This Washington Redskins debacle is all on coach Mike Shanahan.
Shanahan didn’t get the right personnel over the offseason to run a 3-4 defense and forced the change anyway. The offense needed a better line, a second receiver and depth at running back; Shanahan didn’t get anything but offensive tackle Trent Williams. The Redskins needed a punt returner; one wasn’t found.
Shanahan makes the decisions here, and his bewildering offseason approach has doomed the Redskins to another bad season. Washington’s liabilities have been exposed. The Redskins are a holding call away from 0-3 after losing 30-16 to the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.
The draft netted a starting lineman, who unfortunately is hurt. Otherwise, there’s nothing. Free agency was a bust in an uncapped year. How did that happen?
Aside from a trade for quarterback Donovan McNabb, the offseason netted little. Shanahan is the architect, and his fixer-upper already has imploded. Given that this is the NFL’s oldest team, a turnaround won’t come quickly, either.
Hate to give Albert Haynesworth any credit after his dumb “slave” comparison Saturday, but even he saw the Redskins weren’t built for a 3-4 defense. They don’t have a healthy nose tackle, and they are wasting Andre Carter at linebacker.
The hardest part for coaches coming off a break is recapturing their earlier momentum. It rarely seems to work, especially in Washington, where legends come to cash owner Dan Snyder’s checks at the cost of their reputations.
Joe Gibbs, the team’s finest coach since Ray Flaherty arrived with the team in 1937, did little in his four-year return. Marty Schottenheimer only lasted one season. Steve Spurrier went from college legend to NFL joke.
Is Shanahan the latest to tumble? His personnel decisions in Denver were suspect. Indeed, the Broncos won only one playoff game after John Elway took them to consecutive Super Bowl wins in 1997 and ’98.
Normally, it’s too early to judge a new coach — though Jim Zorn was mentally railroaded in September last season and Snyder knew he would fire Schottenheimer after an 0-3 start in 2001. Shanahan isn’t going anywhere, but the Redskins may win only a handful of games unless their coach makes better decisions.
It’s too late for Shanahan to find the needed personnel, so using what he has more effectively is critical. Clinton Portis on the bench in the second half after a solid first half? The Redskins missed both his running and blocking. Can’t wait for Portis’ weekly radio show. And is receiver Devin Thomas really not worth playing?
The defense plays plenty of 4-3, but the Redskins need to play it more. Surrendering 30 points to a rookie quarterback on an awful team is a whole lot different than allowing the same to Houston the previous week. Also, that’s 60 points allowed in the last two weeks.
It’s time for Shanahan to earn his reputation. His offseason has the Redskins teetering. He needs to find the solution real quick or it’s another 10-loss year in Washington.
Meanwhile, Bill Cowher is talking about coaching again in 2011.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
