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Go Young, Old Man

There's not much left to say about the Burgundy and Gold's season at this point; we all know the same thing. Mike Shanahan's return to head coaching status in the NFL has not gone particularly well or as planned. What's the saying "Same old Jets"?

But at least the drama is gone, for now anyway. I'm not sure the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is a loss that becomes an omen; the kind that sinks a team into a morass. They are "game" almost every week, and particularly after a monstrous outing. So there's no reason to think they're going to come unglued, but there is no reason to remain realistic.

According to the product that Shanahan and Co. have put on the field, one could argue, they could have a worse record. And one could argue, their record could have been better, but regardless, whether they won a few more close ones or lost them; they would not be a different team. They are a slow moving dinosaur that still has cunning and a will to survive, but one that has too few teeth to be taken seriously by it's foes.

So perhaps it's better, even though more painful, this team lost this week. Because, with the quick-fix direction Shanahan and Allen have chosen, each win corroborates the misdirection that is their heading. In the new NFL, ineptitude and futility are the friends of the aged; Ashburn needs to get younger ASAP. I can only see the fortunes of Ashburn changing, when the methodology changes.

When you look at New York, Philadelphia, and Dallas, you realize pretty quickly, how far behind this franchise is to their divisional rivals. Vick, Manning, and Romo are quarterbacks that are entering their prime years, that fact alone keeps Washington in a precarious position. Unfortunately, for the Burgundy and Gold the mountain that Donavan McNabb must climb continues to grow. The question you have to ask; can McNabb get ahead of the tectonic movement? I'm not overly confident next year's expedition that apparently will be led by McNabb will get out of base camp.

2 Comments

I completely disagree. Kyle Shanahan caused Matt Schaub to lead the league last year in passing yards. Washington is not Houston. The offensive line has been offensive for years. With no protection, McNabb, among other reasons such as almos...t a 10% drop off by the 4th quarter in completion %, will not and can not pass like Schaub expects. Unfortunately, and this can be proven game after game minus the 2 blow outs, the play calling in the 2nd half has gone completely pass happy. Most of the time the Redskins were within a touchdown or even had the lead. Tampa was the best though for Kyle. Torain gets 170 yards in the 1st half on 19 carries. The 2nd half Good ole Kyle gives Torain the ball 4 times. 4. Did he think Tampa all of a sudden could stop the run and began to rely on McNabb to continue his streak of 3 and outs? This can be shown game by game all season long. The play calling does not fit the team and Kyle Shanahan is too busy trying to ram an offense that at this time, can not work. Just like his dad trying to ram a defense down the throat of a team that has played a 4-3 since the dawn of time. Like father like son. More food for thought.. Mike Shanahan had Elway as his quarterback for years. When did he get his 2 rings? When Terrel Davis showed up. Run the damn ball. Gibbs knew it. The Hogs took pride in it and there is no way John that you can sit there with a straight face and say you did not enjoy hammering a team in the 4th quarter when the Redskins needed to grind out the clock and chew up turf. You got stronger as the game went on. Yes the Redskins have weaknesses, but the play calling is inept and blind to what is happening on the field. Yes Kyle Shanahan turned Schaub into a good passer. How about all those playoff games the Texans have won? You have to call what the team is capable of running and for whatever reason if the run seems to be working well then it must be time for Kyle to literally call 10-15 straight passes in the 2nd half game after game. It is disgusting and HE is as much of the problem as the player son the field.

only two choices, if you have another, i would love to hear it. Either clueless or classless ...clueless means he got this job the same way haslett got it over jerry gray, good ol boy cronyism and the NFL doing more of what it has always done (no ..i am a caucasion, not an african american but jerry gray was articulate, players loved him and he learned under the greg williams, obviously the best DC out there...peyton mayning scored how many in the second half of the super bowl? OR just plain classless ...re: he tells half truths, no truths, and has the political correctness of a mississippi judge. fire the owner.

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