Random Commanders Thoughts

[Boone]

My dream is a day when we are arguing about who should get the credit for our incredible team, not which numbskull failure deserves the blame.

I don't know if that day comes but I still hope for it.

 

[Win4us]

1.There isn't a Tua every year. There are up years and down years for QB drafts.

2. The challenge is determining whether Haskins is the real deal. I suppose it's built into the cards that we are going to play this out to the bitter end, but if Haskins tanks next season it's at least three more years of rebuid. IMO, the franchise is dead at that point. Kick it to the curb and spit on it.

No one is answering my question: why is it Haskins can't play now? What, specifically, is felt to be a hindrance?

Disagree, there's a Tua type every year, one who is proclaimed the 2nd coming of Joe Montana. BTW Tua also suffered an ankle injury recently so who knows if he'll regain his college form.

I've stated what I believe to be Callahan's plan, that he'll put Haskins in after the bye. Doing so next week against the Vikings would do pretty much nothing in the grand scheme of things. We have an o-line that's bipolar on it's best day, a 2nd if not 3rd string rated TE, and our #1 RB is 34 years old with practice squad level backups. To me a it's a potential recipe for disaster.

Only the coaching staff knows for sure why DH isn't the starter at this point. Let's say they do decide DH gets the start with the issues stated above, and he gets smashed to bits by practically the same o-line that gifted not 1 but 2 broken legs to our qb's last season. My question is how would that in any way shape or form be a fair assessment of DH's abilities?


I too want the kid on the field to see what we have to work with going forward, and believe this happens after the bye. But if we're being honest, Bruce's lack of vision and failure to plan ahead has put Haskins in a no win situation coming in at any point this season. Callahan is at least attempting to put a preparation plan in place for the kid, one this team sure as hell hasn't tried in the last 5 years.

 

[Ax]

I'm surprised to hear this coming from you Ax - because you are very consistent in terms of always wanting the team try to win games. It's fine to say 'the coaches think Keenum gives us the best chance to win' but what our eyes tell us is that short of being surrounded by Super Bowl level talent, he is not a good QB. My expectations for him this season were much higher but not only does he have significant physical weaknesses (which I was aware of), he makes poor decisions and shows poor poise under pressure. Those were the only benefits he supposedly had as a starter. By pure common sense, we will not win with him under center and the only logical thing to do is to get our 15th pick out there and start trying to win with him.

It's just flat out common sense.

We could have won yesterday, even as bad as Keenum looked. Is it possible Haskins could have done better? Sure.
Is it possible him not being quite ready yet would have help Bile Shamahan get his blowout? Sure.

Patience isn't just needed for coaches coming through the door. As you've repeatedly said.
Players deserve it too. Especially young potential franchise QB's.

 

[ntotoro]

My dream is a day when we are arguing about who should get the credit for our incredible team, not which numbskull failure deserves the blame.

I don't know if that day comes but I still hope for it.

I really don't think we'll see that while Dan Snyder still owns this team. He's the little geeky kid who didn't fit in anywhere or have any friends. Now he owns a football team and has celebrity friends, even though he still looks like a dork and has to buy big-boy clothes that don't fit him properly. He'll never sell this team.

 

[McD5]

I'm surprised to hear this coming from you Ax - because you are very consistent in terms of always wanting the team try to win games. It's fine to say 'the coaches think Keenum gives us the best chance to win' but what our eyes tell us is that short of being surrounded by Super Bowl level talent, he is not a good QB. My expectations for him this season were much higher but not only does he have significant physical weaknesses (which I was aware of), he makes poor decisions and shows poor poise under pressure. Those were the only benefits he supposedly had as a starter. By pure common sense, we will not win with him under center and the only logical thing to do is to get our 15th pick out there and start trying to win with him.

It's just flat out common sense.

Did you read what John Keim said about him yesterday on twitter?

"The fact that he's not playing should tell u what they know. Just bec fans haven't seen don't forget they see him in practice and know where he's at in his understanding of everything. Sorry. I know what I know based on many conversations. This isn't difficult. The group of people with him every day don't think he's ready. Not 1 person or 2. The group."

