New Spurrier Article...Fantasy Spin

[TheShredder]

Sorry this is a cut and paste from a private site and I don't have time to allign the stats...The Shredder

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Early Returns for Spurrier

by Tim Gase

August 21, 2002

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The reviews are starting to trickle in and there is evidence that the Washington Redskins and new head coach, Steve Spurrier’s fun-n-gun offense is a bit more prolific than some NFL head coaches might have expected.

However, having made that statement it is still too early to tell just how prolific the Redskins scoring machine will be. Certainly, Spurrier has several former Florida Gator players that are familiar with his system and have prospered from it while in college. Yet, producing the eye popping numbers that the ‘Skins offense has shown this pre-season, throughout the NFL season, may be asking a bit much. Nevertheless, in three preseason games, the multi-headed quarterback of Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel and Sage Rosenfels have put up some impressive numbers as the statistics below show.

Cumulative Pre-Season Passing Statistics: Washington Quarterbacks

Att Comp Yds Comp % Yds/Att TD TD % INT INT % Long Sack/Lost Rating

Rosenfels 54 32 476 59.3 8.8 5 9.3 2 3.7 65 1/8 103.6

Wuerffel 41 26 395 63.4 9.6 4 9.8 1 2.4 44 2/15 117.4

Matthews 48 31 332 64.6 6.9 4 8.3 3 6.2 31 1/2 86.5

GAME 1: vs. San Francisco 49ers

CP/AT YDS TD INT

Wuerffel 16/25 267 3 0

Rosenfels 10/20 172 2 1

GAME 2: vs. Carolina Panthers

CP/AT

YDS

TD

INT

Matthews

17/27

195

2

1

Wuerffel

8/11

102

1

0

Rosenfels

5/9

60

0

0

Game 3 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

CP/AT

YDS

TD

INT

Rosenfels

17/25

244

3

1

Matthews

14/21

137

2

2

Wuerffel

2/5

24

0

1

What does all this mean? Well, if you’re a Florida Gator fan AND a fan of the Washington Redskins, you could interpret it as another sign that “Super” Steve and “Dynamic” Dan have teamed up to produce the next great NFL aerial show to rival that of the St. Louis Rams.

If of course, you are the type that argues this is still pre-season, and other than a little entertainment value, there is no credence that can be put into such statistics, then you may have a case as well. So, let us a little deeper look into those offensive numbers the Redskins have put up over the last three games, and see if there are any tales to tell.

Game 1 vs. Washington Redskins (38) San Francisco 49ers (7)

This game was simply a show of what the NFL is all about and it was presented to an audience that claims Sumo Wrestling as their national sport. The 49ers and head coach, Steve Mariucci were not about to get any of their stars and starters hurt while playing a meaningless game in Japan. A quick review of the stats reveals that the ‘niners offensive triumvirate of Jeff Garcia (4 of 8, 0 TD 0 INT), Garrison Hearst (4 carries & 10 yards) and Terrell Owens (1 catch 4 yards) were persona-non-grata. OK, Give Spurrier his due, he is trying to build confidence in his troops, his system and excite the faithful in Redskin-land, but this game was entertainment value only.

Game 2 Washington Redskins (37) vs. Carolina Panthers (30)

OK, another big scoring game for the Redskins, right? Not exactly. An interception on a batted ball with 1:09 left pulled this out for the ‘Skins, but that was not the only help Spurrier’s charges got. Earlier in this game, they benefited from some early, pre-season mistakes when the Panthers had 12 men on the field for a punt return, and an interference call that set up another score. And what happened to the ‘skins vaunted defense? After all, this is the Carolina Panthers we are talking about, and they scored 30 points. Just goes to show why it has called pre-season, does it not?

Game 3: Washington Redskins (35) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (34)

Pittsburgh is up 17 – 0 going into the half and the ‘skins starters manage a meager 123 yards of total offense. On top of that, they give the ball back to the Steelers six times before the backups for both teams came on the field in the third quarter. Not even the Redskins defense, they of the Marvin Lewis coached and Lavar Arrington led, Redskins could stem the tide of mistakes and Pittsburgh power. It was not until the Steelers third-stringers were allowed on the field, did ‘skins QB, Sage Rosenfels get hot and put 3 TDs on the board in the last quarter.

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No, ladies and gentlemen, I am not convinced that the Washington Redskins fun-n-gun offense of Steve Spurrier is ready for the NFL, at least not this year. BUT…! Let us not forget that Spurrier is a smart man and probably an even smarter football coach. He will figure out the intricacies of the NFL and NFL defenses. He will get the players he needs to provide him with the Ram-like aerial attack for which he is noted. But I am not sure this year; he will be able to put all the components together to produce the offensive points that he has while at the University of Florida. His offense will be fun to watch, and his teams will score some points, but I am not sure they are going to score more points than the majority of their opponents, and that is the bottom line in the NFL.

[TheShredder]

here is a summary of the OL from the same site.

Washington Redskins

Washington has the benefit of two great tackles. Chris Samuels on the left and Jon Jansen on the right are a pair of powerful anchors for the squad. With Samuels ailing, Rod Jones is filling in for him, but by the time the season gets underway, Jones will probably be at the LG spot. Free-agent acquisition Larry Moore has moved in to the center spot quite nicely. If Ross Tucker can get enough reps as the RG, this unit could be one of the better ones in football. They will have to be to some degree simply because the Redskins are going to throw a lot under Steve Spurrier.