What's your defnition of 'conservative playcalling'?

I hate to confuse the issue by inserting some facts into the conversation, but I'll give it a shot anyway. Let's actually take a look at the play-by-play from the second half of yesterdays game. Bear in mind that these facts don't give you a proper understanding of exactly how horribly the offensive line played yesterday, but hopefully we can all take that as a given at this point, even though some still like to say that "Fabini and Wade have started four games now, they're starters!" (there is a reason that Fabini got cut by the Cowboys and there is a reason Pucillo was a 7th round pick and there is a reason Wade didn't pan out in either Miami or Houston and there is a reason DeMulling was available to sign of the street in week four ... they are just not as good as the guys who were starting in front of them and couldn't start for most teams in the NFL). That being said:

Drive 1:
-Rock Cartwright returns kick to AZ 21
-1st and 10: Portis Run for -2
-2nd and 12: Portis run for 8
-3rd and 4: J. Campbell Pass attempt, sacked by a completely untouched Calvin Pace -8
-4th and 12: Suisham misses 41 yard kick

Conservative play calling? Maybe you don't like the runs on 1st and 2nd, but they got us to a manageable 3rd and 4. Clearly a protection breakdown by the right side because Wade blocked air and Pace was completely untouched. I have no problem with the play calling here, piss poor execution does the Skins in again.

Drive 2:

1-10-WAS 41 (11:45) 17-J.Campbell pass short left to 82-A.Randle El to ARI 33 for 26 yards (52-M.Beisel).
1-10-ARI 33 (11:23) 26-C.Portis left end to ARI 31 for 2 yards (92-B.Berry).
2-8-ARI 31 (10:47) 17-J.Campbell pass short right to 83-J.Thrash to ARI 26 for 5 yards (26-R.Hood).
3-3-ARI 26 (10:07) 17-J.Campbell pass short right to 47-C.Cooley to ARI 23 for 3 yards (25-E.Green).
1-10-ARI 23 (9:32) 26-C.Portis right guard to ARI 21 for 2 yards (21-A.Rolle).
2-8-ARI 21 (8:58) 26-C.Portis right end to ARI 19 for 2 yards (97-C.Pace).
3-6-ARI 19 (8:18) (Shotgun) 17-J.Campbell scrambles right end pushed ob at ARI 11 for 8 yards (42-T.Holt).
1-10-ARI 11 (7:50) 46-L.Betts right end to ARI 11 for no gain (98-G.Watson).
2-10-ARI 11 (7:14) 46-L.Betts right guard to ARI 1 for 10 yards (42-T.Holt).
1-1-ARI 1 (6:30) 45-M.Sellers left guard to ARI 1 for no gain (93-C.Cooper).
2-1-ARI 1 (5:51) 26-C.Portis left guard for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN.

Great Drive in my opinion and Jason made two big plays that made the whole thing work. The throw to Randle El was terrific, he put it right on his back shoulder because he saw the saftey coming over the middle. The location of the pass and Randle El's adjustment to it allowed El to turn the ball towards the sideline and pick up some nice YAC. If Jason throws it in front of El then he gets smashed and maybe drops the ball. On 3-6 the Skins called a shovel pass and Jason sees the Cards have it covered perfectly. Instead of throwing it into coverage and causing an incompletion or turnover he holds the ball and runs for the first down, two veteran plays. Betts has a nice run and I think he scored, nonetheless Portis gets into the endzone.

Drive 3:

1-10-WAS 30 (14:47) 26-C.Portis up the middle to WAS 30 for no gain (92-B.Berry, 52-M.Beisel).
2-10-WAS 30 (14:10) 17-J.Campbell pass short left to 26-C.Portis to WAS 35 for 5 yards (25-E.Green).
3-5-WAS 35 (13:28) (Shotgun) PENALTY on WAS-47-C.Cooley, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 35 - No Play.
3-10-WAS 30 (13:16) (Shotgun) 17-J.Campbell pass short middle to 45-M.Sellers to WAS 38 for 8 yards (54-G.Hayes, 90-D.Dockett).

