Cold State of Affairs
October 12, 2019
by Jay Evans
Blood curdled seas have overtaken Washington’s football levees and choked an entire generation with ineptitude. Long before the tide ebbs back to resemble a prelapsarian era of Redskins football, the franchise, from the top, will have to acknowledge they are the problem.
Congrats to everyone who wanted the spotlight and felt the Redskins were irrelevant. There will be tireless stories in the weeks to come. D.C. is about to stink so bad the sewage will be reverse stream up the Potomac and land directly on Dan Snyder’s doorstep.
If it bleeds, it leads and the Redskins will be mentioned in national publications in the coming months. They will be tied to every possible coaching candidate. The trade deadline will hopefully be entertaining and the players will be in full evaluation mode for the next regime.
Bill Callahan’s “new” look practice schedule made the news cycle with high school style stretching lines and wind sprints. Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley has said he isn’t leaving for the NFL and certainly not the Redskins position and Mike Tomlin rolled his eyes at the question in a press conference, as the Steelers prepare to face the Chargers.
The current state of affairs is an unfortunate reality for everyone. It is awful for the team, the fans, the coaches, the reporters, but the ire should be worse for no other individual than team president Bruce Allen.
Hindsight is clearer now, five games into a 10,000-mile journey and the NFL-semi has lapped the rotting carcass that is the Redskins on a one lap track. The truck has stopped, backed up over the decayed pulp, asked the limp figure if aid was needed, then sped off before assistance was offered. The NFL chorus garrulously is laughing at the Redskins.
There is no direct route back to competitive civilization, because the guides who led the Redskins into NFL purgatory lost the map decades ago. The Redskins are in the middle of a complete dead zone that’s hoping for foreign entity to install a new cell tower by 2020, except any possible investor recognizes the complete and utter wasteland surrounding D.C. Maybe China will step in?
Bruce Allen, contrary to all the evidence pointing to a toxic existence, doubled down and told the world that the Redskins have “a damn good culture.” Allen faced several questions regarding his culpability and why he should remain in control of the franchise’s direction. Allen said he would not “hide” from Washington’s record.
Bruce Allen’s existence on the team is insulting to the core values of responsible ethics. In the face of public scrutiny and undeniable failure, Allen’s trim demeanor masterfully alluded any responsibility and concocted an answer to a question no one asked.
“All we can do is work,” Allen said. “And do I believe in the group that’s here? Yes. I think Doug and Kyle [Smith] had a great draft. I think they’ve had a few great drafts. I see what the coaches are trying to accomplish. I see what the people do at the stadium. They’re great workers. They care about this team. They care about this franchise. And I’m not saying I care more than anyone, but I absolutely want what’s best for the Washington Redskins, and we’re going to make sure we do it.
There hasn’t been that type of question dodging in D.C. since Bill Clinton questioned what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is. If ‘we’ means I and never has been—that is major. If by ‘I’ you mean ‘you’, Bruce —that is major.
Bruce isn’t slick enough to outwit his own record of 52-75-1. It is hard to believe firing Jay Gruden will spark a turn around. It could be argued that Bruce has established a small bit of continuity in the organization and kept owner Dan Snyder from his meddling past, but the deception Bruce displayed is insulting to all.
“It seems like a long time ago when we won the division, and in football I guess it’s sort of like those doggy years,” Allen said. “It does multiply with each year. But I’ve seen different people perform. I’ve seen the way people have evaluated talent. I’ve seen the way they’ve worked together and I know this group will do it again.”
Allen continued, “That’s part of the evaluation process right now. We’re looking for solutions to get the team back on track.”
Those eerie words were emitted from Bruce in 2014 and what is at all different now? What is existential Bruce’s responsibility to this team and the fans of the Redskins? There is only one answer: accountability.
Bruce Allen is largely responsible for the team’s self-destruction. He essentially traded Kirk Cousins, Kendall Fuller, and a third-round pick for Alex Smith and lesser third-round compensation pick. Bruce has continued to hold Trent Williams in contempt and his stubbornness is heading to another ham-fisted resolution.
The president has hand-picked the past two coaches, who have yielded a meager two playoff appearances with no playoff wins, and the closest he has gotten to negotiating a new stadium is a bizarre mock of a fish bowl with a moat.
Jester Bruce has sacrificed Scott McCloughan, Brian Lafemina, and anyone else who could possibly insert themselves in between he and his king. The disgusting leaks used to disparage the former employees at auspicious times is more evidence of the poisonous culture.
Bruce repeated in his press conference Monday, “the Redskins are close” and had the fragile athletes been available all would have been different. The training staff isn’t public enemy number one; Shawn Lauvau, Jordan Reed, Deangelo Hall, Robert Griffin, and Colt McCoy were all brittle upon arrival. Injuries occur in titan battles, but rubes don’t anticipate the inevitable.
Who are the real fools? Is it our fault for believing in the optimistically spun half-truths or is it the burden of the Scytode spiders for weaving their webs and drinking the blood of the patrons, employees, and fans? When will the defiant arachnids realize their food source is in limited supply?
Prior to this past April’s draft, it wasn’t farfetched to believe a suitable veteran in the mold of Alex Smith could bring the Redskins on the verge of a playoff run. A soft landing for many, the Redskins were on pace to make the playoffs last season before the Alex Smith injury.
Following the draft, Bruce Allen paraded around various sports networks boasting another successful draft and repeated as much Monday. The confluence of energy is infuriating because a draft class can’t be graded in a vacuum.
The bait was hooked and the pool was stocked with fish. No reason to feel guilty. There was realistic optimism for an adequate season, but empty promises have exhausted this town. Fool me once – derp…Can’t get fooled again.
Underperforming is understandable, even forgivable, if the administration is liable. The Redskins leadership is absent. There is no optimistic reality when the president of a company is unrelentingly ignorant to the pulse of the current state.
Irony is not in short supply in Ashburn. There are highly regarded individuals in the scouting and coaching departments. Newly anointed offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell is auditioning for the head coaching position. Eric Schaffer is one of the better contract negotiators in the league and Kyle Smith is a promising scouting director.
The heights these individuals can reach though is uncertain as long as Allen oversees the entire operation. The winless Redskins have played poorly this season and are about to play the winless Miami Dolphins in a battle of the busts.
During the next eleven games, the Redskins need to determine which parts fit the cog and which need to be refurbished. Some of the players will need to be sent to the junkyard. Take a deep breath and embrace the suck.
The volunteers who will be employed to scrape this putrid death off the pavement are not responsible for the cleanup project, but with blind dedication will go about their daily routine. They have to stare into the distance at miles of endless highway with no receptacle to discard the remains.
As long as Bruce Allen remains in his current position, it is fair to question whether anything will change, because Bruce has continued to tell everyone that the resurrection is imminent. Until then, put the body back down and wait for the next truck hoping for a ride. Unfortunately, the circumstances could be eternal damnation.