Will the coaching be good enough for the talent?

[DWinzit]

On 5/1/2019 at 10:48 AM, Burgold said:

That's my biggest fear. I can't remember a game where I thought. Jay really won that chess match or Manusky really outschemed his opponent. 

Every game they are looking good going into halftime and I should be thrilled, instead I found myself worried. Usually with good reason as the opponents come out of the gate   strong after making adjustments and the coaching cannot counter. I do believe some of the reasons were unhealthy OL and poor play at MLB which perhaps have been addressed. Still some falls on the coaching.

On 5/1/2019 at 12:08 PM, Warhead36 said:

I think Gruden is an above average offensive coach. Give him something to work with and we'll put up points.

 

Not as high on Manusky though. He's average at best. Bring in someone like Gregg Williams and this D could be top 10, MAYBE top 5.

They missed on a good opportunity to dump Maunsky and bring in a Williams to bring the D to a  possible top ten.  It was mistake keeping him for this season.

[LD0506]

I don't think the man of many Gs would have taken the job here............

 

[WilberMarshall]

On 5/1/2019 at 2:49 PM, Audible_Red40 said:

Preparation and game planning/scheming seem to be there.

 

In game adjustments, clock management, killer instincts seem to never be there.

 

Always a glimpse of what could be, but never see consistency.

 

Coaching staff looks lost during game time and 3 hours after.

 

But I will always remain cautiously optimistic.

 

 

Still holding out hope that we will learn how to properly defend against the pick plays. 

I cringe anytime we play a team that loves screening you to death or those notorious for running pick plays.

Glad Gray was fired. The secondary was in complete shambles. 

And Jay should please STOP plays. 

 

Finally, can we not get any games after a long week.  Can't remember winning any of those games under Jay.

 

[skins island connection]

 

 I don't expect much success from this point on with Jay, I just don't.

That's a loaf of bread that's been on the shelf too long; you can see the defects and almost predict the offense, and if us armchair QBs can do it, what do you think goes through the opposing defenses' minds?

 

 I think this is Jay's last year. Wish I could say the same for Brucie, but Jay is in a no-win situation, barring a lightning strike of biblical proportions.

In fact, its not only the bread that is stale, the bread molds are never changing.

[HTTRDynasty]

To the point of this thread, I just saw this article, and it's incredible to me.  I knew we were misusing Norman, but to have the stats to back that up so definitively, and we still do it, is wild to me.  We have one of the best CB's in the league in off-man coverage, and the majority of his man-coverage snaps are in press, where he has consistently proven to be below average.

 

 

 

In 2015, Norman’s career year, Norman lined up in a press coverage shell on just 34.1% of his snaps. Over the past three seasons with Washington, he has played in that press coverage look on more than 65.0% of plays. 

 

In 2018, Norman surrendered a 135.6 passer rating when targeted in press-coverage versus a 31.0 passer rating when targeted in off-man coverage.  

 

Dating back to 2012, cornerbacks with 100-plus off-man look targets, Norman’s forced incompletion percentage of 13.6% ranks 15th out of 107 qualifying cornerbacks. His passer rating of 62.1 when targeted ranks fourth over the same period.

[Wildbunny]

Good news on the coaching staff:

Redskins are adding Kyshoen Jarrett.

It's just quality control coach, but it feels good to know that the guy is still around.

[Vanguard]

Jay needs to step up his game big time. I hate hearing his post game pressers. Very uninspiring stuff.

[TheShredder]

I don't believe that Jay Gruden can do the same things he's done before and remain employed on game days.  There's an expectation that he'll utilize Kevin O'Connell to bump his game planning and play calling to a different tune.  If not he won't make it to far this year.

 

The talent in the coaching staff is legit.  The HC has to take the reigns and make it happen. 

[SkinsGuy]

On 5/1/2019 at 5:16 PM, Malapropismic Depository said:

.

If Rob Ryan can't convince Greg to become more aggressive, will Rob become the aggressive one and punch Greg, just like his Dad did, to one of his associate coaches.

 

[Monkman56]

On 5/1/2019 at 12:55 PM, WelshSkinsFan said:

I expect Williams, Moses, Scherff and Roullier to play 16 games each and we have plenty of candidates to find a LG from.  I mean if you are just going to assume the worst before training camp even starts you might as well put a grand on Washington for the first pick next year and take a 12 month vacation from watching the team.

 Scherff and Roullier maybe, but the two T's as well as many others have shown that 16 games is not the norm for them. So expect the same, hope for better. But optimism is what keeps selling tickets & jerseys every year right? And thats what ownership counts on. They just try and improve their business model year after year. 

[Monkman56]

On 5/5/2019 at 10:54 PM, skins island connection said:

 

 I don't expect much success from this point on with Jay, I just don't.

That's a loaf of bread that's been on the shelf too long; you can see the defects and almost predict the offense, and if us armchair QBs can do it, what do you think goes through the opposing defenses' minds?

 

 I think this is Jay's last year. Wish I could say the same for Brucie, but Jay is in a no-win situation, barring a lightning strike of biblical proportions.

