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View Full Version : Update on ChiefsPlanet's two favorite coaches in the offseason...


DaWolf
11-25-2006, 06:47 AM
Great read. Al Saunders and Greg Williams, who were being compared to Don Coryell and Bill Bellichik respectively, and who were two of the most wanted replacements for Dick Vermeil in the offseason here. This article absolutely rips apart the Redskins power structure and especially Greg Williams. It also makes me thankful that we didn't hire a coach who would get full of himself and crystalizes why Herm allowed Al to go to Washington (predictably, the offense has been too gimmicky and not physical enough). Hope this isn't a repost:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?id=2672668&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos1

I asked an Indianapolis Colts defender what he thought of Al Saunders' Redskins offense, and he said, "Gimmicky." I asked a Redskins player what he thought of defensive guru Gregg Williams, and he said, "Arrogant. Thinks he invented the wheel."

Williams, who'd been fired the previous year as the Bills' head coach, had a ton of adulation tossed his way, and his swagger at Redskin Park was unmatched. He liked to tell people that he'd only agreed to take the job if Snyder "didn't stick his nose" into personnel matters, and Snyder -- who wanted to win in the worst way -- had agreed. That gave Williams a feeling of invincibility, and considering the egg that the offense laid that year in comparison, he probably deserved to feel that way.

But it was a blind confidence, and when Pierce became a free agent after the 2004 season, and talks began to stall, Williams, according to Redskins sources, claimed Pierce was "replaceable." It was the first hint of arrogance under the new Gibbs regime, a sense that Williams felt it was his system, not the players, that dominated offenses. Cornerback Fred Smoot was also a free agent at the time, and again, Williams felt Smoot was expendable, even though losing a starting linebacker and a starting corner would necessitate an extensive defensive overhaul.

So that takes us to now, takes us to a Gregg Williams defense that is ranked last -- last! -- in the NFC. Opposing quarterbacks have a collective 103 passer rating against them, and on third downs, the Redskins give up a first down 43.5 percent of the time. They can't get off the field, and now it's the offensive coaches who have to be wondering if Williams is "high school."

The problem, according to a notable Redskins player, is a scheme, a staff and a play-calling regimen that is flawed and predictable, and a sense that Williams is on too much of a power trip to adjust.

The question has been whether the CEO, Gibbs, will address this, and apparently, he's just decided to become more hands-on again. Up until now, he's been preoccupied with the offense, concerned that Saunders isn't pounding the ball enough, frustrated by injuries to Portis and Moss and resigned to the fact that Campbell is his future at quarterback. But on Wednesday, he couldn't ignore the team's general malaise any longer. In his regular team meeting, he essentially stomped his feet for the first time since last season, told his players they aren't playing physical enough, that it's time to play more smashmouth, that everybody would be evaluated from here on out. Whether he was talking about the coaches, too, who knows? Whether he will start from scratch defensively next season, who knows? But if Williams is unable now to stir the passions of the defense, Gibbs had little choice but to butt in.

Hammock Parties
11-25-2006, 02:15 PM
This thread deserves a bump. Hahahaha!

Mr. Laz
11-25-2006, 02:34 PM
whatever ....... i'd still trade Solari and Goonther for Saunders and Williams in a heartbeat.