Vinny and Dan don't understand what Team Identity means and why that matters.

[Destino]

This is not another slam on the lack of players and talent; this is an examination of something that comes before the final product, the confusion from the top that affects all aspects of the organization. The team has been said by many to have no identity but usually we follow that up with talk about running the ball too much or running the ball too little. This is a mistake and a short sighted definition.

Team identity is something that can be seen easily in all the top football clubs in the NFL.
The Steelers, Colts, Eagles, and Patriots are all good examples of teams who know what and who they are year in and year out. They draft players that fit their philosophy and hire coaches that do the same. The Steelers when replacing Cowher did not go out and grab a coach that varied from their style of football, they found a guy that was of the same mold. Do the Colts look dramatically different to any of you now? No, they still play the same style of football. They know who they are, what they have, and what type of person they need to bring in to compliment their team, instead of changing it.

The Redskins are the exact opposite of this and I’m not just talking players. Take a look:

Norv Tuner: A progressive offensive mind in football that doesn’t run an offense your grand daddy would recognize. He was the last coach DC had that generated a serious offense. Sadly as a head coach he just isn’t as good as he is as an offensive coordinator so he had to go.

So who do we get?

Marty Schottenheimer: This guy’s philosophy is old school to an extreme. Crazy practice schedules and hard nose offense that sets out to run over teams not surprise them. He couldn’t be more different from Norv Turner without coaching in another sport. Sadly he wanted too much control and Dan Snyder wasn’t impressed enough with him to surrender it.

So who do we get?

Steve Spurrier: Wizard of the pitch and catch. He doesn’t know what hardnosed football is and he doesn’t behave like any field general I’ve ever seen. Long hours? Not for this guy, the golf course is calling. Let’s just get out there and throw it around a little bit and see what we get? Shockingly his California dreaming coaching style failed and he jumped off the plane before it hit the mountain side he and millions of Redskins fans could see coming.

So who do we get?

Joe Gibbs: This man is the anti-Spurrier. Long hours and hardnosed football is the foundation of a successful team. Unlike the nobodies Spurrier brought in here Gibbs has always favored bigger names in free agency. Pitch and catch is great but it comes after a steady dose of counter trey. Gibbs is all about sweat, blood, and heart. He was all about an all star coaching staff with big named assistant coaches. But even 5 million a year couldn’t keep him around for year 5 and he traded in fast backs for faster cars and returned to NASCAR.

So who do we get?

Jim Zorn: The west coast QB coach from the Seahawks. This is the quiet spoken soft hearted man that no one saw coming. The diamond in the rough that Danny and Vinny found that would stun the league. Unlike Gibbs’ big name staff structure Zorn got virtually no staff on offense and chose to pretty much wear every hat that Bugle wasn’t wearing on that side of the ball. Well here we are and it’s not working…

So who WILL we get?

Odds are good it won’t be a coach that fits our players or personnel and when we fail it will be because of the media, the coaches, the players, or injuries. No one will bother to mention that you can’t build a house if you change the blueprints every day. How exactly do you match the players to the offense if you change your offense every year?

Now let's look at the other side of the ball where we have had consistency. Notice that the defense has found players that fit, has actually found some gems in the draft, and has been a consistent performer on the field? We lose Gregg Williams but keep his top assistant and the defense is still there keeping us in games year in and year out. We don't have the best pass rusher or the best corner but they perform. Some would just take this for granted and call us lucky. I think it's more than that I think it's an Identity that has remained solid despite the mess we've seen in other units.

[loren]

Great post. This is also what the Orioles have lost under their terrible owner. There used to be an "Oriole Way", and guys in the organization were taught that from day one, and it permeated the organization. No surprise the Orioles were once one of the premier franchises in the league.

The Redskins used to have a "Redskins way" they seem to have lost now.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Good post...hopefully come 2010 it will only matter if the next GM understands the concept of an organizational identity, philosophy, and direction.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

The change from Martyball to the Fun and Gun was enough to give you whiplash.

Still, the most puzzling move in Danny's tenure is seeing Joe Gibbs leave and deciding that what we needed to replace him was the WCO.

And the really funny thing is that the coach he originally wanted to preside over the WCO installation was Spagnola.

This is like going to an Italian restaurant and demanding Thai food from French chef.

