RedskinRat
11-01-2006, 11:58 AM
Offense remains work in progress - Sports - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper (http://www.washtimes.com/sports/20061101-122206-3007r.htm)
Al Saunders knew integrating his now famous 700-page playbook would take time. After all, a lot of it involves new passing concepts, and he agrees with Joe Gibbs' philosophy of not showing much of anything in the preseason.
But seven games into a season with big expectations, the Washington Redskins are 2-5, and the offense's failures are a big part of that. They have more punts (35) than plays of more than 20 yards (23), have gone one stretch of 21 possessions without a touchdown and have scored only 17 third-quarter points. Plus, Washington has a quarterback whose numbers suggest consistency but in actuality reveal mediocrity.
Compared to the Redskins' now-putrid defense, however, the offense is decent. The Redskins rank 14th in yards a game, eighth in rushing, 22nd in passing and 18th in scoring. Still, the "wow" factor of Saunders' offense in Kansas City has been present for only one game, a 36-30 overtime win over Jacksonville.
Standing in his customary spot after practice last week -- the Redskins' weight room -- Saunders gave an intriguing answer when asked about the state of the offense.
"Anytime you make adjustments and make changes, it takes some time," he said. "We're going through some growing pains, but we're doing some things really well. When you lose games, it makes it even more pronounced that you're not where you want to be."
Admin/Mods, please move to Newswire. Thanks.
Al Saunders knew integrating his now famous 700-page playbook would take time. After all, a lot of it involves new passing concepts, and he agrees with Joe Gibbs' philosophy of not showing much of anything in the preseason.
But seven games into a season with big expectations, the Washington Redskins are 2-5, and the offense's failures are a big part of that. They have more punts (35) than plays of more than 20 yards (23), have gone one stretch of 21 possessions without a touchdown and have scored only 17 third-quarter points. Plus, Washington has a quarterback whose numbers suggest consistency but in actuality reveal mediocrity.
Compared to the Redskins' now-putrid defense, however, the offense is decent. The Redskins rank 14th in yards a game, eighth in rushing, 22nd in passing and 18th in scoring. Still, the "wow" factor of Saunders' offense in Kansas City has been present for only one game, a 36-30 overtime win over Jacksonville.
Standing in his customary spot after practice last week -- the Redskins' weight room -- Saunders gave an intriguing answer when asked about the state of the offense.
"Anytime you make adjustments and make changes, it takes some time," he said. "We're going through some growing pains, but we're doing some things really well. When you lose games, it makes it even more pronounced that you're not where you want to be."
Admin/Mods, please move to Newswire. Thanks.