It was about more then just Sean Taylor being out....

[Warpath11]

While it is hard to jam TO at the line it is worth doing at certain points in the game. I cite the 3rd and 15 where he ran an out pattern, for a first down in front of Springs, during our all-out blitz (some point in the 2nd quarter). Our pressure was 1/2 second away from getting to Romo sits to pee if TO was held up at the line for that fraction that thorw would have been much harder to make let alone complete. Jamming TO, as mentioned before, is easier said then done. I think Springs is a pretty damn big/stong CB that could do well in terms of physicality with TO.

[DCMONEY]

Funny you should ask. My thought was that going man to man, doubling TO, would have been the way to go. Mostly, I saw a secondary confused by its zone assignments.

My sense was that the Boys were going to beat our Cover Two up the middle no matter what. ST wouldn't have made much difference in that. That TD against our Cover Three where Springs let TO get behind him and Prioleau took a bad angle might have been prevented by Taylor, but there's no guarantee. Taylor's taken a few bad angles himself.

ST took bad a lot of bad angles last year because he tried to support the Skins hideous run def last season. He was out of position a lot because of that. This season you raely see a team attempt that many deep passes when he's in the game. Philly last week didn't attempt to go deep until Taylor left the game. In the playofg game a couple years back, when ST went out the Bucs went deep. He makes a difference no doubt. If nothing else offensive players keep their head on a swivel.

[skins84]

In a cover 2 defense Springs should have at least gave T.O. a push to the inside of the field as he goes past him..

He should never just let T.O. run to his outside down the sideline untouched. Watch the bears CB's they play on the outside and you push the wr to the inside where the safeties are at.

This is basic cover 2 principles and its just crazy that they were letting T.O. run right down the sideline without any push or jam on him.

[Fan4life]

I don t think our CBs touch TO at all off the line all day. I thought SS was playing man most of the 1st quarter and did DAMN well. why did we go into cover 2??? I am lost there!

[Fan4life]

TO did the same thing to us that MOSS did to Dallas in 2005 MNF thriller. Sad but true.

[terpskins]

It's just another excuse for us fans to fall back on.

ST was out and so the secondary has to suck. Like last year, Prioleau was out so that was the reason the secondary sucked. They are all bogus excuses because, by and large, this is a team sport and there are schemes available that do not require ST for them to be successful. Look no further than the O-Line injuries that was commonly cited to begin the season. All bogus because Campbell has been getting decent pass protection and Portis decent run blocking.

The fact of the matter remains that this is a poorly coached team. The good thing about yesterday is that I think JG is realizing the error of his ways and is making the necessary adjustments. Even if he doesn't, he's only got one year left.

With that said, we lost to a better team on their home field. This was the first time, in weeks, that I have absolutely no complaints about the offensive coaching. They really seemed like they had a gameplan, time was managed effectively, etc.

Strangely, this has been the best I've felt about the Redskins in a long time.

[Taylor 36]

well that ONE sack came at the best time, just wish JC ran for that first down instead of throwing it to newman

but umm, i think we lost this game not only because of Sean taylors absence, but because our entire secondary played like ass, how the hell do you leave one of the best WR in the NFL wide open! Didnt they learn anything from what TO did to the giants? Well guess i should expect much from Pierson and that white guy

And that white guy??? What a biggot.:doh:

[Taylor 36]

It's just another excuse for us fans to fall back on.

ST was out and so the secondary has to suck. Like last year, Prioleau was out so that was the reason the secondary sucked. They are all bogus excuses because, by and large, this is a team sport and there are schemes available that do not require ST for them to be successful. Look no further than the O-Line injuries that was commonly cited to begin the season. All bogus because Campbell has been getting decent pass protection and Portis decent run blocking.

The fact of the matter remains that this is a poorly coached team. The good thing about yesterday is that I think JG is realizing the error of his ways and is making the necessary adjustments. Even if he doesn't, he's only got one year left.

With that said, we lost to a better team on their home field. This was the first time, in weeks, that I have absolutely no complaints about the offensive coaching. They really seemed like they had a gameplan, time was managed effectively, etc.

Strangely, this has been the best I've felt about the Redskins in a long time.

Actually they are ALL realistic reasons for a team not perform as well as they should, not excuses. Any team is going to lose ground when its best defensive player is out of the game. The o-line play has gotten better, but it took weeks for them to gel and work together as the starting unit. Sure they look much better now, but they were definitely hurting this team for a few weeks.

[DCsportsfan53]

At first I was inclined to blame TO's TD show on a lack of having Sean Taylor back there, but the more I think about it, the more I am kind of irked at the fact that we didn't even attempt to jam Owens at the line of scrimmage. We basically released him and allowed him to run any route he wanted to untouched. Basically the corners left the safties on an island, not knowing which way Owens would go. The corners should have jammed Owens and re-directed him in one direction or another, which also would have disrupted his timing with Romo sits to pee, and given the safties a better vantage point. When you play the Cowboys, you should really key in on a player like Owens. Make guys like Crayton try and beat the defense. After TO's wide open 2nd TD of the game, some type of adjustment should have been made.

