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A Tip of the Helmet to...

Bulldog's Twin said:
Josh Norman is a 28 year old veteran who was in the Super Bowl last year.

One would expect a player of that stature coming in to behave himself better on the field in a critical game against the Giants and not be selfish enough to cost the team to settle a petty battle with Beckham.

That penalty he took in the first half helped the Giants move further within Washington territory and score the field goal that ultimately were the points we couldn't get back in the fourth quarter.

Ron Rivera is not the best coach in the NFL. But he has been a successful defensive coordinator and the one reason I would submit he ultimately withdrew the franchise tag on Norman was that despite his physical talent and work ethic off the field, on the field Norman was emotionally immature and really chafed against the team concept, being one of eleven performers.

His ego is too big for that.
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Agreed. I like the passion but Barry should have nipped this in the bud early.

Channel that energy positively.

I understand that he tries to get in the receivers heads, and often it works. But yesterday it backfired. Gotta be smarter.

DC needs to control that crap. Same with Brees attitude this year.

This defence lacks a leader. I don't know where it comes from.


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or Cousins.

His shoulders after losses don't seem especially broad to me.

Remember 5 weeks ago after the Packers lost to the Redskins and allowed 42 points?

Aaron Rodgers came out and took all the pressure off the team by saying he was really confident the Packers could run the table and make the playoffs.

What did Kirk say after the Arizona or Carolina losses?

What did he say last night other than to note his contract was 'in the Redskins hands'?

See the difference between the two quarterbacks?

Rodgers lifted his team UP while after that same Packers game Cousins was busy chasing down Scot McCloughan to crow about his performance that night, ie he was being selfish.
 
Ax said:
The whole team lacks a leader.

And it's not coming from Gruden.
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And to illustrate this, at his presser today, he was asked about reports from the players that they needed more leaders on the team.

Jay's response?

On if he agrees with players that mentioned a need for additional leadership:
“If they said it, they’re the ones in there. You’d like to say that we good, strong leadership down there, but if that’s starting to creep up in the conversation then maybe we do need to address it.

To me that answer is troubling. Does he not know his team?
 
Again, the head coach and quarterback are among the people most visible to the entire organization and therefore the leadership usually comes from them.

No one would argue that Belichick and Brady set the tone in NE.

In Green Bay, Rodgers is definitely in charge. The HC faced some testy press questions during their mid-season swoon, but he answered with positives not lingering doubts or second-guessing as we are seeing with Jay.

What's ironic is that because of all the stupid moves Snyder and the FO made over the years here in Washington it almost seems now as if the organization is afraid to hold anyone accountable for fear of being accused of 'meddling'.
 
I wouldn't argue that Belli and Brady and Rodgers rule their particular roosts...

But I would argue that veteran leadership in the locker room is earned. And again we're talking about players with hundreds of games of experience to draw from and multiple Super Bowl rings. No one at the Redskins has that.

I agree though that someone has to step up and that QB1 and HC are where it needs to start.

I'm not privy to what goes on in the locker room but I've always heard good things about Kirk. The players always felt like he was a better leader than RGIII.

But on Defense... there's no one. Kerrigan should be... he's the pro bowler. But I don't get the impression he steps up.

Used to be Hall, but now he's gone.

Norman has the resume, but he's too... immature?

Worrying...


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Norman can't control himself on the field though, so who's going to listen to him? :laugh:

He's trying to set up this 'Deion Sanders' type image as a corner but he's not talented enough to pull that one off.

In a way he reminds me of our other media/reality TV performer, DeSean Jackson.

They both make plays but are not as important as they THINK they are.
 
McD5 said:
All of these are great picks. Garcon is a man on the football field. Murphy was the biggest surprise, and Crowder avoided a sophomore slump.

BT, Preston Smith has reportedly been a frequent sighting at DC nightclubs. I have no direct knowledge of this, but it's been on social media all season. I hope he is taking his career seriously.
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I stick around after every game, mostly to let the crowd dwindle before I leave, but I also like to watch players as they depart. Last night I had occasion to hang out with a few of the players as they seek out family and friends who usually sit in the section I do. Last night Preston was one of them. I can completely see this kid as a party goer...of course basing that on the brief 3-4 minutes I spent as he hung out with a couple of friends before he went into the locker room. Topic was where they were headed after Smith got out.
 
