Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan acknowledged Friday he began watching game film of college quarterbacks at midseason.
It’s no secret that the Redskins need improved quarterback play — Rex Grossman is tied for the NFL lead with 24 turnovers in only 12 starts — so Shanahan’s admission is not necessarily major. And Shanahan also implied this is not an unusual practice.
But Shanahan long ago turned some of his attention toward possible replacements for Grossman and John Beck.
“I’ve probably already looked at 10 or 15 of them,” Shanahan said. “I’ll take a half hour a day early in the morning — the tapes are made up. I’ll take a look at maybe 75, 80 plays of just a guy throwing the football in game situations, and so that’s most of the passes — or at least the good passes — during the season just so I get a feel for the guy.
“You’ve got names; sometimes you can’t relate to how a guy is playing because you hear a lot about it on TV, but a lot of it’s hype and not evaluation. So you like to go back and kind of put the play with the name.”
Washington already has secured a last-place finish in the NFC East prior to Sunday’s season finale at Philadelphia, so interview topics with the head coach this week drifted forward to the Redskins‘ offseason plan.
There’s only 118 days until the Redskins go on the clock, and in little more than 48 hours from now, their spot in the draft order will be finalized.
Beck sees a brighter future
Backup quarterback John Beck’s season did not go as planned, but he’s still encouraged about his future with the Redskins.
“Oh heck yes, I definitely want to be back,” he said Friday. “That thought hasn’t even crossed my mind.”
Beck is under contract for 2012, so he’d be denied that opportunity only if the team releases him. He wants to earn that chance, though, by making the most of the upcoming offseason.
Last spring — his first offseason in the Redskins‘ offense — he missed out on the offseason program because of the lockout. He already has reached out to offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan about scheduling offseason work for the upcoming months.
He wants to build on the positives and negatives of his ill-fated three-start midseason stint.
“I’m excited for this offseason,” Beck said. “I just want to get better. That’s the number one thing for me. There’s no rearview mirror. I’m just ready to work my tail off.”
Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said that although the season has yet to come to an end, he already has begun evaluating the top college quarterbacks.
Shanahan said he makes a habit of evaluating college quarterback play at the start of each day, watching tapes given to him by the team’s pro and college scouts.
“I’ve already looked at 10 or 15 of them,” Shanahan said Friday afternoon. “I’ll take half-hour a day, early in the morning. The tapes are made up. I’ll look at maybe 75, 80 plays of just a guy throwing the football in game situations and so that’s most of the passes, or at least the good passes during the season, just so I get a feel for the guy.”
Shanahan said he “usually” starts breaking down quarterback midway through the season. Midway through the season was the same time that the coach benched John Beck after three games and went back to Rex Grossman.
“You’ve got names, but some times you can’t relate to how a guy’s playing because you hear a lot about it on TV, but a lot of it’s hype and not evaluation,” Shanahan said. “So, you like to go back and kind of put the play with the name.”
Shanahan didn’t share any insight on what he thinks of the upcoming quarterback draft class.
ASHBURN, Va. (AP)—Instead of playing for the playoffs, Mike Shanahan is
playing to match Jim Zorn.
The Washington Redskins must win their regular-season finale Sunday against
the Philadelphia Eagles for Shanahan to equal the two-year record of his
predecessor, a coach who was undermined by management and fired in the middle of
the night.
But, unlike Zorn, Shanahan is not a condemned coach playing out his final
days on the job under owner Dan Snyder. As the Redskins (5-10) wrap up a fourth
consecutive last-place NFC East finish—an unprecedented run in franchise
history—there is no sense that change is coming.
“There’s no doubt in my mind. Hopefully, there’s no doubt in Dan’s mind,
too,” Shanahan said Thursday. “Like I talked to him about when I first got
here, I said: `Dan, if you don’t plan on me coaching here five years and doing
it the right way, you’re hiring the wrong guy.’ It’s going to take some time to
do it right.”
Although Shanahan is 11-20, he has had it easy when considering what it was
like before his arrival. Zorn’s 12-20 record is somewhat remarkable given that
he was at the mercy of a front office led by Snyder and personnel chief Vinny
Cerrato, whose dubious drafts and free-agency choices weakened the roster and
whose faith in the coach was so tenuous that Sherm Lewis was hired out of
Bingo-calling retirement to call the offensive plays.
