The Gruden Files - Year Two

[Miles Monroe]

What I feared would happen last night, happened. Gruden and his staff did not have the team fired up for this game. I can barely watch the guy on the sidelines with his complete lack of fire. I saw it said a few times last night in chat that we needed a spark. That starts with the coaching making some sort of adjustment, which as to date I haven't seen in any game. Jackson finished us off, but the coaching staff failed before we ever took the field.

 

[TomE]

The intensity appeared to be there and our defense came ready to play but so did the their defense (which ain't too shabby btw), we had no answer for their D.
Disliked some of the down and short calls, almost like they were forcing the run.
Could be lack of horses or could be lack of creativity.

I don't think sideline style gets many points on the board, Gruden looked plenty pissed to me with him muttering MF's, albeit under his breath, especially after that called TO late in the fourth when only 10 guys lined up.

 

[Om]

What I saw was a team getting manhandled on the LOS ... both sides. Our skill players are decent--not great, but good enough to compete when the lines are holding their own. We are simply not good enough inside. If McLoughan was watching the same game I was last night, he knows he's got another 2-3 offseasons of stocking the lines with more athletic, more aggressive, nastier big bodies.

 

[stevenaa]

OM nailed it. The Lines need beefing up and we need receivers that can get separation. Desean is great for a stretch play or two a game, but that's about it. He's not a guy you can throw it too in tight coverage and let him fight for it. We need big, tall aggressive receivers for a change. It also seems that Gruden is forcing the run in situations where mixing in some passes is needed. Almost to the point of petulance. I'm wondering if McL gave him an ultimatum to establish the run game, and he's doing it to the extreme. He certainly would have called pass plays in some of these situations earlier in the year. Our Oline is just not good enough against decent Dlines' to effectively pound the rock. I'd like to see some of that Offensive Coordinator acumen he's supposed to poses. Where are the quick slant routes made famous by the West Coast? Subpar play calling with Subpar talent nets you what we saw.

 

[Goaldeje]

Where are the misdirection running plays we ran earlier in the year? Gruden was outcoached, badly, last night. I'm not sure why he persists in running the ball using a power running style when we have neither the backs nor the OLine for that scheme. He needs to get more creative, and quickly.

 

[fansince62]

well...and this belongs in a differnnt thread:

- I'm not convinced we made the right draft pick in the first round. it's now obvious why Scherff was moved to RG.....to me he looks stiff moving laterally. several times now during the season it looked as though he doesn't have the quickness to react to speed rushers

- I continue to see Murphy physically manhandled and out of the play. even the fumble recovery last night - he wasn't in on the tackle but standing there next to the pile when the ball popped out. I'll give him the sack. It became clear to me last why Smith isn't the starter. To my eyes, Smith is a better physical presence, applies more pressure and is a more consistent threat. that said, it looks like he makes quite a few rookie read mistakes and takes himself out of plays - that wld be my guess why he is not the starter

 

[DieselPwr44]

What I saw was a team getting manhandled on the LOS ... both sides. Our skill players are decent--not great, but good enough to compete when the lines are holding their own. We are simply not good enough inside. If McLoughan was watching the same game I was last night, he knows he's got another 2-3 offseasons of stocking the lines with more athletic, more aggressive, nastier big bodies.

I agree we need more talent on the lines but let's not give Jay another crutch to use to explain away poor coaching.

I don't know if Mcvay is the main play caller or if Jay is or if it's by committee with Callahan etc. but they weren't even high school level last night.

For example: Bringing in two extra tackles on the line to try and run the ball because we dont have a tight end who can block worth a damn.

OK. But the problem with this is: we run out of that formation every time and sub them out to pass! Now I will readily admit I'm not a coach or a genius like Chip Kelly but hell......How long do you think it took for Rob Marinelli to figure out "When the extra tackles come in,play the run." ??

Maybe a minute?

And today,on radio, it was said that Gruden stated Morris is still the starter at rb and that the reason why he got so few carries last night was due to game flow and that Randy Jordan likes to go with the hot hand.

Since when??? I guess last week in the first half, when Morris was averaging 5 yds a carry, and gets subbed out for Jones and then not getting back into the game until the 4th qtr....that's riding a hot hand?

Horse Hockey.

Next game, look at the Redskins sideline,squint real hard and look who's coaching......

 

[Miles Monroe]

DJax would be taken by the Pats in a minute.

Works for me, we played them already.....

 

[DieselPwr44]

DJax would be taken by the Pats in a minute.

That's why when he first became available,Belichick jumped right on him..........

Bill doesn't put up with me first knuckleheads who put their self interest ahead of the team.

 

[Om]

No one is going to convince those firing Jay Gruden every time we lose a game that the Skins biggest problem continues to be a roster reeling not only with injuries this season, but also from a generation of amateurish personnel management. Most glaringly up front on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

I think we're an average team overall, with average quarterbacking, average coaching, but still below-average talent on both lines of scrimmage. On days our lines control the line of scrimmage more often than not, we tend to win. On days we don't---which is more often than not---we lose. We don't have a stellar quarterback who can overcome those deficiencies at this point.

