Post Rams Debacle Thoughts

[joecrisp]

Originally Posted by Dana87

I really think you guys are missing it on Ramsey. While I would agree that he is struggling, I think he is easily the most tallented QB on the roster. He needs one good year under Gibbs. he will benefit greatly by watching a very good veteran like Brunell this year it will really help him develop. As for him being demoted to 3rd string behind Hassleback... are you guys kidding me

What has Hassleback shown over the past few games to make you feel that he should move ahead of Ramsey. I think we are in pretty good shape with our QB's and they will get better each week.

I completely agree with you here, Dana87. The calls for Hasselbeck to be in this quarterback race are absurd. I'm assuming those heaping praises upon Hasselbeck are still slobbering over his 7-of-10 performance against Denver's scrubs in the Hall of Fame game. Yeah, he looked great against Denver, didn't he?

Well, in case you were too busy organizing your local chapter of the Tim Hasselbeck Fan Club to notice, here's Hasselbeck's performance over the past two preseason contests in which he's played-- also against scrubs:

Vs. Carolina Scrubs: 6/15, 65 yds, 2 INTs, 13.9 QB rating
Vs. St. Louis Scrubs: 5/9, 35 yds, 64.1 rating

Wow! The guy's a real world-beater isn't he? Sure makes me all giddy over the idea of tossing a 2002 first-round draft pick on the scrap heap! By the way, Hasselbeck has posted the lowest QB rating of the 3 quarterbacks in the last two games he has played.

Last night, Ramsey posted the highest rating of the Redskins quarterbacks. He might not have had the kind of performance he needed to pull even with Brunell, but he certainly didn't fall behind Hasselbeck, either.

All of the quarterbacks are going to improve as they gain experience with these coaches and this system. But Brunell's veteran savvy will only sustain his starting job for so long before the benefit of good coaching pushes Ramsey's physical superiority to the forefront.

[Dana87]

"We've been real vanilla, man," cornerback Fred Smoot said. "The preseason's about who can hide the most, and I think we're one of the teams that's hiding a lot of what we've got."
Williams' complex defense, which features a host of blitzes and packages, has been reduced to bare bones so far. The former head coach of the Buffalo Bills guessed that he's revealed less than 30 percent of his system through the first three weeks of the preseason, and he doesn't intend to show much more the next two weeks.

Like I said we are not seeing what the Redskins are really going to look like in the preseason.

You know I thought that when we got coach Gibbs back that alot of the Whiner fans that complain about every little detail of a preseason game would find a little patients with a team that has to learn a whole new system both offense & Defense. Unfortunatly that doesn't seem to be the case.

[Dana87]

Joecrisp: Finally a voice of reason

[MTK]

Brunell is the clear cut guy for the job right now. He didn't do anything special last night, but he knows how to read the D, check down when he has to, keep the chains moving and he won't turn the ball over.

Ramsey is still struggling with those simple fundamentals. He's a year away from challenging for the job.

[RedskinPete]

Some of the blame has to go to the offense....You have to score points and run time off the clock! You CAN'T LET A TEAM LIKE THE RAMS stay on the field that amount of time! They will score! I think Chris C said it best that Smoot looked tried after being run all over the place. It was like a track meet and Ramsey and the O didn't give them time to think much less change things on the side line! In the NFL it's Time of Possesion! If you have the ball you win much more if you don't!

Originally Posted by Hogskin

My thoughts...

- Yes, Ramsey has been consistently terrible. Has shown nothing at all. I STILL wish they had traded him while he had a lot of value.

- The D-line is still a big problem - can't blame it on the offense, the DL was weak throughout. We STILL have a burning need for a good pass rusher.

- Betts is the best backup to Portis that we have. I sure hope he can get/stay healthy and make the team.

- The DB's are fine. Don't forget, there is not another Holt in the NFL, and he was really "ON" last night.

- It would have been a much, MUCH different game with Brunell from the start AND with the full playbook in use. Again, they kept it extremely basic on offense.

[jtheskin]

It's preseason and hopefully Gibbs is keeping it simple so we can do something when it matters. I just hope he has something up his sleeve or we could be having a repeat of his
previous tenure. Which wouldn't be bad if it includes three SB's!!!

[NY_Skinsfan]

You know, I hear lots of talk about how "vanilla" our offense and defense is throughout this preseason and that we will be much better in the regular season...my problem with this is, aren't all the other teams doing the same thing? What makes us better by showing nothing in the preseason? Maybe this season will be as bad as the game vs. the Rams....I'm ok with that because it might take a few years the build a championship team.

[SmootSmack]

I don't think the Rams were very vanilla yesterday though, not when they had Isaac Bruce throwing a pass

And none of our expected front 7 starters on defense played past the first quarter. Plus the Rams still had Holt in there late in the game going up obstensibly Ralph Brown, but really a zone defense

I wasn't at all pleased with last night's performance because I'm a fan and want to see the team do well always but I'm not concerned.

[JudgeJebus]

I'm getting more and more impressed with Sean Taylor every day. And it's not even for the pick last night--anyone should have caught that, and his lateral was just plain stupid. There was one play, though, were the Rams' running back (I think it was Jackson, maybe) had broken through the line and had busted it outside for a big gain. Taylor was being blocked, and Jackson had already run past him. Taylor shed his blocker, caught up to Jackson, and tackled him. While he was tackling him, you could see that he instinctually went for the strip, and he does it in a way that it doesn't jeopardize the tackle. You can't teach that stuff.

