Unrestricted: Right Guy in Right Job

Go Skins

Does Jon Jansen deserve to keep his job as the starting RT?

I think so after the performance of the running game with him in there the last 2 weeks.

I agree that he does Skins. Who would have thought this team would be 4-1? Got to love this.

JM220

Skins... I think yes. We need the run game and JC can escape any pressure JJ lets up. Sorry Stephon... you will get some good game experience but you will have to wait until next year to start. Work on that run blocking big man

Part of me says keep JJ and part of me thinks that we need to let Heyer play into a starting RT.

Yeah, Jansen keeps it. Look at what the Redskins did running to the right when Heyer was in there, versus when Jansen was in there. Jansen just mauls guys in the run game. He delights in grinding guys to dust, and he's good at it too...

Will have to download Cooley on EITM later today (I tried to get up at 6:30 to listen, but it was a late night waiting for the end of the Sox game!) Happy to hear that the Eagles fans are staying classy!

Okay, onto the Rams and Al Saunders. We DO NOT want to give them their first win!

Suzanne, thanks again for the heads up yesterday. You a sox fan?

Suz, think Vince Youngs first win 2 years ago.

0-4 and we were supposed to win. CC said it, they dont have the day off...they are preparing.

I'm going to give an amen to Cheyenne near the end of the previous post. Stay medium with me on this peeps. Great win. Fine scrapping. The Skins executed and were (mostly) healthy. I'm waiting to exhale still. Are the ANY hard games left on the schedule other than the three division games? [Right now, the Browns game feels like the first trap, but Rams are playing to avoid shame ... Rams up ... beware of the Carriker ....]

Now we've got Jason Reid going against Sally Jenkins who wrote in February after Zorn was hired:

"Even if the whole thing turns out to be another of Snyder's juvenile misadventures at the ticket holder's expense, focus on the positive: At least you are important in the life of a child."

"The pessimistic view is that Zorn was hired because stronger candidates rejected the job, and because he is malleable enough to suit Snyder and executive vice president Vinny Cerrato. But we're not going to think that way, are we? Instead we're going to polish our affirmation crystals and tell ourselves that Zorn, 54, is a good find who was somehow missed by the rest of the league, that he was just waiting to be chosen by someone with the penetrating insight to recognize he can be the game's next great. We're going to take the upbeat view that he's displayed real offensive verve as quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks, and that he can make the leap to head coach despite the fact that he is a career deputy."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/10/AR2008021002586.html

When's Sally Jenkins coming back with another column on the Redskins?

I'm tired of the blasts up here for "the national media." I think the Post has some 'splaining to do.

Any guesses on why the team has stayed so (relatively) healthy compared to last season and the one before? Seems like essentially the same personnel.

It depends on Jansen vs. Heyer. Something tells me that this Jansen will not be the same Jansen that we'll see as the season moves along (if he continues to play, I think he'll get worn down). Plus, the passing game really does suffer with Jansen in the game.

I wouldn't blame anybody if Jansen continued to start, but my personal choice would be to start Heyer again. We knew that this was Jansen's strength before the season started, and we also know that Jansen was replaced despite his outstanding strengths in the run game. I'll just say that we're lucky to be forced to make a decision like this, instead of struggling to find a replacement.

talent e, I don't think Sally's stuff falls on the Post ... it falls on the readers who keep reading her column(s). I've never had the impression that Sally J knows football.

Ms. Jenkins, I know Cindy Boren. Cindy Boren is a friend of mine. You, Ms. Jenkins, are no Cindy Boren.

Peter King still has skins rated below Dallas.

Good to see the Eagles fans taking the loss well...if you read the comments on PFT, they're blaming it all on their kicker who missed a 50 YARDER!

AKERS LOSING GRIP ON HIS GIG?
Posted by Mike Florio on October 6, 2008, 7:03 a.m.
Eagles kicker David Akers missed a 50-yard field goal on Sunday. The kick, if good, would have put the Eagles up by 17 points.

Instead, the Redskins got the ball at their own 40, and ultimately converted the possession into a three-pointer of their own.

The six-point swing in what ended up being a six-point game is getting attention in Philly. As is the fact that Akers has missed nine kicks in a row from 45 yards or longer.

