MMQB:Any Sense of Stability is Sacrificed

Owner Daniel Snyder is common denominator to Washington?s problems | The MMQB with Peter King

It’s December now, and that means Washington fans know their way home from here. As another football season in the nation’s capital dissolves amid a state of disarray, dysfunction and every-man-for-himself syndrome, the descent feels so familiar: meaningless games attended by disenchanted fans bearing almost worthless tickets as they watch a team that long ago gave any hope of competing, let alone winning.

It’s all happening yet again, and while the names and faces change from year to year, the results never do. Not for long at least.

This season’s episodes of Washington’s annual melodrama have centered on quarterback Robert Griffin III’s ill fit with rookie head coach Jay Gruden; the fool’s gold choice between backups Colt McCoy and Kirk Cousins; the sorry spectacle of Griffin’s weak standing in his own locker room; and even a cameo return to the scene by retired linebacker London Fletcher, who saw fit to level a score-settling blindside hit to the reputation of defensive coordinator Jim Haslett. And Fletcher didn’t even draw a flag for unnecessary roughness.

But don’t get distracted by merely the latest wave of failures and controversies. That’s missing the big picture. At some point they all just blend together and add to the perception that we are watching the most misguided and dysfunctional franchise in professional sports do its thing. Only when you step back and view the franchise in its totality can you fully appreciate the utter on-field disaster that has been Daniel Snyder’s ownership era.

Rest at link. Article is depressingly spot on.

When Peter King is getting it dead-on correct, you know that's an ominous sign for your franchise. The lesson here is that it doesn't take a Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalist to build a compelling case for where the driving forces of the Redskins failures lie. It's obvious and the facts are indisputable.

Yes, let's pile on the cripple with the racist football team.

Drivel.

What's interesting to me is that so many words are being used to say the same one simple thing we've known for a long time:

Dan needs to hire a real football guy to run the personnel side. The only real question left is if and when he'll accept and act on that.

Om said:

What's interesting to me is that so many words are being used to say the same one simple thing we've known for a long time:

Dan needs to hire a real football guy to run the personnel side. The only real question left is if and when he'll accept and act on that.

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Exactly. Until Dan somehow decides to do that, we are doomed to have this cycle just keep repeating. Sigh...

I don't think that's any longer the conversation though Mark. It goes well beyond that. Even if the owner suddenly recognizes the obvious, that we need a 'football GM', what are the odds that we can find a quality individual willing to dive into this dysfunctional mess and strong enough to be able to keep Snyder's grubby little fingers out of the pudding? And what are the odds that the same dysfunction that has undermined the success of every other talented leader we've hired won't continue?

I know at some point, if you really think we're doomed (talking to myself here), you either have to shut up and just hope for the best, or walk away and find better ways to spend your time and energy. My problem is, I am not a casual fan, and I don't see how anyone who is a fan can happily whistle their way past the graveyard that is this franchise any more.

I guess ultimately there's no choice. You either get busy living or get busy dying.

There's a qualified football guy out there willing to take on The Dan. Zero doubt.

Egos are powerful things.

Getting the right guy? That's a whole 'nother story ... but it's one that can't even begin to be told until Dan decides to buy a book.

Oh come on Boone your take is COMPLETELY discounting the fact that Snyder butted COMPLETELY out when Gibbs was here and for Shanny's tenure. By all accounts he's made a very serious effort to back off and let his people run the show. He was played by Gruden though who's already had his Zorn moment, but we still only have a very faint rumor from ONE source that has been nowhere close to confirmed. If you're going to REALLY go on track record, Snyder's more recent track record speaks to him NOT meddling the way you say he does.

Now if you want to slay him for the decisions he makes in his hires then I'm all in with ya but the meddling stuff has come nowhere near being substantiated. Remember while there's been some fire from time to time we see smoke, there have also been some completely bullcrap tidbits that have thrown off their share of smoke too.

I think the odds are pretty high actually that we could find a personnel guru if Snyder actually finally comes to that conclusion. His biggest problem IMO is actually a loyalty problem. First Vinny and now Bruce, he lets these guys influence his decisions too much. Snyder has already proven that he's willing to step back and give the reigns to an "expert". I genuinely think the guy wants to win as much as any of us, he's just made horrible decisions getting there. He also pays a fortune and if you get fired you still get payed a fortune. I would think if he actually put word out that he was looking for a "gurur" that he'd get a BUNCH of willing applicants. The reason no one wanted to come before (another point I disagree with Pappas on) is because we had Vinny freakin Cerrato running our show, Marty debunked the whole no one will coach for Snyder baloney. It's a mess now but I can assure everyone that we were held in more contempt leaguewide than we are now. People (professionals in the media) would openly make fun of and insult VC, I have yet to hear a single similar comment about Allen. They talk about him being a people guy but they don't have a derisive commentary just dripping with contempt when they talk about him. Major difference in my book. The one lone exception is Vinny himself who is transparently butthurt about losing his job.

I have a questio for those in the know. SHanny made Snyder clear out his office and move it at Redskins park. Did Dan move back into it when Shanny left?

I have not made a lot of claims of 'meddling' over the years, my primary beef with Snyder is his overall total failure to put together a winning team. The only success he has had is in bringing in former Super Bowl winning and HOF quality coaches, and even there, we were not truly successful (and in both instances, the coaches opted out of their positions prematurely - think that speaks to something?). My other beef with him is that he fuels the drama with dysfunction. The dysfunction of this franchise starts at the top, I don't think it can be disputed.

I can't 'prove it', but I think it's pretty obvious that a lot of the undermining criticisms leaked to the media during Shanahan's last year came directly from Snyder (or his sycophants), and we're already starting to see similar things with Gruden. I also think it's obvious that Snyder made his desires know regarding Griffin to both Shanahan, and now Gruden, and that my friend is interfering with football decision-making. Again, I can't 'prove it', but I think there's plenty of evidence to support that's what's going on.

