Portis article on ESPN "in"

Yes. In fact, if you go back and look at the games, the simple fact is that the holes have not been opening. When you see the G/T pulling and attempting to open a big hole on the other side of the line, there ends up just a mass of bodies where a hole should be. John Riggins could not have run through the stuff I am seeing there. Either these blocking schemes will start to work in the next couple games, or you will start to see new ones. It will depend on where the problem is - either the OL is not doing everything as they should, or the defenses have a strategy to beat it. I don't know enough to be able to see the answer, but I'm sure the coaches do. If these articles were correct, Joe Washington would have failed miserably here. He didn't.

I do think we need more quick hitting plays than counters and traps and stuff like that. But having said that, Portis needs to be more patient on those trap plays to open up. Alot of the time I see him with his hand on the blockers back and not letting the play and blocks develop in front of him. Penetration has blown up some of our blocking schemes, especially in pulling.

Portis puts his hand on the back of his blockers so he stays patient, it's so he stays behind his block.

Right now the line and Portis both need to step up their games. I think he's on the brink of busting out, let's just hope it's sooner rather than later.

Portis puts his hand on the back of his blockers so he stays patient, it's so he stays behind his block.

Right now the line and Portis both need to step up their games. I think he's on the brink of busting out, let's just hope it's sooner rather than later.

Yes, I agree, Matty. And I expect it to be "sooner", because it is obvious this week he is not happy with his performance and is VERY anxious to turn it around.

But I really think for Portis to shine, he DOES need the quick hitters as someone mentioned, OR pitchouts and screens. We have seen virtually NONE of these latter 2 plays. They are tailor-made for Portis, and I keep expecting to see them. They will eventually show up. However, Baltimore may not be a good team to bring those plays out against. I would hope to see some quick hitters against this very fast, pursuing defense. The counters could also be more effective against this defense than in the first 4 weeks.

And since I've gone farther out on the "strategy" tangent, I'll mention that there have been several reports of the Redskins doing a LOT of practicing no-huddle this week. I bet we will see MUCH more of it than in the Cleveland game where it was pretty effective.

I was reading somewhere that we actually are running some zone blocking similar to what Denver does and we only ran a handful of counters last week.

I don't think the problem lies in the type of plays or schemes we're running, it's just everyone trying to get on the same page to execute the plays to their potential.

We've seen some flashes, they just need consistency.

Well, you could be right, but I sure have seen very few running plays where a tackle or guard or both were not pulling out and going across center to block on the run side. These plays take a couple more seconds to develop, and Portis has to wait for blocking. Portis' elite skills are in the open field where his jukes, quickness, speed, and general elusiveness are most effective. He is one of the quickest RB's to the hole in all of the NFL, and this type of play does not utilize that skill. I still think it is only a matter of time until the offense is tailored to Portis.

Another tangent: In posts during the preseason, many here were saying we had the best, or one of the best, WR groups in the NFL. I disagreed, and still do. But we DO have one of the best downfield blocking WR teams in the NFL. Gardner, Coles, and especially Thrash, are EXCELLENT. And TE/HB Cooley is quickly developing. Once they start breaking Portis free through the line, LOOK OUT!!!!

I really don't agree that Portis can't succeed with the counter.

The counter will get him into the open field where he can let his quickness and moves take over, problem is right now he's not getting into the open field.

Ahman Green is a great example that you don't need to be a 'power back' to succeed with the counter.

The counter requires patience and vision where in Denver Portis was able to rely more on making a quick read and cutting, it's based more on instinctive running while this offense is obviously taking some getting used to.

Matty,

Again, I have no concrete way to disagree with what you are saying, but here is why I see it the way I do:

Going back to the Riggins years when the counter-trey came into vogue, he consistently ran for 3-6 yard gains with that offense. Very few were broken for long gains. His effectiveness was by far the greatest in the 4th Q, when he and the Hogs had worn down the DL. This offense takes a couple seconds to develop and gives the backfield time to react. Riggins had few breaks for "long" runs. Usually, that was due to something unusual. Example was the famous SB 17 run that I replay every year just before the SB starts - the hole did not develop behind the FB, so he bounced it outside. It was the only real long run of the game. for him.

