To believe that a few high draft picks (especially at the QB position) and some key free-agents will fix what ails the Skins is akin to believing in fairy tales. IMO, the current system (Shana-Allen) or whatever you want to call it has run it's course.

Over the past decade the teams who have been dominant (Pats, Steelers, Packers, Ravens, Giants, Saints, Colts) and are competitive nearly every year it seems all have something in common.

They are healthy from the neck-up! They have great management. They make great decisions on personnel. They have creative game planning and long-term strategy. They realize there are no quick fixes.

Take the Saints for example. Nearly half of their roster consists of un-drafted or 7th round picks.

This article says it all. Saints find room

via files.brobible.com

So nice to see that "Ol Fatty" is so productive (NOT!) in his new job. 

The "Big Baby" waitress groper got 2 tackles on the day, no other stats and now he's sick (now there's a surprise) and listed as improbable for week 2.

Sounds like some things never change!

"But, I feel like this is going to be the last place I’m going to play"- Albert Haynesworthless

Funny Albert, but I feel like you could be right......

Dr. FeelGood here..

A lifting of the spirits if you will. Whether you are a Dumbocrat or a Repugnicant. Whether you are a Tea Partier or a Toga Partier. Whether you are a blue collar worker, a white collar worker or you just like to have a popped collar. and....

• Despite all the negativity and angst coming out of the embarrassing loss to the Lions, 
• Despite the fact that what we perceived to be our strength (Coach Shanahan) might now be our weakness,
• Despite our new franchise QB now looks like what he is.....old.
•  And despite the fact that our former franchise QB looks reborn, 
• Despite all that......there is still one thing to feel very good about this season.

The Plowboys are 1-7 !   and....

• The Plowboys are 1-7 in their brand new 1.15 Billion $ world's largest domed stadium with the  world's largest TV.
• The Plowboys are 1-7 despite the fact they were picked by most to go to the Super Bowl this year.
• The Plowboys are 1-7 and 1-15 is a very real possibility given the fact that the Bills, Broncos, Niners and Panthers are maybe the only teams they stand a remote chance of beating but are not on their schedule.

Even LeDoubleDribble himself is quitting on his fav team.

Lebron says "Cowboys are the worst".

Continue reading this post »

Change is often resisted within organizations.

However, without change and the process of adapting to new environments, organizations will become stagnate and non-competitive. 

That being said, I'm curious as to what Skins fans say is the most significant change that has occurred to the team since the end of last year's god-awful forgettable season.

I realize that in the long-run, it is the combination of changes that is really the most significant thing of all. But what is the single most important change? And going one further, what is the order of importance of those changes? IMHO it goes like this:

1. Head Coach: Coach Shanahan putting his style and system in place is the most significant event of all because it changes everything.
2. Offensive coordinator: I know some will disagree but I think Kyle will bring huge change for this offense and that he's going to be around a long time in this organization if you get my drift.
3. GM: Allen is a serious upgrade over his predecessor (understatement of the year). I thought about making this event as #2 but I still think we are in for a treat with KS.
4. QB: An uprade for sure but not going to be around for the long-term. Still, we could go a long way with DM for the near-term. so........." Let Donovan Pass!"
5. New (old) Veterans: Galloway, Parker, Johnson, Grossman, Kemoeatu, etc.. I realize this is kind of a multi-event but we took on some guys (some of whom may be past their prime) that bring game-changing abilities nonetheless.

    

6. Draft: I think we got our LT for the future. Only time will tell though.
7. Fat Albert Controversy: Has made a lot of headlines, but in reality, has much changed from last year?

"A tale of Two Cities"

(and two franchises)

The Wizards have one of the worst seasons not only in

franchise history but in the history of franchises!

• Long-time owner Abe Pollin ( a good man) dies.
• We lose our star player Gilbert Arenas for the season to a gun scandal that rocks the NBA.
• The fallout leads to the loss of the other 3 star players and the total dismantling of the team.
• The captain and most liked player on the team (Antawn Jamison) gets traded to the hated Cavaliers (making him the first ever person who's excited to move to Cleveland) for not much and a bowl of oatmeal.
• The team finishes in 2nd to LAST place when expectations were high entering the season that the team was playoff bound.

