Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays

MTK · 08-09-2005, 02:12 PM

By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print...558&type=story

BALTIMORE -- It was just one play in a two-hour practice session with the Baltimore Ravens, but for those Washington Redskins fans prepared to hold coach Joe Gibbs to his offseason promise of remaking an outdated passing game, the first fling of the Saturday scrimmage was about as unfavorable an omen as could be imagined.

In the opening seven-on-seven segment, a drill that includes no pass-rushers, quarterback Patrick Ramsey stood in the make-believe pocket, scanned the field for receivers, looked to his left and his right … then completed a check-down pass to tailback Clinton Portis for a modest gain.

"I guess it's what was [available]," Portis said after the scrimmage.

Maybe so. But lots of coaches use such scrimmages, or even the initial preseason contest, to send a message. You know, go deep on the first snap, air it out just to demonstrate that you can. Challenge a secondary merely for the heck of it and, frankly, because it basically means nothing in such exhibitions. Put people on notice, both the ones on your own team and all the opponents who might have scouts sitting in the stands, that there is a long-ball dimension to your playbook.

The message sent, unwittingly or not, by Gibbs and his offense in the scrimmage was this: The vow to go vertical in 2005 might be going nowhere.

Coming off a disastrous 2004 campaign in the passing game, one in which the Redskins finished last in the NFL in "explosive" pass plays of 20 yards or more and in completions of 40 yards or more, it wasn't a promising start. Even in the noncontact segments of the practice, all of the skeleton passing drills, Washington quarterbacks rarely looked deep. In the "live" portion of the scrimmage, three Redskins quarterbacks combined for 14 completions in 26 attempts, but for an average gain of only 8.3 yards. The team's new starting wideouts, Santana Moss and David Patten, had three catches for 27 yards. And in one 12-play stretch, Ramsey was sacked four times.

"I wouldn't make too much of it," said Moss, the lightning-quick receiver acquired from the New York Jets in a trade that sent Laveranues Coles packing. "It was a scrimmage, a practice, basically. We know what this offense is capable of doing, because we've been doing it in camp. We weren't trying to do too much [in the scrimmage]."

But if the Redskins are to rebound from a dismal 6-10 season, and Gibbs is to discount the notion that even the genius of a Hall of Fame coach might carry an expiration date, the Washington passing game has to do much, much more. The offense in general, in fact, has to be more productive than the one that managed just 24 touchdowns in 2004.

Only one team, the Chicago Bears, tallied fewer offensive touchdowns. The Redskins scored two or fewer touchdowns in 14 games, one or fewer nine of those times. In the passing game, Ramsey completed a career-best 62.1 percent of his passes but his average per attempt was only 6.12 yards (a hair below the NFL standard) and the Redskins' average completion, 9.98 yards, was second-lowest in the league. Portis rushed for 1,315 yards but looked uncomfortable with the blocking scheme, and Gibbs' signature run play often was neutralized by opposition run-blitzes.

On the sideline, the coaching staff included too many chefs offering input, and the result was chaos. The coaches struggled to get plays to the huddle and the Redskins too often were rushed at the line of scrimmage.

It was the seemingly ill-conceived passing design, though, that came under the heaviest fire, including some criticism from within. In an age of passing game sophistication, the Redskins typically used "max" protection schemes and ran just two-receiver patterns. Gibbs acknowledged to friends that the biggest adjustment in returning to the league after an 11-season hiatus was assimilating how differently teams now defend the pass. The learning curve, even for a guy with three Super Bowl rings, was a difficult one.

"There were times I think [the offense] couldn't handle some of the blitzes that defenses use a lot now," guard Randy Thomas said. Another veteran Washington player noted that the offense "felt overmatched" at times and that Gibbs and the staff were slow to come to grips with the reality that the game had evolved and that the design of an offense from a generation ago was insufficient to cope with the changes.

Gibbs said, "We couldn't make a big play in the passing game. Getting that fixed, I think, has been our No. 1 [offseason] priority."

