Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Enemy Intel: Fisher not headed to Eagles

In the hours after the Titans fired Jeff Fisher there was speculation that Fisher could return to the Philadelphia Eagles, who still are looking for a defensive coordinator. Fisher cut his teeth as an NFL coach there, working there for five years from 1986-1990 including the last two as defensive coordinator. However, it does not appear that he will be back in Philly for an encore. It is unlikely that he will be coaching anywhere in 2011. Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean pass along the following from Fisher via Twitter:

"It's time for me to rest, and fish," Fisher said. "I have total peace about this right now."

Meanwhile, the Eagles' search for a defensive coordinator continues. Their season ended Jan. 9. In his press conference next day Andy Reid said that Sean McDermott would be retained as the defensive coordinator despite a sub par performance by the defense. Less than a week later, McDermott was out. A few days later defensive line coach Rory Segrest was shown the door out of the Novacare Complex. The slow-motion purge continued earlier this week when linebackers coach Bill Shuey was fired. Two of the three positions remain vacant. Philly did well in getting the highly regarded Jim Washburn from the Titans to be their defensive line coach (an event that may have been part of the reason for Fisher's departure from Tennessee). But almost three weeks after McDermott was fired the coordinator and linebacker spots remain vacant. Ruben Frank at CSNphilly.com has a good recap of where the situation stands now. There has not been much movement lately, indicating that the Eagles could be waiting to talk to assistant coaches on one of the Super Bowl teams. In particular, Frank mentions that Ruben Moss, Packers linebackers coach, could be on the list. Also under consideration is Todd Bowles, who played for the Redskins from1986-1990 and again in 1992-1993.

Haynesworth to the Eagles?

The Eagles have hired Jim Washburn as their new defensive line coach. Washburn came from the Tennessee Titans, where he was Albert Haynesworth's position coach. Putting two and two together, Reuben Frank of CSNphilly.com got to thinking that maybe another intra-division trade between the Redskins and Eagles involving a former Pro Bowl performer could be taking place somewhere down the line.

Now that Jim Washburn is here, could one of his most successful projects be next? Albert Haynesworth’s career is in tatters these days. He’s coming off a miserable second season with the Redskins, a year that started with him failing to pass the Redskins’ conditioning test and trying unsuccessfully to fit into the Redskins' 3-4 scheme and ended with him managing just 2 1/2 sacks and 13 tackles before being suspended for the final four games of the season by head coach Mike Shanahan for conduct detrimental to the team. Haynesworth has five years left on the seven-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Redskins just 23 months ago, but he does not appear to fit into the Redskins’ plans.

Click here to read the entire article.

Enemy Intel: Andy Reid at a crossroads

Andy Reid is at a crossroads as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Or at least that what it says in this article on Philly.com. Rich Hofman of the Philadelphia Daily News says that now that the Eagles have retooled on the fly and have transformed into one of the youngest teams in the NFL, the Eagles need to show some progress.

He is signed through the 2013 season, which means that he is going to be the coach here at least through 2012, unless he were to decide that he'd had enough and walk away himself. You have to think that everybody involved believes that the Eagles will be in the championship conversation by then - really and legitimately in that conversation, not just a wild-card-and-a-prayer kind of team - and if they aren't, well, it's going to be time.

After discussing Michael Vick’s future, Hofman turns to the defense:

The second point is this one, and it again has to do with the notion that the transition phase for the franchise is over. Specifically, this defense needs to be vastly improved the next time it takes the field.

That article was written before Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott and defensive line coach Rory Segrest were fired over the weekend. The performance of the Eagles defense spoke for itself, according to Ray Didinger of CSNphilly.com.

It is hard to argue against the numbers. The Eagles allowed 31 touchdown passes this season, the most in franchise history. They were the worst red zone defense the league has seen in decades. They were picked apart by geriatric quarterbacks (Kerry Collins) and rookies making their first start (Joe Webb). There certainly was a case to be made that the Eagles defense needed changing.

In his blog on Philly.com, Sheil Kapadia says that Segrest may have been the victim of some personnel moves made by Reid and the Eagles’ front office. In particular, he discussed the trade of former Redskin Chris Clemons and the Eagles allowing Jason Babin to go to the Titans in free agency. Babin had 12.5 sacks and Clemons had 11.

Trent Cole led the Eagles with 10 sacks, and Juqua Parker was second with six. The question that's tough to answer is: Why didn't Babin and Clemons have similar success with the Eagles? Maybe it had something to do with the system. Maybe it had more to do with the coaching. Or perhaps it's as simple as Babin and Clemons just played better in 2010. But whatever the reason was, the Eagles look bad - all the way from the personnel department to the coaching staff. At one point, they saw enough in Babin and Clemons to bring them in. But neither was an impact player here. Meanwhile, the non-existent pass rush from the front four was a major issue down the stretch as the Eagles lost to the Vikings in Week 16 and came up short against Green Bay in the wild-card round.

