TK Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20031210-120900-5035r.htm Spurrier learning his lesson By Jody Foldesy THE WASHINGTON TIMES Washington Redskins coach Steve Spurrier acknowledged yesterday he can't run the pure Fun 'n' Gun offense he used to dominate the college level, perhaps signaling he is settling on an NFL version of the scheme after nearly two seasons of experimenting. Spurrier's comments came two days after he called for 48 running plays — the most in his NFL career — in a road win over the New York Giants. His previous high was 46 runs in a win over Houston late last season. This year he had not topped the 34 he called in the opening win over the New York Jets. Although Spurrier emphasized Sunday's nasty weather conditions — freezing temperatures and a bitter, swirling wind — dictated his game plan, he said his offense has changed over time and indicted he has come to terms with those changes. "Is this the offense that I ran at Florida and Duke? Of course not," Spurrier said. "Maybe the defenses are a heck of a lot better at this level. You have to adapt to what you can do out there." Spurrier's comments could be significant as the Redskins look ahead to 2004. After a rookie year in which Spurrier's scheme vacillated between a run-based attack and one that threw even in a driving rain storm at Giants Stadium, the coach has remained unsettled about the best way to attack defenses in the NFL. This year's fluctuations followed a sterling start in which the Redskins opened 3-1 but couldn't keep quarterback Patrick Ramsey protected. Ramsey threw for more than 300 yards at Atlanta and in the first Giants game but was sacked regularly — 15 times in the first four contests. As the hits piled up, Spurrier curtailed some of his aggressive calls. First the coach had Ramsey audible to more running plays and quick throws, but offsides and delay-of-game penalties followed. At times defenses faked a look and forced unnecessary audibles. So Spurrier trimmed his audibles and called more conservative plays. Three straight losses, the last an ugly one at Buffalo in which Ramsey completed eight throws, left the coach convinced he deviated too much from the Fun 'n' Gun's fundamentals. During the bye week in late October, Spurrier vowed "to get back to our original plan of offense." He said he felt "handcuffed" by three-step drops and the problem could be solved by opening things up and firing downfield. An ugly loss at Dallas followed. The Cowboys blitzed frequently, occasionally sending nine defenders after Ramsey when Spurrier kept in eight to block (so-called "max" protecting). Ramsey was sacked four times and took several wicked shots. Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson then asked for and was given oversight of the offense. Using Spurrier's plays, Jackson drew up and executed a game plan that had Ramsey rolling out and getting rid of the ball quicker. The Redskins beat a good Seattle team, but the offense struggled the following week in a loss at Carolina. Spurrier reassumed the reins. Including the Panthers game, Washington grabbed three straight fourth-quarter leads but couldn't hold them. In the third contest, a loss to New Orleans in which the Redskins averaged 6.2 yards a carry but rushed just 26 times, offensive linemen Jon Jansen and Randy Thomas were animated on the sideline telling Spurrier to run the ball more often. He did Sunday. In lousy conditions at the Meadowlands, Spurrier called 21 passing plays to 48 runs. A year earlier in a Nor'easter at the same stadium, he dialed up 37 passes and 21 runs. The contrast illustrated Spurrier, at the least, has learned there are times to lean on the run. "We shoot for balance, but the weather and conditions sometimes dictate what you can do," Spurrier said yesterday. "We felt like with the weather, we had to keep pounding the ball. And we didn't expect the Giants to go very far. They're really struggling on offense right now." But based on other comments yesterday, Spurrier finally seems to realize that a pure Fun 'n' Gun can't work at this level. When asked where he is in the spectrum of philosophies he has used in the NFL, he made it clear he is no longer as committed to seven-step drops and deep attempts. "You've always got to sort of adapt," Spurrier said. "That's what we're trying to do. We're not smart enough to throw the ball 40 times a game. The game dictates how it goes." The question now is whether Spurrier will use the final three games to refine his offensive philosophy for 2004, or in an admitted make-or-break season he will go back to experimenting. Yesterday, he conceded he still doesn't have an ideal for the NFL version of the Fun 'n' Gun. "We've just got to wait and see where we are," Spurrier said. "As coaches we're trying to use our talent and players as best we can." Note — A day after the Redskins declined to give specifics on quarterback Patrick Ramsey's upcoming foot surgery, agent Jimmy Sexton said there probably aren't any specifics to give at this point. Sexton said Ramsey's foot had been evaluated with the intent of him playing again this season; now it will be evaluated with the plan of immediate surgery. Thus, details on what surgery might entail should follow an upcoming meeting with Dr. Robert Anderson of Charlotte, N.C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Die Hard Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Originally posted by TK421CLICKER "We're not smart enough to throw the ball 40 times a game. The game dictates how it goes." ......... Yesterday, he conceded he still doesn't have an ideal for the NFL version of the Fun 'n' Gun. "We've just got to wait and see where we are," Spurrier said. "As coaches we're trying to use our talent and players as best we can." Not smart enough to throw 40 times. Sigh. The last statement just bothers me. Can someone tell me what the guy needs to run his damn offense? Is it the best 0-line in football, 2 Randy Moss', Tony Gonzales, Brett Favre and Jamal Lewis? I'm sure if we were to compare the amount of money