Terry Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 Pat Kirwin, in his weekly SI column on unsung heroes, spotlighted Kurt Schottenheimer this week and selected him for praise: "Washington defensive coordinator Kurt Schottenheimer devised an excellent game plan for Donovan McNabb and the rest of the Eagles. Philadelphia only generated one field goal, had just seven first downs, and most importantly, McNabb threw for only 92 yards as LaVar Arrington shut him down. The Redskins have now won five straight games and they’ve only scored a total of 141 points this season. That means the defense has come through during this winning streak. Winning on the road in Philly is very impressive." When Kurt first got here, most of the focus was on nepotism and Marty making it a family affair. But there was little talk of his actual ability as a defensive coach. I haven't talked about it much, but that's mostly because I don't understand the relationship between Marty and Kurt, and who does what. Is it Marty's defense and Kurt is the messenger? Or is it Kurt's defense? Kirwin also added a note on KiJana: " A batch of backup running backs came through to help their teams win on the road. Ki-Jana Carter was signed last July by the Redskins as an insurance policy in case Stephen Davis got injured. Most personnel people around the league thought Carter was finished as a pro, but in the win over Philadelphia, Carter rushed 18 times for 56 yards and a touchdown and caught two passes for nine yards." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 It is hard to fully figure out who is doing precisely what here. It'll take time to know it for certain, but, from what I can tell, Kurt calls the defense, as Raye calls the offense. Marty went to Raye earlier in the season and told him Davis needs to get more touches, period, that's it, and Raye has obliged, while also showing some flair occasionally. On defense, Marty worked with his brother to simplify the scheme, giving the players more confidence to play within their roles instead of having to think. A thing that was commented on in the preseason was that we looked slow on the field. I think there were comments made at the time that we were not slow, but we were not playing instinctive football. We were thinking through everything and not playing, which was making everyone look a little off. Samuels was working on technique, thinking about getting his butt low, arms extended and popping the defender, rather than just playing. On defense, we had guys thinking, "On this call, I have to be here. Or is it there?" and confusing themselves and playing tentative because of it. What we are seeing now is that by limiting the scheme, players are assigned specific areas of attention and they are playing within their designated role. I think while Marty set the tone of what he wanted to see, it is Kurt and Raye making the calls. And, I think Kurt is a fair defensive coordinator. If Marty was not the coach, I'm pretty certain none of us would have been outraged at his hire. Of course, given who was available to coach the defense, I'm not sure Kurt would have been the choice if Marty was not his brother . ------------------ Doom is in the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBMGreatOne Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 I don't agree with his statement about Carter being an insurance policy. He was brought in as a role player more than anything else. I don't think the question of Davis playing all sixteen games factored into his aqcuisition. Having both backs mean you can have a fresh guy in there at all times. Carter has been playing a nominal amount of downs for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted November 29, 2001 Author Share Posted November 29, 2001 I dunno. I doubt that they had anything too specific in mind when they brought him in. I just think they wanted to see what he could do. It's likely that his role has evolved as the Skins become more aware of his skills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 Carter was brought in because the Redskins were in a state of desperation with only Robert Arnaud and Kenny Watson backing up Davis. Remember that originally it was thought Hicks and Centers would be Redskins in 2001. No one really knew what Carter had to offer and he admitted he was still not in top shape. But the staff convinced Marty to give him a shot and it has paid off handsomely. Carter has made some critical plays for the team this season, not only in the Philly win. That should be recognized. His ability as a receiver out of the backfield helped the team a lot against the Giants and Denver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 is there any reason Carter can't become our next "Larry Centers"? except he runs the ball more? Why not? He can catch, he COULD line up as a FB if he's not blocking and if he HAS to block, he's decent enough at it. ------------------ <IMG SRC="http://www.angelfire.com/or/morethanmeetstheeye/images/tf_spin.gif" border=0><IMG SRC="http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20011125/amdf91063.jpg" border=0> -"Give it up for the Comeback kid!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redman Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 We definitely don't want the brittle and oft-injured Ki-Jana Carter, who's finally healthy, to be colliding with linebackers while lead blocking. That makes no sense. He's being well used now as a 3rd down back and a replacement for Davis while he gets a blow every so often. ------------------ "Loosen up, Sandy baby. You're just too damn tight!" - John Riggins to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor ---------------------- "I fear we've awakened a sleeping giant, and filled him with a terrible resolve." - Japanese Imperial Admiral Yamamoto, after hearing that the Japanese declaration of war failed to reach the U.S. government before the attack upon Pearl Harbor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted November 29, 2001 Author Share Posted November 29, 2001 I haven't noticed him lead blocking from the FB slot so I can't say how well he'd hold up. But he definitely can pass block. He seems best suited to substitute tailback and 3rd down single back. What's real nice is that on 3rd and 4 he's as much a running threat as a receiving threat, and so doesn't tip our hand. Here's something I noticed: We line upn on offense in our standard run/pass set, and a TE (I believe) goes in motion behind the QB, then stops while still behind the O line (usually just inside the tackle) and squares up to block. Almost immediately the ball is snapped and Banks hands off to Davis. The TE looks to penetrate and seal off on a linbacker, and Davis runs to the same side of the formation as the TE. Has anyone else seen this, and noticed whether we don't run to that side? It seems to run the risk of tipping of the defense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 Originally posted by Terry:Here's something I noticed: We line upn on offense in our standard run/pass set, and a TE (I believe) goes in motion behind the QB, then stops while still behind the O line (usually just inside the tackle) and squares up to block. Almost immediately the ball is snapped and Banks hands off to Davis. The TE looks to penetrate and seal off on a linbacker, and Davis runs to the same side of the formation as the TE. Has anyone else seen this, and noticed whether we don't run to that side? It seems to run the risk of tipping of the defense. The TE would in this case be an H-Back. To keep the opposing defenses honest, you can also use a power toss (wan't that the play SD broke big on the Eagles?), some sort of quick pass, when you get a mis-match with the LB, a wheel route by the H-Back or a corner route by a WR. I think the play your seeing is our 'base' play (ala, the counter with Riggo) since success sets up a whole bunch of other plays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 The emergence of Carter and Flemister as alternates for Banks in the passing game, has allowed the team to be without Alexander and not miss a beat. Carter has good speed and escapability. Flemister came up with the big touchdown against Denver. I would much rather re-sign Carter and continue to develop Zeron than hand out a large contract to Alexander for next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted November 29, 2001 Author Share Posted November 29, 2001 Thanks OPM. Yeah, I think it's our base play (or one of them), because it appeared that we ran that one the most against the Eagles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 Sign K Lang first and resign KJ Carter. Thank Goodness Flemister is an EFA and unsignable by Houston , right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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