TK Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031771958389&path=!sports!redskins&s=1045855935462 Skins link woes to little things Injuries and missed assignments are tied to offensive problems BY PAUL WOODY TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Thursday, November 6, 2003 ASHBURN - Six weeks ago, the Washington Redskins were 2-1, had the No. 1-ranked offense in the NFL and had reason for optimism. Since then, the Redskins are 1-4, have lost four games in a row and the development of quarterback Patrick Ramsey, once going along quite smoothly, has slowed considerably. Ramsey and the offense have been battered and ground to a halt. The Redskins have averaged 15 points per game in their past four contests. Their offense now ranks 22nd in the 32-team league, and they are 28th in third-down conversions. Ramsey has been sacked 26 times, and the Redskins are 31st in sacks per pass attempt. The questions the Redskins face daily are simple: How did it go so wrong? Can it be corrected? Injuries have been part of the problem. Starting left guard Dave Fiore played in the first three games, then experienced problems with the knee he injured last season. Fiore hasn't played since and was placed on injured reserve on Tuesday. The Redskins started their No. 3 running back, Chad Morton, on Sunday against Dallas. And when he was hurt, they were down to No. 4, Rock Cartwright, a converted fullback. They lost their starting tight end, Robert Royal, to a broken hip in the sixth game of the season. In all the cases, the backups have not played as well as the starters. A bigger problem, though, is with the offense itself. "I think what he's trying to do is sound, it's fine," Dallas coach Bill Parcells said. "I think they do a good job of throwing the ball, particularly deep. I don't think there's any problem at all with the ideas he's using." Of course, Parcells and Mike Zimmer, his defensive coordinator, then went about exploiting every weakness in the Redskins' offense, particularly the team's inability to pick up the blitz. To hear the Redskins talk, it's little things that are causing all these problems on the blitz. "One time, I lost my linebacker when he moved to the left," Redskins center Larry Moore said. "The result was that he got to the quarterback." "I missed a read," said running back Rock Cartwright. "I missed an audible," said backup wide receiver Patrick Johnson. Three mistakes. Three sacks. Those aren't such little mistakes. At times, the offense makes no mistake and the defense still gets a sack. Sometimes the other guys simply are better. Sometimes the other guys simply have better ideas. "They schemed us up a couple of times," Redskins coach Steve Spurrier said of the Cowboys. "One time, we had eight guys in to block, and they brought five guys from one side. We had a running back on the other side with no one to block." In those situations, Ramsey or someone in the backfield must see what's coming. Then, Ramsey must either alter the play, something that has caused a different set of problems, get rid of the ball to a "hot" receiver or throw it away. "We try to let Patrick know when there is a guy coming off the edge," Cartwright said. "But it's so loud sometimes that he doesn't hear that. And he has his mind on other things, as well as we do." There are things more important than alerting the quarterback he's about to get smashed? A "hot" receiver usually is a running back or tight end. He must recognize that a blitz is coming and look for a quick pass from the quarterback. Spurrier wasn't thrilled to address that aspect of his offense. "I just told our team we're not going to talk about that," Spurrier said after practice yesterday. "We haven't had as many [hot reads] as most teams, but we'll see how it works out this week." The Redskins play at home against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Another problem is that the Redskins' running backs have not always been effective in picking up blitzing defenders. At times, they miss assignments. At other times, so many defenders get through that even carrying out the proper assignment still leaves Ramsey vulnerable. One antidote to the blitz is to block it well enough to give Ramsey time to find Laveranues Coles, one of the league's premier wide receivers. Coles has caught 46 passes for 658 yards, 14.3 yards per reception. But teams are doing things to take Coles out of the offense, particularly with double teams. "We've got to be creative and find ways to get him the ball," Ramsey said. If Coles is getting double coverage, other receivers should be open. Rod Gardner, the other starting wide receiver, has caught 34 passes but for only 349 yards, an average of 10.3 yards per reception. Gardner does not often gain many yards after making a reception. Only four wide receivers among the top 50 in the NFC have a lower yards-per-catch average. Four tight ends have a higher yards-per-catch average than Gardner. Not everyone is as certain as Parcells that Spurrier's ideas are sound, particularly his pass-protection schemes. "Sometimes, I think he thinks he's still in college," said one Redskins player. When Spurrier left the University of Florida, where he had won 122 games and one national championship in 12 seasons, he said he wanted to see if his system would work in the NFL. So far, he can't be pleased with the results. AND FURTHERMORE: The Redskins' injury list is the longest it has been this season with 14 names on it. Running back Chad Morton (ankle), center Larry Moore (foot) and running back Ladell Betts (arm) are not likely to play. Running back Trung Canidate's sprained ankle has healed enough that Spurrier declared him, "probable." A heavy thunderstorm forced Spurrier to end practice early yesterday. "We got about two-thirds of it in," Spurrier said. . . . Spurrier liked what he saw in running back John Simon, who was signed on Tuesday, and said, "We're going to try to get him ready to play some this week." Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or pwoody@timesdispatch.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 Gee, a lot of that sounds familiar I wonder where I heard it before......:confused: Oh Wait, I have been posting it for the past two weeks at least I feel a little vindicated Sorry just feel sometimes I am just beating my head against the wall :gus: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins26 Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 When it rains, it poors. On Comcast they had to make the font really really small on the injury report while playing an air raid siren, becuase there were so many names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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