Sarge Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 The Fun 'n' Gun Is Just Blowin' Smoke By Michael Wilbon Monday, November 3, 2003; Page D01 IRVING, Tex. You can put the Fun 'n' Gun in the Smithsonian, okay? Right alongside the remnants of the Run 'n' Shoot. Remember that? Buddy Ryan killed that gimmick offense, didn't he? Well, Bill Parcells might as well have put the Fun 'n' Gun in a coffin at Texas Stadium on Sunday. Never mind the final score, or that the Redskins scored late to pull within a touchdown. The final score of 21-14 doesn't tell the story of what happened here nearly as much as the welts and bruises and lumps on Patrick Ramsey, or for that matter the way Dallas simply beat down Steve Spurrier's offense. The Cowboys called about the most creative blitz package you'll ever see, bringing linebackers and safeties around corners, sprinting like Carl Lewis to hit Ramsey. The only time veteran safety Darren Woodson got popped all day came when he and teammate Roy Williams converged at Ramsey on a blitz, knocking each other silly. "They just couldn't pick it all up," Woodson said afterward of the Cowboys' blitz. "We looked at a lot of film of the Redskins this season, and we kept seeing they couldn't handle the pressure being put on him." So the Cowboys set out to bury Ramsey, knowing that's what every team believes is the way to beat Washington, knowing the Redskins have no viable backup, no second or third quarterback who had ever thrown an NFL pass before Sunday. And the Redskins were helpless in the face of the Dallas onslaught. What fun? What gun? Whatever the great Joe Bugel did in consultation didn't help the offensive line, and whatever Foge Fazio did in consultation didn't help the defense get after Quincy Carter, who was sacked once, and that in name only since he was looking to run on the play anyway. For those keeping count, it's four straight losses for the Redskins, five in the last six games, with Seattle, Carolina and Miami on deck. Don't think they don't have VCRs. Don't think they won't do exactly what Parcells had the Cowboys do to Ramsey. And if the Redskins can't solve this issue, can't find a way to protect their talented and tough-as-nails but increasingly battered young quarterback, they've got nothing of consequence going on this season. The first rule of offense, any NFL offense, is, Protect The Quarterback. It's written in stone, and without being faithful to that first commandment you've got no offense, not in the pros. The most basic and most fundamental tenet, whether you're Don Shula, Don Coryell, Bill Walsh or Joe Gibbs, is don't expose your quarterback. An offense that doesn't have that as the first priority, by whatever name, is worthless. Ramsey, bless his heart, was sacked four times Sunday. He was hit at least twice that many times. He was just crushed a couple of times by Roy Williams. I've seen Mike Tyson go 12 rounds and not get hit as hard as Ramsey was hit by the Cowboys. He had to leave the game twice. What he needed, in the absence of effective blocking, was a corner man to throw in a white towel. So tell me again, where's the fun? See, the decision to go away from being "NFL-ized," as Spurrier said last week, back to Fun 'n' Gun can only work if the Redskins coaches and players can protect the passer, and nothing that's happened in the past six games suggests they can do that. Spurrier used the word "confused" when he talked about his players' inability to pick up blitzes. "We weren't smart enough to know where they were coming from," he said. "[The Cowboys] brought 'em from where we didn't think they were coming from. . . . Occasionally, a running back would come to the sideline and say, 'My fault.' " A very smart football coach who watched Sunday's game, who coached in both college and the pros, said afterward of Ramsey taking this much punishment, "He'll never be the player he can be if he keeps taking these beatings." Troy Aikman pointed out pretty much the same thing on TV. So did Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw and Jimmy Johnson. I believe the assessment of those four Hall of Famers and future Hall of Famers. I believe them more than I believe in the Fun 'n' Gun working in the NFL the way it's presently constituted. Show me a team that can't rush the opposing passer and can't protect its own passer, and I'm going to show you a team that, no matter how talented it might be, isn't going anywhere. After the game, asked about his defensive line's inabilities, Spurrier said, "I didn't watch the D-line that much." Please, I don't want to hear anybody spinning this loss and saying the Redskins were one onside kick recovery from tying the game. The Redskins were presented with enough turnovers and breaks to win two games, yet could score only six points until that late touchdown. The only reason the game was close is that the Cowboys tried to win it in the first three minutes, like they were in a hurry to get to next week's opponent. After 15 minutes 11 seconds, the Cowboys had four turnovers, two touchdowns nullified by penalties, a blown attempt to down a punt at the 1 and three dropped passes. Still, it was the Redskins who were in big trouble because all those Dallas mistakes produced a grand total of six points for Washington. The Redskins had minus-11 passing yards at the half. The Fun 'n' Gun looked to everybody watching like Chuck 'n' Duck. For the third straight game, Ramsey had to leave the field because he was being blitzed into submission. And this time, there's no lack of effort to cite. The Redskins lined up against their most hated rival, and got their butts whipped. The offense, on its own, didn't cross midfield until early in the fourth quarter. Granted, the Cowboys came into the game with the best defense, statistically, in the NFL. Still, until that late drive, the Redskins' offense looked mostly rinky-dink. The plays