[mcgraw238]

Great post. Vinny and Dan collect names without any regard to how they fit into the system.

[bulldog]

Vinny has never earned respect in the league. That was obvious in 2001 when he was fired by Marty and couldn't find another NFL job.

The fact Snyder has continued to support Cerrato and use him as his primary stalking horse with the Redskins for the past 7 years after Marty left is just evidence of how arrogant and off-putting Snyder is.

Snyder in Washington is about as popular now as Ted Stepien was in Cleveland with the Cavaliers back in the 1980's when he traded 5 #1 draft choices in a row and was forced to sell the team by David Stern.

[HigSkin]

I think if you look at all those coaches, the team took on the personality of that coach. That's how those team's identities were established.

[Destino]

I think if you look at all those coaches, the team took on the personality of that coach. That's how those team's identities were established.

But no team was ever built around one.

[LadySkinsFan]

I was watching the game last night with the sound off while talking on the phone with a friend. The faces of our players in the 2nd half told the whole story. They couldn't believe what was happening! Disbelief, disgust, frustration were all reflected there.

Sad, really. And mostly because our O-line is so bad. I really can't understand why the O-line needs weren't addressed in the last 2 years. I feel sorry for the players, really, who go out there are try their best (even the O-line).

And why do our DBs still playing so far off? Blache has not installed an aggressive D like Gregg Williams had.

I see lots of problems.

[fredskins47]

Great well thought out post. Maybe we should get a head coach with a defensive background rather than offensive for once. If you notice, most of the top tier HC's are from the defensive side of the ball: Bellichick, Dungy (I know he is out), Tomlin, Coughlin, Smith, Harbaugh, etc. I know some are successful from offense. Thanks for a great post.

[Stadium-Armory]

Great post. This is also what the Orioles have lost under their terrible owner. There used to be an "Oriole Way", and guys in the organization were taught that from day one, and it permeated the organization. No surprise the Orioles were once one of the premier franchises in the league.

The Redskins used to have a "Redskins way" they seem to have lost now.

Good call using the "Oriole Way" analogy. I remember it well: Pitching, defense, and 3 run homers. Still, 20 years later, I remember it.

[Painkiller]

The Redskins used to have a "Redskins way" they seem to have lost now.

The Redskins way now is "Snyder's Way" or ELSE

[The Waterboy]

Hind sight is a great thing. Looking in the mirror, a WCO was doomed to failure in the NFC-East... just as the Fun-n-Gun was doomed. Everyone in the conference played hard-nosed old time football, not any of that sissy WCO stuff.

To have a FNG or WCO offense and a hardnosed defense gave the team a split personality.... or no personality. No longer the "HOGS" on offense paired with a "NOT IN OUR HOUSE" defense, the team lost its roots. Now its a down and dirty defense paired with ballet slippers offense.

Yep, the original poster has nailed it .... when you lose your identity, you don't know who you are. The problem is that that opens the door for everyone else to label you... and that then becomes your identity.

The Redskins have become defined by Dan (er... Mr.) Synder's reputation as the "Team that Can't Shoot Straight". When you look up "Keystone Cops" in the dictionary, there is the team photo - with the Coach, GM and Dan (er... Mr.) Synder prominently in the front row with blank stares on their faces.

The misery will go on and on, until Dan (er.. Mr.) Synder decides he doesn't want to be the definition of the Redskins' identity. When Dan (er...Mr.) Synder decides that the TEAM is first, and he is satisified just to bask in its glory then things will turn around. But as long as Dan (er...Mr.) Synder is the team's identity, then we will have a continuing identity crisis and little hope of recovery.

[HigSkin]

But no team was ever built around one.

But, they all either brought in players familar with their style and systems or players with a specific "character". All of these things helped develop a teams personalities.

[Theismann07]

This is not another slam on the lack of players and talent; this is an examination of something that comes before the final product, the confusion from the top that affects all aspects of the organization. The team has been said by many to have no identity but usually we follow that up with talk about running the ball too much or running the ball too little. This is a mistake and a short sighted definition.

