What do you want to see on offense?

Coming from the perspective we are nearly certain to have an elite defense this year I'm sort of committed to focusing/thinking about offense for the time being. It's no secret we were a terrible offensive unit by the end of '08, so the questions are 1) what have we done/can we do to improve it 2) what needs to happen on the field to give us a shot at the playoffs? I have some thoughts but as always want to hear all of yours...

1) Further reinforce the o-line. I think this can probably be done in one or two transactions. First we need to sign a really talented OT vet from the FA market as teams cut based on the draft. This should IMO be the biggest money signing we do from now to opening day. We have three current OTs, all coming off injury-plagued seasons, two of which are older and the younger a questionable starter. Maybe most importantly, if Chris gets nicked up we just don't have a tackle talented enough to step in and keep the offense running smoothly...in fact w/o Chris the offense falls to pieces. We should spend what it takes to get a very talented vet to come in and start at RT but who could switch to the left side if necessary and play at a high level. This allows Jansen to be a backup (he'll be a good one IMO and may be very useful at RG down the road) and gives Heyer one more year to work off the rest of his baby fat and learn to bend is knees.

The caveat to o-line is if a talented center came available i'd like to replace Rabach in a heartbeat, but I think we all know this is pretty unlikely to happen.

With the above I think we become a very strong line again. Dock was a blessing no doubt, but his return isn't enough.

2) Change our running game to a community effort (really this time). I, like many, was disappointed we didn't add a RB this draft. But it doesn't change the reality that giving Portis 300+ carries in the first 14 or so games means our offense is in trouble. Betts has to step up big no doubt, but Zorn has to work to his strengths i.e. get him lots of carries in a row early in the game, have him catching passes out of the backfield (Betts has good hands IMO and isn't this supposed to be a WCO anyway) and emphasize downhill running while Betts is in. I would really like to test the strategy of Betts getting the majority of carries in the 1st half, splitting up the 3rd quarter, and giving the game to Portis in the 4th if it's close...or giving him some more rest for once. This is not a knock on CP at all, please don't mistake me. This is acknowledging his workload over several seasons and the simple fact he's an unbelievable talent who should do his best work in the playoffs instead of Sept and October :)

3) If Devin Thomas doesn't look to be our true 2nd WR by camp I wearily prefer we make a big WR acquisition somehow. We can't expect to have a consistent, dynamic offense w/ Moss and ARL for primary targets - two years history proves it. Malcolm Kelly hasn't been healthy enough to develop timing/chemistry w/ JC and it's unclear when he'll be able to do so. I would just say the probability of Kelly contributing much this year is very slim. So a great deal rests on DT's shoulders. We are hearing good things no doubt...he's spending the time w/ Jason and working out and learning his routes. However, if Thomas can't be the legit #2, posting several catches every game and taking some focus off Moss, I don't see our offense doing anything special this year...i just don't see it.

I guess the caveat to DT and the WR situation is the possibility of Davis/Cooley working some dynamic two TE sets to make up for the lacking in the WR corp. Zorn hasn't done much in this sense but Davis is a phenom talent like Cooley so i would like to think it's viable.

F...mods please change the title to "What do you want to see on offense?"

Thanks.

One word...points! I agree with you on adding another WR though. Aside from Moss and Cooley I doubt anyone is afraid of our receiving corps. Its never too late for Ocho Cinco. (Kidding) An ideal situation would be at least one of last years rookies blossomed into something this season.

i agree. i am substance over style. i don't care how many long drives we have. or how balanced the play calling is. we need to score more points

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1) Further reinforce the o-line. I think this can probably be done in one or two transactions. First we need to sign a really talented OT vet from the FA market as teams cut based on the draft. This should IMO be the biggest money signing we do from now to opening day. We have three current OTs, all coming off injury-plagued seasons, two of which are older and the younger a questionable starter. Maybe most importantly, if Chris gets nicked up we just don't have a tackle talented enough to step in and keep the offense running smoothly...in fact w/o Chris the offense falls to pieces. We should spend what it takes to get a very talented vet to come in and start at RT but who could switch to the left side if necessary and play at a high level. This allows Jansen to be a backup (he'll be a good one IMO and may be very useful at RG down the road) and gives Heyer one more year to work off the rest of his baby fat and learn to bend is knees.

The caveat to o-line is if a talented center came available i'd like to replace Rabach in a heartbeat, but I think we all know this is pretty unlikely to happen.

With the above I think we become a very strong line again. Dock was a blessing no doubt, but his return isn't enough.

