Maybe It's Not Just The O-Line

[Longtimefan]

If I'm putting together a football team tomorrow, the first unit I start with is the offensive line. Everything that's done on offense starts with the line. At full strength our line is better than average, but with all the injuries this year it's extremely difficult to acomplish the things you want to do as an offense. Our backup linemen have not been able to perform at a level high enough that the entire offense does not struggle.

We hear the phrase often "everyone has to step up" well, that sounds good, but the reality is "you can't get blood out of a turnip", either you can do the job or you can't. With the type offense we run, the O-line is vital because it's predicated on the running game. With out line in disarray, the running game suffers, when the running game suffers, so will the passing game because much of what we do in the passing game comes off play action. When teams know you can't run the ball, play action becomes useless, and the passing game stagnant.

I'm convinced, the only way our offense will meet with any measure of success, we have to find a way to be more successful running the ball, less max protection, and more three wide reciever sets. When you have to give O-linemen help in pass protection, it limits your options otherwise, all of which illustrates why stability, and execution is so vital to the success of an offensive unit.

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by Longtimefan

We hear the phrase often "everyone has to step up" well, that sounds good, but the reality is "you can't get blood out of a turnip", either you can do the job or you can't. With the type offense we run, the O-line is vital because it's predicated on the running game. With out line in disarray, the running game suffers, when the running game suffers, so will the passing game because much of what we do in the passing game comes off play action. When teams know you can't run the ball, play action becomes useless, and the passing game stagnant.

To this I'd say scrap the run-first mentality, and let your offense evolve into a pass-first scheme interspersed with running plays. I'm not suggesting a return to the Fun N' Gun or Run-and-shoot or anything. But whatever we're trying to do now certainly isn't working.

Looks to me like we're overloaded with wideouts anyway.

[Longtimefan]

Originally Posted by Beemnseven

To this I'd say scrap the run-first mentality, and let your offense evolve into a pass-first scheme interspersed with running plays. I'm not suggesting a return to the Fun N' Gun or Run-and-shoot or anything. But whatever we're trying to do now certainly isn't working.

Looks to me like we're overloaded with wideouts anyway.

I'm here in agreement with your approach, but as we all know Gibbs does not share in our philosophy. He has a way of doing things that will forever reflect what made him successful. Gibbs won three SB's with the run oriented offense and it's going to be difficult for him to adopt any other avenue in an atempt to duplicate that success. I will never be one to say the way he desires to met his goals cannot be accomplished, but so far, with this team (the last five games of the 05 season being the exception) he has not been able to make it happen.