Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...

[MTK]

vote and discuss

[ArtMonkDrillz]

I feel like the dropped passes have directly lead to both of our losses so far this season. If the receivers could have held onto the ball to keep the chains moving we'd have put the giants and the packers away.

[MTK]

I really think we're only a few more completions away from being 5-0. Moss has been the main culprit with way too many catchable balls going through his fingers, but it seems like everyone has had their share of the drops so far.

[SmootSmack]

Playcalling has been fine, but I'm sure that will probably get the most votes

Clock management has been superb in several cases, particularly the way we handled the clock in the Lions and Eagles game (save for the end of the first half against Philly)

Offensive Line (under Bugel's guidance) has been our unsung hero up until yesterday. Can't say enough about what Pete Kendall has done for this team

So...I'll go with dropped passes. And, to me, dropped passes includes dropped interceptions

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Playcalling has been fine, but I'm sure that will probably get the most votes

Clock management has been superb in several cases, particularly the way we handled the clock in the Lions and Eagles game (save for the end of the first half against Philly)

Offensive Line (under Bugel's guidance) has been our unsung hero up until yesterday. Can't say enough about what Pete Kendall has done for this team

So...I'll go with dropped passes. And, to me, dropped passes includes dropped interceptions

I don't know if I've ever disagreed more with one part of a post and agreed so strongly on another.

I think with the exception of the Detroit game, the offensive playcalling has been basic, unimaginative and too conservative. Now coming off of the fumbled reverse that cost us the game I know that I'm not operating from a position of strength. With OL problems, I'd expect more quick passes to get our WR the ball with their feet moving, spreading the field a little more-not with more WR but more imagination in route combinations (the INT was an indirect result of Moss & ARE running the same route within 5 yards of each other, WTF kind of design is that?), our complete lack of a screen game and utilization of our personnel.. Watching other teams, even bad ones, it's clear our offense is stuck in 1991. The Dolphins, Titans, Texans among other teams have sub-standard offensive personnel yet are much more imaginative and aggressive offensively than we are. I don't compare us to the Pats, Colts or Bolts from an offensive standpoint because they are elitely talented but we've got to get with the times. We've got better personnel than any of Saunders KC teams yet seem to be stuck in neutral 80% of the time.

I disagree with you on clock management, but a lot of that falls under the playcalling topic IMO.. Trying to bleed the clock the entire 2nd half (Giants game, no downfield passes until too late, swing passes and runs off tackle aren't going to get it done) with a 14 point lead is pathetic.

I agree with you on the OL & dropped passes, especially on defense.. We should have hung 30 on GB if Taylor makes those plays, inexcusable to miss all of those. Smoot should have ended the Miami game with a pick.. For all of Danny's $$$ he can't invest in a Juggs machine!?!?! We're on pace for another below average turnover output this year despite the defensive heroics and that's the difference between 7 wins and 10 wins. Getting the ball back with a short field or taking it to the house yourself has a huge impact on your team as a whole.

[GMScud]

I'm amazed that I am only the 4th person to vote for play calling as public enemy #1. We could be 5-0 easily despite the O-line injuries if Saunders and the rest of the staff could remove their head from their ass in the 2nd half. Some of play calling has been downright comical. Too many cooks in the kitchen, and I think it's starting to rear it's ugly head.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by GMScud

I'm amazed that I am only the 4th person to vote for play calling as public enemy #1. We could be 5-0 easily despite the O-line injuries if Saunders and the rest of the staff could remove their head from their ass in the 2nd half. Some of play calling has been downright comical. Too many cooks in the kitchen, and I think it's starting to rear it's ugly head.

The plays themselves aren't the problem, excluding some typical "what the f was that Al" 3rd and short play calling. Saunders on the whole does a good job mixing it up and keeping the defense on it's heels throughout the game. His situational play calling is utter shit, but again, this makes only about one iota of difference in the outcome of the game.

Course, the situational play calling wouldn't look nearly as bad in the short run if 1) we could block for the runner, or 2) the quarterback could hit an open receiver 7 yards away.

I am worried about how Saunders and Gibbs never seem to be able to be on the same page regarding 3rd vs 4th down calls. Now, this isn't a problem at all, only because Al doesn't usually consider down and distance when picking his play. But Gibbs is making the decision whether or not to go for it on 4th AFTER Saunders has called in the 3rd down play. On 99% of teams, this would really hurt the offenses' chance of converting. But again, Saunders already makes awful situational calls, so in this case it doesn't matter.

To me, the only way to rectify this is for Gibbs to call both the 3rd and 4th down play on a situation where the clock is an issue.

I don't think Coaches can do a whole lot to help their team out, and our coaches certainly are not. I guess the playcalling being generally unpredictable balances out the predictably awful short yardage playcalling so we really don't have a big disadvantage in the coaching staff relative to other teams.

Anyway, while the coaches do a lot of frustrating moves in-game, they are pretty much about par for the league. There are a lot of bad coaches in this league, and neither Gibbs, nor Saunders, nor Williams is a bad coach at all. It's just that I know theres a lot of things they could be doing better, and it's finally starting to frustrate me a bit.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

The plays themselves aren't the problem, excluding some typical "what the f was that Al" 3rd and short play calling. Saunders on the whole does a good job mixing it up and keeping the defense on it's heels throughout the game. His situational play calling is utter shit, but again, this makes only about one iota of difference in the outcome of the game.

