Random Commanders Thoughts

I cant' wait to hear Gruden's excuse this time for not running a balanced game when it was tight the whole game.
 
It seems clear that Kirk Cousins has not carried over any of his momentum from the last 8-9 games of last season.

He's doing what he did for the first part of his career, throw for good yardage between the 20's, but then tighten up and short arm balls and throw picks in the red zone.

That's what he did last week against Pittsburgh. A wide open TD on a pass at the 5 yard line on Monday Night was thrown at the feet of the receiver.

Today, watching the game you would think Cousins not Prescott was the rookie qb.

Realizing Cousins was not having a clean game you would have thought the coaches would have bailed him out inside the 20 by trying to run the ball or at least trying a delayed screen or other pass to the back out of the backfield for quick conversion.

Instead, the coaches had Cousins throw into the end zone on all of those key plays, taking the risk of a pick.

Even with a 23-20 lead already on the board.

Another TD or even a field goal might have been enough.

But that pick was a killer and Dallas came back and scored right away.
 
Redzone calling

Start at Dallas 14 on 1st down. 1 run - TD by Jones
Start at Dallas 18 on 4th down -1 FG (end of Half)

Start at Dallas 16 on 3rd down. Pass for 5. Pass (inc), Pass TD to Crowder.
Start at Dallas 15 on 1st down. Run for 5. Pass for -1. Pass inc. FG.
Start at Dallas 9 on 1st down. Run no gain, Penalty on Dallas to 4. Pass (inc), Pass(inc). FG.
Start at Dallas 19 on 2nd. Pass for 13. Pass (inc). Pass (inc). Pass (intercepted)

Obviously the last sequence hurt the most with the interception. i was pretty vocal in chat about not running in the red zone. We did run more than I thought, but it still feels like we only want to run on a 1st down. Ryman or CH pointed that out. 3 of the last 6 passes were fades (2 to Doctson) and none of them were really close. I think that stung the most for me.
 
I stayed awake for the game only because it was against Dallas, and I knew during their very first drive that we weren't going to win. 11 yards Prescott to Beasley. 18 yards Prescott to Bryant. 17 yards Prescott to Bryant. They were the first three first downs, and shortly after came their first TD. Soon after that, I didn't see the need to stay up any longer, and went to bed. Having just checked the score, going when I did was the right decision.

2 games in and already 2 games from the top. Could be a loooonnnnggggg season!
 
It's just really frustrating... I don't know why I set myself up for this year after year.... lying to myself... the O will carry over from seasons end... the improved secondary will help a lot. Ya, we may turn it around at some point like we did last season, but I'm going to keep my expectations low on that story.

I saw so little positive out there today.
 
Miles Monroe said:
I saw so little positive out there today.
Click to expand...

I saw some positive things, but what I feel about your statement is that...based on the fact that they should be farther ahead than they are. They should have dominated Dallas from the onset. I get starting slow & they certainly did that. I watched Alabama yesterday start slow against Ole Miss (24-3 Ole Miss started fast), but Bama came back & eventually wore them down & won. But, the Redskins coming into this season should look so much better then they do & it's, as you said, very frustrating.
 
It was extremely frustrating watching a team that when put in those 2nd and 9 to 7 yard situations today hide under their shell like a frightened turtle and stray from the run. Offensively, it was way too predictable to know what this team was going to do on 2nd and 3rd down today.

For an 8 game stretch a season ago, it really seemed like this team was truly starting to shed demons of the past.

We weren't making the boneheaded penalties at the most inopportune of times, we were battling back late in games and finding ways to pull out victories thanks to some great heroics on a few occasions by Cousins, we weren't allowing big plays from the opponent in critical junctures of the game cripple us, we established an identity and were a tough out in home games, etc. Plain and simple, we were cool and composed regardless of what we faced in a game.

It's not so much where we were from a talent perspective that had me semi-optimistic - it was the fact that the team seemed to be starting to shed horrible habits from years past.

Unfortunately, these first two contests this season have pointed to the Redskins taking on their predictable personality of the better part of the last 25 years.

Mental mistakes and inopportune penalties - check (see Norman's illegal hands to face).
Giving up huge chunks of yardage on 3 and 10 plus situations - check (see 3rd and 11 conversion by Cowboys inside our 20 that leads to an eventual TD and arguably was the turning point of the game).
Inability to stop teams on third down - check (take your pick...they converted all day when they needed to).
Failure to score in the red zone - check (9 points in three of our trips there were unacceptable).
Failure to pull away from teams when in the lead - check (see Kirk INT with a 23-20 lead).
Failure to make teams pay after creating turnovers - check.
Failure to protect the passer in late game situations - (see sack for big loss as we attempted a last ditched attempt at a comeback with just over a minute left).
Tendency to give up numerous 80 plus yard drives for TD - check.

I couldn't even muster up the energy to get upset and be bothered by how things played out today. The writing was on the wall early in terms of how it was going to play out. The most bothersome aspect was like I said, the horror story of the last 25 years played out drive by drive, quarter by quarter, exactly how it has countless times in past years.