Sean Taylor not being on the field hurt a lot, no doubt, but I still say the strategy going into the game was poor regardless.

:2cents:

I completely agree. I just don't understand it. We have Smoot and Springs.....two corners who both excel in man coverage, press coverage and who seem to thrive on challenging a WR one on one and trying to shut him down. That's a huge luxury our defense has that isn't being used, almost at all. We have athleticism at safety in droves, we have press man style corners, good pass rushing LBers and a run stuffing DL. So you take that and play Tampa 2 and Cover3?!?!?!? I don't get it. I don't get it at all. I said it after the NE game, teams that can protect decently and have a decently accurate QB will DESTROY our Tampa 2, just like Brady did, because we don't have an elite r man rush. We have a decent one, not an elite one. Dammit Gregg, adjust and play to your player's strengths, for once.

[terpskins]

Actually they are ALL realistic reasons for a team not perform as well as they should, not excuses. Any team is going to lose ground when its best defensive player is out of the game. The o-line play has gotten better, but it took weeks for them to gel and work together as the starting unit. Sure they look much better now, but they were definitely hurting this team for a few weeks.

Many things contribute to a loss. IMHO, our primary reason has been poor coaching decisions on JG's part (NOT TALKING ABOUT YESTERDAY'S DALLAS GAME). We lost to PHI, NYG, and GB because of piss poor decisions and it has been rehashed on here a number of times so I don't really want to go into it. We managed to win 2 games (MIA and PHI) despite of poor coaching because we got lucky (MIA) or the other guy made the bigger blunder (Reid@PHI).

Giving up 4 TDs to the SAME RECEIVER cannot be excused because ST was out. I wasn't expecting them to come out and light it up but we managed to hold them offensively for a half so it is pretty obvious that we were capable of competing. The fact that TO was not double covered after his first TD, or after his second, or after his third, suggests that their is something inherently wrong with the system we had in play to defend him.

If ST is our best defensive player then TO is their best offensive player. For our Defensive HC to not even realize that and account for him at all times is just stupid. If you think ST being out played a bigger role in that loss than this fact, so be it...we can agree to disagree.

[Taiwan32]

At first I was inclined to blame TO's TD show on a lack of having Sean Taylor back there, but the more I think about it, the more I am kind of irked at the fact that we didn't even attempt to jam Owens at the line of scrimmage. We basically released him and allowed him to run any route he wanted to untouched. Basically the corners left the safties on an island, not knowing which way Owens would go. The corners should have jammed Owens and re-directed him in one direction or another, which also would have disrupted his timing with Romo sits to pee, and given the safties a better vantage point. When you play the Cowboys, you should really key in on a player like Owens. Make guys like Crayton try and beat the defense. After TO's wide open 2nd TD of the game, some type of adjustment should have been made.

Sean Taylor not being on the field hurt a lot, no doubt, but I still say the strategy going into the game was poor regardless.

:2cents:

2 things:

1) It's tough to jam TO because he is a physical receiver and our safeties weren't good enough to help yesterday.

and

2) With all the time Romo sits to pee had to throw the ball it wouldn't have mattered if we were playing bump and run, etc. because he had 10 seconds to throw the ball...

[redman]

It's just another excuse for us fans to fall back on.

ST was out and so the secondary has to suck. Like last year, Prioleau was out so that was the reason the secondary sucked. They are all bogus excuses because, by and large, this is a team sport and there are schemes available that do not require ST for them to be successful. Look no further than the O-Line injuries that was commonly cited to begin the season. All bogus because Campbell has been getting decent pass protection and Portis decent run blocking.

The fact of the matter remains that this is a poorly coached team. The good thing about yesterday is that I think JG is realizing the error of his ways and is making the necessary adjustments. Even if he doesn't, he's only got one year left.

With that said, we lost to a better team on their home field. This was the first time, in weeks, that I have absolutely no complaints about the offensive coaching. They really seemed like they had a gameplan, time was managed effectively, etc.

Strangely, this has been the best I've felt about the Redskins in a long time.

So scheme is more important than players. Gotcha. I guess next time we'll just have to scheme away TO's amazing athletic mismatch against pretty much everyone else on the field. Good thinking. We need you in our defensive team meetings.

[Retire 21]

Leigh Torrence, even Shawn Springs, can't effectively jam TO off the line. As much as I hate him as a player, and have no respect for him as a person, the man is a physical specimen.

[terpskins]

So scheme is more important than players. Gotcha. I guess next time we'll just have to scheme away TO's amazing athletic mismatch against pretty much everyone else on the field. Good thinking. We need you in our defensive team meetings.

:laugh:

TO has had 8 TD in 9 games. How unreasonable of me to hope that we would be able to hold him to his season average. Heck, let him do twice as well as he normally would (2TD). I had no idea that the loss of one player meant a 50% increase in his SEASON TD production in ONE GAME.