Portis, on the other hand, has made his living on long, breakaway runs with his shiftiness and speed (ala Barry Sanders), not by grinding it out. We have seen his fumbling as a grind-it-out runner. He will not plow through a line, but if he is given a good hole in the line, or gets a pass beyond the line, look out. I still think some pitchouts, screens, passes into the flat will start to appear in our offense with great success.

After reviewing tape (errr-- TiVO) of last week's running plays several times, there are a number of factors that contributed to the Redskins' rushing woes:

1) Inability, or perhaps more accurately, refusal to throw deep. Gibbs has put the reigns on the deep passing game, apparently telling Brunell not to take any chances downfield, preferring that he throw the safer short and intermediate passes, or simply throw it away. This allowed Cleveland to keep 8, and sometimes 9, men in the box for much of the game. There was almost always a strong safety playing up as a 4th linebacker near the line of scrimmage. This helped contain Portis to the inside, and prevent him from escaping to the outside, where his speed kills.

2) Penetration by the defensive tackles on counter plays, and excellent diagnosis and pursuit by the linebackers. It was obvious the Browns had done a great job scouting and preparing for Washington's staple running plays-- most notably the counter trey, which found little success against a disciplined and wary defensive front. Cleveland's defensive linemen did a good job of keeping Washington's blockers off of their linebackers, and middle linebacker Andra Davis had an outstanding day, as he was able to read and attack the plays unblocked on multiple occasions.

3) Failure to finish blocks-- see previous point. Washington's blockers often seemed tentative, and weren't able to reach the second level on many of the plays, which allowed the linebackers to read, react and attack. The only blocker that consistently seemed to reach the second level was the center, Cory Raymer. Too often, guard Randy Thomas would be seen chipping off a double team with the center or tackle, only to stand up and look around when there wasn't another defender immediately in front of him. Offensive line coach Joe Bugel must instill the attacking mentality in his linemen, to the point where they instinctively fire to the linebackers when they finish the first block. This applies to the tight ends and H-backs as well. Clinton Portis's longest run of the day was 10 yards, and a big reason for that was the failure to consistently finish plays with blocks on the linebackers and strong safety. The run blocking simply wasn't as intimidating, nor as effective, as it should have been.

4) Poor timing and lack of chemistry between Portis and the blockers. To start, Portis needs to do a better job of selling the counter play. Rather than taking a full jab-step as Byner used to do, turning his shoulders to the backside of the play to mislead the linebackers, Portis instead takes a couple of short hop-steps to the backside, but keeps his shoulders angled toward the playside. The hop-steps would probably be okay, and might even freeze the linebackers longer, if he would turn his shoulders to that side, but Portis telegraphs the counter by facing the playside. This puts the pulling blockers at a disadvantage, as the linebackers diagnose the counter before the blockers have time to turn the corner on the playside.

Portis was more successful when Gibbs called a designed cutback play, which required Portis to actually run a few steps toward the backside before taking the handoff and cutting back to point of attack on the playside. In combination with a zone blocking (http://espn.go.com/ncf/columns/davie/1440703.html) scheme that took advantage of natural gaps in the defensive line, Portis was able to find holes that were left by linebackers who had overpursued the backside handoff.

However, the losses incurred by poorly executed counter plays and sweeps, combined with a defense that was not intimidated by the passing game, prevented Portis from getting untracked over the course of the game, and resulted in a net total of 58 yards for him on the day, with a 2.9 yard average on 20 carries.

JoeC,

Don't you ever get tired of being an excellent writer and analyst? Will you still write reports for us after you've replaced Pastabelly at ESPN?

I agree they need some downfield passing to open up the running game. Hopefully, we will see it this week. That would be a welcome sight.

But what I really expect to see this week:

1. MUCH more no-huddle offense. That was clearly the most successful we were on offense last week.

2. Finally, some outside plays for Portis. That is what he needs to take advantage of his massive talents.

3. No fumbles by Portis!