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Very interesting recent comments about Norman, but I submit that you guys are maybe not admitting to yourselves that this is EXACTLY what (in many respects) McL wants. I know we all want to love McL, but I for one was not super happy about the "edge" that he wanted in the team. I do want fire and competitiveness, hard-work, attitude, and all that, but I also still like character. That is the by-product of the Joe Gibbs days, I'm sure, where those guys had their fair share of hard-edged players, but they also had a different side in terms of character (many of them, at least).

I think he got it right in terms of the work ethic; that has been the #1 positive about Norman. He leads by example in terms of work ethic. He has made the DBs as a unit better in that regard too. But: he was a major liability in a key game, and you can't have that. Then to run his mouth after the game without taking responsibility... I don't know, kind of sounds like an arrogant #10 we had a few years back. I have overall been pleased with his play until this last game; not thrilled with the talking, and not thrilled with the value in terms of $$$ and performance (need more "shut-down" OR at least a pick or two more for that $$ in my opinion). So overall I think it's not that great for McL.

I've said it before though, a great GM has to be able to miss on a couple (and this wasn't a complete miss like a Haynesworth) and still form a good team. No one bats 1000.
 
Well, whatever McCloughan does with the defensive backs it isn't going to matter if he doesn't improve the front seven so that we aren't last in the NFL in defensive per carry average.

it's really an ugly statistic, but not one that is unexpected given the current depth chart.

Barry has to be kidding trying to get through an entire season with 33 year old perennial backup Kedric Golston and then Ziggy Hood at 300 holding down the NT spot.

People can talk about draft picks, but we took Matt Ioannidis in the fifth round this season, a round where Bellichick tends to find guys who can contribute.

He not only didn't rise to be a starter or rotational player, he failed to make the 53 man roster and was exposed to waivers.

The fact we were able to bring him back weeks later when he went unclaimed says something too.

If you look at practice squads around the NFL during the season, 300 pound defensive linemen were being worked out by almost every team on a week to week basis.

Dallas got lucky being able to pluck David Irving off the Kansas City Chiefs practice squad as a DE.

But point being again that our #5 pick was of little interest to the rest of the NFL.
 
Bulldog's Twin said:
...a round [5th round] where Bellichick tends to find guys who can contribute.
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This is such crap. You have a lot of good points, but all too often you come out with this. Does NE even draft in the 5th round? Don't they trade them all?

Not a single starter on either line for the Patriots was drafted lower than the 3rd round, otherwise they were free agent acquisitions...with one exception, the undrafted 2nd year center, Andrews.
 
Elephant said:
This is such crap. You have a lot of good points, but all too often you come out with this. Does NE even draft in the 5th round? Don't they trade them all?
Not a single starter on either line for the Patriots was drafted lower than the 3rd round, otherwise they were free agent acquisitions...with one exception, the undrafted 2nd year center, Andrews.
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Yeah, I don't know how they do it but don't the Pat's always seem to have two first round picks? Or at least a high second rounder to go with their first. That's why they don't have mid-round picks, they trade up. Well, they are in a position that they should trade up, not down. NE is a team that people like to slam but they are pretty good at player management. How to draft, who to cut, who to pick up and when to do any of it.

Should the Skins have grabbed Micheal Floyd? I think there's a pretty good argument that they should have. He's not that old plus add his 6'2" to Doctson's 6'2" (hopefully) on the other side. On the other hand, the Redskins don't have a great track record with reclamation projects. Unlike...(see above)...
 
Having a top of the class HOF QB allows for many things to work, that wouldn't normally.

We'll see what happens when Brady is gone, permanently.
 
Ax said:
Having a top of the class HOF QB allows for many things to work, that wouldn't normally.

We'll see what happens when Brady is gone, permanently.
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Agreed, but their "team" is good, very solid all around.
 
Elephant said:
Agreed, but their "team" is good, very solid all around.
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Yes. And the number one reason, in this Ugly American's humble opinion, is because of Brady.
He's the reason they get away with no name receivers. Not Belicheat.
He's the reason missed draft picks and FA's don't hurt. Not Belicheat.
He's the reason they get away with cutting still productive players.
His consistently excellent play over the years has allowed them to concentrate on everything else.
 
Well, you can point to Brady in NE.

But you can look at a guy like Philip Rivers that has consistently finished in the top 5-7 passers in the NFL and the GM and front office out in San Diego has NEVER been able to put around him a team worthy of contending for a championship.

