What's your defnition of 'conservative playcalling'?

[BrunellMVP?]

can someone explain how the first half ended?
were we surprised that the cards went for the TD and thus called the TO? i feel like we really bailed them out there with the TO as they had NO chance of getting the play off in time...(in terms of play clock)...

if we had the wrong personnel on the field, that is fine, clearly, but seems like we bailed'em out of a 5 yard procedure penalty...

[The Zimmermans]

LOSING franchises make excuses

WINNING franchises make up for it....we are at a crossroads right now..and what happens this sunday in NE may set the trend

[firstdown]

For people here to say or act like they know so much about football I've read some pretty stupid stuff.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

No excuse. Throw the damn ball down the field! Just throw and keep on throwing.

~removes tin foil hat~

I don't think there are many people on here wishing to change to the run and shoot but how is mocking a desire for a more imaginative and consistent offense constructive dialog?? Are we to take from your comments and stance that since we have injuries on the OL then we should be happy with 3 & outs until we're healthy??

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

I don't think there are many people on here wishing to change to the run and shoot but how is mocking a desire for a more imaginative and consistent offense constructive dialog?? Are we to take from your comments and stance that since we have injuries on the OL then we should be happy with 3 & outs until we're healthy??

Who's happy with the offense right now??

I'm certainly not... however I can understand there are legit reasons as to why the offense is struggling.

That understanding seems to be escaping a lot of people right now.

The offense will only improve as the health of the line improves. People that are calling for more imaginative plays and more consistency just don't understand that you can't have that without solid, consistent play from the front five... you just can't.

When you're juggling the lineup every week, signing guys off the street, and moving a DL to the OL just to have enough guys to practice, that doesn't scream problems to anyone else??

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

1. Aggressiveness-Gibbs seems to throttle back the aggressiveness once we've gotten a 'comfortable' lead on the other team and doesn't keep attacking. NE has a defense that rivals if not exceeds ours and they never play like they are comfortable with their lead.. I'm not comparing personnel, just philosophy.. Being aggressive isn't bombing the ball 30 yards downfield at every chance. It can be as simple as calling a mid range pass play on 1st and 10 rather than a dive play. It can be calling a screen on 2nd and 5.. Our mid range and across the middle of the field passing game disappears in the 2nd half of games. There are many ways to be aggressive without taking a 7 step drop and looking deep..

I would agree a little that JG looks a little to complacent to ride out a win but I would argue that this mentality has died down a little. In reference to yesterday I think a lot of people are forgetting that it wasn't like in the first half we were rolling on offense. We didn't throttle anything back at all. Our offense sucked first and 2nd halves.

[SmootSmack]

"Conservative Playcalling" is the excuse Redskins fans like to use when the team loses. When the team went 5-0 down the stretch in 2005 thanks mainly to mistake-free, smashmouth football and a tight defense that was "Redskins Football" Otherwise, it's "conservative playcalling" like it's the plague or something

Call me SmootSmack F. Buckley, but I don't think conservative playcalling is always the kiss of death

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Who's happy with the offense right now??

I'm certainly not... however I can understand there are legit reasons as to why the offense is struggling.

That understanding seems to be escaping a lot of people right now.

The offense will only improve as the health of the line improves. People that are calling for more imaginative plays and more consistency just don't understand that you can't have that without solid, consistent play from the front five... you just can't.

When you're juggling the lineup every week, signing guys off the street, and moving a DL to the OL just to have enough guys to practice, that doesn't scream problems to anyone else??

I'm not disagreeing with you that our offense will improve in performance when the health of the line improves but that's the excuse for yesterday, what's the excuse for the other games?? This is the first game since the 2nd half of the Eagles game week 2 that we've had a different starting OL.. Wade and Fabini weren't starters week 1, but they are now. We've been able to be imaginative, consistent and aggressive in the 1st half of games, other than in GB what changed in the 2nd half that we don't maintain that? You can't deny the play calling has been different in 2nd halves of our games.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

"Conservative Playcalling" is the excuse Redskins fans like to use when the team loses. When the team went 5-0 down the stretch in 2005 thanks mainly to mistake-free, smashmouth football and a tight defense that was "Redskins Football" Otherwise, it's "conservative playcalling" like it's the plague or something

Call me SmootSmack F. Buckley, but I don't think conservative playcalling is always the kiss of death

Funny thing is that if Brunell was playing we would have a bunch of post saying that he always is dumping off the ball. People have to remember that we do have a young QB who is still learning. If we asked people before the season started would they be happy to be 4/2 after six games I bet 95% would have said yes.

