Smash mouth football

No matter how much we love high power offenses, the Redskins have always won when they get back to basics, and just run over their opponent.

Coming into the game, Denver's rush defense was allowing less than 100 yards per game. Betts showed the difference practicing most of the year with the offensive line makes, and rushed for 114 yards (team had 174 yards).

Kelley, Thomas, and Davis all had catches and looked like they may finally be on their way to producing for this team. Devin especially looked great on a crucial third and 3 screen pass where he broke a bunch of tackles and looked much like Brandon Marshall on his way to inside the 5.

This was a Gibbs style win, no turnovers, smash mouth football, and the lower paid players making the plays -- playing with heart and as a team.

I gotta say it, this was an enjoyable game to watch.

Media Banned from Talking with Tailgaters

CBS Evening News anchor Derek McGinty reported on WUSA's News at 11 that the Redskins are banning media interviewers from talking with fans on the FedEx Field premises. (He also mentioned FanExodus.com -- check it out on the Media page.)

This is the latest development in a string of eerily authoritarian tactics by Snyder aimed at silencing disgruntled Redskins fans. The signage policy at FedEx Field reportedly changed Sunday night -- just in time for Monday's game -- and there have been anecdotal reports of anti-Snyder materials being confiscated by security. DC Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg was asked to remove pictures of a fan wearing an anti-Snyder t-shirt from his blog the other day, and we're still speculating about what happened to burgundyrevolution.com.

The Redskins are on The Onion's radar

Even The Onion is now writing pieces on how sorry the Redskins are. I apologize for missing this gem, but it's still just as applicable today as it was last week.

New funny Danny video

Danny just sent in his latest video. These are fantastic, and the Redskins circus is providing no shortage of material.



Keep up the good work. Between you and Riggins we're getting some great entertainment.



How great would it be for these two to combine talents?

Open letter to Joe Gibbs from one of our readers

I received this letter from a fan a couple of weeks ago and have been waiting for a good time to post it. I think it summarizes what a lot of us are feeling as longtime fans, and while I sincerely doubt Snyder will ever sell the Redskins, maybe Joe Gibbs could lend him some advice to reign in his destructive meddling.

I think this letter also effectively states what this site is about. We're not Redskins "haters" (as Larry Michael used to say), but genuinely care enough about the future of our franchise to make our voices heard, while still standing by our team. Maybe we should just walk away like Mike Wise has suggested:

"I would tell fans this: remember those times, keep them in your heart always. But it's time to move on. You can't let memories from two decades ago rule your feelings today. It's like hanging onto a relationship that was over years ago."

For whatever reason though, we just cannot walk away. Here is the letter:

Dear Joe Gibbs,

Is there any chance that you would consider becoming the new owner of the Washington Redskins? You’ve always said that Washington is a great sports town, and as you know it is a football town above all else. As you also know, the team and its fans are hurting right now, and I think you could be the one to fix it.

I know that you are retired and that you need to spend time with your family. And certainly becoming the owner of a professional football franchise would take time and energy. But being an owner would require far less time than being a coach.

You have already demonstrated your ownership interests and skills in NASCAR, and we all know how much love and knowledge you have of football.

Plus, you are the kind of owner the team needs right now – someone who is loved and trusted in Washington and around the League, who can inspire and motivate the coaches, players, and fans. You would make the Redskins a desirable franchise to work for again, and as a result you could hire the kinds of gifted men who could rebuild the organization.

At this time, the Redskins desperately need an owner who can select expert football minds: a general manager like Bobby Beathard to evaluate players and manage field personnel; a top-flight head coach who will surround himself with wise assistants and motivate his team to strive and succeed. You would let your personnel use their expertise to manage the team, rather than the day-to-day and player-by-player meddling the team has known recently.

Throughout the NFL, people would be thrilled and excited to work for you in reviving the Redskins. Your leadership would help to build a roster of coaches and players committed to winning and, more important, committed to each other.

Of course, the current Redskins owner may have no interest in selling the team. But like so many of us, he was a Redskins fan in his youth, and Joe Gibbs was his hero. If anyone can convince him to act in the interest of the team, it is you. I hope he could take pleasure in selling the team to his boyhood idol and then watching it flourish.

I know that in the scheme of things, football is of limited importance – a lot less important than the needs of your family. Let me just say that when I grew up in the DC area in the 1980s and 1990s, the Redskins teams you led were a great source of joy. My father and I still enjoy watching the Redskins together as we did when I was young, although the team’s current state is frustrating. Your leadership and the hard work of the players you coached inspired pride across the Washington region.

