Preseason Game 1 Quick Hitters: First of all, calm the hell down

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by The Goat

A shutout stinks no matter what. It's important for the offensive unit to become "comfortable" in the redzone and endzone. But what I kept thinking when we held the ball is R. Wynn's comments (fairly recent) about how the NY defense had/has no respect for our offense. I think that will be the case for every decent defense we face unless/until Zorn gets AGGRESSIVE AND DYNAMIC in his playcalling. We have to start moving the ball downfield in big chunks or the offense will just sputter all year long. Time to take some risks IMHO. JC has a monster arm and his accuracy on the long ball seems no worse than the medium range stuff...so I'd really like to see the o-line step up the pass protection and then Zorn call a shitload of bombs as soon as the regular season starts. I guarantee you not a single defensive coordinator in the league will expect it, especially if we stay aggressive for multiple series.

I think defensive depth, beyond DL, is of big concern. Our LB unit is shallow on talent and a bit weak. I really wonder if a true stud LB would have paid higher dividends than adding another pass rusher (Orakpo) after the phat Al acquisition. Hopefully Rocky has a breakout season and we don't have injuries to that group or the defense will suffer. The secondary is sort of a mystery. We have talent back there...I think they just need to gel. And it's time for Laron to breakout.

With respect to the fact that the three step passing game in early downs is an unadjustable staple of the west coast offense, and it's the third down pass protection schemes that we;ve struggled with the most, in what game situation should we be attacking the defense down the field?

There's 1st and 10, which Zorn already does, and has hurt the offense.

There's 2nd and 10, but any sort of failure more or less ends our drive with an 80% probability.

There's 3rd and short, which makes some sense, but decreases the chances we get a first down.

What would you suggest is the optimal situation to step outside what we do well and attack with route combinations down the field? I'm not going to argue that we shouldn't ever go down the field, but if the penalty for doing so unsuccessfully is a likely punt, how often should we go downfield?

I should add that this year, with Hunter Smith in town, the Redskins probably shouldn't fear punting in the same way they did last year. So perhaps the answer is more frequently, but how much more frequently?