“I actually enjoyed playing for coach Zorn, and I enjoy playing for coach
Shanahan,” defensive lineman Kedric Golston said. “I think the difference is
that right now we’re building something not to be a flash in the pan. We’re
rebuilding something that would be able to compete and sustain for years to
come. I often look at it like building a building: the higher the building, the
lower you’re going to have to dig the foundation.”
After dismissing Zorn following a 4-12 season in 2009, Snyder gave Shanahan
a $35 million, five-year contract and full control over football matters.
Shanahan is likely safe for at least another year if only because another
coaching move would again validate Snyder’s reputation for impatience and thus
make it difficult to find a quality replacement.
Of course, nothing is a guarantee, given Snyder’s track record in 12 years
of ownership. The owner has stayed mum all season, declining to answer questions
about the team when appearing at various functions. Spokesman Tony Wyllie said
Snyder was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Records aside, the Redskins appear in better shape than two years ago.
Shanahan has instilled a sense of order and professionalism lacking under
Cerrato and Zorn. Washington had the oldest opening day roster in the NFL last
year, but a large draft class has added in some promising young talent.
Shanahan’s major stumble has been his choice of quarterbacks. He wasted a
year with Donovan McNabb, and neither Rex Grossman nor John Beck has proven this
year to be the long-term solution, a significant setback to the rebuilding
process.
“I’ve been here 3 1/2 years, and it’s always been `hopefully next year,’ so
you definitely get tired of it,” cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. “And hopefully
that won’t be the case next year.”
But at least he’s not expecting any offseason chaos.
“I feel like from the top down we know who our coaches are going to be next
year,” Hall said. “That’s a complete 180 from what happened with Zorn.”
It’s been decades since a Redskins coach had a winning tenure. Norv Turner
went 49-59-1 and was fired. Interim replacement Terry Robiskie was 1-2. Marty
Schottenheimer was dismissed after one 8-8 season. Steve Spurrier quit after
going 12-20, and Joe Gibbs was 31-36 before retiring a second time.
The players and coaches are confident Shanahan will buck the trend—as long
as he’s allowed to continue his work.
“There’s some stability,” said safeties coach Steve Jackson, another of
the dwindling holdovers from the Zorn years. “And the biggest thing is you know
who the guy in charge is, and he sets the course. Regardless of how it looks
right now, we know where we’re headed.”
———
Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP
Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.
Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said he has no doubt he will return to the team next season despite a lack of progress in the won-lost column.
Shanahan is nearing the end of the second season of the five-year, $35 million contract that he signed in January of 2010. He was expected to return the Redskins to the ranks of NFL contenders, but Washington went 6-10 in Shanahan’s first season and the team owns a 5-10 mark entering the season finale at Philadelphia Sunday.
Still, Shanahan — who this week admitted it has taken longer to rebuild the Redskins than he initially imagined – said he fully expects owner Daniel Snyder to allow him to continue his reclamation project next season.
“No, there’s no doubt in my mind,” he said without hesitation.
“Hopefully there’s no doubt in Dan’s mind, too,” Shanahan added with a chuckle. “That would be the bigger guy to ask.”
Shanahan said the Redskins had less depth and less talent than he believed when he accepted the job. After keeping a rather veteran roster and adding several pieces, but failing at that attempt in 2010, Shanahan and general manager Bruce Allen shifted their focus in 2011 to fielding a younger team built primarily through the draft.
Shanahan said he made it clear to Snyder that patience would be required for him and Allen to transform the Redskins into a franchise that will enjoy long-term success. The coach expects to receive that time.
“Like I talked to him about when I first got here, I said, ‘Dan, if you don’t plan on me coaching here five years and doing it the right way, you’re hiring the wrong guy.’” Shanahan said. “It’s going to take some time to do it right.”
When DeAngelo Hall came to the Washington Redskins midway through the 2008 season as a free agent who had been cut by the Oakland Raiders, the Redskins – then coached by Jim Zorn – owned a 6-2 record. But they stumbled, going 2-6 to finish 8-8.
