play calling a huge concern.

[SC Skins Fan]

Just an observation, but did anyone notice how close Portis was lined up to the LOS last night? As I rack my brain I'm thinking that it is probably a similar depth to where Alexander used to line up in Seattle, but certainly a few yards closer than Portis was lined up in previous years. He was starting from basically fullback depth. All the runs were quick hitters and when Jason spun Portis was right there, basically looked like fullback dive relationships. Maybe it was because they couldn't block anyone (who thought it would be a good idea to have Cooley trying to reach Kiwanuka and Tuck to cut off the backside? He was totally overmatched trying to make those plays), but it just looked strange to my eye. No stretch plays or very few counter actions (again, perhaps product of blocking) but that was not the same run game as in previous years, no matter what lip service we got in the offseason or from John Madden last night.

[MTK]

I really think it's premature to blame the playcalling as I think the bigger problem is JC's obvious lack of comfort working in this offense.

The one thing coaching related that I did have a problem with was the lack of any sort of urgency when the clock got to 4 minutes and under. Where was the hurry up??

And Madden was right at the end, we should have attempted a FG and then went for the onsides kick. It really was our only shot at somehow pulling off a win.

[doughtydoubter]

conservative, conservative...you know what? I know alot of people will put this on campbell...but i dont think zorns play calling ever gave him a chance, and i thought gibbs was bad....geez
Props to the defense coming together the second half. They definitely gave us the opportunity.
blache gest one thumbs up
zorn=spurrier 2.0

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by budw38

Ol ,,, OL ,,,,OL ,,,we should have focused on OL and DL this offseason< the past few >. We knew we were going to run a new offense , we should have used F/a or the draft to bring in a starter. Better hope JC picks up the offense very quickly and that the OL picks up the intensity . As far as Cooley , Zorn should have himhit that blocking sled for one hour after practice every day this week ,,,, he sucked last night ,,, a gutless effort !!

2 questions, why would we just bring in a starter since, as you stated, 'we knew we were going to run a new offense' and who would you have replaced on the OL?

In your opinion which individual O-Lineman played the worst last night? I have mine based on what I saw but I want to hear what others think.

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I really think it's premature to blame the playcalling as I think the bigger problem is JC's obvious lack of comfort working in this offense.

The one thing coaching related that I did have a problem with was the lack of any sort of urgency when the clock got to 4 minutes and under. Where was the hurry up??

And Madden was right at the end, we should have attempted a FG and then went for the onsides kick. It really was our only shot at somehow pulling off a win.

Both products of inexperience from the head coach. Learning experience for him hopefully. But learning experiences mean that it will take time to get better. And the Redskins go about reinventing the wheel on offense yet again. I cannot help thinking it did not have to be this way.

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

2 questions, why would we just bring in a starter since, as you stated, 'we knew we were going to run a new offense' and who would you have replaced on the OL?

In your opinion which individual O-Lineman played the worst last night? I have mine based on what I saw but I want to hear what others think.

Which o-lineman played well last night? Still, the worst blocks I remember were the ones where Chris Cooley was trying to reach one of the DEs to cut off the backside. He was beaten repeatedly trying to do that and I don't know why he wouldn't have gotten some help from the tackles to at least chip the end and slow him down a bit. That is something they are going to have to look at when the watch the film IMO, that is not a winning strategy. Plus the D-Line looked like they were getting off the ball quicker than the O-Line on several occasions. I realize that it is a road game and there is crowd noise, but it seems to me that teams have done a good job of picking up on Campbell's cadence for several years now. That seems like something to work on as well.

[doughtydoubter]

The question is...does zorns offense give jason a chance to succeed? If jason doesnt have time, or open receievers or the right plays called...there is little hope of him looking comfortable. I could be wayyy off base, maybe zorn is a genius in the making who knows? But right now that ws some of the worst play calling, and game management i have EVER seen...including the dark "spurrier" days

[irish]

The o line is old and slow, JC is too slow to decide and release the ball. Zorn's hands are tied when it comes to play calling because he doesnt have much to work with.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by SC Skins Fan

Which o-lineman played well last night? Still, the worst blocks I remember were the ones where Chris Cooley was trying to reach one of the DEs to cut off the backside. He was beaten repeatedly trying to do that and I don't know why he wouldn't have gotten some help from the tackles to at least chip the end and slow him down a bit. That is something they are going to have to look at when the watch the film IMO, that is not a winning strategy. Plus the D-Line looked like they were getting off the ball quicker than the O-Line on several occasions. I realize that it is a road game and there is crowd noise, but it seems to me that teams have done a good job of picking up on Campbell's cadence for several years now. That seems like something to work on as well.