So to his cast of codger assistants, Gibbs added Bill Musgrave, a two-time coordinator in the NFL, as quarterbacks coach. The offense was streamlined a bit, with less motion and, hopefully, less confusion. There should be more speed with Moss and Patten, both of whom averaged more than 18 yards per catch in 2004. More three-wide receiver sets were added, and Gibbs allowed the installation of some shotgun formation plays, which he never used before. It was all, in a sense, a concession that the Washington passing design of a year ago was a dinosaur.

Whether the Redskins can speed the evolutionary process in 2005 remains to be seen. Certainly there is considerable pressure on Gibbs, whose return to the franchise was seen by Redskins fans as messianic. There also is pressure on Ramsey, who has two seasons remaining on his contract and clearly doesn't enjoy unanimous support in the organization, as evidenced by the fact the Redskins traded three draft picks this year to get in position to grab Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell in the first round.

Ramsey has a strong arm, but he sometimes holds the ball too long and is only now starting to develop the kind of touch necessary to succeed at the game's toughest position. He has worked hard in the offseason to improve his recognition and anticipatory skills, but also understands the clock is ticking on his Washington shelf life.

"I like the changes we made," Ramsey said. "I'm getting more comfortable every day with what we want to accomplish."

So maybe the Saturday scrimmage was just a detour from that comfort zone, a one-day aberration in which the new passing-game vehicle developed a glitch on its first "live" test-drive. At least that's what the Redskins are hoping.

TheMalcolmConnection · 08-09-2005, 02:19 PM

Wow, he treated that like it was the Super Bowl.

crlesh · 08-09-2005, 02:38 PM

Pretty harsh training camp report.

While it's true that our passing offense is the big question mark coming into this season, you can detect venom in the remarks he makes about Ramsey succeeding somewhere other than with the Redskins... you can see the smirk on his face as he writes those lines...

JWsleep · 08-09-2005, 02:49 PM

F*** him. We knew this is what he'd write. Not even worth looking at.

gortiz · 08-09-2005, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crlesh

Pretty harsh training camp report.

While it's true that our passing offense is the big question mark coming into this season, you can detect venom in the remarks he makes about Ramsey succeeding somewhere other than with the Redskins... you can see the smirk on his face as he writes those lines...

I have nothing but contempt for that bastard. And that article was not that bad, but I agree with you 100%.

Last year in the preseason Torry Holt and the Rams dominated our Defense like no other team has ever been dominated! Anyone remember that? How bad we looked? Skins turned out okay on D.

I won't put ANY stock in a scrimmage, and maybe just a little in preseason. I thought we were 10-6 bound after the 27-0 beating of Atlanta last preseason, we ended up 6-10 and they were 12-4 ...

memphisskin · 08-09-2005, 03:25 PM

I love how the stats in a scrimmage are being used to denigrate our passing attack. If the qbs had gone deep every play then what would he have had to say? Gibbs will get it done, if we can keep PR clean then we'll be fine.

manicd · 08-09-2005, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gortiz

I have nothing but contempt for that bastard. And that article was not that bad, but I agree with you 100%.

Last year in the preseason Torry Holt and the Rams dominated our Defense like no other team has ever been dominated! Anyone remember that? How bad we looked? Skins turned out okay on D.

I won't put ANY stock in a scrimmage, and maybe just a little in preseason. I thought we were 10-6 bound after the 27-0 beating of Atlanta last preseason, we ended up 6-10 and they were 12-4 ...

Excellent point. Thank you. I remember thinking, "boy, our defense is gonna hold us back this year" Can't take anything away from these things.

TheMalcolmConnection · 08-09-2005, 04:40 PM

Me too. And then I saw the first game and the kind of fire the defense played with and I was very impressed.

I also wouldn't say our line is atrocious. We were about middle of the pack in sacks given up.

