couldn't disagree more.
1) Shanallen tubed the first year with a whole bunch of bad personnel decisions. there is no way around that FACT. He is totally accountable for the single most destructive/unproductive aspect of this team: QUARTERBACK. your bandaid completely sidesteps this little accountability matter.
Well, I said it at the time and I still believe it - McNabb was an acceptable gamble to me. I think we got fleeced on the price, as there was no market fro Donovan, however I like(d) bringing him in. It didn't work - some say they saw it coming, and that they always knew McNabb was terrible - but you also know what they say about broken clocks...
Bottom line - if Shanahan was confident enough to believe McNabb could run this team, so am I. I think it came down to arrogance on Donovan's part AND Kyle's part - both needed to make concessions to fit their talents to the other, and neither did.
2) So what if 9 players made the roster. Your only argument is also a who cares: it's based on the notion that we haven't had that many players in previous drafts make the roster. This is an old statistical canard - measure progress by setting the baseline rediculously low. moreover....it avoids what really matters...performance. It just throws out some subjective assertions with no proof whatsoever. moroeover, if you think about it, with the exception of Kerrigan...there isn't even enough data to support any performance assertions.
So what? So what!? That's an amazing stat to me - the draft has been proven over and over again as the way to building a successful franchise (Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Ravens, etc.), yet here we are with evidence that the Redskins have eschewed/botched the draft for many years. Now we are USING the draft to the tune of 12 players, and you don't think that alone is a successful step in the right direction?
3) Some rejoinders
- no one other than the previously mentioned Kerrigan has played enough to establish a baseline for judging "good"..."promising"...etc. how many flash in the pans have we seen over the years? lots. as you all are fond of pointing out - you have to give a draft class 2-3 years before applying a label.
Well, it should be noted I said "contributed significantly." I did not specify good, great, hall of fame, etc. This is really the key - great teams have not only the superstars, but also the cogs and widgets that make the machine go. The flash-in-the-pan theory is very true with this team, however also supports the 'wait-and-see' line of thinking also. How do we know if they are flashes in the pan until next season?
- you sidestep some other questionable decisions: TW for example. again...accountability. Shananhan has to be judged on all the evidence.
Most Redskins fans (I'd bet around 80-90%) wanted us to draft OL, Tackle specifically. Shanahan did this - to the satisfaction of the majority of Redskins fans. Has Williams been a miss? I don't know, the jury is still out for me. The other option was Okung, who's shown flashes but can't stay on the field. Williams is a strong run blocker, but needs work on his pass-blocking...not writing him off yet (the weed issue is another matter, we'll see about that).
- the actual record and stats belie any qualitative assertions about performance
Detroit went 8-24 the past two seasons. Record is meaningless in talent evaluation.
-these guys can't friggin stay healthy
See above for Okung, Russel. That's not a problem for just our draft picks...the Giants first 3 picks this year were injured at some point. Their 9th overall CB Akumura was benched also.
I fall in line with those who argue that Shanahan...after totally misjudging the talent on hand when he arrived.....has successfully adjusted by changing THE STRATEGY. there's simply no way to assess the success/quality of the 2011 draft class: not enough time on the field, too many personnel changes, too many injuries, pretty bad stats overall (which can be attributed somewhat to all the change - i.e., there was never a stable set of starters to forge into a "team").
The jury is still out on Shanahan. IMO...to belabor the obvious...if he fails in fixing the QB situation...going into his 3rd season.....his overall legacy will be a failure.
Okay, so we agree.
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