Poor tackling, special special teams, turnovers, penalties, questionable coaching calls, dropped passes, off target throws are all themes of Washington’s football season, and once again they were all part of the effort in today’s loss to Kansas City. I call it an effort because it does take some effort to look this bad. This morning an article came out detailing the schism between Shanahan and Snyder with Robert Griffin in the middle. Shanahan was ready to leave after the 2012 season but when it ended on a down note he didn’t want part of his legacy to be the coach that injured RGIII and so he stayed on and in great Shanahan fashion he has turned himself into a martyr caught between a prima dona quarterback and meddling owner.
McNabb and Haynesworth weren’t good acquisitions by the Redskins but they were both players Shanahan had no idea how to use, and when he started to have doubts about Fred Davis he alienated him as well. Shanahan’s biggest failing as a coach is he has a very strong idea of how things should be done and instead of coaching to a player’s talents he will alienate any player that has even the slightest misgivings about his methods.
There is a choice for Washington and it should be an easy one. Keep Shanahan past this season and next or keep RGIII. RGIII is an ultra talented player full of athletic ability and in his diminished state this season Shanahan had no idea how to bring out the best in him and RGIII no longer trusted the plays that got him hurt in 2012. It is a schism that can’t be repaired and the obvious choice is to get rid of Shanahan before he can do any further harm to RGIII and the rest of Washington’s football team.
The game itself was the same game Washington fans have witnessed week in and week out. There is no reason to recap it and if you would like to relive it I feel sorry for you. It was a great comedy at times that drove me to hysterical laughter and if I wasn’t trapped inside by the hordes of DC drives that can’t handle two inches of snow and make themselves obstacles on the road. This would have been an excellent day for Christmas shopping or any number of activities that don’t involve watching the final death keel of Mike Shanahan as the head of Washington football.
Mercifully it will be over soon. Shanahan will be out and the cycle will begin again. The debates this off-season will be about if Washington has the franchise quarterback or still needs one. RGIII has the natural ability he needs a coach that can get it out of him. That can direct him in the best manner as to how to use his talents. And a coach that he can believe in. One whose philosophy he will buy into. That wasn’t Mike Shanahan. Let’s hope it is the next guy, or this 21 year rebuild gets even longer.
