So I realize that I haven’t written anything in a month and a half…but only one thing could get me back to writing; Brett Lorenzo Favre. Yes the “heroic” quarterback of your Minnesota Vikings (after his one year detour in New York, and..ahem…his career in Green Bay). As you can tell by my tone, I’m not much of a Favre fan. His act of blaming everyone else for the Packers bad play – even though he had let his mechanics go to pot and was about half the quarterback he was in the Holmgren glory days – got old with me pretty quickly. The sad end to his Green Bay tenure and his tour around the NFL after the fact was the straw that broke the camel’s back. In other words, you can probably call me a “hater”. So in the interest of fairness, I want to lay out the positives from the Vikings overtime loss to the Saints on Sunday.
1) Favre played great; he threw for over 300 yards and for most of the game was the smart, ageless QB he’s been all year long. Some of his throws were just amazing for any quarterback, much less a 40 year old
2) His offensive teammates let him down big time. The Vikes were credited with 6 fumbles with Adrian Peterson leading the way with 2 (the fumbled exchange was credited to Favre, even though AP clamped down on the ball with his hands, instead of letting Brett put it in his breadbasket – where I come from, that’s on the running back)
But with all that said, I have to talk about the point I’ve stressed with Brett Favre for years now; he has a funny habit of throwing away the biggest games at crunch time. Happened 2 years ago against the Giants in overtime…happened in 2003 against the Eagles when he threw that moon ball that Brian Dawkins picked off to set up the game winning TD…happened with his 6 interception game against the Rams in 2001…and it happened again on Sunday.
Now some folks, whose opinions on football I respect, have had all kinds of rebuttals on the final interception against the Saints, mostly ranging from his team let him down, to no one play lost the game, to he was in the heat of the moment. Can’t say I agree with any of those, but people are entitled to them. Here is what I saw…
After the Vikings got that horrible 12 men in the huddle penalty, they had a 55 yard field goal in their pocket, with a pretty good kicker on the sidelines, and this is key, the ability to run the clock all the way down to hardly any time left before using their time out. Not to say a 55 yarder is a chip shot by any means but it’s worth a shot if a miss leads to overtime. The 3rd down play, which according to Favre was called before the penalty and the time out that preceded it and was unchanged, was a roll out (quarterback moves toward the sideline – usually makes for an easier throw and he has the ability to run for yardage if there is some there). At this point I’m sure the coaches said the following; “make a safe throw, run it if you’ve got open space (because they still had a timeout to stop the clock) or throw it away”. At first Favre followed number one (as he didn’t force the intended throw), he didn’t do number 2 (because he wasn’t sure if he could get enough yardage to matter) but he sure has hell didn’t do number 3 as he threw across his body, back into the middle of the field (the cardinal sin for a quarterback). Anyway the ball gets picked, no field goal try for the Vikings, and the Saints get the ball first in overtime and never give it back. In this case, even a short run wasn’t death for Minnesota as remember, they still had a timeout, good field position and a chance to let Favre sling it to get another first down.
In my 4 most recent years of coaching youth football (ages 8-11) we’ve run a variation of the same roll out that Favre did on Sunday. We always tell the kids, if the guy isn’t open, run it. Most of the time (I’d say 80%) the kid either hits the open guy or takes off running. You’d think that a future Hall of Famer, who’s had almost 20 years of NFL football under his belt would be able to make the decision 100% of the time, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case for Viking fans on Sunday.
I told pretty much everyone I knew, that for reasons I outlined earlier, I wished that Favre’s 2009 season would end like it did in 2007…throwing the game losing interception. While there was a lot of hope in that, there was also some insight to the dream/prediction; after all, I’d seen the movie before.
