Change is still necessary despite Redskins’ winning streak
By David Guffey
The Redskins may be on a winning streak, but that doesn’t mean that change isn’t necessary. And the biggest change needed involves Bruce Allen.
I’m not the only one writing this but the Redskins are the hottest team in the NFC East. Disregard the dysfunction in the division as a whole and the implosion of the Cowboys, the Redskins might actually be in a position to win a few more including one against the hapless ‘Boys.
While one game does not a season make, the Redskins are starting to beat the teams they ought to beat. Don’t believe they can compete with the Ravens or 49ers or Seahawks, but beating two teams they should in the Lions and Panthers is a major step in an otherwise miserable season.
Regardless of the last two games or even the remaining four, the Redskins are still a team in need of changes from the top down. And realizing that Daniel Snyder isn’t selling means it starts with Bruce Allen.
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No doubt Allen will point to several games and make the case to Snyder that the Redskins are finally headed in the right direction. But no coach worth anything will want this team if Allen stays. And that becomes inherently unfair to the players such as rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins, who needs stability and a long-term plan to develop him from a question mark out of college into a long term solution for the Redskins.
Allen certainly will make a case that he’s the only one able to deliver the new stadium the Redskins desperately need and that he’s had to overcome disasters at quarterback that, in fairness, weren’t his fault.
However, Washington’s talent the past decade has been horribly mismanaged. Yet even as the proverbial blind squirrel finds a nut, the Redskins managed to find Terry McLaurin in the third round. But then, they failed to get the key to their offensive line, Trent Williams, into camp and or even into the lineup at all this season.
This fact plus the prickly personality of Allen, his failure to deliver a stadium, and the fact that he has presided over a losing tenure should make Snyder evaluate him thoroughly and come to the conclusion that Allen must go.
Removing Allen would prove to fans, players, and the league Snyder is serious about making the systemic changes in the organization that will let them develop the talent they’ve acquired, assuming Snyder picks a competent football professional not a yes man such as Allen. Snyder needs someone who will keep Snyder focused on the business and not football decisions.
But all these are mere fantasies if Allen is not fully removed. And by fully removed, I mean from every decision making process on this team.
There are now some bright spots. Haskins is showing a glimmer of promise. Derrius Guice, if healthy, is a running back that runs through and over defensive players. McLaurin, as I’ve frequently commented, shows legitimate promise of a top receiver in the league. Defensively, there are still many unanswered questions but maybe there’s a foundation that a draft or two can help.
Ultimately this comes down to whether Snyder can part ways with the Allen name. Don’t kid yourself, Snyder is wed to the past. Hence the Gibbs, Allen, Williams names across the organization. These are names from the glory years and Snyder’s only link to any success.
For Allen, his legacy is in name only and his lack of success is thoroughly documented. Firing Allen will require Snyder to admit failure and I’m not sure he’s able to do so. If not, he may remove Allen but replace him with someone equally as divisive and at the same level of competence which means another decade of failure.
Next. Studs and duds from Redskins win over Panthers. dark
Hopefully, these two games make Snyder and the Redskins realize there’s potential in the team and that bringing in, once and for all, a competent, professional football executive will stop the perpetual losing we’re so accustomed to. I’m hoping. But don’t count on it.