The bottom line is that Snyder owns the successes and the failures of this franchise. Period. And we are an epic failure of a franchise. It cracks me up that people bemoan Snyder being a 'whipping boy'. Opinions about Snyder's responsibility and culpability for our failures are irrelevant. He IS responsible for his organization - and everything that occurs within it. Period. At some point, setting aside what exactly is going on behind the scenes, you have to embrace the obvious. This owner is ruining a once proud franchise. We can seize on that elusive fix every year. We need free agents, we need all our draft picks, we need a new defensive coordinator, we need a franchise QB, we need an OL, we need a GM, we need a Football GM. We're running out of fixes guys.

I know what we need and nothing anyone can say is going to change my mind about what that one thing we need is.

What evidence is there that he made his desires known to Shanny and Jay? I've seen none but a very loose and unconfirmed rumor. Also I think it's just as likely that Allen is responsible for the leaks since he's supposedly running the show.

Yea but giving your franchise player a few privileges isn't meddling to me, it happens across the league. Telling your coach who to play or what to do on the field would be meddling. Shanny couldn't keep Dan away? How many times does RG3 have to debunk those rumors? With today's media esp the Washington media I DO need a smoking gun. They make stuff up (like Reid and J-La), post rumor as fact, do their very best to create turmoil around the team (trees getting cut down on Snyder's property, name change etc), and generally display a lack of objectivity and professionalism on an almost daily basis. I get that Snyder is a jerk, but that's irrelevant when it comes to rumor mongering and fact based reporting. JKC was a notorious a-hole too, he just made much better decisions than Snyder ever has and wasn't a fanboy going into the process.

tr1 said:

I'm surprised Gruden took the job...that tells me a lot about the guy right there!

Many forget that Zorn wasn't picked as HC until it became apparent that no one else would take the job - where all of the coordinators were already picked.

Gruden didn't have any problem with that, though.

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Vinny C isn't running the show. BIG difference.

Boone (and the article) is right on point. We can argue the details and 'he was not as meddling during THIS coach as he was during THAT coach' all we want, but at the end of the day the product for 15 years has been exactly the same. The crappy personnel decisions have been exactly the same. The coaching turnover has remained exactly the same. The embarrassing off-the-field drama has been exactly the same.

The really sad, scary, depressing thing is ...

at this point if he fires Gruden, it's more of the same, and
if he retains Gruden and the Redskins cut Griffin, it's more of the same.

It's been 15 years. This is our team folks. Get used to it.

wow...is this where the site is today?

Not that I am complaining, but if we are just all doom and gloom I'll just come back on Sunday and see what chat brings.

The owner has nothing else to do, he has no other businesses to run and likes to play amateur GM.

That's why he isn't satisfied hiring a Bill Polian type GM, because he will cut Dan out of the War Room and the scouting trips.

Bruce Allen provides the veneer of structure and functionality but is weak enough in the job to still provide Dan with a platform for influencing personnel decisions.

Cooke never went on scouting trips or sat with the team officials on draft day.

He trusted that for the money being paid Beathard would do his job without interference.

How can the owner vacation with the qb and not have it lead to a perception if not the reality of entitlement?

Griffin is not a humble guy by nature but the organization helped him become a quarterback-zilla.

His play in the pocket mirrors last season so you can ask if he has listened to anything Gruden has said.

You mean Griffin's 3.5 games and 123 pass attempts?

Cooke almost fired Gibbs after 5 games and Gibbs was TERRIFIED of him!

Me thinks you try too hard to make points and distort the actual facts.

Well let's see. There is Gruden this year and in the previous offseason and camp.

Then there is Kyle Shanahan for 2 years as well.

Griffin's success in 2012 was based on the Shanahans view that Griffin was not going to adapt readily to a traditional pro style offense.

So they created a hybrid where Griffin would challenge teams on the edge and run a pass offense that provided for a single read and few audibles.

When Griffin asked to do more from the pocket in 2013 and turn away from the previous scheme it was as if the Lightning was removed from the sky.

No longer being asked to read only half the field on a given play Griffin now had to read the entire defense and go through progressions while dropping back.

He can't do that very well. And his footwork is atrocious.

Don't believe me. Jaworski broke down the film on Griffin's passes in 2013 and came to the conclusion his failure to set and throw properly was a major cause of his problems.

No doubt Gruden saw the same things in camp, the preseason and during his starts in 2014.

so, wait. You now say that they drafted Griffin KNOWING he couldnt run the offense in the pros but that it is Griffin who is the coach killer.."Griffin zilla" was it? Sounds to me like if you pick up a rattlesnake and get bit by it, its your fault. Griffin is who he is.

Griffin also had more passing yards in 3 less games in the "pocket" than he did in 2012.

You're reaching too hard to blame Griffin for things that are Gruden's fault. Gruden took this job knowing damn well that Griffin was a read option type QB like Wilson/Kap/etc and has failed miserably at it. You try to say that Griffin has failed with 2 different offensive coaches yet he has only had 3.5 games under Gruden and 123 passing attempts. You can't fail with that little under your belt.

No, it is the coach in Gruden who has failed. He said when he came in here that he wasnt going to try and force Griffin in to anything but all he has done is that. Then he drags Griffin thru the mud for not being Andy Dalton while holding back any and all criticism on Colt for having a noodle arm and the same failures as Griffin.

PS - why do you think Jaws is a guru for QBs? He is more known for being LTs favorite punching bag than winning anything significant.

You can't take anything Jaws says seriously anymore. Didn't he say last season that Colin Kaepernick could potentialy be the best QB to ever play?