Adam Carriker is a Redskin

[Lanky Livingston]

He didn't focus on LT. Our LT retired and he had to fill the hole. I'm glad he did, mind you, but that was a reactive move more than a pro-active one.

To be fair, we'll never know if this was reactive or proactive. Shanahan could have had eyes on Williams all along. If Samuels was still here, he and Williams could have been the book ends for another year or two, and then have Williams move to the Left.

 

[riggins44]

With the hand Allen and Shanahan were dealt, they had no choice but go LT with first pick. If we had paid more attention to OL in previous drafts, then who knows what direction we would have gone with first pick. Then again…if Vinny had drafted more OL early in drafts he would probably still be here.

Other than Bradford, I don’t think Shanahan was overly sold on any QB and no way to tell if he liked Bradford. My guess is he felt McNabb would put team in a better position than any of the guys we would have drafted in 2nd round.

As we now know, Teebow would have been gone, so your choices would be McCoy or Claussen. To take one of these you would have been looking at 2-3 years before being competitive.

To bring McNabb in gives Shanahan the best chance to win sooner than later. Shanahan could be the best thing ever happened to McNabb, much like Elway. McNabb will have a coach and OC committed to running the ball.

 

[Aston Gambino]

EVERY new coach is supposedly going to work out and bring in the right people. Every old coach couldn't control the players and left the team in a mess. Schottenheimer was going to whip the organization into shape, from Snyder on down. Then he was a control freak and a drill seargant that no one listened to. Spurrier was going to turn the league on it's ear with his offense and the charming way he thumbed his nose at convention. Then he was a flake who didn't know the names of his defensive players. Gibbs was, well Joe Gibbs. Then he was tired, out of touch with the modern game, and spent too much time delegating. Zorn was going to take the team Gibbs built and bring it into the 21st century. Then he had no discipline and no confidence.

Now, it's Shanahan is going to restore discipline and confidence, and McNabb will be his new Elway.

That certainly is one way of looking at. Here's another way:

Schottenheimer was going to whip the organization into shape, from Snyder on down, but he didn't have a quarterback who could win and was run out of town. Spurrier was going to turn the league on it's ear with his offense and the charming way he thumbed his nose at convention, but didn't have a quarterback who could win and was run out of town. Gibbs was, well Joe Gibbs. But he learned in his second time around that an average quarterback couldn't get it done. Zorn was going to take the team Gibbs built and bring it into the 21st century. But he learned in his first time around that an average quarterback couldn't get it done.

Now, it's Shanahan to restore discipline and confidence, which is inspired by and instilled through winning, and because winning in today's game requires consistent quarterback play, he acquired the best quarterback this franchise has had the luxury of rostering for the past 20 some odd years for a 2nd and 4th round pick, the latter of which we got back through the Campbell trade.

Besides, I think the bottom line is that Shanahan had no choice but to get a capable quarterback now, by any means, otherwise, two or three sub-standard years of rebuilding leads the same future the other 6 coaches have experienced under Snyder. Should it be that way? Absolutely not. But that's clearly the way it is, and I think the only chance we have at enjoying long-term growth is having consistency at the coaching level, and that requires winning right now, therefore the move for McNabb, even as a 2 or 3 year stop-gap, could be the only thing that gives us a chance of witnessing a Redskins coaching term that's longer than that of our president.

 

[Henry]

That certainly is one way of looking at. Here's another way:

Schottenheimer was going to whip the organization into shape, from Snyder on down, but he didn't have a quarterback who could win and was run out of town. Spurrier was going to turn the league on it's ear with his offense and the charming way he thumbed his nose at convention, but didn't have a quarterback who could win and was run out of town. Gibbs was, well Joe Gibbs. But he learned in his second time around that an average quarterback couldn't get it done. Zorn was going to take the team Gibbs built and bring it into the 21st century. But he learned in his first time around that an average quarterback couldn't get it done.

Now, it's Shanahan to restore discipline and confidence, which is inspired by and instilled through winning, and because winning in today's game requires consistent quarterback play, he acquired the best quarterback this franchise has had the luxury of rostering for the past 20 some odd years for a 2nd and 4th round pick, the latter of which we got back through the Campbell trade.

But you see, I'm simply reiterating the view of the fans (as I read them over the years) of coaches when they got here and then when they left.

Of course, now that we have a new coach, we will change those views to put the new coach's moves in the best possible light. That was my point.

For the record, I hope you're right. I hope that all along, it was just that we never had a decent QB here. And that McNabb is a decent enough QB to suddenly turn this team into a perennial winner ... at least until he retires, at which time his heir apparent, which we've already added to the roster and has had a year or two to learn the system, will take over for a nice, smooth transition.

That is all definitely possible.

Besides, I think the bottom line is that Shanahan had no choice but to get a capable quarterback now, by any means, otherwise, two or three sub-standard years of rebuilding leads the same future the other 6 coaches have experienced under Snyder. Should it be that way? Absolutely not. But that's clearly the way it is, and I think the only chance we have at enjoying long-term growth is having consistency at the coaching level, and that requires winning right now, therefore the move for McNabb, even as a 2 or 3 year stop-gap, could be the only thing that gives us a chance of witnessing a Redskins coaching term that's longer than that of our president.

This I disagree with. I think most fans thought we were going to be in full rebuild mode now. Even people who love the McNabb move didn't expect it, because we all thought this team was gonna get blowed up and rebuilt from scratch in the image of Shanahan and Allen. Of course, NOW we will all demand immediate returns. And we should, because our QB is old. And we gave up picks for him.

So now our only chance with this new coach is to win now, and then also later. We're setting ourselves up to win right away. And may the football gods help us if it doesn't happen.