Seattle game = textbook 2008 Redskins game

[Walking Deadman]

I just got a chance to watch the Redskins/Seahawks game (well except for the large portion of the 1st QTR preempted by the Ravens blowout- Thanks FOX for being dumbasses and keeping the Eagels/Ravens game on when it's only 36 to 7:mad:)

Basically, if you want to sum up the season- you can watch this game.

Here's the gist:

1. Midwest Coast Offense- The Redskins are an interesting franchise. We bring in Joe Gibbs who initiates the "Air Coryell" high powered pass offense of the Chargers- after modification it becomes a power run team with pass as the secondary set-up (usually play action). Flash to 2008, we bring in Jim Zorn who is from the WCO tree and while the WCO theory is being used in passing situations.....we're still a run team. I don't mind it, hell to me this is Redskins football. But the success for this team comes down to the run and then the passes that we can develop from said run. I believe that we will see more evolution to a more conventional WCO scheme but not this season.

2. Ball Control- Much like with Gibbs 2.0, this team is a strong ball control team that scores a few times a game but not that much. They dominate TOP and alot of categories but b/c of the focus on the run and eating clock....we don't score that much and relies again on a strong D to keep the score low. The biggest problem outside lack of points is that with the scheme I see it difficult for the Skins (but not impossible- see win at Philly) to come back from large deficits because of the run dependency.

3. Mistake free football- the Skins must play almost perfect ball and it helps if they get turnovers. There were some mistakes (dropped balls) and a key turnover (Betts) that could have changed the outcome of the game. We won this one, but the margin of error for this team is very small. So if you see a game with alot of penalties, multiple turnovers or other poor execution- the Skins will struggle. This team will have difficultly overcoming sloppy play.

Improvements:

1. Malcom Kelly- 2 passes doesn't mean that much. But he looked sharp outthere (ie. he looked like he knew what he was supposed to do, Thomas and Davis have had moments of confusion outthere). Also, note the Skins used a few fades with him. Keep an eye on this- as this team continues to evolve this will be key.

2. Our DBs held onto the ball. Maybe DeAngelo Hall has had an influence on the rest of the DBs. Springs and Landry held onto their INTs. Both were key plays and had a significant impact. We've seen way too many games where the INT gets dropped and the opponent takes advantage of the drop.

3. Taking advantage of turnovers. Landry makes the pick- the Skins take advantage and turns it into a score. Had we done this the past two weeks the outcomes with at least Dallas (and possibly Pitt as well) may have been different.

4. Oline was better- run game was above average/excellent, pass game was better, but the Oline still needs to improve upon that and MUST bring their pass blocking A game if we have a chance at all to beat the Giants or Ravens.

Needs to improve:

1. Run D- if the Skins have a flaw it's the outside run. Last year teams tried to run at Andre Carter and he overcame the size disadvantage and generally held his own. This year they are attacking both edges and the Skins have struggled. In particular Jason Taylor. Now you can understand why players like Daniels and Wynn were so highly valued even if they lacked a pass rush. Teams have picked up on this and the Skins may have to try another scheme (use Taylor as a OLB? move to a 4-6 or 3-4 scheme? More Evans, James and Wilson at DE?) as this has been successful it at least 3 of the four losses this season.

2. #2 RB needs to step up- Betts and Alexander are not slouches when it comes to the RB position. They are solid players (although I really think Alexander's career is done) and need better output. I know, CP is the man and it can be difficult to come out there cold, spell him for a play or two and then sit. But the play has been poor at the #2 spot. Again, I'm not expecting CP numbers but at least a Chester Taylor complementary performace (to that of AP) would be nice. And if they can't get it done, then put Cartwright out there (at least on running plays).

3. Pass Rush- More sacks would be nice, but I want to see even more pressures. In the times (rare as they were) when we got to the QB, he made mistakes.... I'm more concerned about the pressure up the middle. We need to draft a DT (preferably a big guy who can stuff the run, but can crush a pocket).

4. Better hands/Better feet- couple of plays went awry b/c of dropped balls and landing out of bounds.....not sure how to fix that other than more practice.

5. Jason Campbell- is getting there but still not fully there yet. His reads/adjustments still need to improve more and he needs to learn to slide.

6. Oline- see above improvements about what they need to do. Got to be physical, got to give Campbell time to get his pass off. Pass blocking still needed to be better. Jansen's pass blocking still worries me.

[AllBusiness]

Wouldn't the gInts game be a great time for our stuff to all come together?

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

You forgot the most important part.

We never cease to invite games to come right down to the wire. It wouldn't be a Redskins game if it wasn't a gut-wrencher, especially this year.

