Smoot Lays The Smack Down (Redskins vs Steelers)

[SC Skins Fan]

I think the problem might be an expectations gap. The game last night went kind of how I thought it would, Jason Campbell getting big time pressure, offense struggling, defense hanging tough. If you think the Redskins are the best team in the league (or no worse than the top three) then you were surprised last night. If you realized they were probably not as good as the Steelers and certainly not good enough to overcome turnovers (two INTs, blocked punt) then you aren't preparing to jump off of a bridge right now. Try to stay grounded and the falls won't hurt so much. If you want to take some positives why not start with the fact the defense only gave up 224 yards (only three more than the Steelers D gave up to the Redskins) and played well for the most part. The game was a lot like the Giants opener and the Skins rebounded fairly well from that.

Please, step back from the ledge.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

People go back and forth on Jansen by the minute it seems, it's getting to be ridiculous.

Truth is the entire line stunk it up last night, but what concerned me more is we didn't see enough max protect. Zorn really seemed to toss out convention with all the 3 and 4 WR sets. I understand the rationale of "spreading them out", but as we saw that doesn't faze Pitt's aggressive blitz schemes at all. I think we needed more double TE sets, and Zorn clearly bailed on the running game too soon.

As for Jansen, I just haven't seen it from him this year. Dating back to preseason.

But you're right, and I sort of mention it in the original post, that there should have been some more conventional thinking. If anything I thought we might even see some 3 TE sets with Yoder, Cooley, and Davis all in there. I also expected to see more out of Alexander yesterday.

At the end of the day though, through 9 games we have twice as many wins than losses including some very key division and conference wins. There are several areas of concern and areas that need improvement heading into the final 7 games of the season but those early season victories have put us in good shape.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by #56fanatic

amazing how fans can turn into "the sky is falling" after losing one game. Yeah, we got beat, and beat bad. We went up against a very good team. We are still figuring out who we are. Our strength is to run the ball, and they stopped it. We couldn't throw because they sent the house every play and we didn't have enough time in the pocket. seriously.. relax. We were one of 4 teams ( i think ) with both offensive and defensive units in the top 10. I think that is pretty freaking stellar for a first year coach who has never called a game prior to this season (detroit doesn't count!)

So you obviously didn't read my post, yet quoted it and said I think the sky is falling.

I specifically said "I'm not suggesting that anyone freak out."

[The Goat]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

The better team won last night. But why in the hell did we draft Thomas if we're not going to try and throw it downfield once or twice? I'm getting so freakin tired of all the 5-6 yards passes. Sure we can beat the Det's and Clev's throwing these little bitch passes but not the good teams. It's annoying watching an NFL team not try and push the ball downfield. Is this the 06 offense??? Pittsburgh threw it downfield and it helped them win the game. WTF Zorn??

Cannot disagree w/ this; however, I'm pretty convinced that a more aggressive gameplan would keep us competitive against a team like Pitt. I think the debate is whether it is Zorn or Campbell keeping it so conservative. The piss poor pass protection cannot be the whole story because we've been very conservative even in games where the opposing d was not getting to JC - it's a matter of gameplan...

My buddy thinks JC is avoiding the deep shots and checking down before things can develop down field. Certainly looks that way @ times but don't we all remember last season when Gibbs/Saunders put the games in JC's hands we started taking more shots (before the injury of course). Why would an NFL QB have less confidence about his deep ball than the year before?

That's why I'm more inclined to believe Zorn is keeping things conservative out there. In short, opposing d coordinators have started to figure Zorn out - I think that's why we struggle to put up points against average defenses and can only get into the 20's against the worst defenses in national football. There's something to be said for "running up the score" the way NE did last year or (not surprisingly) the way Philly has against lesser teams this year.

My guess is w/o a new direction on offense we score even fewer points per game from here out and go 3 and 4 or maybe 2 and 5.

[BDBohnzie]

I think the biggest thing the Skins haven't done well, not only last night, but all season, is take advantage of opponent's mistakes. The Skins had the ball inside the Steelers 40 twice in the first 5 minutes of the game, and managed to scrape together 6 plays and 6 points. They had an opportunity to put the Steelers away early, and couldn't do it.

It's not the end of the world...I believe I had the Skins at 4-5 wins tops at this point of the season, 6-3 is still good for 2nd place in the Beast, with 4 wins most likely getting the Skins into the playoffs. They have to come out hungry and ready to battle.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by The Goat

Cannot disagree w/ this; however, I'm pretty convinced that a more aggressive gameplan would keep us competitive against a team like Pitt. I think the debate is whether it is Zorn or Campbell keeping it so conservative. The piss poor pass protection cannot be the whole story because we've been very conservative even in games where the opposing d was not getting to JC - it's a matter of gameplan...

