Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHogs Haven homepageHorizontal - WhiteHogs Havena Washington Redskins communityFollow Hogs Haven online:Follow Hogs Haven on TwitterFollow Hogs Haven on FacebookLog in or sign upLog InSign UpSite searchSearchSearchHogs Haven main menuFanpostsFanshotsSectionsRedskinsMastheadOddsShopCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 321 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Looks Like Someone Has A Sixpack Of The MondaysDaily SlopRedskins RecapsEDTThere’s no real strong theme to this article. It’s just a collection of short observations generated by some things I’ve seen
Dwayne Haskins Jersey 2019 , heard or read in the past few days.Slot positions set in drying cement on both sides of the ballGenerally, Jay Gruden, like most coaches, resists naming starters or commenting very specifically on position battles this early in the preseason.I’ve been mildly surprised to see him make some fairly concrete admissions about presumed roster spots in the past few weeks.Back on the third day of training camp, when the calendar still said ‘July’, Jay talked about Trey Quinn as a receiver:Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesWhile this is not an unconditional commitment to Trey Quinn, it was a pretty strong indication that 3Q is projected as the primary slot receiver - an impression that has been fortified by coaching comments and reporting from journalists throughout camp.It appears that the competition now is for the backup role, since Quinn is the presumed starter.Likewise, on Tuesday, Jay was asked about the slot defender role, and specifically about Fabian Moreau.Again, this doesn’t completely shut down the possibility of competition, it certainly is a pretty strong statement about Fabian Moreau, with the other defensive backs sounding as though they are vying for the backup role.Photo by Al Pereira/Getty ImagesI wouldn’t describe either of these roster positions as ‘written in stone’, but they strike me as if they’ve been inscribed into fast drying cement.Jay usually likes to have his roster 95% figured out by the third preseason game, which is just two weeks away.Let me put that in context by looking at one of Jay’s comments from earlier this week:I think this is very much who Jay is; he comes to camp with a good idea about who his 22 starters and 3 special teams guys are gonna be.Training camp is really about selecting and sorting the other 28 players on the roster.If I were Fabian Moreau or Trey Quinn, and I’dbeen listening to Jay’s press conferences (which they probably haven’t), I’d probably be feeling pretty good about my position on the team right now.The importance of the depth chart ahead of the Browns gameJay was asked about the depth chart this week, and he said this:I was watching Good Morning Football yesterday, and Kay Adams played the clip of Jay saying this, then tried to spin it as Jay blowing smoke about the quarterback position and trying to minimize the fact that Haskins was listed #3 and McCoy was listed #1.They actually had a 3 minute discussion on GMFB about whether or not Jay’s comments were revealing.They weren’t.Jay’s comments had nothing at all to do with the quarterback depth chart, and anyone who looked at Ryan Anderson ahead of Montez Sweat or Geron Christian ahead of Donald Penn would know that.This is nothing new for Jay, and it’s absolutely not some kind of a “show” he’s putting on to mask the quarterback situation with Dwayne Haskins, as suggested by GMFB.Consider what Jay Gruden had to say on August 7th 2018 when he was asked how much importance to place on the first “unofficial” depth chart, released ahead of the first pre-season game against the Patriots last year:So, last year, Jay indicated that he didn’t even look at the depth chart sent to the media — that it was put together by the guy in charge of Communications because it wasn’t worth Jay’s time.If Kay Adams or anyone from GMFB is reading Hogs Haven today (maybe NFL Network’s Mike Robinson who sometimes subs for Nate Burleson... he’s a local guy who takes an interest in DMV sports), please take note that Jay is just being Jay.His comments on the “unofficial” depth chart are genuine
Dwayne Haskins Redskins Jersey , similar to what he said a year ago, and there’s not much to be learned from studying the document for clues about the quarterback situation in Washington.Who has the Mike?I wrote an article earlier this week in which I talked about the ten most important Redskins players.I took some mild criticism in the comments section for listing Jon Bostic #4.I identified Bostic as a critical member of the team when I wrote the article (and defended the decision in the comments section) primarily because I knew that Bostic had been charged with calling the defense; it was my understanding that he would be the guy with the green dot on his helmet this season.I now find myself in the uncomfortable position of having to walk back a bit on the position that I staked out and defended in that article (beep, beep, beep).This morning, I ran across this comment from Jay Gruden, given at a training camp press conference not too long ago, when he was asked about Jon Bostic calling the defense:I had been feeling like Bostic was ‘da man’ this season, and that he would be charged with the critical job of communicating the defense throughout the season.Jay doesn’t say that he won’t do that, but he makes it very clear that it’s not written in stone (or even fast drying cement).He not only says that SDH is capable of calling the defense, the first words out of his mouth are “that will change”.Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY SportsSo, to all of you who felt I was stupid or crazy for insisting that Jon Bostic was one of the ten most important Redskins, in the immortal words of Billy Joel, “you may be right”.In Jay’s defenseKen Meringolo wrote this week about Jay Gruden’s offensive-minded background, and the somewhat unexpected ad gradual shift of the Redskins roster to a defensive-led team.I share Ken’s bemusement.Unlike many Redskins fans, I was not dismayed by the decision to trade for Alex Smith last year.In fact, I wrote a rather long article following the 2017 season in which I advocated for the creation of the team we fielded in 2018, and which we may still field in 2019.Remember, the following thoughts were written by me at the end of the ‘17 season, before we knew the final outcome with Kirk Cousins:I was pleased when the Redskins acquired Alex Smith (though not pleased that Kendall Fuller was part of the acquisition cost).I spent much of the first half of the 2018 season writing repeated articles and comments extolling the virtues of the strategy employed by Jay Gruden.On 27 October last year, I wrote a 3,000 word article to praise the winning style of football being played by the Redskins, concluding with this summary:Unlike many others, I don’t think the winning record the team enjoyed in the first half of the ‘18 season was a fluke; I don’t think it happened in spite of Alex Smith; I also don’t think it was always destined to end.Geoff Burke-USA TODAY SportsI simply believe that, after the end of Week 10, marked by the injury to Brandon Scherff, the team could no longer field a fully capable NFL roster, and that the Week 11 injury to Alex Smith put the final nail in the coffin.Prior to that - for nine games - the Redskins were playing a brand of football that reflected Jay’s ability to do what most people continually insist he can’t do; that is, he adjusted his coaching to the roster he was given.In 2015 and ‘16
