The Gruden Files - Year Two

[Henry]

An average team will lose to good teams, beat bad teams and split with other average teams. We did that this year, more or less, so I think we can safely call the Redskins an Average Team.

That is a marked improvement over the past few years when we were lousy. I think that's something to be pleased about.

I'm ok worrying about being a Good Team next season.

 

[Fear The Spear]

Goal...I'd hold off for a while. In two years Gruden has won exactly two games against teams with winning records. both of those came last season.

That's because virtually every team we've played this season has losing records, so we shouldn't be judged by something out of our control.
Due to :

1) Our whole division sucking
2) Us having a bottom-feeder schedule, due to last year's record
3) This year, there has been more losing teams in the NFL, overall, than in decades. I can't remember how long, but there was a stat that this has been the worst year in ages for teams with losing records.

So, we're 0-2 against the 2 best teams in the league.
Who else have we played this year, that actually has a winning record ? Just one team - the Jets.

 

[fansince62]

no...we've beaten two winning teams over two seasons under Gruden's leadership.

apologies in advance....but I'm not going to argue the parameters of common sense.

got it that after all these years things appear to be trending upward. good as it goes.

I'll wait until the really meaningful games are played - hopefully next season's playoffs - when we have established a real running game and the defense is championship caliber. I have full faith that McL can provide the stock.

.....and not get caught up in all the hyperbole/bloat.

 

[Henry]

3) This year, there has been more losing teams in the NFL, overall, than in decades. I can't remember how long, but there was a stat that this has been the worst year in ages for teams with losing records..

You know what's funny? We actually have the sixth best record in the conference. There are literally only five NFC teams with winning records.

So actually, if the season ended today, we'd deserve to be in the playoffs this year Division Title or not, because we're one of the Top Six.

 

[fansince62]

You know what's funny? We actually have the sixth best record in the conference. There are literally only five NFC teams with winning records.

So actually, if the season ended today, we'd deserve to be in the playoffs this year Division Title or not, because we're one of the Top Six.

which goes to an observation of mine: the NFL product seems to be getting less attractive/appealing each year.

 

[Henry]

which goes to an observation of mine: the NFL product seems to be getting less attractive/appealing each year.

Parity! That's all that matters. Keeps fans of lousy teams interested late into the season ... wait, what?

 

[TomE]

who says equality is victimless

 

[servumtuum]

which goes to an observation of mine: the NFL product seems to be getting less attractive/appealing each year.

And yet more lucrative-interesting irony, that.

As noted in an article posted in July of 2015:

NFL sees big jump in revenue

There's no sign of the NFL slowing down, and new earnings figures indicate the league is bringing in more cash than ever before.

The league and its 32 teams took in an estimated $12 billion last season, a 14.3% jump from the previous year's estimated total of $10.5 billion.

The NFL doesn't make its financial data public, but it can be estimated thanks to the Green Bay Packers, the only publicly-owned team in the league.

The latest report from the Green Bay Packers show the league brought in at least $7.2 billion last year. That figure is based on the Packer's reported share of league revenue, which is split evenly between the NFL's 32 teams.

The Packers, which made the playoffs this year, also took in $149.3 million locally, generated from things like sponsorships and team events. That was a 9.4% increase over the previous year.

Marc Ganis, a sports marketing consultant with SportsCorp Ltd., said the Packers make more locally than most NFL teams and usually rank in the top 10 in terms of income. He estimated that all of the league's teams together brought in as much as $1.5 billion of local revenue.

That means the overall revenues for the league and its teams are probably in the $12 billion-plus range.

Ganis said $12 billion isn't far off the mark in terms of revenues, but said the league also had bigger expenses last year.

"At least half of the revenues go to players' salaries," Ganis said, and they're making more money in 2015.

A slew of $100 million-plus deals have been inked in recent months. Those used to be uncommon in the league.

Ganis said these costs -- as well as the league's administrative expenses and legal costs related to concussions -- are offset by the league's lucrative TV contracts. Most recently the NFL renewed a multi-year DirecTV contract for $12 billion.

