That’s correct, Plunkett didn’t even complete a pass that year, though that might have had more to do with retiring after the 1986 season. Mike Shanahan has made a lot of mistakes since joining the Redskins, but I am loathe to criticise him for the lack of effectiveness of someone who wasn’t on the roster.

Now maybe you could criticise him for the way he used Jay Schroeder, but this is a thread about the Redskins, we remember Jay Schroeder, we remember why Gibbs let him go. We remember the o’ so beautiful highs, the perfect spirals, the long bombs. The inaccuracy. The sense of entitlement.

Mike Shanahan was 7-9 in ’88. The previous year Tom Flores (also a double SB winning head coach) had been 5-10, with 3 of those wins coming during the replacement games at the start of the season. The year before that 8-8. After 4 consecutive season with 5 losses or fewer, the Raiders were in a dip when Shanahan joined them. 7-9 wasn’t a bad effort for a first time head coach on a bad team playing with other people’s cast-offs at QB.

Brett Favre looked like a pop warner kid until Holmgren and Co. fixed alot of his issues. All he had at the time was a cannon and a booze problem. Manning, Rodgers, Brees….all of them go thru some point of tweaking. It’s the complete bozos like Ryan Leaf and the complete idiots like McNabb, Alex Smith, Jam Russell, David Carr, and soon to be Cam Newton that are either too dumb to absorb it or too stubborn to try to learn anything different. Vick has and was, no different. Athlieticism will get you to the table….lack of smarts and understanding your playbook and reads will get you tossed out.

Go watch some the old footage of Terry Bradshaw interviewing guys like Shaun King, Akili Smith, Dante Culpepper, and a slew of 5 or 6 others back a few years ago that were going to “change” how the QB position was going to be played. I thought that was an absolute joke at the time…and it turned out I was right.

Manning, Brady, Brees, Rodgers.

QBs that do exactly as they’re told:

Grossman.

… and that whole ridiculous posturing Mike was doing in the aftermath was exactly to shield Kyle from the problems.

That’s what McNabb-Gate was all about – Kyle vs. Donovan and Mike inbetween.

It’s all so evident now, where were the reporter on this during the season.

stoopid.

With futility since 92′, The Shanny’s have every right to run this franchise as they see fit. If the players don’t want to be a part of the process, then aufwiedersehn. The Shanny’s are righting the ship one day at a time (with Bruce Allen’s help).

Get back with me when somebody actually COMPLAINS about Kyle, until then……

I thought I was being responsible and helping him grow.

Now he probably wasn’t one of the best 100 players last year, but the guy has earned the respect of fellow players, you earn respect by going out and making plays being a leader, and after 13 years getting it done game in game out.

Kyle you wouldn’t make it on a top 1000 coaching list so maybe you should ask McNabb questions not the other way around!

PS: It would help if you would wear that wristband on the sideline and he could tell you what plays work!

McNabb is gone (will be) and hopefully the Shanahans will be right behind him (they shouldn’t have been here to begin with, so it’s not a question of only giving them a year. Snyder doesn’t give anyone more than 3 anyway).

To whoever said McNabb is a HoF QB, seriously? Or did you mean for Syracuse?

When McNabb looks at Kyle Shanahan he says this kid is younger than I am has no clue what he is doing and has not proven anything. Now he wants me to do it “HIS” way and even if I see a D end getting ready to T me up I should take the hit and not hurt the young “KIDS” pride………….McNabb will always go off script and try and make a play when need be, thats what playmakers do, so yeah call me crazy but it doesn’t matter who the QB is that will never work!

And for those who disagree with me, I ask you this: why on earth would the Eagles trade an “established, franchise QB” within their division?

Andy Reid knows the answer to that one.

Oh wait a minute! He never will because both are overpaid, egotistical idiots!!!

NOT EVERYBODY DOES IT THAT WAY:

“One great thing about coach Chan Gailey’s offense is it allows players the creativity,” he said. “Our main goal is beat the man. That means beat the defender and be where you’re supposed to be, when you’re supposed to be there and don’t fool the quarterback. Those are the three basic rules.

So Chan Gailey is the model of excellence now? LOL

That aside, I agree that you need a balance. QB has to try to run the offense precisely as it’s been drawn up, but be able to improvise when needed. Balance.

Rex #1 all the way babaayyyyyyyyyyy

Another person mentioned the locker room and I have to wonder how it plays out there as well. I was never a big fan of the old man and never believed for a second the son got his job based on his own resume.

The Texans actually did better when Kyle left… So was it coaching or talent? Washington was 18th last year but were 22nd the year before with a carousel in coaching and less talent at the QB position.

Time will certainly tell, but I thought it was funny the way Old Man Shanny in 2009 was showing up at every minicamp for half a dozen teams trying to get a job. Finally he gets a job and the first thing he does is promote his son?

Washington is a mess… Instead of a new coach or latest FA, maybe they should cut to the chase and get a new owner… Most fish rot from the head down and this fish is definitely rotten already.

I actually think it is ok to ask your players to run the offense exactly how it has been conceived, to a point. I think, at the same time you are doing that, though, you need to empower the QB to improvise when they see something on the field that can be exploited. Players get a feel for the game from the field that is unique and that cannot be felt by coaches looking on the sidelines.

On the other hand, you just can’t let a QB go out and “do their own thing.” Comments to the effect that QBs should just call all their own plays and freelance every play is not sound either. Coaches are paid to set an overall game plan and methodology for approaching the game, and players.

This is why the “relationship” between a coach and the QB is so important. If you have a relationship, then you can talk about what you see on the field between plays, talk it through, and work out adjustments as you go. So both the player and the coach has a responsibility in making this work.

Hopefully, Kyle Shanahan will loosen up as he matures.