Wade Phillips: Redskins Are the New Mystery Meat
But are they? Because it'll take a couple drafts before they stop depending on retreads
AP
The Carousel of Hope isn't just an annual Hollywood fundraiser; it's a term best applied in Washington to what other NFL teams call "the offseason."
This year, the Redskins' glittery spin dumped Jim Zorn and Vinny Cerrato onto the mangled bodies of Steve Spurrier and Joe Gibbs, and picked up Mike Shanahan and Donovan McNabb. A carousel of hope, indeed.
To hear Wade Phillips tell it, the new and unknown Redskins are an obstacle his Cowboys will struggle to overcome on Sunday.
"It's always difficult, the first game on the road, especially the first game of the season, no matter what," Phillips said. "The Redskins have a new coach with a new scheme on offense and defense. They have some of the same players, but they have changes there, too. It's more of an unknown.
"They can look at us [on film] from last year and the previous three years and say, 'Hey, they are going to do these things,'" he continued. "We look at them and say, 'Well, we're not too sure what exactly they are going to do. We think they are going to do certain things.' They are ... going to come up with some things we haven't seen before."
Oh, you can believe that. No one's quite sure what's going to happen out there (except Philly fans, who've seen this film 800 times). But exactly how much of a mystery meat are the Redskins? Have things changed so much?
Yes and no. To the affirmative, there's that new 3-4 defense. The Redskins have a new quarterback, a new coach, and some new blood. There's a new zone blocking scheme that aims to spring running backs full-steam into the end zone.
But immediately after dropping a bunch of old guys on arrival, Shanahan got more old guys. The only surprise with Donovan McNabb is where the ball ends up. The new zone blocking scheme is serving some of the oldest and most tired legs in football. Even the new blood is old, and the new defense only works if Albert Haynesworth does (questionable!), because his backup is -- you guessed it -- just shy of 40.
He didn't have much choice, needing to revamp as much possible with just one draft class to choose from, but it's doubtful the Cowboys are going to go tripping over themselves in confusion.
Which isn't to say the Redskins can't surprise everyone out of the gate, looking refreshed and renewed and like a whole 'nother team. It's just that as much as we like Phillips' lip service, there's a sneaking suspicion that until the Redskins can stop depending on their old quick fix habit, that's what it will be.
Posted Wednesday, Sep 8, 2010 - 7:07 PM EST
