Who is deep throat?

John Riggins named him "Deep Throat" after the inside tipster who pointed The Washington Post's Woodward and Bernstein in the right direction in the Watergate scandal. The mystery is who is the Redskin team member who was the source for Tom Friend's scathing ESPN article Reeling Redskins awash in troubles? It will probably take Woody and Bernie to figure out who's doing the talking.

The article points a damning finger at the Redskins coaches, especially deputy for defense Gregg Williams, as the cause of the the team's collapse on defense. Washington enjoyed a top ten defense in Williams first two years, but now inhabit the lower rungs of the NFL.

The article labels the Redskins a "fractured team" and Williams in particular as arrogant. According to Friend, "The problem, according to a notable Redskins player, is a scheme, a staff and a play-calling regimen that is flawed and predictable, and a sense that Williams is on too much of a power trip to adjust."

The unnamed Redskin is quoted as saying "They thought they figured it all out. They thought, 'We can win with scheme, we don't need players.' Don't be mistaken, this is a player-driven game, and so you need players. Any time in life when somebody thinks they've got it all figured out, it's going to come and get you. It's going to come and get you . . . . The sentiment is a lot of guys are mad because the coaches think it's all about them. They think they're f------ geniuses, thinking they can just let guys go and get away with handling people badly."

While most of the focus is on the personalities involved, Friend also takes a swipe at the Skins' approach to building a roster. "They are money-driven, but not always money-wise, and the decisions to throw cash at every problem, or free agent, or coach, has created ego and narcissism. It's not necessarily Gibbs' fault, because he didn't draw it up this way or imagine it happening, but the almighty dollar has created too many power trips at Redskin Park, or as one Redskins player said, 'Too many chiefs and not enough indians."' (no pun intended)

According to the story, the front office is already targeting Nate Clemens (CB, Bills) and Dwight Freeney (DE, Colts) on the first day of 2007 free agency.

Friend's article got a lot of buzz, but these accusations about Williams have been around for awhile. There are even jokes about him.

Q: Why are there three "Gs" in Gregg?

A: The second G is for "genius." The third G is for "god."

We've also observed here that the defense regards players as interchangeable parts. When everyone is a starter, no player is a star. There are no stars but the coaches.

The really new news is the laser light focused on safeties coach Steve Jackson, whom I've suspected of exerting a negative effect on the secondary. That may be unfair, but Jackson's arrival coincides with deteriorated performance by the secondary. I was hoping someone would look into that.

So, who is the mysterious blabber mouth? Wrong question. Are these revelations valid? That's what inquiring minds want to know as we ponder why a team that should be 7-4 now is only 4-7 largely due to defensive failings.

How does that happen?

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Washington Redskins