Bringing in a winning mentality, another subtle positive viewpoint

[bwparker]

Ok, so I've been thinking about who we brought in this offseason to help our team. I ignored the smaller signings of players somewhere between very far down on the depth chart to training camp fodder, because alot of them may not make the team.

Santana Moss - Jets
David Patten - Patriots
Pierson Prioleau - Bills
Casey Rabach - Ravens
Keven Dyson - Panthers(and Titans)

Brian Allen - Panthers
Warrick Holdman - Browns(and Bears)

Somebody tell me who I've missed also.

Anyway, the trend I notice was that we got players who fit one of two criteria:
1) The come from succesful teams and have experience winning.
2) They have previous experience with our coaches. (Holdman and Prioleau)

Coaches grab players who they know all the time, thats no biggie. Coaches grab the best players they can all the time too, but we didn't get "good" players...we got solid players from good teams.
We also grabbed several players from the recently dominant AFC. I know that last year our players never quit trying even when there was nothing to play for, but I have feeling the coaches want to continue to infuse the atmosphere of a winning team into this organization and the best way to do that is to get people who are used to winning, people for whom winning is the status quo and losing is a big disappointment. You have to want players that aren't happy when they win, they are happy when they win in bunches. Even our first two draft picks are from a school that had tremendous success last year, although most top draft choices come from teams with winning traditions...

The point is there is a subtle difference between wanting to win and expecting to win. I think alot of these newer guys expect to win and I think Gibbs is trying to get the lifeblood of that mentality to pulse throughout every member of the team. Sometimes more important than having the best players, is having your players play their best.

[redwolf1218]

safety Tony Dixon and corner Artrell Hawkins might be nice additions too.

[bwparker]

safety Tony Dixon and corner Artrell Hawkins might be nice additions too.
Good point. Those two break my theory alittle bit, unfortunately, but don't necessarily undo it. Dixon was with the Cowboys during their playoff run two years ago, so he's been in the that atmosphere. Hawkins was around for the turnaround of the Bengals and the midseason turnaround of the Panthers...so one could argue he has experience being with teams that are getting from crawling to walking.

[whistleandthumb]

I've said all off-season that I really love the additions we've made to the team. We didn't make any HUGE splashes in the FA market, and the only real "headline" type deal we made was for Santana Moss, which was basically like trading in our old, broken down car for the newer, more reliable model.

I think Rabach was our biggest signing. The OL is the absolute KEY to our success this year, and we desperately needed a Center who wouldn't hold or false start. Plus, this guy comes from, perhaps, the most run-oriented football team in the NFL, and, with Gibbs coaching, that is definitely a good sign for us.

[CarMike]

If we had only signed Casey Rabach this off season i'd still consider it a winning offseason. A lot of members here seem to be a lot like Mr. Snyder. [one i'm a fan of] They want the big name signing. Even if its not a smart move. How well has that pholosphy worked for us in the past?

I'm very happy with the offseason. Can't wait to see our OL in action.

[redwolf1218]

Good point. Those two break my theory alittle bit, unfortunately, but don't necessarily undo it. Dixon was with the Cowboys during their playoff run two years ago, so he's been in the that atmosphere. Hawkins was around for the turnaround of the Bengals and the midseason turnaround of the Panthers...so one could argue he has experience being with teams that are getting from crawling to walking.
i was just naming a couple of guys since you said "tell me who i've missed" but you are right, there is definitely a common thread throughout the signings and draftpicks, of guys who are winners, hand picked by each position coach, right down to the big backs Byner wanted. also, i keep hearing that word "smart" when Gibbs talks about a lot of these guys. he said it about Cooley last year, and this year about Jared Newberry.

[The Skinsinator]

I also am very content with the offseason. Gibbs and co took care of many of the deficiencies. Not matching Smoot and Pierce was difficult but wise. All the acquisitions were smart and will help us alot next season. One more important factor is that all of the acquisitions truly wanted to play for Gibbs and the Redskins. That is a respectable thing in professional sports now.

[CapitalDefense]

Can't wait to see our OL in action.

Amen...games are won and lost with the big uglys up front

[BandWagon]

Don't forget about special teams. They are clearly creating an atmosphere or tone there. I expect the improvements we saw through the season to continue this year. Nothing sets the tone than smash mouth special teams play to start the game.

[828791Redskins]

I can't wait to see Rabach get nasty with some Defensive Tackles.

[redwolf1218]

Don't forget about special teams. They are clearly creating an atmosphere or tone there. I expect the improvements we saw through the season to continue this year. Nothing sets the tone than smash mouth special teams play to start the game.
good point. I was watching the video of the Replacement players when they beat the Cowboys, who had their regulars. near the beginning of the video, they show a stat of the Redskins average field position for starting drives and Dallas's. our's was our own 45, there's was their own 17. so even with those guys, field position and special teams were huge with Gibbs. if we return to that this year, it should be a huge boost for both the offense and the defense. the video can be found here. they started to carry Gibbs off on their shoulders and it looked like he was going "ok, put me down, before you scrubs drop me". what a great memory though.
http://dallasredskins.com/multimedia/multimedia.htm

[frenchskinsfan]

Anyway, the trend I notice was that we got players who fit one of two criteria:
1) The come from succesful teams and have experience winning.
2) They have previous experience with our coaches. (Holdman and Prioleau)



Absolutely bwparker,

we must not forget that our entire coaching staff is a HoF caliber one (although HoF isn't as a trademark as it could be, given a Monk election). Some of us tend to forget it because of that poor first year back on offense, but we have a very smart coaching staff. They know how to build a real team spirit, and that takes championship level esperience, systems knowledge, and most of all, dedication.

