Art Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 A number of us have commented that we didn't see enough passes down the field to satisfy us. We've mentioned the offense we just saw didn't really look like any in the past with Joe Gibbs coaching the team. So unhappy most of us are about this that suddenly we're seeing a number of threads about adding explosiveness to the offense in the form of a guy like Randy Moss or Plaxico Burress. It got me to thinking so I looked back. In 2003 with Spurrier, we were tied for 10th in the league in average yards per completion at 11.6 yards per reception. In 2004 we were 31st in this category at 10 yards per reception, and it was even lower with Ramsey who manged a league low 9.85 yards per catch on his completed passes. Compare this with Ramsey in 2003 when he managed a whopping 12.10 yards per completion, which would have been fourth in the league had he done it the entire year and not gotten hurt. In his rookie hear this number was a whopping league best at 13.15 yards per completion. In 2003 we were also tied for 10th in passes longer than 20 yards with 45. In 2004 we fell to dead last in the league in this category with just 27 passes that went 20 yards or more. In both seasons we had Coles and Gardner at receiver. We had a greater threat at running back and greater depth at receiver this year though. We had a nice threat in Cooley to help create mismatches. Yet, we still didn't manage to show much of anything in the passing game. I think the relevance of these numbers is to suggest it isn't a lack in Ramsey that prevents a greater threat down the field. We saw the receivers we currently have perform well above average in this category as well. Obviously it's not a straight one for one comparison because Spurrier was very wide open and we took unnecessary shots on the QB because of it where Gibbs will never be that wide open. Still, I think we have the potential with the current personnel to vastly improve in this area without having to add explosiveness at the expense of another area of strength on the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afparent Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 From what i have read, that is a top priority this offseason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSkipper Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 In my opinion this is definitely the number one priority, but not necessarily a concern. It is part of Gibbs plan. When Gibbs came in, he realized that he had to build the team. Just like building a house, you can't put in the big screen tv, surround sound, etc. until you build the foundation, put up the walls, etc. Step one was to make everyone believe in the system and each other. (the Foundation) I think he built this throughout the year, and following the last game it was pretty clear that everyone on the team was confident in Gibbs and each other. Next he had to put together the running game/offensive line. He is still working on this, but I think we can all agree that the blocking looks better than it did a year ago. He will address the line this offseason by getting a center and getting Jansen back. The development of the passing game will also open it up. Next he had to get Patrick ready. Everyone gave him grief for staying with Brunell for too long, but he wanted Patrick to fully understand the offense before throwing him to the wolves. The key to quarterback play is confidence, and it was clear early on that Patrick didn't have it. (Preseason games, Giants relief appearance, etc.) But he put Patrick in in the second half of the year, fed him a lot of short passes to work on and gave him maximum protection. The result, Patrick's completion percentage was 65%!! He led a number of long scoring drives, has built up a ton of confidence and the respect of teammates to the point where he can be a leader next season. Now, after fully studying the offense this offseason, bringing in a bona-fide QB coach to tutor him, and the confidence Patrick has built the past two months, I think Gibbs will be ready to open up the offense next year. It takes more than a year to build a team. Year one was very promising in my mind. And we have to be happy that the defense doesn't have to be thought about very much. I haven't felt this good following a season in a long time. Hail to the Redskins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNatsFan Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 Art, I agree with you that they can do it with receivers they currently have on the roster, but I don't think Gardener is one of them. He obviously doesn't care about the game or his performance. I don't see this coaching staff keeping him around. Coles has to get fully healthy, he's not the receiver he used to be. I hope to see Taylor Jacobs have a breakout year next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 Originally posted by TheSkipper In my opinion this is definitely the number one priority, but not necessarily a concern. It is part of Gibbs plan. When Gibbs came in, he realized that he had to build the team. Just like building a house, you can't put in the big screen tv, surround sound, etc. until you build the foundation, put up the walls, etc. Step one was to make everyone believe in the system and each other. (the Foundation) I think he built this throughout the year, and following the last game it was pretty clear that everyone on the team was confident in Gibbs and each other. Next he had to put together the running game/offensive line. He is still working on this, but I think we can all agree that the blocking looks better than it did a year ago. He will address the line this offseason by getting a center and getting Jansen back. The development of the passing game will also open it up. Next he had to get Patrick ready. Everyone gave him grief for staying with Brunell for too long, but he wanted Patrick to fully understand the offense before throwing him to the wolves. The key to quarterback play is confidence, and it was clear early on that Patrick didn't have it. (Preseason games, Giants relief appearance, etc.) But he put Patrick in in the second half of the year, fed him a lot of short passes to work on and gave him maximum protection. The result, Patrick's completion percentage was 65%!! He led a number of long scoring drives, has built up a ton of confidence and the respect of teammates to the point where he can be a leader next season. Now, after fully studying the offense this offseason, bringing in a bona-fide QB coach to tutor him, and the confidence Patrick has built the past two months, I think Gibbs will be ready to open up the offense next year. It takes more than a year to build a team. Year one was very promising in my mind. And we have to be happy that the defense doesn't have to be thought about very much. I haven't felt this good following a season in a long time. Hail to the Redskins. You make a lot of good points...especially about Ramsey's developing confidence. Sometimes it is literally like night and day when comparing Ramsey in the preseason and the first Giants game and seeing him in the last games of the season. He's much more poised and confident back there now... And it did seem like Gibbs was focusing a LOT on just getting the offense to execute efficiently before having them spend a game trying to execute explosively... