Joe Gibbs...YOU CAN'T BE F*@%ING CONSERVATIVE ALL THE TIME!!!!!

I absolutely agree with you. It's easy to say we should have attacked at the end of the game. But why take that risk? Stay simple, protect the ball, hope to get a first down. Don't try any trickery or more importantly risk an unecessary turnover.

Our defense is our strength so why wouldn't we put the game in their hands?
I would agree with you in principle. However I don't understand the defensive playcalling on the last Dallas possession. All game long we were pressuring Vinny, sacking him or making him check down or throw the ball away. Why all of a sudden did we go to what looked like prevent coverage? And as far as the offense was concerned I certainly wouldn't be suggesting any trick plays, but fer crying out loud, you marched right down the field by mixing up run and pass- why the hell not stick with it! I just think that if they would have played and called the the last two offensive possessions like they did their TD drive, we could have walked home with a W.

I would agree with you in principle. However I don't understand the defensive playcalling on the last Dallas possession. All game long we were pressuring Vinny, sacking him or making him check down or throw the ball away. Why all of a sudden did we go to what looked like prevent coverage? And as far as the offense was concerned I certainly wouldn't be suggesting any trick plays, but fer crying out loud, you marched right down the field by mixing up run and pass- why the hell not stick with it! I just think that if they would have played and called the the last two offensive possessions like they did their TD drive, we could have walked home with a W.

Well, you're right about the prevent defense. I didn't quite get that either. I'm not sure they exactly played a prevent defense but they certainly weren't as aggressive toward the end of the last drive as they were at the beginning.

And I hear what you're saying about mixing things up. And it worked great on that TD drive, no question about it. But they had to take a chance because they were trailing at the time. With the lead and a strong defense I just don't think you put the ball in the air.

I would agree with you in principle. However I don't understand the defensive playcalling on the last Dallas possession. All game long we were pressuring Vinny, sacking him or making him check down or throw the ball away. Why all of a sudden did we go to what looked like prevent coverage? And as far as the offense was concerned I certainly wouldn't be suggesting any trick plays, but fer crying out loud, you marched right down the field by mixing up run and pass- why the hell not stick with it! I just think that if they would have played and called the the last two offensive possessions like they did their TD drive, we could have walked home with a W.
i agree it seemed like the second to last dallas possession we punished vinny and then on the last possession we sat back and waited for him to pass the ball...i didn't understand. i also agree that it was best left up to the defense to hold the win..but isn't it obvious we play our best defense when we are really aggressive. :banghead:

Running out the clock is grand, but you can really run it out if you get 1 first down. I don't think a playaction pass to a short receiver (first down marker) would be too bad. The same amount of time is on the clock, only they have one more time out. Which would have been used and given us more time to score.

Suppose one of those passes had fallen incomplete and the clock had stopped and Dallas hadn't been forced to use a TO? People would have been all over Gibbs for not running it and having the game fall into the D's hands. Kinda darned if you do, danged if you don't.

Running out the clock is grand, but you can really run it out if you get 1 first down. I don't think a playaction pass to a short receiver (first down marker) would be too bad. The same amount of time is on the clock, only they have one more time out. Which would have been used and given us more time to score.
I'm thinking you meant "if you can't get 1 first down" and I completely agree. Plain and simple, this team does not have the offensive line to play smashmouth football with anybody for a running back, even a John Riggins. Our last two offensive possessions Dallas was flooding the box to stop the run and our OH-line was being completely OHverwhelmed. A quick hitter to Cooley about 4 or 5 yds over the middle or a flat route probably would have gotten the job done. While we may have been a little more desparate on the TD drive, the playcalling was sharp with a good mix of pass and run and it kept the Dallas D completely on their heels. Until we get a few more linemen to complement the likes of Randy Thomas and Chris Samuels (and no, I'm not totally sold on hickory-dickory Dockery yet) we're not going to be able to challenge a team to stop us like in the old Gibbs days. The personnel is simply not there to do it.

I should also say that there is a master plan at work here, I believe. I hope we all see this when we start winning.

Master plan? Please, elaborate. We've tried this run up the middle 3 times strategy in various situations, I can't think of a single time it worked. As far as people yelling at Gibbs for trying a short throw. I don't think so. If we got a single first down the game woulda been basicly ours. I think it's ridiculous to not even attempt to get the first down to seal the game. Our defense is great, but if you give a team enough chances they'll get something.

Guys, if we had an offensive line that gave our backs some holes to run through, we wouldn't have to pass in that situation. Good teams run out the clock by pounding the ball. It doesn't matter who's running it.

I think our o-line struggled all day yesterday against a mediocre at best d-line. If we can't run the ball and protect the QB, you're in big trouble.

Hey, Redskins_P, we don't have said offensive line, therefore we shouldn't pretend we do! Not all teams run 3 times in that situation, many teams will throw a HIGH PERCENTAGE SHORT PASS! Something that's bound to get yards. Everyone going out would have had man coverage and I think a route to Cooley, Gardner, or McCants could have easily done the trick.

If we hand it back to our defense with 20 seconds and no timeouts, it's a much different ballgame.