My buddy thinks JC is avoiding the deep shots and checking down before things can develop down field. Certainly looks that way @ times but don't we all remember last season when Gibbs/Saunders put the games in JC's hands we started taking more shots (before the injury of course). Why would an NFL QB have less confidence about his deep ball than the year before?

That's why I'm more inclined to believe Zorn is keeping things conservative out there. In short, opposing d coordinators have started to figure Zorn out - I think that's why we struggle to put up points against average defenses and can only get into the 20's against the worst defenses in national football. There's something to be said for "running up the score" the way NE did last year or (not surprisingly) the way Philly has against lesser teams this year.

My guess is w/o a new direction on offense we score even fewer points per game from here out and go 3 and 4 or maybe 2 and 5.

To me it just looks like Zorn is calling a lot of short passes, 3 step drop stuff. And because of this, we're having to have these long drives to score TD's... it's just too tough to consistently do this in the NFL. Do we ever have any 3-4 play drives????

Even though we drafted 3 guys to help us score more points, we're still not doing it. You could argue that this years offense is worse than last years as far as scoring TD's is concerned. I'd really like to see Kelly and Davis get on the field.

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by GMScud

It is valid that we're worn out and banged up. But so was our opponent. And they had to play on the road, and without Big Ben the whole second half. So our reality in that regard was as bad as theirs.

I understand losing to a Super Bowl contender and being 6-3 is nothing to hang our heads about, but the fashion in which we got our asses kicked concerns me.

I'm sorry GMScud but I have to go with Mattyk72 on this one. In the last week Blache, Zorn, and several players talked about how worn out they are.

And their wear and fatigue is not the same as the Steelers. Our guys have been learning new ways of doing things on both sides of the ball, not just brushing up on things they already know, and this wears on you.

Also, we had the longest training camp of anyone, more preseason games than anyone but the Colts, and some intense road games to start the season.

While I am concerned about a number of issues raised here - offensive line, catching interceptions, etc. - it seems to me that the guys were just shagged. Did you notice that the performance went down the more tired they got during the game? I think 6-3 is just fine, considering all of the conditions, and I think the guys will look really good after their rest.

As for all of the Pitt fans there, that was disgusting. Player fatigue had nothing to do with that. Anyone who sold their tickets should have their season tickets taken away and given to a Redskin-worthy person.

[rypper11]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

To me it just looks like Zorn is calling a lot of short passes, 3 step drop stuff. And because of this, we're having to have these long drives to score TD's... it's just too tough to consistently do this in the NFL. Do we ever have any 3-4 play drives????

We can call it the Midwest offense, but that is how the WCO Zorn wants to run is executed.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by rypper11

We can call it the Midwest offense, but that is how the WCO Zorn wants to run is executed.

Well it's not working. We're not converting 3rd downs and we're not scoring TD's.

[skins6]

o-line has a bad game the qb has to scramble and find a receiver--campbell does not scramble well and holds the ball to long--i have never been a big fan of campbell.

[johnerotten]

I have to go with Mattyk72 on this one. In the last week Blache, Zorn, and several players talked about how worn out they are

and they have also had to teach them how to play like the coaches want them to play.
look at it like entering school and graduating as a senior in 1 year.that would be hell on the teachers and the students!

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by mooby

I pretty much agree with all your other points but I also want to bring this up. We may have beat some pretty good teams on the road this season (Philly, Dallas) but this game was so reminiscent of the Patriots beatdown last year (minus the high scoring) that it brought back all too familiar bad memories. And the reason I have been hesitant to get too optimistic is because 6-2 in the first half of the season guarantees nothing. I remember a Lions team starting 6-2 last year, with a pretty decent offense and a 'bout average defense, but finishing 7-9. The second half of the season is when things get more important and tonights game was a bad start.

I'm not one of those, "oh no we're down 16-6, season over" type people but I am one of those people that starts to get concerned when we get our asses beat thorougly on national t.v. by a Super Bowl contender. Now by no means do I think the season is over, and in the long run it's better to lose to an AFC team because in terms of tiebreakers and things like that it's not that bad, but we're in a really tight division race right now and we failed to get it done, let alone put out a decent offensive performance.

that lions team racked up a 6-2 record against the lowest strength of schedule in the league... our strength of schedule was the highest at the 5 game mark, and is still pretty high. we're not an illusion, but we're not guaranteed anything either.