Gibbs rants at last, but it may just be too late

Appropriately, if belatedly, Thanksgiving Eve might have brought the Redskins something to be thankful for.

Joe Gibbs had a tirade.

OK, maybe it wasn’t a full-fledged tirade in the spirit of, say, Bob Knight; nobody reports that Gibbs threw anything, or “quickly lifted” anyone’s chin. But it was a whole lot more than a lecture. Those within earshot of Gibbs during Wednesday’s team meeting say he was irate. He was loud ... loud enough to be heard in the nearby hallways at Redskins Park. He said words Joe Gibbs doesn’t normally say. As my more proper relatives who live in the South would say, “He blessed them out.”

He didn’t love ‘em up, didn’t spend a lot of time telling them how they were fighting their guts out. From all accounts he indicated to his players that he wanted to see better effort, better preparation and very different results. Gibbs said he wants to get back to playing “Redskin football,” which for those who have been around here awhile suggests he wants to see more running, better run defense, and more all-around toughness. He indicated they are fighting, individually, for their jobs, and if the highly paid lieutenants didn’t like the message or the tone, then too bad for them too.

In all likelihood, this would be a typical midweek message at average volume from Bill Cowher or Bill Parcells, who are just as likely to deliver a rant after a victory as a defeat.

But it’s a radical departure from Gibbs’ season-long position of, “If you’ve got to go through tough times there’s no group of guys I’d rather be with ... “

There’s only one problem with Gibbs’ soliloquy: It’s a month too late ... at least.

About four weeks or so ago, Hall of Famer and former Redskins running back John Riggins said on his radio show, “It’s time for Joe Gibbs to go to the whip.”

But he didn’t. Gibbs talked about making a major announcement one day, only to apologize to fans for not signing enough autographs.

He apparently said all the right things Wednesday, with the appropriate tone. But it’s definitely too late for this season. And it’s fair to wonder now if he said it too late for this core group of players and, yes, coaches.

Gibbs should have ripped them a month ago.

He should have gotten Jason Campbell some work earlier.

He should have put in T.J. Duckett weeks ago, the better to play “Redskin football.”

Riggins said last week that the Redskins need to see if Duckett is the “alpha back” the offense needs, and whoever calls the plays should wear out Duckett handing him the ball today against Carolina, the better to keep the carnivorous Julius Peppers from treating Campbell as a leftover drumstick.

Reclaiming the team, which in essence is what Gibbs is trying to do in Week 12, is something he should have done after four or five games of ineptitude, of leading the NFL in penalties and ranking near the bottom in defense. Four or five weeks of failing to build an identity is long enough in the NFL. As bad a decision as it was for Nick Saban to rush Daunte Culpepper back into the lineup after his serious knee surgery, Saban may have recognized his error before it killed the season entirely; Joey Harrington, who should have started the season in the first place, has now led the Dolphins to a 5-6 record.

But perhaps reluctance to the point of paralysis is a function of delegating too much authority, or having lieutenants call the shots the general should be calling. Everything has taken too long to implement this season. The Redskins were among the last teams to begin training camp. Gibbs didn’t appear to push them in preseason, despite so many new coaches, new players and that infamous, encyclopedic playbook. Changes were made at a pace befitting baseball’s marathon, not pro football’s sprint. Even if the Redskins were giving maximum effort their effort should have been questioned six weeks ago.

Pro football has the greatest sense of urgency in professional sports. Change isn’t optional, it’s mandatory. It’s not enough to fight your guts out if you’ve got the wrong guys in the ring, as the Redskins clearly have had. And the blame for that goes to the head coach, not the assistants. This is why Gibbs’ irritated voice should have been bearing an urgent message after that home-field loss to last-place Tennessee.

What we’ll be looking for the rest of the way is the reaction to Gibbs’ rant from his players, whether they’ll jump to attention like Redskins did in the 1980s or whether they know all of this is mere window dressing at 3-7.

Thanksgiving Day is essentially the bell lap for the remainder of the NFL season. The teams that are truly ready to make a run into and through the playoffs will start to make that move this week. Carolina, at 6-4, is probably one of those teams. The Panthers come to Washington knowing who they are, what it is they do best, and that they absolutely need this game to keep pace with several other teams in the NFC playoff race.

The Redskins, once again, are in transition: new quarterback, perhaps a new primary running back, perhaps a new plan of attack that emphasizes running more than throwing.

Maybe we’ll see the old coach grab the team by the lapels now, perhaps even call the plays, which is a big reason his bronzed bust sits in Canton. Still, to try to jump-start the season a dozen weeks in, even if a jump-start is desperately needed, is the definition of too little too late.