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted January 9, 2005 Author Share Posted January 9, 2005 Originally posted by skinsnatsfan Art, I agree with you that they can do it with receivers they currently have on the roster, but I don't think Gardener is one of them. He obviously doesn't care about the game or his performance. I don't see this coaching staff keeping him around. Coles has to get fully healthy, he's not the receiver he used to be. I hope to see Taylor Jacobs have a breakout year next year. This is not to say you don't have a point, but, I'd just like to point out that just this week we saw one report that indicated -- the report was about Gardner being traded -- the coaches had no problem with his work ethic or attitude. Further, the coaching staff obviously felt good enough about him to START him every week without fail. They must have seen something about him they liked. I, too, think Jacobs is a nice player and I don't doubt there is some agreement between the team and Gardner that means Gardner will probably not be here. But, I think it's MORE on Gardner's side than on ours. I think we like him well enough. I think he doesn't like us. And if we can't find a perfect fit in the alternative, we might want to make nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 WOW Snow day? good info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsNatsFan Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 Originally posted by Art This is not to say you don't have a point, but, I'd just like to point out that just this week we saw one report that indicated -- the report was about Gardner being traded -- the coaches had no problem with his work ethic or attitude. Further, the coaching staff obviously felt good enough about him to START him every week without fail. They must have seen something about him they liked. I, too, think Jacobs is a nice player and I don't doubt there is some agreement between the team and Gardner that means Gardner will probably not be here. But, I think it's MORE on Gardner's side than on ours. I think we like him well enough. I think he doesn't like us. And if we can't find a perfect fit in the alternative, we might want to make nice. I've wondered all year why they kept playing him. If the coaches don't have a problem with him, and he stays, I really hope he shows a lot more consistency and desire than he has so far. Whether he goes or stays, I do agree that the talent at wide receiver is already on the roster. Of course, in my opinion, if he stays, the receiver corps is better with him on the bench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseBlitz Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 I think the lack of downfield passing can be attributed, in part, to Coles foot injury. Lav is a good reciever, tough, good hands, runs good routes, but he will not be the dominating reciever he was in NY unless he is faster than everyone else. We the banged up foot, he's an average #1 guy. He needs to get that fixed in a hurry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bat~man Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 i agree coles needs to fix his toe , but he doesnt seem in a hurry to do it and if he doesnt so it soon it might start hampering him next season if he waits to long , if he doesnt fix it then we got the same coles , who isnt bad but doesnt get as open =\ , i love coles thik he can be great as hard as he works , but it isnt paying off with his toe being messed up . just hope we have a good offseason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 Originally posted by PleaseBlitz I think the lack of downfield passing can be attributed, in part, to Coles foot injury. Lav is a good reciever, tough, good hands, runs good routes, but he will not be the dominating reciever he was in NY unless he is faster than everyone else. We the banged up foot, he's an average #1 guy. He needs to get that fixed in a hurry. I think it also has do with the play from the OL and the QB, both were not great this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtyler42 Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 Art I think this was everyones nock on the O this yr, and why we kept seeing those stupid Spurrier vs Gibbs threads...Spurrier got a lot of explosive downfield plays out of this same personnel except Cooley and Thrash, then Gibbs comes in and says that he cant get downfield and that they need to be conservative... I think Gibbs overemphasized the ball control notion this past season and it kinda put a mental block on the players and they kinda became passive... Gibbs is stubborn in the fact that he didnt evaluate the film of the existing players and what their capabilities were, as he said when he came in they threw all of last yrs film out that they couldnt learn anything from it...Now that he has a mental record of his players and a record of what they can do in his offense he will tailor his schemes and attack to the strengths of the roster... He also brought in Musgrave to add some more modern innovations to his attack and vows to be more aggressive, I think he got his mojo back and the play-calling wizard of old will return, he started to come to form at the end of last yr... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanishomelette Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 Originally posted by jbooma I think it also has do with the play from the OL and the QB, both were not great this year. I agree...There were games when the QB couldn't make a throw or the receivers couldn't make a catch either. Breakdowns happened in each area seemingly across different games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDoyler23 Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 The offense will improve with a healthy O-line. It wouldn't hurt for a guy like Taylor Jacobs to step up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjbrown Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 Good points. I'd be interested in knowing - did our sack totals go down, and what was the average time the qb held the ball per pass attempt? And if our sacks did go down (even with the battered line) how much should the quarterback be exposed to potential injury in order to win? Hopefully with Joe we will get production without having an increased/unreasonable risk of injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fansince62 Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 I would argue the problems are more fundamental: it's a combination of scheme and talent. We weren't very good in the Red Zone either - though we seemed to improve - and that has little to do with doenfield passing. The offense needs a complete overhaul from concept to player roster - there's a total mistmatch presently and it showed in every game. I want less to hear what changes Gibbs intends to make than a committment to what he intends to do and then a reloading of players to make it happen. We seem to be boucing all over the map - and have been for a while Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[[ghost]] Posted January 9, 2005 Share Posted January 9, 2005 it'll get better, with everyone healthy, and it even sounds like were gonna pick up a reciever via draft/FA, so well kick ass again next year.. next year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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