpopular in Buffalo his last year and it was an open secret that many of his players not only hated his guts, but had no respect for him either. He does sound like someone that thinks they have beaten the game- NO ONE beats the game.

[Yakuza Rich]

He does sound like someone that thinks they have beaten the game- NO ONE beats the game.

Yep. There are no more geniuses in football. The real geniuses of football have either passed away or retired long ago.



YAKUZA

[bbgun]

Gibbs's Rant Draws Raves, But Will It Deliver Results?

By Michael Wilbon
Friday, November 24, 2006; Page E01

Appropriately, if belatedly, Thanksgiving Eve might have brought the Redskins something to be thankful for.

Joe Gibbs had a tirade.

Okay, maybe it wasn't a full-fledged tirade in the spirit of, say, Bob Knight; nobody reports that Gibbs threw anything, or "quickly lifted" anyone's chin. But it was a whole lot more than a lecture. Those within earshot of Gibbs during Wednesday's team meeting say he was irate. He was loud . . . loud enough to be heard in the nearby hallways at Redskins Park. He said words Joe Gibbs doesn't normally say. As my more proper relatives who live in the South would say, "He blessed them out."

He didn't love 'em up, didn't spend a lot of time telling them how they were fighting their guts out. From all accounts, he indicated to his players that he wanted to see better effort, better preparation and very different results. Gibbs said he wants to get back to playing "Redskin football," which for those who have been around here awhile suggests he wants to see more running, better run defense, and more all-around toughness. He indicated they are fighting, individually, for their jobs . . . and if the highly paid lieutenants didn't like the message or the tone, then too bad for them, too.

In all likelihood, this would be a typical mid-week message at average volume from Bill Cowher or Bill Parcells, who are just as likely to deliver a rant after a victory as a defeat.

But it's a radical departure from Gibbs's season-long position of, "If you've got to go through tough times, there's no group of guys I'd rather be with . . . "

There's only one problem with Gibbs's soliloquy: It's a month too late . . . at least.

About four weeks or so ago, Hall of Famer and former Redskins running back John Riggins said on his radio show, "It's time for Joe Gibbs to go to the whip."

But he didn't. Gibbs talked about making a major announcement one day, only to apologize to fans for not signing enough autographs.

He apparently said all the right things Wednesday, with the appropriate tone. But it's definitely too late for this season. And it's fair to wonder now if he said it too late for this core group of players and, yes, coaches.

Gibbs should have ripped them a month ago.

He should have gotten Jason Campbell some work earlier.

Gibbs's Rant Draws Raves, But Will It Deliver Results?

He should have put in T.J. Duckett weeks ago, the better to play "Redskin football."

Riggins said this week that the Redskins need to see if Duckett is the "alpha back" the offense needs, and whoever calls the plays should wear out Duckett handing him the ball Sunday against Carolina, the better to keep the carnivorous Julius Peppers from treating Campbell as a leftover drumstick.

Reclaiming the team, which in essence is what Gibbs is trying to do in Week 12, is something he should have done after four or five games of ineptitude, of leading the NFL in penalties and ranking near the bottom in defense. Four or five weeks of failing to build an identity is long enough in the NFL. As bad a decision as it was for Nick Saban to rush Daunte Culpepper back into the lineup after his serious knee surgery, Saban may have recognized his error before it killed the season entirely; Joey Harrington, who should have started the season in the first place, has now led the Dolphins to a 5-6 record.

But perhaps reluctance to the point of paralysis is a function of delegating too much authority, or having lieutenants call the shots the general should be calling. Everything has taken too long to implement this season. The Redskins were among the last teams to begin training camp. Gibbs didn't appear to push them in preseason, despite so many new coaches, new players and that infamous, encyclopedic playbook. Changes were made at a pace befitting baseball's marathon, not pro football's sprint. Even if the Redskins were giving maximum effort, their effort should have been questioned . . . six weeks ago.

Pro football has the greatest sense of urgency in professional sports. Change isn't optional, it's mandatory. It's not enough to fight your guts out if you've got the wrong guys in the ring, as the Redskins clearly have had. And the blame for that goes to the head coach, not the assistants. This is why Gibbs's irritated voice should have been bearing an urgent message after that home-field loss to last-place Tennessee.

What we'll be looking for the rest of the way is the reaction to Gibbs's rant from his players, whether they'll jump to attention like the Redskins did in the 1980s or whether they know all of this is mere window dressing at 3-7.