Team identity is something that can be seen easily in all the top football clubs in the NFL.
The Steelers, Colts, Eagles, and Patriots are all good examples of teams who know what and who they are year in and year out. They draft players that fit their philosophy and hire coaches that do the same. The Steelers when replacing Cowher did not go out and grab a coach that varied from their style of football, they found a guy that was of the same mold. Do the Colts look dramatically different to any of you now? No, they still play the same style of football. They know who they are, what they have, and what type of person they need to bring in to compliment their team, instead of changing it.

The Redskins are the exact opposite of this and I’m not just talking players. Take a look:

Norv Tuner: A progressive offensive mind in football that doesn’t run an offense your grand daddy would recognize. He was the last coach DC had that generated a serious offense. Sadly as a head coach he just isn’t as good as he is as an offensive coordinator so he had to go.

So who do we get?

Marty Schottenheimer: This guy’s philosophy is old school to an extreme. Crazy practice schedules and hard nose offense that sets out to run over teams not surprise them. He couldn’t be more different from Norv Turner without coaching in another sport. Sadly he wanted too much control and Dan Snyder wasn’t impressed enough with him to surrender it.

So who do we get?

Steve Spurrier: Wizard of the pitch and catch. He doesn’t know what hardnosed football is and he doesn’t behave like any field general I’ve ever seen. Long hours? Not for this guy, the golf course is calling. Let’s just get out there and throw it around a little bit and see what we get? Shockingly his California dreaming coaching style failed and he jumped off the plane before it hit the mountain side he and millions of Redskins fans could see coming.

So who do we get?

Joe Gibbs: This man is the anti-Spurrier. Long hours and hardnosed football is the foundation of a successful team. Unlike the nobodies Spurrier brought in here Gibbs has always favored bigger names in free agency. Pitch and catch is great but it comes after a steady dose of counter trey. Gibbs is all about sweat, blood, and heart. He was all about an all star coaching staff with big named assistant coaches. But even 5 million a year couldn’t keep him around for year 5 and he traded in fast backs for faster cars and returned to NASCAR.

So who do we get?

Jim Zorn: The west coast QB coach from the Seahawks. This is the quiet spoken soft hearted man that no one saw coming. The diamond in the rough that Danny and Vinny found that would stun the league. Unlike Gibbs’ big name staff structure Zorn got virtually no staff on offense and chose to pretty much wear every hat that Bugle wasn’t wearing on that side of the ball. Well here we are and it’s not working…

So who WILL we get?

Odds are good it won’t be a coach that fits our players or personnel and when we fail it will be because of the media, the coaches, the players, or injuries. No one will bother to mention that you can’t build a house if you change the blueprints every day. How exactly do you match the players to the offense if you change your offense every year?

Now let's look at the other side of the ball where we have had consistency. Notice that the defense has found players that fit, has actually found some gems in the draft, and has been a consistent performer on the field? We lose Gregg Williams but keep his top assistant and the defense is still there keeping us in games year in and year out. We don't have the best pass rusher or the best corner but they perform. Some would just take this for granted and call us lucky. I think it's more than that I think it's an Identity that has remained solid despite the mess we've seen in other units.

Great post. This is a concept that 'ol Danny and Vinny have been unable to grasp. Everyone else around the league and those of us who bleed burgundy and gold have realized that this is a cornerstone for any organization to be successful, but these two yahoos can't seem to put their hands around it. Totally an alien idea to them.

The Snyder era has been marked by a lack of identity since he took over. The result, of course, has been totally exposed in the crash 'n burn of this season. We have a collection of individuals.....not a team. This has been the case for the last 10 years. No identity...no team or organizational cohesiveness.

There was a thread from the other day that talked about what would happen if the '09 team played the '83 team. A lot of people responded by saying that the '09 team would steam roll due to the modern players being bigger, faster, and stronger. To an extent, the physical difference is true, although I will argue the Hogs, but I will take my bets with the '83 team. Why....because they had an identity....they had character...and most of all.....they were a "team". Something that this organization has unfortunately failed to be under the Snyder regime.

Once again, I will say, that for the last 10 years the focus has always been on the front office/upper management....not where it's supposed to be...on the footbal field.

It's time to take back our team. Please, Mister Dan, do the right thing.....fire Vinny....sell the team...do whatever it takes to give back to the fanbase their once proud franchise and get the hell out of the way of progress. You've created this mess now step aside and go f**k something else up. Your presence is no longer desired on the Warpath.

Thank you.

HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!