G-Prime Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Since our blow out win over of the 49er's yesterday, I've seen quite a bit of perspective being lost in various degrees. From "well it was the 49ers" to "We're going to the super bowl!". Allow me to break down unit by unit of how well our team has "truly" done so far this year. This is just from my perspective, so please keep that in mind. Offense: After the Bears game I saw little from our offense to believe that they have made any marked improvement over last years unit. We looked sluggish, slow and unmotivated. The Dallas game was in many fan's minds the turning point for the offense. Two big plays opened sideline eyes to what our personnel is truly capable of. The next game vs. Seattle we saw more improvement from an offense trying to find an identity and rhythm. In Denver the offense made further strides, improving in yards per game and looking unstoppable by everyone but themselves. Kansas City tells the same story as Denver. Noticeable improvement in offense with a nose for the big play seemingly at will. However our own mistakes cost us the game. The 49er's game is a game that we needed to portray our dominance. Consistency starts with a perfect performance. It is impossible to be consistent without first having a strong first performance. Perfect, Low penalties, no turn overs, forced turn overs and a methodical, go for the throat offense. Yesterday's performance should be the true start of Joe Gibbs football. Methodical, mistake free football that Gibbs is famous for. Most importantly we've once again continued the trend of offensive improvement. The weight has been lifted from Portis and the Defense. Mike Sellers has immerged as a viable redzone threat to go along with Moss, Patten, Cooley and Portis. Mark Brunell's reemergence can in part be attributed to a wonderfully target rich environment the Redskins possess. Defense: Our Defense is giving up on average of about 1 big play per game. Oddly enough running plays. Something our defense was supposed to be strong against. Don't read to much into the big plays, but we can't ignore them either. For 58 Minutes of the last three games we've played, we've dominated the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball. A few brief moments we've lapsed and given up the big run. This is crucial in the moment as in two of those games it could have meant the difference between winning and losing. We don't give up those big runs we are 6 and 0. However the defense can hardly be blamed for offensive mistakes and penalties the halt drives. However a tighter defense could have helped. Our defense is still good. Very good as a matter of fact. We've gone up against really good offenses and punched them in the mouth. Last week I mentioned in a post that our Defense looked sluggish, slow, and asked "Where's the pop we had last year". As we've done well, I haven't seen any emotion on that side of the ball. Yesterday I did, I saw our defense play with an attitude and a mean streak. We punished people on hits and finished plays definitively. It was a very pretty thing to see. Special Teams: A unit on our team that has been excruciatingly mediocre all season. Our return game is average at best and boring in actuality. I'm not sure why, but you would think that we could break someone loose with the amount of speed we have on this team. We've tried Betts and Cartwright and the faster Thrash. Nothing seems to be working. We can't power our way through with Betts, Cartwright and Broughton and we can't speed our way through with Moss and Thrash. Perhaps it's poor coverage blocking, I'm not really sure, but it is in my opinion our most glaring weakness and should become a top priority if the other two units remain consistent. On coverage, we are very good. Every guy on coverage running to meet the ball carrier with explosive hits or boxing them in for no gains or losses(Dante Hall). Even Frost got into the action laying a big hit on a ball carrier. We should really have no complaints over our Special Teams coverage units. So there is my opinion of what I've seen. Should we feel unstoppable after handing the 49er's their manhood on a burgundy and gold platter? No. Should we feel like a good team moving in the right direction? Absolutely. We have plenty to be excited about, we have a game to build consistency upon and we need to carry that consistency on the road with us. We beat the Giants and Philly and you will then start to hear about the Redskins being a top team among "the better" national media sources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HailYeah Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Nice post. I think our D is very good, like you said. It is nothing spectacular, but I believe its good enough to carry us all the way. Now if our O can just put up 35 consistently....wishful thinking? Maybe. Maybe not. One other comment. Re: special teams. I think its ok to have a mid-grade return unit...the main thing is this unit is safe. We cant afford to kill ourselves there. For the first time this year I saw us almost block a punt which maybe a sign that we are taking strides there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingdaddy Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I say this in all seriousness........ If the Redskins can stay healthy and keep improving from week to week at the rate they are, it is not out of the question to mention them as serious Super Bowl contenders. The next two weeks are going to be very good tests to support this statement. Given good game plans, and mistake free football, there is no reason to believe that the Skins can't beat the Giants and Eagles. Denver had the Giants beat and both Dallas and San Diego outplayed the Eagles. The NFC is there for the taking..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H-O-G Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I think the next 3 divisional games will define this teams season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Prime Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 Nice post. I think our D is very good, like you said. It is nothing spectacular, but I believe its good enough to carry us all the way. Now if our O can just put up 35 consistently....wishful thinking? Maybe. Maybe not. One other comment. Re: special teams. I think its ok to have a mid-grade return unit...the main thing is this unit is safe. We cant afford to kill ourselves there. For the first time this year I saw us almost block a punt which maybe a sign that we are taking strides there. Excellent point regarding our special teams being safe. I failed to take that in account. Very true. Our ST's don't hurt us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoony Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I think the next 3 divisional games will define this teams season. absolutely. Ask me what I really think about this team after week 8. .