Hall recalls how he and his teammates entered that offseason saying “hopefully next year will be our year.”
But Zorn and the Redskins went 4-12, and the coach was fired. The players again hoped for next year, and Mike Shanahan took over in January of 2010, but went 6-10 in his first season.
Now the Redskins own a 5-10 record and need a win over the Philadelphia Eagles to equal last year’s mark and equal the lowly record of Zorn’s embarrassing two-year tenure. And once again, Hall is hoping for next year.
“I’ve been here 3-1/2 years and it’s always been ‘hopefully next year,’ so it’s definitely tiring. Hopefully that won’t be the case next year,” Hall said chuckling and rolling his eyes. “Hopefully [we’re] one offseason away. Hopefully one draft, one free agency away from adding more pieces on offense, maybe a couple pieces on defense away from being what we want to be.”
Hall said he believes a turnaround in Year 3 of the Shanahan era is possible. The organization spent last season primarily upgrading the defense, and the results have started to show. Now the hope is that with an emphasis on the offense this coming offseason, a breakthrough will come there as well.
“We took the 31st-ranked defense to now being top 15,” Hall said. “The offense has been playing great the last couple weeks, so hopefully, through the draft and free agency we can get the pieces we want and get our kind of guys, Washington Redskins, and be the team we want to be.”
The Redskins face an Eagles team Sunday that, like them, entered the year with high aspirations, only to post a disappointing campaign and miss the playoffs. Hall and his teammates hope to avenge a 20-13 loss to Philadelphia earlier this season and at least give themselves a positive start to their unwanted vacations.
“When I got here, they were 6-2, and that’s more wins than we’ve got right now. We’re not trying to compare the two coaches and win for that. We just want to go out there and end on a good note,” Hall said. “It’d be nice [to win]. It’d be real nice, especially against the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that we know pretty well and haven’t been able to beat for a while.”
ASHBURN, Virginia – Staring down 10 loses for the second consecutive season, Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan admitted today that whipping the ailing team back into shape is a much tougher task than he had originally thought.
Since taking charge of the Redskins in Jan. 2010, Shanahan has been working non-stop to tighten the roster passed to him by Jim Zorn. A mere 12 of the 53 current team members have seen life beyond the bench since his arrival. Still, the Redskins notoriously boast four straight last-place finishes, which is a first in the NFC East’s 42-year history.
In the wake of the 33-26 home loss to the Vikings, dropping the Redskins 5-10, Shanahan lamented:
“We had less depth than I thought. We were a little bit older at a few different positions. I thought we might keep those players a little longer than we did.”
Agreeing with Shanahan, nose tackle Barry Cofield talked about the Redskins’ defense:
“It’s depressing. The way we got trampled, it’s the worst defense we played all year. When teams run the ball like that, it hurts me personally. It’s very disappointing, especially coming off of last week where we played well.”
Cofield continued:
“We got a lot to think about for next week. We got a lot to think about for the offseason. Hopefully guys use it as a driving force.”
Shanahan is optimistic about the future, with most of his new-found hope now riding on a new front seven on defense, and fresh running backs Roy Helu and Evan Royster, who combined for four 100-yard games the past five weeks.
“I see a big difference from two years ago,” said Shanahan, “We have a much younger football team. We have a lot more depth at a lot of different positions. I feel good about the type of players that we do have. I feel good about the direction we’re heading.”
Only time will tell.
Do you share Shanahan’s optimistic outlook about the future of the Redskins?
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Washington Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan says Rex Grossman has “way too many turnovers, which is not acceptable.”
Grossman, meanwhile, keeps finding ways to shrug them off. He said this week that interceptions stick in the newspapers because of the attention they get, but they don’t really stick in his head. Grossman has 22 giveaways this season, which ties him for the NFL lead with Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers.
Grossman’s best shot at a turnover-free game could come Saturday when the Redskins host the Minnesota Vikings, who have lost six straight and haven’t picked off a pass in nine games.
Another December, another losing record, another season that’s coming to an end with no postseason contention. The Washington Redskins are once again playing with an eye toward their future, they are using the last two weeks of the 2011 regular season to study their roster for the next year, and big decisions are already on their way.