[maskedsuperstar]

I just got a chance to watch the Redskins/Seahawks game (well except for the large portion of the 1st QTR preempted by the Ravens blowout- Thanks FOX for being dumbasses and keeping the Eagels/Ravens game on when it's only 36 to 7:mad:)

Basically, if you want to sum up the season- you can watch this game.

Here's the gist:

1. Midwest Coast Offense- The Redskins are an interesting franchise. We bring in Joe Gibbs who initiates the "Air Coryell" high powered pass offense of the Chargers- after modification it becomes a power run team with pass as the secondary set-up (usually play action). Flash to 2008, we bring in Jim Zorn who is from the WCO tree and while the WCO theory is being used in passing situations.....we're still a run team. I don't mind it, hell to me this is Redskins football. But the success for this team comes down to the run and then the passes that we can develop from said run. I believe that we will see more evolution to a more conventional WCO scheme but not this season.

2. Ball Control- Much like with Gibbs 2.0, this team is a strong ball control team that scores a few times a game but not that much. They dominate TOP and alot of categories but b/c of the focus on the run and eating clock....we don't score that much and relies again on a strong D to keep the score low. The biggest problem outside lack of points is that with the scheme I see it difficult for the Skins (but not impossible- see win at Philly) to come back from large deficits because of the run dependency.

3. Mistake free football- the Skins must play almost perfect ball and it helps if they get turnovers. There were some mistakes (dropped balls) and a key turnover (Betts) that could have changed the outcome of the game. We won this one, but the margin of error for this team is very small. So if you see a game with alot of penalties, multiple turnovers or other poor execution- the Skins will struggle. This team will have difficultly overcoming sloppy play.

Improvements:

1. Malcom Kelly- 2 passes doesn't mean that much. But he looked sharp outthere (ie. he looked like he knew what he was supposed to do, Thomas and Davis have had moments of confusion outthere). Also, note the Skins used a few fades with him. Keep an eye on this- as this team continues to evolve this will be key.

2. Our DBs held onto the ball. Maybe DeAngelo Hall has had an influence on the rest of the DBs. Springs and Landry held onto their INTs. Both were key plays and had a significant impact. We've seen way too many games where the INT gets dropped and the opponent takes advantage of the drop.

3. Taking advantage of turnovers. Landry makes the pick- the Skins take advantage and turns it into a score. Had we done this the past two weeks the outcomes with at least Dallas (and possibly Pitt as well) may have been different.

4. Oline was better- run game was above average/excellent, pass game was better, but the Oline still needs to improve upon that and MUST bring their pass blocking A game if we have a chance at all to beat the Giants or Ravens.

Needs to improve:

1. Run D- if the Skins have a flaw it's the outside run. Last year teams tried to run at Andre Carter and he overcame the size disadvantage and generally held his own. This year they are attacking both edges and the Skins have struggled. In particular Jason Taylor. Now you can understand why players like Daniels and Wynn were so highly valued even if they lacked a pass rush. Teams have picked up on this and the Skins may have to try another scheme (use Taylor as a OLB? move to a 4-6 or 3-4 scheme? More Evans, James and Wilson at DE?) as this has been successful it at least 3 of the four losses this season.

2. #2 RB needs to step up- Betts and Alexander are not slouches when it comes to the RB position. They are solid players (although I really think Alexander's career is done) and need better output. I know, CP is the man and it can be difficult to come out there cold, spell him for a play or two and then sit. But the play has been poor at the #2 spot. Again, I'm not expecting CP numbers but at least a Chester Taylor complementary performace (to that of AP) would be nice. And if they can't get it done, then put Cartwright out there (at least on running plays).

3. Pass Rush- More sacks would be nice, but I want to see even more pressures. In the times (rare as they were) when we got to the QB, he made mistakes.... I'm more concerned about the pressure up the middle. We need to draft a DT (preferably a big guy who can stuff the run, but can crush a pocket).

4. Better hands/Better feet- couple of plays went awry b/c of dropped balls and landing out of bounds.....not sure how to fix that other than more practice.

5. Jason Campbell- is getting there but still not fully there yet. His reads/adjustments still need to improve more and he needs to learn to slide.

6. Oline- see above improvements about what they need to do. Got to be physical, got to give Campbell time to get his pass off. Pass blocking still needed to be better. Jansen's pass blocking still worries me.

3. This pass rush thing is getting old. Yeah, I would love to see more sacks. But stopping the run is more important, which the Skins are currently 5th in the league. Blache played a lot of nickel yesterday. Maybe because Seattle is a pass first team? Makes sense. So, without the extra safety, the Seahawks had some big runs in the first half. But if you notice, the Skins shut down the run in the 2nd half.

