HTTR24-7:Interview Transcript W/ Michael Lombardi 11/14/12..

[DC9]

What was the miscalculation between last year's and this year's football team outside of the Quarterback position?

I think he was talking about the defense this year and last year everyone was high on John Beck and even Rex because of how we performed in the pre-season. Marshall Faulk, Lombardi, a lot of cats said we were "for real" after beating the Colts and Steelers and playing very well against the Ravens first team.

Mike Lombardi:

If he knows all of this, then he should know that Mike Shanahan has been hindered for the past three seasons even while not having a stellar personnell department.

Oh, but this is the same department that discovered Alfred Morris but even a blind squirrel finds a nut right.

Morris is a great fit within the system. It's also the same department that missed on Dennis Moore, Erik Cook, Selvish Capers, etc. You take the good with the bad.

By no means do I think Shanny has been given and easy job:

- the uncapped year in 2010 led to the worst free agency class in the history of the NFL...
- the lockout in 2011 led to a frenzy of a week of condensed signing the likes of which we'd never seen... and we had no real quarterback
- the cap penalties in 2012 killed us. There is no way around that. It killed us.

My biggest gripe is not necissarily with his personnel moves, but with the coaching. I think there is some talent on this team, not as much as most, but there is some talent, but my gripe is with how that talent is being developed and coached, who is developing and coaching the talent, and the overall coaching on the field during the games. To me, it's not the right guys for the job on all three sides of the ball.

[WhoRUSupposed2Be]

Lombardi has been a die hard skins fan since he was a kid and he happens to be boys with Shanahan.I understand his opinions may not be popular but they do hold some weight. Everybody loved Lombardi being on the podcast over the offseason but now the message is not as positive and its a issue?

Trust me I did not enjoy hearing all of this but to many people in NFL circles this is the reality the Redskins are in right now. I would love to hear we are going to win the super bowl from everyone we interview but that just isn't going to happen.

I also would of debated with Lombardi but I really couldn't disagree and felt more like I just took a hammer to the heart.. I think he does bring up great talking points as well bro.

So, what has to happen in your honest opinion and I am not reverting back to your thread that you started discussing whether or not we should retain Shanahan.

Did Snyder really yell out to Mike "What the hell am I paying you 7 mil for?" if he couldn't get McNabb to wear a wristband?

[WhoRUSupposed2Be]

As a Redskins fan, I know the trials and tribulations we've had with coaches the past decade and change... but to me, I think a guy like Mike has come in here and done one thing very well... he's changed the culture of the team. This is a young team now with some talent, a couple of building blocks, and some very raw players that could be very good, okay, or not pan out. But culturaly, we are lightyears ahead of where we were in 2009 even.

That's something you can hold on to and crown Shanny for doing.

I think what LL and even Lombardi are eluding too throughout this interview, is, do you think Mike is the guy that you want here for a 10 year run with RG3? Is it Kyle? If the answer is no... you have to make the move now. Get a guy in here that you want to make a run, Make Bruce the President of the team... he can organize the homecomings, etc, Dan can sign the checks, and let's either promote Morroco Brown or get another guy in here from another organization who is ready to evaluate talent and do less with more.

The culture has been changed, so lets move on to the next chapter, because I truly don't think it happens with the current staff. If we lose on Sunday... we'll here more and more of this and I would whole heartidly support it.

Okay, I can agree with this... as much as I was taken back by that thread that LL had started, I can't say that I don't disagree with it now.

I've been saying this for awhile now but Mike Shanahan the HC is limited by Mike Shanahan the GM.

Agreed.

[Llevron]

It gets old seeing people critique the sames things over and over but take none of the causes into effect. You don't expect a defense that already had problems to lose its starting safety tandem, starting DE and its best pass rusher and look like a good defense.

You don't expect a team low on draft picks and hit with a mysterious - day before free agency - 36 million dollar fine to be able to go out and just 'find' talent laying in wait.

