Redskins Ingredients for Improvement after Week 1 loss to Eagles
By Ian Cummings
Don’t relax with a lead
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who played with the Redskins and Jay Gruden from 2014 to 2016, had this to say about his former team after Sunday’s game, per NBC Sports Washington’s J.P. Finlay. No vitriol, no pointed words. Something worse.
"We came out and started off slow and struggled, but not one moment in that game I didn’t think we were going to come out and win that game. I kept stressing to the boys when we came in the locker room that I have been over there [with the Redskins] before in that locker room and I know how they are. I just stressed to my teammates that I felt that at halftime, they probably thought they had the game sealed and won. Regardless of the score and how many points you are down, there is always a chance you can win the game. Being in that locker room, I just know how they are, not saying anything bad about them, that is just how they are."
“I know how they are.”
“They probably thought they had the game sealed and won.”
“That is just how they are.”
If this isn’t an indictment of Jay Gruden, then no such things exist. This speaks to a deeply-rooted cultural malfunction in D.C., perhaps emboldened by the man with the headset. Jackson, speaking from experience, knew Gruden would take his foot off the gas pedal in the second half. The entire Eagles team knew it. And they were able to capitalize when it did happen.
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It’s ultimately up to Gruden to change this perception, although five years in, the fabled saying likely rings true: Old dogs don’t learn new tricks. Of all the team’s Ingredients for Improvement, this one deserves the most attention. And ironically, it will go unchecked, just like it always has.