It appears that Haskins is having problems with the mental aspect of the game. Some speculate it's a short attention span or lack of effort. Others are leaking that he can't remember how to call the entire play. That he's forgetting 50% of it and that receivers don't know what routes to run--leading to interceptions and sacks.

I think it was pretty obvious that we couldn't start him against Philly at the beginning of the year, and you don't want to see Cousins destroy him this Thursday night either. Maybe in a few weeks.

 

[Boone]

I don't trust the assessment - ANY assessment - from this front office or these coaches. They've managed to screw it up with every remotely talented player we've had over the past decade+. That's not to say that I'd be surprised if he has a lot to learn. He never played under center. He never called plays in the way required for an NFL QB. And he's only played something like 13 college games as a starter. We knew all that when we drafted him. The stuff about him having 'problems with the mental game' rubs me the wrong way. He's green. He's inexperienced. He has a lot to learn. That doesn't equate to 'having problems with the mental game'. Some think there is a different standard of criticism for black QBs. I didn't used to believe it... but I'm starting to.

This really shouldn't be that hard.

Step 1: Get him in the ****ing games.
Step 2: If the playbook is so complicated that it takes a year to learn, throw half those plays out. We have so many 3 and outs, it's hardly like we need a complete playbook. Simplify it. He can learn it.
Step 3: Shut up and let the kid learn on the field, you know, where ALL NFL QBs learn to play professional football.
Step 4: Brace yourself for the ups and downs that are invariably going to come when he does get out there. That's almost always the case. We need a couple of seasons of Haskins at starter to know what his abilities and ceiling are.

Oh - and if we could get a coaching staff in here that actually knows what it's doing and how to coach a young QB, not Bill Callahan, not Doogie Howzer our OC, but a real NFL coach and his competent assistants, that would be really really helpful too.

 

[McD5]

I don't disagree, but a few things to keep in mind:

1) Don't misinterpret the phrase that he might be having problems calling plays to infer or insinuate that he's stupid. That's not easy. It's incredibly difficult to call plays in live games. Insanely difficult in fact.
2) Do you remember last season when we signed Troy Apke? He had played exactly one year of college football. There was no way that we could have expected him to be ready for the NFL.
3) As you mentioned, Haskins also played only one season and came out of school as a sophomore. And this guy is just supposed to learn the hardest position on the entire field and be ready to start after only one year in college? No chance in hell.

Some people had unrealistic expectations. He should have been sold as a LT project--not a guy ready to play in the NFL right now.

 

[Boone]

No one in Ashburn has ever 'sold him' as an immediate starter. In fact, the team has clearly gone out of it's way not to make him an immediate starter. It's only the sports media and some fans who want to turn slow walking him into the starter's role as some kind of horrible franchise failure, or worse yet - that he's not the guy they thought they had when they drafted him.

Regardless - the idea that he can't now step in as a substitute for two hapless QBs in Keenum and McCoy and learn while he suffers some bumps, bruises, and occasional setbacks - I think that's patently ridiculous.

It's time for him to start learning the only place a rookie QB really can learn - on the field.

 

[Beetlejuice]

Disagree, there's a Tua type every year, one who is proclaimed the 2nd coming of Joe Montana

I don't get this. Put Montana on a team without Jerry Rice, and he does nothing IMHO. He was a statistically average QB, and he had the greatest receiver of all time to throw to. He gets more credit than he deserves. Brad Johnson would've been a hall of famer with that team.

But your comment aside from that is accurate. Ryan Leaf? Matthew Stafford? Andrew Luck? The hype is always there, and rarely pans out. Tua gets benched in a big game because he can't handle the pressure and crumbles. He looks golden the rest of the year, because Alabama plays a cupcake schedule, much like Duke in basketball. I would bet both nuts Tua does nothing in the NFL.

 

[Beetlejuice]

No one in Ashburn has ever 'sold him' as an immediate starter. In fact, the team has clearly gone out of it's way not to make him an immediate starter. It's only the sports media and some fans who want to turn slow walking him into the starter's role as some kind of horrible franchise failure, or worse yet - that he's not the guy they thought they had when they drafted him.

Regardless - the idea that he can't now step in as a substitute for two hapless QBs in Keenum and McCoy and learn while he suffers some bumps, bruises, and occasional setbacks - I think that's patently ridiculous.

