WP: Boswell - Losses of Attention

[Fitz]

Another typically superior Boswell column -

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56321-2002Dec30.html

Losses of Attention

By Thomas Boswell

Tuesday, December 31, 2002; Page D01

Steve Spurrier stood outside the Washington Redskins' locker room on Sunday after beating the Cowboys, 20-14, and seemed genuinely mystified. "We should have beaten them by three or four touchdowns," the coach said. How could Dallas still have a chance to win in the closing minutes? How could the Redskins, playing at home, throttle a bad team in every statistic, yet barely win?

Are his Redskins much closer to being of playoff caliber than many think, Spurrier wondered? Or is something basic wrong?

In their last four games, since Patrick Ramsey took over at quarterback, the Redskins have followed the same tantalizing, but frustrating pattern they showed Sunday. They've had the stunning stats of a winner, while making the mental mistakes of a loser.

In this span, the Redskins have played all three of their perennial foes in the NFC East -- the Eagles, Giants and Cowboys, plus the expansion Texans. Two playoff teams, two lousy teams. In those games, they've rolled up an enormous advantage in yardage (1,528-988), first downs (84-49) and rushing yardage (616-326). Since Ramsey entered, they've also had a 10-4 advantage in sacks.

Those numbers imply a physical domination of both lines of scrimmage and systems, on both offense and defense, that work. The 382 yards of offense per game, as Spurrier and Ramsey meld, have been especially eye-catching. The highest-scoring Redskins team ever ('83) averaged 384 yards. Last year, the Redskins averaged 277.

Is the Spurrier system, with Ramsey at the controls, already starting to click? Or is a month of late-season games too small a sample? Since becoming the entrenched quarterback of the future, Ramsey has completed 66 of 124 passes for 816 yards. That's decent. More important, he has had six touchdowns to two interceptions and, in the last three starts, taken only four sacks.

"I'm about 10 times more comfortable now. I'm not as uptight about every single play," said Ramsey after a mediocre final game. "I'm beginning to understand that you can't throw a touchdown every play. Try not to get sacked or make mistakes."

As Ramsey, who missed part of training camp with a contract dispute, understands Spurrier's offense better next season, his low completion percentage -- about seven percent below the NFL norm -- should improve. That might take care of better yardage and touchdown ratios as well.

"I've been really pleased with Patrick these last three games," Spurrier said. "He made a few bad plays, but he made more good plays. He can make all the throws and he's a tough guy to stand in the pocket. He has a great chance to be pretty good."

Pretty good can often be enough. Ramsey's upside? He might someday be as useful as two strong-armed Redskins who were also smart, brave, but immobile pocket passers -- Mark Rypien and Doug Williams. Neither was flashy. Both were Super Bowl MVPs.

The Redskins have also gotten spectacular production -- albeit against weak teams -- in the final two games from Ledell Betts and Kenny Watson. With 214 yards on 37 carries (5.8 average), Betts looks like next year's starting running back. Watson's 168 yards on 37 carries (4.5 average) weren't a shabby audition, either.

Meanwhile, the Redskins' defense claims it's finally mastering Marvin Lewis's system. Just in time for some other NFL team to grab him as a head coach in all probability. The Cowboys' first 12 possessions Sunday produced eight punts, three lousy fumbles and an interception. "They were coming in at all angles," said Dallas quarterback Chad Hutchinson. "We could not do much out there."

If so much is going right, even if it's in obscure late-season games, then why do the Redskins also seem like a team that might miss the playoffs next year and drive Spurrier to distraction again?

"If we don't beat ourselves, like we have all year then . . ." began veteran defensive end Bruce Smith. "But then 'beating ourselves' is the only thing we've been consistent at the whole season. The effort's been there. But when you don't protect the ball, you lose."

In the last four games, the Redskins have lost 10 fumbles. That's not just inexcusable, it's almost incomprehensible. Four of Joe Gibbs's teams lost seven or less fumbles in an entire season. A player at a skill position on a contender should wake up in the night screaming if he even dreams about fumbling. The thought "coach is going to cut me at dawn" should leap to mind.

Holding onto a football isn't rocket science. Everybody in the NFL tries to strip every ballcarrier. That's old news. But it hasn't reached Redskins Park. Unfortunately, the unnecessary fumble -- like Betts getting the ball poked out from behind at the one-yard line by a Cowboy -- is emblematic of an entire slipshod season.

Maybe next preseason, the Redskins can get Samuel L. Jackson to give his "Pulp Fiction" speech to all the Redskins ballcarrier -- the one where he points his magnum at your forehead and bellows "and I shall lay my vengeance upon thee."

By next season, somebody has to put some fear into all the current Redskins who repeat the same basic errors endlessly, like 35 penalties in the last four games. Even when the Redskins do something right, they're often within an eyelash of messing it up. On Watson's five-yard touchdown run, the play clock was down to tenths of second before the snap.

