Sherman Lewis, what was his effect

[CRedskinsRule]

First, if the mods want to merge this, it's all good.

I really want to ask the biggest underlying question: How much of yesterday's game, good and bad, were tied to the introduction of Sherman Lewis. Some key examples that I would cite:

Rock/Betts together in the backfield more.
DT specifically thrown at more
Shotgun at the 2 - good and bad plays out of it.

Maybe less specific but also:
more confusion in the pass pro, without Zorn in his ear did Campbell miss setting assignments

Also was the playcalling better, or just different?
It seemed to me that player execution was noticeably worse. Particularly Campbell early. and middle. and late.

So, bottom line, with the bye week here, and 2 weeks to reset this season. What did bringing Lewis in impact? Will his presence be an overall positive, negative, or I don't give an eff, throw me another beer? (Trample, I know your answer )

[redsk1]

I thought the playcalling was fine. It may have actually been better than recent weeks imo. Execution on the other hand was lacking in the OL and QB.

[freddyg12]

I don't think we can attribute DT's role solely to Lewis. Zorn had said a few weeks ago that they were trying to get him involved & obviously he'd put him in the starting lineup v. KC.

I did like the shotgun inside the 5. that play to Davis was a td if campbell can just hold on a split second longer to get off an accurate throw. Totally a great call though.

Were the pass pro problems more related to assignments or simply that Davis & Heyer couldn't block their guys? (on the bright side, I didn't see MW's man getting pressure, he appears to be playing fairly well)

[tryfuhl]

Originally Posted by freddyg12

I don't think we can attribute DT's role solely to Lewis. Zorn had said a few weeks ago that they were trying to get him involved & obviously he'd put him in the starting lineup v. KC.

I did like the shotgun inside the 5. that play to Davis was a td if campbell can just hold on a split second longer to get off an accurate throw. Totally a great call though.

Were the pass pro problems more related to assignments or simply that Davis & Heyer couldn't block their guys? (on the bright side, I didn't see MW's man getting pressure, he appears to be playing fairly well)

Zorn has said he wanted to get DT more involved every week since last year man. He also said that he's been calling plays that use Thomas just to occupy a defender.. maybe that had something to do with the gameplan, which I'm sure that Lewis has been an integral part of.

With Davis I think that Campbell usually looked at those routes for Cooley so it was easy for him to get the ball to Davis.

[freddyg12]

oh, one thing that killed me w/the playcalling: a couple of the sacks were on 2nd & long, and we called play action. By the time JC was turned around to throw the iggles were all over him. That seemed poor play calling to me; the iggles had no reason to respect our run game, they stopped it all night. To run play action you generally have to have some success running first. We didn't have any.

[davy]

I thought the playcalling was hugely improved.

Execution, hmmm....

Zorn needs to be relieved of all responsibilities, he is clearly an idiot.

[MTK]

Play calling wasn't an issue and honestly I didn't see where it impacted things positively or negatively. The main issue is, and has been all year with the execution side of things.

You can call plays directly from a Bill Walsh playbook but it's not going to matter if the players don't go out and do their jobs.

[irish]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Play calling wasn't an issue and honestly I didn't see where it impacted things positively or negatively. The main issue is, and has been all year with the execution side of things.

You can call plays directly from a Bill Walsh playbook but it's not going to matter if the players don't go out and do their jobs.

You hit the nail on the head.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Play calling wasn't an issue and honestly I didn't see where it impacted things positively or negatively. The main issue is, and has been all year with the execution side of things.

You can call plays directly from a Bill Walsh playbook but it's not going to matter if the players don't go out and do their jobs.

Yup. The line is terrible, and when on occasion they do give JC enough time to look downfield, our god awful receivers don't get open. Maybe that's a Stan Hixon issue? Seems to me there is plenty of physical talent amongst the receivers, but for whatever reason they aren't open. Moss dropping TDs that hit him in the hands doesn't help things either.

I would say that regardless of how the rest of the season plays out, Stan Hixon is among the many who need to be shown the door.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by GMScud

Yup. The line is terrible, and when on occasion they do give JC enough time to look downfield, our god awful receivers don't get open. Maybe that's a Stan Hixon issue? Seems to me there is plenty of physical talent amongst the receivers, but for whatever reason they aren't open. Moss dropping TDs that hit him in the hands doesn't help things either.

I would say that regardless of how the rest of the season plays out, Stan Hixon is among the many who need to be shown the door.

I don't think it's a Hixon issue at all. I think it's a JC issue when it comes to trying to get the ball down the field to the receivers.

The few rare instances where he does have time, he either rushes through his reads or he doesn't attempt a pass unless a guy is wide freaking open. Who many times do we see him pull the ball back down and dump it off? The MNF crew noted this several times.