Fans are probably once again disappointed, but looking at the long-term plan that the Shanahan era has brought in town, there’s also reason for optimism.
The two-year record may tell another story—it’s simply another losing effort which fans are tired of. However, Shanahan inherited a team that needed major improvements in a large number of spots and did a decent job in the last 24 months to adjust as many things as possible—and let’s not forget that he helped to change a fundamental aspect: the culture.
History taught us that winning teams are built through excellent draft choices and smart management, none of which was seen inside Redskins Park since owner Dan Snyder purchased the franchise that he loves so much.
The Redskins have been considered a joke in recent years. They signed a lot of bad free agents, basing all the evaluation process on bringing in the big name, giving roster spots to players who rarely produced as expected.
They gave away many high draft picks while failing to build a rock-solid foundation for seasons to come, contrary to what great teams like the Patriots, the Ravens or the Steelers have been able to do.
Shanahan and Bruce Allen may have kept that bad habit alive when they decided to trade for Donovan McNabb, a move that backfired, but the overall belief is that they’ve chosen the correct path to right this sinking ship.
Shanahan didn’t tolerate any prima donna acts. He put any player on his roster on the same level (no, Fat Albert, that contract didn’t mean that you were the best player on the team). He had the courage to suspend players that didn’t follow his lead and sent a clear message to the entire locker room—he came there to win, simple as that.
Utilizing Jim Haslett’s coaching experience, he switched the defense to a 3-4 without having the right personnel to properly run the scheme from day one, but this year the defensive side of the ball has witnessed significant improvements.
Pre-Shanahan players adapted well, and the new ones were asked to fill in immediately, and mostly did.
But defense has been the lesser problem for a long time.
The Redskins struggled mightily to find the right quarterback—McNabb, Grossman and Beck all failed in a certain way. This is the only roster spot for which Shanahan probably never had a plan, or was probably waiting to develop one knowing that the problem was meant to be solved approaching the 2012 draft.
This year’s draft was correctly used to pick some roster elements that fit the new defensive scheme and to add overall depth, so quarterback was not a high priority.
Even if it’s difficult to believe that Shanahan has seen something in a player (Beck) who actually still never has won as a starter in this league, he gave him a chance. But would be the Redskins a better team if Grossman would’ve run the offense without being demoted?
Anyway, whoever played this season was hopefully a mere bridge between today and the beginning of a new era.
Speaking of Rex, the team knew what it was getting from the former Florida Gator. Grossman never was the best decision-maker available and has always been turnover-prone, but he proved that he could give the offense the best chance to create big plays.
However, the Redskins once again lack the franchise player that they desperately need to make a run to the postseason any given year. The team strongly deserves this after two decades of frustrating suffering.
Mistakes made by past management produced three playoffs appearances since the last time the team won the Super Bowl.
That’s not acceptable anymore in a place like Washington.
During that time span, no one found a way to make the offense work. Joe Gibbs, in his second stint, tried to bring back his old power-rushing concepts, but for the majority of the games, opposing defenses were stopping it too easily.
Steve Spurrier and the Fun ‘N’ Gun was a complete failure. So was Marty Schottenheimer.
This has been a team that produced very little on the offensive side, so defense was the only reason the Redskins played many close games. Last year and this year, the feeling has been dangerously close to this.
Will The Redskins go to the playoffs in 2012?
Will The Redskins go to the playoffs in 2012?
Yes
No
The reason of hope is exactly how the culture change helped to manage this franchise differently.
For the first time in the Snyder era, the draft was given strong value. Shanahan and Allen made a Patriot-like move, obtaining 12 picks. The Redskins picked well in the last two years, finally bringing into town something comparable to a solid foundation.
Think about the new generation of players.
Trent Williams, Shanahan’s first pick as a Redskin, steadily improved from his rookie campaign. Perry Riley, a fourth-rounder in 2010, has taken McIntosh’s starting spot. Ryan Kerrigan, this year’s first-round pick, proved doubters wrong and made an efficient switch from college defensive end to 3-4 outside linebacker.
