The Takeaways, Week 14: Giants at Redskins
December 11, 2018
by Steve Thomas
The Washington Redskins embarrassed themselves on Sunday. Putting aside the brief, too little, too late slight resurgence during garbage time in the fourth quarter, this team essentially did nothing right all day and allowed a 4 – 8 team to dominate in a way that seemed like it was the varsity vs. a JV squad. It was one of the more humiliating losses we’ve seen in recent years at Fed Ex Field, one that harkened back to the terrible, franchise-changing 2013 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Monday Night Massacre at the hands of the Eagles in 2010. This was that bad, and the worst part about it was that this game was a fight for the 2018 season. A win would’ve kept hope alive, but this loss effectively ends things. For the team to play so badly at home, against a bitter division rival with a losing record, with the season on the line, is inexcusable and reflects poorly on the entire organization, from the front office, to the coaching staff, and the players. I don’t want to hear another word from the players ever again about how the fans didn’t cheer loudly enough for the team to be able to win. The season effectively ended on Sunday; there’s no coming back from a loss like this. Playing out the string starts next Sunday.
This team was unprepared, unmotivated, and quit
I was really shocked at the level of sheer apathy that this team showed from the get-go. Yes, the defense had a decent first quarter in that they forced the Giants into a few three and outs to start the game, but by and large, the Redskins looked like they didn’t care one way or the other about winning this game on either side of the ball. I saw a lack of effort across the board and an insanely high level of mistakes, including penalties (live, I counted 15; don’t hold me to that), to blown coverages, linebackers out of position, linemen getting manhandled on both sides of the ball, and on and on. The coaching staff had a bad day from a play calling perspective – I have nothing against Jehu Chesson necessarily, but (a) why are you running a jet sweep when it’s never worked before, and (b) if you’re going to do the jet sweep, why is it run for a guy who’s barely played? That’s just one example; there were others. The point is that this franchise asked fans to support the team, has been practically begging fans to buy tickets all year long, and had players blaming the fans for not cheering, and the response is a four game losing streak highlighted by one of the most embarrassing losses in recent memory?
The Mark Sanchez experiment was a failure
Based on quarterback Mark Sanchez’s better than terrible performance filling in for the injured Colt McCoy last week, I thought it seemed possible that he would at least post a competent performance, even if it wasn’t an All-Pro caliber outing. I was very wrong. Even understanding that Sanchez has only been in the building two weeks, he demonstrated a total lack of situational awareness, couldn’t properly read the field, and held the ball far too long. It just didn’t work for him on Sunday. I thought it was possible (even though I wasn’t in favor of it) that if Sanchez played fairly well in these last four games he might be back next season as a result of Alex Smith’s uncertain status. After Sunday, that thought appears to be unwarranted. It wasn’t necessarily all his fault, and I do give him credit for obviously caring. That’s more than I can say for a good number of his teammates, particularly his offensive line, which had its worst game of the season. However, the results speak for themselves. The offense was utterly ineffective under his leadership.
The Josh Johnson experiment will be a failure
Yes, Josh Johnson came into the game, got the offense out of the ditch and scored, which was good, and I don’t want to minimize that, but we’ve seen the Josh Johnson movie before. A big component of his game is his legs, and while that’s great for now on a team that has very little else going for it, that sort of play isn’t sustainable on a long-term basis (see Griffin, Robert). I do support starting him against the Jaguars next week, because if all else fails he can at least run, but it’s very unlikely that Johnson is going to mysteriously and suddenly morph into a consistent pocket passing quarterback. Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble on that one. Perhaps Johnson can invigorate this team to the point that they can win a game or two down the stretch, but even if Johnson doesn’t get injured it’s very, very unlikely that he’s next year’s starter. Johnson’s success came in the garbage time of all garbage times against a Giants team that was playing a soft zone to prevent the big play and had long since taken its foot off the gas. They hadn’t game-planned for Johnson’s mobility at all. I’m all for The Josh Johnson Experience next week, but don’t be surprised if things turn out differently.
The defense was manhandled for 3 quarters by a 4 – 8 team
What the heck has caused this defense to become a shell of itself? This unit has been downright pathetic during the last two weeks in particular. I recognize that we all probably overrated them early in the year, but still: based on the resources invested, this unit was supposed to be better than this, and they just haven’t been. Period. The stats don’t lie. The Giants mostly manhandled the front seven and the secondary once again blew multiple coverages. The inside linebackers group was embarrassed yet again, and the interior defensive line didn’t make much of an impact beyond the start of the game except for a couple of sacks. I have nothing positive to say about the defensive performance on Sunday. These players have checked out and are looking forward to their six month vacation.
Burn it down
I try not to be hyperbolic when it comes to game reactions in particular, but this season has showed that it’s time to end this iteration of the Washington Redskins. The coaching staff has posted enough stinkers (such as today) to convince me that they can’t get the job done. More importantly, the team leadership has failed to establish a consistent winner. It is my considered opinion that Mr. Snyder needs to fire this entire staff, including the team president, and start over from scratch with a new team president who is an outsider to this organization. It’s the only way to break the cycle of losing and terrible decision making. The franchise needs to be remade from ground up by someone who knows how a consistently winning professional sports franchise is supposed to operate, because this group doesn’t know what to do. Just firing the coach at the end of the year isn’t going to do anything but cause the cycle to repeat. Someone needs to pick better players; players who aren’t slaves to the injury list, who don’t quit when things get tough, and who have speed and talent. Someone needs to select coaches who not only know how to motivate, but who are also capable of producing disciplined teams that operate at a high level with creative and advanced schemes on both sides of the ball. Someone needs to hire a general manager. That clearly isn’t going to happen as this franchise is currently constructed. Do it, Mr. Snyder. It’s for the good of the franchise.
That’s it for The Takeaways this week. The Redskins travel to Jacksonville next week to face the Jaguars. My hope is to be able to write a more positive edition of this column after that contest. Don’t hold your breath.