Al Saunders: was he necessary?

It's simple, we don't have the players to execute Al Saunders offense. Don't start blaming Al, it's not his fault Mark Brunell can't handle the new offense.

It's simple, we don't have the players to execute Al Saunders offense. Don't start blaming Al, it's not his fault Mark Brunell can't handle the new offense.

That's a good point. Saunders needs a decent QB to run his offense. And at this point, Brunell is one of the league's lesser QBs. What a mistake it was to entrust the offense to him.

Far too often, players were just standing around, or going quarter speed, rather than playing like they want to win.

Many times, I saw linemen who would lose the outside or inside to the defensive guy and they'd just give up. You could see them just standing there, watching Brunell get hit or rushed.

Then there were the receivers, who wouldn't run full out unless they were the primary or secondary. I saw Brunell being forced to throw it away because the receivers simply gave up on him.

It looks more like the Skins of the 60s than it does a Gibbs coached team. If TV would show the sideline shots more, I bet you'd see more players sitting down on the bench than standing up and cheering the offense/defense on. They give the very definite impression of a team that doesn't think it can win.

So sad . . . and I've been a Redskins fan since the late 50s. This team is beginning to look like it's stuck on losing. Gibbs needs to immediately put his strong hand back into the team and shake 'em up good.


Welcome aboard brainconner, I see you have been playing close attention espically to the unspoken language on the sideline. Maybe team attitude needs a boost as well. We share one thing in common, we both go back a long ways. We've both seen a lot of Redskin football, but what I am seeing lately looks like one continuous game.

Well we can't underestimate Clinton Portis anymore, for those that have. For one thing, you know he would have laid out a few people with some blocks to give Brunell that extra second. Betts and Duckett don't compare to Portis as runners or as blockers.

absolutely dead on.

Ladell and T.J. (all 254 lbs of him) were directly responsible for two sacks, did you see that? i bet Mark feels alot safer passing with Clinton back there.

I always hate to second guess things, but throughout the game tonight I just couldn't help but think, was bringing in Saunders a bad move?

yeah I'm shocked to hear this from you Matty, such a rare case of coach suspicion.

It's the elephant in the room. Throughout the game they kept showing last year's great offensive stats with the same personnel and the difference was night and day.

why did we try and fix what wasn't broken? our offense was well-oiled late last season just to be rebuilt from the ground up. makes absolutely no sense.

worst yet, if Gibbs felt it was imperative to rebuild (and ultimately redefine) the offense, why didn't he take the opportunity to put in its new driver, Campbell? why waste all the time and effort on Brunell learning and practicing this new system??

We don't have the talent to run Al's offense?

Isn't it the coaches job to fit the players to game plan?

You can't change your players but you sure as hell can scheme your game plan to make your players productive!

This game looked like the offense of 2 years ago. It didn't even look like last week's offense. Did anyone notice that?

Al Saunders resume is pretty damn good. I don't think he is the problem. We don't have the QB on the field to get the ball to our playmakers. We may not have the oline to get it done too. I don't recall Jacksonville having too many problems last week. They do have a qb that can make plays.

Lets put this to rest. Here is the breakdown by quarter:


FIRST SECOND
Pass Run Pass Run
Q1 3 1 2 2
Q2 1 3 2 2
Q3 1 4 0 1
Q4 7 1 5 0

Obviously, we ran on 1st/2nd downs a LOT more in the first three quarters. We gave up the run in the fourth when we had no choice.

If the announcers are to be believed, I blame this one on Gibbs. They quoted him as saying that we were going to run the ball a LOT more tonight because he thought 17 touches was not enough (FWIW, I agree). However, that suggests he took some control back from Saunders. How the hell are the players supposed to learn the system if Saunders isn't allowed to run it?

Fair enough.

Thank you for the welcome, Longtimefan.

Yup, it seems that way, or maybe they're stuck in a Groundhog Day kinda thing. An endless loop, until they figure out The One Key Concept, whatever it is.

Lets put this to rest. Here is the breakdown by quarter:


FIRST SECOND
Pass Run Pass Run
Q1 3 1 2 2
Q2 1 3 2 2
Q3 1 4 0 1
Q4 7 1 5 0

Obviously, we ran on 1st/2nd downs a LOT more in the first three quarters. We gave up the run in the fourth when we had no choice.

If the announcers are to be believed, I blame this one on Gibbs. They quoted him as saying that we were going to run the ball a LOT more tonight because he thought 17 touches was not enough (FWIW, I agree). However, that suggests he took some control back from Saunders. How the hell are the players supposed to learn the system if Saunders isn't allowed to run it?

you think Saunders doesn't like to run?? why do you know the name Priest Holmes? or Larry Johnson? Both Gibbs and Saunders are well regarded coaches precisely because of the run.

those runs on 1st and 2nd down may have meant something if Ladell was more than a backup, and T.J. was more than straight ahead battering ram.

Ladell and T.J. are absolutely NOTHING SPECIAL. they run into space in front of them, but neither see the field laterally to find their own holes or make anyone coming from the side miss.

you know who does see the field surprisingly well (besides Portis of course)? SELLERS. that guy has a genuine knack man, he can sense the field!

that screen pass last night and those carries in preseason - not to mention all the TD passes last year - really show his awareness of the field. unlike Ladell and T.J, he actually moves his feet to avoid guys not directly in front of him. and unlike Ladell at least, when Sellers has to put his head down and hit somebody, he actually moves that somebody.