The Redskins lost a touchdown Sunday on a fumble recovery because players on the sideline -- for reasons known only to them -- ran onto the field with the play still in progress. Touchdown gone, Cowboys ball. No doubt they have their excuses. Who cares? Buy 'em seat belts. Make 'em take a number to get back in the game. This was no fluke. It was pure Redskins 2002 football.

Spurrier is a gentleman's gentleman who rarely curses and never grabs a face mask. Yet he's always chewed out his quarterbacks when they made mental mistakes. He shows them up on the sideline and couldn't care less. But they improve. "He's about as demanding as a person can be, but that is what I want out of a coach," said Ramsey. "Someone who is going to push me."

As he gets more comfortable with his players, Spurrier may need to be more demanding. Or find assistants or team leaders who can. Current methods for demanding crisp play aren't doing the job. Spurrier managed the trick at Florida. Can he do it with pros?

"Next year," said defensive tackle Daryl Gardener with disgust, "we have to pay attention to detail."

If they'd done it this year, they might still be playing.

"I'll get my enthusiasm back in a little bit, but it's hard for me to watch everything that happened out there and see how we let it get to a six-point game," Spurrier said after the win over the Cowboys.

"We just didn't play smart at times. Hopefully, we can correct that and have a chance to be a pretty good football team . . . We're not too far off from having a team that can really compete."

How "far off" are the Redskins?

The good news is that the distance is probably only about six inches. The bad news is it's the same six inches that separates winners from losers in every NFL season on almost every team.

In a league defined by parity, it's the six inches between your ears. That's the area Spurrier has to learn to reach. Then teach.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company

[SB33]

"Those numbers imply a physical domination of both lines of scrimmage and systems, on both offense and defense, that work. The 382 yards of offense per game, as Spurrier and Ramsey meld, have been especially eye-catching. The highest-scoring Redskins team ever ('83) averaged 384 yards. Last year, the Redskins averaged 277. "

These four teams were very good defensive teams. I don't think much is needed to fix the offense. One or two young linemen, and a young receiver with speed is all that is needed for the offense. The special teams Kickers and kick returners, and tacklers is the biggest need for the Skins.

[Art]

I'm not much of a Boswell fan, but, I have to say that article speaks to me. It says so much stuff I've said and thought and written that it can't help but seem "right" to me. The Redskins have won the last four games up front, only to lose it in areas that shouldn't lead to losses. When you gouge a team for a 20-yard run, you shouldn't lose the ball. We did twice. When you complete a 20-yard pass you shouldn't lose the ball. We did three times.

We ARE a dumb team. We don't concentrate enough on the ball on either side of the ball. If we can only get better at this next year we should win more for it.

[TennesseeCarl]

Four of Joe Gibbs's teams lost seven or less fumbles in an entire season.

When Boswell poses that question, 'Are we getting it together or is there something basic that's wrong.', I'm pretty sure it's the latter. We seem to have to be 3 times better than the other guy in order to beat them.

You could read it in Spurrier's face at the end of the game. He was afraid to call plays 'cause he didn't have confidence that our guys would hang on to the ball.

Great article.

[Art]

I completely agree TC. There is an underlying fundamentally flawed feel to this team. Marty came in and produced a team that led the league in pre-snap penalties and as conservative as it was, it had 15 fumbles lost last year.

We just seem so completely unaware of the little things that I wonder how it could be so problematic because it seems so easy to fix. Maybe Spurrier can fix it. But, it is a worry. If we play a normal NFL game where we aren't spiking ourselves on every other series, we can be good. But, too frequently we seem to enjoy spiking ourselves.

[Victort]

Good ojbective article and comments from you skin fans.

As a Cowboy fan, it was the mental mistakes that I would always look for when your skins were playing Dallas. Whether it was a piling on penalty by Lavar or an ill advised pass. The mistakes always seemed to come at a crucial point in the game. Just when the skins were about to shut the door, a mental mistake would breathe life back into the boys.

Side comment:

As good as Lavar is now, we may be mentioning him in the same breath as LT if he ever becomes a student of the game.

The mental aspect of the game has been killing Dallas since Johnson left. More so the last couple of years. Holding penalties by Bryant when the play is to the other side of the field. Stupid personal fouls by O-linemen. I hope that a lot of the problem is maturity or lack of it. The Dallas defense has a few leaders. The offense does not. There is no one on offense that will get in anyone's face. As good as Larry Allen has been portrayed, he is not even close to being a leader. Soft spoken and non-confrontational.

If the Tuna can bring in the proper leadership and the skins begin playing the disciplined style of ball, all will be well in the NFC East and we both can begin talking playoffs instead of draft position.

[TennesseeCarl]

Rat Boy posted a listing of league rankings. It turned out we were near the bottom for BOTH offensive and defensive penalties. It's not just one unit. It's not just a player or two. It's somehow ingrained in the whole d#mned team.

