Zone blocking

Noble is questionable for how long he will last this year and Salavea was decent but could be upgraded easily.
Dockery was not good last year and remains a massive question mark whether it was a soph slump or he is just that bad. Wilson, Molinaro....Heck! How about adding Nowland and Warner and our UDFA's for that matter are all huge question marks because they are unproven quantities. Jansen, I pray comes back better than before...He was awesome before but what if he blows his knee again. Rabach is a great addition but we need to finish off the O-line with one more good person(Dockery is no good) and some good young backups that have proven themselves. Like I have said before our sophomores better not have slumps this year or we are USC w/o a paddle.

I don't believe Jansen had missed a game up until last year, and yes it's possible he could get hurt again. But anyone could get hurt. But it's not like Jansen has shown a pattern of getting hurt.

It's true we have unknown quantities that are question marks. But that also sounds a lot like some guys on our team last year, such as LeMar Marshall and Ryan Clark. They turned out ok.

Sure Salavea could be upgraded, a lot of people could be upgraded. But does he need to be?

I guess what I'm not understanding is why all your hypotheticals tend to steer toward the negative.

In today's NFL, you can't write off ANYBODY in ANY season. That includes the friggin Arizona Cardinals.

What did you think the Chargers' chances were last year?

What did you think the Panthers' chances were the year before that?

I am cool with pessimistic opinions, it's OK. But it's going too far to say the Redskins have no shot this year because it's just not true. You never know who is going to blow up this year, because someone always does. Why not us? Why not now? Writing them off completely is just as bad as saying they're guaranteed to win the Super Bowl.

I don't mind Daseal's views, and I want him to continue to express his opinions even if I disagree with them wholeheartedly, but I do think he's contradicting himself a bit. On one hand, he disagrees with both Gibbs' playcalling of last year and personnel moves of this year, basically saying the playcalling was the problem last year, and now this year the problem is the personnel. Despite these problems, Daseal still says Gibbs will be successful in 3 years. I don't get that.

As for the O-Line, it's crazy to say they're not better this year. They had trouble at the beginning of the season last year, and if not for Brunell's scrambling ability, we would have been the most-sacked team in the first half of the year. But then we put statue Ramsey in there and he was sacked an average number of times. That's improvement throughout year 1 alone. In year 2 we have Jansen back and a more athletic center for pulls and traps. The line finished the season pretty well, they were not the problem. The run blocking problems were at TE (thanks a lot, Walter Rasby) and H-Back (Cooley can't run dudes over yet). Plus, our WRs could not get deep.

The o-line personnel is a strength this year.

As for the O-Line, it's crazy to say they're not better this year. They had trouble at the beginning of the season last year, and if not for Brunell's scrambling ability, we would have been the most-sacked team in the first half of the year. But then we put statue Ramsey in there and he was sacked an average number of times. That's improvement throughout year 1 alone. In year 2 we have Jansen back and a more athletic center for pulls and traps. The line finished the season pretty well, they were not the problem. The run blocking problems were at TE (thanks a lot, Walter Rasby) and H-Back (Cooley can't run dudes over yet). Plus, our WRs could not get deep.

The o-line personnel is a strength this year.

Absolutely agree. I'm actually really excited about our o-line this year. Let's also add to the equation a second year under the Master, Joe Bugel. He'll have those dirtbags ready to maul guys in the trenches. Jansen being back cannot be overstated.
Would I like more depth as insurance? Of course I would.....but that costs money that we don't really have.

Anyone else feel like a little piece of their childhood is taken from them every time Daseal posts? I mean, a lot of us became fans of the Redskins in the 1980s and that was primarily because of Gibbs. Without Gibbs would this site even be where it is today? Daseal has decided, for whatever reason, that since he was not part of the first Gibbs era he can't respect it. And it can't carry over into this phase of his coaching career. And that's fine if Daseal feels that way, but I just don't see how you can ignore what Gibbs has accomplished. If not for Spurrier's success in the USFL and NCAA he wouldn't have sniffed the NFL sidelines. The past is prologue as they say (is that right?) If the Gamecocks go 3-8 next year, is it ok then for us to say "Spurrier might have been a good college coach back in the mid-90s but it's 2005 now. What has he done for us lately?" Sounds kind of silly doesn't it?

As GoSkins put it so well "He won because he was willing to change his system as times changed and because he put in the hours to do a good job." The whole key to that is "put in the hours" This isn't an overnight transformation, this a year, two year, maybe even three year process. And we'll have a healthy Jansen, a new Center, new receivers, a QB with several games under Gibbs offensive philosophy, a new OC, among other things this season. And we've improved our special teams. Don't underestimate the value of field position. Yet there are those who are already determined to write off the season and Gibbs 2.0. Why? There are those that say give him three years, yet in the same sentence basically say "then in three years I'll say I told you so, that Gibbs couldn't get it done"

Yeah the offense does need to be tweaked, and it does need some more variety. But also keep in mind, we had an injured WR as our no. 1 receiver, we had a young QB learning a new system, we were missing our RT, and were forced to play a 42-year old guard at tackle. And we had a stellar defense. Why wouldn't you play the game relatively close to the vest offensively and put the game primarily in your defense's hands? It's one thing to open up the offense, but it's another thing to put your ego above the good of the team, and just let the ball fly all day with 5 receiver sets.

