The New Running Game?
 

My concern about the new blocking schemes are this, will it be conducive to the rest of what Gibbs want's to do, I don't consider the zone blocking scheme a ball control type running game, it's more of a big play running game, it will be interesting how it meshes with the rest of Gibbs philosophy.

I also am interested to see if the coaches are capable of running it properly? IMO most schemes come and go with a particular coach who is gifted at teaching a specific way, can Gibbs and co. step up and make this new running game work as effectivly as denver, or atlanta?

Re: The New Running Game?
 

I say this... If we can make lots of big plays and our defense plays how it did last year, the scheme will be FINE. Lots of points AND our D? All good here.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

I think Gibbs knows he was WAY to concervative last year. He knows we need to take some shots, design some plays with bigger risk, but bigger payoff. I do believe if/when we have a substantial lead, he would go conservative. Then again, there were times in the past where he just rubbed it in. Like that game against the Falcons that somebody posted here. Rypian was firing that thing down field. Man, I would love to see a drubbing like that this year. (not against us, of course)

Re: The New Running Game?
 

gibbs will still be a ball control coach. opening things up will hopefully produce bigger gains , in terms of running plays as well as passing. if portis gets larger gains and more yards per carry then he will probably be relieved a little more often than last year and when betts comes in the game we will probably see more runs up the middle.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

I'm excited to see what sort of innovations Gibbs and Co. come up with on offense. As much as we all criticized the team's predictability with the ball last year, its pretty much impossible to radically overhaul a system midseason. By the time they realized the ship was sinking, it was already too late

This offseason they've had ample time to think about why they failed last year, and what they need to do differently. We're really gonna find out quickly if the game has passed Gibbs by, because there's no excuses this time. I fully expect not only Shotgun, not only zone blocking, not only spread formation, but chicanery that us mere Madden-playing pedestrians can not yet even envisage.

Every comment I have read from players this preseason seems to identify such offensive reconfigurations as the number one reason to expect success next year; I hope they prove correct.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

gibbs+portis+2 years = 17x100+yards

Simple as that baby

HAIL TO THE REDSKINS AND HAIL RUNNING GAME

Re: The New Running Game?
 

He's changed up his style before so I don't see why he can't do it again.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

He will take the plays that work and keep them, take the plays that don't and either fix them or throw them out. Nothing magical, just methodical.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

Offiss, you pose some great questions, man. Props for starting this discussion.

One of the things about Gibbs' offense in the past is the power running scheme kept blockers inside the tackle box so to speak. They pull and trap and kick out and whatnot, but the lineman are all basically still in front of the QB. Then when Gibbs ran playaction, the linemen were really able to sell the fake to the defense because they would go to block as if it were a running play, and still find themselves between the defense and the QB.

Now with stretch plays, the lineman get out of the tackle box a lot more and move laterally. So then when they run the playaction fakes, and the linemen stay within the tackle box, the defense might recognize what's going on because they're used to seeing stretches. It might become easy to tell when a playaction fake is coming, if the linemen stay tight to the QB, it's a good sign that it's not Portis running the football.

I think Gibbs probably realizes this and consequently he will mix in Betts on some of those power running plays. I think he still wants to have some of the counter trey type plays in the offense to be able to keep the defense honest. Stretch running plays and playaction fakes don't go together all that well, we'll probably see a dose of Portis on the stretches, a dose of Betts on the counters, and then some classic playaction.

And hopefully a few more plays to Cooley!

Re: The New Running Game?
 

Another thing they needed, and got, to make the strech / gap plays work is more speed on the line. Last year our lineman just had to little speed to get out onto the linebackers. Also, Portis had to wait longer on the slower lineman. This is a key reason we brought in Rabach. Now, we have Jansen and Raybach getting out faster than Raymer and Brown. This will make a big difference over the course of a game / season.

Schneed10, you make a good point about the playaction being recognized. I am sure that Gibbs will find ways to design things to make it less obvious. With the speed Portis has he might be gone before they realize what play we called.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

I'm pretty sure that Gibbs and co. didn't completely revamp the playbook, they just modified it. It would be stupid to go to a all stretch/zone blocking scheme and then stay in the tackle box for passing plays, a high school coach wouldn't be that elementary. I think it will be more balanced than it was last year. There will still be some counter trey and straight dive plays as part of the playbook, just not a total reliance upon them.. Denver runs lots of playaction off of the stretch/zone plays, it just requires quicker passes since the QB is usually completely exposed to the backside DE. I'm looking forward to the 1st preseason game so we can see it in action.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

[QUOTE=GoSkins!]Another thing they needed, and got, to make the strech / gap plays work is more speed on the line. Last year our lineman just had to little speed to get out onto the linebackers. Also, Portis had to wait longer on the slower lineman. This is a key reason we brought in Rabach. Now, we have Jansen and Raybach getting out faster than Raymer and Brown. This will make a big difference over the course of a game / season.

