Posts tagged Mike Shanahan
NFL Is Back In Abundance
Sep 10th
Special Report from Joshua Modaberi:
After seven months away the NFL was back last night with the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings in a repeat of last years NFC Championship match.
The Saints came out on top in that encounter which they won in overtime 31-28. New Orleans then went on to win their first Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts in Miami 31-17.
Sean Payton’s side continued from where they left off last season by beating the Vikings 14-9.
The NFL is a bit like a London double decker bus – having been away since February, this weekend in the UK there are still another five games on TV.
Joshua Modaberi has caught up with Kevin Cadle from Sky Sports and Dan Arkush from Pro Football Weekly to discuss the remaining television fixtures over the opening weekend.
Kevin Cadle on
Carolina @ NY Giants Live on Sky Sports 4 Sunday from 17.30:
“I don’t think you can look past the New York giants in this one, they are going to be opening the brand new stadium.
“Eli Manning is probably coming off his best season ever as a pro. Wide Receiver Steve Smith really came out and did a great job last year receiving the ball and Ahmad Bradshaw has established himself as the number one running back.
“You are still going to have to look at what the Giants are going to do defensively and that will be the key to their season. On Sunday they are going to have to go out there and do something with Carolina’s dynamic duo – they had two guys running 4,000 yards last year so you know they are going to be looking to run the football against the Giants.”
San Francisco @ Seattle Live on Sky Sports 4 Sunday from 21.00:
“We don’t know a lot about Seattle, right now you don’t know if Pete Carroll thinking is as a head coach of this particular team.
“What kind of team are the going to have, you have Justin Forsett as the top running back, and he’s only about 5’6 on a good day. With Seattle I think the betting will be out for them until teams can see exactly what they emphasise and what they are doing on both the offensive and defensive edge.
“As for San Francisco we know all about them, Mike Singletary has put a stamp on that defence and the defence is going to get better and better.
“Offensively I think the San Francisco organisation has done a tremendous job as far as trying to assist the role of Alex smith. Last year they brought in Michael Crabtree and now this year you have two new offensive linemen who where the top two draft choices – so they are trying to do whatever they can to get things in order for Alex Smith to be as successful as he can possibly be.”
Dan Arkush on
Dallas @ Washington Live on Channel 4 Monday from 00.55:
“Dallas in terms of pure talent probably have the most talented team in the league. That doesn’t necessarily mean they will get to the Super Bowl by any means.
“I think in this game they match up well against their opponents the Redskins. Nobody can really get a firm reading on what the deal is going to be with Washington.
“They have a new head coach in Mike Shanahan, who was a very successful head coach with the Broncos. By all accounts he seems to be heading in the right direction with the Redskins. Donovan McNabb is another great addition to Washington, but I think Dallas is going to win this game with the Super Bowl in Dallas they are going to want to have a good season and get off to a winning start.”
Redskins Review – Offseason Progress So Far
May 2nd
Back in early January I took at look at what new coach Mike Shanahan would need to address during the off-season. Now that the draft has been and gone, let’s take a look and see where we are.
Each in turn…
The Offensive Line
Chris Samuels retirement left a gaping hole on the left side of the line. And let’s be kind, this was a porous line at the best of times. Once the position at draft-time was sorted (see Quarterback, below) then there was very little doubt that the line would be bolstered with the #4 pick and sure enough, it was. Trent Williams comes in to protect McNabb’s blindside. The 7th round also saw us pick up Erik Cook (C, but versatile) and Selvish Capers (G) to give depth in the future. McNabb isn’t the scamperer that he was in years past, so he and our running backs (again, see below) are going to need a solid line.
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Andrew’s Redskins’ Review. Now With Added Shanahan
Jan 11th
So a disappointing season has limped to and end. Back in my First Look articles, from last August, I saw us finishing last but was hoping we’d make a fight of it. It wasn’t really to be.
The likable, but perhaps out of his depth Jim Zorn has gone, in a move that is in no way surprising – he’d probably been emptying his office steadily over the last few months – and Mike Shanahan is in. Not just as Coach, but in an Final Say role that he likes and that the team needs. But there’s a lot to fix, let’s take a look at some of the problems he’s inherited.
The Offensive Line
Make no mistake, this was a terrible unit this year. Whether it was injuries or just bad play it all starts with these guys and a lot of the other issues are direct results of these guys. When passing, there is never any confidence that when Campbell drops back he is going to have any time or space, that the pocket will hold as long as it needs to.
When Running, there’s little confidence that they’ll clear the way or win the battles that they need to The ‘Skins were 27th in rushing yards, with a paltry 94.4 yards per game. That’s something to be addressed. Which leads me onto… More >