SmootSmack · 08-09-2005, 04:49 PM

If we were to put so much stock in scrimmages and early preseason games then people would be talking about Danny Wuerffel the way they talk about Brady, and there'd be no talk of Gibbs because Spurrier would be leading this dynasty

That Guy · 08-09-2005, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gortiz

I have nothing but contempt for that bastard. And that article was not that bad, but I agree with you 100%.

Last year in the preseason Torry Holt and the Rams dominated our Defense like no other team has ever been dominated! Anyone remember that? How bad we looked? Skins turned out okay on D.

I won't put ANY stock in a scrimmage, and maybe just a little in preseason. I thought we were 10-6 bound after the 27-0 beating of Atlanta last preseason, we ended up 6-10 and they were 12-4 ...

yeah, that was obvious though... the rams left torry holt in deep into the 3rd quarter and GW pulled our starting D linemen very very quickly to strand dbs.

and atlanta... well, they went 2-10 without vick in 2003, and 15-5 (since) with him. Considering that he left after about 3 plays that game...

you have to judge preseason games heavily on relatives and situations instead of absolutes, ssince half of the guys on the field will be unemployed in september.

skinsguy · 08-09-2005, 08:00 PM

I think this coming Saturday might tell a little more of the story. But, what can you expect from Lenny P? He's chomping at the bit to tear the Redskins apart even before the pre-season begins. I will agree, the Redskins didn't show any improvement in the scrimmage, but I say wait until they have played a real game before judging the offense.

GoSkins! · 08-09-2005, 09:17 PM

It will be exciting just to see what kind of depth we have this year. Nobody should be shocked that the offensive line gave up some hand sacks. They didn't have to worry about the QB getting hurt. If they do it Saturday, it will be a bit more worrysome.

TheMalcolmConnection · 08-09-2005, 09:36 PM

It's one thing to have a bias, but it's COMPLETELY another thing to touch yourself everything the Redskins do something slightly bad.

It's ALSO another thing to touch yourself with the Redskins do something really good.

I fall into the latter... sometimes. Maybe... yeah.

skinsguy · 08-09-2005, 11:23 PM

I don't want to think about anybody touching themselves.....LOL!!!

TheMalcolmConnection · 08-09-2005, 11:26 PM

Come onnnnn..