Imagine only losing 7 fumbles a year! Wouldn't we have won about 13 games?

I believe this is the stuff Spurrier will focus on in the off-season and I wish him well.

That was a good point Art brought up about how Marty installs an ultra-conservative system ("Now, Tony, breathe in. Now, out.") and we STILL manage to turn it into a mistake-fest.

Spurrier's got his work cut out for him.

[MikeB]

Well, we all accuse Davis of being a fumbler. Wonder if he will continue that trend on another team, or if something at Redskins Park truly is infectious.

If you look at the Giants and Eagles they don't cough the ball up very much and have decent to good ST. They win games even when they don't play particularly well because oftentimes the other team will make enough mistakes to lose. We need to get to this point -- we could be a darn good team.

[Mad Mike]

It's a lingering Norvitis. It steadily got worse the longer he was here and it will take time and effort to make it go away.

This year the team had to learn it's third offense and third defense in as many years. Next year maybe we can get back to the fundimentals and details.

[bulldog]

a few things:

1. Turnovers are endemic when you change lineups and shuttle new players in and out (especially when they are younger players). You don't see consistent production and good execution until players have been playing together for a period of time and know what to expect from one another.

Certainly, Betts' fumbled handoff is an example of mis-communication between a new qb and a new rb who haven't played together before. As far as the WR mistakes go, you are looking at one of the youngest groups in the NFL. Of the three top receivers from 2002, Thompson at 25 is the old man. Gardner is 24 and McCants 23. McCants came from a non-Division IA school and by all accounts is as green as grass. Thompson was an undrafted free agent who rode the practice squad much of his first 2 years. That tells you what a learning curve these players have had.

2. In a coach's first year when all that personnel turnover and experimentation is characteristic, you rarely see a team that ends up with a positive turnover ratio. 4 of Gibbs' teams may have finished with less than 7 fumbles, but I will wager the 1981 team was not among them The teams that have a good ratio, like the Eagles, have had a core of players that have been together for 2 or 3 years, playing 16 games together. Big difference........

3. I think Spurrier HAS shown this season that poor performances and repeated mistakes won't necessarily be tolerated. He has cut veteran players who should know better and those who had a poor attitude, including a couple of his own ex-Gators. You can't take the same 'cut all' approach when you are trying to teach rookies and younger players the basics. Expecting Darnerian McCants to run flawless patterns and always be aware of the first down marker is ridiculous considering I turn on the TV and see 8 year veterans around the NFL that fail to run deep enough routes to consistently pick up first downs.

Now I agree that if Spurrier is coaching players into their second and third years and they are still making rookie mistakes then you can call the HC on the carpet for running a lax program.

Somehow, I don't see that happening here. Ramsey and Betts looked pretty comfortable out there the last couple of weeks overall even as rookies and Spurrier is the only coach they have known here. Gardner's stats are way up this year despite the early carousel at qb with Matthews and Wuerffel leaving touchdowns on the table in some of the first 8-10 games.

[Atlanta Skins Fan]

Obviously for this team to cut down its mistakes, Spurrier is going to have to crucify someone. He's tried telling them what to do, benching players, making players inactive, even cutting players. Nothing has worked. Now he's going to have to make an example out of someone and really crucify a player.

Imagine the object lesson for the team when they look up during practice and see a fellow player who fumbled twice or took too many penalties, hanging there by the practice field on a cross.

It worked for the Romans. It can work for us.

Crucifixion: it's not just a metaphor.

[bulldog]

I would disagree with that.

This team has had some funky things happen to it including injuries to both kicker and punter that cost in some key games.

We didn't start off the year with Tuthill and Cortez. We didn't start off the year with Craig Jarrett.

the coverage teams suffered because we released our best gunners in Bates, Serwanga and returner in Metcalf.

part of that was age, Bates is 33 and Metcalf is 35. Serwanga got hurt and missed most of the season. again not the coaches' fault.

when he was ready to come back and play the Redskins had already been able to bring up guys like Ricot Joseph that did an excellent job on coverage the last few games of the season and were younger.

if people can honestly sit there and say they didn't see any improvement in Patrick Ramsey from his first start to his last and in what Betts did early on with what he did at the end of the season, then they weren't watching the Redskins in 2002, they must have had this team confused with the one up the road

then you can throw in the improvements over the last 8 weeks of players like Gardner and Thompson and you can see where guys are learning what to do and are making some plays.

perhaps not starting Thompson in preseason and giving him the reps that Jacquez Green, Reidel Anthony and Kevin Lockett got was a mistake.

by now with that extra attention and experience he may have been further along and more polished.

but in a year when the club really didn't compete all that well against most of the better teams on the schedule (Philly, SF, GB, NO) you really can't fault the stafff for then going with the younger players from the midpoint and taking some lumps along the way as they learn how to play in the NFL.