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Some Thoughts About Next Season

Hannibal_DK

By Hannibal_DK
in The Stadium

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Hannibal_DK

Hannibal_DK

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Unfortunately Coach Zorn is committed to the West Coast Offense, but we don't have the personnel to pull it off. The WCO requires an overwhelming offensive line and a receiver with super human hands and world class speed. We have neither.

Moss is our best back, but for the slant which is the heart of the WCO,he doesn't have the cutting burst of speed to run around closing linebackers that Jerry Rice did. The linebackers in the NFL East are just too good to allow anyone to pull that off an entire game. A few solid hits by any of the other three team's linebackers and our wide receivers will be carried off the field on a stretcher.

The NFL East plays Smash Mouth football and always has. Considering the fact that NFC East teams have played in one third of all Super Bowls, more than any other division, Smash Mouth football is better than WCO. In either case, the game is won and lost by both the offensive and defensive lines.

Line strength on both sides of the ball have been a hallmark of NFC East football. It has always been the case for Washington, but we find ourselves with two lines that are filled with players that are either way past their playing primes or are mediocre to start with. You can make the case for the offensive line that the only two players worth keeping are Samuels and Cooley. The rest are too old or too weak.

The defensive line, which was so great four years ago, has fallen on hard times. They can't stop anyone. Our linebackers are not up to speed either, but there a few bright spots worth building around.

The last few years we have looked for marquee players in the defensive secondary. It's time to rebuild the lines. Every owner in the NFL East knows this. The game is won and lost by the lines. That super college line from Texas won't be eligible until the 2010 season, but many from Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, Boise State, Georgia and others will be for next season. It's time to break out the checkbook and recruit six or seven new lineman. Marginal veterans can back up the newbies and help teach them. Now is not the time to go after wide receivers, running backs and defensive backs. Rebuilding our lines is job one. - Hannbal, the West Texas Redskin. :logo:

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Ghost of

Ghost of

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Unfortunately Coach Zorn is committed to the West Coast Offense, but we don't have the personnel to pull it off. The WCO requires an overwhelming offensive line and a receiver with super human hands and world class speed. We have neither.

Moss is our best back, but for the slant which is the heart of the WCO,he doesn't have the cutting burst of speed to run around closing linebackers that Jerry Rice did. The linebackers in the NFL East are just too good to allow anyone to pull that off an entire game. A few solid hits by any of the other three team's linebackers and our wide receivers will be carried off the field on a stretcher.

Wow. That is not a good post.

Look, the WCO does NOT require an overwhelming offensive line. Quick drops and reliance on YAC puts more of the onus on receivers and the quarterback (and RBs as receivers.) If anything it is the line, in the WCO, that can be 'not-dominant' and still allow for an effective offense.

Also, you must not watch Moss (he's a receiver, not a back) and I mean AT ALL. The reason he was more effective as punt returner is because HE HAS THE CUTTING BURST of speed. That's why we used to throw the ball to him near the line of scrimmage and hope for the best---because he is not only VERY fast but VERY quick. He's one of the quickest players in the league. I'd argue he is as quick as Jerry Rice ever was, even if Jerry is a better receiver.

And Jerry Rice was not a world-class speed guy. Probably neither was John Taylor, though he had some great runs after the catch.

In fact, the WCO is NOT necessarily known for needing receivers with world class speed.

I'm sorry, I really have a hard time taking the post seriously when so much of it is wrong off the top.

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Chump Bailey

Chump Bailey

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The WCO requires an overwhelming offensive line and a receiver with super human hands and world class speed. We have neither.

Eh, Vinny and company said the line in it's current state was a main point in Zorn wanting to implement the WCO.

Not to mention we have a QB that does not look suited for such an offense.

I don't like the WCO at all in any event and wish we would just return to the power running game and play action type that has served us well over the years.

I do think Davis, Kelly and Thomas will be playmakers for us in the near future no matter the type of offense we run and just hope and pray Zorn can get something going next season.