i guess oyu wait til the regular season

08-09-2005, 02:12 PM	#1
MTK \m/ Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: NY Age: 52 Posts: 99,569	Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays By Len Pasquarelli ESPN.com http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print...558&type=story BALTIMORE -- It was just one play in a two-hour practice session with the Baltimore Ravens, but for those Washington Redskins fans prepared to hold coach Joe Gibbs to his offseason promise of remaking an outdated passing game, the first fling of the Saturday scrimmage was about as unfavorable an omen as could be imagined. In the opening seven-on-seven segment, a drill that includes no pass-rushers, quarterback Patrick Ramsey stood in the make-believe pocket, scanned the field for receivers, looked to his left and his right … then completed a check-down pass to tailback Clinton Portis for a modest gain. "I guess it's what was [available]," Portis said after the scrimmage. Maybe so. But lots of coaches use such scrimmages, or even the initial preseason contest, to send a message. You know, go deep on the first snap, air it out just to demonstrate that you can. Challenge a secondary merely for the heck of it and, frankly, because it basically means nothing in such exhibitions. Put people on notice, both the ones on your own team and all the opponents who might have scouts sitting in the stands, that there is a long-ball dimension to your playbook. The message sent, unwittingly or not, by Gibbs and his offense in the scrimmage was this: The vow to go vertical in 2005 might be going nowhere. Coming off a disastrous 2004 campaign in the passing game, one in which the Redskins finished last in the NFL in "explosive" pass plays of 20 yards or more and in completions of 40 yards or more, it wasn't a promising start. Even in the noncontact segments of the practice, all of the skeleton passing drills, Washington quarterbacks rarely looked deep. In the "live" portion of the scrimmage, three Redskins quarterbacks combined for 14 completions in 26 attempts, but for an average gain of only 8.3 yards. The team's new starting wideouts, Santana Moss and David Patten, had three catches for 27 yards. And in one 12-play stretch, Ramsey was sacked four times. "I wouldn't make too much of it," said Moss, the lightning-quick receiver acquired from the New York Jets in a trade that sent Laveranues Coles packing. "It was a scrimmage, a practice, basically. We know what this offense is capable of doing, because we've been doing it in camp. We weren't trying to do too much [in the scrimmage]." But if the Redskins are to rebound from a dismal 6-10 season, and Gibbs is to discount the notion that even the genius of a Hall of Fame coach might carry an expiration date, the Washington passing game has to do much, much more. The offense in general, in fact, has to be more productive than the one that managed just 24 touchdowns in 2004. Only one team, the Chicago Bears, tallied fewer offensive touchdowns. The Redskins scored two or fewer touchdowns in 14 games, one or fewer nine of those times. In the passing game, Ramsey completed a career-best 62.1 percent of his passes but his average per attempt was only 6.12 yards (a hair below the NFL standard) and the Redskins' average completion, 9.98 yards, was second-lowest in the league. Portis rushed for 1,315 yards but looked uncomfortable with the blocking scheme, and Gibbs' signature run play often was neutralized by opposition run-blitzes. On the sideline, the coaching staff included too many chefs offering input, and the result was chaos. The coaches struggled to get plays to the huddle and the Redskins too often were rushed at the line of scrimmage. It was the seemingly ill-conceived passing design, though, that came under the heaviest fire, including some criticism from within. In an age of passing game sophistication, the Redskins typically used "max" protection schemes and ran just two-receiver patterns. Gibbs acknowledged to friends that the biggest adjustment in returning to the league after an 11-season hiatus was assimilating how differently teams now defend the pass. The learning curve, even for a guy with three Super Bowl rings, was a difficult one. "There were times I think [the offense] couldn't handle some of the blitzes that defenses use a lot now," guard Randy Thomas said. Another veteran Washington player noted that the offense "felt overmatched" at times and that Gibbs and the staff were slow to come to grips with the reality that the game had evolved and that the design of an offense from a generation ago was insufficient to cope with the changes. Gibbs said, "We couldn't make a big play in the passing game. Getting that fixed, I think, has been our No. 1 [offseason] priority." So to his cast of codger assistants, Gibbs added Bill Musgrave, a two-time coordinator in the NFL, as quarterbacks coach. The offense was streamlined a bit, with less motion and, hopefully, less confusion. There should be more speed with Moss and Patten, both of whom averaged more than 18 yards per catch in 2004. More three-wide receiver sets were added, and Gibbs allowed the installation of some shotgun formation plays, which he never used before. It was all, in a sense, a concession that the Washington passing design of a year ago was a dinosaur. Whether the Redskins can speed the evolutionary process in 2005 remains to be seen. Certainly there is considerable pressure on Gibbs, whose return to the franchise was seen by Redskins fans as messianic. There also is pressure on Ramsey, who has two seasons remaining on his contract and clearly doesn't enjoy unanimous support in the organization, as evidenced by the fact the Redskins traded three draft picks this year to get in position to grab Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell in the first round. Ramsey has a strong arm, but he sometimes holds the ball too long and is only now starting to develop the kind of touch necessary to succeed at the game's toughest position. He has worked hard in the offseason to improve his recognition and anticipatory skills, but also understands the clock is ticking on his Washington shelf life. "I like the changes we made," Ramsey said. "I'm getting more comfortable every day with what we want to accomplish." So maybe the Saturday scrimmage was just a detour from that comfort zone, a one-day aberration in which the new passing-game vehicle developed a glitch on its first "live" test-drive. At least that's what the Redskins are hoping. __________________ Support The Warpath! \| Warpath Shop

08-09-2005, 02:19 PM	#2
TheMalcolmConnection I like big (_\|_)s. Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Charlottesville, Virginia Age: 43 Posts: 19,233	Re: Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays Wow, he treated that like it was the Super Bowl. __________________ Regret nothing. At one time it was exactly what you wanted.