In fact, its not only the bread that is stale, the bread molds are never changing.

completely agree. Is it likely this coaching staff pulls a magic rabbit out of its collective arse this year? Because thats the only thing that saves it. Its OK to believe in your system but you cant keep doing the same thing and expect different results. In all fairness to JG, I saw some late season ( post apocalyptic injury) games where they managed to scratch and claw to a close loss. But thats still the end result. Heres hoping to see magic rabbits!

[88Comrade2000]

If he doesn't make the playoffs, even Jay knows he's gone. He made that comment, while commenting about Hard Knocks.

Since,  I don't expect a playoff birth; the answer will be no.

[Voice_of_Reason]

On 5/1/2019 at 5:16 PM, Malapropismic Depository said:

If Rob Ryan can't convince Greg to become more aggressive, will Rob become the aggressive one and punch Greg, just like his Dad did, to one of his associate coaches.

Actually it was the offensive coordinator, Kevin Gilbride.  If memory serves, the Oilers were up, Gilbride tried to be aggressive going into the half, and there was a turnover which put Ryan’s defense in a tough spot. So he tried to clock him. 

 

One of the best sideline moments in NFL history.

[Voice_of_Reason]

On 5/1/2019 at 2:38 PM, Burgundy Yoda said:

I don't think Jay has enough to work with to be honest, 

You might be right, but I’m hoping this year we at least try some different things with the personnel we do have. 

 

Something unexpected and a little creative.  Different personnel groupings, more creative and less predictable play calling, etc.  At least an attempt to maximize the talent on offense.

 

This assumes the OL isn’t a mash unit again.  I’m hopeful Kevin O’Connell can bring some of the creativity back to the offense.  I think Jay coordinates a good pass game, but can fall into a rut in play calling and lacks some ingenuity. And the run scheme just has been terrible for 5 years.  

 

Though there are some positive early signs there might be some small changes which could pay big dividenso.

[skins island connection]

Some are saying Jay doesn't have a lot to work with;  I completely agree; he doesn't seem to catch on to what opponents are doing until its too late. He is kinda slow.

 

A successful coach has to be creative, adaptable, forceful, aggressive, conservative, and most importantly, aware. There were times when Gruden would seem lost on the sidelines, as if he were caught up in the moment and so focused on what was happening on the field that he couldn't react or counter what was happening on the field.  This is what assistant coaches are for; to delegate some of the work load, shoulder some of the responsibilities. Maybe Gruden doesn't have enough trust or confidence in them, but even if he were to change all of that now, its just too late.

 

The entire aroma of the team is stale, and Gruden's only chance to be successful is to have a boatload of top tier players, but even having that does not spell success, because the creativity isn't there to be flexible enough to weather the different opponents and their strengths. We all hated Haslett, but for some reason he seemed to always have the defense playing a great game against Dallas, but there are 30 other teams.

 

Barring a very surprising and successful season, this is prob Gruden's last year here. I think the writing is on the wall, and he knows it. Time will tell if this rubs off on the team, but if things go south in the first half of the season, I highly doubt he survives the entire season. He's not what you would call an adjustable coach who can neutralize adversity, usually the damage is already done and the game is out of reach before he catches a whiff of urgency.

[Vanguard]

On 5/31/2019 at 7:47 AM, skins island connection said:

Some are saying Jay doesn't have a lot to work with; I completely agree 

 

I don’t get this. We’re more talented this year than we were last year.  We’re loaded at running back, receiver is a project but we have more talent there now than last year also.

 

The problem is Jay.  When we had a healthy Jordan Reed we didn’t take advantage of it.  He’ll be there, and he’ll be ready again this year.  Personnel is not the problem.  Jay is the problem.  And if we’re lucky the defense may add a few scores.

[skins island connection]

2 hours ago, Vanguard said:

 

I don’t get this. We’re more talented this year than we were last year.  We’re loaded at running back, receiver is a project but we have more talent there now than last year also.

 

The problem is Jay.  When we had a healthy Jordan Reed we didn’t take advantage of it.  He’ll be there, and he’ll be ready again this year.  Personnel is not the problem.  Jay is the problem.  And if we’re lucky the defense may add a few scores.

 

 I was saying that Jay is slow. Slow to act, slow to react.

 

The problem that will most likely arise this season is not so much in the players, but in Jay's ability to put players in positions to win their positional battles.

Its strategy.  We know that this team doesn't have the best players in the league, and a winning team doesn't really need that; there are some decent to good players, but its not across the board. Therefore, strategy comes into play.

 

Jay is often too in-tuned with whats happening on the field at that moment to consciously adjust. We have seen this play out on numerous occasions, and by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late to do anything about it.

 

This season, it will be the same play calling, especially in situational moments, critical moments, where a score is needed, and the opponents will be one step ahead of Jay. Maybe the proper word is predictability.  Year after year, the overall record has been dropping, little by little; I don't expect things to change, barring a superstar outbreak of a player {s} to the magnitude that it changes philosophy.

[Vanguard]

Edit

 

 

[Renegade7]

They don't have to be great and they won't be. 

 

But Grudens offense gets people open, we seen that year went to playoffs.  I don't believe we have the talent at WR to blame an average passing game on him.  Hopefully Haskins makes him look good. 