Once this kid settles down and gets a little more experience, he's gonna be a beast. I know this is nothing new, and we've been singing Taylor's praises for weeks, but I just can't contain myself!

[Daseal]

Jebus: I thought that strip may have cost him the tackle on an experienced back. I also disagree anyone would make that pick. He had to gain a lot of ground to get there on time, and the lateral though not accurate was the right idea. 20 seconds left in the half a TD there would have put them back into the game.

We both agree that Sean Taylor is a beast and I am salivating to see him come free on a blitz. I wanna see the pain he can bring.

[JudgeJebus]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Jebus: I thought that strip may have cost him the tackle on an experienced back. I also disagree anyone would make that pick. He had to gain a lot of ground to get there on time, and the lateral though not accurate was the right idea. 20 seconds left in the half a TD there would have put them back into the game.

I know where you're coming from on the strip. My first reaction was the same, that it cost him some on the tackle. But when they showed it on the reply, Jackson went right down. I don't whether it's because Taylor's so strong that even with the attempted strip he can still knock a player straight to the ground, or whether he just strips with the right technique. You're probably right, though, that we should withhold judgment until we see how that works on experienced backs (although Taylor has made quite a few tackles during the preseason and always goes for the strip, and I haven't seen a back shed one of his tackles yet).

As for the INT, don't get me wrong, I'm happy he made it--especially because we've had a lot of players drop easy picks they should have made. I just didn't think that was as impressive as some of the other ones on his already substantial highlight reel.

I still disagree with the lateral. You're right about the idea. But, if I remember correctly, he was going down when he pitched it, and he almost sent it into our own endzone. A fumble that was recovered for a Rams touchdown would have been as devastating (and more likely) as a Redskins touchdown would have been inspiring.

[Hogskin]

Originally Posted by RedskinPete

Some of the blame has to go to the offense....You have to score points and run time off the clock! You CAN'T LET A TEAM LIKE THE RAMS stay on the field that amount of time! They will score! I think Chris C said it best that Smoot looked tried after being run all over the place. It was like a track meet and Ramsey and the O didn't give them time to think much less change things on the side line! In the NFL it's Time of Possesion! If you have the ball you win much more if you don't!

hmmmmmmmmmm. I sure thought that is the same thing I was saying in the post you responded to. (problem was Ramsey, would have been different with Brunell in there, we left most of our offense behind closed doors, the DB's are going to be fine). Of course you are at an advantage if you control time of possession. But the loss is not what mattered, anyway. I was responding to guys that were in panic mode about our DB's. Again, they will be fine.

[CRT3]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Jebus: I thought that strip may have cost him the tackle on an experienced back. I also disagree anyone would make that pick. He had to gain a lot of ground to get there on time, and the lateral though not accurate was the right idea. 20 seconds left in the half a TD there would have put them back into the game.

Daseal once again you have restored my faith with your lack of football knowledge. The interception was great, I think everyone would agree that his make up speed tp cover the opposite side of the field is amazing especially considerring he looks like a linebacker. But saying the lateral was the correct thing to do as there was only 20 seconds left in the half. Wow that is totaly wrong. HE pitched back from the 15 yard line, does saftey or a touchedown come to your thoguhts. Ill advised play and clearly a rookie mistake. If the Redskins were thinking of trying to score with 20 seconds do you rember what the next play after the interception was? KNEEL DOWN PLAY. Wake up dude!!!

[Daseal]

CRT3: It was obvious if they didn't gain field position from that interception that it would be a kneel down give up play. I understand the dangers involved with the lateral, but with 20 seconds left in a losing pre-season bought why not try to change morale to your team?

When he tossed the ball I cringed, but you said yourself in your post that: "If the Redskins were thinking of trying to score with 20 seconds" They obviously have no shot at a score from the 15 yard line. However your own 40-45 yard line you can complete one solid pass, take a time out, and get 3 points out of the ordeal. I don't have game footage in front of me, but if I remember correctly there were very few St. Louis players around the other defensive player, and had the pass been slightly more accurate we might be calling that the turning point in the game. What I'm saying in the long run is I don't think it mattered that much. It could have been a great play for them, it could have turned into nothing, but like with every play there's a slight chance it could have turned around. Wouldn't have been any worse than what would have happened if we had Bowen or Lott in instead of Taylor.

[la73hof]

Originally Posted by smootsmack

I don't think the Rams were very vanilla yesterday though, not when they had Isaac Bruce throwing a pass

And none of our expected front 7 starters on defense played past the first quarter. Plus the Rams still had Holt in there late in the game going up obstensibly Ralph Brown, but really a zone defense

I wasn't at all pleased with last night's performance because I'm a fan and want to see the team do well always but I'm not concerned.

Agreed..and as mention by the fox crew calling the game, the Rams had been embarrassed in KC the previous week and played with a chip on their shoulders

They arent as good as they showed and you guys sure arent as bad as you showed either

On the play Brown got burned, you guys sold out on a blitz and put a 4th CB on a premier WR...if Williams doesnt learn from that..well..morre power to you guys