Should Gibbs Flip The Script: Passing Team Now?

The offense is developing and coming on strong but needs to get better in pressure situations when the game is on the line, particularly in the red zone.

But, why not toss the ball to CP more often. He's a heckuva a receiver and it allows him to do what he does best, take on defenders one v one...

I feel like the Redskins change from week to week. One week it's running, then the next it's passing, but never with any logical plan. The offense doesn't have any faith in the defense, and the defense doesn't have any faith in the offense.

One thing for sure, it really looked good having Reche and Keenan in the Tampa game.

By the way, if we had Richie Petitbon instead of Greg Williams, we would have beaten Dallas (It hurt to even write that name!). Then we wouldn't be talking about flipping the script!

By the way, if we had Richie Petitbon instead of Greg Williams, we would have beaten Dallas (It hurt to even write that name!). Then we wouldn't be talking about flipping the script!

Man, that name almost brought a tear to my eye. How the mighty have fallen.

How long you been on Warpath?

I think we have been trying to be a balanced offensive team, up until the last two games we haven't been hitting the WR's with frequency.

The script has been fine all along, we just have had poor execution.

Keep the offense balanced and we are in good shape, if you can run the ball and pass the ball effectively. What a threat a team brings to the table with a truely balanced attack.

IMO we don't want to ever be a one dimensional team with the talent we have on both sides of the ball.

I feel like the Redskins change from week to week. One week it's running, then the next it's passing, but never with any logical plan. The offense doesn't have any faith in the defense, and the defense doesn't have any faith in the offense.

Cant agree with you there. I think it was Marcus Washington that said in the locker room after the game that part of the reason they were able to hold the Dallas Offense to a 3 and out late in the game was that the D saw "a fire in our offenses eyes. We wanted to get the ball back to them; we really thought they would score for us."

I think this team is finally starting to trust each other and play for one another.

As far as if we should shift our offensive strategy I have to give an emphatic yes. I think it was Randel El who said something to the effect of: "Jason is comfortable running the spread offense, and thats what he wants to do. Its what WE want to do." and Cooley: "It makes everyone out there more of a threat. When we do that it allows everyone to get the catches they should."

I would like to see us continue to spread the field and play no huddle, and do it early. If we can keep defenses guessing and keep them on their heels we'll be able to do anything we want offensively. Portis will still be able to contribute, and in this scenario he'll most likely have more room to run. And he is totally on board from what he says...he would rather be winning then getting all the carries and padding his stats, plus it seems he loves to smash people in the face when pass blocking.

This team seems to want this fast-paced gunslinging offense to be their identity, and if we start to get early leads we'll be able to slow it down an pound it out, because they wont be able to disregard Campbell's arm, it will be in the back of their minds that he could put the nail in the coffin if they dont protect against the big play.

We'll see what happens next week, but Campbell seems to be the man.

Cant agree with you there. I think it was Marcus Washington that said in the locker room after the game that part of the reason they were able to hold the Dallas Offense to a 3 and out late in the game was that the D saw "a fire in our offenses eyes. We wanted to get the ball back to them; we really thought they would score for us."

I think this team is finally starting to trust each other and play for one another.

As far as if we should shift our offensive strategy I have to give an emphatic yes. I think it was Randel El who said something to the effect of: "Jason is comfortable running the spread offense, and thats what he wants to do. Its what WE want to do." and Cooley: "It makes everyone out there more of a threat. When we do that it allows everyone to get the catches they should."

I would like to see us continue to spread the field and play no huddle, and do it early. If we can keep defenses guessing and keep them on their heels we'll be able to do anything we want offensively. Portis will still be able to contribute, and in this scenario he'll most likely have more room to run. And he is totally on board from what he says...he would rather be winning then getting all the carries and padding his stats, plus it seems he loves to smash people in the face when pass blocking.

This team seems to want this fast-paced gunslinging offense to be their identity, and if we start to get early leads we'll be able to slow it down an pound it out, because they wont be able to disregard Campbell's arm, it will be in the back of their minds that he could put the nail in the coffin if they dont protect against the big play.

We'll see what happens next week, but Campbell seems to be the man.

Good post, Will. Not just because I was thinking the same thing, but it seems to me that Gibbs and Co. have been trying to force a round peg into a square hole for the longest. The no-huddle, more fast paced offense may suit our personnel a little better than run, run, run and wear 'em down philosophy. I guess time will ultimately tell.

I still believe the attack must have some balance, but balance doesn't always mean equal distribution and 50/50 play calling. If you noticed yesterday, even Jason's pass distribution to his receivers were pretty balanced and not so one dimensional. A good step forward for this team.

But, why not toss the ball to CP more often. He's a heckuva a receiver and it allows him to do what he does best, take on defenders one v one...

Which Clinton Portis have you been watching? Clinton Portis is one of the worst pass catching running backs in the league. He cannot catch and run at the same time. In order to catch a ball, he has to stop and turn around and face the quarterback. He drops more passes when he tries to catch the ball over his shoulder. The next time the Skins play, pay close attention to Portis when he catches balls out of the backfield. He always have to square his shoulders to the passer and then run after the catch. I love Portis to death, but his technique on swing passes is horrible.

I think this team still needs to run quite a bit. That's not to say that we shouldn't use the hurry-up, the hurry-up can help us run AND help us throw more effectively.

But I don't like passing all that much more than running, UNLESS the situation calls for it and we're behind in the game.

Why did Cambpell air it out 50 times against Dallas? Because for much of the 2nd half, we were down and needed to catch up. We saw what happened when he aired it out that much... he threw a pick. And that's on a very very good day for him. This is not to second-guess the decision to throw, the decision to throw that much was necessitated by the fact that we were down.

But you can't throw a pick if you're running the ball. Of course you can fumble, but Portis's fumble rate is a lot lower than Campbell's INT rate.

In the end, I'm in favor of attacking the defense with whatever the situation calls for. If we're ahead, lean heavier on the run (though change the scheme a bit to be less conservative). If we're behind, lean on the pass. And at all times, feature the hurry-up.

Turnovers are still the factor that has the most influence on the outcome of NFL games. You have to approach the game with balance, and be ready to adjust based on the situation. Coach Gibbs is that you??

Success in today's NFL is predicated on scoring points in bundles and making the other team outscore you. The mentality of not wanting to throw the ball because you're afraid of turnovers is the biggest reason our offense was stuck in the '80s for the past 4 years..

The notion of 'balance' and 'running and defense wins' are antiquated. Look at the top teams NE (#2 in passing offense), Dallas (#3), GB(#1), Indy (#6) and they are in the top 6 of passing offense and are outpacing their running games by 164, 152, 222 & 128 yards per game.. They are all also in the top 15 in rushing yards per game (none exceeding 132 YPG) but that's not balance, that's passing early, getting up on your opponent by 3-4 TD and running the ball to maintain possession and keep them off the field.