I'm luke-warm on Jay Gruden at this point. I see some things I like and others I don't ... and fully understand I'm seeing them through the very limited prism that anyone not in the room, on the practice field and on the sidelines has at their disposal. Fortunately, after all these years, I think we have someone who isn't limited by that prism, and understands a million times better than any one of us exactly who Jay Gruden is, and what Jay has to work with. For the first time since Beathard, I think we have a guy in McLoughan I can trust to assess and select a head coach for this football team.

I think we still get our asses handed to us physically up front more often than not. I think Monday night was a stark example of that, on the offensive side all night long and on defense whenever we tried to apply pressure without bringing the house. When I see our guys missing blocks and/or getting beaten physically over and over again, I believe that has more to do with the player than the coach. But I could be wrong. Maybe it really is that our head coach, offensive coordinator and line coach are incompetent. We'll know more about that this coming offseason, when our GM either sends Jay packing or doubles down and gives him another year, with, I suspect, a lineman-heavy offseason of talent acquisition, to try to win a few more days up front next season than we're winning so far this season.

 

[McD5]

That was one of the worst coaching performances I've ever seen. Yeah, we had some drive-killing penalties early, and that Desean play was atrocious, but I'd have to put 75% of the blame on the coaching.

We had 20 first downs in that game. We ran the ball on first down 15 times, for an average of 1.6 ypc.

No more. Stop with the stupid running on first down when it obviously isn't working. I agree 100% with Cooley on that point. We can't be in 2nd and 8 every single drive. Mix it up.

Also, this is supposed to be a WCO. Where were the 8 targets to Reed? How about 4 deep pass attempts to Desean every game? How about quick slants to slow down the pass rush?

Way too conservative, and wayyyyy too many running plays. It appeared that they were playing not to lose, instead of playing to win.

And on the running game. I thought Callahan might someday be the heir apparent for the HC position. Well if that's what his running plays look like, I don't even want to think of what his passing plays might look like. No thank you.

I understand that the team is in a bit of a pinch with Callahan, and that he was promised he could call some running plays. But maybe he should just focus on the O-line, instead of drawing up running plays during the week. This might be the reason why Dallas wouldn't let him call running plays.

And McVay. Whose idea was it to move a TE coach to the OC position? I understand that he probably had a few years left on his contract, and that Dan was already paying Shanahan to sit on the couch. But I'm not sure what it is in his resume that makes him qualifed to be an OC.

I hold Gruden mainly accountable, as he is the HC. But I'd like to see him take the play calling back this weekend. That's the main reason we hired him. I want to see the play calling from Cincy's 3 straight playoff runs. Not what a green McVay, or Callahan believe to be best.

 

[Fear The Spear]

And McVay. Whose idea was it to move a TE coach to the OC position? I understand that he probably had a few years left on his contract, and that Dan was already paying Shanahan to sit on the couch. But I'm not sure what it is in his resume that makes him qualifed to be an OC.

That's funny because about a year ago, the media was hyping him up, as the next hot head coaching prospect, and that the Skins should be worried about losing him to that.

 

[McD5]

That's funny because about a year ago, the media was hyping him up, as the next hot head coaching prospect, and that the Skins should be worried about losing him to that.

I never heard anything like that. Certainly not on a national level.

I did hear that he was super smart, and that it was a good move to retain him.

But never anyone suggesting that another team might consider our TE coach for their HC position.

Also, Kyle was supposedly a hot prospect just two months ago.

 

[micks113]

That was one of the worst coaching performances I've ever seen. Yeah, we had some drive-killing penalties early, and that Desean play was atrocious, but I'd have to put 75% of the blame on the coaching.

We had 20 first downs in that game. We ran the ball on first down 15 times, for an average of 1.6 ypc.

No more. Stop with the stupid running on first down when it obviously isn't working. I agree 100% with Cooley on that point. We can't be in 2nd and 8 every single drive. Mix it up.

Also, this is supposed to be a WCO. Where were the 8 targets to Reed? How about 4 deep pass attempts to Desean every game? How about quick slants to slow down the pass rush?

Way too conservative, and wayyyyy too many running plays. It appeared that they were playing not to lose, instead of playing to win.

And on the running game. I thought Callahan might someday be the heir apparent for the HC position. Well if that's what his running plays look like, I don't even want to think of what his passing plays might look like. No thank you.

I understand that the team is in a bit of a pinch with Callahan, and that he was promised he could call some running plays. But maybe he should just focus on the O-line, instead of drawing up running plays during the week. This might be the reason why Dallas wouldn't let him call running plays.

And McVay. Whose idea was it to move a TE coach to the OC position? I understand that he probably had a few years left on his contract, and that Dan was already paying Shanahan to sit on the couch. But I'm not sure what it is in his resume that makes him qualifed to be an OC.