I don't think anyone played particularly well, but Kendall and, other than the 3rd and 1 play, Thomas held their own pretty well. Yeah, Cooley was flat out terrible blocking last night. I know it was against Tuck, but you've got to get the man lined up opposite of you.

To me the worst OL was Rabach. He got no push in the running game, got blown past at least once in the passing game and either JC was a beat early or he was a beat slow but I swear JC was leaning backwards on 70% of the snaps before he got the ball.

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by doughtydoubter

The question is...does zorns offense give jason a chance to succeed? If jason doesnt have time, or open receievers or the right plays called...there is little hope of him looking comfortable. I could be wayyy off base, maybe zorn is a genius in the making who knows? But right now that ws some of the worst play calling, and game management i have EVER seen...including the dark "spurrier" days

Zorn sucked last night, Campbell sucked last night, and the two are not unrelated. Clearly Zorn is not Mike Holmgren (hell, if this continues Danny might just back the truck up, skip the middle man, and bring Holmgren to DC in 2010).

The only person that came to play last night was Clinton Portis, but Portis always comes to play. He is the guy I really feel bad for because he deserves much better given how hard he plays. He is one of my favorite football players of all-time and always will be. That shot he put on Kiwanuka was the best hit of the whole night. To crib from an old football coach cliche, if we had 11 Clinton Portises we'd never lose a game.

[doughtydoubter]

Ha...either we have to hire a brilliant offensive mind like jason garrett or pray that zorn stops coaching the qbs long enough to coach the entire team..

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

I don't think anyone played particularly well, but Kendall and, other than the 3rd and 1 play, Thomas held their own pretty well. Yeah, Cooley was flat out terrible blocking last night. I know it was against Tuck, but you've got to get the man lined up opposite of you.

To me the worst OL was Rabach. He got no push in the running game, got blown past at least once in the passing game and either JC was a beat early or he was a beat slow but I swear JC was leaning backwards on 70% of the snaps before he got the ball.

Especially on that TD pass to Moss. That looked completely f'd up from the jump for precisely the reason you state above. Luckily it worked out, but looked like a disaster to start. I think you are right on the guards, they seemed to play well, though I haven't gone back and watched the line play (and didn't plan to actually). I might have to go back and check out Rabach, though, given your observation. Just from an initial impression I'd say you are probably correct. I can remember at least one time where the 1-technique completely shot the gap and destroyed the play (I ran that one back on TiVo). It was one of those plays (of which there were many) that the D-Line got off two beats faster than the O-Line.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Paintrain

I don't think anyone played particularly well, but Kendall and, other than the 3rd and 1 play, Thomas held their own pretty well. Yeah, Cooley was flat out terrible blocking last night. I know it was against Tuck, but you've got to get the man lined up opposite of you.

To me the worst OL was Rabach. He got no push in the running game, got blown past at least once in the passing game and either JC was a beat early or he was a beat slow but I swear JC was leaning backwards on 70% of the snaps before he got the ball.

I noticed that too. I'm wondering if that was due to JC being concerned that he wouldn't have enough time to drop back, or if there was some sort of lack of commuication between him and Rabach. Either way it was a sure sign that something was out of sync.

[doughtydoubter]

Rabach has not looked very good lately, and im surprised no one has really brought this to the light before..if our center is calling out the blocking and maing the adjustments and then getting blown off the line...we have a real issue. Especially with our patented "up the middle only" run game.
Is this a sign that buges' philosphy is growing obsolete? Or is this just flawed exectuin and technique?

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by doughtydoubter

Rabach has not looked very good lately, and im surprised no one has really brought this to the light before..if our center is calling out the blocking and maing the adjustments and then getting blown off the line...we have a real issue. Especially with our patented "up the middle only" run game.
Is this a sign that buges' philosphy is growing obsolete? Or is this just flawed exectuin and technique?

In fairness, GTripp has hated Rabach for some time now. As for the run game, I think part of it was the inability to block anyone last night, which limited both it's effectiveness and the team's options. I also think that the scheme has changed more than some people thought it would. Clearly Zorn and Sherman Smith have had a good deal of input (as they should really, considering they will take the heat if the offense does not work out), but I think some people misunderstood what Zorn meant when he said he'd leave the running game terminology intact. The terminology might be the same, but that was a straight zone blocking scheme run out of different formations. That was not a 2004-2006 run game. Zone blocking is all the rage in the NFL and can be quite effective, but it does take time to learn well. It also takes a lot of coordination among the O-Line and is different from what they've done the past couple of years. I'd say add the run game to the parts of the offense that are undergoing adjustment. That should make it pretty much the whole thing.