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Official Game Thread: Week 1 2019 - Cowboys @ Redskins

Who do you think wins?

  • Skins going away

    Votes: 2 28.6%
  • Cowboys steal one in our house

    Votes: 5 71.4%

  • Total voters
    7
Good morning everyone. :D

Here's Knighty with your Monday morning optimism.

Okay so first up, I agree with Boone. This was always going to be a rebuilding year, and I think deep down we all knew that. What was confusing however, are the message coming out of the Redskins. Boone mentioned a while back that while the fanbase and the rest of the world recognized that this was a rebuild year with a lot of raw young talent, the Redskins were convinced this was a 'Playoffs or bust' year, especially for Gruden. I feel like if they'd have just come out and either cut Gruden off last year and promoted a young successor, or just extended him and put the message out there that this was a rebuild year, then we'd have accepted it. The losses would still hurt, but these are losses built on lies. I could've accepted growing pains.

In that context running close to the Cowboys and Eagles would have looked better than it currently does.

Our Defense is terrible... but I do believe in three things:
1) It's not as bad as it looks. We've showed flashes of promise, but no consistency. (see point 3) I just want to see what we have when we're complete (see point 2)

2) We're already ravaged by injury on D. I feel like Allen is the heart of that D, and without him out there we drop a level. I also think it'll take players like Moreland and Sweat a while to get up to speed, I would like to see flashes from them though. Without Dunbar and Moreau, and then with DRC hobbled our secondary was down to Norman, a rookie and a Safety being pushed into CB duties. Couple that with no Allen or Brantley, and against a very good O-Line and an offense with excellent skill players, we were exposed.

3) We need to move on from Manusky ASAP. I feel like that is where the weak link is. We're not aggressive defensively and we don't adjust. That's on him. The mistakes on the field are correctable through coaching.. that's on him too. Chicago are coming to town next week, their offense looks terrible. They've managed 1 TD in 2 games so far, hardly a powerhouse. BUT they're likely looking at this game as a coming out party. If they hang 30 on us I truly think it's bye bye Manusky…. and a part of me kinda wants that to happen. You have to hit rock bottom to bounce back right? I want this change made sooner rather than later. If we can get a change in the DC position, and then get our injured players back and play a more aggressive style of D, I think we'll see a turnaround on that side of the ball. See... there is optimism even here!

I can't blame the Offense really for our losses. While not electric, they've done enough to win for us if the Defense pulled it's weight. Keenum has been safe hands so far, and the play calling hasn't been bad. I'd like a little more aggression on short 4th downs sometimes, but was impressed when we got that 4th and 7 yesterday. McLaurin is a break out player, Quinn is starting to look reliable.

Not sure what's going on with Scherff... (I'm not mentioning the Human-Hold-Machine that is Moses!) but the O-line hasn't been as bad as advertised. I think it struggles opening up the run game, but it's not been too bad in pass protection, especially considering the Defenses we've played so far. HUGE test this week against the Bears though.

Couple of other things...

We KNEW that the early schedule was brutal. I was kind of expecting a 1-4 start anyway, figuring we'd lose the Boys, Eagles, Bears and Pats games. So this isn't exactly unexpected for me. Each game brings us closer to a Trent Williams return. Or a trade.
He HAS to come back at some point if he wants this season to count against his contract, so it's inevitable he reports otherwise he goes through the same deal next year. He already has something like 2.5 to 3 million in fines and lost game checks, so how much is he willing to lose is the question? Does he have deep pockets? We'd have assumed AP did considering what he's earned over the years, but he's broke, so who knows how responsible Trent's been with his cash.
And if he does come back it's likely to be at a point where:
a) Our Defense starts to get healthy
b) Our rookies have 5 or 6 starts under their belts
c) Guice is due back
d) our schedule softens

So would this possibly lead to a mid season surge? <<-- Optimism!

OR alternatively I'd hope that the Skins could back down from their stance, admit this is a rebuild year and just trade him for something we NEED. The need for him might start to escalate as the season wears on and injuries start taking their toll on other teams. Imagine a playoff contender like the Saints, or the Rams or someone losing their LT late in the season. What would they give to have TW shore up their Superbowl run? Is that when his demand would be highest?

I'm now in a place where I'm expecting a top 10 pick in the draft. I want to trade Trent and get more draft picks. I want to release Norman. I want Reed to retire. I want to put players like Moses back on the bench where they belong. I want us to draft well next year, especially on the O-Line so that we're solid in the trenches for the near future. I want Manusky gone. All that being true I'd kinda like a fresh start at HC too IF there's a good option, (I don't want us to just promote a young gun because it's in vogue, if he doesn't have the HC chops to back it up!), if not then I'm happy with continuity as long as we do something with the defensive staff! (the Offense doesn't look to be the problem this year and I think will only grow as our rookies settle in and Haskins hopefully blossoms into readiness!)

None of that is out of the realms of possibility and would start us on a solid path for the future.

Yes I know we'll still have Bruce and Dan, but I think we can win in spite of them if the right pieces are in place.

Anyway... long post I know.

Cowboys suck! HTTR!
 
