DC Landing Strip: Is Bruce Allen Just as bad as Vinny Cerrato?

[Boone]

Amidst all the excitement that my lamb sacrifices have finally paid off and Vinny Cerrato was mercifully fired, I think we are forgetting that Bruce Allen may not exactly be the savior we envision. I realize that the likely scenario is that Mike Shanahan becomes head coach and the de facto GM, but Bruce Allen will certainly be prominently involved, so I did some research.

Allen started his career in Oakland in 1995, and was there through the 2003-2004 season. The team was 9-7 the season before he arrived, and here are the records of the team each season of his tenure there, with the Skins record for that year in parentheses:

1995: 8-8 (6-10)
1996: 7-9 (9-7)
1997: 4-12 (8-7-1)
1998: 8-8 (6-10)
1999: 8-8 (10-6, lost Divisional round)
2000: 12-4, lost AFC championship (8-8)
2001: 10-6, lost Divisional round "tuck rule game" (8-8)
2002: 11-5, lost Super Bowl, named NFL Executive of the Year (7-9)
2003: 4-12 (5-11)

Allen then moved to Tampa Bay in 2004, and was there through the 2007-2008 season. Before he arrived, the Bucs were 7-9....

Click HERE to read the entire article...

 

[beamish]

worried about bruce allen too, but this may be best we could have hoped for - snyderrato dismantled and the organization goes back to its roots.

a change of attitude, a couple of nice late round draft gems, a reconstructed O-line and maybe the Titanic can be saved.

 

[Neophyte]

Amazing how cynical we are and how fast we got there with the new guy...

 

[Elephant]

Amazing how cynical we are and how fast we got there with the new guy...

I think it is more unfortunate than amazing. I can only speak for myself, but the hope is gone! Unless I see something different on the field over the next 2 years, it doesn't matter one bit what this or any other off-season brings.

 

[Billfishead]

Wow! The negativism is overwhelming. Allen hasn't even had a opportunity to do anything yet and it's already "Off with his head".Quite frankly, I don't think any of us could or would do a better job.
As I see it, today's society is all about instant gratification. It permeates everything we say and do and it's wrong. Danny's instant gratification has gotten us in the mess we're in and it's going to take a long term plan to get us out. Give Allen a chance to put that plan together and execute it.

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

Anything is better than Vinny.

Allen hasn't done anything with this team yet, but he's already done one thing better than Cerrato ever did (you can include Snyder and Zorn with this as well).

He can speak well in public.
Allen comes off as an intelligent football savy guy who knows the legacy of the Redskins and what the fans and the franchise should expect: winning.

Cerrato always came off as a joke, even when he gave decent analysis on the team and available talent (yes it did occur). But you couldn't look past him and think "seriously, this is our head personnel guy?"

While I think it's way too early to either praise or bury Allen (he hasn't done anything yet).....it does mean that change is coming.

And when this team has been mediocre for such a long time and has finished this season with a lame duck coach, a probably 4-12 record, and a team with no discipline: a monkey that throws his poo to make football decisions and isn't Snyder's puppet right now would be a better choice than what we've had for most of the last decade.

We know Allen and Shanahan's past....let's see what they can do for OUR future.