Thanksgiving Day is essentially the bell lap for the remainder of the NFL season. The teams that are truly ready to make a run into and through the playoffs will start to make that move this week. Carolina, at 6-4, is probably one of those teams. The Panthers come to Washington on Sunday knowing who they are, what it is they do best, and that they absolutely need this game to keep pace with several other teams in the NFC playoff race.

The Redskins, once again, are in transition: new quarterback, perhaps a new primary running back, perhaps a new plan of attack that emphasizes running more than throwing. Maybe we'll see the old coach grab the team by the lapels now, perhaps even call the plays, which is a big reason his bronzed bust sits in Canton. Still, to try and jump-start the season a dozen weeks in, even if a jump-start is desperately needed, is the definition of too little too late.

[LaTunaNostra]

Rick Gosselin was raving this offseason about what geniuses Gibbs and the Redskins were for taking advantage that there's no cap on coaches. Meanwhile, Parcells was stuck in the mud. Promoting no names from within.

When can we expect the followup "I was wrong column"?

I fell for it too, saw Saunders signing as a train pulling away that we could never catch up to.

Probably right about now, 800 pages of that 900 page playbook are being used to toast marshmallows.

[SultanOfSix]

I fell for it too, saw Saunders signing as a train pulling away that we could never catch up to.

Probably right about now, 800 pages of that 900 page playbook are being used to toast marshmallows.

I love your sig LTN.

[calico]

I wonder if Snyder will ever get a grip on his franchise and stop blowing his wad in the offseason. He needs to learn how to build a team through the draft. It will take a few years, but it will pay off. Get rid of the high priced assistants and let Gibbs take control.

We had a rough last few years, but look at our damn defense-young and talented.

I do not doubt what I hear about Williams after his buffalo stint and Saunders has done nothing at all.

[HeHateMe]

Ouch, babe.

[TEK2000]

Wow that was worth reading. Talk about dissention among the ranks.

I guess that explains why Sean Taylor has been so bad this season.

The Safeties and the corners don't even meet together? Did they expect this to actually be a success?

The safeties coach pouting.. talk about a bunch of 4 year olds. What happened to the days of firing someone if they were not doing their JOB!

[cowboyz]

and the cowboys still couldn't beat them :bang2:

[EastDallasCowboy]

That was a fantastic article.

Possibly the best football related article I've read in the last 5 years. Very well written with good quotes and a good premise.

Kudos, major kudos, to the author.

[Big Dakota]

Ouch, babe.

:lmao2: :lmao2: :lmao2: :lmao2: :lmao2: :lmao2: :lmao2: :lmao2:

[superpunk]

Rick Gosselin was raving this offseason about what geniuses Gibbs and the Redskins were for taking advantage that there's no cap on coaches. Meanwhile, Parcells was stuck in the mud. Promoting no names from within.

When can we expect the followup "I was wrong column"?

I want to know when we can expect I was wrong posts from everyone wringing their hands about that signing on here while Parcells "just" brought in pathetic Palmer.

Meanwhile, we're the #3 offense in the league, with much more complex and varied schemes than Saunders ever had.

[jrumann59]

thats some pretty in depth stuff. over the past week i've been thinking of who is to blame for the state of the team, and i was pointing to gibbs as the culprit, much as it pains me as a long time fan. i started thinking about williams and the autonomy he has with the D and with who he wants. he wanted arch. he wanted carter. the O has an excuse, at least. but besides these 2, the D is the same as it was last year when it carried this team over the last 5 weeks of the season and in tampa.

i think the article may be right on as far as williams losing his D cuz if his attitude. when you have mostly the same players from last year, what else can explain this incredible dropoff?

Hey Riggo sometimes it isn't the players so much as their attitude. Lavar was the emotional leader and Ryan Clark was the calming wave. When you guys were down Lavar would free lance and make an awesome play and pump you guys up. When a coverage was needed to stop an opponent Clark made sure everyone was where they needed to be. Remember how the cowboys defense took a hit when Woody left and then Dat. You can replace talent but sometimes it takes a while replace the intangibles.

[chinch]

that has to be a gut-wrenching read to any skins fan

[LaTunaNostra]

One thing is absolutely clear with this article - the Redskin locker room has gone to hell. There is no way a reporter should have access to that much inside information unless there has been a total implosion.

No kidding!

Unless a Skins player is funneling the info thru Lavar on IR in NY, some Washington player(s) must be directly spilling the beans...and a mightly gassy hill of beans it is.

It could all blow just on the fumes.

[ThreeSportStar80]

I remember when a lot of people called for Zimmer to be fired, what's happened now? Deadskin players shouldn't let the laundry out to writers but instead go talk to the head coach, that's a cop out if you ask me. I also remember when people wanted Gregg Williams here in Dallas, where are those certain people, he's been a mediocre coach if you ask me and someone with a bad attitude...