Rob Kelley Jersey , Jay had a quarterback that understood his system, a tough possession receiver in Pierre Garcon, a speed demon in Desean Jackson, a stout offensive line and one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the league.What he didn’t have was a top-tier running back or a stout defense.He ran a team that relied on Cousins distributing the ball to Reed, Garcon, Jackson and Chris Thompson in an attempt to outscore opponents, whom the Redskins defense couldn’t be relied on to stop.2018.Play smart, minimize giveaways, maximize takeaways, control the clock, punt when you have to, play the percentages.I have no doubt that, if the receivers show that they are capable and a quarterback emerges with full understanding and control of the offense, Jay will be willing to open things up a la 2015-16.But, while he’s patiently working on that and waiting for sufficient development to occur, I think we’re gonna see a lot of reliance on the running game and short passing game, and a huge focus on winning the twin battles of turnovers and field position.Geoff Burke-USA TODAY SportsIf the offense isn’t ready yet, then Jay seems perfectly happy to rely on his defense, punter and kicker to lead the team to victory. ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The Washington Redskins have lost four in a row, are down to their fourth quarterback and are mired in criticism from several players.A once-promising season has gone off the rails thanks to injuries on the offense and blown assignments and missed tackles on defense. The finger-pointing is well underway on a team that has fallen to 6-7 and there is plenty of blame to go around.Defensive backs Josh Norman and D.J. Swearinger were outspoken after the latest loss, linebacker Mason Foster vented his frustration in a private social media message that came to light and it’s becoming clear there’s a disconnect between players and coaches. While the 2017 season could be written off for injuries, everyone from team President Bruce Allen to coach Jay Gruden and defensive coordinator Greg Manusky could be in danger of losing his job.“If anyone’s going to have to take the fall, it’s going to have to be all of us — everyone in this building,” tight end Vernon Davis said Wednesday. “Everyone is just going to have to take accountability for it.”Gruden said his “job is in jeopardy every week,” so his focus is getting the team ready to face Jacksonville on Sunday. He and some players were quick to point out Washington is only a half-game out of a playoff spot, so the season is far from over.That itself is remarkable.The Redskins’ defense that ranked first in the NFL early in the season is now 20th, Alex Smith and Colt McCoy each suffered broken right legs and quarterback Josh Johnson is making his first start since 2011. Injuries have again played a role in this freefall
Ziggy Hood Jersey , which points to personnel decisions made Allen, Gruden, senior vice president of player personnel Doug Williams and the rest of the front office.And even though he got an extension through 2020, Gruden is the eighth coach to work under owner Dan Snyder and is on the hot seat after just one playoff appearance in his first four seasons.“Sometimes it’s hard not to think about it because of course you’re going to get asked about it,” said running back Chris Thompson, who expressed his support for Gruden and the rest of the coaching staff. “I really don’t want to think about that too much. We got three more games to go and at this point anything could happen and then the decisions that are made upstairs, we can’t really control that stuff.”The Redskins can control their practice habits, an area Swearinger has been critical of the past two seasons. He has raised questions about the team’s lack of preparation, a problem that has bubbled up and caused inconsistency.“I can’t tell you what needs to be changed. I ain’t the coach,” Swearinger said after a 40-16 loss to the Giants on Sunday. “We ain’t executing. We ain’t getting the job done. That’s the answer they want me to give.”Norman said he wasn’t going to blame the injury-ravaged offense or make excuses for the four-game skid. And it’s impossible to pinpoint one source of all the losing.“There’s a lot of things when you’re talking about losing a football game,” Gruden said. “If we had it narrowed down to one thing, we’d fix it and be OK. Sometimes it’s defense, sometimes it’s offense, sometimes it’s special teams, sometimes it’s coaching. It’s a combination. So it’s a matter of all of us having to step up in some key players’ absences and playing better and we haven’t done that.”Foster cursing the team and its fan base in a private message on Instagram was just the latest development in a quickly unraveling season. Gruden and Foster’s teammates brushed it off, citing the veteran’s contributions on the field.The bigger problem is the defense as a whole isn’t getting the job done.“I know for me personally the wear and tear and the grind of the season, mentally you start to just lose a little bit of focus and it’s natural,” defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said. “It’s a long season, so naturally you’re going to fall off in certain areas, and that’s the goal to not fall off.”Beating the Jaguars and getting help around the league could put the Redskins in position to still challenge for a playoff spot. In the midst of all the frustration, veteran running back Adrian Peterson wants everyone to realize the season isn’t over.“We’re only half a game out,” Peterson said. “When they show the playoff picture on ESPN, we’re there.”NOTES: TE Jordan Reed (right foot/ankle), WR Josh Doctson (concussion protocol) and DL Matt Ioannidis (shin) were among the players who didn’t practice Wednesday. … Gruden shortened practice to under 90 minutes amid his team’s injuries.