Roy Helu Jr. is a one-cut back that fits perfectly in Shanahan’s typical zone-blocking scheme and is already considered the team’s future featured back. Niles Paul was valuable on blocking schemes, and last Sunday was utilized as third receiver. Leonard Hankerson showed flashes of the player this offense has desperately searched for for years—someone with athleticism and size—before ending on injured reserve.
The Redskins won only five games, couldn’t manage leads and gave up games that shouldn’t have been lost, a sinister feeling that brought everyone back to the disastrous Jim Zorn days.
But recent outings proved that they have improved so much, and they somehow moved the chains despite losing (again) Chris Cooley for season and not having Santana Moss active for a long time.
Grossman developed a nice chemistry with Jabar Gaffney, a player that should be on next year’s roster for his ability to make plays, and the rushing game can only improve as Helu accumulates experience and once Tim Hightower returns a healthy player.
Something’s still wrong, but the new Redskins’ operating ways could hold a competitive future.
The third draft run by Mike Shanahan will hopefully answer many questions, including to determine who will be the best signal-caller to accept this challenge.
Washington Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan said the team will officially place safety LaRon Landry on injured reserve Friday afternoon, but he doesn’t expect to make a corresponding roster move before Sunday’s game against the New York Giants.
The team announced Thursday that Landry will miss the rest of the season with a strained left Achilles’ tendon, which requires surgery. He will become the ninth Redskins player to wind up on injured reserve this season.
That means the Redskins will have only 52 players on the 53-man roster.
“We’ll go with 52 into this game, and then put someone up next week,” Shanahan said.
The coach said league rules don’t require the team to carry 53 players on the roster Sunday. But the usual limit of 46 active players on gameday still apply.
NFL teams typically have seven players inactive each Sunday. With just 52 players on the roster, the Redskins will have only six, Shanahan said.
Read More: LaRon Landry (SS – WAS), New York Giants, Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan confirmed Thursday that safety LaRon Landry will be placed on injured reserve as a result of injuries to his Achillies’ tendon and groin.
“I talked to LaRon earlier today and he felt that it was quite sore,” Shanahan told Redskins public relations. “He’s been trying to push it, trying to get back the last couple of weeks and thought it was in his best interest to go on IR. Usually what’s in a player’s best interest is usually what’s in our best interest, so we’re going to put him on IR and hopefully he can get that thing well.”
Shanahan said Landry’s timetable for a return at this point remains unclear and that the team will seek a few more opinions before deciding a course of action for the veteran.
The coach noted Landry’s tendon is not torn, but that he’ll likely need surgery at the end of the season to fix the injury.
As the Redskins prepare to face the New York Giants on Sunday, Shanahan just hopes Landry can regain his form of early last season, before he went down with a similar injury, and get back on the field soon.
“I think he would have been Defensive Player of the Year [last year].” Shanahan told Redskins public relations. “But he hasn’t been able to stay healthy and hopefully he can get it fixed.”
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A review of the best and worst performances by the Washington Redskins’ offense and some observations after re-watching the TV broadcast of their 34-27 loss to the New England Patriots.
GAME BALLS
RB ROY HELU: The Redskins will enter the offseason in three weeks with a long list of needs on offense. That’s obvious. After his third straight 100-yard game, an important question is whether Helu has changed coach Mike Shanahan’s thinking about the magnitude of the need at running back. Would Shanahan be content to go with Helu as a featured back and devote the Redskins’ resources to acquiring a top quarterback prospect, improving the line and getting a receiver or two?
Shanahan had success in Denver with different backs. However, coaches and former players distinguish between Terrell Davis’ ability and others’ (Olandis Gary and Mike Anderson). When Gary and Anderson ran for 1,200 and 1,500 yards, respectively, Davis would have had at least 500 more, they say, because of his ability to diagnose cutback lanes, his feel for creating them himself, his patience and his speed. Helu is closer to the Gary/Anderson/others category than Davis or Houston’s Arian Foster. Is Shanahan OK with that considering how many other needs he has on offense?
One can’t help but wonder what Helu could do behind a better offensive line. The blocking for him was wildly inconsistent against New England, but he still had 126 yards. He made defenders miss with his quick feet and speed, and he gained 51 yards after contact on 27 carries. CBS analyst Dan Dierdorf during the broadcast emphasized Helu’s impressive lateral quickness, and it’s worth mentioning again. There were times when he had to cut two or more yards behind the line of scrimmage because the blocking broke down in front of him, but Helu adjusted with his feet, kept his shoulders squared to the line of scrimmage and didn’t lose speed or power.
