Shanny has benched McNabb, Portis, Haynesworth and Dockery

[theredskinsfan]

Portis during the Rams game.

McNabb lions game.

Haynesworth Inactive games.

Dockery for Kory

Released Devin Thomas

Has Shanahan lost his mind?

[waldo2173]

It worked for Haynesworth. He holds everyone accountable regardless of paycheck, status, or reputation. I see nothing wrong with the moves, if in fact, they were because of effort during practice. Frankly the Redskins need discpline.

[rebornempowered]

Portis should have benched as soon as he started tripping over the yard lines a few years ago. Maybe it would have lit a fire under him.

[Duckus]

I didn't (and still don't) agree with McNabb's benching.

But, he has done well with Portis and AH in my opinion. 2 out of 3 is not bad.

[postong]

No...he just inherited a 4-12 team in which all of the players maintained a sense of entitlement despite their poor performance last year. Shanhan is bringing accountability to this franchise and rewarding hard work, discipline and team spirit. Give him time to get his guys in there....you can't change the culture of a franchise in half a season.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Dockery, too.

[Rdskn4Lyf21]

It's too early to determine whether the McNabb benching was stupid or not.

Portis and Al were the right decisions....look at how Al's been playing.

[Chachie]

He's sending messages and changing the culture of the Washington Redskins. It's a messy process but the fan base has been screaming for this to happen for 2-3 years. The veterans had gotten complacent and defiant. I find it silly how we all wanted a disciplined coach to run things his way and when we get one we can't understand why he enforces his rules.

[Chicken Fried]

I think all three benchings were good decisions. I especially support McNabb riding the pine for the end of the game. He looked confused out there, and I still get the feeling that he thinks he deserves the starting spot because of his performance in Philly. If his last name was Campbell, considering the way he's played this season, he might be second string permanently for the remainder of the year.

[SkinsCrushCowboys]

Most folks wanted a coach with some stones, or the opposite of Zorn. We get one and people begin to complain. While we may not agree with every decision, as he had said since training camp, "competition at every position". It is a dangerous rope to walk with high paid atheletes and may take some time, but I have confidence that ultimately the best players will take the field and be on board with the direction the coaching staff is moving. With that said, the timing of the DMAC change was odd, but if you take the name off the jersey and look soley at performance it is not at all suprising.

[BRAVEONAWARPATH]

It worked for Haynesworth.
Benching Haynesworth didn't work.

Allowing him to play to his strengths worked.

[dadirtbags]

no he has not lost his mind...he is a football coach trying to find ways to win games...Portis and Haynesworth didnt get benched last year...how many wins did we have again?

[Jeffro]

How about we just trust a coach who has won superbowls and is considered one of the top 5 coaches in the league? I trust the coach to make the decisions he feels best.

What I find ironic about this entire situation is if McNabb wouldn't have been benched and didn't lead us to a winning drive them there would be equal posts this week talking about how McNabb cost us the game. I think he did this to test McNabb to see if he truly is interested in being the long term quarterback of the Redskins and warrants getting a top level deal the next three years. If he doesn't respond then we move on, if he does then they can confidently give him the deal he wants to end his career.

I support the coach...

[Skinzfever2010]

I hope Galloway is next


Hail!

[Muzzah]

Uh, these guys were all extremely important parts of our team?
Portis was the only one I really didn't understand. Some time this franchise has to realize that players cant get the idea that they can get paid to come here and just mope around and cash checks for nothing.

[Skinzfever2010]

I hope Casey Rabach & Kemo find their way to the bench as well.

Time to start benching the sorry players on the time.


Hail!

[SKOALSKIN]

Yeah what was our record with that killer combo last year (except for McNabb). Our fan base is full of morons that buy into this media driven bull****. Haynesworth has finally gotten in line and I have yet to see him roll around on the ground waiting for the stretcher. Portis is great at pass protection, but can't run anymore. Dockery is too slow to block and we had some of our worst ground games with him in the lineup. Devin Thomas couldn't get on the field under Jim Zorn.