Has anything really changed? I'm not quite sure at this point. Yes, it's only two games in. It was an upper echelon team in Pittsburgh and a Dallas team that always gives us fits at home. Maybe two losses should have been expected, but the script for how we lost shouldn't have been what we witnessed today.

At the end of the day, we can bang our heads as long as we want trying to figure out what needs to be done to become a winner. History has told us (especially in our own team's case) that you aren't going anywhere without nasty fronts on the offensive and defensive lines.

Until there is a serious, and I mean SERIOUS commitment towards upgrading in those regards, this team will continue to swirl the drain.

Last season and 2012 showed us that our QB needs to be playing at a top-tier level to simply be competitive and average. Otherwise, we're pretty close to being a bottom feeder.

Commit to the lines, and if that approach fails, I guess I'll have to then seriously consider if watching this team is worth my while.
 
I hated the Pittsburgh loss but we lost to a dominant team, a historically good team, Dallas is not good, a friend of mine summed it up, we're the f***ing Browns with a few playoff appearances mixed in just enough to keep people from sitting in a bath tub of lemon juice and razor blades.
 
Yep, you put your finger on it.

Two games in we have not seen any emotion or energy out of this team.

We shrunk away from the Steelers plain and simple.

Against Dallas, there was no fear but no sense of urgency either.

Couldn't get up for a division game at home.

Somebody needs to tell this team the regular season is now underway.
 
DixieFlatline said:
A positive from today that many noticed in chat. Chris Thompson coming across from the other side to blow up a rusher.
https://twitter.com/recordsANDradio/status/777710054124490752
Click to expand...

Damn..dudes been hanging out with Portis lately or something.

On another note, FB friends with Murphy and he posted it was a tough loss and time to get back to work. I commented good game and please break out the puppets & crayons to explain what a running game is to Gruden.
 
Jay "The Loser" Gruden should be fired, today. Along with Sean "Wrong Play" McVay. And Joe "Not Very" Barry.
Name Callahan interim.

Bench every starter next week.

Entertain any trade offer, for any player.

Because right now, today, we are the worst team in the NFL.
 
I am willing to bet in Gruden's press conference he gives these "I hope so" type answers. The guy doesn't instill confidence. Right now he needs to stop being the players friend and light a fire under the players.

To keep my blood pressure down I am not going to talk about Barry.
 
Well, Loser Gruden hired Barry. So that's on him too.

And you are 100% right, riggins44, about needing to light a fire under these guys asses. I know one of the lines used to defend Loser, is how much the guys seem to like him. Looks to be more of a problem, than an asset. Liking one's coach is neither required, or necessary to win games.

And, as usual, I have the cure.

For all the praise Loser got for making the switch to Cybil Cousins, which I don't agree took any balls at all, there is something he could do to earn some respect from me, which I'm sure is keeping him up at night, is #2 on my list from above.

Bench every starter next week.

Starting at the 1st practice this week, all current starters would run scout team all week. The #2's would get every rep. Any #3's would be the backups. Guys that are a little nicked, like T. Williams, T. Compton, etc, would be on the inactive list next week, and go to New York and play the #2's. This gives an across the board smack in the mouth, without calling out any particular player.

We should then have a sufficiently pissed off group of players to come back home and try, really reeeeeally try hard to get the 1st win of the year against the Browns. Which is now in serious doubt. THAT....would take balls. And, it WOULD work.

You're welcome.
 
Oh, and as much as I hate that it happened, it was poetic justice that Almo shoved the winning TD up Loser's fat ass.
 
The HC needs to be respected, not required to be the players buddy. His main objective is to win games. If he want's friends then get a Facebook account.

By the way...yes, I am still very pissed.
 
Anthony Raposa ‏@AnthonyRaposa
McCloughan said this would take 4 years to get right.
He was hired January 2015.
Jumping ship is premature.

Burgundy Burner ‏@BurgundyBurner
Bold Prediction: If Jay Gruden is fired after 2016 & the GM is allowed to choose the new HC, I think he looks toward the state of Michigan.

Burgundy Burner ‏@BurgundyBurner
I want to know who the "source" is for PFT's Kirk Cousins story. It's not someone with the organization. Leaves only one possibility.

Burgundy Burner ‏@BurgundyBurner
What part of "fade route is not working in the end zone" does Jay Gruden fail to understand?

Grant Paulsen ‏@granthpaulsen
The #Redskins scored two touchdowns on six redzone trips yesterday. On the season they've got 3 TD's on 10 redzone trips. Tough to overcome.

Cian Fahey ‏@Cianaf
That was a bad game but it wasn't that far from an average game for him last year. Defenses have adjusted and he doesn't know what to do.

Homer McFanboy ‏@HomerMcFanboy
Remember that time Wade Phillips begged the Redskins to hire him as their defensive coordinator and they said no thanks? That was awesome.

Burgundy Blog‏@BurgundyBlog
Jordan Reed should be Plans A, B, C, and D for the #Redskins in the red-zone.
 
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