The friction started shortly after the plane landed following the loss in Tampa Bay last Sunday. The offense was tired of the playcalling, so one player sat down with the head coach for a few hours.
Clearly, the coach was peeved as well. He was more animated in the midweek meeting than normal. And another player had his own beefs, airing them anonymously to ESPN.com.
If the Redskins (4-7) had not stunned visiting Carolina (6-5), 17-13, Sunday, who knows what would have happened. Actually, Redskins tackle Jon Jansen had an idea.
“The wheels would have fallen off,” he said.
For now, they’re just loosened thanks to an impressive physical effort. The offense did just enough, helped by tight end Chris Cooley’s 66-yard touchdown grab with four minutes, 26 seconds remaining.
The Redskins got what they wanted: a physical effort on both sides of the ball. They also got what they desperately needed: a win.
“When things get bad, they normally get worse,” said safety Vernon Fox, who intercepted a first-quarter pass Sunday.
“A real morale booster,” Redskins coach Joe Gibbs called the win.
This is a team being held together by strings, with frustrations mounting. Does one win change that? Or does it just delay the inevitable?
“I think it will continue to go forth,” Redskins end Renaldo Wynn said. “Guys know we can play and we still have that. For a second I thought, ‘Do we still have that fire? What’s going on here?’ But we know it’s there.”
What carried more weight than Gibbs’ Wednesday sermon were the extra-physical practices. During nine-on-seven drills last week, the Redskins had full-contact work, a rarity.
“We had a tough week of practice,” Wynn said.
Also, an ESPN.com story detailed friction and lack of communication between secondary coach Jerry Gray and safeties coach Steve Jackson. Also, the anonymous defender, who has knowledge of the secondary meetings, talked about how players have tired of assistant head coach/defense Gregg Williams’ arrogance and methods. Williams declined comment.
“If a player actually said that stuff, then he should get out of here,” Redskins defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin said.
Cornerback Shawn Springs said, “If I did something like that, [my father] would kill me… I’m sure some of it is [true], but that doesn’t mean we aren’t a family.”
Jansen, who silenced Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers during the game, said he wondered about the dynamic in the locker room and the need to “deal with” the article, which Gibbs talked about in a Saturday night meeting.
“The way you combat negativity is by blocking it out and doing your job,” Fox said. “That’s what we did.”
