There is plenty of concern out there among Redskins fans that Mike Shanahan believes that his team is very close to being a playoff contender. Since the team lost so many close games in 2010--six by a touchdown or less--the fear is that Shanahan will just try to make a tweak here and there and hope that the team can work a little magic and get into playoff contention.
The concerns are there because that is the way that the Redskins have done business for much of the past decade. But the fears may well be unfounded. Last month at the combine, Shanahan was asked if he thought the team was close because they were in so many games. His answer seems to start off in the wrong direction but it finishes well.
We were close. The number of games we could have won, we easily could have won 10, 11, 12 games, but we didn’t. We need some more depth. We need to improve a lot of different areas. What you want to do is win consistently. You don’t want to win just one year. You’ve got to build a foundation. You’ve got to get some depth at a lot of different positions. If you want to stay at the top, you’ve got to do things the right way, and we’re going to do things the right way.So, at least in terms of what he says, it doesn't appear that Shanahan is interested in trying to apply duct tape to the problems that the team has now. Talk of "a foundation," "depth," and "the right way" certainly should be music to the ears of Redskins fans. Of course, it will be more useful to judge Shanahan on the basis of what he does rather than on what he says. What do you think? Is Shanahan committed to rebuilding the Redskins "the right way"? Or was he just saying what he thinks Redskins fans want to hear?
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