MVN - Most Valuable Network

So, how bad was this?

A few weeks back, Lee at The Redskin Report asked if 2006 was the worst off-season ever.  That got me to thinking about the depth of this season’s collapse.  Just how bad was it?

Worse than the Sixties.  Sonny Jurgensen joined the team in 1964.  Despite his legandary heroics in the years before Lombardi, Jurgy led the team to a 29-38 record.  No one ever expected those squads to make the playoffs, let alone challenge for the championship.  But Jurgensen threw up some exciting thrillers, expecially against the Cowboys, while making the Pro-Bowl in ‘64, ‘66, ‘67 and ‘69. 

The 2006 Redskins were widely expected to make the playoffs with an offensive display that would reach the stratosphere.  They will be fortunate to make 6-10.  Then: weak roster - exciting games; now: strong roster - confusion.  Without doing the research to prove it, surely no preseason favorite ever had a worse die-off than the ‘06 Redskins.

Realizing how delusional we were does not lessen the sting of disappointment.   

Rod Gardner left the Skins under a cloud.  He was widely considered the underachiever who earned the nickname “fifty-fifty;” as in “what are the odds he will catch a ball that hits him in the hands?”  Yet the highly touted, free agent receivers imported this year are unlikely to match Gardner’s stats in his last season here (2004).  Consider:

Brandon Lloyd and Randle El can’t outperform Fifty-fifty. 

That’s bad.

Norv Turner is considered a decent guy, an above average offensive coordinator, but in over his head as the top dog.  He helped Dallas, with a stellar roster, win a Super Bowl.  In his first year as OC for the lightly regarded 49ers, Turner has his team one game better than the Redsking going into today’s game.  San Francisco’s offensive stats are a near match of the Redskins at 18 points per game and 26 touchdowns. 

It’s widely acknowledged that to win, the Redskins must run; not Randle El gadget plays, but real power runs behind power blocking.  Yet, until the coach-in-chief took a more active hand, the Redskins seemed to rely on short passes and Randle El trick plays in running situations.  Fair or not, that called into question OC Al Saunders’ commitment to the run.  Norv Turner always knew how to run the ball and when to run it, as his record with Emmit Smith, Stephen Davis, Ricky Williams and now Frank Gore attest.

Not that he would have come back, but Turner’s style is closer to Gibbs-ball than is Saunders.  For this one year, Turner fit the bill better than Al Saunders.

That’s bad.

The defense, a top ten unit the last three seasons, are bottom dwellers this year.  Injuries don’t explain it all.  A loss of talent, a mis-match of free agents to needs and maybe the league figuring out Gregg Williams schemes were all factors.

How bad?  The Redskins are the only NFC East team not in the hunt for the post-season.

That’s bad!   

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 24th, 2006 at 10:48 am and is filed under The Redskins. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.