Meanwhile...

and earlier to the Wiz-mess , the arch-nemesis Cleveland Cavaliers acquire Shaq-Fu who says he's there to "Win a Ring for the King". LeCrabDribble doesn't like Shaq's deoderant, but oh well...

Cav's finish with the best record in the NBA and are looking good to return to the NBA finals and deliver the first championship to the "Mistake on the Lake" since the Jurassic Period.

Wizards and Cav's.....Two teams that couldn't possibly have been headed in more opposite directions from each other. But wait......,

now for the IRONY!

• Cleveland exits the NBA playoffs early and is an extreme disappointment to fans, ownership and most importantly............to LeCrabDribble.

• The Cavaliers fire coach Mike Brown after failing to go to the finals; thus finally answering the UPS's question, "What can Brown do for you?"

• LeCrabDribble (aka: the saviour of the "mistake on the lake") leads everyone to believe Cleveland is still his first choice and the front-runner upon entering free agency.
• LeCrabDribble (in true superhero fashion) claims he's not signing with any team. He's going to stop the oil spill by clogging BP's broken pipe with his ego.
• Kobe shows the world that not only can he win without The Diesel, but he can do it 2 times in a row without Shaquilla and also that the "so-called": and "self-named" KING... LeCrabDribble can't do it at all, even with the help of a healthy Superman.
• LeCrabDribble utterly humiliates the Cavs on national TV with an overly dramatic one hour ESPN special  called "THE DECISION" in which LeDoubleDribble's associates sell massive AD space  and finally announces the pre-leaked news that everyone knew that he's taking his skills and HUGE EGO to South Beach where he plans to join up with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade to form what will now be known now as the Three Am-EGO's.
• 

• LeCrabDribble pretty much admits that all along he was plotting to leave Cleveland and his beloved yet naive fans and form a super-team of super-hero's in a warm, hip multicultural resort city with white sand beaches and mostly topless babes.. 

  You know the saying: "if you can't take the Heat, join them".

• Cav's fans burn LeCrabDribble jerseys in the streets of Cleveland
  a town where it's illegal to catch mice without a hunting license....true fact!
• The highly pissed-off and clueless owner of the Cav's (Dan Gilbert) against the advice of his own team's media dept., publishes what may be one of the most embarrassing letters in the history of any franchise in any sport and certainly in the history of Cleveland a town where women are forbidden from wearing patent leather shoes, lest men see the reflections of their underwear...also true fact!! .
• The "all-knowing all-powerful" commissioner of the NBA ( David Stern), doesn't think too highly of this letter and fines Gilbert a cool 100K to add insult to injury and keep Jesse Jackson happy..
• Big Z is recruited by LeCrabDribble and leaves the Cav's to take his skills to South Beach too.
• Delonte West

   

  
    (who may have had sex with LeCrabDribble's mom) and his once promising career continue to implode as he pleads guilty to weapons charges in Maryland. "Wonder what punishment the Commish has in mind for him?" I say uses the precedent that he set and that he gets what Gilbert Arenas got.
• A series of awesome T-Shirt designs begin to appear on the market.
• 

but then, meanwhile.......back in the Nation's Capital.

• The Wizards masterfully trade away expensive assets and acquire multiple young prospects and expiring contracts.
• The Wizards win the lottery and get the first pick in the NBA draft.
• The Wizards use the pick to pick by far the best player available (John Wall) and maybe the best point guard prospect to come out of the draft in many a year.
  

• The Wizards finalize the change of ownership to the very capable hands of Internet Pioneer, Sports Owner and all-around good-guy Ted Leonsis who vows to put the Wiz on the same winning path as the Capitals.
• The Wizards get multiple promising picks in the draft and make under-the-radar trades to acquire more prospects and continue to re-build the team for future flexibility, youth, speed, height, defense and chemistry.
• Wall show's everyone why he was the first pick by dominating in summer league...(so far ) and  by being an unselfish and all-around class act.
• Agent Zero loses the Zero and becomes Agent ? Then claims he'll be back better than ever and will do whatever the team asks of him including not playing with guns but excluding defecating in teammate's shoes.