His speed to the edge and around the corner resulted in several big runs. There were times when he had to bow his path around a tackle that had been pushed back, but he still made it work. Helu whiffed on a blitz pickup on the Redskins’ first play from scrimmage, but he was better after that. Overall, it was another promising game for the rookie. Regardless of how Shanahan and the organization evaluate the running back position entering the offseason, Helu has established himself as a contributor.
WR DONTÉ STALLWORTH: It’s a bit baffling that the Redskins released Stallworth last month considering the big plays he’s made for them since returning. On Sunday, he helped the Redskins match their season-high of 50 percent third-down efficiency (7-of-14) by converting three of them. A big part of being a reliable third-down option is running quality routes against defenses expecting the pass. Stallworth did that.
On his 51-yard catch on third-and-9 in the first quarter, he released inside CB Devin McCourty to get in position for the deep ball. Later in that drive, Stallworth converted third-and-7 using a whip route on which he put McCourty on his back by selling his route to the right flat and pivoting quickly back to the inside. On third-and-9 on the Redskins’ last drive, Stallworth ran a crisp ‘in’ cut, holding McCourty at the top of the break so he could separate to the inside. Those are little things that result in impactful plays.
WR JABAR GAFFNEY: Gaffney seems to have a knack for finding holes in zone coverage. There were plays on which he got wide open simply by taking what the soft New England coverage gave him. He also benefited from some of the play-action passes on which the linebackers lost depth by biting on the run fake.
On Gaffney’s touchdown catch, the Redskins took advantage of a blown coverage and a successful play-action fake. When S James Ihedigbo came up to stop the run, Gaffney ran away from CB Devin McCourty by selling the post and then breaking back out to the corner. The Redskins sent only three receivers out on that play against seven defenders in coverage, but they won because of play-action. That’s what a successful running game and quality play design will do for an offense.
GASSERS
LG MAURICE HURT: It’s pretty much a broken record at this point with Hurt. He’s in there out of necessity. The Redskins have to hope he gets leaner in the offseason, which should improve his strength and quickness in case he’s needed again in a backup role. He was inconsistent finishing his blocks. He can be slow getting off the first assignment in a combination block and late redirecting to a linebacker. On the first play of the game, an inside linebacker blitzed past him untouched when Hurt blocked down, and QB Rex Grossman took a hit. Hurt also was penalized twice for holding.
It wasn’t all bad, though. He cut down DL Kyle Love on the backside of RB Roy Helu’s 16-yard run around the right side in the first quarter. On Helu’s 26-yard run around the left end later in the quarter, he sustained his block against LB Dane Fletcher long enough for Helu to turn the corner two steps ahead of Fletcher.
LT WILLIE SMITH: Smith secured his place on this list by giving up the sack-fumble-touchdown on his third NFL play. For his regular-season debut, though, he wasn’t too bad.
The Washington Redskins love talking about identity.
“You’re playing to establish our identity as an offense,” quarterback Rex Grossman said. “Establish who we are as a team.”
If this is their identity, the Redskins should enter the witness protection program in the offseason.
The offense is ranked 17th in the NFL — 31st in running and a surprising 12th in passing. But other than their 28-14 victory against the New York Giants in Week 1, the Redskins rarely have played well. Many of their points in close losses came in garbage time.
What kind of identity could the Redskins create in their final weeks? The second coming of the 1993 Redskins that won four games? Players would be better off wearing ski masks and leaving no witnesses to this mess.
There is little benefit from playing well in the final weeks of the season, no such thing as spillover into next year. The only current offensive starters who are sure to be back are running back Roy Helu, fullback Darrel Young and receivers Santana Moss and Jabar Gaffney, and the wideouts are veterans who aren’t building on anything.
Maybe Grossman will return. Right tackle Jammal Brown and center Will Montgomery could be back, too.
But out of that group, Helu is the only one who can use more experience over the final three games, including Sunday at the New York Giants. Otherwise, the 2012 starting lineup will be a bunch of returning injured or suspended players and newcomers.