2) Change our running game to a community effort (really this time). I, like many, was disappointed we didn't add a RB this draft. But it doesn't change the reality that giving Portis 300+ carries in the first 14 or so games means our offense is in trouble. Betts has to step up big no doubt, but Zorn has to work to his strengths i.e. get him lots of carries in a row early in the game, have him catching passes out of the backfield (Betts has good hands IMO and isn't this supposed to be a WCO anyway) and emphasize downhill running while Betts is in. I would really like to test the strategy of Betts getting the majority of carries in the 1st half, splitting up the 3rd quarter, and giving the game to Portis in the 4th if it's close...or giving him some more rest for once. This is not a knock on CP at all, please don't mistake me. This is acknowledging his workload over several seasons and the simple fact he's an unbelievable talent who should do his best work in the playoffs instead of Sept and October :)

3) If Devin Thomas doesn't look to be our true 2nd WR by camp I wearily prefer we make a big WR acquisition somehow. We can't expect to have a consistent, dynamic offense w/ Moss and ARL for primary targets - two years history proves it. Malcolm Kelly hasn't been healthy enough to develop timing/chemistry w/ JC and it's unclear when he'll be able to do so. I would just say the probability of Kelly contributing much this year is very slim. So a great deal rests on DT's shoulders. We are hearing good things no doubt...he's spending the time w/ Jason and working out and learning his routes. However, if Thomas can't be the legit #2, posting several catches every game and taking some focus off Moss, I don't see our offense doing anything special this year...i just don't see it.

I guess the caveat to DT and the WR situation is the possibility of Davis/Cooley working some dynamic two TE sets to make up for the lacking in the WR corp. Zorn hasn't done much in this sense but Davis is a phenom talent like Cooley so i would like to think it's viable.I question two of your points (in bold). At no point would I give Betts more carries than Portis, but I would like to see Betts get 10-12 combined touches per game with Portis getting 18-20.

As for Kelly, is he still so injured that an entire offseason of rest and rehab won't allow him to come back and contribute at full strength? I'm confident that Thomas and Davis will make an impact, and if Kelly does so as well, this offense could improve quickly. That's assuming that somebody steps up big at RT and the O-line keeps Campbell upright.

We need realy two things to happen on offense this year.

1) Our line has to stay healthy. Most of the line is capable of playing well. Samuels is till good. Dock can do for us what he did before. Why it didn't work in Buffalo I don't know but I don't think he just forgot how to play. Thomas was a very good G just over a season ago. If they can stay healthy then all we have to really worry about is C/RT. Heyer can only get better. He is serviceable. Jansen shouldn't be starting anywhere anymore. Rabach is my biggest cocnern. I think he is as bad or worse than Jansen. If we can just get average at these spots somehow we'll be ok.

2) At least one of the two rookie WRs from last year have to step up and become a target in the redzone. We're forgetting that early on last year, even when we were 6-2, we failed far too often to get 6 instead of 3. If one of those guys can become a legit red zone WR then it improves our point totals immensely.

I'd like to see a consistent Push from the offensive line, in pass and run blocking. I also would like to see the younger o-linemen to come into their own. ( Heyer, Clark, Geisinger, Rhinehart ) I would like to see at least one WR we drafted last year cement their job as a starter, and the other cement a place as 3rd-4th WR. I'd like to see these 2 TE sets with Kelly in there. (the reason we drafted him) And last but certainly not least, I want to score points, average more than 16 a game, score more than 30 points in a single game this year, score more than 40 points in a single game this year, SCORE POINTS THIS YEAR!!!!!

I question two of your points (in bold). At no point would I give Betts more carries than Portis, but I would like to see Betts get 10-12 combined touches per game with Portis getting 18-20.

I couldn't agree with this more. Every season it seems as if we run Portis into the ground early. If we could give Clinton some rest, especially in the 3rd, I think it would make him far more effective late in the game and keep him healthy longer in the season. The era of the one back offense is over, time to adapt. Thats why I wanted Ringer before the Titans got him.

When it comes down to it, we need points. Playing defense is much easier with a 2 score lead. The DL can pin their ears back and go, and the coverage guys know its coming.

I'm choosing to be positive (some may call naive) about our offensive improvement this season. We're bringing back all of our starters, for better or worse, who are now going into their 2nd season in the system. We're either going to see, very early this season, if the notion that JC simply needs to be left in one offense for consecutive years is true or if he's just not going to develop. Also, it's clearly 'show or go' for Zorn this year so hopefully his ability to 'stay medium' will be beneficial to offset our offseason 'turmoil'.

Thomas, Kelly and Davis have all talked, individually, about understanding much more now what's going to be required of them to be impact players and by all accounts are working hard to achieve that. I'm in the minority in thinking that Heyer will be fine at RT. This is his 3rd season and he's played quite a bit for an UDFA in his first two years. Getting all the reps with the first team should greatly benefit him.

Bottom line, we need to see an uptick in production, scoring and offensive effectiveness. I think we're going to have an elite-level defense (especially if we somehow add Leroy Hill) so a moderately improved offense will make a 2-3 game difference in the standings.

Touchdowns