Here is where the boo birds came out at FedEx (what the hell is the point of booing your own team? I'll never understand that...Philly fans do that, Skins fans should be better than that). I guess you could say conservative play calling here. The penalty on Cooley put them in a third and long, they went shotgun (don't all you guys love the shotgun?) and I GUARANTEE that Sellers was not the first option on that pass (probably the fourth). I'd have to get the all-22 to see, but I think we can say the Cards had it covered down field, or at least JC thought so.

Drive 4:

1-10-WAS 13 (7:14) 26-C.Portis up the middle to WAS 17 for 4 yards (24-A.Wilson).
2-6-WAS 17 (6:40) 45-M.Sellers up the middle to WAS 18 for 1 yard (52-M.Beisel).
3-5-WAS 18 (6:03) 17-J.Campbell pass incomplete short middle to 82-A.Randle El.

Probably the worst drive of the game, conservative? Yes, I'd say so. The call to Sellers was less than inspired, but if they pick up three or four than it is 3rd and short. Still a manageable third down situation. JC got big pressure here and the throw to El was both short of the first down and off target. JC rushed the throw and probably gave up on some deeper reads very quickly because of pressure, either perceived or real (I'd have to go back and look. I can't remember but I think the Cards brought a full house blitz, maybe it was a fire zone, I don't think the blocking was completely horrible, but JC went quick to his hot and was probably a bit spooked by this point).

Drive 5:

1-10-WAS 20 (3:38) 26-C.Portis left end to WAS 23 for 3 yards (54-G.Hayes).
2-7-WAS 23 (3:03) (Shotgun) 17-J.Campbell pass incomplete deep right to 83-J.Thrash (26-R.Hood).
3-7-WAS 23 (2:56) 26-C.Portis left end pushed ob at WAS 24 for 1 yard (25-E.Green). Penalty on WAS-60-C.Samuels

Three minutes left in the game, Skins ahead. Should be able to go into a four-minute offense here and run out the clock. Unfortunately that would require actually blocking someone up front and the Skins couldn't do that all day. On second and long the Skins line up in Shotgun (gasp!) but Thrash can't hold onto the ball, granted it was a tough catch but he got his hands on it. Those are the plays you need to make to win games. Watching the game I think to myself "well, at least the guys on the Warpath can't say the Skins didn't take any shots deep at the end of the game. WRONG. After taking the deep shot and missing you could try again and risk a turnover or an incompletion to stop the clock. Skins decide to run, don't have a problem with that, but can't block anyone and penalty on Samuels stops clock anyway. Poor execution again.

I don't have a problem with the play calling, personally, and I'd also point out that the Cards never abandoned the run even though they got stuffed the whole game. By the end Edge started breaking off some nice runs and they wore the Skins D out. That is why you continue to run the football. I know I have convinced no one and it is like bashing my head against a brick wall, but I thought I would at least try to bring some empiricism to the discussion.

Your post highlighted what I've been saying all along.. Focus on drives 3, 4, 5. What happened right before that? We went up 2 TD.. For some reason, that is the trigger to get away from being aggressive. You said it yourself, that's when we got conservative..

I've never claimed our entire offense is conservative, it just drives me nuts to see us stop attacking once we have a 2 TD lead.. We can't keep hanging the defense out to dry like that.. We've been the better team on the field each week so far, but that's not always going to be the case How about shotgun on downs other than on 3rd and long? How about not running the ball on 1st down on 4 of 5 2nd half possessions?? Maybe I should have termed the thread passivity rather than conservatism but it's kinda the same thing..

Your post highlighted what I've been saying all along.. Focus on drives 3, 4, 5. What happened right before that? We went up 2 TD.. For some reason, that is the trigger to get away from being aggressive. You said it yourself, that's when we got conservative..