I now hope to raise my own children to enjoy Redskins football with me as I did with my father. I would love for them to see your Redskins revived, not only so they can win games, but also so they can show what it means to be a good and well-led team.

Please consider doing one more service for your team and city.

Sincerely,

A fan

CP and Redskins Nation

I was watching the highly analytical commentary of "Redskins Nation" last night on CSN last night. All I keep hearing from outlets such as these is what a hard worker Clinton Portis is. I think it's time to speak out against this. How is anyone who doesn't practice considered a hard worker?

I'm not here to argue about CP's skill, but I think that while he may have been hard worker in the past, not practicing certainly doesn't make him one now. And why would he practice? I wouldn't practice if I had all my money for last year, this year, and part of next year guaranteed.

Those type of incentives destroy teams. Portis is the favored son of Snyder, and untouchable by Zorn. Publicly speaking out against your coach is always a bad thing, but one can start to see why Portis feels untouchable when he's guaranteed to be paid.

Listen to this Crowd

No not today, but back when this franchise had dignity:



By the way, Darryl Grant was drafted in the 9th round of the 1981 draft, as an offensive guard.

This video was mailed in by a reader (thanks!) -- send us videos like this, it'll be much better watching these than this Monday's game, that's for sure.

BurgundyRevo Has Vanished

So burgundyrevolution.com is mysteriously gone. Dunno what happened -- the Twitter account is gone too, but the last post said something along the lines of "I'm going away for a while." I wonder if the big men at the top had something to say to our friends.

At this point, it's all conjecture. But if this site suddenly disappears, you can guess what happened.

Zorn is a class act

Coach Zorn. We know you have been placed into an impossible situation. Your players know this. Redskins Nation knows this. Our front office first decided that they should hire coordinators before the head coach... (What other football organization operates like that?) Then you were picked after everyone else turned Snyder and Cerrato down.

I have so much trouble watching your press conferences and other media appearances. You shoulder most of the blame, like a real leader should, when most of it belongs to Snyder and Vinny (you didn't even apply for the job!). Now I hear Vinny wants someone else to call his plays. I know you won't retort with what you're thinking -- Can I have someone else to pick my players? We here at FANEXODUS will though. Snyder and Cerrato refused the players call to publicly support you, they brought in Sherman Lewis to watch you, and now they want to strip you of play calling.

Coach, I think you should realize that the Redskins organization is poisonous, and leave before this circus is over (Sally Jenkins recommended this first). I would step down now, and let Snyder and Cerrato attempt to fix their mess. We the fans won't blame you. Just hire a financial advisor, you probably don't even need to work again.

Quite frankly, it's unfair to you, your family, and I'd get out now before Snyder and Cerrato finish putting you through the grinder. Turn it upside down on them, and quit while they don't expect it. Normally that would be career suicide, but seriously, would anyone else in the NFL hold it against you?

Zorn you are a class act, we salute you, and won't blame you for leaving. You're not the problem with this organization.

Pledge Update

We've updated the pledge. We were getting feedback that Cerrato's dismissal did not figure prominently enough in our demands. Here's John Riggins' tweet on the matter. Furthermore, in attempting to capture the sentiments of the entire Redskins fan base we think we made the pledge too long. All the original points still appear in the pledge, but they are not visible unless requested.

For all of you who have already signed the pledge, don't worry -- it's the same content. It's just been streamlined, so that hopefully we can garner even more support in what we know is a universally supported cause.

Fans Are Responding

There aren't a whole lot of fans at the game. The sentiment is spreading. Check out this and 'Redskins Anonymous'. It's funny because it's true (h/t DC Sports Bog).



Update: I'm pretty sure somebody put the audio from John Madden and Pat Summerall's Super Bowl XXVI broadcast on CBS while the TV signal went dead. Was I the only one who heard that?

Take a Look at Burgundy Revolution

I think Kevin has articulated things pretty well over at burgundyrevolution.com. Here's what's going on Sunday.

Check Out the Action Page

From now on, we'll periodically post new fan "actions" on the Action page. Whatever Redskins fans are deciding to do in any given week, we'll post it so you know about it. As you know, we're looking for ways to harness the power of numbers against Snyder's bottom line.

The first action we posted is a boycott suggested on ESPN 980 by columnist and author John Feinstein. Click the ACTION tab to see it. We think it's a good idea, and if you have good ideas for the following weeks, feel free to post them as comments to this post so we can keep track of them. We'll publish the ideas that are appropriate and seem to have widespread support from fans. Also, if public figures endorse specific actions, we'll certainly be considering those as well.

So keep it civil -- but if you have any ideas, share them as comments on this post.