Brett Lorenzo Favre – leader in Career playoff interceptions: 30 (2 on Sunday broke his tie with Jim Kelly); His playoff record since losing to the Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII at the end of the 1997 season…4-7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHbh-kt-PFA
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Why you HAD to cut the Kicker
After Shaun (yeah that's actually how he spells it) Suisham missed the chippy on Sunday, that eventually spelled doom for the Skins after LaRon "What is this position of Safety you speak of" Landry botched another coverage, I said to myself, "This tool needs to be cut". Bottom Line, you miss a 23 yarder, with any game on the line - unless Tony Romo is your holder - your ass needs to be on the next flight out of town. Anyway, the Skins waited a couple of days, mulled the decision over, and brought in some kickers to tryout, before they cut Suisham, negating the "accountability" message that you try to send by cutting a kicker before he gets on the bus after a loss.
Since Shaun got the axe, I've seen way too much of the following..."He's just a scapegoat for the team blowing the game to the Saints" or "Great idea Danny and Vinny, everybody else screwed up, so fire the kicker" or "he had made 18 straight to start the season...and he'd only missed three field goals...and he's nice...and he's Canadian...and, and, and". E-NOUGH! Seriously folks, that "hoser" (Canadian Tribute) has missed every big kick that he's ever tried.
2007 Playoffs against Seattle - botches a 30 yarder that would have put us up by 4; Seahawks take the momentum back, score…we lose
2009 vs. Dallas - Zorn plays for the field goal, (which I knew was stupid, but what does Zorn do that isn't stupid nowadays) Suisham misses from 50, this after he had already missed a 39 yarder at the end of the half.
Last week - you miss a 23 yarder, that would clinch a win over a team, that now may go undefeated...sorry boss, you lose.
Like I told someone Sunday Night; the UFL ended the day after Thanksgiving; the Grey Cup Game ended the CFL season last weekend. That's 12 teams...one of their kickers has to be able to do better than this douche. We'll find out on Sunday in Oakland..."Graham Gano, COME ON DOWN"!
Since Shaun got the axe, I've seen way too much of the following..."He's just a scapegoat for the team blowing the game to the Saints" or "Great idea Danny and Vinny, everybody else screwed up, so fire the kicker" or "he had made 18 straight to start the season...and he'd only missed three field goals...and he's nice...and he's Canadian...and, and, and". E-NOUGH! Seriously folks, that "hoser" (Canadian Tribute) has missed every big kick that he's ever tried.
2007 Playoffs against Seattle - botches a 30 yarder that would have put us up by 4; Seahawks take the momentum back, score…we lose
2009 vs. Dallas - Zorn plays for the field goal, (which I knew was stupid, but what does Zorn do that isn't stupid nowadays) Suisham misses from 50, this after he had already missed a 39 yarder at the end of the half.
Last week - you miss a 23 yarder, that would clinch a win over a team, that now may go undefeated...sorry boss, you lose.
Like I told someone Sunday Night; the UFL ended the day after Thanksgiving; the Grey Cup Game ended the CFL season last weekend. That's 12 teams...one of their kickers has to be able to do better than this douche. We'll find out on Sunday in Oakland..."Graham Gano, COME ON DOWN"!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The guy's just a douche...
I played 5 seasons of College Football. Two years of club ball at George Mason, and three seasons in Division III at Hampden-Sydney. When I was first being recruited to HSC, they told me about their quarterback. He was a senior starter who was going have all the passing records by the time he was done. Seemed perfect right? Not so much. Admittedly we didn't have the best talent, but you'd think that a record setting QB would lift us up; didn't happen that way. If you were looking for all the bad qualities in a quarterback, this guy had them. He REALLY didn't like to get hit, he didn't like to work out, and he'd claim injuries bad enough to keep him from practicing, while never managing to get into the training room to get them worked on (which called his injuries into question). Add all of that to the fact that he really wasn't too friendly with most of the guys on the team and the whole situation wasn't good for morale.
Fast forward to the next year. We bring in a Quarterback who hadn't played in three years, but at one point had been a successful high school QB. He was also kinda goofy and deaf in one ear. But the guy played his ass off, was fearless, talked to everybody and played with injuries (separated shoulder in his first game). Despite the fact the guy wasn't the biggest fan of working out, we still loved him and played hard alongside our quarterback.