No the team is not great but the circumstances around it don't lend itself to any kind of magical resurgence either. No one seems to want to acknowledge that though.

[TK]

Can we please get the podcasts back on iTunes for us iPhone users. Please?

Was working on that with J yesterday. Bunch of them never got edited, & we're not labeled as "explicit" on iTunes so that's why they stopped going on there. You should still be able to go to the site & launch it in the player there though.

[Lavarleap56]

Can we please get the podcasts back on iTunes for us iPhone users. Please?

Yeah, TK usually handles putting the podcast on Itunes, I will talk to him.

[thesubmittedone]

At this point, it's becoming like we're piling on. It's amazing how there wasn't a peep of any of this before our losses to the Steelers and Panthers. The question posed about the Bucs shouldn't have even been posed considering we all know exactly HOW the Bucs got to where they're at right now and how it directly relates to us.

Whether all of this Shanahan bashing is true or not, it's annoying that NOW, all of a sudden, everyone seems to know we have glaring issues that are beyond fixable. Yeah. Good timing, I guess.

---------- Post added November-15th-2012 at 10:12 AM ----------

It gets old seeing people critique the sames things over and over but take none of the causes into effect. You don't expect a defense that already had problems to lose its starting safety tandem, starting DE and its best pass rusher and look like a good defense.

You don't expect a team low on draft picks and hit with a mysterious - day before free agency - 36 million dollar fine to be able to go out and just 'find' talent laying in wait.

No the team is not great but the circumstances around it don't lend itself to any kind of magical resurgence either. No one seems to want to acknowledge that though.

Exactly. They'd rather complain and just throw these very true conditions out as "excuses". As if there is no such thing as a good excuse. As if they've never had any themselves.

[The Robert Griffin Experience]

My main worry is that Shanahan will think that we don't need major staff changes, or if we finish strong, we can have continuity. I'll be worried if Shanny doesn't clear out the entire defensive staff and get a new DC who can pick an entire qualified staff.

If our defense simply played similar to how it did last year, we'd be 6-3 or better.

[Lavarleap56]

So, what has to happen in your honest opinion and I am not reverting back to your thread that you started discussing whether or not we should retain Shanahan.

Did Snyder really yell out to Mike "What the hell am I paying you 7 mil for?" if he couldn't get McNabb to wear a wristband?

I obviously was not there but have heard that Snyder/Shanahan incident did happen.

What I think should happen?

I think Snyder should use his money to have the best personnel and training department money can buy. I think Bruce should vacate the GM title and do the same work he is doing under a different title. Hire a true hot GM prospect ( Not a retread ) and then allow him to find the right coach ( Not a retread) .. We need guys leading this team who have that burning desire to be great and that usually comes from unproven commodities trying to make a name for themselves.

Then I would let my state of the art personnel department go to work and see what happens..

[Oldfan]

...I think Snyder should use his money to have the best personnel and training department money can buy. I think Bruce should vacate the GM title and do the same work he is doing under a different title. Hire a true hot GM prospect ( Not a retread ) and then allow him to find the right coach ( Not a retread) .. We need guys leading this team who have that burning desire to be great and that usually comes from unproven commodities trying to make a name for themselves.

Then I would let my state of the art personnel department go to work and see what happens..

Plan approved. What's next on our agenda?

[SKINSFAN87]

I believe the problem with the skins defense is that he doesn't have the proper coordinator in place, never was a haslett fan. He doesn't have the talent to run the 3-4 yet, we have average to below average players on our defense and until that changes we will always be average. Don't care about what happened last year, we were lucky to have that defensive ranking with the players that we have. Time to get rid of haslett and go from there.

[More Complete]

Was working on that with J yesterday. Bunch of them never got edited, & we're not labeled as "explicit" on iTunes so that's why they stopped going on there. You should still be able to go to the site & launch it in the player there though.

Yeah, TK usually handles putting the podcast on Itunes, I will talk to him.

