Ladell Betts in Saunders' offense

[MTK]

I like his straight ahead style on kickoffs, sometimes that's the best approach. He averaged 25.9 per return last year, pretty damn good.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I like his straight ahead style on kickoffs, sometimes that's the best approach. He averaged 25.9 per return last year, pretty damn good.

I would think they will let him return kicks this year. We already have Randle El returning punts and playing offense, and we have a defense that wont let the opposing offense on the board much. I would be happy starting from the 25-35 on offense every time rather than the 20 most times, and the 45 every once in awhile.

[BrudLee]

From today's (6/19/2006) WT:

One player who has caught associate head coach Al Saunders' attention is running back Ladell Betts, who is again slated to be a kick returner and backup to Clinton Portis this season.
"I don't know if people realize what a quality player he is," Saunders said. "He's a three-dimensional player -- he runs the ball, he can catch it and he can block well enough to be successful. Clinton is Clinton, one of the dominant backs in the NFL. Having somebody like Ladell has been a surprise because I knew he was good, but not this good.
"We'll have situations where Ladell and Clinton will be in the game at the same time. Ladell deserves to play and we've got to find a way to get him on the field and not just as a back-up player to Clinton."

So it appears that Ladell is going to get his opportunities here in Washington. Good for him, and good for us.

[MTK]

Betts and CP in the backfield at the same time...

I like that!

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Betts and CP in the backfield at the same time...

I like that!

especially if they are used in the passing game more, which seems to be the way it's going to be. I feel like opposing defenses are going to be lost against us and I love it!

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Betts and CP in the backfield at the same time...

I like that!

Yeah it works especially well because CP and Betts can both block.

The 2 RB backfield is something people like to mention as a great way to threaten the defense. But if both runners are basically just running threats, it's actually not much of a solution. But when both players are threats to run, block, or catch the ball; that backfield can give D coordinators nightmares because there are so many plays that can be run out of that formation.

Portis on a sweep with Betts on a lead block, Portis on a screen with Betts blocking, Portis and Betts kept in to max protect, Betts swings out to the flat with Portis in to block, Portis swings out to the flat with Betts in to block... etc. The defense has no idea what's coming. But when you see something like Stephen Davis and Larry Centers, you pretty much know you have to watch Davis on a run up the middle, and keep an eye on Centers in the flat. It was still hard to stop that tandem, but stopping Portis and Betts would be harder.

Plus a smart QB can adjust the calls at the line. If you put two RBs in there, and if they're not good blockers, suddenly you're not feeling so good if you see a defense showing blitz. But both of these guys are well rounded enough to make a QB feel safe about having them back there to block. Complete football players are worth a lot and we have two of them at RB.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Yeah it works especially well because CP and Betts can both block.

Can Betts realy block all that well? I just had a flash back of sitting in the stands watching him whiff trying to block Ed Reed who got the sack, forced fumble, recovery, and the TD.

[freddyg12]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Can Betts realy block all that well? I just had a flash back of sitting in the stands watching him whiff trying to block Ed Reed who got the sack, forced fumble, recovery, and the TD.

Exactly, I was about to say the same thing. Betts wasn't good at picking up blitzes, but in fairness to him maybe that 1 play has stuck w/me for too long.

[SmootSmack]

If you'll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al

...guess I was just a few months too early with my Portis and Betts together prediction. Either way, me, Saunders, BrudLee-freakin' geniuses

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Can Betts realy block all that well? I just had a flash back of sitting in the stands watching him whiff trying to block Ed Reed who got the sack, forced fumble, recovery, and the TD.

In all fairness that was two years ago. He's not like Portis when it comes to blocking, but he's grown to the point where you can call him adequate. At least Saunders seems to think so.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

In all fairness that was two years ago. He's not like Portis when it comes to blocking, but he's grown to the point where you can call him adequate. At least Saunders seems to think so.

Still, my one concern is that Saunders is saying all this before they've had any full contact practices. He says Betts is a good blocker, but has he really seen him block anyone in person? However, I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about compared to Al Saunders, so if he thinks Betts is going to have a great year then the smile on my face just got even bigger than it already was.

[mheisig]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Yeah it works especially well because CP and Betts can both block.

The 2 RB backfield is something people like to mention as a great way to threaten the defense. But if both runners are basically just running threats, it's actually not much of a solution. But when both players are threats to run, block, or catch the ball; that backfield can give D coordinators nightmares because there are so many plays that can be run out of that formation.

Portis on a sweep with Betts on a lead block, Portis on a screen with Betts blocking, Portis and Betts kept in to max protect, Betts swings out to the flat with Portis in to block, Portis swings out to the flat with Betts in to block... etc. The defense has no idea what's coming. But when you see something like Stephen Davis and Larry Centers, you pretty much know you have to watch Davis on a run up the middle, and keep an eye on Centers in the flat. It was still hard to stop that tandem, but stopping Portis and Betts would be harder.

Plus a smart QB can adjust the calls at the line. If you put two RBs in there, and if they're not good blockers, suddenly you're not feeling so good if you see a defense showing blitz. But both of these guys are well rounded enough to make a QB feel safe about having them back there to block. Complete football players are worth a lot and we have two of them at RB.

Betts and Portis in the block would be pretty sweet - Brunell would just get so bored back there he'd sit down and have a beer until someone got open.

I'd love to see Betts and Portis both in on a blitz, pick up the blitz and have one of them roll out into the flats for a pass. Hell yeah.

[BrudLee]

Plus a smart QB can adjust the calls at the line. If you put two RBs in there, and if they're not good blockers, suddenly you're not feeling so good if you see a defense showing blitz. But both of these guys are well rounded enough to make a QB feel safe about having them back there to block. Complete football players are worth a lot and we have two of them at RB.

Not so fast, my friend. Al Saunders hates audibles. His playcalls are predicated upon surprising the D, not letting them dictate the tempo. I agree that putting explosive players on the field just makes things difficult for defenses to key on any one player, but I wouldn't expect to see many line calls at all.

[Longtimefan]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

We've been talking a lot about how various players will do in Al Saunders' offense; I was just wondering how everyone thought Ladell Betts will perform this year.

I was looking over his stats for the past four seasons and I was suprised that he really hasn't been as productive as I thought. He averages 80 rushing attempts off 318 attempts a season, with about 4 yards per carry. I guess 4 yards a carry is pretty good, especially if he is in mainly for short yardage situations. Larry Johnson averaged closer to 5 ypc in KC (we can all hope Betts will turn out like that), and I think that extra yard will make a huge difference. Betts doesn't seem to be the most durable player on the roster, which freaks me out.

Maybe Saunders will decide to use Betts more in order to take some pressure off of Portis, which will keep him more fresh for the playoff push. I always worry about Ladell fumbling, even though he really doesn't do it too much, but I still think it will only help to having him rush more often.

Basically I would just like to hear how everyone else thinks Ladell will do this season.

Maybe you should check out Al Saunder's interview on Redskins TV on the teams website. I think from that you will get a good idea as to how Saunders feels about Ladell Betts.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by Longtimefan

Maybe you should check out Al Saunder's interview on Redskins TV on the teams website. I think from that you will get a good idea as to how Saunders feels about Ladell Betts.

So I was a month early with my thoughts; apparently I'm a little to jazzed (that's right, jazzed) for the season.