That story isn't exactly analagous to the Skins fight in the Georgia Dome with Falcons, but it’s pretty darn close. Earlier in the week on his radio show, Lavar Arrington was incredulous about how slow DeAngelo Hall's Redskins teammates were to come to his aid after he was surrounded by Falcons on their sideline (remember, that's after Hall ran over there, to extract late hitting LaRon Landry from the situation - though it looked like Hall was more interested in jawing than peacemaking)
From Dan Steinberg's DC Sports Bog
"You want to know what type of team you're cheering for, pull that clip up. Pull that up.... You had no heart. I don't care, you hearing me say it? Good. I don't need to be afraid, I don't need to be nervous. I see y'all don't get down like that. Y'all don't get down like no true riders....
"They're swarming DeAngelo, and nobody's helping him. I would have been up in that pile, oh, I'm telling you, it would have been WWF up in there.....I could have counted on one hand how many dudes was standing there, watching it. Watching it. That's why we can't win. You want to know why we can't win? It's clear and simple. That's why we can't win....
"I don't even know that I would rampage the way that I'm rampaging right now if it was the offense, because I know they're soft. I know you've got a bunch of soft dudes on the offensive side. This is the wrong side of the ball to see the behavior that we saw on Sunday. I'm sorry. Bodies should have been flying....
"There's gonna be a head count when I get finished, or you're gonna be picking me up off of the ground, whichever one comes first. I am all in. I would have ran into that crowd 100 miles an hour, smoking. Call me stupid, call me dumb, call me boneheaded, call me undisciplined, call me what you want to call me. That's a coach grabbing on my teammate, that's the head coach pushing on my teammate, saying I'm gonna kick your [behind]. I am running in that pileup head on, 100 miles an hour, let's go, CHOO CHOO! I don't care if I've got to walk in the locker room after that. I don't care. That's heart. We're playing with heart. I saw no heart. I saw no heart. I saw no dedication, no accountability for my fellow man out there on that field, and it came from the side of the ball that I would have never thought it would have came from."
Ok...in most situations I agree with LaVar. You have to stand up for your teammates, especially if the other team is intimidation mode. You have to show they aren't going to push you around.
But, this is a special case. Notice a few things from the fight; it seemed like the whole Falcon team was ready to kill DeAngelo Hall. Maybe that's because he was about to get in a fight with their head coach, maybe not. Maybe it’s the fact that the folks left over from Hall's time in Atlanta think he's selfish, overrated and was a bad teammate. Over on the other side of the ball, maybe the Skins didn’t rush to his aid because they’re all soft and have no heart. Maybe the Skins Defense didn’t defend him because they’re tired of DeAngelo getting paid much more than most everyone else, while not making textbook NFL tackles (Carolina game - Jake Delhomme, Atlanta game - Michael Turner, Giants game - Mario Manningham) due to a lack of effort or guts. I know, I know, DeAngelo gets paid to intercept passes, not tackle. Well, he's not Deion (thank goodness, I couldn't go through that again) and I've got 10 and 11 year olds on my B-League team that can make interceptions on tipped balls. Ain't that big of a deal and don’t get me started on how this guy points the finger every week, while never changing the way he plays.
I could be wrong on all of this; it’s possible. But put it this way; if it had been London Fletcher, or Cornelius Griffin or Rocky MacIntosh or LaRon Landry (and remember Landry was on the sideline before he calmly walked back on the field with the man he hit, Matt Ryan) or any other RESPECTED member of the team, would the Skins have sat idly by and let their teammate get roughed up?
Fast forward to the next year. We bring in a Quarterback who hadn't played in three years, but at one point had been a successful high school QB. He was also kinda goofy and deaf in one ear. But the guy played his ass off, was fearless, talked to everybody and played with injuries (separated shoulder in his first game). Despite the fact the guy wasn't the biggest fan of working out, we still loved him and played hard alongside our quarterback.