If I said I expected us to win either opening games, I'd be lying, I only felt the Giants game was going to be plausible with the early schedule that we have. We have a team that just cannot put 4 full quarters of football together, we can be competitive, we're not Miami, but we lack any consistency on keeping that going. Whether it's conditioning or game planning, that all falls back onto the coaches. Yeah not having TW hurts, yeah Allen's injury hurts, yeah Guice injury hurts, yes Reed should retire and save his body but we've still shown flashes of competitive football. Yes this is a rebuilding year but it doesn't excuse the glaring things we've seen so far and it's time to let the bloodbath begin in the coaching staff. I'm not a fan of in season firings but Gruden knows he's a lame duck this year why even bother with him anymore?
 
I feel like even if they did get in front of it and put the word out that it is going to be a "rebuilding year," it wouldn't matter. It's still another year of not contending for anything. They still make the same mistakes, same dumb penalties in key moments, same lack of coaching adjustments, and same coaching failures. So, they still "lose the same way."

It used to be the Philly/Dal/NY fans I know used to needle me and talk trash during the season. Now, even they just feel bad for Skins fans and know there is no real rivalry anymore.

Blah.
 
I feel like even if they did get in front of it and put the word out that it is going to be a "rebuilding year," it wouldn't matter. It's still another year of not contending for anything. They still make the same mistakes, same dumb penalties in key moments, same lack of coaching adjustments, and same coaching failures. So, they still "lose the same way."

It used to be the Philly/Dal/NY fans I know used to needle me and talk trash during the season. Now, even they just feel bad for Skins fans and know there is no real rivalry anymore.

Blah.

I hear you on this. What I have been saying is that regardless of how the team 'describes' it or whether they openly set the expectation bar lower during a 'rebuild', you can't 'sort of' have a rebuild. A rebuild is a rebuild. If we were truly rebuilding, we would have done/be doing a number of things differently.

First, you would've traded Trent Williams at the first opportunity. This guy is sitting on the sidelines while his teammates have to face 2 of the best teams in the league. Ship his ass for whatever you get and move forward.

Secondly, we should've traded Jordan Reed, Josh Norman, Colt McCoy, and maybe even Morgan Moses for whatever draft capital you could get for them. I'd also have looked at trading any player who has missed significant time over the past 3 seasons and who can't be relied on consistently. I'm not saying we should've had a fire sale, but while we are drafting better, we continue to carry a bunch of guys who either aren't dependably able to contribute, who make repeated mental mistakes, or who under perform.

Thirdly, I would've jettisoned Gruden in the offseason, or extended him if you think he can still become a good head coach. Doing neither while clearly in a rebuilding situation creates a very dysfunctional dynamic as we are seeing play out in front of us.

Finally, while Keenum has been fine, probably better than expected so far, I would be starting the Dwayne Haskins era sooner rather than later. That's not because he gives us a better chance to win right now. I expect he will have, like most rookie QBs do, some major growing pains. But he will only really learn out there on the playing field, and the sooner that starts, the sooner we find out what we have there.

We have done none of that. Instead patching together a roster that can 'compete' for awhile, but that isn't going to advance the cause significantly in terms of team growth. We've gotten younger and better in some spots, but we seem incredibly reluctant to make some of the dramatic changes necessary to really change the on the field dynamics.

I believe drama is coming. But not the kind that is likely to spark positive change. It'll just be next coach up while our supposed GM sits silently by and our owner slouches in his luxury box seat looking like someone who would rather be anywhere else and who has no clue how to get this sinking ship back on course.
 
Amen, brother Boone. I agree, if they flushed out Bruce and Jay, had a new staff and made those moves you outlined - we all could stomach the bumps along the road much better. There would at least be light at the end of the tunnel. It is sad that you, and all of us fans can see moves that need to be made for positive change - yet the dudes in charge do not!
 
Amen, brother Boone. I agree, if they flushed out Bruce and Jay, had a new staff and made those moves you outlined - we all could stomach the bumps along the road much better. There would at least be light at the end of the tunnel. It is sad that you, and all of us fans can see moves that need to be made for positive change - yet the dudes in charge do not!

That shot yesterday of Snyder slouched down in his luxury box seat looking clueless and depressed really irritated me. Get off your ass and do something Snyder!
 
While I understand we're rebuilding, the issue I have is the same issues weather we're rebuilding or not. To me, if a coach consistently fields undisciplined teams that draw so many flags, and constant mental errors, you can build with the best players out there, and still have a lousy team. Why can other teams win while rebuilding, and not us ? I don't even want to hear the lack of talent, as from where I sit, we have the players to win now. Ya, we need better depth in many spots, but scheme adjustments can compensate for the loss of a key player for a week or two. We also seem to be fragile.... I can't remember having so many injuries as we have for 3 or 4 seasons now. Conditioning seems to be a real issue.

When it comes down to it, it's lack of flexibility, and creativeness from the coaching staff..... but many have said this before. We have become the Raiders / Browns of the past.... where you go to flush your career down the shitter.....
 
I'm not a fan of in season firings but Gruden knows he's a lame duck this year why even bother with him anymore?

He's been doing this for six years and he can't even run the clock right. I hold little hope that he's going to invent the next version of the Counter Trey
 

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