I've never claimed our entire offense is conservative, it just drives me nuts to see us stop attacking once we have a 2 TD lead.. We can't keep hanging the defense out to dry like that.. We've been the better team on the field each week so far, but that's not always going to be the case How about shotgun on downs other than on 3rd and long? How about not running the ball on 1st down on 4 of 5 2nd half possessions?? Maybe I should have termed the thread passivity rather than conservatism but it's kinda the same thing..

Do the coaches change their game-plans if we are up by 10 points? Yes, just as coaches change their game-plans if they are down by 10 points. Do the coaches get sometimes too conservative/passive? In my opinion, yes. But, it's not as though the coaches are NEVER calling aggressive plays in the second half of games. The coaches called deep bombs in the second halves of the Philly, NYG, and GB games that didn't connect. Had JC connected with Moss on those deep-plays, I doubt people would be saying how conservative our coaches get when playing with a lead.

Do the coaches change their game-plans if we are up by 10 points? Yes, just as coaches change their game-plans if they are down by 10 points. Do the coaches get sometimes too conservative/passive? In my opinion, yes. But, it's not as though the coaches are NEVER calling aggressive plays in the second half of games. The coaches called deep bombs in the second halves of the Philly, NYG, and GB games that didn't connect. Had JC connected with Moss on those deep-plays, I doubt people would be saying how conservative our coaches get when playing with a lead.
Again, it's not just about the bombs.. It's about the mid range passing game moreso than bombs.. It's about not being predictable all the time.. It's about a mentality of attacking rather than just trying to bleed the clock when the defense knows exactly what's coming..

BTW, it's not just some of us 'clueless, just plain stupid' fans who see the questionable play calling pattern.. Redskins Insider (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/)

Again, it's not just about the bombs.. It's about the mid range passing game moreso than bombs.. It's about not being predictable all the time.. It's about a mentality of attacking rather than just trying to bleed the clock when the defense knows exactly what's coming..

BTW, it's not just some of us 'clueless, just plain stupid' fans who see the questionable play calling pattern.. Redskins Insider (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/)

He says JC generally had plenty of time to throw.

Very interesting observation. Just not sure what game he was watching exactly but whatever.

The real argument against conservative playcalling is that fans want to be entertained. That's what it really comes down to. Fans would rather see us lose 45-42 in overtime than to see us win 21-19 with the defense scoring at least a TD here and there. I guess they feel as if they're not getting their money's worth. Well, sorry, but I'd rather see us win ugly than to see us lose pretty. And the fact remains, we're 4-2. Even if we lose against NE, we're still above .500. Something we couldn't do last year.

Despite our woes on the offensive line, a young quarterback who is starting in his first full year, and receivers who have been inconsistent with catching the ball, we're at 4-2! That's quite impressive. A couple of catches here and there that should've been caught, and a personal foul call here and there that could've been avoided, and we could've been going into the New England game undefeated.

We are at that point where we have the potiential of turning this team into an elite team, or going the other way. That is why having a healthy offensive line is so important to us. It's critical. Having a healthy offensive line can be what pushes us closer to being that team we have all hoped the Redskins would become. Because our line is not healthy right now, it's putting a lot of pressure on us that is pushing us behind in the growth and development of this team. When guys are going down to injuries and playing inconsistent, how can you expect the play calling to be all Madden like?

But, it's not as though the coaches are NEVER calling aggressive plays in the second half of games. The coaches called deep bombs in the second halves of the Philly, NYG, and GB games that didn't connect. Had JC connected with Moss on those deep-plays, I doubt people would be saying how conservative our coaches get when playing with a lead.
I believe our playcalling has been too conservative overall. However my main problem with Drive 5 is the deep pass on 2nd down. If you want to be aggressive, fine, but when your offense is struggling, you are up by 8, there are 3 minutes left, and the DEF is playing well, either run or call a high percentage pass. Don't be "aggressive" just to say, "I was aggresive". Be smart, play the percentages, if the Skins run another 30 seconds or more off the clock or ARI burns timeouts the game is essentially over. This poor decision made the difference between sealing the victory without too much stress or getting fortunate Rackers missed wide by about a foot. Saunders or Gibbs (whoever's decision this one was) is getting paid too much to make this kind of strategic mistake IMO.