That story isn't exactly analagous to the Skins fight in the Georgia Dome with Falcons, but it’s pretty darn close. Earlier in the week on his radio show, Lavar Arrington was incredulous about how slow DeAngelo Hall's Redskins teammates were to come to his aid after he was surrounded by Falcons on their sideline (remember, that's after Hall ran over there, to extract late hitting LaRon Landry from the situation - though it looked like Hall was more interested in jawing than peacemaking)
From Dan Steinberg's DC Sports Bog
"You want to know what type of team you're cheering for, pull that clip up. Pull that up.... You had no heart. I don't care, you hearing me say it? Good. I don't need to be afraid, I don't need to be nervous. I see y'all don't get down like that. Y'all don't get down like no true riders....
"They're swarming DeAngelo, and nobody's helping him. I would have been up in that pile, oh, I'm telling you, it would have been WWF up in there.....I could have counted on one hand how many dudes was standing there, watching it. Watching it. That's why we can't win. You want to know why we can't win? It's clear and simple. That's why we can't win....
"I don't even know that I would rampage the way that I'm rampaging right now if it was the offense, because I know they're soft. I know you've got a bunch of soft dudes on the offensive side. This is the wrong side of the ball to see the behavior that we saw on Sunday. I'm sorry. Bodies should have been flying....
"There's gonna be a head count when I get finished, or you're gonna be picking me up off of the ground, whichever one comes first. I am all in. I would have ran into that crowd 100 miles an hour, smoking. Call me stupid, call me dumb, call me boneheaded, call me undisciplined, call me what you want to call me. That's a coach grabbing on my teammate, that's the head coach pushing on my teammate, saying I'm gonna kick your [behind]. I am running in that pileup head on, 100 miles an hour, let's go, CHOO CHOO! I don't care if I've got to walk in the locker room after that. I don't care. That's heart. We're playing with heart. I saw no heart. I saw no heart. I saw no dedication, no accountability for my fellow man out there on that field, and it came from the side of the ball that I would have never thought it would have came from."
Ok...in most situations I agree with LaVar. You have to stand up for your teammates, especially if the other team is intimidation mode. You have to show they aren't going to push you around.
But, this is a special case. Notice a few things from the fight; it seemed like the whole Falcon team was ready to kill DeAngelo Hall. Maybe that's because he was about to get in a fight with their head coach, maybe not. Maybe it’s the fact that the folks left over from Hall's time in Atlanta think he's selfish, overrated and was a bad teammate. Over on the other side of the ball, maybe the Skins didn’t rush to his aid because they’re all soft and have no heart. Maybe the Skins Defense didn’t defend him because they’re tired of DeAngelo getting paid much more than most everyone else, while not making textbook NFL tackles (Carolina game - Jake Delhomme, Atlanta game - Michael Turner, Giants game - Mario Manningham) due to a lack of effort or guts. I know, I know, DeAngelo gets paid to intercept passes, not tackle. Well, he's not Deion (thank goodness, I couldn't go through that again) and I've got 10 and 11 year olds on my B-League team that can make interceptions on tipped balls. Ain't that big of a deal and don’t get me started on how this guy points the finger every week, while never changing the way he plays.
I could be wrong on all of this; it’s possible. But put it this way; if it had been London Fletcher, or Cornelius Griffin or Rocky MacIntosh or LaRon Landry (and remember Landry was on the sideline before he calmly walked back on the field with the man he hit, Matt Ryan) or any other RESPECTED member of the team, would the Skins have sat idly by and let their teammate get roughed up?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The latest story illustrating why the Skins will never win big again...
From Deadspin.com by Drew Magary http://deadspin.com/5401513/if-dan-snyder-sees-bugs-you-better-well-see-them-too
I heard this story on LaVar Arrington's 106.7 FM radio show here in DC last week. A fan called in to tell Arrington and co-host Chad Dukes about an exterminator he knew. The exterminator was called to Snyder's house to spray for pests. When the exterminator arrived, the housekeeper instructed him where to go spray. But the exterminator found no signs of pests in the space. He came down to tell the housekeeper there was no need to spray, and he didn't want to take Snyder's money for a service the Redskins owner didn't need performed (clearly, this man was honest to a fault).