I hold Gruden mainly accountable, as he is the HC. But I'd like to see him take the play calling back this weekend. That's the main reason we hired him. I want to see the play calling from Cincy's 3 straight playoff runs. Not what a green McVay, or Callahan believe to be best.

Have to agree all the way around. Callahan had his lunch ate by their D Coordinator. And Callahan knows the guys M.O. inside and out. But yet, Callahan didn't have a clue how to block a single or double stunt from Dlinemen in a pass rush. I can see the LB's and CBs getting in there, but flat getting our asses handed to us from simple stunts requires a lot of explaining to do.

Very disappointed in the whole coaching staff. They had the complete wrong game plan and couldn't take advantage of Cowboy weaknesses (which are many). Has anyone here ever seen a worse Cowboy team? maybe the Aikman 1 win season. But for crying out loud, there is no excuse for this kind of performance on the big stage mon night. In experience is one thing, but Callahan is a vet. Disappointing.

 

[Henry]

I dunno. I watched the game and the coaching ... meh. It didn't seem to be the problem to me. I think we just aren't that good.

If someone told me at the beginning of the year we'd be 5-7 right now I wouldn't have batted an eye. It stinks to lose THIS game because ... Dallas ... and also it's probably the easiest game left on our schedule and one of the easiest games on our schedule this entire year. I'd like for this team to win the games they SHOULD win, and this was one of them. That said, if we pull out 7 wins this season, and I think we probably can, that's not a terrible year after the years we've been having.

However, if this is beginning of a late-season swoon and we finish 5-11?

Oy. I don't want to think about that.

In any case, after giving it a day to percolate I think this loss, while totally sucking because it was Dallas at home, doesn't mean TOO much in the grand scheme of things. We are what we are. 5-7. Not too shocking, is it?

 

[Goaldeje]

I get all that Henry, and to an extent I agree. My frustration with the coaching staff stems from the lack of in-game adjustments, that frankly we've seen all season long, as well as the feeling I got (take that for what it's worth) that the team wasn't prepared or fired up.

This season has been unbelievably frustrating, as we will show signs of putting it all together and looking like a decent team, only to follow that up with a garbage performance like Monday night. I realize that is the very definition of a mediocre or even bad team, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. We can all see the potential available, and then to have to watch the team waste that potential... well, it sucks.

 

[Chris]

We are a team filled with average to below average talent and our record reflects it.

 

[stevenaa]

Agree Henry. Our personnel is getting beat by the other teams personnel. I suppose it's a question whether or not coaching is getting as much out of them as possible, but overall we are what we appear to be. Constantly running on first and whenever we put in the "jumbo" package was a big downer. I still wonder how much the game plan is being influenced by McL's desire to be a smash mouth running team. I think Cousins has shown enough that he won't crater if he makes a mistake. Time to encourage him to take more risks.

 

[Neophyte]

I get all that Henry, and to an extent I agree. My frustration with the coaching staff stems from the lack of in-game adjustments, that frankly we've seen all season long, as well as the feeling I got (take that for what it's worth) that the team wasn't prepared or fired up.

THIS! Right here.

I get being surprised with how much Dallas was blitzing to open the game. They have not done that all year. To anyone. They were coming every down. So for it to be a surprise on the first possession, I totally get. I'll even be generous and give the staff two possessions of being surprised. By the third possession though there should have been no more surprise and there should have been adjustments. Where were the quick slants to Garçcn, Jackson and Crowder? Where were the screen plays to Thompson and Jones? Where were the misdirection runs and zone reads to Morris?

Even if I am super generous and give the staff to half time (something that never would have happened under Gibbs) where were those adjustments in the second half?

I dislike all the comparisons of football to warfare but in one way it is totally like warfare...plans are great till the first bullet flies, then it all goes to hell. Football is very much the same. The team that adjusts first and adjusts best usually wins.

So far, through 1 and 3 quarter seasons, the evidence is that Jay and staff do not adjust well, if at all.

I kept waiting for the sucker punch too. We keep putting the jumbo package in and running the ball with Crowder or Jackson lined up outside. Where was the payoff? The deep shot off play action because Dallas just knew we were going to run it up the gut again?

I gotta tell you, I think I could have called the plays for the Dallas defense Monday night and that is saying something.

 

[Henry]

I get all that Henry, and to an extent I agree. My frustration with the coaching staff stems from the lack of in-game adjustments, that frankly we've seen all season long, as well as the feeling I got (take that for what it's worth) that the team wasn't prepared or fired up.

This season has been unbelievably frustrating, as we will show signs of putting it all together and looking like a decent team, only to follow that up with a garbage performance like Monday night. I realize that is the very definition of a mediocre or even bad team, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating. We can all see the potential available, and then to have to watch the team waste that potential... well, it sucks.

I don't disagree with any of that. I guess I'm just not surprised.

I have been underwhelmed by this coaching staff this year, so I suppose my bar has gotten pretty low for them. Shrug.