Charley Casserly's Take on the skins Redzone Problems

Are there any big play receivers out there in the draft or free agency? I know Roy Williams wants out of Detroit but he wants to go back to Texas. Any chance of a second or third round guy falling to us? If so, who is out there?
Bernard Berrian and Bryant Johnson appear to be the best chances for us in Free Agency. Haven't looked into the Draft class yet.

all we need is a tall receiver. yeah right. the answer to everything. to me, size has nothing to do with getting open. it seems to me that Steve Smith scores his share of touchdowns. whats he? all of 5' 9". Marvin Harrison scores a bunch,. and he is barely 6 foot tall. our line is the problem. once in the red zone, it always seems like Campbell is running for his life. we need to see more of Portis in the red zone. if anything, he has the knack for finding pay dirt

Yeah, I've always dismissed the importance of a tall receiver. The Rams in '99 seemed to do just fine with Bruce, Holt, and Az-Hakim -- all 6'0 or less.

A lot of it has to do with your offensive scheme, which, I don't think anyone can define what the Redskins' scheme is or is supposed to be.

As for the red zone problems, another thing that needs to be done is drop the 'jumbo' package. Joe Theismann was a guest on the John Riggins Show this afternoon, and he's another former player who's gone on record to say that you need to spread things out a bit, and that the Redskins don't have the players to line up everybody in one spot and bulldoze the defensive line.

Give Campbell better protection, get Campbell to be smarter with the ball, and the redzone issues get resolved. Throw in a 6'2 or 6'4 wideout if you want to, but all the height in the world won't matter when your QB keeps throwing the ball to the wrong guys while he's running for his life.

As for the red zone problems, another thing that needs to be done is drop the 'jumbo' package. Joe Theismann was a guest on the John Riggins Show this afternoon, and he's another former player who's gone on record to say that you need to spread things out a bit, and that the Redskins don't have the players to line up everybody in one spot and bulldoze the defensive line.

Joey T. hit it right on the head, the Skins under Gibbs 1 always had a bruiser back like Brandon Jacobs. My solution on the redzone is feed the ball to Sellers till he gets it in, he's proved that he can run it, now give him the chance to pound it in.

Here's what Paul Woody from the Sporting News has to say:

The team's red zone offense borders on abysmal. The Redskins can get the ball inside the 10, but then they hit roadblocks. They can't get enough of a push off the line to run the ball. They can't find enough room in the compressed area to make the passing game work. TE Chris Cooley is their most effective red-zone receiver, something teams have figured out. The lack of a big receiver all but eliminates running fade routes. Also, injuries to the receivers limit their practice time with QB Jason Campbell on timing routes across the back of the end zone.

Todd Yoder has been adequate filling in for FB Mike Sellers (back), but Yoder is strictly a blocker. Sellers gives the team the option of sending a 284-pound back into the middle of the line as a runner. Sellers can push the pile, which is something the team needs near the goal line. ...

During our 5 game winning streak at the end of 2005 didn't something like 13 of our last 14 Red Zone drives end in touchdowns?

So what's so different now that we don't have the same success?

Yeah, I've always dismissed the importance of a tall receiver. The Rams in '99 seemed to do just fine with Bruce, Holt, and Az-Hakim -- all 6'0 or less.....

Give Campbell better protection, get Campbell to be smarter with the ball, and the redzone issues get resolved. Throw in a 6'2 or 6'4 wideout if you want to, but all the height in the world won't matter when your QB keeps throwing the ball to the wrong guys while he's running for his life.
The '99 Rams and '06 Colts both had receivers at 6' that could score inside the 10 yd line, Bruce and Holt, both Pro Bowlers. The stats are strikingly similar for '99 Bruce and '06 Harrison both had 7 of 12 TDs they scored on the season inside the 10. However '99 Hakim has only 2 of 8 and Holt 0 of 6. Reggie Wayne '06 had 3 of his 9 TDs inside the 10. What is my point; if you have a Pro Bowl caliber receiver who runs precise routes and has outstanding hands you can throw for TDs inside the 10 with some consistency. '99 Kurt Warner and '06 Manning had something to do with these TDs also.

A big physical receiver is a weapon that is invaluable to a young QB or a team with a struggling OL. A fade is a one step and throw, the OL almost cannot be beat on this protection. The QB isn't making any decisions, he is throwing to a spot and letting the WR physically beat a smaller DB. Timing is key to the throw, but since Campbell and Mix played together at Auburn they should be able to get back on the same page quickly.

I don't believe a big receiver would magically put us at 8-4 instead of 5-7, but being able to throw the fade could have made a difference in several drives this year where we stalled at the goal line. Do we have other issues in the red zone with the OL not getting the job done, Portis not being a big physical back able to make tough yards on his own, and a young QB who will make mistakes, absolutely. But the option of throwing a fade to a 6'5" receiver can take some pressure away from issues we cannot solve in the short term.

That's an excellent point. When's the last time you saw them throw a bomb into the endzone from the 50?

Good point. Although the offense is more open it looks like we throw to get 1st downs and not to score.

Bernard Berrian and Bryant Johnson appear to be the best chances for us in Free Agency. Haven't looked into the Draft class yet.


draft choices as far as recievers isnt that deep. but Jackson from Cal, and Kelly from the Sooners or maybe Sweed from Texas..those guys will fit pretty well in our system.

During our 5 game winning streak at the end of 2005 didn't something like 13 of our last 14 Red Zone drives end in touchdowns?

So what's so different now that we don't have the same success?

Fabini and Wade instead of Thomas and Jansen is the most obvious difference. Patten was on IR then so we were really hurting at wideout for that stretch. Actually Thomas got hurt in the Dallas game as well so I suppose the main difference is Saunders calling the plays now. Don Breaux has taken a lot of heat but his red zone plays were actually very good. That one to Sellers was money and we haven't seen it much since 2005.

During our 5 game winning streak at the end of 2005 didn't something like 13 of our last 14 Red Zone drives end in touchdowns?

So what's so different now that we don't have the same success?

We caught lightening in a bottle for that 5 game stretch in '05. Quite simply, we had "it". Whatever that is. Call it chemistry, call it rising to the occasion, call it 'making plays.'

It's everything we're not doing now.