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimReefa Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 you know, if you discount the overtime portion of the Seattle game, the Skins have scored more points each week than the week previous. 9, 14, 17, 19, 21, 52. So look out Giants, coz the Skins should be going for like 55 Sunday... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Prime Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 you know, if you discount the overtime portion of the Seattle game, the Skins have scored more points each week than the week previous.9, 14, 17, 19, 21, 52. So look out Giants, coz the Skins should be going for like 55 Sunday... If we treat the Giants slightly better 31st ranked defense like we treated the 49ers, it's entirely possible. It'll be hard on the road.. Personally I don't are about blow outs, but a solid win is great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappy1271 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Yes, each week there has been an improvement in some or each aspect of the game. Gothtimus, IMO you hit the nail on the head. Play the "if" game for a moment: take away 3 turnovers in the redzone, and 3 long running plays over the past 3 weeks and we would be 6-0. To me that says volumes. I am not saying we are Super Bowl ready, but you know what, hell of a lot better than we have seen since 1991. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budski Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I dont know about all that but a pass out to flat to fool Springs just does not work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awd_sr Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 This game agains the Giants is huge, if we win that, we're 2-0 in the division, 5-0 in the NFC, thats huge. But we HAVE to win the NFC East games, and erase that bogus trend of losing 'em. Great post on the squads though, I definitely agree we need a good return man, Thrash is solid, but we need a gamebreaker back there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LD0506 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Good analysis Goth. Are we ready for the SB? Nope, not yet but luckily that's not played for several months. I say we'll know before Thanksgiving whether or not we're in the hunt. It might be unrealistic to book a room in Detroit this soon but maybe check 'em out online? That's not entirely ridiculous. Your best point is about consistency, I'll give you that, and we are seeing consistent progress each week. Coach Gibbs and his staff have done and are doing a fabulous job of instilling that true Skins spirit we have missed for too long. Each game we see more, the O gets smoother, special teams work better (some outrageous plays yesterday there), the D is quite solid and LA getting on board only improves our chances. So when do we start up the collection for the Joe Gibbs statue for FedEx? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HailYeah Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 I dont know about all that but a pass out to flat to fool Springs just does not work. No it doesn't. I dont think many teams will be trying that anymore. He's just too good of a tackler. And It doesn't fool Walt either. We got some proven corners now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Prime Posted October 24, 2005 Author Share Posted October 24, 2005 So when do we start up the collection for the Joe Gibbs statue for FedEx? Hey where do I sign? I'd put money into that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Excellent point regarding our special teams being safe. I failed to take that in account. Very true. Our ST's don't hurt us. Don't hurt us? I seem to recall a couple of blocked kicks costing us points and leading to a short field for our opponent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpillian Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Walt Harris has certainly made some strides this year. The game vs. Dallas -- he was looking very, very good. We certainly miss Smoot from a depth perspective, but in my opinion, Walt is filling his shoes rather nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBChick Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 One other comment. Re: special teams. I think its ok to have a mid-grade return unit...the main thing is this unit is safe. We cant afford to kill ourselves there. For the first time this year I saw us almost block a punt which maybe a sign that we are taking strides there. I very much agree. Not only is the ST return game safe, but very consistant too. We may not have broken the big play, but the skins are constantly getting around the 30-35 on Kick-offs and never go backwards on punts. I spent yesterday watching both the Bengals and Steelers giving up a solid 5-10 yards or even going backwards trying to make the BIG play happen, and it never really did! Trust me.. I'll take 4 starts from the 30 over 3 from the 15 and one from the 50! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HailYeah Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Don't hurt us? I seem to recall a couple of blocked kicks costing us points and leading to a short field for our opponent. Thats the field goal unit. They need work still. But the return unit has looked safe so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 Thats the field goal unit. They need work still. But the return unit has looked safe so far. Well the post I was replying to said "special teams"; it did not specify return team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouvan59 Posted October 24, 2005 Share Posted October 24, 2005 For the first time this year I saw us almost block a punt which maybe a sign that we are taking strides there. We blocked a punt against Denver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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