[redskn65]

Its all going to come together.....I really feel like our team is headed in the right direction...I don`t see us in the Super Bowl this year but I definitely feel like the playoffs is where we are headed. These small but significant signings we had this year should help us have a better attitude as far as knowing we can win instead of hoping that we win.

[Redskin006]

I believe that we are going to be somewhat of a team like the Patriots. We have a bunch of no-names and rejects from other teams who we've taken in ,and beginning with last year's defense under Gregg Williams, we've made some these no-names and rejects stars or close-to-being stars. We are building a team in the truest sense. We've also brought in a lot of veteran players from teams who played like true teams and ended up being successful as a result. I feel that this new team compared to last year will be like a family. Where the new experienced players will help teach and mold the unexperienced no-names and help mold each other into greater players for the good of the team.

[skinfan43]

Don't forget about special teams. They are clearly creating an atmosphere or tone there. I expect the improvements we saw through the season to continue this year. Nothing sets the tone than smash mouth special teams play to start the game.
Truer than true. Is it just me or does it seem that we've loaded up on freakin FREIGHT TRAINS for special teams? They're going to blow up kick coverages all over the place, IMO. A brilliant coach like Gibbs knows how vital field position is to winning - we were pretty lame last year, and Gibbs wants us starting past the 35 as often as possible, no doubt. Speaking of which, anybody hear anything about how John Hall is doing? We need a HEALTHY Hall pretty bad, IMO.

[NamVet4]

Is it just me or does it seem that we've loaded up on freakin FREIGHT TRAINS for special teams? They're going to blow up kick coverages all over the place, IMO. A brilliant coach like Gibbs knows how vital field position is to winning - we were pretty lame last year, and Gibbs wants us starting past the 35 as often as possible, no doubt.
While we seem to have increased the "bulk" and hopefully the skill level, it is still up to Coach Danny Smith to make this unit more than effective. 2004 was a bad year for the special team play and IMHO Coach Smith is in a make or break season. I personally hope he does well and gets these guys to step up big time!

[BandWagon]

I believe that we are going to be somewhat of a team like the Patriots. We have a bunch of no-names and rejects from other teams who we've taken in ,and beginning with last year's defense under Gregg Williams, we've made some these no-names and rejects stars or close-to-being stars. We are building a team in the truest sense. We've also brought in a lot of veteran players from teams who played like true teams and ended up being successful as a result. I feel that this new team compared to last year will be like a family. Where the new experienced players will help teach and mold the unexperienced no-names and help mold each other into greater players for the good of the team.

What you're saying, put another way, is we're finally signing players who are hungry and have something to prove. As opposed to, signing a player who already proved something and wants to get paid...

[BandWagon]

While we seem to have increased the "bulk" and hopefully the skill level, it is still up to Coach Danny Smith to make this unit more than effective. 2004 was a bad year for the special team play and IMHO Coach Smith is in a make or break season. I personally hope he does well and gets these guys to step up big time!

True, overall it was a bad year for teams, but they did improve. Dramatically in some areas. Blocked kicks and punt returns are two that immediately come to mind as being impressively improved by the end of the season. And Thrash...what the heck can you say about Thrash. He was incredible. Imagine getting 3 or 4 Thrash's on teams....

[BandWagon]

Speaking of which, anybody hear anything about how John Hall is doing? We need a HEALTHY Hall pretty bad, IMO.

It's my understanding that other than needing a haircut badly, he's good to go. I suspect they have concerns about his durability tho. Camp competition should be interesting as always.

[colkurtz]

This thread has a real interesting idea - the signing of "winner" players who are ready to play and contribute to a team

We are not buying big name players, who are just looking to cash out. Not hiring players who are only interested in #1 or getting some record at the expense of the team. Not keeping players who want to leave - like Coles, Gardner, Champ. Not overpaying for players - like Champ, Pierce and Smoot

We are replacing the bad attitudes with players who want to be here and win. That's a big change and improvement.

Also an idea that has been missed by the media (of course).

[smoot]

wow, cant beleive nobodies brought it up already

dont forget that both of our first round picks came from a winning team, and undefeated team in fact

[CowboyKilla]

I agree, they know what it takes to win. Important new components.
The moves were cost conscious and effective. Baby steps towards greatness.

[redwolf1218]

wow, cant beleive nobodies brought it up already

dont forget that both of our first round picks came from a winning team, and undefeated team in fact
You're right, and Gibbs mentioned that fact.

http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=6801

HEAD COACH JOE GIBBS:
On the two first round draft picks:

"I think we are proud of both of our guys are from Auburn. Maybe it is just that we like winners. They go undefeated and we like them. We are hoping some of that will carry over to the Redskins."