“The distances are there,”Akers said. “It’d just be nice to hit ‘em between [the uprights] once in a while . . . I go out and try my best, and I’m coming up ‘right’ on them, apparently. Is it frustrating? Yeah. Do I feel like I’m letting my teammates down? Absolutely.”

Meanwhile, Redskins kicker Shaun Suisham made field goals of 48 and 50 yards on Sunday.

At some point, the Eagles need to contemplate making a change. Sure, Akers has been the team’s only kicker during the Andy Reid era in Philly. But something’s wrong — and Reid seems to be the only one who doesn’t realize it.

“David’s going to make a lot more of those than he’s going to miss,” Reid said Sunday. “Down the stretch here, he’ll be fine.”

We’re not so sure Akers will be fine. And we’re not so sure the Eagles will be fine, either.

Greg - No problem on the notice, I am just glad that they do that to the non-local markets. Have been a sorta Sox fan for a few years (went to law school in hartford and learned all about the "curse") - but my fiance is a huge, lifetime fan. We are now members of Houston Red Sox Nation. So, yes, guess I am a fan. (I grew up in upstate NY, so I have to keep this information sort of quiet!)

Zeebs - That's exactly what I am scared of - I was at that game. Will be far away on Sunday, so hopefully that will help. They are starting Bulger again - good move - and I think they might want to win one for the new coach. Then again, there is so much drama (calling Linehan at 1am to fire him?!?) that we might be able to take advantage of that.

On Jansen/Heyer, I'm of the theory that you don't pull a replacement QB when he's on a roll ... and regardless of Heyer's health, I say keep Jansen for as long as he stays on a roll. Heyer will ultimately have more miles in his tank left. Best to get as much mileage out of Jansen while he still has them.

t_e, a lot of us were perplexed by this Zorn hire. It was a strange selection at the end of what sure looked like a strange selection process. I don't know what it is you think the Post needs to 'splain... their column editors have opinions about things?

It would be disingenuous to suggest that Sally J was the only person who made points like the ones you quoted. Folks posting comments up here -- rabid Skins fans, many of them -- said far, far worse.

Yeah, I'd sure like to see Sally come up with a "jury's still out, but it's hard to argue with what we've seen so far" sort of a column. But it's her prerogative to do that or write about something else. And I think she's as stubborn as Wilbon, so I won't be holding my breath...

T_E, dead on man. I think the writer's of this paper need to man up, stop hiding all you gutless wonders, including La Canfora, and come out and take your medicine.

@Reid's video, I doubt anyone at Redskins Park "knew" the Skins would be 4-1 at this point, but I DO think Snyder and Cerrato REALLY THOUGHT Zorn was NOT JUST SOME GUY TO TAKE THE JOB, but they saw something in this guy, and now he's showing all of us why they hired him.

Why can't people just give credit where credit's due? The two home wins could easily have been chalked up to home luck, but what we are seeing now is simply a team with solid talent, solid depth, and VERY SOLID COACHING.

I for one, am proud to see that Snyder and Cerrato seem to have learned some very good lessons under four years of Gibbs. The results we are seeing now, are just that, good work from the Redskins' front office coming to fruition.

Does Jon Jansen deserve to keep his job as the starting RT?

I think so after the performance of the running game with him in there the last 2 weeks.

Posted by: Skins1 | October 6, 2008 9:39 AM

I have to agree, Skins1. I don't think Jansen's presence and Portis' performance the last two weeks are coincidence. Whatever you lose in pass protection is worth it when you see how that line dominates the line of scrimmage.

We're about to find out how good this team REALLY is. The next 3 games are against the dregs of the league, and if this team can keep its focus and dominate those games they're undoubtedly for real. It's easy to get up for Dallas and Philly on the road; it's another thing to get up for a winless mess like St. Louis. And if the Skins handle business by 10 points or better, all of a sudden this team looks great. It's not out of the question that this team could go into their bye week at 8-1!

"No player was more important in that stingy finish than Carter, who had flown to California on owner Daniel Snyder's plane Wednesday afternoon and returned about 24 hours later"

Say what you will, but Snyder seems to be getting more things right lately, than wrong.

Suz, tough loss last night, but can't have Ortiz/Bay/Pedrioia putting up nothing and expect to win.

