Week 7: The Post-Game Rant (Part Deux)

What Now, Coach?


The squad is 3-3, on a two game losing streak, and the injuries are piling up AFTER a questionable (by me) Quarterback change that produced nothing but more doubt.  Oh boy.  And we haven't even entered the difficult part of the schedule.  And if the Head Man doesn't get this mess straightened out soon, Washington's going to end up on the wrong side of .500 after Week 8.  Do you think Mike Shanahan is having fun these days?

Going into the Regular Season, my read on the team was that they could make some noise if   a)D.C. got great play from the quarterback position  b)they stayed healthy  c)The Redskins had an outstanding year in turnover differential, and  d)Washington caught a few lucky breaks.  Those things are true of the overwhelming majority of the teams in the NFL.  Washington's no different.  But in order to succeed in the short term, meaning this season, The Redskins Football Team had to handle all four areas in order achieve measurable success in 2011.

1. Quarterback - Before the season (and this blog) began, The Redskins held an open QB competition to determine the team's starting quarterback.  And at that time I favored John Beck, but Rex Grossman beat him out.  No biggie, just Win ballgames.  That's what Grossman did.  But the book on that guy's always been he's a turnover machine.  Of course he did turn the ball over during the course of the season, but we already knew he was prone to this kind of behavior.  That didn't seem to be a big deal until he famously threw 4 interceptions in a home division loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6.  He played like shit that day, but he did lead Washington (at that point) to a 3-2 record.  So what does our sage Head Coach do?  He fires him!  He benches him for the rest of the game in the 2nd half (understandable) and switches QBs during the week (WTF!?).  I disagreed with that move because it looked panicky, and was very risky.  I hope those reservations have not come to pass.
2. Injuries - Look, staying healthy just ain't happening.  This is an ominous sign of troubled waters ahead.  Truthfully, the ballclub just doesn't have the depth to withstand a signifigant bout of injuries.  The starters can play with damn near anybody.  But the backups, particularly at certain positions *Offensive Line* *AHEM!* simply couldn't make too many other NFL rosters.  Consequently, when a team with depth issues starts gettin' hurt, that team's ability to beat quality competition is diminished GREATLY.  Consider by the close of the game, The Redskins were playing without their starting #1Wide Reciever, Running Back, Left Tackle, Left Guard, Tight End, Center, Free Safety, and Inside Linebacker.  If you include the Quarterback change, that's almost 40% of the starting lineup out.  It's tough to beat anybody with a roster that banged up.
3. Turnover Differential - A quick definition is how many times a team gets the ball vs how many times they give it away.  Honestly, I haven't even viewed the official stats in awhile, but I do know that The Redskins Offense has been far too turnover prone, while the Defense can't seem to force the turnovers.  Take Sunday for example.  Washington turns the ball over 3 TIMES(!!!) and doesn't force a single one.  That gets you beat, plain and simple.  Turnover diff. is the most important stat in football for that very reason.  NO OTHER FACTOR has more impact on deciding individual games and entire seasons.  The Skins are not Winning in this critical area.   That's the bottom line.
4. Opportunities - There can be a very fine line between success and failure in the National Football League.  That's the reality.  So when a team faces an opponent that is vulnerable, that team must capitalize upon the opportunity presented to it.  At the beginning of the year, Washington did this.  They faced a New York Giants team that was badly beat up in the season opener.  They capitalized on this opportunity by beating them.  Good work.  In the next few games, the team faced opportunistic circumstances in terms of their opponents on the schedule.  Fortunately, they were able to take advantage of these favorable circumstances.  Fast forward to this past game.  I felt that although Cam Newton was a dynamic sensation, he was still a Rookie Quarterback, facing a high quality defense.  I did expect him to give The Skins some fits, but I definitely wasn't prepared to watch him thoroughly beat their ass the way he did.  Hell, if that was a fight, I'd have called the police!  That was disgraceful!  That is NOT taking advantage of a Rookie QB.  In fact, we all know who got took now.

The way it's looking approaching the midway point of the year, adversity has visited the Nation's Capital big time.  It remains to be seen how The Redskins Football Team will navigate through this turbulence, because the record is even towards midseason.  That means that success is still within reach.  What remains to be seen, however, is will Coach Shanahan be able to right the ship, and steer the team towards reaching it's predetermined goals - or not.  Stay tuned, because the season got a lot more interesting today.  But we do know one thing for certain: I am wearing my Skins hat to work in the morning.  Damn right!!