Forget Who Started the Drama, Who’s Going to End It?

April 6, 2018

By Richard Rogers

For a minute, I thought, FINALLY, for once we would have a Redskins off-season devoid of drama. Kirk Cousins was gone. No more, will we or won’t we sign him? No more, does he want to be here or does he feel wanted? I breathed a sign of relief that the Redskins organization brought closure to a mess of their own making.  Heck, my “concern” meter over the Ravens signing of Robert Griffin III barely made a ripple in my world. I wish him all the best. But then Tuesday happened.

Chris Russell, a local radio host and beat writer who covers the Redskins, suggested that Dan Snyder is angry with the manner in which Bruce Allen is leading the team.  He even suggested that Allen was on thin ice and continued negative press and personnel missteps could mean his ouster.

Just when you thought the Redskins would have an offseason of “peace”, here comes another storyline to watch that takes attention away from actual football. But is this anything new?  You already know the answer to that question.

Here’s look back at the storylines and drama that has surrounded this team since 2010.  I could go back further, but I really don’t want to.

2017 Season

The storyline was, of course, Kirk Cousins. The Redskins revealed that they were prepared to pay Kirk the highest amount of guaranteed money of any QB in the NFL. Allen shared the terms of the contract, and we later found out that Kirk and his agent didn’t counter the offer. The fan base was split. Who’s fault was it? Were the Redskins being cheap? Was Kirk being greedy?  Once again, the 2017 season began without a long term answer at quarterback, and it didn’t help that Kirk and Coach Gruden, once again, started the season 0-1.

The real drama came with the firing of Scot McCloughan. Allegedly, Bruce Allen was jealous of McCloughan and leaked to the press about his drinking.  Fans were pissed! Media members made up dastardly names for Bruce Allen.  I heard “The Prince of Darkness” and “Goose Allen”.  Nevertheless, this was a league-wide embarrassment. The 2017 season was clouded by McCloughan’s dismissal and Cousins’ “diss”.

2016 Season

This was the “prove it” year for Kirk Cousins.  Was the 2015 playoff run an anomaly? Was Kirk for real? The sentiment among fans was understanding of wanting to see more from Kirk, but again, the uncertainty at the QB position continues to hover over this team. There were also grumblings of a Cousins trade at the end of the season and trouble between Cousins and his WRs.

2015 Season

This was the season of a divided fan base.  Should the Redskins go with RGIII or Kirk Cousins? Griffin III suffered a phantom concussion in the preseason, opening the door for Cousins. Gruden, with the help of McCloughan, stood on the table for Kirk Cousins.  Snyder wanted Griffin III, and Griffin III wanted Griffin III. It got ugly early in that season.  There were hints that this decision was racially motivated. Ugly! By all accounts, Kirk Cousins was a half away from being considered a career backup in the Tampa Bay game and Gruden looked like he’d be on the list of coaches not to make it to the end of a contract under Snyder.

The drama came from the mere fact that both Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins were on the roster.

2014

There was the drama of the QB carousel.  It was Griffin, then Colt, then Kirk, then Griffin. One of the biggest storylines was Gruden’s evisceration of Robert Griffin III at a press conference.  Once again, a national embarrassment (even though he was right). The Redskins were 4-12.

2013

The drama of this season almost made me quit the team.  This was the “all in for week one” season. This was the preseason that saw Griffin III do a full hour TV special on his rehab. Shanahan burned the house down on his way out the door.  Drama between Shanahan and Griffin III. Drama between Shanahan and Snyder. But Snyder and Griffin III were bro’s. Snyder chose Griffin.

2012

It started out as what looked like another losing season, then magic happened. Griffin looked like he’d be the Redskins QB for the next ten years.  The Redskins were relevant again.  Snyder had finally got it right….and then came the “knee”. Griffin injured his knee in the Baltimore game and was never right after that.  He continued to play but the Redskins almost always found themselves in the worst drama possible.  Shanahan left him in the game in the playoffs against the Seahawks when they were up 14-0, and Griffin went down in a crumpled heap. It was drama central. Did Shanahan leave him in too long?  Should he have taken Griffin III out? It was national embarrassment.

2011

John Beck…enough on that.

2010

The Redskins traded for Donovan McNabb. There was some positive buzz around the team, but ultimately McNabb was washed up.  The Redskins were duped by Andy Reid.  McNabb was yanked from a game against the Lions and Shanahan cited McNabb’s “cardiovascular endurance”. It was Rex Grossman time!

Drama never leaves this team.  It’s always something. There can never be a quiet off-season. The one constant is Dan Snyder, and he’s not going to fire himself, so I’m not even going to rant about that. The other constant is Bruce Allen…I’ll just leave that there.

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