Shannahan is setting the tone and beating good teams. Back to back road games in the NFL are no joke. Let alone playing a team off the bye. The team is a suprising 4-4 and still in the play off hunt. What more do you want? We have an exciting football team that has proven it can step in the ring with anyone. With the lack of talent and age of our roster, thats a pretty good thing.

[S.T.real,lights,out]

No...he just inherited a 4-12 team in which all of the players maintained a sense of entitlement despite their poor performance last year. Shanhan is bringing accountability to this franchise and rewarding hard work, discipline and team spirit. Give him time to get his guys in there....you can't change the culture of a franchise in half a season.

Soooo Sexy Rexy has been working harder than DM? I would love to see just about any other QB put the numbers up the he has with our o-line and our WR's.

[Horton_Predator48]

Like everyone else has mentioned....These are the same players that were 4-12 last season. Nobody's starting role is safe. We're not in the locker room or team meetings, haven't won 2 Super Bowls or been in the business for over 30 years. I think I'll just trust Shanny and see if our record improves. HTTR.

[Duckus]

Most folks wanted a coach with some stones, or the opposite of Zorn. We get one and people begin to complain. While we may not agree with every decision, as he had said since training camp, "competition at every position". It is a dangerous rope to walk with high paid atheletes and may take some time, but I have confidence that ultimately the best players will take the field and be on board with the direction the coaching staff is moving. With that said, the timing of the DMAC change was odd, but if you take the name off the jersey and look soley at performance it is not at all suprising.

Right, we cried for accountability. We demanded competition at every position regardless of paycheck. We wanted someone who was not scared to stand up to these millionaires!!!!

But then we cry when those decisions are made. We all demand that player X or Y should be playing and base it off paychecks, past performances, or our amateur observations from TV. We ask for open competition and accountability but hate the results.

"But but but, why is he not playing? Why was he cut? Why does he not play more?"

I guess we could be the Cowboys and let the team run the show?

[Duckus]

Soooo Sexy Rexy has been working harder than DM? I would love to see just about any other QB put the numbers up the he has with our o-line and our WR's.

So we should have kept JC? He has a worse o-line last year? You don't want to go down that road. . . .

And no, I do not support McNabb being benched. But the "what if" the online was better is a tricky road.

[postong]

Soooo Sexy Rexy has been working harder than DM? I would love to see just about any other QB put the numbers up the he has with our o-line and our WR's.

I do not regularly attend practice, so I wouldn't know...do you?

I'm not jumping on McNabb's case, I'm simply supporting Mike Shanahan's philosophy. It's not like McNabb has been playing lights out, although I LOVE his pocket presence and escapability - something we haven't had in a QB in years. The underthrown balls and his poor decision making at times are killing us. Hell, for all we know when we were up 25-20 in the 4th maybe Kyle called a run play and McNabb checked out of it, threw the interception, and that's why he got benched. Either way, the coaching staff has their reasons for making the decisions they have made.

Back to the hard work and accountability thing. The coach has relayed to the media on multiple occasions the importance he places on hard work and discipline (Ryan Torain is a great example). Just as players can be benched, players can also be promoted, or given the opportunity to play. I goes both ways. Coach simply wants the hardest working players on the field and I don't blame him.

[postong]

Duckus, that sig is great!

[Woofer]

No...he just inherited a 4-12 team in which all of the players maintained a sense of entitlement despite their poor performance last year. Shanhan is bringing accountability to this franchise and rewarding hard work, discipline and team spirit. Give him time to get his guys in there....you can't change the culture of a franchise in half a season.

I agree, and we need to get the players with something to prove on the field. I've been saying for a long time, that the deep seated feeling that "we are the better team, so all we have to do is show up" attitude is why we always play down to the level of the competition.

The players need to learn that they have to PROVE themselves every game, every play. If they don't - have a seat and welcome to the NNT group.

[Morneblade]

Right, we cried for accountability. We demanded competition at every position regardless of paycheck. We wanted someone who was not scared to stand up to these millionaires!!!!