Wade was working in camp at LG and has shifted to RT and is currently trying to overcome injuries. Kendall has definitely filled in nicely, notwithstanding the fact that he became a Redskin just before the start of the regular season. Fabini has a lot of starting experience, but his skills have clearly eroded. Rabach was out last Sunday. Heyer was out last Sunday.

I definitely agree that the O-line needs to improve in a big way if we want to do anything in the post-season. However, I am hoping that, as these guys play together, they will improve as a unit.

In my view, I am not making excuses for the team. In my opinion, the offensive line has been a strength for this team for quite some time. This year, I do not think it is a strength. JC has been under consistent pressure the past few weeks and the O-line has certainly NOT opened decent running lanes for our backs on a consistent basis. So, given that the O-line has done a sub-par job protecting the QB and a downright awful job opening running lanes, I am not terribly surprised by our lack of production on offense.

So, I guess I'm wondering if people (not you specifically GMScud) disagree with my conclusion that the offensive line is doing a pretty poor job or my conclusion that the offensive line's woes are largely attributable to the injuries. If people agree with my conclusion that the offensive line is doing a poor job and that is attributable to the injuries, how is it that I am making excuses?

I agree with you SGG. I guess I'm kind of using "excuse" as a synonym for "reasons." Of course the O-line is doing a poor job. Certainly we were massively depleted against AZ, and I think it was a big part of our offensive struggles. But we've known for over a month now that we were gonna be without Thomas and Jansen. Fabini and Wade are veterans and career starters for the most part. It's step it up time.

I guess by saying I'm tired of hearing O-line injuries as an excuse, I really mean I'm just tired of hearing the masses on this site and elsewhere say things like, "if our O-line was healthy then...." fill in the blank.

It's a fact everyone. Jansen is done till '08, and Thomas will be back for the last few games IF we're lucky. There's a reason we brought back guys like Bugel and Gibbs, right? They're supposed to be masterful motivators, capable of galvanizing a team. The Hogs back in the day weren't a bunch of first round draft picks. They were just a scrappy group with a lot of toughness, a lot of heart, and great work ethic. In my opinion we need not only more creative playcalling, but we need Joe Bugel's finest effort as an O-line coach.

If we're still barely managing 17-20 points a game and crying about the O-line in week 14 or 15 I'm gonna be miserable.

The real argument against conservative playcalling is that fans want to be entertained. That's what it really comes down to. Fans would rather see us lose 45-42 in overtime than to see us win 21-19 with the defense scoring at least a TD here and there. I guess they feel as if they're not getting their money's worth. Well, sorry, but I'd rather see us win ugly than to see us lose pretty. Nice job of taking all of the logic out of a reasonable discussion.. The bottom line is we all want to win games but would enjoy not sweating out a victory of a game that we've dominated for 2.5 quarters but then decided to ease off the pedal and coast the rest of the way hoping to bleed the lead. Winning ugly is fine, but winning decisively is better..

Yeah it is devastating to have 3 starters out, but look at the Gmen game. I mean the first half was beautiful, the second half the O was throttled back intentionally. This isn't good playcalling guys. I know our O line starters rock, but god damn a total offensive collapse and dink and dunk shit like in the Brunell era? Our second string O linemen are still NFL calibre, not studs like Thomas or Jansen, but they should be able to get the job done. Also you need to deal with the injuries and not have them dictate your game. We acquired Moss for speed and the big gain, not for 4-5 yard dink passes. Let JC throw the ball deep for godsakes, our backups can't be all that bad at pass protection all the time.

Anyone still so obdurate as to believe play-calling is not the biggest reason behind our shit offense needs to read this.

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