aCalBearSkin Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 On his 980AM radio show yesterday (10/10) Coach Gibbs responded to a question regarding handing off vs. pitching the ball, saying that they almost exclusively use the hand off. My question is this: Why limit yourself solely to the hand off when you have a back like Portis? Gibbs claims, "That's just the way we do it." While Clinton hasn't been doing horribly, he sure hasn't given us any runs like his first one last year. Why not work the pitch into the offence? It may give Portis a chance to step up his game, while spreading the field. Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlobberKnockinFootball Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I thought the pitches to Portis worked very well everytime we've used them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark911 Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I see Gibbs and the offense making Portis fit into their offensive scheme, rather than making some adjustments for their offensive scheme to fit Portis' running style. This is understandable, but unfortunate. I don't think he'll ever tap his full potential here with the plain handoff and running between the tackles. It seemed like whenever we ran a pitch against Denver he was picking up yards in heaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TankRizzo Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I thought the pitches to Portis worked very well everytime we've used them. ...and to add to that, I've seen some horrible handoffs. Heck, we had one in this past game and several are still fresh in my mind from last season, namely the Giants game :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpillian Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I think it's the same reason Gibbs didn't integrate the shotgun until this year: the probability of maintaining ball control. A pitch is riskier than a handoff --- and in Gibbs mind, must not be worth the risk. I also liked the extra steps it gives Portis towards the outside prior to getting the ball. I'd imagine if we liked what we saw in Denver -- and in those wet conditions -- that Gibbs is probably making the same mental notes as well. If you used it a lot, though, you'd probably have to relegate yourself to losing a few more fumbles during the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aCalBearSkin Posted October 11, 2005 Author Share Posted October 11, 2005 A pitch is riskier than a handoff --- and in Gibbs mind, must not be worth the risk. Yea, I agree. I just hope Gibbs doesn't play it safe to a fault... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Platypus Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I think I recall seeing a number of pitches and tosses on Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 play action passing the guy has 3 super bowl trophies, and a winning record this season..... but hey the fans know more :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 play action passingthe guy has 3 super bowl trophies, and a winning record this season..... but hey the fans know more :laugh: You make it seem like there are no NFL personnel out there with the same type of resume Gibbs has that would agree with this poster... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aCalBearSkin Posted October 11, 2005 Author Share Posted October 11, 2005 play action passingthe guy has 3 super bowl trophies, and a winning record this season..... but hey the fans know more :laugh: No, no one is claiming to know more than anyone else. I'm merely questioning a particular decision. Sorry, I didn't realize there was a Bush administration-like moratorium on critiquing the leader...:notworthy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie5 Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 One reason the pitched work as well as it did on Sunday (for both teams) was that it wasn't used as a predominant distribution method. If you go to the pitch too often (and I love the option pitch), the D knows its coming and you wind up with a 5 yard loss as opposed to a 2 yard gain. I thought both the Redskins and Broncos used it really well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrfriedm Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 Remember that this is still the first half of the season, Gibbs always likes to keep a few surprises for the second half teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TankRizzo Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 play action passingthe guy has 3 super bowl trophies, and a winning record this season..... but hey the fans know more :laugh: I'm not claiming to know more, I'm just pointing out the fact that we've had quite a few muffed handoffs here in conjuntion w/ the post claiming that the handoff is safer than a pitch. :whoknows: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkyalligator Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 Gibbs is slowly incorporating the pitch into the offense....he has gotten more comfortable with the shotgun and will do the same with the pitch...especially when he looks at the footage from this past weekend...our offense is a work in progress and it is indeed making progress... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnhay Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 What was his reason behind the "that's just the way we do it" remark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 Well, one would think it is because a handoff is more secure with less chance of a fumble,,,, up until Sunday when they handed it off to the ground. I agree,, if it helps him stretch the D and get himself a bit of running room, go for it. In another note on Portis, I was just in the car, and heard a bite from Gibbs explaining what happened in Denver to Portis' leg, said he got kicked in the shin REALLY bad, that today it is all swelled up. He said that Clinton came to him on the sidelines and told him that he was going to have to run it up inside for the rest of the game. I thought that they stretched the run in the first half, to not much success, but then turned it back in on purpose, figuring to catch the Broncos leaning toward the sweep, and it worked. I know it seemed to me that we were a lot more successful running up the gut. Turns out CP asked for the inside running because it would be easier on his leg. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwsleep Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 As I reacall the radio show, Gibbs said that he likes to hand off because then every running play, inside or out looks the same as it begins. This gives the defense lees to key in on. BUt then he said that this is how their offense is designed. I like the pitch as well, though it seems Gibbs so far only uses it as a sort of trick. They gained like 150 with a high average on Sunday. What we've lacked is good redzone running, as Gibbs admitted. He said: Put money on this, if we are throwing inside the 10, we are not happy. And we are working on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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