Thanks fellas. Unfortunately, iPhone users cannot launch it directly from the site due to the necessity of flash. I know it’s probably a lot of work, but I can’t be the only one who listens in my car via iPhone and Bluetooth. Having them all right there in iTunes was totally sweet.

[authentic]

Can Mike Shanahan improve the Redskins working with limited draft picks and Salary cap punishments?

” That’s a great question..To me when they got hit with cap penalties and got hit with $36 million and lost $18 million your gonna have to figure out how to find players, your gonna have to figure it out because you have to find a solution. Ive often said Daniel Snyder has made a mistake about putting money into players when he should of put $ 5 million dollars into having a state of the art personnel department, build the personnel department that”s the best in the league instead of spending money on one player that you’re never gonna see again so I think now is the time to do it. Its going to be a real challenge for Mike and its going to be difficult.”

Can Mike get it done in year 4 and stay 5?

” I think it is going to be a challenge for him to come up with the solutions especially in the light of the fact he has lost $18 million dollars in cap room and he cant spend his way out of the problem next year in free agency and the caps not going up. I think it’s going to be very difficult to improve the team in terms of finding new players, think they are going to have to work with the ones or find some ones that are young.I think it is a challenge because you don’t have a state of the art personnel department. You haven’t made those changes in the personnel department its still the same group, Vinny’s not there but it’s still the same people. Bruce isn’t personnel he does public relations, cap, and all those things. Bruce isn’t the true total GM in terms off breaking down teams and finding players.”

Yes Mr. Lombardi, i know exactly what you mean!!

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthre...going-forward-

[WhoRUSupposed2Be]

I obviously was not there but have heard that Snyder/Shanahan incident did happen.

What I think should happen?

I think Snyder should use his money to have the best personnel and training department money can buy. I think Bruce should vacate the GM title and do the same work he is doing under a different title. Hire a true hot GM prospect ( Not a retread ) and then allow him to find the right coach ( Not a retread) .. We need guys leading this team who have that burning desire to be great and that usually comes from unproven commodities trying to make a name for themselves.

Then I would let my state of the art personnel department go to work and see what happens..

Yeah, I can agree with this but it doesn't mean it will actually happen. The idea is already in motion so now we're going to have to wait and see if it transpires into wins. This is what it's all about anyway... WINNING.

[Lavarleap56]

At this point, it's becoming like we're piling on. It's amazing how there wasn't a peep of any of this before our losses to the Steelers and Panthers. The question posed about the Bucs shouldn't have even been posed considering we all know exactly HOW the Bucs got to where they're at right now and how it directly relates to us.

Whether all of this Shanahan bashing is true or not, it's annoying that NOW, all of a sudden, everyone seems to know we have glaring issues that are beyond fixable. Yeah. Good timing, I guess.

---------- Post added November-15th-2012 at 10:12 AM ----------



Exactly. They'd rather complain and just throw these very true conditions out as "excuses". As if there is no such thing as a good excuse. As if they've never had any themselves.

If a team is winning then yes a lot of this stuff doesn't get talked about we all know that. Analysts and fans question winning teams by asking if the success is sustainable while losing teams get critiqued from top to bottom. Piling on ? no I wouldn't say that at all bro. The message sucks but unfortunately its a pretty accurate one.

As far as the " excuses" comments.. Mike Tomlin " Excuses are the tools of the incompetent"

I agree the NFL screwed the Redskins with the timing of the cap penalty and imposing penalties at all BUT the reality is they happened. I can't blame Bruce and Mike for trying to gain cap space under the premiss of a" uncapped season" but if they were told to not do this and did so anyway then they take some ownership in it. Had they just left the deals as is they could/would of planned 2010,2011,and 2012 offseasons around Haynesworth and Halls money coming out as scheduled. That would of lead to better planning, building, and no surprise sanction on the eve of free agency. The cap peenalty as a crutch for building is a tough battle and one that could go both ways so i don't really count that anymore.

Personnel department.. Does anyone really think it is a bad idea for Dan to spend wildly into the areas of the team that do not have a salary cap ? I see no downfall in doing so.