Andrew Luck in Indianapolis could be headed down a similar road as Ryan Grigson has made some awful personnel moves trying to upgrade the Colts roster so they could be more competitive in the postseason.

Anyone remember him trading a #1 pick for Trent Richardson? :laugh:

Yes, Belichick has had Brady.

But no ONE player in the NFL wins a title.

If that were the case Adrian Peterson would have been to and won a Super Bowl after 9 years in the league.

What's impressive about New England is that they can TRADE productive players like Logan Mankins or Chandler Jones to other teams as they are about to hit free agency and go into the draft and find replacements without a lot of shouting and panic.

Here, we have been waiting for this team to draft, develop, trade for or sign a free safety for how many years???????

No way Belichick goes without an NFL caliber free safety on defense for 4-5 years as the Redskins have done.

By hook or by crook he would have found somebody who could come in and play without making excuses.
 
Rivers isn't HOF material.
So far, neither is Luck.

And no, no one person wins it alone. But having the most important position, filled by one of the all time greats, gives a team great leeway.

When Brady is gone, and not coming back, we'll see how successful Belicheat is. He was NOTHING before Brady.
 
Well, he won a game with Jacoby freakin Brisset at QB.

The guy can coach.

Gibbs used to be the same way. They could get players off the scrap heap and get something out of them.

If Belichick stays after Brady goes, they might fall off a year or two, but it won't be long before he rights the ship, again.
 
What players like Brady, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Wilson etc give a franchise is inherent stability. If you look at the successful teams it's generally a symbiosis of coach and QB. (And GM)
Teams with all-pro level QBs locked in long term also tend to have coaches locked in too.

Bellichick, McCarthy, Carroll, Tomlin, Payton, Harbaugh... all have long term tenures with all pro QBs...

... ok Flacco might be stretching it. Lol

But generally having a coach and QB in situ long term gives you the chance to build and sustain a winning organisation.

I tend to think it's a triangle of responsibility.

The Patriots could weather the loss of Brady because Belli is a great coach and organisationally they're very good. They won't get a HoF QB to replace him, but they'll plug someone decent into the gap and chug along.

That became our problem here.
Gibbs and Casserley were so good we ran a good organisation, JKC stayed out of the football side and we never really needed a 'great' QB. The fact the Gibbs won three superbowls with 3 different QBs has to me always pushed him up into the running for all time best NFL coach.

Anyway when he retired the slope started. Then Casserley went... Snyder took over the team and since then we were a bad organisation, with no star QB and a string of bad coaches and Snyder meddling.

Total opposite of what a good team needs to succeed.

I think that's why we're seeing what I hope are the seeds of success here now.

Snyder has backed off.
Scotty is a good GM.
Gruden for all his faults has been a steady hand at HC.
Kirk while flawed is the best QB we've had in 25 years.

We're starting to be one of those teams like the Patriots. It's been a long time coming, and it's a slow process but I think we're getting there.



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Philip Rivers has been a top NFL quarterback. He may not be a Hall of Famer like Rodgers or Brady, but he is in that next tier of passers that you can DEFINITELY win with if you surround him with good talent.

Let's put it this way, Bill Walsh or Joe Gibbs would have won a Super Bowl or two with Rivers at quarterback on the teams they had :)

Parcells as well.

That's what the good coaches do, they find ways to win.

Again, Belichick hasn't been infallible. He had a 16-0 team that went into the 2007 Super Bowl against a Giants team and didn't account for the ONE area where the Giants had the advantage, the pass rush from the DL.

if he had changed his offensive strategy for that game, NE likely would have won.

But at the same time, as stated above, Belichick would NOT have gone 4-5 years without finding a capable starting free safety for his defense as we have done in Washington.

He's not going to draft and sign cornerbacks and wide receivers if he has no defensive line.

Belichick might not have gone to 6 Super Bowls and won 4 without Brady.

But he would have won at least 2.

He showed the year that Brady missed the entire season that he could coach a team to an 11-5 record with a low round draft choice in Matt Cassel, who never took a snap as a starter at USC! :laugh:

If that doesn't convince you, nothing objective will.

During the 1980's and 1990's, in talking with friends and family that were Giants, Bears and Cowboys fans, I always made the point, which I truly believe, that Joe Gibbs would have won 5 Super Bowls if he had a HOF-caliber quarterback.

Great coaches have a way of getting it done.
 
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