Didinger gets to a key issue here:

Still, it came as a surprise when the team announced Saturday that it was parting ways with Sean McDermott. I took Andy Reid at his word Monday when he said McDermott would be back for a third season as defensive coordinator. Reid said on Monday that McDermott would be back but, according to some reports, the decision was made on Wednesday, two days after Reid’s pronouncement.

This comes after a spring during which Reid said that Donovan McNabb would not be traded. After McNabb was traded, Reid said that Kevin Kolb was the starting quarterback. That pledge lasted until Michael Vick showed some flash, promoting Reid to pull the rug out from under Kolb. If Reid doesn’t have a credibility problem, he has the beginnings of one. This is not to say that this will cause the Eagles to implode and that the team’s best days are behind it. Still, if the players and coaches start to think that they can’t believe what the head coach says, things can begin to erode. Stay tuned. Update: I just read a report that said that Andy Reid is on vacation. While the organization is deciding on a new defensive coordinator and a new defensive line coach. All coaches need and deserve some R&R after a tough season but you'd have the think the timing could be better, right? Very strange. Again, stay tuned.

Come by and chat during Eagles-Packers

The Redskins aren't in the playoffs but that doesn't mean that the in-game chats here have to end. I'll be cranking up the chat machine at about 4:00 for the Packers-Eagles playoff games. We can chat about the game, try to figure out how the Redskins beat both of those teams this year, analyze the draft and free agency, and whatever else you want to talk about. Please note that the chat will be here, on RealRedskins.com, and not on CSN Washington. That will be the case for any more in-game chats during the playoffs. See you at 4:00.

19 years ago: Revenge of the Body Bags

OK, I'm a day late for the actual anniversary. The game was played at the Vet on January 4, 1991. But it still resonates with Redskins fans for many reasons, not the last of which is that it served as a springboard to the team's last Super Bowl win the next year. Oh, and it turned out to be Buddy Ryan's last game as an NFL head coach. From the pages of The Redskins Chronicle:

Redskins 20, Eagles 6 NFC Wild Card Game Saturday, January 5, 1991 Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

In their Monday night game eight weeks earlier, the Redskins got physically crushed by the Philadelphia Eagles in the “Body Bag” game. That was bad enough, but the Eagles chose to rub it in their faces, taunting and trash talking until the final gun on the field and in the locker room afterwards. Sometimes, things just fall into place. Washington qualified for the playoffs as a wild card entry, and the seedings called for the Redskins to return to the scene of the crime, Veterans Stadium, for a first-round playoff contest. They would have their shot at revenge. When facing the press in the days prior to a game, Gibbs was usually overly gracious in his comments about the opposition, making a 2-10 outfit sound like the '60's Packers and their coach the second coming of St. Vincent. Not this week, though. When asked about Ryan, Gibbs stood stone-faced and talked about the challenges ahead. One reporter caught Gibbs in an unguarded moment.  It was January 3, the day before the game.  Snow had fallen on New Year’s Eve and the journalist noted that the snow still covered Gibbs’ car in the parking lot at Redskins Park. In the hallway, the more Gibbs talked about Buddy, the madder he got.  "I live to play a game like this one. I live to play this guy," Gibbs said, turning red-faced with rage. While this was hardly headline material or Eagle bulletin board fodder, it was very telling of the mood of the coach and team. They were clearly on a mission as they entered the Vet for the game. It took them a quarter to get untracked as Philadelphia got two FG's for a 6-0 lead, but the defense stiffened after that, sacking Eagles QB Randall Cunningham five times and forcing three turnovers. Mark Rypien threw two scoring passes and Ernest Byner and Gerald Riggs shared the rushing duties and combined for 94 yards on the ground. A turnover reversed by replay was the game's turning point. The Redskins had taken a 7-6 lead and were driving for more when the ball popped loose from Byner's grasp when he was tackled at the Philadelphia six. Cornerback Ben Smith scooped the ball up and ran 94 yards for an apparent touchdown. Fortunately for the Redskins, instant replay showed that the ground caused the fumble and the call was reversed, with the Redskins retaining possession. The reversal became a 10-point turnaround as Chip Lohmiller connected on a short field goal and instead of a six-point deficit, the Redskins had a four-point lead. The Eagles' offense never could get untracked and the Redskins won 20-6. During a players-only meeting in the week before the game, the team had made a pact that they would not sink to the level of Philly and deliver “I told you so’s” to the classless Eagles after the game.  But the message was delivered to Buddy and his losing team after the game with a certain degree of subtlety. Clark said, “You'd better not question someone's character unless you're sure of the character you're talking about. This team has character, and hopefully this is just one step.” “People threw dirt on this team all year but they didn't know we had shovels and would keep digging our way out,” Coleman added.

After Further Review--Redskins 17, Eagles 12

I have my weekly game review up on CSNwashington.com. These pictures relate to the "controversy" ginned up by Troy Aikman at the end of the first half. Check out the article on CSN and check out the pictures here.

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