Article link: NFL sees big jump in revenue - Jul. 20, 2015

 

[stevenaa]

no...we've beaten two winning teams over two seasons under Gruden's leadership.

apologies in advance....but I'm not going to argue the parameters of common sense.

got it that after all these years things appear to be trending upward. good as it goes.

I'll wait until the really meaningful games are played - hopefully next season's playoffs - when we have established a real running game and the defense is championship caliber. I have full faith that McL can provide the stock.

.....and not get caught up in all the hyperbole/bloat.

It's not hyperbole or bloat for fans to enjoy the improvement we are seeing, and there's no shame in enjoying improvement over years past even if the ultimate goal isn't met. This team has improved. Is Gruden gonna continue to grow and learn and turn into a coach who can lead a team to the Super Bowl? You don't know the answer to that any more than anyone else. It's a pretty safe bet to bet against it, given the last few decades of this team, but this team has improved under his leadership, like it or not. You can excuse the successes, no matter how small you may find them, away from him all you want, passing it off to McL, but it's Gruden leading the troops. Teams mimic their HC. This team has heart, if not talent. It comes from somewhere. I think we'll find that having patience and allowing guys to grow to their potential might actually result in a team to be excited about. We've had an ADD owner who never see's things through, for which fans have blasted him. Fans who would now rather toss the coach and QB and start over before they've even had a chance to fail or succeed.

 

[Goaldeje]

We've had an ADD owner who never see's things through, for which fans have blasted him. Fans who would now rather toss the coach and QB and start over before they've even had a chance to fail or succeed.

I agree with the rest of your post, but this line of thinking bothers me. Gruden was brought in to succeed with Griffin last year (before anyone says it, no, I have no proof of this, but... come on. With the investment we made, and with the work Gruden did so well with Dalton, do you really think ownership and the FO wanted to a toss up situation between Cousins, McCoy or Griffin?), and he failed. Miserably.

Look at it this way. If you're on a board of directors of a Billion dollar company and you bring in a new CEO who says s/he will improve your presence in China, you would expect improvements in China. After the first year, if your China market was not only unimproved but was in fact demonstrably worse, firing that CEO would be justified. In fact, it might even be expected. I've seen CEOs given less time that one year. The fact that in the second year, your performance in the India market is better than you could have expected is awesome, and it certainly helps justify your decision to not fire the CEO after one year, but it doesn't mean that decision wouldn't have been justified at the time.

An inexact, inelegant comparison to be sure; the point is that these coaches are paid ridiculous amounts of money to perform. Jay failed his first year. Some guys are cut out to be head coaches, others aren't. Do we really think giving more time to Zorn or Spurrier and being patient with them would have eventually resulted in them being decent NFL head coaches?

 

[Om]

The theory that Robert's problems and ultimate demotion were a failure on Gruden's part, rather than Robert's, is one I believe will divide Redskins fans forever. That didn't surprise me a month or two ago. That the theory continues to be advanced in denigrating Gruden, given the apparent franchise turnaround happening right in front of our eyes, does.

 

[Chris]

The theory that Robert's problems and ultimate demotion were a failure on Gruden's part, rather than Robert's, is one I believe will divide Redskins fans forever. That didn't surprise me a month or two ago. That the theory continues to be advanced in denigrating Gruden, given the apparent franchise turnaround happening right in front of our eyes, does.

If the consensus within the organization is that Griffin can't play, and that seems apparent, then why is he still here? Is it to appease Snyder?

If there was a desire to eliminate the drama surrounding him, why is he still here? If there were negative feelings toward him from his teammates, why is he still here? To backup McCoy in the event of an injury to Cousins?

What does having him inactive all season accomplish?

Clearly his future is in question. I guess we won't know for sure until his next stop but I really hope that stop isn't in Philadelphia or Dallas.

 

[Neophyte]

The theory that Robert's problems and ultimate demotion were a failure on Gruden's part, rather than Robert's, is one I believe will divide Redskins fans forever. That didn't surprise me a month or two ago. That the theory continues to be advanced in denigrating Gruden, given the apparent franchise turnaround happening right in front of our eyes, does.

