Monday, January 2, 2012

"I Put My Reputation On These Guys"

Mike Shanahan, please hand in your reputation.

From Dan Steinberg in the DC Sports Bog:
“I believe in the guys,” Mike Shanahan said in July, when asked about John Beck and Rex Grossman. “I believe in ‘em. And I’ve been doing this for a long time. And I put my reputation on these guys that they can play.”  
“I believe in both these quarterbacks,” Mike Shanahan said in November. “And I’ve got to give them the right supporting cast. That’s my job, and I’m going to give them the right supporting cast, but both guys will get the job done.”  
Well, the job is now done, as it were, allowing us to total up some final 2011 statistics. Rex Grossman had 20 interceptions. John Beck had 4 interceptions. Grossman lost 5 fumbles. Beck lost 1 fumble. That’s a combined 30 turnovers for the two quarterbacks Mike Shanahan put his reputation on.

For comparison sake, that's the most turnovers since Heath, Gus, and Friesz in 1994 (34). It's more than Shane, Danny and Patrick (26 in 2002). Even more than Gus and Hoss (27 in 1997).

Hell, Campbell and Colllins in TWO seasons combined only had 28 total, from 2007 through the end of 2008.

But geez, who could have seen that coming? I mean, who?! ZOMG! Rex Grossman? Turnover prone? If only there was some FILM on this guy!

Recall how Rex got here. Shanny's eager young silver spoon Lombardi-in-waiting, Kyle, was roommates on the road with Rex as the Houston Texans' back-up. They must have spent countless nights in the hotel room trading under-the-blanket farts and giggles while impressing each other with their knowledge of red-right-flank-zoom-toggle-65-jet-smoke plays.

So Rex came with the boy and stayed for two years like that stoner friend of your roommate who just won't go away. Eating your food. Clogging your toilets, making a lot of un-funny jokes while you tried to watch TV.

And now, well, looks like Shanny Sr. is gonna have to hunker down and try to figger out this whole QB thing all over again.

But don't worry. He KNOWS the quarterback position. Said as much this year after the Redskins 3-1 start.

Even though - and I do hate to keep bringing this up - he did NOT know that McNabb was finished. And even though he did NOT think Andy Dalton was worth a shot in the 2nd round (would have required a minor trade-up). And even though he somehow did not, or maybe still DOES not see the dripping suckitude of his two guys on the roster right now, don't worry.

He's got this shit. Okay? Sit tight.

I got snookered this year into banging my pots and pans loudly on radio for John Beck.

"He can't be worse" I said.

He was.

Oh.... my... GOD. He was worse.

In start #2, Beck set the Redskins record for being sacked with 10 takedowns. Astute analysts however, assured us that "only" six of those were "his fault."

So often when Beck played, the look inside his facemask on closeups betrayed the great lie of his brief journeyman career: he's an IMPOSTOR!

He's the Frank Abagnale Jr. of NFL QB's.

He was smart enough and eager enough to know the playbook backward and forward. He worked hard. He looked really SHARP in practice, and even in pre-season games.

Then when the bullets started flying, he was scared shitless. Even HE knew deep down, that he's no NFL caliber QB. Not even a backup!

Just watch. His career is over. The Shanaclan were the last true believers. And now that's over too.

After getting sacked those 10 times in Buffalo, the coaches urged him to "dump the ball off" more against the Niners.

He did. A total of 14 times alone to rookie RB Roy Helu, which .... waaiiiitttt for iiiiitttttt... SET ANOTHER REDSKINS record!

It eclipsed the former mark set by HOF'er Art Monk, who once caught 13 for 205 against the Bengals in 1985. Helu's 14, by the way, was for a piddling 105 yards, which makes that juice "not worth the squeezin'" as they say.

Couldn't be a nicer guy, that John Beck.

Impostor.

I wish him well.

So now, drafting in the 6-hole, they have no shot at Luck or Griffin. Barkley is off the board. Jones may go back to school. He also might suck. All the others are not rated high enough to take at the 6 spot, even if you really do like a guy like Weeden or Moore.

But you need somebody. You need somebody like Snooki needs a good Italian boy with low standards.

You need to get somebody in the pipeline, at least. You need somebody to start Week 1, at most.

You have Matt Flynn starring the possible sequel to The Matt Cassel Story. Or, was that the Scott Mitchell Chronicles? I get them mixed up all the time.

What if you throw big dollars at Flynn and he GOES SOMEWHERE ELSE, because now even Dan Snyder's money is like confederate currency?

Do you trade up to get Griffin, and mortgage another #1 and a #2? Would he fit the magical Shanahan "system." Do you get nuts and rebuild the Colts for 10 years with a Hershel Walker like play for Luck?

Do you take a possibly broken down old nag in Peyton Manning and watch the #18's fly off the store shelves, win or lose?

You can't do nothing, though. You did that last year. Didn't quite work out. Doing nothing is now, not an option. These two "practice seasons" for the $7 million a year former Super Bowl winning coach are over.

Shanny's former 5-year plan, is down to a one year plan.

The ol' Crimson Fox has got a quota to meet this coming year. And the winning number is 8.

9 comments:

  1. Russel Wilson in 2nd round. Problem solved. The dude is going to be a good NFL QB despite being just a bit small.

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  2. Get Flynn or Manning especially since they're both ufa's.

    czabe- what should shanny have said " our qbs suck we have no hope". Pointless to criticize now.