The housekeeper insisted the exterminator spray the area anyway, telling the man that Snyder hated to be told he was wrong, and that it would be better for everyone if he simply sprayed the area, took his money, and went about his business. But, he explained, there's nothing there. There's no need to spray. She insisted. Apparently, you REALLY do not want to tell Dan Snyder there are no pests in his house if he believes otherwise. So the man sprayed the area for no reason, took Snyder's money, and left.
And now you know why the Redskins are considering signing Larry Johnson.
God help us here in DC.
I heard this story on LaVar Arrington's 106.7 FM radio show here in DC last week. A fan called in to tell Arrington and co-host Chad Dukes about an exterminator he knew. The exterminator was called to Snyder's house to spray for pests. When the exterminator arrived, the housekeeper instructed him where to go spray. But the exterminator found no signs of pests in the space. He came down to tell the housekeeper there was no need to spray, and he didn't want to take Snyder's money for a service the Redskins owner didn't need performed (clearly, this man was honest to a fault).
The housekeeper insisted the exterminator spray the area anyway, telling the man that Snyder hated to be told he was wrong, and that it would be better for everyone if he simply sprayed the area, took his money, and went about his business. But, he explained, there's nothing there. There's no need to spray. She insisted. Apparently, you REALLY do not want to tell Dan Snyder there are no pests in his house if he believes otherwise. So the man sprayed the area for no reason, took Snyder's money, and left.
And now you know why the Redskins are considering signing Larry Johnson.
God help us here in DC.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
27 makes me think of '97...
Didn't watch a bit of the Yankees take home championship #27 tonight; just couldn't bring myself to do it. Kind of reminded me of the time the Cowboys beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl during my junior year of high school. By that point the Cowboys were established as a super team (even though ironically it would be the final time they would even come close to winning a Super Bowl) and I knew the Steelers - who due to Pennsylvania family ties, I had a rooting interest in - had no shot of beating Dallas. So, I hardly watched the game because I couldn't bring myself to watch the Cowboys celebrate. Pretty much like this series. Once the Yanks won two in Philly, I knew the Phills were done and I didn't want to watch New York be happy.
But when I see the Yankees do well, I can't help but think about my favorite baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles. As a long suffering O's fan, it truly hurts to watch postseason baseball, because you know your team has no shot of making it. Between the fact that our organization is bad, and that we can't compete with the huge payrolls of the Yanks and Sox, no postseason ball is coming to Charm City anytime soon.
There was a time though, when the O's could stand toe to toe with the Yankees and actually compete. In 1996 Baltimore pulled off the upset of upsets, knocking off the defending AL Champion Indians before falling to the Yanks in the ALCS (if you'll remember that was the game where that little bastard Jeffrey Maier reached over the railing and kept Tarasco from catching the Jeter homer...Yankees take the lead and win the next four). Then in 1997 the O's were the team to beat. Knocked off New York for the division and then stomped Seattle in the wild card. We were going to the World Series! And then Armando Benitez blew a couple games and we pissed another one away on a crazy play and the Indians went on to the Series.
And that would be pretty much be it for Baltimore baseball fans. Peter Angelos would fire the manager the day he won the Manager of the Year award (because he had a rift with Robbie Alomar - the same one who spit on the ump and the same one who would play exactly one more year in B-more) and we haven't had a winning season since.
So pardon me if I can't bear to watch the Yankees win another World Series. It hurts too much. But, it could be worse...I could live in Pittsburgh. Sigh.
But when I see the Yankees do well, I can't help but think about my favorite baseball team, the Baltimore Orioles. As a long suffering O's fan, it truly hurts to watch postseason baseball, because you know your team has no shot of making it. Between the fact that our organization is bad, and that we can't compete with the huge payrolls of the Yanks and Sox, no postseason ball is coming to Charm City anytime soon.