It's probably a miracle that other teams have been able to limit the "amazing athletic mismatch" that TO presents. I wonder how they did it without ST?

[moviedude25]

We have gotten burned with Sean playing all year, I don't see how anyone can blame this on him not being in there? How do you know this wouldn't have happened? You don't.

Bottom line, blame Greg Williams not play calling correctly in the second half before looking at Sean Taylor. The Defensive play calling for 95% of the second half was horrible.

[Chief skin]

TNO has been in our division the past few years and NEVER HAD A GAME AGAINST US like that WHY??? because he is AFRAID of Taylor, he will not run down the middle and CATCH passes like that knowing 21 is near him Taylor flat out intimidates TNO.

[GURU]

We have gotten burned with Sean playing all year, I don't see how anyone can blame this on him not being in there? How do you know this wouldn't have happened? You don't.

Bottom line, blame Greg Williams not play calling correctly in the second half before looking at Sean Taylor. The Defensive play calling for 95% of the second half was horrible.

Sorry, but the first sentence is patently false.

Up until the New England game -- actually, through the New England game, the Skins were the top defense in the league for giving up the fewest plays over 30 yards. And they were near the top of the league in 3rd down conversions until the New England game. And they were near the top in opposing QB efficiency rating.

Since then, against the Jets, there was one pass completion for 39 yards. Beyond that, the longest play for the Jets was 20 yards. They gave up an average of 5.4 yards per pass attempt.

These busted coverages simply didn't happen until both Carlos Rogers AND Sean Taylor were out. To say otherwise is simply fabrication.

I'm starting to get really ticked off about most of the coaching criticisms, because most of those posters really don't know what they're talking about. Sure, some, even many of the criticisms are warranted, but when people start saying ridiculous unqualified statements like "The Defensive play calling for 95% of the second half was horrible?"

Of course, I respect the rights of people to say anything they want, but honestly, most of the armchair coaching is getting really annoying because it's full of doo-doo ka-ka.

[Sticksboi05]

:laugh: Just laugh at them at their "near loss" -

and

1. Our QB wasn't playing basketball on the field

2. TO is only as good as the media makes him out to be- "one game of not pumping TO up by the press and they will be pumping his stomach

3. Aikman (their X-qbie) was giving props to the Redskin running back- Portis' date=' calling Portis his "favorite player of all time"

4. And, our OWNER doesn't OWN his property and feel like he needs to come

down a stroke our players like pets

5. In Murf's pics there is a facemask that wasn't called on Whitten, kindly remind them the refs were NOT making the calls they should have made against them consistantly

6. Don't hurt bottom feeders, it makes for a bad pay check;)[/quote']

Aikman said "Portis MAY be my favorite player in the NFL"; not of all time..at least give a correct quote.

[Brotherz]

Sean would have absolutely killed him on that play that Prioleau should be cut today for.

[FORBIDDEN]

bottom line is Shawn Springs is 6'0 204 and Owens is 6'3 like 215-220, not really that BIG a difference if Springs wanted or could handle T.O. I see that ever since Springs has been in Seattle and Owens in San Fran he has owned Springs. Heck, who do u think was in coverage for the now infamous Sharpie incident. So with that in mind Springs really I dont think wants to CHALLENGE Owens as much and play more safe coverage, and IMO if you play safe at least play fundamentally sound, he or they for that matter were not doing that.

ST would have shaded T.O. to whatever side in M/M or C2 and more likely than not T.O may have scored 1 of them TD's but not 4 no way, not without a 15yd penalty from ST along the way. I don't even think Romo sits to pee would have attempted some of the down the field shots, becuz as alot of people have already said, him tryin to catch that ball and knowin the ST is bearing down on him, nah, he is not wanting that pain. But, yesterday knowing ST was not there and that he could beat Springs he was not afraid of nothing we put out there, shoulda let Landry hit him like he damn near broke Whitten's ribs on that one play.

[AustinTxRedskin]

We have gotten burned with Sean playing all year, I don't see how anyone can blame this on him not being in there? How do you know this wouldn't have happened? You don't.

Bottom line, blame Greg Williams not play calling correctly in the second half before looking at Sean Taylor. The Defensive play calling for 95% of the second half was horrible.

WHAT!!??

Wow man that first sentence is so wrong its funny.:laugh:

I sometimes wonder why I come to this site. :jerk:

Anyone who beleives that ST would not have had an effect on 3 of TO's TDs has not watched the brief history of these two play each other. I don't have the time to pull up TO's stats when he plays ST but they are horrid. He either gets hurt by ST or shut down cause he's scared $h%tless of ST.

I doubt Romo sits to pee even attempts those throws with ST in the game. Aikman or Buck even stated that Dallas was planning on working the deep middle b/c of ST's absence.

Not saying we would have won with ST but at least TO for the most part would have been equalized.