[rypper11]

A good OL is not a collection of five great, talented players. It's 5 guys who play well as a cohesive unit. When the center misses the protection call the RT and RG both look in and the LE has a free shot. The best lines have played together. The biggest concern bringing Kendall in was the lack of time with his linemates and he worked extra time with Samuels and Rabach to help that. I contend that Wade is a good tackle (remember the game he filled in for Jansen last year) and that Fabini, Pucillo and Heyer are solid. But when you are learning about the guy beside you as you go you are already in a bad position.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

Why is it so hard for people to comprehend that sub par O line play has a negative impact on EVERYTHING the Redskins try to do offensively? In yesterdays game specifically, there were next to no running lanes, and Campbell was under constant pressure all day. He was hurried every time he took more than a three step drop. How were they supposed to take shots downfield with linebackers and ends rushing him, basically untouched?

There were no running lanes because we couldn't back the defense off the line. Ariz had 8 guys lurking around the line most of the game. It reminded me off last year when Brunell was playing. Cooley had one catch? Moss had 2? Sorry but there is no excuse for that.

No reason we can't run shotgun on 1st down and be less predictable. And who cares if we have a back-up center. The guy is a pro. I watch college teams run shotgun all game long w/out any problems.

If Rackers FG curls around the goal post we are running Gibbs and Sanders out of town today.

[rypper11]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

"Conservative Playcalling" is the excuse Redskins fans like to use when the team loses. When the team went 5-0 down the stretch in 2005 thanks mainly to mistake-free, smashmouth football and a tight defense that was "Redskins Football" Otherwise, it's "conservative playcalling" like it's the plague or something

Call me SmootSmack F. Buckley, but I don't think conservative playcalling is always the kiss of death

After the fumble against GB expect even more 2nd half "Redskin Football".

[Southpaw]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

I don't think there are many people on here wishing to change to the run and shoot but how is mocking a desire for a more imaginative and consistent offense constructive dialog?? Are we to take from your comments and stance that since we have injuries on the OL then we should be happy with 3 & outs until we're healthy??

The argument of playcalling versus execution has been a topic all season. I've been on both sides of that argument at different times, but yesterday, it was quite obviously execution.

Washington is facing an unusual amount of injuries this season, especially along the offensive line. They're pulling guys off the street, playing guys out of position, and converting a defensive linemen who hasn't played on offense since high school. Their execution as a unit was very poor this week, but was that really a shock to anyone? They may get better with a few more weeks of practice, but to expect this incarnation of the line to be immediately successful is ridiculous. And to completely overlook the bad performance of the line and blame the playcalling is even more ridiculous.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

Call me SmootSmack F. Buckley, but I don't think conservative playcalling is always the kiss of death

It certainly is not. That very same conservative offense served us well in 2005, when our offense was running over everyone. The only problem is that, right now, it is not serving us well. As a run-first, smash-mouth team that cannot run the ball effectively, we do need to start passing a little more to open up the running lanes.

However, as I said above, the injuries to the O-line undoubtedly have a big effect on the offense and it is unclear if Saunders is failing to call deep/intermediate passing plays or JC is simply checking down. Moreover, the deep passing game has been there in weeks past, just not against the Cards.

Although all of our woes on offense cannot be attributed to the injuries to the O-line, it is pretty crazy to argue that they don't have a dramatic effect on the offense. Losing the entire right side of the line and playing with a wounded second-string right tackle IS going to affect your play-calling and player execution of those plays. Our team has relied on the strength of its O-line for awhile and that strength has become a weakness.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by Southpaw

The argument of playcalling versus execution has been a topic all season. I've been on both sides of that argument at different times, but yesterday, it was quite obviously execution.

Washington is facing an unusual amount of injuries this season, especially along the offensive line. They're pulling guys off the street, playing guys out of position, and converting a defensive linemen who hasn't played on offense since high school. Their execution as a unit was very poor this week, but was that really a shock to anyone? They may get better with a few more weeks of practice, but to expect this incarnation of the line to be immediately successful is ridiculous. And to completely overlook the bad performance of the line and blame the playcalling is even more ridiculous.

Which is the exact reason that I made the thread reflective of the entire season and the philosophy that we operate under. I know yesterday was an exception because we were starting 3 backups (although I contend at this point Wade and Fabini are starters since they've been there for 4+ weeks) and Rabach is the key to the entire line.. That goes without saying.. However, to use that as a complete excuse as to why the coaches call a COMPLETELY different game in the 2nd half of games where we are ahead is just as ridiculous as blaming playcalling for yesterday's offense.