The Effect of Al Saunders in his First Season

[Schneed10]

This season Al Saunders comes to the Washington Redskins bringing a strong reputation for producing potent and productive offenses. Having guided the Kansas City Chiefs to #1 rankings in Team Offense over the last two seasons, Saunders’ arrival has the Beltway buzzing about a possible return to the Super Bowl. Pairing Saunders with Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams’ attack-style defense, the Redskins figure to pack the strongest one-two coordinator punch in the league. Amidst all the hype however, fans must wonder, just what type of impact will Al Saunders have on the Redskins offense in 2006? Luckily we can ground our expectations in reality by examining the performance of Saunders’ offenses in his first season as coordinator at each of his stops along the way.

Read full article here:

http://www.thewarpath.net/wordpress/...long-lost-pal/

And feel free to discuss.

[MTK]

Nice article Schneed, I think one thing is clear, if we can expect anything this year it's an improvement in the ground game, which was already pretty strong.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

You pimpin' your own articles Scheed?

I have a good feeling about him here. I think he has all the weapons that he needs to continue his success here in Washington.
I also don't think the transistion will be that difficult because the offense won't be all that much different than the Skins have had in the past. If you think about it, last year Moss and Brunell didn't seem to have much trouble gellin' (like a fellon) and I honestly believe we'll see the same quick chemistry with the new WRs.

[BrudLee]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

You pimpin' your own articles Scheed?

Pimp on, my brotha. If I could pimp the soon-to-be released Warpath Power Poll™, I would. But The Warpath Power Poll™ won't be released for another couple of weeks. So, no Warpath Power Poll™ news yet.


(Warpath Power Poll™)

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Nice article Schneed, I think one thing is clear, if we can expect anything this year it's an improvement in the ground game, which was already pretty strong.

Thanks. I agree, that's where our improvement is going to be most evident. If you look at the Chiefs in 2001, they went out and got Priest Holmes who was awesome of course. Between him and Saunders' schemes, the Chiefs improved to 4.0 yards per carry from the previous year's 3.8. Not a drastic improvement, but the problem was that season there were no WRs worth a crap to take pressure off the running game. You had Tony G and that's it.

The Skins have the WRs to keep pressure off Portis. Last year Portis already had good YPC numbers, 4.3. Saunders' schemes will likely push Portis up to 4.5 or 4.6 YPC. I think a 1600 yard season is definitely within reach.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

You pimpin' your own articles Scheed?

Nah just obeying the General's orders. Matty wanted links from the Blog to the discussion pages so these pieces could be conversation starters. Heil Matty.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by BrudLee

Pimp on, my brotha. If I could pimp the soon-to-be released Warpath Power Poll™, I would. But The Warpath Power Poll™ won't be released for another couple of weeks. So, no Warpath Power Poll™ news yet.


(Warpath Power Poll™)

I'll go ahead and pimp Redskins Rewind coming in September. It will be a special anniversary edition this year...stay tuned

[scowan]

Cooley and Moss already have good "vibes" with Brunell. The routes may change, the terminology may change, and the reads may change, but Moss and Brunell know how to find each other and Cooley does a great job in my opinion of finding "space" in order to become an easy target. I don't think the transition will be that hard. Not to mention that Training Camp will NOT be the first time they have seen this offense. They have all been practicing together for months now. Lloyd will add speed and size to the other side of the field and I think that all of our offensive weapons are smart enough and veteran enough to make this thing work with 4 preseason games coming. Let's get it on!

My 500th Post! Wow, I love this site.

[724Skinsfan]

Originally Posted by scowan

My 500th Post! Wow, I love this site.

Damn, I just realized I went over 500, too!

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by 724Skinsfan

Damn, I just realized I went over 500, too!

Sorry, I noticed that the other day. I think you were correcting me on one of my daily stupid comments. The seasons finally about to start, so you'll be at 1,000 before you know it.

[dmek25]

i dont think our ground game will be better, just different. i can see mr portis going back to alot more outside running with more big gainers this year.

[MightyJoeGibbs]

Back to how he is designed to play.

[MightyJoeGibbs]

I came across some cool pictures I found from Redskins.com. I like knowing that we have a cordinator who is passionate and displays emotion into, getting his guys to buy into it. I've heard of Saunders chasing his players down field have a look.

ImageShack(TM) slideshow

[offiss]

I firmly believe that our offense is going to be overwhelming this season, these guys have been stuck in the mud with simplistic schemes for 2 years and some longer than that, the talent level even last year was far better than thier production, this season it will all come together, Our offense is going to be a monster and I believe it will start in game one. And Saunders will be the reason!

[GoSkins!]

I think that even without Saunders, our offense was really going to be special this year. Last year the O made good progress but still needed some players. Gibbs has a formula that works in December and that formula got us into the playoffs for the first time in years. With that said, Gibbs and Co. still needed another year to really figure out the better defenses in the NFL today. I think that in his third year he will have done that.

Saunders brings a proven system into the mix that should gel very well with Gibbs. Gibbs often spoke of conversations with Dick Vermile (sp?) and I bet they spoke of how well Saunders would be to work with. Saunders (and Williams for that matter) understand that Gibbs is a Hall of Fame coach that leads by example and expects nothing less than perfection.

Not only will Saunders get the best out of this offense, Gibbs will get the best out of Saunders!