Wilbon's On Point

Mike Wilbon defended Carlos Rogers' assessment of the situation over at the Washington Redskins today, laying the blame for the organization's struggles squarely at the feet of Dan Snyder.

"See, Snyder is great at the business side of the Redskins but the exact opposite when it comes to the football operations side. Football isn't instinctive to Snyder and it's never going to be, no matter how many fat checks he signs, no matter how many times he sits and stares out at practice."

I think Wilbon's analysis is dead-on, and it perfectly expresses what we're trying to say at this site. But I would quibble with his framing of the terms. "Football operations" is really the other half of the "business side." No one wants to pay the Redskins to suck.

I don't think Snyder's business model is a sustainable one. He's intent on squeezing as much money out of fans as possible while failing to provide us with what is ultimately the product we seek: a winning team. B-school 101: maintain a successful company by pleasing the customer.

We Still Love the Players

As we get more signatures, I want to reiterate something that isn't necessarily apparent from our pledge: we support our players and Coach Zorn. We take issue primarily with management.

I'm not sure what the right combination of players and coaches is. I am sure, however, that Snyder and Cerrato don't know.

More of the Same

Jim Zorn is still employed, but it seems the coach search is on.

Rick Snider reports that "Snyder is seeking is a candidate willing to leave major personnel decisions to Cerrato and the owner," which leaves former Bucs coach Jon Gruden as the top pick, speculators say.

Listening to the press conference after Sunday's loss to the Panthers, it sounds like Zorn would like an o-line if he could get one. When asked by a reporter how he expects to run any kind of an offense with the line the way it is, Zorn responded that the Skins will have to make do with what they have, and reiterated that it's really his responsibility to make his offense produce in spite of such a handicap.

"We made strong efforts to seek a free agent on the o-line," but things just haven't panned out. Why haven't they gone for some linemen in the draft? "We felt other players were better -- and, you know -- higher on the board at that particular time."

If Snyder hires Gruden so he and Cerrato can continue to avoid building an o-line, I don't expect his tenure as head coach to end well.

Memory Lane

Before Synder fires Zorn, let's take a trip down memory lane.

Remember when Marty Schottenheimer was hired? To give you some context, Marty was hired the season after Deion Sanders played his one and only season with the skins. At that point we already had some bad Snyder experiences, the renaming of Jack Kent Cooke stadium, signing Jeff George to quite a large deal for a backup, Bruce Smith, and the midseason firing of Norv Turner.

Here is the press conference announcing the Marty hiring:
Part I:


Part II:


I remember thinking at this point in time that Synder had learned his lesson. That giving has-beens golden parachutes was a thing of the past, and that he had realized he was not cut out to manage football operations. He gave Marty complete control, and Marty produced.

Here are Marty's words from the end of the press conference (emphasis added):

The single most important thing, and there's former players sitting in this group back here, the most important thing that a professional athlete asks is this..

'Is the organization I'm affiliated with committed to winning?' Because frankly, if the athlete don't feel the commitment isn't in evidence, I don't think they provide you with the commitment is necessary.

Those of you that have been around this organization since Dan Snyder took over, I would suggest that there is no doubt of the commitment of this gentleman to winning a championship. That's the goal, that's the objective, I'm not sure how quick it happens, but i know it begins today, and it begins today in a partnership, in which two individuals have to begin the process developing the kind of trust and interaction that I have no doubt Dan Synder and I will achieve.

Marty was fired after one season, after in that season, becoming the first team in NFL history to lose five games in a row, followed by winning the next five in a row.

Ted Leonsis, Fans First

What real owners do, and what this site hopes to get from Dan Synder:
Ted's Take - His Pledges to the Fans
http://www.tedstake.com/2009/09/28/pledges/

(h/t Leonard Shapiro, So Many Questions, but No Answers From Snyder

I also think it would be a good exercise for the upper level management to attend some Capitals games this year, and see what the atmosphere Ted Leonsis has created. Some guys just really love playing the game they're being paid for:
The Caps Really like Playing Hockey, a Lot

Seriously, I'm not a hockey guy, but I started getting into the caps last season -- it's FUN, and really FUN to be rooting for an organization not only committed to winning, but by putting out a quality product.

Oh well, Synder and Cerrato are brining in Sherman Lewis as an 'offensive consultant'. I have no problem with Lewis, but it's hard to get over the fact that this is yet another meddling owner intervention. I mean really, who needs an offensive consultant when ALL THE FANS KNOW THE PROBLEM: LET'S BUILD UP the O-LINE. Doing anything in the meantime is just premature, let alone the signals it sends to the organization, Zorn, and future head coaches.