SB Nation User Blog: dr WNC

Injuries keep adding up

dr WNC — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:53:16 -0000

Update: DeAngelo Hall has a sprained knee and is likely to miss 1 game.

Not big news but....Portis, Betts and Rinehart

- Betts has an MCL tear
- Rinehart has a broken Fibula
- Portis is ruled out next week against Philly

There is talk about bringing Mason back...

Injuries are not the problem but they are still starting to add up, time to get everyone on IR and start auditions for next year. Cooley, Portis, and others...

Ladell Betts has torn MCL

If you think it all sounds very bleak, you're not the only one.

"It is bleak," Zorn said. "Being 3-7 is bleak

Samuels-Peter King names a Hog

dr WNC — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:58:07 -0000

In all the turmoil about the offensive line everyone has noted that Chris Samuels has been placed on IR.

TORB-Directs the Reader to SI-Monday Morning QB

Samuels is a core Redskin:

Samuels was drafted by the Redskins third overall in 2000 to be their left tackle for a decade. He almost made it. He's started 141 of 150 games, playing through painful shoulder, knee, ankle, back and neck injuries. But now, having been advised he risks his long-term health if he continues to play with a neck injury, he'll sit the rest of the season. Many of his teammates think he's played his last game.

I followed Samuels in 2000 during the run-up to the draft and through training camp -- in part because SI wanted to do a you-are-there story on a top prospect as he prepared to leave the cocoon of college and enter the pressure of playing right away in the NFL, and in part because of the rise in importance of left tackles. Michael Lewis tells the tale of the value of a left tackle superbly in The Blind Side, and I credit him for seeing what the game has become. Tackle has joined quarterback and pass-rusher as the three most important cornerstone positions for NFL teams.

But as I followed Samuels, I saw not only a good player but also a compelling and conscientious person. The day before the draft, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Broadway, he twice turned away the housekeeper who wanted to make up the room. "It's OK,'' he said. "I got it.'' He'd already made his bed, tidied the room and straightened up the bathroom, hanging the towels neatly on the rack.

In training camp, Bruce Smith and Dana Stubblefield took it upon themselves to school the rook and make his life miserable on and off the field. He took the taunts and the hazing through mini-camps, but determined he wouldn't take it once the real practices started. It took just one practice for Samuels to fight back, taking Stubblefield on a wide rush and, when Stubblefield popped him in the forehead, Samuels cold-cocked him with a roundhouse right to the neck, just below the helmet. He knew as the cornerstone of the offensive line, he had to be a fighter and defend not only his turf but his peers'. He became one of the go-to guys on the team.

Play Calling or Execution

dr WNC — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:45:23 -0000

The Eagles game is tonight, the Redskins have embarked on a new play caller which provides another set of issues but is it the play calling, execution or both...The Washington Times looked at it but here is my take

Execution the key for Redskins Rate this story, Team must improve in Five areas to break its slump

Yes, the players have to execute, but the five areas which need improved are not all the focus of the players some of it is the play calling...Tonight will tell a little if things show different but it's still comes down to

"It's not anything magical on this list here," said Smith, the Redskins' offensive coordinator. "They have to execute."

Sometimes a coach needs to setup the execution for success instead of failure:

FIRST DOWN PRODUCTION: Appears to be ok, yeah it would be nice to be a top-10 team but in the top half will work...

1. Eagles: 7.09 yards/snap

12. Redskins: 5.91

Failure on first down left Zorn with second-and-long calls that were obvious -- draws or short passes to get a portion of the yards back.

This is where Zorn, needed to be creative and not obvious: instead he was creative on 1st down or 4th down...Try it on 2nd down....Hopefully Sherm will change that...

25-YARD-PLUS PASS PLAYS : Ask the Eagles how forgetting the running game works, the same can be said for not calling and continue to call by finding a way to have long pass plays....roll outs, shot-gun etc...Long pass plays need to be called.

1. Packers, Giants: 16

25. Redskins: 6

The first 2 items is not execution as much as it is the way the plays are called, For those who want to see Campbell on the bench, the glaring....issue which needs to be addressed and is all about execution by the QB.

FIRST HALF QB RATING

1. Atlanta: 121.9

28. Redskins: 65.3

Sellers, needs to block, Players need to know where the first down marker is coming up 1 to 2 yards short is unacceptable, and the stat shows. Again, execution by the players, yeah!, play calling does effect it but it's a matter of will and want by the players...Sellers forgot how to block, this is execution but the reason why is?????

Can Someone Please Get Me a Fullback That Can Block

THIRD DOWN CONVERSIONS

1. Miami: 56.0 percent

27. Redskins: 29.7

2 of 5 go to the coach and play calling

2 of 5 go to execution by the players who should be performing

And the final area where improvement is needed is a shared area with execution see Portis and Sellers not make 1 yard, and play calling, where's the dive or QB sneak

RED ZONE

1. Minnesota: 65.2 percent

26. Redskins: 40.0

Front Office, Coaches, Players: Everyone needs to focus on playing football the right way!