There was a time though, when the O's could stand toe to toe with the Yankees and actually compete. In 1996 Baltimore pulled off the upset of upsets, knocking off the defending AL Champion Indians before falling to the Yanks in the ALCS (if you'll remember that was the game where that little bastard Jeffrey Maier reached over the railing and kept Tarasco from catching the Jeter homer...Yankees take the lead and win the next four). Then in 1997 the O's were the team to beat. Knocked off New York for the division and then stomped Seattle in the wild card. We were going to the World Series! And then Armando Benitez blew a couple games and we pissed another one away on a crazy play and the Indians went on to the Series.
And that would be pretty much be it for Baltimore baseball fans. Peter Angelos would fire the manager the day he won the Manager of the Year award (because he had a rift with Robbie Alomar - the same one who spit on the ump and the same one who would play exactly one more year in B-more) and we haven't had a winning season since.
So pardon me if I can't bear to watch the Yankees win another World Series. It hurts too much. But, it could be worse...I could live in Pittsburgh. Sigh.
Monday, October 26, 2009
OK, so I lied...
So I said that I'd have a post-game wrap-up after the Skins played the Eagles; yes, I could break down what happened at FEDEX on Monday night, but I don't have to. You have eyes! The defense played pretty good but gave up too many big plays, Campbell is regressing behind a subpar offensive line, and the whole team just makes too many mistakes to win. Watch ESPN, NFL Network or Comcast Sports Net and you'll get some form of the former in the next few days.
But an interesting idea struck me as I was watching all the postgame shows on the above channels; what would I say to Snyder right now if I had the chance? What would my plan be if I was one of his trusted advisors? Of course in the real world (because it wouldn't happen) I'd say, "Sell the Team" or "Fire Cerrato and get a real General Manager". But, if I had to come up with a course of action for "Mr. Snyder" for the rest of the season, with those two plans not an option, it would be the following (though it would take some guts and some humility - which reportedly the Skins owner is in short supply of)
Step one - Fire Jim Zorn Tuesday Morning. I know this would contradict Vinny's proclamation about the Z-Man's job security on his radio show Friday, but I would present it with the following words; "After listening to Jim after last night's tough loss to the Eagles, I decided that he just didn't have what it takes to lead us out of our current situation. I do not know if this team is talented enough to compete with the best the NFL has to offer. But I do know this; our team's execution is not up to par and that falls on the head coach. I have decided that we would like to move forward in a new direction" That’s it, that's all you have to say.
Step two - immediately hire Defensive Secondary Coach Jerry Gray as the interim head coach. You can tell the press this; "Jerry Gray has played and coached in the NFL and has learned from some of the best in the business. We believe he will bring some toughness, and attention to detail that our team has lacked over the past few years" Gray makes the most sense, as he's been a defensive coordinator (under Gregg Williams in Buffalo) so he's used to running the show, he's sought head coaching jobs before (which means he'll be interested in doing it to show future employers what he can do), and there's no one else that’s a realistic choice (Greg Blache doesn't want the headaches, special teams coach Danny Smith is a bit too loose of a cannon, and Sherm Lewis has been out of football too long and just got here 3 weeks ago).
Step three - hold an internal meeting on Wednesday morning in the Auditorium at Redskins Park with players, staff and coaches and give the following speech. "Fellas, this is your new coach, Jerry Gray. You've known him for a while; came to us when Coach Joe took over in 2004. The reason I picked him to be the new head man is simple; he's tough. He played at Texas, played in the NFL, coached in the NFL. HE DOES NOT TAKE CRAP! And that's a good thing, because all I've seen over the last few weeks is CRAP (I'm trying to keep this PG so replace crap with the expletive and jazz it up - feel free)! Your execution sucks, the effort has sucked at times. It's not good enough! Don't know if you guys know this, but it looks like we may be headed for an uncapped year next year. I can cut you all at the drop of a hat, and while I'll still have to pay you your money, none of it will stay on our salary cap. So I'm going to let Jerry do what he has to do to whip you all into shape. And if I hear you're not "interested" in following his lead, rest assured you won't be here next year." While I still think the talent (especially on offense) needs to be upgraded significantly, I also think this is the best way to evaluate what we really have in Ashburn.