our offensive players count altogether against the cap... I'm pretty sure we're among the league's highest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Originally posted by Die Hard Not smart enough to throw 40 times. Sigh. The last statement just bothers me. Can someone tell me what the guy needs to run his damn offense? Is it the best 0-line in football, 2 Randy Moss', Tony Gonzales, Brett Favre and Jamal Lewis? I'm sure if we were to compare the amount of money our offensive players count altogether against the cap... I'm pretty sure we're among the league's highest. I think he's referring to the inability to audible properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Om Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 DH, to me, the single biggest need in trying to run a sophisticated, audible-driven, read on the fly passing offense is a QB with enough experience to make it all work. We just don't have that yet. Patrick's still taking baby steps as an NFL QB in terms of learning what defenses are doing to him. No fault of his, it's just the way it is in that league. Sometimes I imagine a guy like Peyton Manning or Brett Favre running this thing; a guy with enough mileage and game experience not to be fooled very often by what the D shows, either pre-snap or during the play, and for whom the game has slowed down enough to really get into things like out-thinking the D at the line in the audible game, and then confidently looking off the safety, and all the little tricks a veteran QB gets only through playing time. And then I think how different Spurrier's offense might look in a couple more years, when a guy with Ramsey's arm and toughness has also acquired that experience ... and I keep thinking about all those open receivers everyone agrees are running around out there ... Having patience after all these frustrating years is hard, but geez, I'd really like to see how this crazy offense could work with an honest to god, smart, strong-armed and battle-wise QB. Keeps me from wanting to pull the plug on this thing just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gridironmike Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Thanks Om. I wanted to hear someone say "let's see what happens." Spurrier is no idiot. Determined maybe (stubborn), but not an idiot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktball74 Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Spurrier will get this thing right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonnyJ Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Om nailed it. Spurrier saying that the team isn't smart enough is pretty much saying he doesn't have a QB that can assimilate everything and make it work consistently. Teams have been taking advantage of that all season. It's such a QB-centric offense. If you don't have the guy back there pulling the trigger, it's understandable that the offense would struggle. Spurrier seems to finally accept the fact that he needs to compensate. He's vacillated up until now, never fully accepting it. He's saying the right things here to indicate that he has indeed accepted it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 I agree with OM, the key is the qb experience. Wuerffel has the mental ability to see the field in the same way Spurrier did, but he was lacking the physical skills, Ramsey has the physical skills but is not quite seeing the field the same way YET. I think next year will be a different story as long as wholesale roster changes are not made in the offseason on offense. A player here and there, but don't blow up the ship and start over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonny Joe Hog Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 Originally posted by SonnyJ Om nailed it. Spurrier saying that the team isn't smart enough is pretty much saying he doesn't have a QB that can assimilate everything and make it work consistently. Teams have been taking advantage of that all season. It's such a QB-centric offense. If you don't have the guy back there pulling the trigger, it's understandable that the offense would struggle. Spurrier seems to finally accept the fact that he needs to compensate. He's vacillated up until now, never fully accepting it. He's saying the right things here to indicate that he has indeed accepted it. Frankly, I don't believe that he's accepted it. The reality of the NFL might be too boring for his taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 I hate seeing this. Spurrier shouldn't still be coming to grips with himself almost two years in. Whether he can win or not with his offense is still an open question. What's not really an open question is whether he can EVER really win here as long as he doesn't know what his offense truly is. Marty was a fool. His offense was unimaginative and lost. It had NO chance of being any good. Ever. It was poorly designed and weakly coached. And yet, Marty was ABSOLUTELY right to insist it be done JUST the way he said. Whatever success would have been possible with that stunted scheme could only come if the players knew there was nothing else available to them. You've got players on this team teasing Spurrier with reports about how they have to meet halfway to be successful. How 48-19 or whatever is a compromise in the playcalling. How a 3.1 yard average is hitting on all cylinders. And you've got Spurrier unable or unwilling to set a direction and say, "You know what, I don't care that you think you can't audible in this league. I think you can. Now get it done." This team is largely DOOMED if Spurrier doesn't know who he is yet. The team isn't smart enough to do something according to him. It's his responsibility to teach them to be smarter. Or die in the process because he's SURE to die in this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted December 10, 2003 Share Posted December 10, 2003 I read this on last year. I think after the Jacksonville game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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