Redskins add a WR to practice squad

dr WNC — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:57:21 -0000

Redskins add a WR to practice squad

Redskins have signed wide receiver Anthony Armstrong to their practice squad, the team announced this morning.
The Front office continue to amaze, see what Phinsider had to say
THREE WHO HAVE MADE LITTLE OR NO IMPRESSION:
WR Anthony Armstrong

Jim Zorn To Relinquish Playcalling Duties

dr WNC — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:34:56 -0000

Jim Zorn To Relinquish Playcalling Duties

Above provided by TORB

Zorn to stop calling plays
Per the Redskin insider at the post.

The most negative view, as always PFT
Zorn stripped of play calling duties

Does it really matter?

Offense is Saved: Smith, Wynn back, Pakulak released

dr WNC — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:36:26 -0000

Offense is Saved: Smith, Wynn back, Pakulak released

The groin injury that knocked him out of the Carolina game has improved to the point where the team felt safe in releasing his replacement Glenn Pakulak.-And the Strength of the Redskins offense returns Whooo-hooo

Brian Mitchell Calls Zorn "A Little Less Than" Norv via DC sport Bog

dr WNC — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:56:08 -0000

Brian Mitchell Calls Zorn "A Little Less Than" Norv via DC sport Bog

"I like Jim Zorn," Mitchell said, before slicing off Zorn's feet. "I like him because he's honest. I like him because he tries to be quirky and be funny. But I want to be real. I want to ask people, viewers out there: when you see him in press conferences, and the things he says, and the way he looks, does he truly look like a guy that you want to be following, to be your leader? I'm serious. I keep hearing that statement, 'He blew us away in the interview process'. I don't see blow away in what I'm seeing. Whether they win or lose, I don't see blow away. I was with Norv Turner, and Norv was a great coach, but he was not a damn leader. And I see this man being a little less than what Norv Turner was. I'm being honest...."
Explains it to me clearly, now is not too early

Mike Williams starts, Reinhart sits

dr WNC — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:11:23 -0000

Mike Williams starts, Reinhart sits

This just in via twitter from Frank Hanrahan at ESPN 980:
Mike Williams will see his first NFL action since the 2005 seasons when he takes the starting lineup at right guard. This means that Chad Rinehart’s two-game stint at the position is over, at least for the time being.
The guess here is that they want to get Williams some game action and that the eventual move will be to put Williams at right tackle and Rinehart back in at guard.
I hope Tandler's guess is right, otherwise this means the team has given up on Rinehart

Mediocre at Best: but far from the Worst

dr WNC — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:37:24 -0000

The bizarre happenings in Washington or Maryland always bring out the sentiments that the Washington Redskins are the worst ran franchise in football.

To prove this it is pointed out the team’s performance while Daniel Snyder has owned the team; the lack of playoff opportunities, the lack of playoff wins, no Conference Championships and no Super bowl trips let alone a win. It continues with the detailed management of the team going after the “big name” free agent, hiring and firing multiple big name coaches, ignoring key aspects of the team (OL), continued Cap-hell and the trading of draft picks.

All is true, but is it true that Washington is the worse run NFL franchise or is it a misdirected owner.

Daniels Snyder is a business man who owns a football team, he operates with a business understanding and the results separate the Redskins from most others teams. The Redskins have not had a truly awful season in 10 years. Lots of misses of the playoffs, but never fewer than 5 wins. Just in the last 4 years, 15 different franchises have won 4 or fewer games at least once. Since 2000, 22 different franchises have won 4 or fewer games. Since 1994, when the Skins won 3 games, 26 other franchises have won 4 or fewer games at least once (and the Rams did it in both St. Louis and LA, and the Houston Oilers/Tenneesse Titans also did the combo). Only New England, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Minnesota have also avoided that fate. And Tampa Bay appears headed towards that fate this year.

Of those 5, NE and Pittsburgh are truly exceptional, though they had middling years. Tampa had a brief run, Dallas was at the end of its run when this analysis started, and Minnesota just had middling performance. But at least Minnesota had a few good years, including that 15-1 year. The Skins never did better than 10 wins and that really shows their fate – they’ve been decidedly average the whole time. Never putrid, but never excellent. And that can be exceedingly frustrating as a fan but it’s the way to run a business and be successful, NOT the way to run an NFL team.

If a business is allowed to completely collapse the business no longer exists, if an NFL team is allowed to collapse then a team can rebuild from the interior and become a dominate football team for a significant length of time. Daniel Snyder started to step back during Gibbs second tenure, but now with the goings on it appears he is stepping back in, Danny-boy for the good of the team and the good of the Fans, hire a football GM and allow them to “blow-up” the team and BUILD a team, some key young players are in place right now to build a solid team around: Orakpo, Jarmon, Horton, Thomas, Kelly, Davis, Mason, Alridge, Rinehart, Williams…Chip thanks for the information.

Redskins sign P Glenn Pakulak to PS

dr WNC — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:04:45 -0000

Redskins sign P Glenn Pakulak to PS

Pakulak the Punter, not the same ring. He's on the PS, so watch for a vet to be released on Saturday, gets full pay. Then resigned again on Monday. The 54 man roster trick.