    Griffin. Not sold. Still only win in nfl with a pocket passer.

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  3. Czabe

    I always thought you are the only smart guy around in the DC Talk show area. This post is not helping really. If it was Jason Reid, i understand. But not from you.

    I support most of the moves by Shanahan. I Include McNabb trade as well. Who new McNabb was a fat, lazy idiot who cant understand what to do after 10 over years of career in the West Coast Offense? Should we have kept No brains Campbell instead? We were already retarded at QB.

    Regardless of what anyone says, i believe Rex was way better than McNabb and Campbell. There is no QB in the draft in 2011 or 2010. Sure Andy Dalton worked out in Cincy. But dont be so sure yet. Its just one year and Cincy Defense is incredible.

    I was listening to your show today and during your discussing about Indi, your colleague brought up Shanny as an example about depth. I agree with him. Shanahan did improve our team leaps and bounds. Imagine a situation where the only missing puzzle is the QB. and depth everywhere else. I believe after this year that will be the case if we dont get RG3. We can then trade up for any other QB in the draft. Whats wrong with that situation?

    We as redskins fan should know the reality that this team was no where close to competing for atleast 4 years when shanny took over. His fault was, he never mentioned the word rebuilding. I guess that was because Snyder wanted to still sell tickets.

    We have a good situation here regardless of the win loss column. Just look at Cowboys and eagles. atleast we can pick a better draft pick.

    Apologies for grammar mistakes.

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  4. As a Packer fan, I so revel in your misery. It's a constant reminder of how GOOD we have it in Packerland. I'm so, so sorry.

    As for the Draft; Even if you traded up for Luck, Snydahan would totally screw it up, somehow;
    1)Trade away 3 times the value or
    2)turn Luck into a psychotic, cowering in a corner

    Lookin' forward to it! (ok, again, I'm really, really, REALLY sorry.)

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  5. Also want to mention this. What exactly is wrong with Kyle Shanahan ? Is it that we resent the fact that he is Mike's son? Believe me, he will be a hot commodity everywhere if we decide to fire him.

    The argument is that he had Matt Schaub as QB in Houston. Now i want to know, which coordinator is doing wonders with average QB's? They are all the same. If the QB is great, he makes every body look like genius.

    Kyle is crucified by those idiots Lavar and his boyfriend all the time. "His Play calling sucks, He is there only because of the dad". As if they know what to do in a given game situation.

    People like Jason Reid are so resentful of shanahan because he does not entertain their bullshit. Reid is still upset that Campbell was let go and McNabb was benched. It is not a football problem from where i see it.

    Please be reasonable. So what if we are late by one year in the rebuilding process? we have been sucking for a long long time. One year makes no difference to me.

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  6. The Skins need to invest in new uni's w/ shiny helmets. LOL

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  7. Do not count on things getting better. The problem is Shanny is here in DC for the wrong reasons: to extend his legacy and help his son. Let's be honest - would he have taken the job if Snyder told him he couldn't hire his son? Probably not. And that should be enough to tell most fans things aren't going to get much better any time soon. The same problem applied to 3 of the other 4 head coaches Snyder has hired. Marty, The Ball Coach, Gibbs 2, and Shanny ALL brought their sons with them to the coaching staff. I have been railing on this for years (called your show a few times).

    You would think that Snyder - who has one thing over so many owners in the league in that he actually bought his team and didn't inherit it - would be wise to this conflict. But the problem Danny has with assessing player talent (falling in love with previous accomplishments) he also has with the coaches he hires. The Skins need a GM and coach whose entire reason for being in his respective job is to prove to the world he is the best - to win Super Bowls.

    Snyder should fire Shanahan and post an ad on the NFL's Job Openings page: Wanted. Head Coach, Anyone who isn't emotionally and professionally committed to winning it all and ONLY that goal at the expense of other considerations (like hiring one's son) need not apply.

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  8. Reid is the affirmative action Wilbon replacement. Everyone knows he has no business being the local columnist. Good for Shanny if he is in fact ignoring him.

    Kyle is not the problem and only people who don't know football or have an axe to grind think as much.

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  9. As we start to get REALLY worked up about the Redskins QB situation, I'd like to add another attribute that any potential franchise QB must have, in addition to all that physical and mental stuff you see at the combine: you gotta have a cool name.

    Johnny Unitas. Bart Starr. Joe Namath. Joe Montana. Troy Aikman. Warren Moon. They all smell like napalm in the morning. They all smell like victory.

    Notice that nary a one of the country's 10 most popular surnames is in Canton among the quarterbacks... so forget about Landry Jones. Jim Kelly is as close as you're going to get to a regular name -- and look at his record in the Super Bowl. But you can't have a totally weird last name either, unless you're Ben Rothlisberger. That's why I was on my hands and knees last year praying that the Skins wouldn't draft Blaine Gabbert. How could a guy with a name like that lead a fourth quarter TD drive? Answer: he can't. But a Jake Locker? An Andy Dalton or Cam Newton? They'll all have a shot, just because of their names.

    So let's look at the cool names in this year's draft. Andrew Luck -- you can't have a cooler name than that. RG3 -- nothing's cooler than being known by a couple of initials and a number. Sure, Brandon Weeden has a terrific arm and poise and stuff, but that name's going nowhere. Ryan Tannehill? Chandler Harnish? You can't be serious.

    That's why the Skins will go out and sign Matt Flynn. I don't know if the kid can play, but he's got the right name.

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