How in the world did these Dallas Cowboys ever lose to those bums?????:confused:

[sjordan6]

Greg williams is what he is... a very good defensive coach who has let his ego get the best of him. Buffalo had an outstanding defense but remember their offense was led by Deadslow ( case closed). He built the redskins into a great defense but became too arrogant (Snyder's money didnt help matters) to think that his scheme was better than the players. The redskins will be back because this off-season they will again go out and sign big name free agents but this year will finally draft some young talent. They will have a full off-season to groom a good, young qb and will probably sign freeny and lance briggs to major contracts.

The problem is snyder refuses to allow young talent to develop and thinks that chemistry is bought. Parcells and jerry have built this team thru the draft and the signing of FA to plug in holes. If you want a champion Snyder then allow Gibbs to do it his way and build one with his people. Just because they are percieve as the best doesnt mean they are the best for your team.

[Bob Sacamano]

Williams, in the meantime, has not backed off of calling the Cover 2, perhaps out of stubbornness. And the rest of the league has clearly caught on.

I kept telling skin trolls that they needed players for the D to be successful, because teams had 2 years of tape on it, and that A Carter and A Archuleta weren't it

[LaTunaNostra]

I kept telling skin trolls that they needed players for the D to be successful, because teams had 2 years of tape on it, and that A Carter and A Archuleta weren't it

It's your lucky day!

You could be Dan Snyder's next ten million dollar DC!

[Bob Sacamano]

It's your lucky day!

You could be Dan Snyder's next ten million dollar DC!

I'd probably be getting the same results lol

[LaTunaNostra]

I'd probably be getting the same results lol

I doubt you'd have punked BOTH Taylor's and Archeleta's chances to play well.

[Bob Sacamano]

I doubt you'd have punked BOTH Taylor's and Archeleta's chances to play well.

despite blitzing, when has Archuleta ever played well? but I get your point

[thewivil]

Awesome read.

[MichaelWinicki]

thats some pretty in depth stuff. over the past week i've been thinking of who is to blame for the state of the team, and i was pointing to gibbs as the culprit, much as it pains me as a long time fan. i started thinking about williams and the autonomy he has with the D and with who he wants. he wanted arch. he wanted carter. the O has an excuse, at least. but besides these 2, the D is the same as it was last year when it carried this team over the last 5 weeks of the season and in tampa.

i think the article may be right on as far as williams losing his D cuz if his attitude. when you have mostly the same players from last year, what else can explain this incredible dropoff?


Williams strolled into Buffalo making a "Buddy Ryan" type speech about how a winner was now it town.

The guy is incredibly arrogant.

The folks in Buffalo (both players and fans) were happy to see him leave.

[theebs]

Well once again the joke is on Daniel Snyder

only this time the punchline is Joe Gibbs.

Why the media has not been tearing this organization a new one everyday since training camp started is beyond me.

Joe gibbs is on route to his second losing season in three years, and now it looks like everything will have to be redone.

One thing that is apparent to me is that Gibbs has very very thin skin, that crap he pulled on Sean Salisbury at espn last year was about as low rent as you can get. Why would a hall of fame coach care what a spare ex nfl player says about his team. Pretty sorry. I can see gibbs and williams and snyder sitting around crying about espn being mean to them.

This puts the gibbs parcells debate to rest. No redskins fan should ever bring that up again.

[LaTunaNostra]

The folks in Buffalo (both players and fans) were happy to see him leave.

He's at the very top of my all-time Hate List for sacking Doug Flutie. Kept Rob Johnson.

THAT was genius.

When Coach Killer Bledsoe arrived, I couldn't have been happier.

Hey Mike, do you remember "the maroon zone"?

[bbgun]

Snyder's got the "smartest guy in the room" complex; the kind of guy you hate to run into at a seminar or reunion. Jerry used to be that guy (i.e. the Galloway trade), but it'll be a cold day in hell before he pays an assistant coach head coach money.

[Yakuza Rich]

Well once again the joke is on Daniel Snyder

only this time the punchline is Joe Gibbs.


Gibbs has been the joke as well. He's the one who wanted to bring in Randle El and Lloyd, both of whom are projected to have half of the yards, catches, and TD's COMBINED than Owens this year.

He's also the guy that brought in Al Saunders.

Williams deserves some blame, but the offense isn't exactly lighting up the world either.



YAKUZA

[theebs]

Gibbs has been the joke as well. He's the one who wanted to bring in Randle El and Lloyd, both of whom are projected to have half of the yards, catches, and TD's COMBINED than Owens this year.

