Just when you think the Redskins could not get any worse, they open the season 1-5. Fans have the luxury of giving into despair. Players do not. There are 10 games left. Time enough to prove that a down team is not OUT.
Here’s what key players can do right now to make things better. Coaches tell them the football stuff. This is what should be going on in their heads.
Kirk Cousins: Live for the moment.
Kirk Cousins has a future in the NFL, though not the future he hoped. Yet, Rich Gannon led a team to the Super Bowl. Kyle Orton is starting for the Buffalo Bills. Career back-ups get their shots, sometimes on the big stage. Kirk Cuz’ future is not written in his past. It is written on his next play.
Live for the moment, Kirk. Your bad plays never happened. You have three more weeks of practice reps and games to get this right. I doubt RGIII will return before the BYE, so don’t look over your shoulder. College ball and pro ball are the same sport. They are not the same game. Pro football is a game of precision played to perfection. Contemplate the words of Kyle Orton, “You’ve got to play well at home,” and win the next play. Then, win the next one.
Jay Gruden: Phone home
No Redskins coach since George Allen in 1972 had a winning record in his first season. That includes Joe Gibbs in two tries. Jay Gruden has what none of the others had: a Super Bowl winning brother.
Jon Gruden worked for a squirrelly owner and led a .500 club to two playoff campaigns, three if you count the 2002 Raiders team that Coach Chucky beat in the Super Bowl.
If Jay isn’t talking to Jon about negotiating a mid-tier front office and well-meaning owner with poor football ideas, then he is stealing Daniel Snyder’s money. We suspect that Jay’s connection to Jon is why he is in Washington. Snyder could not lure Jon here. Jay is the next best thing.
Six coach changes since 2000 taught us that we cannot tell about these guys until their 10th game. Ask me in November.
Jim Haslett: Deliver
I always give Haslett credit for making more out of a talent-starved group than is fair to expect. He has been on perpetual thin ice since his arrival.
The case for keeping Haslett was weak except for this. The last time Snyder swapped out all the coaches at once led to disaster. Too many changes at one time. It wasn’t pretty. Keeping both Haslett and Bruce Allen while cutting Shanahan is a mark of growth by the owner.
The defense is stronger than the offense now, but our hope for pass rushing demonology is not panning out as we hoped. Coach Haz must fix that quickly. What else can he do with that secondary? He is also the only coach on the staff with head coach experience. He must to mentor young Jay as well as fix the defense. It could be the only reason he stays beyond this year.
Robert Griffin III: Silence is golden. Thank you.
RG played a role in the ruined relationship with his coach. In a similar circumstance in 1981, Joe Theismann drive to Joe Gibbs’ HOUSE after a loss to hash out their differences. Gibbs did not know he was coming. It led to a golden age.
Theismann was a veteran when he did that, older than Griffin is now. Maturity made a difference. Griffin’s inexperience dealing with adversity was another. We understand. We forgive, but RG owes us now. He is paying off.
The absence of backhand messages that undermine the coach is refreshing. The team is the only news source for Griffin’s projected return. He started position drills this week. Next week he may practice. Coach says RG will need “one or two” weeks of practice to get his timing, feet and reads right. The Week 10 BYE is perfect for his return, a notion Hog Heaven held last year, but did not say loudly enough. We say it now. The Redskins will expect Griffin to lead another seven game win streak to playoff as he did in 2012.
Don’t feed the beast, RG. Keep your head down. Work. Come back only when you are healthy and not a moment before.
DeSean Jackson: Keep doin’ what you doin’, brutha.
Writing anything else would be redundant.
Daniel Snyder: Call Steve Ballmer
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer wears team jersey on Businessweek cover http://t.co/RYNDf7CvmN pic.twitter.com/H7jRJTT3Vd
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) October 16, 2014
BusinessWeek Magazine ran LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer on its cover. The Clippers ain’t done diddley squat under Ballmer’s ownership. That is what many people say about the Snyderskins. The source of Washington’s problems is so much more than its football decisions. The won-loss record is not a problem. It’s a symptom of deeper issues. The solution is in that old boring strategic business processes bs from work we try to escape through sports. Fans can do that. Owners must not.
Ballmer ran a complex organization. He had to master the challenges of leading 93,000 employees to industry dominance and keeping his team at the top. There is a process to that. Snyder lacks these skills and it is hurting our team. The Redskins cannot become a Super Bowl caliber organization until Snyder becomes a Super Bowl caliber owner.
Hog Heaven will post some ideas for Snyder in a few days. Until then, the Danny would be wise to call Ballmer and pick his brain for everything he knows about building a world-class organization.
It is difficult for fans to cheer for this team. Yet, we do it. Support for these old-line teams is more than brand loyalty. If you do not get the part about team allegiance, you will never understand why we keep showing up, or why the team name will never change.
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