Still, Shanahan dangles the prospect of returning in 2012 as a way to keep players motivated over the final weeks. Certainly, some of the current starters could remain as reserves.
“Sometimes you rate players more when you’re out of the playoffs,” Shanahan said. “It’s easy to get up when you’re playing for something. When you’re playing for pride and characters, you’re showing the coaching staff what you’re made of is a good indication of character.”
The Redskins truly believe that 30 turnovers, including 20 interceptions, cost them a winning season. Certainly they didn’t help. But by scoring a bunch of points late in games that already were decided, the Redskins have deluded themselves into thinking they were one or two plays away from winning. Opponents wouldn’t have allowed the late scores if they mattered.
“You look at our record. Very easily two or three plays could [make it] better than it is,” Grossman said.
There will be some carryover. Kyle Shanahan will become the second offensive coordinator to last three seasons in Washington since Joe Gibbs’ first stint ended in 1992. Grossman backed his beleaguered coordinator, saying continuity empowers great teams.
“I have a lot of confidence in the offensive gameplan every week,” Grossman said. “I feel like it’s one of the best in the NFL. You look across the NFL — best teams have had continuity. You look at Green Bay, New Orleans. All these teams establish what they do well and what’s unstoppable in their offense. They’re very, very precise.”
Which is precisely the Redskins’ problem.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or email rsnider@washingtonexaminer.com.
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Much of the blame for the Redskins disaster season has been leveled at offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, and a good portion of it can be justified.
It has been a swift fall from grace for a promising young assistant, once lauded around the league for his efforts in designing and guiding an explosive Houston Texans offense. His play calling and sideline manner have come under particularly close scrutiny.
The biggest bone of contention regarding Kyle Shanahan is the lack of balance in his play calling. Washington’s pass-run ratio has been frighteningly one-sided at times during the 2011 season.
Even though the Redskins entered the campaign with a plethora of options at running back and a questionable quarterback situation, Kyle Shanahan has frequently skewed his plan, calling heavily in favour of the pass.
This has meant a greater frequency of Rex Grossman and John Beck throws, and that has led to an increased number of turnovers.
It almost defies belief that without a reliable presence under center and with capable weapons in the backfield, Shanahan has not simply adapted his play-calling to fit a scheme which relies on the ground game.
The issue becomes even more frustrating given the problems in pass protection experienced by the Redskins offensive line.
Washington’s front five has struggled mightily to keep the team’s quarterbacks clean, hardly the kind of foundation upon which to build a heavy passing attack.
For all of their problems repelling pressure, the Redskins line has actually done a respectable job at times, blocking for the run.The left side of the line in particular, has shown promise in this area.
When this potential is combined with the play of explosive rookie Roy Helu, then the lowly ranking of Washington’s rush offense can only be attributed to Shanahan’s baffling refusal to emphasize such an obvious strength.
The young coordinator has also displayed an infuriating tendency to move away too quickly from what is working.
In the running game, this usually means gradually reducing the number of carries quarter by quarter. Backs are hardly given the opportunity to establish true rhythm.
But the problem also overlaps into the passing game. Too often, talented playmakers like tight end Fred Davis have simply not seen enough passes come their way.
This is odd given the fact that designing plays to maximize the potential of a tight end in the offense, is perhaps Shanahan’s biggest strength.
By frequently taking his offense out of its comfort zone, Shanahan has increased the potential for crucial mistakes.
While this author certainly believes that the defense is not above criticism for the Redskins’ failures this season, the lion’s share of the guilt belongs to the offense and its youthful coordinator.
Two games in particular highlight the unit’s follies. Road trips to the Carolina Panthers and the Buffalo Bills, were lost thanks to the inability of the offense to expose two vulnerable defenses.
As with the defense, there are playmakers on the Redskins offense. But like the defense, they have either been underused, as in the case of Davis, or given a proper chance too late, as in the case of Helu.
The Redskins offense has shown promise at times this season. But like the defense, the unit has struggled for consistency at critical times.
Kyle Shanahan’s inability or unwillingness to adapt his schemes to suit the personnel at his disposal embodies the central problem of the Shanahan era in D.C.