Step four - stick to your guns. Let the staff work their magic and let the scouting department see who should be kept and who should be sent packing in 2010. With the murderer's row of a schedule coming up, we know Zorn might ride that baby to 3 and 13. At least give yourself a chance to win.
Step five - Then fire Vinny.
But an interesting idea struck me as I was watching all the postgame shows on the above channels; what would I say to Snyder right now if I had the chance? What would my plan be if I was one of his trusted advisors? Of course in the real world (because it wouldn't happen) I'd say, "Sell the Team" or "Fire Cerrato and get a real General Manager". But, if I had to come up with a course of action for "Mr. Snyder" for the rest of the season, with those two plans not an option, it would be the following (though it would take some guts and some humility - which reportedly the Skins owner is in short supply of)
Step one - Fire Jim Zorn Tuesday Morning. I know this would contradict Vinny's proclamation about the Z-Man's job security on his radio show Friday, but I would present it with the following words; "After listening to Jim after last night's tough loss to the Eagles, I decided that he just didn't have what it takes to lead us out of our current situation. I do not know if this team is talented enough to compete with the best the NFL has to offer. But I do know this; our team's execution is not up to par and that falls on the head coach. I have decided that we would like to move forward in a new direction" That’s it, that's all you have to say.
Step two - immediately hire Defensive Secondary Coach Jerry Gray as the interim head coach. You can tell the press this; "Jerry Gray has played and coached in the NFL and has learned from some of the best in the business. We believe he will bring some toughness, and attention to detail that our team has lacked over the past few years" Gray makes the most sense, as he's been a defensive coordinator (under Gregg Williams in Buffalo) so he's used to running the show, he's sought head coaching jobs before (which means he'll be interested in doing it to show future employers what he can do), and there's no one else that’s a realistic choice (Greg Blache doesn't want the headaches, special teams coach Danny Smith is a bit too loose of a cannon, and Sherm Lewis has been out of football too long and just got here 3 weeks ago).
Step three - hold an internal meeting on Wednesday morning in the Auditorium at Redskins Park with players, staff and coaches and give the following speech. "Fellas, this is your new coach, Jerry Gray. You've known him for a while; came to us when Coach Joe took over in 2004. The reason I picked him to be the new head man is simple; he's tough. He played at Texas, played in the NFL, coached in the NFL. HE DOES NOT TAKE CRAP! And that's a good thing, because all I've seen over the last few weeks is CRAP (I'm trying to keep this PG so replace crap with the expletive and jazz it up - feel free)! Your execution sucks, the effort has sucked at times. It's not good enough! Don't know if you guys know this, but it looks like we may be headed for an uncapped year next year. I can cut you all at the drop of a hat, and while I'll still have to pay you your money, none of it will stay on our salary cap. So I'm going to let Jerry do what he has to do to whip you all into shape. And if I hear you're not "interested" in following his lead, rest assured you won't be here next year." While I still think the talent (especially on offense) needs to be upgraded significantly, I also think this is the best way to evaluate what we really have in Ashburn.
Step four - stick to your guns. Let the staff work their magic and let the scouting department see who should be kept and who should be sent packing in 2010. With the murderer's row of a schedule coming up, we know Zorn might ride that baby to 3 and 13. At least give yourself a chance to win.
Step five - Then fire Vinny.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Not too appetizing
Random Huber Thought of the Day
Maybe its just me, but how could you ever eat something with the word spunk on the package? Obviously plenty of people do as this company is still in business www.spunkmeyer.com
The wedding post will have to wait, as we're less than 24 hours away from the "debacle at fedex" tm. If I'm bored at work, I'll offer a few words of preview, but I'll definitely make sure I have a post-game wrap...preferably soon after its over; so that the venom is fresh.
Maybe its just me, but how could you ever eat something with the word spunk on the package? Obviously plenty of people do as this company is still in business www.spunkmeyer.com
The wedding post will have to wait, as we're less than 24 hours away from the "debacle at fedex" tm. If I'm bored at work, I'll offer a few words of preview, but I'll definitely make sure I have a post-game wrap...preferably soon after its over; so that the venom is fresh.
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