A collection of Notable Quotations on the state of the Redskins and Snyderatto Inc.:

John Riggins on the Redskins handoff to Sherm: "The idiocy of this whole move is just stunning,"

John Riggins on Dan snyder: "This franchise has been taken hostage by someone who has the mindset of a child because everything revolves around them."

John Kent Cook on Dan Snyder: "Daniel Snyder has 'destroyed the reputation' of the Redskins".

John Kent Cook on the state of the Redskins: "I, like the fans of the Redskins, have had enough".

Redskin Fans at Fedex Field on Dan Snyder: "Sell the Team " !

Steve Largent on Snyderatto Inc.: "To think you can bring a guy in from a retirement center ... and say, 'You're gonna call the plays' ... and think that's gonna be successful, that's a joke. That is really a joke."

Brian Mitchell on Snyderatto: "you cannot go without blaming Vinny Cerrato and Dan Snyder. They put this junk together"

Rich Gannon on Snyderatto: "It's a mess," Gannon said. "And now they're gonna turn to a guy in Sherm Lewis that's been out of football for five years".

Joe Theismann on Snyderatto: "I guess they're talking about Sherm Lewis being the playcaller. That is absolutely the worst thing that this organization can do.

Jim Zorn on the Redskins.  "And it has to do with the playcaller, just being quick. And so we'll see what happens there."

Tanya Snyder on Dan Snyder: "everything starts from the top down." "Nobody likes to be booed," she told Fox. "And that makes me sad, you know. And I just -- I know we'll get it, though. We'll get it."

Carlos Rogers on Dan Snyder:  "it starts with the ownership."

Rodney Harrison, Football Night in America on Snyderatto: "I'd definitely have to say management [is to blame]

Tony Kornheiser, ESPN: on the Redskins: "The Redskins are, I hate to tell you this, one of the five worst teams in the NFL."

Sportswriter John Feinstein on Dan Snyder: "The owner thinks he knows football and doesn't know football. He's got a henchman sideguy to his right, who's a radio talkshow host half of the week and is calling Bingo callers to fix the offense the rest of the week. It is a joke."

Sportswriter Tom Boswell on Dan Snyder: "Snyder walks into a room with body guards and acts like he knows everything".

Anonymous Redskin Player on The Redskins: "Right now, it's really just chaos," said one player who requested anonymity because of the fear of reprisal from management for speaking candidly. "It's just been one thing after another, and no one knows what's going on and how it's going to work."

Some guy on the Internet on Snyderatto: "Looks like everyone can see what's wrong with this team other than the two jack-tards running it. Sad days ahead for us fans."

Another guy on the Internet on Dan Snyder: "To conclude, Dan Snyder is a moronic owner who has no understanding of employee morale or the divisive impact that his personnel and salary decisions have had on the team".

Vinny Cerrato on the Redskins: ‘Look, we’re just not scoring points, our coach has too much on his plate, and I want him to concentrate on head coaching stuff, not all this other stuff like playcalling.’ "

Vinny Cerrato on Dan Snyder: "No comment".

Dan Snyder on Dan Snyder: "I fired the wrong guy"

For worst sports owner in history!

I know this a no-brainer for most Skins Fans, but thought I'd put some justification behind it anyway because after all, there is Al Davis.

Why Dan is #1:

• The Coaching: Five coaches in 10 seasons.
• The Front Office (aka Vinny): 
• The Contracts!:  Stubblefield, Neon Deion, Smith, Archuleta, Lloyd, Haynesworth, Hall, etc....
• Suing the fans!
• The parking prices.
• The added seats with obstructed views.
• The crappy concessions at Fedex Field.
• The concession (especially the Beer) prices.
• Taking advantage of the "best" fans in football.
• Making one of the proudest franchises into a laughingstock around the nation.
• Sucking up to Tom Cruise
• Giving Skins the notoriety of the First team in NFL history to charge admission to its preseason practices
• etc...

via www.skinsbowl.com

Yes, Al Davis is bad but he's also senile. So please evoke your rights under the constitution of the United States of America and vote for Dan today.

Thank you.

