Willie Parker statement - Redskins Culture

[fansince62]

Anyone catch the quick sound byte from Willie Parker yesterday? Compared Steelers and Skins and said problem was football in Redskin-land isn't taken seriously...too much interest in partying.

ouch. what prompted that? usually...eveyone knows it's a business and you move on.

 

[Nobody]

Someone with the pathetic stats of Willie Parker should never talk **** about the sport he failed to accomplish anything in. Guess he was more of the partying type

 

[China]

What does it say about Willie Parker that he couldn't even beat out a bunch of partiers who weren't serious about their football?

I'd like to think that as more player turnover occurs, Shanahan will bring in more dedicated players and the culture in Redskins park will turn around. Time will tell.

 

[fansince62]

agree. SKins have had their issues...but one thing I haven't heard has been partying. sounds like sour grapes.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Parker is a washed up has-been looking for publicity, but looking at the results on the field, he may have been more right than we want to give him credit for unfortunately.

Either way, "Fast Willie" was not so much when he was here.

 

[Chris]

My original thought when reading the head line was- Who the hell is parker and why should I care what he said?

After reading the post, that thought stands.

 

[Om]

My first thought was ... I wonder if semi-slick Willie just happened to hang around with a couple now-former Redskins in particular and formed his opinion on that limited basis? Maybe with one player in particular who might have shared his position and wasn't always necessarily known for his ... shall we say ... non-game-day commitment?

 

[fansince62]

My first thought was ... I wonder if semi-slick Willie just happened to hang around with a couple now-former Redskins in particular and formed his opinion on that limited basis? Maybe with one player in particular who might have shared his position and wasn't always necessarily known for his ... shall we say ... non-game-day commitment?

a player who was...maybe...too vocal/said some dumb things at times in the local media?.... .....

 

[Nobody]

"Fast Willie" was not so much when he was here.

Maybe it was a girlfriend's joke about him having premature ejaculation issues, and he ran with the nickname because he thought it was complimenting his running style

 

[Goaldeje]

It's weird. I have had the exact same reaction as many of you here, but nationally, it seems to be taken a little more seriously. I am now afraid to admit that I watch PTI, thanks to the other thread, so let's just say that a friend told me they watched it yesterday and they had a piece on what Parker said. Both of them thought it was indicative of the poor Redskins culture; I thought it said more about him than us though.

 

[KDawg]

I find it odd that with so many complaints about our team and management in the past, so many are extremely quick to dismiss this.

Yes, Willie Parker is washed up. Yes, Willie Parker has sour grapes. No, he's not wrong.

Partying alone hasn't been our downfall, but take a look at some of our players.

92, allegedly groped a waitress and (allegedly) hits the bottle quite often.

Brandon Banks, goes out and gets himself stabbed (Yes, it was due to the company he keeps, but that's an issue as well).

I believe it was alleged that Carlos Rogers has some partying issues as well.

All is NOT well with the Redskins, so why pile on Parker here? He probably should have kept his mouth shut, but I can't understand why people would outright dismiss this.

Even Tryon said something similar when he went to Indy.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/justin-tryon-says-playing-for.html

"This is night and day from D.C. It's night and day," he said. "The guys here are more, I'm not going to say -- the guys here are, it's work. It's work and less play. It's less play, it's less moseying around. It's standard here to go to the playoffs, it's standard here to be your own team. There, it was more of a fashion show. Here... it's hey, let's go to work today."

Where there's smoke, there's fire.

 

[Henry]

Yeah, I have to agree with KDawg. Since when has this team been considered a hard-working lunch-pail type of organization? It's been years.

Maybe Shanahan is going to change all that, but I wouldn't be shocked if it took more than one season to do it.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I find it odd that with so many complaints about our team and management in the past, so many are extremely quick to dismiss this.

Yes, Willie Parker is washed up. Yes, Willie Parker has sour grapes. No, he's not wrong.

Partying alone hasn't been our downfall, but take a look at some of our players.

92, allegedly groped a waitress and (allegedly) hits the bottle quite often.

Brandon Banks, goes out and gets himself stabbed (Yes, it was due to the company he keeps, but that's an issue as well).

I believe it was alleged that Carlos Rogers has some partying issues as well.

All is NOT well with the Redskins, so why pile on Parker here? He probably should have kept his mouth shut, but I can't understand why people would outright dismiss this.

Even Tryon said something similar when he went to Indy.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/justin-tryon-says-playing-for.html



Where there's smoke, there's fire.

Yeah, I have to agree with KDawg. Since when has this team been considered a hard-working lunch-pail type of organization? It's been years.

Maybe Shanahan is going to change all that, but I wouldn't be shocked if it took more than one season to do it.

Where have I heard that before? Oh yeah...

Parker is a washed up has-been looking for publicity, but looking at the results on the field, he may have been more right than we want to give him credit for unfortunately.

 

[Goaldeje]

Yeah, I have to agree with KDawg. Since when has this team been considered a hard-working lunch-pail type of organization? It's been years.

Maybe Shanahan is going to change all that, but I wouldn't be shocked if it took more than one season to do it.

