Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Are you ready for some embarrassment?


Well, that sure was humiliating. The Redskins really took ineptitude to a new level last night. Seriously, that game was so bad I could barely stay awake in the second half. I didn't even bother watching the postgame reaction. And let me tell you, it's very rare I fall asleep during a Redskins game and it's even more rare that I don't want to hear what the talking heads have to say in the immediate aftermath.

This was bad in a way most Redskins losses aren't, though. Usually they tease you a little bit, show some encouraging signs against a quality opponent, before eventually crumbling in the fourth quarter. Well, I think it's safe to say the crumbling happened long before the fourth quarter last night. And frankly, I couldn't even tell you about the 12 points the Redskins did score, since I was falling in and out of sleep thanks to the sheer boredom of watching one's team get pummeled.

However, what did catch my attention was the interview new GM Bruce Allen did with Stuart Scott before the game. Scott asked all the right questions (Will Jim Zorn be your coach? Are you negotiating with Mike Shanahan? Do you have ultimate decision-making power?) and Allen stuck to non-answers in his response. It was funny, as Scott essentially asked Allen to lay out his plan for fixing the Redskins, our new GM spent a considerable amount of energy trying to convince the television audience that he's using the next three weeks for evaluation.

Now, if that's the truth, and he has no plan in mind to fix this franchise, I'm gonna be really upset. Why in the world would Dan Snyder expedite the hiring of a GM who couldn't answer the simple question of "How you gonna fix this travesty?" in his interview, then why exactly did you hire him so quickly? In reality, I think we all know Allen was sticking to the GM-speak and the house is gonna be reshuffled dramatically in the off season.

But here's the thing, I know Snyder wanted to beat Jerry Jones and the Cowboys to the punch in hiring, but last night was a perfect example of why beginning the process in-season isn't necessarily the best way to go about things. Yes the team performed poorly and way below standards last night, but I don't think it was a coincidence that it coincided with Allen's signing. The fact that Vinny Cerrato resigned and Allen was hired within a three hour span provided every single player in the locker room the confirmation that the organization is thinking about grand changes. No matter how hard they may have played the past six weeks, the man who brought each and every one of them into Redskins Park is now gone.

Now you would think, the competitor in each of them would say, "I gotta prove myself to this new talent evaluator." But at the same time, if you go back and read some of the players' reactions to the Vinny firing and Bruce Allen hiring, it's pretty obvious none of them knew what was going on. Many on this roster are fighting for their football lives, and just like they were out of the loop during the GM search, they're also now out of the loop in terms of talent evaluation. Then there are the reports that defensive backs coach Jerry Gray already interviewed for the head coaching job because the Skins needed to meet the Rooney Rule qualifications (think about that for a second, one of Jim Zorn's assistants interviewing for his job before he's even been fired from it) and the fact that defensive coordinator Greg Blache stopped talking to the media soon after word leaked that he was the one who ultimately convinced old pal Sherman Lewis in-person to come on board to take over playcalling duties from Zorn. if that doesn't paint a picture of a disjointed franchise in disarray, then I guess I don't know what disarray is anymore.

So sure, last night, was certainly a football version of a disaster. But the dynamite for that explosion was laid weeks ago by the only man in the Redskins organization with the power to hire a GM before the season even ended and okay the decision to essentially nueter a head coach ... our faithful owner Dan Snyder. I'm not saying it was the wrong decision to hire Allen early, I'm just saying we shouldn't be surprised if the on-field product the rest of the season looks like last night.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mark is a prophet. Alright, saying the Redskins will be terrible the rest of the way isn't exactly the work of a prophet, but I hope Mark just copies and pastes this blog for his reaction to the doughnut I just watched on Sunday Night Football.

The cherry on top? Albert Haynesworth saying that he is not being utilized well. Not surprised, but simply baffled that 100+ million dollar man needs to plea to the media to be used well. Classic 'skins.