2006 Point & Laugh at the taterskins thread

[PhillyPhanInDC]

And finally:

Scapegoat No. 3: Rogers. He's the cornerback that was left on an island on the go-ahead touchdown Sunday against Tampa Bay's Joey Galloway. Williams blitzed and missed, costing the team the score. Afterward, Williams took public blame for the call, a rarity, but a taterskins player said, "No, he didn't. In meetings, Carlos still heard about it."

So what you have, according to one taterskins player, is a fractured defense that isn't playing passionately for Williams anymore. After making examples of Pierce, Smoot, Arrington, Harris, Clark, Stoutmire -- and now Carter, Archuleta and Rogers -- the morale appears beyond repair.

"I think guys are fed up, man," the taterskins player said. "This is what I heard. Guys are talking. They're saying that's why Gregg started losing the team in Buffalo. Because guys got sick of it, sick of getting disrespected. There's a difference between being hard and coaching and disrespecting people all the time and calling people out. He started calling three or four guys out in the team meeting the Saturday night before the Philadelphia game. Just calling certain guys out for certain behavior and this and that. We're talking about 12 hours before the game, and you're calling different guys out for stuff? On- and off-the-field stuff? Just talking mess, going through your rant or whatever. Man, look, guys are getting fed up. And they're saying, a lot of guys in Buffalo, his last year in Buffalo, a lot of guys started popping back to him, popping off to him. Because you can't be a Buddy Ryan anymore in this league. You can't do it.

"And Gregg Williams says all the time, it's not my money. If Gregg was the one writing the checks, I don't know if he'd handle it that way. But he says it in meetings. He gives us speeches about, 'If you don't know what to do, you're going to be standing next to me on the sideline, I don't give a f---. That's where you're going to be. I need to be able to trust you. Hey, it's not my money. I don't care how much you make, I don't care who you are, I'm not the one writing the check, you need to know your assignments, know what to do.' That's what Gregg says. I wonder how Snyder would feel if he heard that one."

Snyder, according to sources, knows all about this, and, there is a sense the front office will push to replace Jackson and perhaps even Williams next season. At the same time, Williams still has supporters in the organization, too. They say the players ripping him have axes to grind, that Williams isn't the one whiffing on tackles and botching coverages. They say it's horrendous that one angry, anonymous player won't go on the record with his complaints, and they point out Williams hasn't played with a full roster all season. For instance, Williams has had to operate much of the year without a healthy Shawn Springs, his best corner, and without safety Pierson Prioleau, who was going to start for Archuleta on opening night until he tore his ACL on the opening kickoff. It doesn't help, either, that linebackers Marshall and Holdman aren't tackling well (Marshall's coming off of shoulder surgery), and there are some defensive players who aren't afraid to point the finger at themselves.

"You can't argue with Gregg Williams because we were No. 3 and No. 9 [in total defense] in previous years, so you can't argue that he's not a good coach," defensive end Phillip Daniels told the Washington Post last week. "The thing for us to do as players is we've got to look at ourselves in the morning to say, 'What can I do to help this team?' Whether it means studying more or anything little, technique and stuff like that, we've got to do it all right for it to work. And right now I don't think all the guys are doing all their technique and studying as hard as they need to study."

The question has been whether the CEO, Gibbs, will address this, and, apparently, he has decided to become more hands-on again. He has been preoccupied with the offense, concerned that Saunders isn't pounding the ball enough, frustrated by injuries to Portis and receiver Santana Moss and resigned to the fact that strapping Jason Campbell is his future at quarterback. But on Wednesday, he couldn't ignore the team's general malaise any longer. In his regular team meeting, he essentially stomped his feet for the first time since last season, told his players they aren't playing physical enough, that it's time to play more smash-mouth, that everybody would be evaluated from here on out. Whether he was talking about the coaches, too, who knows? Whether he will start from scratch defensively next season, who knows? But with Williams obviously unable to stir the passions of the defense, Gibbs had little choice but to butt in.

Of course, whether the problems are solved won't be clear until late December. But if they collapse again, what will the Hall of Fame coach do next? Call another meeting and ask the angry, dissenting players to raise their hands? That would be so 1980s of him. That would be a start.

[Dillen]

5-11.

Set the record for least amount of takeaways in a 16 game season.

farg 'em.

[MDS]

Bubba is both delusional and honest at the same time:

we aren't good enough to over come bad calls

[paco]

Defense certainly needs some help and improving, but the 'Skins should have a last place schedule, the Giants will have lost Tiki (hopefully -good player, good guy..but please leave so we can win more games), the Cowboys aren't as good as their record this year and are average at best, and the Eagles...well they're the Eagles so they'll probably play well and then fall apart somewhere where it matters most.

Do I smell superbowl?  With one or two big name signings, I say yes.  And they certainly have a high enough first round pick to leverage it!

[Rome]

and the Eagles...well they're the Eagles so they'll probably play well and then fall apart somewhere where it matters most.

Yeah, they certainly have against the taterskins lately.  What's it up to now... 8 out of the last 10?

farging ignorant crackheads.

[MDS]

I'm so escareded of Jason Campbell. Did you see him pick apart that Giants defense? Might as well cancel next season, the Skins are winning it all.

[shorebird]

The only worse D in the East than the Giants is the taterskins.

[QB Eagles]

The NFC East becomes the first division since the realignment to have three playoff teams. Hmmm... which team is left out of the festivities?

[BigEd76]

taterskins clinched the 6th pick overall

[QB Eagles]

taterskins clinched the 6th pick overall

Until they trade it for someone who made a couple Pro Bowls in the mid-90s.

[SD_Eagle5]

Problems at the core

6 pages long but lots of stuff to point and laugh at.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Great article.

[MDS]

One guy on ES waved the bullshtein flag, but most of them can face facts and realize their organization is a joke. That is, of course, only because they went 5-11. Once they sign some 4 time pro bowl tight end to a $50 mil contract, everyone will be back on the superbowl express.

[shorebird]

Gibbs said in his press conference that he felt they had 'great players who care' and crap like that.

I do think that what ever happens, they'll be better off with Cambell rather than Burnell, and a healthy Portis. What they really need though, is a new owner and coach.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I think they're better off with Betts than Portis, actually.

They should trade Portis for a draft pick, not that they ever roll that way.