A Big Man's Game - GMSM Philosophy

[Caliskinsfan]

A Big Man's Game - The Scot McCloughan Philosophy

Excerpt

In Washington, Scot McCloughan's contract gives him total control of the Redskins roster, but he constantly preaches consensus-building, a collaborative model that involves all of his lieutenants, team president Bruce Allen, head coach Jay Gruden and owner Daniel Snyder. Scot is open to opinions, whether he agrees with them or not - this according to a member of the Redskins front office, and he is constantly giving credit to other people around him.



This "team approach" is great, but Scot is the person who will be ultimately be held accountable for roster decisions, so, with this in mind, what does the General look for in the type of player he brings into the fold?



Game film holds the most importance to McCloughan. Not the combine, not pro-days, not running routes on air with your team's former quarterback throwing you passes. To Scot, it's about toughness, heart and commitment. It's the thankless work a player does when the ball isn't in his hands. It's watching how a guy explodes off blocks, jumps up and down on the sideline when a teammate makes a big play, or throwing a block downfield to spring a teammate loose. Words like quick-twitch reflexes, and low center of gravity frequent his vocabulary.



Scot refers to the NFL as a "big man's game." He values size, smarts and passion on both sides of the trenches. "We want smart guys and we want tough guys...we want big, tough, nasty, strong guys." When discussing pass rushers he said, "I like big guys, long guys, length." "in Washington, we're going to draft these guys and we are going to draft them and mold them as Redskins. We're not going to have to go out to other organizations and bring in 32 and 33 year olds who have different plans. I think the best case scenario is you draft and mold your own and re-sign your own."

 

[Breed]

I can get on-board with the Scotty Mac philosophy for sure.

It felt good hearing another team (the Rams) say the Skins were physical this year.

 

[redskinsfan]

That's a great philosophy to have. This reminds me of a conversation that Phil Simms recalls having with Bill Parcells. According to Simms, Parcells said to him: "Do you know the difference between big players and fast players? As the season goes on, fast players slow down; big players don't get smaller."

 

[skinsdad62]

i agree with SM i like size

 

[gkekoa]

i agree with SM i like size

That's what she said.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

This is interesting. I remember when the early 90's Cowboys defenses were built on speed and for years that was the rage. I still think it's important, for years this defense had little team speed and that's why they were so vulnerable to the screen pass. I'm not sure that has changed much.

But I will never argue with SM and his philosophy. Certainly getting bigger and stronger on the OL was a big factor this year.