Redskins – Page 9 – Defeating the Curse

What happens if Jay Gruden calls plays?

January 27, 2017April 7, 2017 DefeatingTheCurse1 Comment

The LA Rams have a new coach, a new cross town rival, and eventually a new stadium. Newly hired HC Sean McVay is being praised by everyone for how he is getting respect from his players, some older than him, and how composed and excited he seems to be with being the leagues youngest coach. He will no doubt make an excellent head coach. However, I for one will miss him, and his play calling.

The offense was always Jay Grudens design. He game planned, he did the hard work, but it was McVay who was in Kirks ear. It was McVay that helped our offense become efficient. The three headed monster that was Gruden,McVay and Callahan when it came to play calling become a tamed beast once McVay was THE play caller.

We went from a middle of the pack offense to an all of a sudden explosive one in the second half of 2015. Once the 2016 season kicked off , you could see how efficient we had become. We were moving up and down the field with the best of them. Commentators would finally mention the Redskins in the same breath as the Patriots and Packers and Falcons. We were a mini-me of the elites. Trying our best to mimic the true greats. 3rd and 8? No problem! Bubble screen to Chris Thompson for 14! Crowd goes wild. 1st and 10? Easy! 50-yard bomb to D.Jax. Kirk Cousins was dropping dimes left and right. Jordan Reed was making defenses sweat. Sean McVay was showing his true brilliance…

Now we all face uncertainty. What will Jay Gruden do now? With McVay going to the Rams, the Redskins have promoted Matt Cavanaugh from QB Coach to Offensive Coordinator. People have already started asking Gruden if he will take over play-calling, or if that job will stay with his new OC. Here are the main reasons why Jay calling the plays could be a double-edged sword:

The positive is that this is Jay’s system. He should be the one with the most knowledge about what works best, and when to call certain plays. Also, with Jay calling the plays, HOPEFULLY somebody else will begin to help him more with game and time management, since he is ABSOLUTELY ATROCIOUS at it. Someone else taking over could finally mean we end the half and games with grace. Wouldn’t that be something new…The negative about Jay calling plays is that it adds another thing for him to focus on on top of head coaching plate that already includes more than just the aforementioned game and time management. If for some reason they don’t allocate someone to help him, it could very well have a negative impact on all his responsibilities.

All I’m asking for is an efficient offense that is not predictable, doesn’t abandon the run and shows signs of urgency at the appropriate times. Oh, and calling a time out at the right time couldn’t hurt either.

What the Redskins can learn from Superbowl LI

January 25, 2017April 24, 2017 DefeatingTheCurse1 Comment

The Superbowl is fast approaching. In 11 days two of the most prolific offenses this season will battle it out in Houston. Starring a soon to be Hall of Fame QB, who is showing age is nothing but a number, and an up and coming QB who has battled the legacy of “choke artist” his whole career. Most people probably aren’t that surprised the Falcons and Patriots have made it this far. Highest scoring offense, most efficient when it comes to 20+ yard passes, the stats are there. What may surprise people is if you take a look at the offensive stats this year…you’ll find the Redskins sitting comfortably in between the Falcons and Patriots in most if not all of those offensive categories.

Shocking I know. So why didn’t we make it to the big game? Why couldn’t we even make it into the playoffs? Defense. That cliche line of “Defense wins championships” holds true. Hear that Scot? Defense…wins…championships. So far we are doing a good job. The move to promote in house and make Manusky our defensive coordinator is a smart play. Continuity is never a bad thing if you aren’t willing to spend the money on a whole new roster. Then we bring in Tomsula who has been quoted as a “guru” when it comes to designing run fronts…something everyone can agree the Redskins struggled with.