It's time for him to start learning the only place a rookie QB really can learn - on the field.

I agree 100%. Look at Peyton Manning's rookie year. He looked like the worst NFL QB in the league,. because that year he was and it wasn't even close. He was an INT machine who couldn't buy a win. But he learned from it and developed into one of the greatest QBs in history.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

I don't get this. Put Montana on a team without Jerry Rice, and he does nothing IMHO. He was a statistically average QB, and he had the greatest receiver of all time to throw to. He gets more credit than he deserves. Brad Johnson would've been a hall of famer with that team.

I said Joe Mantegna

 

[Henry]

I don't get this. Put Montana on a team without Jerry Rice, and he does nothing IMHO.

Well, other than go to three pro-bowls in four years and win two superbowls.

 

[Henry]

I have no problem keeping Haskins on the bench. Quarterbacks, especially those that are not yet quite comfortable in the pocket, don't necessarily benefit by getting thrown to the wolves too early. Anyone remember Patrick Ramsey? That poor kid got banged around like a pinball for a few years and never really recovered. Plenty of QBs develop and improve by watching from the bench for a year. Or even half a year. At the moment Haskins is our one Great Hope. We need to not screw the kid up. He can sit. And watch and learn.

And hey, maybe it might be a good idea to find out who our actual coach is before putting Haskins on the field to learn an offense. Why have him get the crap beat out of him to learn a few of Calahan's plays, only to have to start over again next year. Another good way to screw up a young prospect. Anyone remember Jason Campbell?

God, this team ...

 

[McD5]

Scenario 1: Put the kid in and let him get some experience. Finish 4-12, and Bruce stays.

Scenario 2: Ride Case to 1-15, and Bruce gets fired.

Both sides have their merits.

 

[Ax]

Some hate Bruce so much that even we won out in the regular season, cruised through the playoffs, and brought home the 4th Lombardi, they'd still want him flayed, charbroiled, and fed to the maggots.

Just because they'd rather be right.

 

[DieselPwr44]

Some hate Bruce so much that even we won out in the regular season, cruised through the playoffs, and brought home the 4th Lombardi, they'd still want him flayed, charbroiled, and fed to the maggots.

Just because they'd rather be right.

Horse Hockey.

Bruce has had over ten years here.

He's a known quantity as a football exec. and fans are tired of his results/miscues and want a clueless owner to move on.

 

[Beetlejuice]

Look on the bright side fellas. Even without scoring,. we beat the spread

 

[Kel Varnsen]

No one in Ashburn has ever 'sold him' as an immediate starter. In fact, the team has clearly gone out of it's way not to make him an immediate starter. It's only the sports media and some fans who want to turn slow walking him into the starter's role as some kind of horrible franchise failure, or worse yet - that he's not the guy they thought they had when they drafted him.

Regardless - the idea that he can't now step in as a substitute for two hapless QBs in Keenum and McCoy and learn while he suffers some bumps, bruises, and occasional setbacks - I think that's patently ridiculous.

It's time for him to start learning the only place a rookie QB really can learn - on the field.

Thank you for posting this. It's crazy that there is this narrative the Redskins picked Haskins to come in and start week 1 and that was the plan all along and because he isn't starting he's a bust and it's another failure for the team. The team has never said anything other than Haskins isn't ready yet. It's always the media and the fans that drive these things. I don't think the Redskins fans have the patience to develop a QB.

 

[China]

I don't get this. Put Montana on a team without Jerry Rice, and he does nothing IMHO.

You do realize that Joe Montana won two Superbowls before Jerry Rice was ever a member of the 49ers, and he was MVP both times, right?

 

[Sarge]

This really shouldn't be that hard.

Step 1: Get him in the ****ing games.
Step 2: If the playbook is so complicated that it takes a year to learn, throw half those plays out. We have so many 3 and outs, it's hardly like we need a complete playbook. Simplify it. He can learn it.
Step 3: Shut up and let the kid learn on the field, you know, where ALL NFL QBs learn to play professional football.
Step 4: Brace yourself for the ups and downs that are invariably going to come when he does get out there. That's almost always the case. We need a couple of seasons of Haskins at starter to know what his abilities and ceiling are.

Spurrier did that with Ramsey and it destroyed him