Schneed10, you make a good point about the playaction being recognized. I am sure that Gibbs will find ways to design things to make it less obvious. With the speed Portis has he might be gone before they realize what play we called.[/QUOTE]


My thought all along was not Portis's inability to run the counter trey, but the inability for the line to block it, they can say Portis over ran it all they want I didn't see that, what I saw was no where to run regardless of how he ran, and I think our lineman were just attrocious run blocking last year, as I said at the time our center position was basically none existant last year, I really hope that between Jansen, and Rabach, that will make all the difference in the world for Portis along with some stretch play's, Portis is not a straight ahead runner he need's to be utilized like Marshall Faulk, he need's to see a lot of draws and screens to utilize his speed and quickness, pounding the line with him is fruitless he is not a powerful runner, Bett's is a much stronger runner and can be used in the capacity if neccasary.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

I heard that Portis put on 10 lbs to help him fit the system better. Maybe with a little bigger Portis and a system that is a little more taylored to him we will see great things happen.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

I don't know about portis gaining muscle to get better. Look at what maurice clarett did when he put on 15lbs for the combine. It takes alot to carry and cut with more weight to pull around. I just hope it doesn't take away from his evasiveness and flat out speed.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

clarrett was never a really fast rb anyway plus he was ,for the most part, out of shape. portis has always been very fast and is always in great shape, i don't think 10lbs of muscle will slow him down at all. it will help him absorb some of the hits he will take and it gives him just a little extra umpff to push for an extra yard or two.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

clarett was out of shape at the first combine, but at this years, he was quite the specemin of physical fitness. The weight he put on was muscle and he was pretty chiseled. It was just the extra weight that slowed him down. I'm just saying that portis is more of a speed back and if hes probably still suited to make people miss than he is to run through them. A little more muscle will help with the hits, but I'd rather see him bounce outside, lay down a move or two and break a long distance scoring run untouched, than try to be some kind of short yardage back. Thats what Rock and Ladell and all those rookies are there for.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

Portis put on 10-15 lbs. of muscle but they said his speed and quickness were not affected. GOOD news for us.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

[QUOTE=Paintrain]I'm pretty sure that Gibbs and co. didn't completely revamp the playbook, they just modified it. It would be stupid to go to a all stretch/zone blocking scheme and then stay in the tackle box for passing plays, a high school coach wouldn't be that elementary. I think it will be more balanced than it was last year. There will still be some counter trey and straight dive plays as part of the playbook, just not a total reliance upon them.. Denver runs lots of playaction off of the stretch/zone plays, it just requires quicker passes since the QB is usually completely exposed to the backside DE. I'm looking forward to the 1st preseason game so we can see it in action.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you. I think the core of the playbook stays the same, just with a few new wrinkles.

What I'm wondering though is will the Skins offensive linemen employ the highly controversial cut-blocking technique?

I'm not advocating it per se, but it is legal so long as the defensive player isn't being hit from behind and you're not rolling up on his legs. So if the Redskins throw in a couple of cut blocks at the beginning of the year just the thought of it happening again is sure to slow defenders down (for fear of getting hurt). That's what seemed to help Denver runners a lot. Defenders would hesitate before pursuing the runner.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

[QUOTE=TheMalcolmConnection]Portis put on 10-15 lbs. of muscle but they said his speed and quickness were not affected. GOOD news for us.[/QUOTE]
That is the same thing that I read also, at first when they saw that he had gained the weight they thought that he might have slowed a step, but then they said that to there surprise he was just as fast as before...

Re: The New Running Game?
 

[QUOTE=TAFKAS] cut blocks at the beginning of the year just the thought of it happening again is sure to slow defenders down (for fear of getting hurt). That's what seemed to help Denver runners a lot. Defenders would hesitate before pursuing the runner.[/QUOTE]
that is why there should be a rule against it, the steelers do allittle of that too.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

[QUOTE=Paintrain]I'm pretty sure that Gibbs and co. didn't completely revamp the playbook, they just modified it. It would be stupid to go to a all stretch/zone blocking scheme and then stay in the tackle box for passing plays, a high school coach wouldn't be that elementary. I think it will be more balanced than it was last year. There will still be some counter trey and straight dive plays as part of the playbook, just not a total reliance upon them.. Denver runs lots of playaction off of the stretch/zone plays, it just requires quicker passes since the QB is usually completely exposed to the backside DE. I'm looking forward to the 1st preseason game so we can see it in action.[/QUOTE]
My thoughts exactly. Portis will run up the middle some, and Betts will run some stretch plays. The idea is to have more balance in play-calling and to keep the defense guessing.
As others have said, the big key to all of this working is the offensive line...and with Jansen back and Rabach at center noe, I think they'll be up to the challenge!

I don't know how much new stuff we'll see in preseason though. I'm sure they'll try some things out, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them hold back until the regular season to unveil many of the new wrinkles.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

This is a great thread and subsequent discussion. One of the many reasons why I am both excited and optimistic about the forthcoming season is that the coaches realized their weaknesses (and strengths) and sought to change accordingly. That's what I admire most about Gibbs. He has all-world credentials yet is humble enough to recognize the importance of change in his system. (Mike Martz would be wise to come down from his high-chair and follow suit.) Who wouldn't be excited about an athletic line predicated on speed and finding pride in being mechanically sound with a tailback entering only his fourth year who seems hell bent on becoming the most well-rounded RB in the league. I sometimes still catch myself saying "I can't believe we actually have Clinton Portis, there's no way Denver will make this trade."
Props for posting this thread.

Re: The New Running Game?
 

Also, I would be willing to bet we have the fastest skill players on any team, defensively AND offensively.