TGS 2007 Football Preview Bonus: Washington Redskins

WASHINGTON—Much like the legendary Bud Wilkinson’s thoroughly forgettable return to the sidelines as coach of the 1978-79 St. Louis Cardinals, and Bill Walsh’s uneventful comeback at Stanford between 1992-94, we suspect that future generations of football historians won’t recall much from Joe Gibbs’ (left) second tour of duty as coach of the Redskins, which lurches into its fourth season this fall. With an unimpressive mark of 22-28 since ‘04, there hasn’t been much similarity between “Gibbs: The Sequel” and his wildly successful first run as Washington coach, which lasted 12 seasons between 1981-92 and included three Super Bowl trophies. So much for that supposed “three-year plan” in which Gibbs would restore the glory of Redskin football in D.C.

To the surprise, however, of many onlookers who thought Gibbs might quietly bow out after last year’s disappointing 5-11 mark, the Hall-of-Famer has indeed decided to give it one more try this fall. Perhaps the thought of going out on such a sour note spurred Gibbs to give it one more go in order to leave on his own terms. Many NFC East observers admit that Gibbs’ stature is probably the only thing preventing notoriously impatient owner Dan Snyder, a lifelong Skins fans and longtime Gibbs admirer, from hitting the eject button. Sources say the hard-to-identify “plus” of this arrangement is that as long as Gibbs is around, Snyder at least won’t meddle in on-field affairs as he has done with previous coaching regimes, although, a la Jerry Jones, he believes Gibbs and Player Personnel Director Vinny Cerrato listen to his input on personnel matters. Come on now, do they really?

Moreover, various insiders suspect the current DNA of the Skin operation is conducive to failure. Remember, Gibbs benefitted greatly in his first tenure from an effective tag-team partnership with GMs Bobby Beathard (left) and Charlie Casserly. The current front office structure is absent a true GM, or football operations director, leaving most of the decision-making to Gibbs. Some recent personnel misadventures (especially the wasteful signing of S Adam Archuleta) have been curious to say the least, and Gibbs’ strategy of relying on FAs and trades alienated some players, with resultant internal friction. And many believe Gibbs erred by overhauling the roster after the playoff year in ‘05. Now, most of the smart money around the beltway is betting that win or lose, 2007 will be Gibbs’ last act, and that Snyder is likely to break the bank to bring in Pete Carroll, Charlie Weis, or Bill Cowher as the next Washington coach. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, as 2007 must play out first.

And we’re not sure Gibbs is about to go out with a last hurrah. Another unfortunate byproduct of “Gibbs II” has been an identity crisis for an offense that has too often abandoned the old, power-oriented “Redskin football” Gibbs loves to promote. Indeed, no one was expecting the sort of a philosophical rift that developed between Gibbs and Assoc. Head Coach-Offense (the Skins’ fancy name for o.c.) Al Saunders, whose wide-open passing philosophy proved a poor fit for Gibbs and the available talent on hand a year ago. Moreover, there’s no guarantee that a switch to young QB Jason Campbell (right) down the stretch last season is an indication things are going to get better anytime soon. Granted, there’s quality depth in the backfield, with RB Clinton Portis hopefully back from the nagging hurts (shoulder and hand) that curtailed his ‘06 campaign, and Ladell Betts proving more than an adequate caddy after rushing for 1154 yards in relief. But the combination of a still-learning Campbell and vet Mark Brunell’s shot arm couldn’t properly utilize some potentially dangerous WRs last year (Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El both underachieving), with short throws to TE Chris Cooley the preferred passing option.

If only Gibbs’ problems ended with the offense. The “D” suffered an alarming dropoff last season, nearly falling all of the way to the bottom in ‘06 (ranking 31st overall) after placing 9th in total defense the previous year. The main reason could be tracked to the pass rush, or lack thereof, after generating only 19 sacks (and just 13 by the DL!) a year ago. Thus, reinforcements along the DL figured as the top priority in the draft (right?) until Gibbs threw a Barry Zito-like curveball and instead opted for LSU S LaRon Landry in the first round, ignoring upgrades at DE during the draft as he mostly did in free agency. It would very unlikely to assume another of LY’s free-agent busts, DE Andre Carter (left) , suddenly rediscovers his form and spearheads a reinvigorated pass rush. A familiar dip into the free agent pool has yielded a couple of defensive playmakers (MLB London Fletcher via Buffalo, and CB Fred Smoot, a onetime Skin most recently at Minnesota) who will be asked to step in and contribute immediately. But given Gibbs’ recent luck with free agents, who knows if either will provide much help?

Bottom line...Unless we’re misreading what appear to be some obvious signals, the Gibbs experiment looks destined to go down as the latest failure of the Dan Snyder era. By continually remaking themselves, the Skins have lost their identity, and without a proper front office structure, there’s only so much even Gibbs can do. And with a suspect “D” and unproven QB in Campbell, we’re sure not expecting any pleasant surprises this fall.

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