Official "Bye Week Blues" Thread

[LyricalRico]

We're at just about the halfway point, so a great time to riff on what's gone on so far. A few questions from Wes to get the thread started:

Guys, I'm not trying to lay a guilt trip here but Wizards fans aren't the only ones who need a support group. Sure I could go brave the overcrowded, under-intellectual zoo that is extremeskins but I'd love to get anyone's thoughts on the following:

Did Shanny really give up on the season? Can you picture Gibbs ever doing that?

Will Garcon be back after the bye week?

Will Jamal Brown and Merriwhether coming back do any good?

Do you blame the GM? I thought last year's draft was pretty kick a$$, this year's not as much so far (save of course RG3 who has been worth everything)

Speaking of RG3, did the Panthers map out a blue print to slow him down? (for the sake of discussion only, ignore how little his surrounding cast save Alfred Morris is doing for him)

Discuss!

[W. Unseld]

Next question:

What can 3 people do with an entire message board?

[Nivek]

I estimated Redskins odds of making the playoffs at about 1%.

The questions:

Did Shanny really give up on the season? Can you picture Gibbs ever doing that?

I don't think Shanahan really gave up, I think he was frustrated. That said, the point that the competitive portion of the season is over -- that's accurate.

Will Garcon be back after the bye week?

I expect him back for maybe the last month of the season.

Will Jamal Brown and Merriwhether coming back do any good?

Brown? No.
Merriweather -- maybe; he has problems in coverage

Do you blame the GM? I thought last year's draft was pretty kick a$$, this year's not as much so far (save of course RG3 who has been worth everything)

Alfred Morris has been pretty good too. But yeah, they need a GREAT draft, which they're not getting year after year after year after... They got screwed by that cap penalty too. Schefter has said he thinks the Skins will get the $18 million back for next season. We'll see.

Speaking of RG3, did the Panthers map out a blue print to slow him down? (for the sake of discussion only, ignore how little his surrounding cast save Alfred Morris is doing for him)

I don't think so. Skins ran the ball effectively. But, when Skins got behind, Carolina knew Washington had to throw so they could ignore the run and any play-action stuff. They got pressure with just 4 rushers -- which compounded the pre-existing problem of Skins receivers getting open.

[LyricalRico]

Kev, I agree that Merriweather isn't great in coverage. But if they can get to be above average against the run, that would at least give them a chance. Put teams in 3rd-and-long situations were they could make a mistake.

If the offense can get back to what is was early in the season (losing Fred Davis is hurting worse than I thought it would), and the defense can at least stop the run - I'll feel better about watching the next 7 games.

[Nivek]

I think the offense survived without Garcon, but with Davis. Not having Garcon AND Davis leaves the Skins without a significant speed advantage at any receiver spot, without a playmaker, and without guys who can get open as a primary defensive focus.