My observations on our offense thus far......

[NoCalMike]

I have been gone all weekend so I am just now getting around to posting on the game(offense-wise).

Ok first of all people, get the hell of Ramsey's back. I mean is it really that suprising that an all-pro vetern has outperformed him on the field? Ramsey is going to now have something he never had before in his short NFL career, a great coach and a probowl QB to learn from, and it will benefit him. Ramsey IS the prototype QB for Gibbs system, he has Mark Rypien written all over him. As far as all the talk about Hassleback being #2 over Ramsey, please stop the nonsense. Hassleback is like a little sparkplug that has the ability to come in and get something started, but other then that his weak arm is too much to overcome over a long period of time. Just look at last year at how he came in and at first looked like the answer, but as time wore on, it was painfully obvious that he doesn't have the physical tools to be a starter.

Secondly, the plays. I am sorry, but why is anyone worried and even over-analyzing our offense when Gibbs was calling pass play after pass play after pass play etc.........You know what I HAVEN'T seen much of in the preseason that is CORNERSTONE of the Gibbs offense? THE PLAY ACTION FAKE.......Seriously, So far Gibbs isn't even pretending to be doing a run play and have it be a playaction. He is either running or passing, and making no bones about either one. To me Gibbs is running an offense to ANALYZE, NOT TO WIN. He wants to analyze Ramsey's progress so he goes out and calls 8 pass plays in a row.

Thirdly. The running game(or lack there of). When Portis is getting 5 carries a game, what the hell do you expect? Until the regular season when Portis is gettng between 20-30 carries a game, it is unfair to try and say, "what's wrong with the running game" Once Portis starts getting 25 carries, it is only going to take 2-3 breakout runs per game to convince people. Trust me the "highlight runs" will come, but that ISN'T what the preseason is for.

I guess that is it for now.......I probably left out some stuff, but I did a lot of heavy drinking over the weekend in celebration of the gf's 24th b-day.....:cool:

[fansince62]

noca....good insights. I agree with one reservation: I haven't seen the push by the O-line yet that makes me think "just a matter of time." but I haven't seen real physical domination yet. it may be a continuity thng or just the vanilla playcalling you refer to.

[NVskinsfan]

Gibbs is paranoid!

He will show Nothing!

Vanilla is all we'll see untill Tamps comes to town!

[sydshobob]

I agree with everything you say. There's one problem with that though. Right now, the Skins don't have a good backup quarterback. We all agree that given time, Ramsey can develop into a very good qb in Gibbs system. But what about now?

If Brunell gets hurt, it's obvious that P-Ram is going to struggle. Unless it's just the competition that's screwing him up - that's always a possibility. I'd be thrilled, and not too surprised, if he can come in and perform well, but right now I'm not real confident he can.

[edit] Having said that, if Gibbs is happy with him as the backup, then I'm pretty happy. Although I used to have the same apprehension about Tom Flick!

[Morbo]

Originally posted by NoCalMike

I have been gone all weekend so I am just now getting around to posting on the game(offense-wise).

Ok first of all people, get the hell of Ramsey's back. I mean is it really that suprising that an all-pro vetern has outperformed him on the field? Ramsey is going to now have something he never had before in his short NFL career, a great coach and a probowl QB to learn from, and it will benefit him. Ramsey IS the prototype QB for Gibbs system...

I agree that PR will, in time, be a good/great quarterback, but right now he looks uncomfortable and like he dosnt know who's doing what on the field(ie the overthrown TD pass to Thrash on Friday). But given Gibbs' midas touch on hs qb's I give it two years max before Ramsey starts.

[freakofthesouth]

Here's a little something to add onto NoCal's write-up:

Ramsey. If you have the time, and the capability, please go back and watch the games from last season. We can all pretty much agree that though the offense was not good last year, and Ramsey was beaten up pretty severely, he still did get the job done, and showed heart, particularly in the beginning of the season. It is my observation that he was a notoriously SLOW STARTER. Meaning, he starts off drives, tries to get something going early, and for some reason, it takes him awhile to get settled in the pocket. But last season, as the game wore on, he started to make great plays downfield (how 'bout that throw to Jacobs last Friday? That was a good lookin' ball).

Portis. Running games, IMO, take time to show how effective they are. Most teams that are run heavy, rarely come out of the box ripping 10 yd gains per run. The run game is designed to wear down the opponent, and that feature back is meant to run circles around the defense, until they are so tired, they can't stop him anymore. Later in the game, you see big runs, and the ground game functioning effectively. Regardless, I still think Portis is averaging over 4 yds / carry this preseason.

OK, so the point is continuity. Portis and the run game, when featuring a back, will be succesful. And Ramsey, though he has yet to get comfortable, has a 'get-out-of-jail card' in my book...after the beating he took last year. If he plays this season, watch him light it up late in the game. That's his style.