08-09-2005, 02:38 PM	#3
crlesh Special Teams Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Boston, MA Age: 49 Posts: 142	Re: Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays Pretty harsh training camp report. While it's true that our passing offense is the big question mark coming into this season, you can detect venom in the remarks he makes about Ramsey succeeding somewhere other than with the Redskins... you can see the smirk on his face as he writes those lines...

08-09-2005, 02:49 PM	#4
JWsleep Propane and propane accessories Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Houston, TX Age: 55 Posts: 4,719	Re: Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays F*** him. We knew this is what he'd write. Not even worth looking at. __________________ Hail from Houston!

08-09-2005, 03:25 PM	#6
memphisskin Impact Rookie Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Nashville, TN Age: 53 Posts: 960	Re: Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays I love how the stats in a scrimmage are being used to denigrate our passing attack. If the qbs had gone deep every play then what would he have had to say? Gibbs will get it done, if we can keep PR clean then we'll be fine.

08-09-2005, 04:40 PM	#8
TheMalcolmConnection I like big (_\|_)s. Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Charlottesville, Virginia Age: 43 Posts: 19,233	Re: Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays Me too. And then I saw the first game and the kind of fire the defense played with and I was very impressed. I also wouldn't say our line is atrocious. We were about middle of the pack in sacks given up. __________________ Regret nothing. At one time it was exactly what you wanted.

08-09-2005, 04:49 PM	#9
SmootSmack Uncle Phil Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 45,256	Re: Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays If we were to put so much stock in scrimmages and early preseason games then people would be talking about Danny Wuerffel the way they talk about Brady, and there'd be no talk of Gibbs because Spurrier would be leading this dynasty __________________ You're So Vain...You Probably Think This Sig Is About You

08-09-2005, 08:00 PM	#11
skinsguy Pro Bowl Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Greensboro, North Carolina Posts: 6,766	Re: Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays I think this coming Saturday might tell a little more of the story. But, what can you expect from Lenny P? He's chomping at the bit to tear the Redskins apart even before the pre-season begins. I will agree, the Redskins didn't show any improvement in the scrimmage, but I say wait until they have played a real game before judging the offense. __________________ "Fire Up That Diesel!"

08-09-2005, 09:17 PM	#12
GoSkins! The Starter Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Yorktown, Va Age: 55 Posts: 1,587	Re: Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays It will be exciting just to see what kind of depth we have this year. Nobody should be shocked that the offensive line gave up some hand sacks. They didn't have to worry about the QB getting hurt. If they do it Saturday, it will be a bit more worrysome. __________________ Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts. A. Einstien

08-09-2005, 09:36 PM	#13
TheMalcolmConnection I like big (_\|_)s. Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Charlottesville, Virginia Age: 43 Posts: 19,233	Re: Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays It's one thing to have a bias, but it's COMPLETELY another thing to touch yourself everything the Redskins do something slightly bad. It's ALSO another thing to touch yourself with the Redskins do something really good. I fall into the latter... sometimes. Maybe... yeah. __________________ Regret nothing. At one time it was exactly what you wanted.

08-09-2005, 11:23 PM	#14
skinsguy Pro Bowl Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Greensboro, North Carolina Posts: 6,766	Re: Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays I don't want to think about anybody touching themselves.....LOL!!! __________________ "Fire Up That Diesel!"

08-09-2005, 11:26 PM	#15
TheMalcolmConnection I like big (_\|_)s. Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Charlottesville, Virginia Age: 43 Posts: 19,233	Re: Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays Come onnnnn.. i guess oyu wait til the regular season __________________ Regret nothing. At one time it was exactly what you wanted.

Lenny P: Passing offense short on big plays

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