But then we cry when those decisions are made. We all demand that player X or Y should be playing and base it off paychecks, past performances, or our amateur observations from TV. We ask for open competition and accountability but hate the results.

"But but but, why is he not playing? Why was he cut? Why does he not play more?"

I guess we could be the Cowboys and let the team run the show?

Well, how about benching everyone that us stinking up the joint then, and not just certain individuals? Galloway is horrid and he's not benched. How about our starting Center and Left Guard? Casey and Cory have been abysmal. Or how about Kemo, who has obviously not recovered and is getting blown out as much as Rabach is? These guys have been worse, and are still starting (except Galloway) so why dont you explain that?

Oh, and while we are at it......does ANYONE think Grossman is better than McNabb in any situation? Seriously?

[PlayAction]

I don't have a problem with benching McNabb as he's been ineffective in the last several games (also against the Lions). I'd have preferred he sat out the game rather than have the controversy or potential dirty laundry aired out for the media. I'm not a fan of pulling a QB out during the game as I think long-term it's better to allow the struggling QB to work his way out of his issues. However, I think fans forget that the #2 QB is supposed to be able to come into a game and lead the team. If the coaches didn't have confidence in the #2 QB to run the called plays then they need to get a new #2 QB. The media is making it sound as if Grossman is the equivalent of Danny Wuerffel.

[Morneblade]

I don't have a problem with benching McNabb as he's been ineffective in the last several games (also against the Lions). I'd have preferred he sat out the game rather than have the controversy or potential dirty laundry aired out for the media. I'm not a fan of pulling a QB out during the game as I think long-term it's better to allow the struggling QB to work his way out of his issues. However, I think fans forget that the #2 QB is supposed to be able to come into a game and lead the team. If the coaches didn't have confidence in the #2 QB to run the called plays then they need to get a new #2 QB. The media is making it sound as if Grossman is the equivalent of Danny Wuerffel.

Dude, have you seen Grossman play? I"ll give you a hint, the one snap you saw on Sunday? That is pretty much Grossman in a nutshell. He is horrid.

[wildbill1952]

When in doubt, treat the symptoms and not the root cause. It doesn't work in the real world or football.

Symptom: Car radio doesn't work
Root cause: Dead battery. Car won't turn on.
Proposed Solution: Buy new radio

Symptom: Offense stinks.
Root cause: Poor OLine play.
Proposed Solution: Bench the QB, or the running back or a receiver

They make about equal sense.

[00Dirty30]

Shannnahan believe Game Manager Grossman could win us a game he's ****ing stupid.

[Peregrine]

Ok....so lets apply a little bit of reason here. I'm not defending Shanahan on everything, but how many of these players were Redskins fans actually happy with BEFORE this season.

Not Portis. Not Haynesworth. Not Dockery. Not Thomas. McNabb wasn't here yet.

So how then can you rip someone for doing what Redskins fans wanted done last year anyway? None of these guys have played well, at all, before being benched or cut.

[C26 Run]

I was wondering when a thread like this would come up.

It's amazing to me how so many people have this "In Shanny I trust" mentality. Look at the caliber of players he's benched. How can Kory L. be that much better than Dockery? I refuse to believe that. Dockery would certainly do a better job than Kory L. The inteior O-line has looked awful and Shannys' O-line coach has no answers.

McNabb shouldn't have been benched with a 1:50 left in the game. That's just plain dumb.

AH was villified and now he looks more and more sympathetic. The games he's played in, he's been everything advertised. He blows up the interior, forces plays to our LBs, and his speed off the D-end position got him a sack this past week.

:helmet:

[rookieskin]

I didn't (and still don't) agree with McNabb's benching.

But, he has done well with Portis and AH in my opinion. 2 out of 3 is not bad.


I agree with your first statement, however, given how Portis and AH have worked out am willing to give Shanny the benefit of the doubt, and see how this plays out.

I think he cracked under pressure, but who knows, maybe he had a legit beef with the way DMac prepares, and this is all that is necessary to get DMac on board.