called on the sideline didn't work, the audibles Ramsey called didn't work; in fact, he once ran out of time trying to call an audible. "They were giving up a lot of sacks, really a lot . . . A lot," Cowboys defensive tackle La'Roi Glover said. "They wanted to stop the inside rush they'd been seeing in previous games, so they squeezed the protection. And we started blitzing from different positions . . . We were hitting him a lot." Sounds like what Tampa Bay's Simeon Rice said after sacking Ramsey three times. Sounds like what the Buffalo Bills said after getting well at the Redskins' expense two weeks ago. Everybody in the NFL knows what to do against the Fun 'n' Gun. Parcells and his defensive coaches even threw false fronts at Ramsey, hoping he'd audible, then jumped into something else as the snap clock ran down. They're accustomed to seeing that flanker screen to Laveranues Coles. Veteran defenders say there's no "hot read" for Ramsey to go to when he needs to, which is like a pilot having no ejector seat. If this is what the Fun 'n' Gun brought to the party after two weeks to think on it, to plot and plan and improve, then what's it going to be like from here on out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckydevil Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Good column by Wilbon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoCalMike Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 wilbon is right, but it is not like the cowboys showed some revelation of a gameplan on how to beat the Skins. This is what, the 4th straight week that the opposing Defense has taken the SAME EXACT approach in attacking the Skins? The real nail in the coffin was the Buffalo game, because in that game it showed Spurrier refuses to modify or adjust according to a defenses gameplan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 the pathetic part is we either wont or cant adapt. Maybe this is all the fun and gun has. If it doesnt work theres no plan B or any other adaptations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OaktonSkins/BushFan Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Sorry, but I respect what Jaws says a hell of a lot more than what Wilbon thinks. How can Wilbon defend the play of the center-left side of the OL? What about the RB's/FB's/TE's missing blocks in the backfield? This comes down to execution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OaktonSkins/BushFan Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 I'm just happy that Wilbon didn't squeeze in some race related political commentary somewhere. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurent Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 You can continue saying that it comes down to execution until your blue in the face, it's not going to change the fact that obviously our players aren't able to do it. Be it coaching, the scheme, what have you, at some point you have to freaking wake up and see that whatever you are trying to do is not working. Right now the coaching staff of the Washington Redskins is not putting their players in a position to be successful, it's as simple as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OaktonSkins/BushFan Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Originally posted by laurent You can continue saying that it comes down to execution until your blue in the face, it's not going to change the fact that obviously our players aren't able to do it. Be it coaching, the scheme, what have you, at some point you have to freaking wake up and see that whatever you are trying to do is not working. Right now the coaching staff of the Washington Redskins is not putting their players in a position to be successful, it's as simple as that. If they can't tackle and block and continue with mental errors (another 2 false starts for Samuels today), I don't know what system will work. I do agree that SOS needs to adjust until he can either get these bums coached up or replaced with players that can get it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sashae Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 If Spurrier can't adjust to put his players in a position to execute (setting up two RBs offset left when the blitz comes from the right), then yes, they're not going to perform. I think we're seeing a lot of regression from our line, but really.. have Samuels and Jansen regressed THAT much? Did Dave Fiore show up in DC and suddenly become a complete stiff? It's unconscionable the way that Spurrier is treating this team. -s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OaktonSkins/BushFan Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Originally posted by sashae If Spurrier can't adjust to put his players in a position to execute (setting up two RBs offset left when the blitz comes from the right), then yes, they're not going to perform. I think we're seeing a lot of regression from our line, but really.. have Samuels and Jansen regressed THAT much? Did Dave Fiore show up in DC and suddenly become a complete stiff? It's unconscionable the way that Spurrier is treating this team. -s Why is it Spurrier's fault that Samuels, for instance, can't block his guy for 5 seconds? That's not scheme, that's just fundamental blocking. Again, Jansen and Samuels are run blocking OT's and don't seem to play very well on their heels getting pushed back. It's not a matter of regression. Fiore has been injured even when he played and he never once looked as bad as Dockery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OaktonSkins/BushFan Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Just watching some highlights and I don't see the Giants, Steelers or Seahawks OL's caving in and letting the pocket collapse like our OL continually permits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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