TK Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20031104-122519-1245r.htm Redskins offense is questioned By Mark Zuckerman THE WASHINGTON TIMES The Fun 'n' Gun has come under attack before, Steve Spurrier insisted. Back in 1999, when he was still coaching at the University of Florida, Spurrier heard all kinds of criticism from those who didn't think his intricate offense was working with its two-headed quarterback of Doug Johnson and Jesse Palmer. "We were in a little slump there," Spurrier recalled yesterday, "and everybody wrote that everybody's got this offense down now." Florida's record at the time was 9-1. The Gators' offense was ranked 13th in the nation. In those parts, that qualified as a slump. Spurrier would kill for his Washington Redskins to be in the same predicament right now. With a 3-5 record and the NFL's 22nd-ranked offense, the Ball Coach's vaunted system is struggling to produce like never before. And in the wake of Sunday's 21-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Washington's fourth straight defeat, plenty of people are wondering whether the Fun 'n' Gun ever will be successful in the NFL. Has the entire league figured out Spurrier's offense? "Certainly it appears they do," the coach said. "It certainly appears that they can blitz guys and we can't block them. It appears they can rush four guys sometimes and we have trouble blocking them. We're struggling a little bit right now. Do we need to make some adjustments? Sure, we've got to make some adjustments here and there. Early in the year, we were moving the ball a lot better. But these last two games, the blitzes and the hits on the quarterbacks are something we've really got to concern ourselves with." Perhaps most disturbing to Spurrier supporters is the fact that the Redskins knew what to expect out of the Cowboys on Sunday. They had two full weeks to prepare for it, and they still came up flat. Washington had a scant 124 net passing yards against Dallas, and most of those came late in the fourth quarter, with the game already well out of hand. At halftime, the Redskins had minus-11 net yards through the air. The problem? The Cowboys frequently blitzed multiple linebackers and safeties, overwhelming Washington's much-maligned offensive line and forcing quarterback Patrick Ramsey into premature, poorly executed passes. When Ramsey did decide to hold on to the ball for a few more seconds to buy time, he was routinely pelted into the artificial turf at Texas Stadium, getting sacked four times and getting hit countless more. Afterward, the second-year quarterback admitted he knows exactly what defenses are doing "They're blitzing, and we're not beating it" but sounded helpless when trying to figure out how to overcome it. "Until we beat it, they're going to do it," he said. The Redskins spent a good portion of their bye week working out the kinks in their pass protection schemes. They even called in former offensive line coaching great Joe Bugel for a day to analyze tapes and offer recommendations. Whatever plan Washington came up with to combat the problem failed miserably. The four sacks surrendered Sunday brought the Redskins' season total to 29, most in the NFL. The Cowboys clearly went after Ramsey from the get-go, at times sending as many as eight defenders to rush the quarterback. "They brought a whole lot of guys, more than all the other teams we've played," tackle Chris Samuels said. "They brought everything but the kitchen sink." Washington had no answer for the onslaught. "Those guys schemed the [heck] out of us," guard Randy Thomas said. Easily overlooked among all the passing foibles was that the Redskins actually ran the ball with a high level of success against the league's top-ranked defense. Despite playing without its two top tailbacks, Trung Canidate and Ladell Betts, Washington averaged 5.6 yards a carry. The problem? Spurrier called only 16 running plays compared to 33 passes. Some of that was attributable to the second-half deficit the Redskins faced, but even Spurrier admitted yesterday "in hindsight, we should have run more." Despite all the call for changes in recent weeks, Spurrier remains defiantly true to the Fun 'n' Gun. Asked yesterday whether all a defensive coordinator needs to do to stop the offense is regularly call for all-out blitzes, Spurrier retorted, "I've been coaching 20 years. That's not the first time we've seen blitzes." Spurrier maintains that if executed properly, the Fun 'n' Gun is designed to produce plays like the 19-yard touchdown from Ramsey to rookie Taylor Jacobs that cut Dallas' lead to 21-14 late in the fourth quarter. On the play, the Cowboys blitzed heavily, but the Redskins' blockers picked it up and gave Ramsey enough time to find Jacobs down the field in man-to-man coverage. "You can go back there and try to throw it quickly, or you can try to go back and do what we did to Taylor Jacobs. It's as simple as that," Spurrier said. "But you've got to block them. If you want to throw it a little bit downfield, you've got to block them." Though Spurrier said he is open to making changes, neither he nor anyone else associated with the Redskins offense seemed to have any concrete ideas yesterday to reverse the downward trend. And with future opponents sure to study and mimic Dallas' plan of attack from Sunday's game, Washington could find itself in a never-ending cycle the rest of the season. "Any time something like that happens, other teams are going to watch films and try to do the same things," Samuels said. Added Thomas: "If we're not going to find a way to stop it, they're going to keep doing it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inmate running the asylum Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Originally posted by PROTECT THE QB The problem? Spurrier called only 16 running plays compared to 33 passes. Some of that was attributable to the second-half deficit the Redskins faced, but even Spurrier admitted yesterday "in hindsight, we should have run more." I am getting so Fuc#%ing tired of Spurrier saying after 1.5 years, "in hindsight we should have run more." :mad: Christ, everyone who knows anything about football, knows the best way to protect a rookie QB is to have a strong running game. Then the damn play-action passes work! :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 max protect, no huddle, quick counts, less audibles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Jumbo Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Originally posted by PROTECT THE QB And with future opponents sure to study and mimic Dallas' plan of attack from Sunday's game, Washington could find itself in a never-ending cycle the rest of the season. They act like Dallas was the first team to blitz us. Come on now, everybody has known our weakness for weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins26 Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 We were trying to run more guys, we would have a good run then somebody would commit a penalty to make it 2nd and 15 or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlobberKnockinFootball Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 What it boils down to is that when defenses blitz we are either going to have to hit a hot route with a pass. Which Ramsey needs read where the blitzes are coming from. Or our blockers need to step up. One of the other is going to have to happen to if Spurrier wants to continue to throw the football. Because right now dropping back and looking down field on blitzes isn't working. You need to get a screen or a quick slant on these blitzes. That way the blitzes will tail off a bit. But we can't look down field every time when people are blitzing...you have to pick your spots if you want to do that. Not everytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OURYEAR#56 Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 I got an idea, how about some HOT ROUTES, Stevie Baby. I can't believe that there's no hot routes in the Fun N Gun. This is a surprise to me becuase one of the reason Florida's WR are so good is they are allowed to adjust their routes. But here in the NFL, the WR run a seam route no matter what the Defensive scheme. Throw some phantom audibles out there too. I can't beleive that Steve really thought that a Defensive coordinator would allow him to read his coverage schemes, and not adjust to the audibles. Until Steve comes to understand that it's not the protection, but the scheme, it's going to be a long season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakofthesouth Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 No PA! It's not that friggin' difficult. Stop faking the run, it's very counter-productive. The backs are out of place, and can't protect; and no-one on the D is buying the play fakes. Here's the deal: when Spurrier runs it, friggin' run it. I-form, maybe w/ a TE, 1 WR, and run it down their throats. We have had success runnning against every team, and we have some talented RBs. When it's a pass, spread the field. We have 5 talented, extremely quick WRs, that can make plays and challene any secondary. Make it cut and dry. Cut the sh*t w/ the PA. And, cut the sh*t w/ the audibles. Ramsey is not Peyton Manning. He can't read Ds like that yet. Basically, call the play; be desicive and confident and target your plays. If they do this, they will be a great offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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