Course, the situational play calling wouldn't look nearly as bad in the short run if 1) we could block for the runner, or 2) the quarterback could hit an open receiver 7 yards away.

I am worried about how Saunders and Gibbs never seem to be able to be on the same page regarding 3rd vs 4th down calls. Now, this isn't a problem at all, only because Al doesn't usually consider down and distance when picking his play. But Gibbs is making the decision whether or not to go for it on 4th AFTER Saunders has called in the 3rd down play. On 99% of teams, this would really hurt the offenses' chance of converting. But again, Saunders already makes awful situational calls, so in this case it doesn't matter.

To me, the only way to rectify this is for Gibbs to call both the 3rd and 4th down play on a situation where the clock is an issue.

I don't think Coaches can do a whole lot to help their team out, and our coaches certainly are not. I guess the playcalling being generally unpredictable balances out the predictably awful short yardage playcalling so we really don't have a big disadvantage in the coaching staff relative to other teams.

Anyway, while the coaches do a lot of frustrating moves in-game, they are pretty much about par for the league. There are a lot of bad coaches in this league, and neither Gibbs, nor Saunders, nor Williams is a bad coach at all. It's just that I know theres a lot of things they could be doing better, and it's finally starting to frustrate me a bit.

Yeah, I wasn't saying that every play, every down is a problem. But when a head coach and offensive coordinator can't get on the same page repeatedly on crucial 3rd and 4th downs (this has been a problem going back to early last season), then to me that makes play calling a huge issue. I was screaming at the TV when Gibbs sat there with a confused look on his face and didn't call a timeout as the clock ticked down to the two minute warning. I just don't know if this offense will ever get it together. We're averaging 16.75 pts a game against teams not named the Lions. That's awful. We're 53 regular season games into Gibbs 2.0. I'm so over the excuses.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by GMScud

I'm amazed that I am only the 4th person to vote for play calling as public enemy #1. We could be 5-0 easily despite the O-line injuries if Saunders and the rest of the staff could remove their head from their ass in the 2nd half. Some of play calling has been downright comical. Too many cooks in the kitchen, and I think it's starting to rear it's ugly head.

I didn't see the coaches out there dropping balls or fumbling yesterday. Take away those drops and turnovers and we win that game easy.

Blaming the coaches is an easy cop out.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I didn't see the coaches out there dropping balls or fumbling yesterday. Take away those drops and turnovers and we win that game easy.

Blaming the coaches is an easy cop out.

See my post below. Play calling isn't the only reason, but it ain't helping either.

Of course yesterday the main reason for the loss was drops/turnovers, but I'm talking about overall. How about not being able to get a first down until very late in the 2nd half in the Giants game? That's a defense that adjusted well to us, and we failed to readjust. How about scoring a measley 16 points at home against a miserable Dolphins defense that leaks like a sive? Coaching...

[warriorzpath]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Blaming the coaches is an easy cop out.

I agree. On offense, there were mistakes that were made by both the players and coaches. The players' mistakes cost the redskins the packers game. But even if the players cost the game, all of the mistakes need to be identified and corrected. Luckily for the redskins, there are mistakes and not entire schemes that need to be revamped or players that need to be changed (hopefully the oline gets healthy).

There usually is a fine line between winning and losing in games. That's why it's important to not give a game away (ala giants and packers). Because if you are on the losing side of the fine line too often, it can snowball - and "too often" sometimes may mean 1 or 2 losses in the nfl.

[mlmpetert]

I said clock managment since I think its flat out inexcusable. When you have a hof coach doing nothing but managing the game Sundays it should be nothing less then perfect.

Offensive line could get us going forward. So far I feel like every replacement has come in and really stepped up, but were pretty much out of replacements. Let hope for no more injuries.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

I guess this goes hand in hand with the injury plagued offensive line, but how about the lack of a strong running game this season?
We haven't really been able to pound the ball, which means we're forced to pass more even if we have a second half lead.
For me that's been almost as frustrating as the dropped passes.

[Rajmahal33]

I think its offensive line. Though our replacements have been playing much better than anyone would have thought, there is NO doubt in my mind that if we had thomas and jansen in those games:
- campbell would have a lot more time to complete pass (esp to check downs)
- we wouldn't have to max protect on obvious passing downs which would free up one Christopher Cooley as an extra receiver (and we all know what he can do/could have done)
- our running game would be a LOT more effective at picking up first downs and playing Redskins-style football (we would have been able to run out that Giants game instead of squandering a 3 TD lead)

I think ppl are underrating the loss of those guys. Our O-line is our foundation and by losing some of those key guys it has showed itself to be a weakness down the stretch in games. Yesterday, we surrendered two sacks on the final drive. Against the Giants we had multiple attempts at the goalline to tie the game and had to run left twice...u tellin me with a healthy thomas and jansen we wouldn't have mixed it up down there?

[irish]

I think its playcalling. The coaches let the Giants game get away and they screwed up yesterday.

The O-line injuries are a very close 2nd but every team has to deal with injuries. The dropped passes were only really an issue yesterday.