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justice98

justice98

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But we don't have the personnel to pull it off. The WCO requires an overwhelming offensive line and a receiver with super human hands and world class speed. We have neither.

I would beg to differ. Homgren runs as pure a WCO as you're gonna find nowadays (with Gruden as well), and he's pretty much never had a receiver like the one you describe. His best receivers were Darrell Jackson, Antonio Freeman, Robert Brooks, Sterling Sharpe, Bobby Ingram. None of those guys was both a speedster and a hands guy, Sharpe probably being the closest. Shanahan had Rod Smith all those years, decent speed, but his rep wasn't his 40-time. None of Gruden's cavalcade of top receivers was that combo either. Keyshawn had the hands but definitely wasn't a speed guy, same with McCardell, Galloway's known for his speed, not the glue hands. Tim Brown had the hands, but not the speed, etc. My point being that world class speed/super human hands combo is rare.

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Hannibal_DK

Hannibal_DK

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Justice,

Holmgren and Gruden didn't make the playoffs this year. Under Gibbs we went to the playoffs each year. This year we didn't. Halfway through the season every defense, including Cincinnati, figured out how to stop our offense. Given how weak our defensive line was against backs like Ward and others that ran against us at will - coupled with our anemic offense, we were lucky to win eight games up till today. WCO is no great shakes. San Fran had Montana and Rice and their success is why a few coaches still use it today, but they were Montana and Rice and they did have the deep threat as well. Maybe if Brunell hadn't run out of gas twice a few years ago against Seattle, we wouldn't be trading emails over this.

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Hannibal_DK

Hannibal_DK

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A reply to all who questioned my statement about Rice's speed. Rice had an incredible burst of speed to outrun closing linebackers. It was like a turbo burst of speed. That's the world class speed I am talking about - his ability to get away from linebackers and pick up ten to fifteen yards per play. He was no slouch in the flat out long run either. - Hannibal, the West Texas Redskin :logo:

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Hannibal_DK

Hannibal_DK

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Terpfan,

How old were you when Rice played? About 1? Trust me Rice was fast as hell and he could turn on a quick little burst of speed to run away from tacklers. Check out his touchdown records. If it wasn't for Rice and Montana and Rice and Young, Washington would have been the team of the Eighties instead of San Francisco. That's why the WCO is still played today.

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Hubbs

Hubbs

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Terpfan,

How old were you when Rice played? About 1? Trust me Rice was fast as hell and he could turn on a quick little burst of speed to run away from tacklers. Check out his touchdown records. If it wasn't for Rice and Montana and Rice and Young, Washington would have been the team of the Eighties instead of San Francisco. That's why the WCO is still played today.

Right. No other team has won a Super Bowl running the West Coast Offense.

(Except Green Bay, Denver, Tampa Bay, and Seattle with different refs.)

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bu7ch

bu7ch

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Terpfan,

How old were you when Rice played? About 1? Trust me Rice was fast as hell and he could turn on a quick little burst of speed to run away from tacklers. Check out his touchdown records. If it wasn't for Rice and Montana and Rice and Young, Washington would have been the team of the Eighties instead of San Francisco. That's why the WCO is still played today.

Wow he's world class fast!

Rice's 1984 record-breaking season at Mississippi Valley caught the attention of many NFL scouts, but his speed (reportedly only 4.71 in the 40-yard dash) kept most wary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Rice

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XtremeFan55

XtremeFan55

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The biggest need is to improve the offensive line....and for that to happen I think Joe Bugel has to go. Bugel stated in the WP today that he prefers veterans over rookies or younger players...making a comment about how "you have to spend much more time with them" We see other teams having success with rookies like Joe Thomas...Sam Baker...and Jake Long...not to mention that rookie tackle in San Diego that was great 2 years ago. Rookies can make an impact...but sadly the Joe Bugel that was able to coach rookies like Russ Grim...Joe Jacoby..and Mark May back in the 80's just doesn't want to do that anymore and would prefer the finished Pro Bowl free agents like maybe Jordan Gross. This IMO is a sign of it's time to hang em up since good caoches ...coach the position...while older, seasoned coaches like Bugel rather just worry about schemes.