Like Redskins_P said, all he was trying to do was start a thread about changes in the offensive philosophy, and yet the Warpath Grim Reaper (Daseal I'm looking in your direction) has to go again and essentially mock another member for actually having some faith in the team.

Sorry for the incoherent venting, but I know I can't be the only one who is tired of the constant negativity.


Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. :biggthump

All I was trying to do is point out to everyone that Gibbs isn't this old stubborn coach who isn't willing to change his ways. He's making changes in his offense to fit his personnel and at the same time he's looking for guys that fit his scheme.

My point is, is that Gibbs has always adjusted. He's not afraid to make changes. So, let's not right him off yet. I bet we'll see plenty of improvements come preseason, and then the regular season.

Daseal, if you want to make a friendly bet I will.

I'm done with this thread.

Sorry for the incoherent venting, but I know I can't be the only one who is tired of the constant negativity.

:biggthump You are most certainly not alone. Good post

If he makes the progression everyone here says he'll make I'll be the first in line to congratulate him on a job well done. However it will be October/November before we can really pans out.

Sorry, but there might not be any room on the bandwagon at that point.

Daseal, I'll save you a seat.

Though I disagree (sometimes strongly) with Daseal's assessment of Gibbs, he heard the same predictions of a return to glory we all heard (and, in my case, made). He has every reason to feel as frustrated as he'd like.

He was, as I was, a believer in Spurrier's system; and since it didn't pan out here, and the system that replaced it was nearly the exact opposite, it's very frustrating to see regression in some cases. His viewpoint in that the system isn't working. Mine is that the personnel needs to adapt to it (or be replaced). Neither one of us is right (except me), but we should all have a piece of Daseal's pragmatism/pessimism around just to soften the fall in case the problems of last year still aren't fixed in September.

I still fail to see how our OL is hurting, and I really don't see Dockery as being a major question mark. I thought he definitely improved last year and should only continue to do so. Yes he's the weakest link on what should be a very solid line as far as the starters go, but he's certainly not a huge liability. Otherwise why did we not look to upgrade this offseason? Obviously the staff has some faith in him.

Daseal, I'll save you a seat.

Though I disagree (sometimes strongly) with Daseal's assessment of Gibbs, he heard the same predictions of a return to glory we all heard (and, in my case, made). He has every reason to feel as frustrated as he'd like.

He was, as I was, a believer in Spurrier's system; and since it didn't pan out here, and the system that replaced it was nearly the exact opposite, it's very frustrating to see regression in some cases. His viewpoint in that the system isn't working. Mine is that the personnel needs to adapt to it (or be replaced). Neither one of us is right (except me), but we should all have a piece of Daseal's pragmatism/pessimism around just to soften the fall in case the problems of last year still aren't fixed in September.

Fair enough, but those who are most pessimistic don't get to jump in front of the rest of us who have been supporting Gibbs from day 1 in the proverbial "line" of people who will be singing his praises when we make the playoffs either this year or the next. Now, if Daseal wants to be the first in line to eat crow when Gibbs returns us to glory, I'm cool with that. And that goes for anyone who has been so quick to cast aside Gibbs's past accomplishments and take the "what have you done for me lately" attitude.

As hard as this may be to believe, I'm really not trying to get personal. I'm just taking issue with hedging bets. I can't sit here and rip anyone and then be the first to pat them on the back when they do a good job and act like everything is just fine. If Spurrier goes back to the NFL and finds success (LOL......I can't even type it without laughing), I would be the first one to get up on my soapbox and proclaim to the world (ok, just this forum, but you get the point) that I was wrong. I don't get to pat Spurrier on the back, I get to get down on my knees, kiss his a$$, and beg his pardon. That's all I'm entitled to.

I'm just setting the stage now for the inevitable: Gibbs will return us to glory, and all the nay-sayers (not you Brud, I know you've supported Gibbs) can forget about trying to jump on the bandwagon at that point because everyone on this forum knows where everyone else stands right now. Anyone can be a fan of a winner, but a true fan sticks with his man/team through the toughest times. There are a lot of true, die-hard fans of Joe Gibbs on this site. And there are people who simply are not fans of him.

I know I'm taking this whole "first in line" comment too literally, but it just really struck a nerve with me. I agree we need some realism on this site, and sometimes realism comes off as pessimism. But it really bugs me when a person's biggest critic jumps into the pile and starts high-fiving everyone when that person succeeds and wants to pretend like everything is cool.