"A Redskin Fan's Public service message"

via www.hostanyimage.com

THE MISERY SCALE:

An ascending or descending scale of pure misery (depending on how you want to look at it) from the merely Uncomfortable to the totally Intolerable. Feel free to comment, laugh, cry, modify, add line charts, bar charts, pie charts, weighting, stats, speculate, agitate, castigate and re-arrange to your heart's content.

The D-Line, The Secondary, Special Teams, WR’s, The Pass-Rush, Blocking, RB’s, QB, Fedex Beer Prices, The O-Line, Coaching, The Vinny, The Danny

via www.hostanyimage.com

Another kind of Misery Scale or Index (in the works) would be the Misery that has been brought upon the faithful in the last 10 years in the form of Events. Such as:

Archuleta Signing, Sanders Signing, George Signing, Bailey trade, Spurrier hire, Smith sign, Ramsey draft, Losing Nolan, The Williams Fire, The Marty Fire, Zorn Hire, The Vinny Hire, The Danny purchase

Yeah, I think we all know what the worst event was.

via www.patrickottenhoff.com

Why we're Screwed

So here it is in a nutshell: Even if divine providence were to shine down on the Skins and a magic fairy waved her/his wand over Snyder and made him sell the team, we are still screwed for the foreseeable future.

1. Salary Cap Hell: Welcome to hell because we are there. Salary Cap Hell.

2. Coaching staff pretty much sucks and won't be around much longer: Means at least another 2 seasons to adjust to new schemes, styles, etc...

3. Vinny. Front Office: Ain't going anywhere unless the magic fairy does her/his thing. Pink Slip Vinny!

4. OL is old and in need of a major overhaul and the anchor (Samuels: bad knees and old) can't be expected to hold up much longer.

5. RB's don't scare anyone and we can't afford a stud to replace or augment Portis who is playing with bone spurs.

6. DannyBoy : nuff said..

via www.skinsbowl.com

None of the above matter of course because Snyder will never sell. So the key question then is will he ever change his stripes, fire Vinny, hire and let a quality experienced GM hire the right Coaching staff and rebuild the team the right way through the draft. 

I say the chances of this ever happening are slim to none. And that my friends is why:

We're Screwed!

Despite last year's horrible season, here's why I think they won't suck from a betting perspective and maybe just maybe will be a force to contend with in the playoffs.

1. Arenas: If he's back at full strength, he's one of the top scorers in the NBA and he can act like a PG when he wants to too. 75% chance
2. Jamison: All-star had perhaps his best season last year. He's a as steady a player as anyone in the NBA. 95% chance
3. Butler: All-star if he can stay healthy . 80% chance
4. Haywood: Solid top 10 NBA center if he's healthy. 75% chance
5. Miller: Has a down year last year. Former all-star who can shoot and presents matchup problems. 50% chance
6. Foye: Upcoming young guard who can score and backup Arenas if need be. 60% chance
7. Blatch: Not a kid anymore,steady progression. Still has lapses but if he makes the same progression he made last year, he'll be a solid backup PF. 75% chance
8. McGhee: Not a rookie anymore. Look for him to challenge Haywood as a starter by end of the season. He'll get minutes. 80% chance
9. Young: If he keeps progressing he'll be hard to keep out of the rotation. Can play SF or G. 60% chance
10. Oberto: If he's healthy, can provide veteran defense and fouls to give at C or PF. 50% chance
11. McGuire: Can become a defensive force and verstatile enough to play 3 positions. 80% chance
12. Stevenson: If he's healthy he gives tough D at the Guard slot , can score and can also backup PG. 50% chance

So only Miller ,Stevenson and Oberto are at 50% or less in terms of betting on their success. We seem to be 4 deep or better then at every position with 50% or better players based on versatility.

• PG: Arenas, Foye, Stevenson, Critt
• G: Miller, Foye, Stevenson, Critt, Young
• F: Butler, McGuire, Young, Miller
• PF: Jamison, Blatch, Oberto, McGuire
• C: Haywood, McGhee, Oberto, Blatch

So we got youth and veterans, size and depth and lots of shooters. Could use more D but I like our chances.