ASHBURN, Va. – If a team is truly led by its captains, it’s not hard to see why the Washington Redskins have already clinched another losing season.
Left tackle Trent Williams missed Sunday’s 34-27 loss to the New England Patriots because he was serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The other offensive captain, receiver Santana Moss, was whistled for a crucial penalty late in the game and pulled out the tired loser’s lament: “I guess we’ve got to play against a team and the ref.”
Linebacker London Fletcher, a defensive co-captain, let the refs have it when he was called for a personal foul, although his tirade was somewhat excusable because it appeared to be a legal hit. Special teams captain Lorenzo Alexander was his usual steady self, the only one of the five captains not involved in some sort of controversy.
That leaves cornerback DeAngelo Hall, the other defensive captain, who had an especially trying day. Hall gave up on a play, standing and watching from a few yards away while Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was breaking tackles along the sideline for a 49-yard gain that set up a touchdown in the first quarter.
Then, in the third quarter, after he was called for defensive holding, Hall picked up the official’s flag and gave it a disrespectful toss — drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct call that gave New England 20 yards in penalties on one play.
“Especially when guys are in a leadership role, I think we understand that you have to keep your cool, regardless if you like a call or don’t like a call,” coach Mike Shanahan said Monday. “That’s your job — to handle yourself in a professional manner. And more importantly not put your team in a hole with a 15-yard penalty. So those are things I talk about with our football team, and if you make too many of those mistakes, eventually you’re not with us.”
The Gronkowski play was also far from exemplary. Hall said after the game he thought the tight end had stepped out of bounds, but that wasn’t the case: There was still plenty of green between the tight end and the sideline when he dragged two other Redskins pursuers past a standing-still Hall.
“That was disappointing, because one of the things DeAngelo usually does is finish,” Shanahan said. “A lot of corners don’t like to tackle. He’s one of the more physical guys in the league. I know he was embarrassed by it, as well as our whole football team.”
Monday was a quiet day at Redskins Park. The Redskins (4-9) have clinched another losing season and will have to dig deep to keep themselves motivated over the final three weeks. Neither Hall nor Moss nor Fletcher made an appearance in the locker room during the period it was open to reporters.
“I’m excited about what the defence can do,” said safety Reed Doughty, giving a blanket assessment of the state of things. “But at the end of the day, we’re judged by wins.”
Shanahan touched on the notable moments from Sunday’s game, including the offensive pass interference call that got Moss so incensed. Moss caught what appeared to be a 5-yard touchdown pass that might have sent the game to overtime with 1:09 to play, but he was called for pushing off on receiver-turned-cornerback Julian Edelman.
“I agree with the call,” Shanahan said. “You can’t extend your arms. I’m not sure how many times you’re going to call offensive pass interference, but anytime there is an extension of the arms, it’s a proper call.”
The penalty on Fletcher gets the opposite review. Shanahan on Sunday said he thought the call was “horrible,” and the coach stood by that comment Monday. Fletcher was whistled for a blow to the head to Tom Brady after the New England quarterback waited too long to start a slide after a scramble. Replays show Fletcher made a clean hit, his arm hitting Brady in the midsection — nowhere near the helmet.
Shanahan said he doesn’t expect Fletcher to the additional punishment from the league office that usually accompanies an illegal helmet hit.
“Anytime you draw a personal foul, there’s always a fine involved,” Shanahan said. “What they’ll probably do is look at that and say, ‘Hey, that’s just a mis-call.’ That’s what I would guess.”
Notes: The Redskins played again with a patchwork offensive line after RT Jammal Brown hurt his right groin during pregame warmups. Shanahan said he’s not sure when Brown will return, and that Tyler Polumbus will get another start if Brown can’t play Sunday against the New York Giants. … The coach said Willie Smith and Sean Locklear will continue to share first-team snaps at left tackle during practice, filling in for Williams. … Shanahan is still seeking clarification from the league as to whether Williams and TE Fred Davis can be at Redskins Park during their suspensions. As of now, they’re being asked to stay away. “It’s not perfectly clear right now,” the coach said. … The Redskins’ turnover margin has dropped to minus-14, last in the NFL.
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Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP
