Opportunity missed for offense

[wit33]

Offense- Skins came out with plan to attack weakness of Giants on Thursday (Secondary), provide element of surprise and attempt to show the ability to adjust game plan from week to week.

This was done by attempting to spread Giants out and utilize short passing attack with Thompson and Jones catching and running out of back field. I was surprised, but excited to see the willingness from the coaching to execute such a thing.

I fear now the Skins will abandon the idea of attacking the weaknesses of opponents by sticking to heavy sets and predictable runs. I'm sure this is a conversation had between GM and coach as well.

Thoughts?

[Stadium-Armory]

I'm with you. I was excited how we came out against the Rams and surprised them with the three tight end power set. I was looking forward to the Giants game to see what we had in store for them, I just wish it had worked. I second your sentiment, and hope they keep game planning around opponents' weaknesses. At the same time, I'd like to see us develop an identity.

[RyansRangers]

They lost all confidence after blocked punt.. The UH OH same ole skins fear popped into their heads and they played scared rest of game

[DC9]

They lost all confidence after blocked punt.. The UH OH same ole skins fear popped into their heads and they played scared rest of game

 

Not really even a little bit.

 

They didn't play well, but the plays were there to make...again (once again, a credit to the coaching staff).

 

One thing I did notice was that, even in the 4th quarter when the game was getting out of reach, this team still played all 60 minutes.  The veterans were celebrating with the younger guys for making good plays, etc.  Something different is happening with this team if you'd care to watch.  Playing a full sixty and celebrating (not outlandishly, but a professional pat on the ass, which is important for the youngins) and continuing to fight. 

 

As far as the offense, I agree, they needed to change it up.  I was actually talking to KDawg about it earlier today on twitter... it's very difficult to be so physical week in and week out, let alone play a very run heavy and physical game on a Thursday after traveling.

 

It was a bad game from the Redskins as overall they didn't control the game, but there was a ton to like about it.  Another step in the process.  I'm excited to see what we do with a long break before we play the Eagles.

[HtownRocks111]

Im very concerned about our secondary.  Im also very concerned the Dolphins/Giants exploited something and that is if you play a spread offense, and run the ball from it, you can get 4+ yds at any given time.  We need to run a 3-4 with a NT in there to handle the run.  If our secondary is suspect, and we can't have a dominant run defense playing that spread formation, then we're in for a long season.

[DC9]

Im very concerned about our secondary.  Im also very concerned the Dolphins/Giants exploited something and that is if you play a spread offense, and run the ball from it, you can get 4+ yds at any given time.  We need to run a 3-4 with a NT in there to handle the run.  If our secondary is suspect, and we can't have a dominant run defense playing that spread formation, then we're in for a long season.

 

One hand washes the other.  If we have better DBs, we can commit more to the run with our LBs.  The weaknesses of the team are pretty apparent and one of those weaknesses is the secondary. 

[Taylor703]

One hand washes the other. If we have better DBs, we can commit more to the run with our LBs. The weaknesses of the team are pretty apparent and one of those weaknesses is the secondary.

I'd include Trent Murphy in there as a massive weakness as well

[DC9]

I'd include Trent Murphy in there as a massive weakness as well

 

Murphy is gaining weight to be a down linemen as we speak.  He is not good off the edge.  Could be very good as a DE, though.

 

Don't want to derail from the OP, though.

[wit33]

I hope Gruden maintains resolve and confidence in exploiting what he feels Skins can each week. I liked the idea to surprise Giants by coming out in spread look and allowing Kirk to make adjustments at line. Relying on the ground attack and being the more physical team week in and week out is not going to work in today's NFL, unless of course that team has a historic type defense behind it. The 49ers and Seahawks are most commonly used as an example to win with a strong run game and defense, but both those teams have an x factor to assist with run game, a mobile QB. Redskins appear to be all but done with Griffin, so a mobile QB is not going to be a factor in aiding the run game moving forward. So, this is one of the reasons I liked Gruden opening up the offense and allowing for other dimensions to be used.

[LaRonDontLikeUgly]

Let me get this straight...

 

- You are congratulating a losing coach for switching up a game plan that not only worked, but seemingly began to forge a team identity.

 

- The losing coach congratulates his losing QB for not executing his losing game plan.

 

- Other people here congratulate you for congratulating a losing and humiliating effort on National television.

 

Got it.

[RandyHolt]

The way we shelved 5 wide after a play, you'd think Kirk threw a pick on the opening play.

 

The G game planned all week to stop the run, probably 3 TEs, and game managed QB play. We seemingly abandoned our change up, spread, and ran into the wall they built to ground our ground game. 

 

I love the change ups to open games. Make the opposition players instantly question their own DC and what they wasted all their time on in practice. Maybe we were the team that wasted time in practice. 

 

But stick to the plan, at least for more than a play. Keep the pressure on them, don't let them off the hook!

[RedskinsLegacy]

2 things is for sure, 1st is our offense gave away 21 "easy" points with the 2 missed passes to Reed and the fumble by Jones. The 2nd is Kirk Cousins is way more accurate of a passer then what he showed Thursday night. I have seen him thread the needle, throw passes that many in this league wish they could. I don't know if it was nerves or what the problem was, but I sure don't expect to see that weekly. I think the Redskins just had a bad game and need to put it behind them and rebound next week. I think this team is definitely heading in the right direction and will contend in this division.

[CBass1724]

The sky is not falling.  It was just one game.  It's such a week to week league, that really each week can be its own separate entity.  It was a road game on a short week vs a division rival during prime time.  It's not a game that you should ever circle as a win before it is played.  Those are tough ones and we got outplayed.  Kirk missed some throws, no doubt, but this loss is on the team.  I'm glad we have a week and a half off before facing the Eagles.  No matter how bad the Eagles have looked up to this point, it doesn't really matter when they play us.

[wysknz1]

I think penalties hurt them the most.

 

A penalty gave the giants the opportunity for the blocked punt. It isn't always the amount of penalties It's when and where they are committed. They took away big plays or gave second chances to the giants.

 

Yes, there were lots of factors but overall IMHO that's what hurt the most.

[Warhead36]

That very first penalty on the first 3rd down by Reed turned the whole game around. Sounds silly I know with how early it was, but instead of first an 10 at the Giant 40 we're in 3rd and long deep in our own territory. If we score a TD on that drive we probably roll to a win.

 

Thats football though, often games are decided by just 2-3 big plays. And that was a big one.

[skinny21]

The poor execution (particularly by Cousins) seems like it was a double-edged sword - not only did it lead to a poor offensive showing, but now Gruden has to question himself going forward. It seemed like he schemed to attack the Gmen's weakness (secondary), which would then open up the run game. Now he's in a position where he will be criticized for deviating from the "Master Plan" by not running enough, and he will be criticized for trying to get too creative if he mixes things up.

If just a few of the negative pass plays went right, I think the Giants would have been on their heels a bit and it would have allowed Gruden to call a fairly balanced game with a slight bent toward running the ball.

It's the life of a coach I guess... anything doesn't work and you're going to get a lion's share of the blame.

[Warhead36]

Yeah I actually like that Gruden came out throwing. I knew we'd have to, because the Giants would come out to stop the run and they are a bad pass defense missing starters in the secondary. Plays were there to be made, but if your QB gets performance anxiety and can't hit the throws then what can you do?

[DC9]

Let me get this straight...

 

- You are congratulating a losing coach for switching up a game plan that not only worked, but seemingly began to forge a team identity.

 

- The losing coach congratulates his losing QB for not executing his losing game plan.

 

- Other people here congratulate you for congratulating a losing and humiliating effort on National television.

 

Got it.

 

If this team makes the playoffs it will be one of the top coaching performances and examples of luck of all time. 

 

In the meantime, it's important for the coaches to prepare the team as if they're going to win... you know, professionally.

 

It's also important to be positive when you're dealing with so much youth on the squad.

 

The concepts that were worked on during the week were open, but they just weren't executed correctly.  At a minimum we left 15 points on the field and lost by less than that. 

 

Some of us have been saying all summer long, you have got to approach this season looking at the big picture.  Obviously it's fine and only natural to be pissed after we had a stinker... but I think if you've ever been at management level in your line of work or even been in leadership of a team or a club growing up you know what's going on here.  You just have to look at things from that perspective.

[skins island connection]

 Positive attitudes are on the worst of teams.  A coach can't simply say to the media 'yea, our WRs couldn't catch a cold' or 'our QB is blind and slow'.

 

The players know and the coaches know that the players know that they have to improve and they may have played a bad game.

 

 The thing to look for is when a coach starts being slightly critical of one of his players; that means the player he's talking about is doing great.

[Wyvern]

I guess I saw the game slightly differently -- it was a typical game up in NY. A few funky 'pro-NY' ref calls at the wrong times, some bad bounces, and a few "Murphy's Law" moments. (...such as the Giants TD reception with an assist from Breeland's back shoulder, and Jones' TD fumble.). I saw a young team with a lot of new fill-ins at key positions, fall behind early... and the team's current design really doesn't lend itself to coming back easily. And let's not forget, the Giants were super-motivated to get a win at home.

