The Gruden Files - Year Two

I think the special thing here is that you can take a dig or two toward a CEO and not be disappeared.
 
'He had it coming though, right?'

'We all have it coming kid.'
 
Great post 9/27 CT! missed it the first time through.

I like the fact that you looked at social behaviors from multiple angles. you're spot on: it's often grey.

I'm pretty sure when we all sit down in front of the idiot box or at a game...we in the "fanbase" want the home team to win no matter how we feel about specific players. sounds childish to even be speaking in these terms. what I find more amusing/interesting are the patterns of likes, temporary alliances, assumed backdoor PMs, etc., etc.....all the things that make a blog a crucible for observing the good and bad sides of human behavior. it is a football board: unlike...say...deploying to Afghanistan or Iraq.....losing a battle has no real permanent consequences other than possibly ruptured friendships.

In my own mind, no matter how hard the mods/owners try...the overarching environment of media cynicism and cultural division/toxicity guarantees that all of us who live in that larger ecosystem will eventually carry over those learned patterns into the board.
 
What?

I tried reading that but got distracted by tweeting out to my homies and liking shit on the Facebook.
 
I don't really have any sort of validation for Gruden or Barry but I believe it's important to remind ourselves that some of those shiny prized coaches we desired aren't exactly lighting it up. Remember Vic Fangio we all wanted him, the talking heads said we would should, who knows? Maybe we should. I'm happy with Barry so far and Gruden had his honeymoon, so no more excuses. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio takes blame for Chicago Bears signing Ray McDonald
 
Cycleans said:
I don't really have any sort of validation for Gruden or Barry but I believe it's important to remind ourselves that some of those shiny prized coaches we desired aren't exactly lighting it up. Remember Vic Fangio we all wanted him, the talking heads said we would should, who knows? Maybe we should. I'm happy with Barry so far and Gruden had his honeymoon, so no more excuses. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio takes blame for Chicago Bears signing Ray McDonald
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Then there's Wade Phillips in Denver.
 
Elephant said:
Then there's Wade Phillips in Denver.
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Yeah. That's the one I still scratch my head about. Barry is over performing my expectations for him, which is fantastic.

But I still can't figure out why we didn't get Wade.
 
Not wise to hire coordinators who are better head coaches than you are.

Who knows, maybe Barry will be a younger version of Phillips, eventually.
 
Ax said:
Not wise to hire coordinators who are better head coaches than you are.

Who knows, maybe Barry will be a younger version of Phillips, eventually.
Click to expand...

Yet they hired Callahan? They hired former head coaches in Perry Fewell, Bill Callahan, but would not pull the trigger on arguably the best DC in the history of the game when he wanted to coach with his son?

And yes, I am willing to give Barry the benefit of the doubt, although the lack of pressure on Eli was disheartening.
 
Callahan was a failed HEAD coach. Fewell, as well.

Wade, has had some success as a head coach. Much more as a coordinator.
 
Ax said:
Callahan was a failed HEAD coach. Fewell, as well.

Wade, has had some success as a head coach. Much more as a coordinator.
Click to expand...
Callahan coached a team to the Super Bowl and did it in Oakland. Some great coaches have "failed" in Oakland.

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Well....wasn't it grudens scheme that was just ran identically again?
 
As they are joined at the hip, Kirk, and Gruden, had their best game as a Redskin on Sunday. In grading however, I gave Kirk an A for his effort.

C+ is the best I can muster for Gruden. Posted my reasoning in BB's Grade thread.

For the 1st quarter of the season, I'll give Gruden a solid D+. Which is a marked improvement over his rookie year F.

Games like Sunday should be the minimum performance out of him and his staff. Not his/their "best to date".
He still needs to improve quite a bit.

But, improve he did, in this 1st quarter. Hoping for a C+, or better, in the season's 2nd quarter.
 
Clearly "grading" a coach or player is about as subjective a thing as we discuss around here. So with that in mind ...

Seems to me a D+ grade is pretty rough for a head coach starting 2-2 given the multitude of injuries to a rebuilding team, a new DC, a bunch of new players and a young, unproven QB, on the heels of a 4-12 rookie season. To me, a 2-2 record rates him at least a solid C.

Or it would, were I to "grade" him a quarter of the way through the season, that is. Generally I'd be going Incomplete at this point. :)
 
Oh, I agree. If we continue to see games like Sunday, regularly, with even better performances going forward, then I reserve the right to revise and extend my early remarks, in giving a final grade.

1st quarter grade is really just a progress report.
 
I think the D+ is right about where I would put him, too. He does do some good things with all of those things you mention, Om, but then he does stuff like come out in the second half flat every single game and it just makes you scream at your television. Its not failing, not average. But he definitely needs improvement if he wants to continue to be eligible to play sports
 
It would be great to know why the team has started each 2nd half so damn flat. It's easy enough to simply say it's up to the HC to get his guys fired up again, and no way to prove that isn't it. Surely that's part of it anyway. Captain of the ship and all that.

I keep thinking some of it has to come from the players themselves, though. Can't recall ever seeing a HC in the middle of one of those "Let's Go Kick Some ****ing ASS!!" scrums at the beginning of a game or half. It's certainly hard to envision The Genius of Foxboro ever being that guy. It's always a player--one recognized as a team leader.

On this young team, with a bunch of newer FA vets sprinkled in, I wonder if that isn't partly what's going on; the leaders on THIS particularly team are still sorting themselves out and (hopefully) rising to the task of getting the blood boiling again after those 15 minutes in the crapper and meeting with position coaches.

Guess we'll find out as the season progresses.
 
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