Speaking of Coach Tomsula….who doesn’t love an ex-head coach now as a position coach. I’m pretty confident in his abilities. Not to mention he has a pretty awesome theme song:

So what else do the Redskins need to do to make a Superbowl run? Continuity on offense. We already discussed why we should commit to Cousins. You know…that QB that replaced the NFC QB this weekend in the pro bowl. The guy who helped get our offense ranked as high the two Superbowl contenders. On top of that, we NEED to make sure Pierre Garcon comes back. Kirk would appreciate it, I know I would, as well as the rest of the fan base.

Until Doctson proves he is able to get healthy, which I don’t see happening anytime soon, we need to maintain our offense to the best of our ability. Although he did go for a run in the pool…nice progress (I’m joking…its been almost a whole year….lets go buddy). Now with all this talk about the 49ers being interested in Cousins, it sure would be nice to tell him his most trusted WR will be back to help him out.

Next step – the Draft. RB is a need. Literally the entire defense is in a need. Interior offense line is a need. Thankfully, these are all positions where you can draft an immediate impact player. Do you take Fournette in this first round? I say yes. If for some reason he falls into our lap, you take him. Give me a head turning, legit, running back and our passing offense and I’ll be a happy fan. HOWEVER, those remaining draft picks better be to fill in our glaring needs.

Dear GM,

January 14, 2017January 14, 2017 DefeatingTheCurseLeave a comment

Dear Scot McCloughan,

Its been two weeks since the Redskins lost what should have been an automatic win. Kirk Cousins received most of the blame for that loss. Yes the defense was trash, as they usually are, and the offense wasn’t really helping Kirk. However, he threw the INT that cost us the game. He could have brought it down and ran to gain a few yards. He didn’t. Kirk Cousins did what he’s done all year…drop back, make his read and throw the ball…

I’ve been a Redskins fan my whole life. I had a night light that would play “Hail to the Redskins” and help me fall asleep. I’ve followed this team and cared about them for as long as I could remember. Once I was old enough and truly learned and understood the dynamics of the game, I followed the Redskins even closer. The decent year, the horrible years, that one Zorn year, and then back to the decent years….never able to enjoy a team that was regularly competitive. We either barely scraped by a win, or we got blown out. I’m a loyal fan. Convincing myself and everyone around me that we are just a few key pieces away from being playoff contenders. Are we an elite franchise? Not even close. But we are close to being a team that is not embarrassing. A Cincinnati Bengals or an Arizona Cardinals…just at the cusp of success.

For so long we’ve been looking for a QB. A guy that can come into the huddle, command respect, bark out the right play and not screw it up. More than a game manager. Now, if we had a stellar, shut down, “we dare you to pass”, earn every yard defense, then a game manager would do. We don’t have that. We have a defense that has a lot of holes. Missed tackles, injured players, confusing schemes and apparently a secondary that doesn’t like each other. So we focused on the Offense. We brought in wide receivers, maybe giving us one of the best set of receivers in the NFL. We have always been strong with our tight ends. Even strong with Jordan Reed. Our run game is slacking, our o-line is almost there….but nothing works without Kirk.

So Scot, how do we hold on to whats been built so far? Continuity. Yes, Joe Berry is gone. Yes, Sean McVay will be leaving us. However the most important piece is just waiting for us to commit to him. I don’t have to compare his numbers. The stats are out there. He’s proven himself over and over again. If the INTs and fixable mistakes are whats holding you back, take a look at the AFC playoffs right now. Backup QBs costing teams their chance at playoff victory. Offense schemes no longer working, resulting in a defense constantly on the field getting ripped apart. Its not rocket science.

Committing to Kirk is the right move. Not by tagging him, but by showing him he is our guy and keeping him here long term. Build up the offense with a stronger run game, developing Doctson and keep that offense at a high pace. I have no doubt you can rebuild our defense. Yes we have holes, but many of them can be fixed via draft. Kirk has the skill set and dedication. More importantly, he has the work ethic and the ability to become one of the best QBs. I heard it takes about 2 full seasons before the game slows down and you can start to really improve. This will be Kirks third year as THE guy. Watch and see what he can do…I bet you wont be disappointed.

-Paul Farag

@faragp