[Walking Deadman]

You forgot the most important part.

We never cease to invite games to come right down to the wire. It wouldn't be a Redskins game if it wasn't a gut-wrencher, especially this year.

True.

But I will say this about Zorn ('cause Gibbs 2.0 had way to many nailbiters and was so conservative), he's willing to be agressive and take chances at least on 4th downs to keep the ball out of the opponents hands.

As to your comment:

I think the coming down to the wire again comes down to the priciples of the scheme if the Skins don't score. If the Skins say have 6 possessions using what they do best (ball control) but only score TDs on 1-2 drives and kick a FG or two.....then it will come down to the wire everytime.

So yeah, Red Zone and scoring must contiune to improve and that comes down to execution (ex. Sellers dropped a pass that would have been a TD run if he scores it's 24-17 not 20-17).

[Walking Deadman]

3. This pass rush thing is getting old. Yeah, I would love to see more sacks. But stopping the run is more important, which the Skins are currently 5th in the league. Blache played a lot of nickel yesterday. Maybe because Seattle is a pass first team? Makes sense. So, without the extra safety, the Seahawks had some big runs in the first half. But if you notice, the Skins shut down the run in the 2nd half.

I didn't say the Skins need more sacks......they need to pressure the QB more (as I said in the OP). And if we draft a big DT like I suggested, not only do we improve the run stuffing (at least on the inside) but can cause more pressure up the middle.

[Redskins:Victory_or_Death]

Improvements:

1. Malcom Kelly- 2 passes doesn't mean that much. But he looked sharp outthere (ie. he looked like he knew what he was supposed to do, Thomas and Davis have had moments of confusion outthere). Also, note the Skins used a few fades with him. Keep an eye on this- as this team continues to evolve this will be key.

I dunno. His route running/field awareness looked terrible - he had already run outbounds on that fade route.

[elkabong82]

Generally agree. Good observations. I liked the pressure Lorenzo was making at times. It seemed he was the only one consistently in the backfield, and even came very close to stopping Morris for negative yards several times. Golston's injury, from the language surrounding it, could sideline him for a while. Maybe it's a good thing and Lorenzo steps up big time. I don't know, but I agree we need to collapse the middle and that hasn't been happening for a while now. The team said they tried to find that guy in the draft, but weren't in a position to get a good one, so hopefully they have more luck next season.

Malcolm Kelly, as I said in another thread, could be the missing piece in getting the pass game clicking. I saw JC try stuff with Kelly and force stuff to him last night that I have only ever seen him try with Moss.

[elkabong82]

I dunno. His route running/field awareness looked terrible - he had already run outbounds on that fade route.

Yeah, but he did make a heck of an adjustment to get that ball. Field awareness should hopefully improve with more playing time. I think that because we were forcing stuff to him and we haven't done that with anyone other than Moss could be a sign he will be getting more involved. It's just nice to think we have a big guy that we're actually attempting fade routes with in the endzone.

[cphil006]

Generally agree. Good observations. I liked the pressure Lorenzo was making at times. It seemed he was the only one consistently in the backfield, and even came very close to stopping Morris for negative yards several times. Golston's injury, from the language surrounding it, could sideline him for a while. Maybe it's a good thing and Lorenzo steps up big time. I don't know, but I agree we need to collapse the middle and that hasn't been happening for a while now. The team said they tried to find that guy in the draft, but weren't in a position to get a good one, so hopefully they have more luck next season.

Malcolm Kelly, as I said in another thread, could be the missing piece in getting the pass game clicking. I saw JC try stuff with Kelly and force stuff to him last night that I have only ever seen him try with Moss.

MK had two catches, so that has to at least help his confidence after getting on the field. I just hope his knee holds up.

[Zhouse]

It was beautiful to see 5 wideout formations. It looked like JC had plenty of targets to throw to. That touchdown to EL could have easily gone to Kelly. This will be great for the offense as we develop.

I also like Seller getting more involved. That PA play he dropped should have been a TD but I'm sure they'll go back to it at some point in the next few games.

[NavyDave]

Jason T did play both Outside Linebacker spots yesterday.

Could we let go of Marcus Washington in the offseason move Taylor to OLB for his final season and pursue Julius Peppers to be our big pass rushing run stopping lineman?

[Walking Deadman]

I dunno. His route running/field awareness looked terrible - he had already run outbounds on that fade route.

I kind of blamed that one on Jason. as he threw it out further that he should have.....but Malcom should have at least caught it;)

I did think Santana (the one that was a PI on Seattle) should have tried to keep his feet in better....but last year it would have been a force out for a TD.