I'm happier with what I see than I thought I would be but the loss at home to a piss poor Dallas team two weeks ago sticks in my head. That one is on Gruden. I'll be honest here...winning is important. Winning the Super Bowl is very important. Beating Dallas is more important. Period. And this was a Dallas team that was ripe not just for beating but for a whipping. Jay let the team come up flat and didn't make a single offensive adjustment the whole game. I'm having a hard time with this. A very hard time.

And yeah, I'm still urked with how he dealt with Robert. Feels like some ego to me, on the part of both men, and I have a serious problem with that. While I won't through Jay out over it, I can't tell you that this one thing gives him less wiggle room with me than he otherwise would have. Like with the above mentioned Dallas game.

 

[Om]

If the consensus within the organization is that Griffin can't play, and that seems apparent, then why is he still here? Is it to appease Snyder?

If there was a desire to eliminate the drama surrounding him, why is he still here? If there were negative feelings toward him from his teammates, why is he still here? To backup McCoy in the event of an injury to Cousins?

What does having him inactive all season accomplish?

Clearly his future is in question. I guess we won't know for sure until his next stop but I really hope that stop isn't in Philadelphia or Dallas.

We don't know, brother. There are a million theories, but end of the day we just don't know. Given that as of right now I'm okay with the guys making the decisions, for me I'm okay with that.

But I also understand that not knowing drives a lot of people nuts.

I'm happier with what I see than I thought I would be but the loss at home to a piss poor Dallas team two weeks ago sticks in my head. That one is on Gruden. I'll be honest here...winning is important. Winning the Super Bowl is very important. Beating Dallas is more important. Period. And this was a Dallas team that was ripe not just for beating but for a whipping. Jay let the team come up flat and didn't make a single offensive adjustment the whole game. I'm having a hard time with this. A very hard time.

If that's on the level, ya lost me there brother. Did you feel we failed in 1991?

Teams have bad games.

And yeah, I'm still urked with how he dealt with Robert. Feels like some ego to me, on the part of both men, and I have a serious problem with that. While I won't through Jay out over it, I can't tell you that this one thing gives him less wiggle room with me than he otherwise would have. Like with the above mentioned Dallas game.

Guess it goes to what I said in another thread earlier ... the notion that Robert's failure was Gruden's fault and not his own. I know a lot of people still feel that way, and that's fine since it's all just opinion at this point for us fans. I just never did buy into it personally. I was surprised at Jay calling Robert out after that one game like he did, but even then I remember thinking (and writing I believe) that given what we'd seen and heard leading up to that from Robert, part of me kinda felt it was understandable in a 'tough love' kinda way.

All that's old news, though, so I really don't want to rehash it yet again. For one thing, it IS old news and will likely never be fully resolved among fans. Mostly, though, because of what we seem to be watching happen over the past few weeks---a team, warts and injuries and all, apparently finding itself and going through the metamorphosis we've all been suffering waiting for for so long. To still see Gruden in the context of what happened last year (or in one game out of 14 so far this year) just doesn't seem right to me. Could it all still collapse? Sure. But that's not the way the evidence is trending.

 

[Goaldeje]

I'm happier with what I see than I thought I would be but the loss at home to a piss poor Dallas team two weeks ago sticks in my head. That one is on Gruden. I'll be honest here...winning is important. Winning the Super Bowl is very important. Beating Dallas is more important. Period. And this was a Dallas team that was ripe not just for beating but for a whipping. Jay let the team come up flat and didn't make a single offensive adjustment the whole game. I'm having a hard time with this. A very hard time.

And yeah, I'm still urked with how he dealt with Robert. Feels like some ego to me, on the part of both men, and I have a serious problem with that. While I won't through Jay out over it, I can't tell you that this one thing gives him less wiggle room with me than he otherwise would have. Like with the above mentioned Dallas game.

This pretty much excellently sums up where I am. I don't know what percentage of blame should be assigned to Gruden and Griffin over what happened; but I do know that as Head Coach, Gruden bears the responsibility for the outcome. He's getting paid to assume that responsibility, and he does. I think it sucks that both men were apparently more content to draw lines in the sand than they were in working together to discover a solution, but that apparently is exactly what happened. It's a damned shame, really.