Initially, I was holding my breath for Mariucci, but mostly b/c I had no idea who or what Zorn was all about. Mariucci (and Fassel) knew about Zorn and wanted him as the O coordinator. By the end of the season, I'm hoping we get some more articly analysis of what Zorn has meant as head coach v. what he's meant as O coordinator. The success in the latter, to me, is obvious ... and I'm thinking that might have been the case with him under either Fassel or Mariucci. What I'd like to learn more about is what ELSE Zorn has been bringing as head coach more than Fassel or Mariucci might have brought. My hunch is "players' coach" related stuff (given his former playing career) ... and maybe the conditioning/tempo stuff ... but probably mostly the "stay medium" stuff, which is the stuff that I think we've been sensing for a long time.

Stay medium. Not disrespect to the HoF coach, but I dig staying medium way more than "up here" or "guts out".

Wow, wow just love it. Can't remember the last time I felt this good as a skins fan. Trap game this week though.

Any word on Griff and his injury situation?

Cyn,

Great article by Svryrghra (I'd like to buy a vowel) this weekend. Probably the best Skins piece i've read in some time.

My game balls

JC - Calling out protection for the first time against that D... way to read it young stud

CP - For backing up your talk with action. he should now say he knows what it is like to run behind the best o line in football.

Rocky mac - Great comeback from Surgery and becoming the hunter of the ball you are

LF - Pro Bowl year def... Heart and Soul of this team

Rodgers - We can retire the name double move. Come back player of the year so far... didnt hear his name much yesterday, and that is a good thing.

Brownwood said "I don't think Jansen's presence and Portis' performance the last two weeks are coincidence. "

I think there is also a coralation between our run focused game and the fact that we were playing division rivals. NFC East old school gameplay, pound the rock and move the clock. But all three things factor into the success.

On ESPN First Take, Skip Bayless picked us to go 13-3. Seriously.

And the "Two Live Stews" are officially idiots. Those jerks are still picking the Cowboys and don't think the Skins have enough talent to beat the Cowboys. Like we already did last week. Just dumb...

McNabb's comments after the game rang hollow to me, and I'm pretty sure they'll have the same effect on Eagles fans. "I was embarrassed these last two weeks," he said. "I mean [to lose] to two teams we shouldn't have lost to. There is no way that you can look at this game and say that, and not taking anything away from them, but there is no way that this team is better than us."

Can someone give McNabb a copy of the last 3 quarters of that game for me. He must have gotten a concussion and forgot it. He had a great view from the sidelines.

Zeebs we can retire double move but it will be replaced with "Stone Hands" which still applies:)

dcsween, during the preseason Redskins Nation had a segment where they interviewed new medical/physical therapy staff at Redskins Park - so they have made some changes.

Zeebs we can retire double move but it will be replaced with "Stone Hands" which still applies:)

Posted by: Gweez | October 6, 2008 10:25 AM | Report abuse

We could also replace it wiht "big hits" or always in a position to make the play. If Carlos caught every ball he was in position to mkae a play on he would have 25 ints a year.

No gweez, maybe he gets '50/50' now. Cause he did catch one...or maybe '10%'?

"...there is no way that this team is better than us."

Funny that McNabb says that. I'm pretty sure the Bears, 49ers and Cowboys said that a few times in the '80s when we were clutching Lombardis.

It ain't about talent. It's not about Pro-Bowls or star quality or any of that b.s. It's about desire and it's about execution. The Eagles and Cowboys might look better on paper, but when it comes to lining up and executing a gameplan, few are doing it better than the Skins right now.

I liked the Zorn choice then and I like it even better now. I'll admit I was in the tank for Greg Williams, but once it became obvious he wasn't the guy, I was glad the opted for Zorn instead of some retread that had already proven mediocrity. what really surprises me is all the surprise that this has been a pretty good team so far. This was a playoff team last year and a team I thought could have been better if they were allowed to play. I love Joe Gibbs, he's a deserved hero in this town, but his mentality held the team back. He talked about having great playmakers but didn't give them the opportunity to make plays. It seemed like after every game last year there was a question about some decision not to go for it or to run a very conservative play that cost us a win. Gibbs would always start his answer with, "You think of all the things that can go wrong...". Zorn is clearly of a different mindset and that's the biggest difference.