I'll leave discussion of INTs aside, but I did note how Cousins' timing looked a little off -- but like many Skins QBs before him who had to play in Giants stadium, he was pressing a bit too much. Still, the guy hung in there and threw a lot of passes, and did help move the chains... sometimes even on 4th down! I didn't see a Cousins meltdown, rather I thought there was plenty of blame to go around for this loss. Simply, it's that Cousins --while he was workman-like-- he wasn't able carry the team on his back out of the jam (at least this time, he couldn't).

One big problem he faced was that the Giants defense didn't have to worry about deep threats, and meanwhile the Skins were discovering that Luvauo's absence DID have an impact on the O-line's cohesiveness. And so, the Skins discovered that Cousins will need to get more comfortable with executing "off schedule" plays because -- because a pressing defense can still overwhelm this current patchwork Skins O-line. (I suspect Cousins' comfort level will improve with more reps, and also if he's not under pressure to engineer a come back from so far behind.)

Moreover, the Giants attack benefited from injuries to key defensive players like Riley and Hall. Earlier, Barry had developed a decent system to maximize Riley's strengths, and hide his weaknesses -- but Riley's backup wasn't as strong, especially in stopping the run. And Murphy keeps making a great case why he might need to be found a different role (maybe similar to Riley's role?). And Halls injury-woes puts pressure on the secondary that has to stay out there.

And it's already obvious that Kotwica's special teams still need a lot of work, and need to gel around a team leader -- (they lost the two guys who were best suited for that role.) But that's still a work in progress, and everyone knew this fact coming into the season. Special Teams has a lot of rookies and first year players on it -- but maybe they'll improve with time.

Now, I concede this wasn't a good game by the Skins, in their first away game with very short time to prepare ----- but I can't believe how local Skins mediots and some fans are acting like. ....as if this was the worst loss in franchise history and Washington now needs to fold up its tents ...just after the third game!

And since it's a long news-week until the next game, it's now become almost a 'game' of negativistic 'oneupsmanship' on what you can say about how miserable the team/coach is and make suggestions on how to blow up the team, etc--- How they need to fire Gruden, cut Cousins, restore Griffin, cut Murphy, cut Roberts, fire Allen, etc....., etc. If I were a Giants fan, I'd be laughing out how little it takes to knock the spirit out of the Skins fan base and flip local media against the Skins . It must be so pleasing for NFC East opponents fans to watch Skins supporters bailing out, because their team lost on national TV, and they aren't getting the same media love they had after the Rams game.

Folks, this was just a loss. It was not an Armageddon-like, regime-ending beat down; this was just a single step in the Skins' challenging journey to competitiveness and hopefully soon, to many future playoffs.

[Warhead36]

The way I see it it comes down to how we look next week vs. Philly.

 

If we come out like we came out vs. the Fins and Rams and take it to them and win, then we can just write this game off as one of those games that every team has, and perhaps we have a shot at a season. If we come out and get pounded on like we typically do against division rivals then its 4-12/5-11 again and time to start evaluating draft prospects before Halloween.

[Bigmuss1]

I agree with needing to come out and play physical football against the Iggles next week. The thing that sucked for me was, I was excited for the game Thursday and it was nothing but another letdown. So many times, Redskins fans get excited about a national televised game and our team continues to **** the bed.

For me, if we absolutely look abysmal like we did Thursday nite, it'll be a very tuff season. If we show some fight, they will reel me back in for a few more weeks.

Watched Birds today against Jets, wasn't all that impressed. Darren Sproles is dangerous. What a difference 2-2 vs 1-3 will look.

[DC9]

The way I see it it comes down to how we look next week vs. Philly.

 

If we come out like we came out vs. the Fins and Rams and take it to them and win, then we can just write this game off as one of those games that every team has, and perhaps we have a shot at a season. If we come out and get pounded on like we typically do against division rivals then its 4-12/5-11 again and time to start evaluating draft prospects before Halloween.

 

We'll have no choice against the Eagles.  We struggle against hurry-up offense, always have.  Most defenses do.  The Giants and Ben McAdoo knew that and they went hard after it.

 

We'll need to try and control the clock and hope Bradford doesn't get well on us next week.  They got their ground game going today against the Jets.

[TheCoach22]

The way I see it it comes down to how we look next week vs. Philly.

If we come out like we came out vs. the Fins and Rams and take it to them and win, then we can just write this game off as one of those games that every team has, and perhaps we have a shot at a season. If we come out and get pounded on like we typically do against division rivals then its 4-12/5-11 again and time to start evaluating draft prospects before Halloween.

The Dolphins loss is even more depressing given how awful they looked again today. The Rams win less impressive with way Pittsburgh stoned them. The Eagles continued to look discombobulated on offense today, we cannot let them get going in DC... Simple as that.