Let Bugel retire....hire the best OL coach available that knows the WCO...and start drafting some quality linemen. We have the QB...we have the TE....we have some promising recievers...we have a quality RB but could use another one to complement Portis.......our defense was top 5 this year...but could use a primo tackle....

but the main change has to be the OL.

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Hubbs

Hubbs

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The biggest need is to improve the offensive line....and for that to happen I think Joe Bugel has to go. Bugel stated in the WP today that he prefers veterans over rookies or younger players...making a comment about how "you have to spend much more time with them" We see other teams having success with rookies like Joe Thomas...Sam Baker...and Jake Long...not to mention that rookie tackle in San Diego that was great 2 years ago. Rookies can make an impact...but sadly the Joe Bugel that was able to coach rookies like Russ Grim...Joe Jacoby..and Mark May back in the 80's just doesn't want to do that anymore and would prefer the finished Pro Bowl free agents like maybe Jordan Gross. This IMO is a sign of it's time to hang em up since good caoches ...coach the position...while older, seasoned coaches like Bugel rather just worry about schemes.

Let Bugel retire....hire the best OL coach available that knows the WCO...and start drafting some quality linemen. We have the QB...we have the TE....we have some promising recievers...we have a quality RB but could use another one to complement Portis.......our defense was top 5 this year...but could use a primo tackle....

but the main change has to be the OL.

If Buges retires, we should throw bagfuls of money at Alex Gibbs. The man can flat-out build an offensive line, and he was OL coach in Denver when Portis was averaging more than five yards a pop.

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whatmeworry

whatmeworry

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The Eagles run the WCO. In fact they pass on 70% of their plays. What we tried to do was a mixture of both without a lot of success. Our line is much too small to play smash mouth and our QB is incapable of the quick reads of the WCO. In fact we have the worst of both worlds. When the semi-literate announcers start saying we're playing too conservative then that says a lot. And the reason is Zorn still at this point doesn't have faith JC will make the right decisions.

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XtremeFan55

XtremeFan55

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Another reason why fixing the OL is so important is because Dallas and Giants have 2 of the best DL in the league...and Eagles aren't that far off themselves...so Redskins have to play 6 games every year against a top DL...

Bugel created a good line for rushing...but pass protection was horrendous....something expected from an old line since pass protection requires more quickness. ...and until that's fixed D-linemen like Tuck and DeWare are going to be licking their chops when the Redskins show up on their schedule.

if you want a passing WCO...and want to utilize the coaching of Zorn...the OL has to be fixed....otherwise we just wasted another year on Campbell and will soon have to start all over again finding and grooming a franchise QB.

how long before enough is enough....because it doesn't seem like there's a plan in place....why hire a WCO coach to groom Campbell but revert to a Gibbs run offense because the line doesn't fit the offense trying to be implemented. Bugel coaches a Gibbs-type offense heavily reliant on rushing....but then Danny hires the antithesis in Zorn with his WCO.

doesn't make sense does it?

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XtremeFan55

XtremeFan55

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The Eagles run the WCO. In fact they pass on 70% of their plays. What we tried to do was a mixture of both without a lot of success. Our line is much too small to play smash mouth and our QB is incapable of the quick reads of the WCO. In fact we have the worst of both worlds. When the semi-literate announcers start saying we're playing too conservative then that says a lot. And the reason is Zorn still at this point doesn't have faith JC will make the right decisions.

Campbell should improve after another year in the same system...when things become more instinctive things speed up. I agree as of now Campbell is too slow to run a WCO.

Redskins also need to find a RB along the lines of a Westbrook that is a major recieving threat since Portis doesn't fit that mold.

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