 

If we don't want to blitz we need to be home and keep people in front of us, I've seen both defenses work when coached well.

[goskins10]

11 hours ago, Vanguard said:

 

I don’t get this. We’re more talented this year than we were last year.  We’re loaded at running back, receiver is a project but we have more talent there now than last year also.

 

The problem is Jay.  When we had a healthy Jordan Reed we didn’t take advantage of it.  He’ll be there, and he’ll be ready again this year.  Personnel is not the problem.  Jay is the problem.  And if we’re lucky the defense may add a few scores.

 

This is an interesting statement. 

 

Reed was targeted 84 times in 511 offensive snaps (2nd in offensive snaps - more on that later) he played in, or 16.4%. Of those who were in at least 300 offensive snaps (excludes STs snaps) - only Chris Thompson was targeted more in terms of % at 17.9% (55 targets in 308 snaps). After that it's Jamison Crowder at 11.4% (49 of 428), then Mo Harris at 10.2% (47 in 462).

 

Josh Doctson who by far was in more snaps than anyone at 846 offensive snaps (335 more offensive snaps than the next closest offensive skill position player other than QB) was targeted 78 times for 9.2% - 6th overall on the team. Yea you can say i'ts on him that he didn't get more targets.  But in terms of production they were really not that much different when you consider the positions - 

Reed - 511 snaps 84 targets - 54 recs 558 yds  

Doctson 846 snaps 78 targets - 44 recs for 532 yds

 

And before someone says Doctson had more drops - Doctson and Reed were tied for 3rd on the team with 3 drops each. Chris T led with 5 drops followed by Jamison Crowder with 4, both with significantly less targets. Yet not sure I hear much about Thompson dropping balls - he had an almost 10% drop rate compared to less than 4% rate for Doctson. So why was he not targeted more?

 

This not to say Doctson is a great WR by any means. The bigger point here is that there are many perceptions about these players that the data does not support. They did use Reed quite a bit when he was in. He was just not available. Josh catches most of the balls thrown his way but he is not being targeted often enough. BTW: I would expect his targets to be less than Reed - and Chris T for that matter - TE and 3rd dn RB vs. X/Z. But the disparity is huge. 

 

Jay's offense gets guys open - you can say his play calling is predictable but if you look at any message board for any NFL - yes including the Patriots, all the fans complain about play calling. While HCs are certainly not infallible by any means, most times the players will tell you straight up the play call was great, they failed to execute. 

 

If the team falters this year, many of you will get what you want, a new HC. My warning is, be careful what you wish for, you just may get it. 

[Chump Bailey]

 

 

 

On 5/1/2019 at 12:01 PM, Riggo-toni said:

Nsekhe is gone.

 

 

And that was a mistake IMO. He was worth keeping around.

[goskins10]

6 minutes ago, Chump Bailey said:

 

And that was a mistake IMO. He was worth keeping around.

 

While I get your point, not sure I totally agree. He got paid a lot of money - $14.2M for 2 yrs with $7.7M in guarantees. He was good when in but was banged up himself quite a bit. And he will turn 34 this season. I can see moving on not wanting to pay that money. Also, he has a chance to start with the Bills. he was not going to do that here. If anything, maybe that was the mistake. 

 

I know many people did not like the idea, but I would love to see them move Williams to LG and put Ty at LT. They played a game like that and the line was crazy over the top. But if that's what you have to do to get your best 5 on the filed, you should do so. 

 

Anyway, all things considered, I think they really had no choice. $14.2M ($7.7 in guarantees) is too much for a 34 Y/O back-up, especially for a team with $20M committed to Alex Smith who not playing a down. Maybe if they were able to dump that contract they could make it work with Ty. But at this point it's more a luxury than a need. 

 

Let's see how some of the new guys play. Long way to go till the season starts.  

[JSSkinz]

Jay has had absolute garbage to work with for most of his career at Washington.  He's never had a run game, the O lineman are never healthy and Moses underperforms consistently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Vanguard]

6 hours ago, JSSkinz said:

Jay has had absolute garbage to work with for most of his career at Washington.  He's never had a run game, the O lineman are never healthy and Moses underperforms consistently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I always thought of Moses as a good tackle who lapses every once in a while.  He’ll have a play or two in the game where he gets beat or misses a block. In your opinion is he good or average?

[JSSkinz]

1 minute ago, Vanguard said:

 

I always thought of Moses as a good tackle who lapses every once in a while.  He’ll have a play or two in the game where he gets beat or misses a block. In your opinion is he good or average?

Even though PFF is not always a perfect way of rating players I think it's a good benchmark and I agree with them on their Moses ranking which is the low side of average.

 

Last year he did some things that really bothered me so I started watching his film over the course of 8 games, to me he looks awful, slow feet, poor balance, it's clear he gets tired during games and starts leaning which is what seems to get him in trouble like in the 2nd Dallas game when he missed a chip on Lawrence and it turned into a 2 handed INT by a D lineman.

 

I like him and his family, they are nice people but I don't think he is worthy of his contract, he's only ok if Scherff is next to him.

 

Just my opinion.