 

[micks113]

The theory that Robert's problems and ultimate demotion were a failure on Gruden's part, rather than Robert's, is one I believe will divide Redskins fans forever. That didn't surprise me a month or two ago. That the theory continues to be advanced in denigrating Gruden, given the apparent franchise turnaround happening right in front of our eyes, does.

Surprises me too OM. Leads me to a conclusion there is a hidden agenda for some.

 

[micks113]

This pretty much excellently sums up where I am. I don't know what percentage of blame should be assigned to Gruden and Griffin over what happened; but I do know that as Head Coach, Gruden bears the responsibility for the outcome. He's getting paid to assume that responsibility, and he does. I think it sucks that both men were apparently more content to draw lines in the sand than they were in working together to discover a solution, but that apparently is exactly what happened. It's a damned shame, really.

Gruden did take responsibility. He benched Griffin and inactivated him for all but one game this year. THAT is taking responsibility and doing the right thing. It was never about liking Griffin or not liking him.

Fast forward to now, we see Gruden also taking responsibility. He sees the progress in Kirk, and is nurturing him along so that he gets positive results. He hasn't given Kirk the full plate yet, he doesn't want to overload him, and says he can win by managing the game properly. And, he's showing him how to do it. That's coaching folks.

 

[micks113]

I'm happier with what I see than I thought I would be but the loss at home to a piss poor Dallas team two weeks ago sticks in my head. That one is on Gruden. I'll be honest here...winning is important. Winning the Super Bowl is very important. Beating Dallas is more important. Period. And this was a Dallas team that was ripe not just for beating but for a whipping. Jay let the team come up flat and didn't make a single offensive adjustment the whole game. I'm having a hard time with this. A very hard time.

And yeah, I'm still urked with how he dealt with Robert. Feels like some ego to me, on the part of both men, and I have a serious problem with that. While I won't through Jay out over it, I can't tell you that this one thing gives him less wiggle room with me than he otherwise would have. Like with the above mentioned Dallas game.

totally agree with you on the first paragraph. No excuse, I'm for Gruden staying, but at the end of the day, for me, if you don't beat Dallas you have a short career in Wash DC.

 

[McD5]

I'm happier with what I see than I thought I would be but the loss at home to a piss poor Dallas team two weeks ago sticks in my head. That one is on Gruden. I'll be honest here...winning is important. Winning the Super Bowl is very important. Beating Dallas is more important. Period. And this was a Dallas team that was ripe not just for beating but for a whipping. Jay let the team come up flat and didn't make a single offensive adjustment the whole game. I'm having a hard time with this. A very hard time.

And yeah, I'm still urked with how he dealt with Robert. Feels like some ego to me, on the part of both men, and I have a serious problem with that. While I won't through Jay out over it, I can't tell you that this one thing gives him less wiggle room with me than he otherwise would have. Like with the above mentioned Dallas game.

Beating Dallas is more important that winning the SB?

So you'd rather 5 years in a row of beating Dallas over 5 SBs?

I know I didn't read that correctly.

 

[Henry]

The theory that Robert's problems and ultimate demotion were a failure on Gruden's part, rather than Robert's, is one I believe will divide Redskins fans forever. That didn't surprise me a month or two ago. That the theory continues to be advanced in denigrating Gruden, given the apparent franchise turnaround happening right in front of our eyes, does.

Sorry, I have trouble placing the lion's share of the blame on the 23 year-old, third-year player.

The coach has to know how to coach guys like that. That's his job. Gruden didn't do that last year.

I'm sure we'll find out more about who's what when Griffin goes to another team, and how he fares there.

For us, well, we just have to hope Cousins, and the team, continues on this upward trajectory. 4 wins to 7 (or 8 or 9) wins is a very good sign. I wouldn't exactly call it complete and utter vindication just yet.

No, the teeth-gnashing over how Griffin was handled isn't going to go away anytime soon.