Either way, we had and still have the best tackling corners in the NFL. Rodgers straight laced that one swing pass/pitch out (cant remember which)

Wow. TO's comments after the Bengals game. Apparently he has found God. And its all about just being number 81, the Star on the Helmet and God. OK, ummm love me some me, ... I cant even begin to describe what a bi-polar freak this guy is. I wont knock him if he has found religion. BUT IS HE REALLY TRYING TO TELL US HE IS JUST ABOUT THE TEAM, AND NOT WORRIED ABOUT HIMSELF. I could care less if he has serious emotional issues. I say LL hits him so hard he sees the light again!

We could also replace it wiht "big hits" or always in a position to make the play. If Carlos caught every ball he was in position to mkae a play on he would have 25 ints a year.

Posted by: Pleepleus

Finally, somebody else posted it. Rogers may have poor hands, but even before this season, the amount of times he actually gets his hands on the ball shows what an elite talent Carlos actually is at CB. I don't care what any of the "experts" say, but he and Shawn Springs are the 2 best CBs in the division, hands down. Better than Samuel, better than Brown, better than Newman, better than anybody. Now, if only he could catch the ball...

Zeebs we can retire double move but it will be replaced with "Stone Hands" which still applies:)

Posted by: Gweez | October 6, 2008 10:25 AM | Report abuse

I agree with you to some extent however there is no way you can look at the Eagles and Redskins on paper and ever come to the conclusion the Eagles are better. There are maybe 3 positions on the whoel field I gave an edge to an Eagle.

The man is coming off a knee reconstruction and is playing at a higher level than prior to the surgery. I don't think enough can be said about him.

Actually, Sally does know fubball and she'll do some Redskins columns soon, I promise you. She just got back from reporting a story on Sarah Palin in Alaska.
And think back to February: Nobody knew anything about Zorn; we weren't in the hiring meetings so we had no idea how he interviewed. It was a curious hire, to say the least. But you have to credit Snyder and Cerrato for seeing something there.
Forgot to tell you I'm chatting at 11. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/10/03/DI2008100301281.html?hpid=topnews

psp, don't even include Newman in the conversation, he just sucks that bad. Some of those catches that Moss had on him last week, he wasn't even in the picture, Moss wore his @ss out.

Hail!

Good game & way to stick with it! Suisham saved our ASJK! The first two I was like - "he can't make it from that far... he's good inside, but this is too much!" and on the 50 yarder, I said the same thing, but just for LUCK!! hahahah.

Eyes on the prize, lads!

Put a star on the helmet and you have an automatic trip to the probowl.

Now lets all be truthfull when Zorn was hired almost everyone was saying, WHAT? Who is Zorn? so don't go dumping on Sally Jenkins I'm estatic about what's happened and happy for Zorn and the team but no could have predicted this.A big shoutout to BUGES and the O line,Joe Bugel has done a tremendous job given his personal circumstances(tragic death of his daughter) he has kept John Jansen's from being a cancer and now he is playing a huge part in their success,for that alone Buges is the mvp of this team.

Cindy,

Despite the fact that Sally (or any of us) knew anything about Zorn, she should have kept her VICIOUS mouth (or pen) shut until a few games in.

Cindy, you can hide, but you can't run. Agree to disagree about whether Sally knows football. Even if she knows it, she can't write it. Maybe back in the day (a day?), but that train has sailed ... maybe its what happens after jumping from beat writing to column...ing.

Also, blogging aside, SOLID journalisting this weekend (in the print edition and e-paper) by the entire beat staff.

Greg - Hope tonight's game will end the "right" way...

I knew nothing about Zorn, but I wanted to do something CRAZY, and let him actually coach a couple of games before I passed judgement on whether Danny made a mistake.

Jenkins should have taken the same approach, and now that Zorn has been successful over the first 1/4 of the season, she's too much of a narcissist to pen a column stating she was wrong. Just like when Wilbon desecrated Sean T. and was too proud to write a retraction.

Shame on both of them.

Beeps Peeps

beep beep

Beep

Beep

Is Durant Brooks job okay?
Vinny: Yep, its fine, I'm not bringing anyone in.

beep beep