What's your defnition of 'conservative playcalling'?

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by GMScud

Thomas and Jansen were big losses. But from what I understand Wade was pushing Jansen hard in camp, and wasn't far behind him. Kendall is an excellent player in Dockery's place. Rabach will be back this weekend. So you've got Fabini and Wade, who have both started A LOT of NFL games, filling in the two holes created by injury. It's not like we've got bums off the street in there. I'm really tired of using the O-line as an excuse. Instead these injuries should be a reason to rally around the line and get them pumped to step up and play at a higher level. If we keep using this excuse week in and week out, we can excuse ourselves from being a legit playoff caliber team.

Wade was working in camp at LG and has shifted to RT and is currently trying to overcome injuries. Kendall has definitely filled in nicely, notwithstanding the fact that he became a Redskin just before the start of the regular season. Fabini has a lot of starting experience, but his skills have clearly eroded. Rabach was out last Sunday. Heyer was out last Sunday.

I definitely agree that the O-line needs to improve in a big way if we want to do anything in the post-season. However, I am hoping that, as these guys play together, they will improve as a unit.

In my view, I am not making excuses for the team. In my opinion, the offensive line has been a strength for this team for quite some time. This year, I do not think it is a strength. JC has been under consistent pressure the past few weeks and the O-line has certainly NOT opened decent running lanes for our backs on a consistent basis. So, given that the O-line has done a sub-par job protecting the QB and a downright awful job opening running lanes, I am not terribly surprised by our lack of production on offense.

So, I guess I'm wondering if people (not you specifically GMScud) disagree with my conclusion that the offensive line is doing a pretty poor job or my conclusion that the offensive line's woes are largely attributable to the injuries. If people agree with my conclusion that the offensive line is doing a poor job and that is attributable to the injuries, how is it that I am making excuses?

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

Wade was working in camp at LG and has shifted to RT and is currently trying to overcome injuries. Kendall has definitely filled in nicely, notwithstanding the fact that he became a Redskin just before the start of the regular season. Fabini has a lot of starting experience, but his skills have clearly eroded. Rabach was out last Sunday. Heyer was out last Sunday.

I definitely agree that the O-line needs to improve in a big way if we want to do anything in the post-season. However, I am hoping that, as these guys play together, they will improve as a unit.

In my view, I am not making excuses for the team. In my opinion, the offensive line has been a strength for this team for quite some time. This year, I do not think it is a strength. JC has been under consistent pressure the past few weeks and the O-line has certainly NOT opened decent running lanes for our backs on a consistent basis. So, given that the O-line has done a sub-par job protecting the QB and a downright awful job opening running lanes, I am not terribly surprised by our lack of production on offense.

So, I guess I'm wondering if people (not you specifically GMScud) disagree with my conclusion that the offensive line is doing a pretty poor job or my conclusion that the offensive line's woes are largely attributable to the injuries. If people agree with my conclusion that the offensive line is doing a poor job and that is attributable to the injuries, how is it that I am making excuses?

I agree with you SGG. I guess I'm kind of using "excuse" as a synonym for "reasons." Of course the O-line is doing a poor job. Certainly we were massively depleted against AZ, and I think it was a big part of our offensive struggles. But we've known for over a month now that we were gonna be without Thomas and Jansen. Fabini and Wade are veterans and career starters for the most part. It's step it up time.

I guess by saying I'm tired of hearing O-line injuries as an excuse, I really mean I'm just tired of hearing the masses on this site and elsewhere say things like, "if our O-line was healthy then...." fill in the blank.

It's a fact everyone. Jansen is done till '08, and Thomas will be back for the last few games IF we're lucky. There's a reason we brought back guys like Bugel and Gibbs, right? They're supposed to be masterful motivators, capable of galvanizing a team. The Hogs back in the day weren't a bunch of first round draft picks. They were just a scrappy group with a lot of toughness, a lot of heart, and great work ethic. In my opinion we need not only more creative playcalling, but we need Joe Bugel's finest effort as an O-line coach.

If we're still barely managing 17-20 points a game and crying about the O-line in week 14 or 15 I'm gonna be miserable.