I don't doubt there is some truth to it, but I think China nailed it. If Parker couldn't beat out that partying bunch of losers, that sounds like sour grapes to me.

Again, not saying there isn't some truth to it, but I wonder if he isn't overstating his case a little.

 

[fansince62]

Yeah, I have to agree with KDawg. Since when has this team been considered a hard-working lunch-pail type of organization? It's been years.

Maybe Shanahan is going to change all that, but I wouldn't be shocked if it took more than one season to do it.

the lunch pail types that won SBs party'd their behinds off. Riggo? the hogs?

Parker implicated the whole team and organization. that's a far cry from 2 or 3 outliers.

 

[Jimbo]

Gibbs went to back-to-back Super Bowls with the partying Hogs and the party-hardy Riggins. What happens on their own time, as long as it's not illegal, doesn't concern me but if there's lollygagging at practice, then THAT'S a problem. I don't doubt a lot of that happened under Zorn (see Justin Tryon) and the OTA's and last year's Training Camp may not have been as tight as some but Shanahan has been know to run a fairly tight ship, according to Mark Schlereth.

Mike also has his favorites and may give his star players a little bit more leeway but so did Gibbs. Last year was Shanny's first year and he was still evaluating. I think you'll see things change this season, if there is one. Look at our draft picks. From what I've read, I didn't see any with questionable character. Whether they have the talent to play and excel in the NFL remains to be seen. I also think you could see some guys with questionable character gone or traded before the season starts.

Mike has historically been my-way-or-the-highway. I don't know if that has changed after getting fired in Denver but I'm guessing you won't see much "play" going forward.

I take Parker's comments with a grain of salt because the team you've won Super Bowls with will ALWAYS be better in your mind than the team you can't even make at the end of your career.

 

[KDawg]

Gibbs went to back-to-back Super Bowls with the partying Hogs and the party-hardy Riggins. What happens on their own time, as long as it's not illegal, doesn't concern me but if there's lollygagging at practice, then THAT'S a problem. I don't doubt a lot of that happened under Zorn (see Justin Tryon) and the OTA's and last year's Training Camp may not have been as tight as some but Shanahan has been know to run a fairly tight ship, according to Mark Schlereth.

That was almost thirty years ago with the first SB and twenty since the last.

Times have changed.

We need to stop looking to the 80's for the recipe for success. Seriously.

I take Parker's comments with a grain of salt because the team you've won Super Bowls with will ALWAYS be better in your mind than the team you can't even make at the end of your career.

Or... he's correct.

 

[fansince62]

KDawg.....no one is disputing that Shanahan has his work cut out changing the culture. the point is Parker makes a blanket assertion with nothing to back it up. and as an aside...we know Riggo showed up for one critical game totally xxit-faced. so the times argument doesn't fit...IMO.

to be frank.....I don't think the partying argument carries weight. I'd be much more willing to believe...especially for a guy who was with the team how long.....3-4 mos? (i.e., not enough time to assess the culture, where it has been and where it's headed)...that the TV shows, radio interviews, advertising promos, Internet blogs, etc., were much more of a distraction than partying. and what does he mean by partying? going to a restaurant and having one or two...or hip hopping til 3 in the morning Sat night before a game?

had he just kept it at there isn't a culture that demands excellence and is fixated on winning...I would agree 100%. Shanahan is fixing that. but the causes of that run much deeper than partying...right Dan?

 

[KDawg]

KDawg.....no one is disputing that Shanahan has his work cut out changing the culture. the point is Parker makes a blanket assertion with nothing to back it up. and as an aside...we know Riggo showed up for one critical game totally xxit-faced. so the times argument doesn't fit...IMO.

Non sense. I told you above. Stop looking to the 80's for the recipe to success. Using Riggo as a success story would have been relevent twenty years ago. Not today.

to be frank.....I don't think the partying argument carries weight. I'd be much more willing to believe...especially for a guy who was with the team how long.....3-4 mos? (i.e., not enough time to assess the culture, where it has been and where it's headed)...

I'd argue that his short time with the team and his ability to notice the problem is an even larger issue. People need to stop making this about Willie Parker and make it about the Washington Redskins. He's just the source. Tryon said the same thing. This type of thing doesn't keep getting repeated if its not somewhat accurate.

had he just kept it at there isn't a culture that demands excellence and is fixated on winning...I would agree 100%. Shanahan is fixing that. but the causes of that run much deeper than partying...right Dan?

I don't think I ever said partying was the only issue. Nor did anyone else. But I'd say that it's pretty credible when one guy is saying the Colts/Skins are entirely different because the Colts are about "work" and the 'Skins are about "play" (Tryon) and another says that the 'Skins party too much that there is some credence.

Too many are burying their head in the sand on this one.

 

[KDawg]

lets compare steelers to redskins...

rape cases: steelers 2, Skins 0
motorcylce crashes: steelers 1, Skins 0

just sayin..

Not sure how this matters.

Every team has knuckle heads. Parker seems to be talking about culture. Meaning, our team is focused on fun first, winning/business second. The Steelers are winning/business first, fun second.

Let's also compare Super Bowl Trophies in the last ten years:
Steelers: 2
Redskins: 0