He's also the guy that brought in Al Saunders.

Williams deserves some blame, but the offense isn't exactly lighting up the world either.



YAKUZA

well that was my point that is why I said gibbs was the punchline.

When you build a team like it is 1987 you will have problems, especially when it is 2006.

Two losing seasons in three years, no quarterback and a defense that is about to be cleaned out. Yet no one speaks of gibbs as anything but a nice guy who is soft spoken. Everyone in their brother though gets to have a negative opinion of Parcells everytime the guy blinks. Its ridiculous.

[TEK2000]

Why the media has not been tearing this organization a new one everyday since training camp started is beyond me.


That's because that Redskins fans actually want to hear POSITIVE stuff about their team and don't put up with the negativity.

A far cry from what us local Cowboys fans have to hear on the local Dallas media. You can't be positive otherwise you're a Cow"sheep".

[random Cs]

That is an excellent article and I'm fairly certain the "unknown source" is Shawn Springs. (some talk from a local radio show before this article came out)

No Skins fan should be shocked from reading any of that, we have one of the worst defenses in the league for a reason.

What's really sad is listening to people rave about Gibbs because he "tore into" a player in practice this week.

Excuse me, but if your head coach is unwilling and unafraid to tear into a player, there's a start of your problem right there. I wouldn't want a coach that rants all of the time either...but it's football, not a knitting class.


YAKUZA That's just one incident that got reported. Gibbs has a history of bad temper problems, slamming tables and breaking projectors. It's just hard seeing that side of him when he's sitting up there talking about our "supersmart" players who "fought their guts out" after we get our kicked. Gibbs sure as hell isn't gonna like this article coming out.

That's because that Redskins fans actually want to hear POSITIVE stuff about their team and don't put up with the negativity.

A far cry from what us local Cowboys fans have to hear on the local Dallas media. You can't be positive otherwise you're a Cow"sheep". The media around the Redskins, the local sporting radio station and the WP are always very negative.

[kmd24]

"Aggressive Cover 2"

What the heck is that supposed to mean? It sounds like Williams thinks he can get the best of both worlds by using some creative wording. Anybody who truly understands the Cover 2 defense should realize that you can't truly play Cover 2 if you are expecting your safeties to key on the run. It totally defeats the purpose of the two deep safeties if you are expecting them to abandon their coverage responsibilities at the first sign of a handoff.

"We either play Cover 2 or Blitz."

This is what passes for defensive coaching genius? Williams strikes me as a one-trick pony whose strategy falls apart as soon as he doesn't have two solid cover corners to support his attacking defense.

[kmd24]

The best thing about this article is a response to it on ES that states, in essence, that three years into the house cleaning, it's time to clean house again. You couldn't have scripted this season any better for a Cowboys fan.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Snyder's got the "smartest guy in the room" complex; the kind of guy you hate to run into at a seminar or reunion. Jerry used to be that guy (i.e. the Galloway trade), but it'll be a cold day in hell before he pays an assistant coach head coach money.

Yeah and he'll never hire a frontline head coach either.

[LaTunaNostra]

The best thing about this article is a response to it on ES that states, in essence, that three years into the house cleaning, it's time to clean house again. You couldn't have scripted this season any better for a Cowboys fan.

I just read that thread at ES, with every intention of larfing my arse off at the comments.

But geez, I feel kinda sorry for them.

It's one thing being 3-7 and knowing you're playing out the season essentially evaluating for next year.

It's quite another being forced to face an institutional malaise of this apparent magnitude.

Mutinous players, pouting assistant coaches, coordinators with egos run amuck, and a figurehead impotent 65 year old Gibbs at the helm.

He said/she said, anonymous ranting, players robbed of the will to even do their jobs...what a mess...and the author of the piece can't be written off as some blog slug - Friend is a respected sports journalist with ties to the Skins organization and got lengthy if anonymous quotes, not one-liner gripes.

The next five games won't be much fun for that fanbase.

I really think Williams' scheme over personnel mania can only work when the schemes are as flexible as the Pats run... NE aimed to make players interchangable, but still drafted and signed players to suit the scheme. This article makes it sound like for all the blitz packaging Williams' genius' concocted, he later relied on forcing players to play to their own weaknesses, not their strengths.

Makes you appreciate Zim's flexibility once again...he keeps learning and adapting along with his players.

[Bob Sacamano]

don't put up with the negativity.

A far cry from what us local Cowboys fans have to hear on the local Dallas media. You can't be positive otherwise you're a Cow"sheep".

hell, we get it on here lol