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AP:What does Gibbs' have up his sleeve? Redskin offense will look familiar.

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http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5945127/

What does Gibbs' have up his sleeve?

Gruden, others wonder what offense Redskins coach will employ Sunday in return to sidelines

The Associated Press

Updated: 5:04 p.m. ET

Sept. 8, 2004ASHBURN, Va. - For months, Joe Gibbs has gone to great lengths to keep his offensive game plan a secret, claiming it is to his advantage that no one knows what to expect from someone who has been away from the game for more than a decade.

As opening day approaches, though, it has become apparent that the Hall of Fame coach will not be pulling too many surprises. The 2004 Washington Redskins probably will resemble, say, the 1989 Washington Redskins when they face Tampa Bay on Sunday.

“We’re going to pound the ball,” receiver Rod Gardner said. “We’re going to take our shots, but at the same time we’re going to run the ball.”

Substitute the Dirtbags for the Hogs, Mark Brunell for Mark Rypien and Clinton Portis for Ernest Byner — although Portis has more speed. Expect the blocking schemes to be more sophisticated than the old “counter trey.” The gist of the offense will be a power running attack with play-action passes that emphasize protecting the quarterback at all costs.

“The biggest problem is the toughness of it,” said defensive line coach Greg Blache, who has been facing the offense nearly every day in practice for six months.

“It’s a physical, tough offense that’s going to run the football and play-action-pass you. When people try to do all those fancy-dancing, tricking types of football, you may get a play or two, but that’s not going to win over a period of time,” he said.

The goal, as it was when Gibbs was winning three Super Bowls from 1981-92, will be to wear the defense down with different sets, pre-snap motions and sound blocking.

“It’s basic, it’s fundamental, it’s sound,” Blache said. “It’s not just flash and window dressing. There’s some meat and substance there. Over the course of 60 minutes, it’s going to present a problem because it’s going to keep coming at you. This is like going against a Sherman tank. When you get down to it, it’s not the shifts and motions that’s going to beat you. It’s the blocking and the running and the execution.”

That’s not to say Gibbs will be predictable. He never scripts the first few plays of the game, the way many coaches do. Instead, he relies on game-time instinct to decide which plays to call.

“I don’t know if there’s surprises,” assistant coach Joe Bugel said. “Not to use cliches, but you have to go out there and execute and be well-prepared because we don’t know what they’re going to do. Sometimes I don’t even know what we’re doing. That’s the thing about the opener. Both teams are going to have to make adjustments on game day.”

Gibbs never expected to carbon-copy his old offense. The game has evolved; defenses are more innovative. The coach is smart enough to know he has to counter with some new tactics of his own, things he has kept close to the chest during a bland preseason.

“Less bland and less vanilla is all I can give you,” Brunell said. “We’re going to do some different things, different formations and different plays, and that’s as far as I go. If I say anymore, I’ll get into trouble.”

Tampa Bay coach John Gruden is studying some old tapes from Gibbs’ first stint to prepare for the game. In that respect, the Redskins should have an advantage: Gruden’s offense is fresh in everyone’s mind after six seasons as a head coach, and there are not many secrets about it.

“I’d say we have a bit of an advantage, but we still have to go out there and play the game,” tackle Chris Samuels said. “Those guys, they probably watched a lot of old tape on us, they pretty much have an idea what we’re going to do. But we still some little wrinkles we’ll throw at them here and there.”

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bubba9497

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Gibbs' new 'Skins not much different

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04256/377150.stm

By Joseph White, The Associated Press

ASHBURN, Va. -- For months, Joe Gibbs has gone to great lengths to keep his offensive game plan a secret, claiming it is to his advantage that no one knows what to expect from someone who has been away from the game for more than a decade.

As opening day approaches, though, it has become apparent that the Hall of Fame coach will not be pulling too many surprises. The 2004 Washington Redskins probably will resemble, say, the 1989 Washington Redskins when they face Tampa Bay today.

"We're going to pound the ball," receiver Rod Gardner said. "We're going to take our shots, but at the same time we're going to run the ball."

Substitute the Dirtbags for the Hogs, Mark Brunell for Mark Rypien and Clinton Portis for Ernest Byner -- although Portis has more speed. Expect the blocking schemes to be more sophisticated than the old "counter trey." The gist of the offense will be a power running attack with play-action passes that emphasize protecting the quarterback at all costs.

"The biggest problem is the toughness of it," said defensive line coach Greg Blache, who has been facing the offense nearly every day in practice for six months.

"It's a physical, tough offense that's going to run the football and play-action-pass you. When people try to do all those fancy-dancing, tricking types of football, you may get a play or two, but that's not going to win over a period of time," he said.

The goal, as it was when Gibbs was winning three Super Bowls from 1981-92, will be to wear the defense down with different sets, pre-snap motions and sound blocking.

"It's basic, it's fundamental, it's sound," Blache said. "It's not just flash and window dressing. There's some meat and substance there. Over the course of 60 minutes, it's going to present a problem because it's going to keep coming at you. This is like going against a Sherman tank. When you get down to it, it's not the shifts and motions that's going to beat you. It's the blocking and the running and the execution."

That's not to say Gibbs will be predictable. He never scripts the first few plays of the game, the way many coaches do. Instead, he relies on game-time instinct to decide which plays to call.

"I don't know if there's surprises," assistant coach Joe Bugel said.

"Not to use cliches, but you have to go out there and execute and be well-prepared because we don't know what they're going to do. Sometimes I don't even know what we're doing. That's the thing about the opener. Both teams are going to have to make adjustments on game day."

Gibbs never expected to carbon-copy his old offense. The game has evolved; defenses are more innovative. The coach is smart enough to know he has to counter with some new tactics of his own, things he has kept close to the chest during a bland preseason.

"Less bland and less vanilla is all I can give you," Brunell said. "We're going to do some different things, different formations and different plays, and that's as far as I go. If I say anymore, I'll get into trouble."

Tampa Bay coach John Gruden is studying some old tapes from Gibbs' first stint to prepare for the game. In that respect, the Redskins should have an advantage: Gruden's offense is fresh in everyone's mind after six seasons as a head coach, and there are not many secrets about it.

"I'd say we have a bit of an advantage, but we still have to go out there and play the game," tackle Chris Samuels said. "Those guys, they probably watched a lot of old tape on us, they pretty much have an idea what we're going to do. But we still have some little wrinkles we'll throw at them here and there."

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