[Hog1]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I don't think it's a Hixon issue at all. I think it's a JC issue when it comes to trying to get the ball down the field to the receivers.

The few rare instances where he does have time, he either rushes through his reads or he doesn't attempt a pass unless a guy is wide freaking open. Who many times do we see him pull the ball back down and dump it off? The MNF crew noted this several some imes.

JC....obviously cannot operate in this environment. He needs more time, security, etc. Some other QB's can deal with it. However, who is that going to be....that is available? That having been said, if we do the right thing and rebuild the line, that may go a long way to making JC...serviceable. At least until some better QB options become available

[SantanaTreeMoss]

Originally Posted by Hog1

JC....obviously cannot operate in this environment. He needs more time, security, etc. Some other QB's can deal with it. However, who is that going to be....that is available? That having been said, if we do the right thing and rebuild the line, that may go a long way to making JC...serviceable. At least until some better QB options become available

Agreed, JC does not look comfortable at all. And you could really see this in the first half, he has so much going on around him and I'm sure its impacting his playing. He really has to just calm down and make better decisions.

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I don't think it's a Hixon issue at all. I think it's a JC issue when it comes to trying to get the ball down the field to the receivers.

The few rare instances where he does have time, he either rushes through his reads or he doesn't attempt a pass unless a guy is wide freaking open. Who many times do we see him pull the ball back down and dump it off? The MNF crew noted this several times.

Jaws and Gruden were fantastic at breaking down the game. The new MNF crew is my favorite bunch of commentators right now. The level of knowledge that Jaws and Gruden bring to the table is unsurpassed. It is a real shame that Gruden will probably only stick around for one season. They are top notch.

Like Jaws said repeatedly, you have to be willing to make throws into tight windows in the NFL. Guys are not going to be running open very often. Now the Redskins receivers do struggle to win one-on-one match-ups, but Campbell also does not allow the guys an opportunity to succeed. Clearly the offensive line is a serious problem, but the MNF guys did a very good job of highlighting the many instances where Campbell left plays on the field. That missed double move to Moss was heartbreaking, but Jaws saw it right away and the production crew went directly to the wide shot. That is Emmy worthy stuff right there. I have bashed the ESPN MNF crew in the past, but they are really on point this year.

Originally Posted by 30gut

I haven't gone back and re-watching the game but this is what i saw:

o We moved the ball
o He got Jason on the move with roll-outs
o There was more motion and shifting
o There were more formations
**Lol, Someone should have told Lewis that Fred Davis is a suspect blocker

The Most meaningful difference?
o **We threw the ball in the RZ inside the 10 yardline and we scored!!**

I noticed the increased motion as well. That is something that Zorn never seemed to grasp for whatever reason. He was completely unable to determine match-ups through pre-snap formation shifts and motions.

I also noticed that there were a lot more passes on 1st down (aka the best down to pass in the NFL). Maybe someone can quantify that, but anecdotally it seemed significant.

So basically what you saw was someone calling plays who actually has a grasp of how to call an NFL offense. Who understands that you need to dictate matchups and that you have to break tendencies in order to be successful. To my eye it was the best playcalling we have seen all season. I did not expect much, but I was impressed. Obviously the execution was piss poor. I think it basically highlighted how unprepared Zorn was to call plays in the NFL.

[redsk1]

Originally Posted by SC Skins Fan

Jaws and Gruden were fantastic at breaking down the game. The new MNF crew is my favorite bunch of commentators right now. The level of knowledge that Jaws and Gruden bring to the table is unsurpassed. It is a real shame that Gruden will probably only stick around for one season. They are top notch.

Like Jaws said repeatedly, you have to be willing to make throws into tight windows in the NFL. Guys are not going to be running open very often. Now the Redskins receivers do struggle to win one-on-one match-ups, but Campbell also does not allow the guys an opportunity to succeed. Clearly the offensive line is a serious problem, but the MNF guys did a very good job of highlighting the many instances where Campbell left plays on the field. That missed double move to Moss was heartbreaking, but Jaws saw it right away and the production crew went directly to the wide shot. That is Emmy worthy stuff right there. I have bashed the ESPN MNF crew in the past, but they are really on point this year.



I noticed the increased motion as well. That is something that Zorn never seemed to grasp for whatever reason. He was completely unable to determine match-ups through pre-snap formation shifts and motions.

I also noticed that there were a lot more passes on 1st down (aka the best down to pass in the NFL). Maybe someone can quantify that, but anecdotally it seemed significant.

So basically what you saw was someone calling plays who actually has a grasp of how to call an NFL offense. Who understands that you need to dictate matchups and that you have to break tendencies in order to be successful. To my eye it was the best playcalling we have seen all season. I did not expect much, but I was impressed. Obviously the execution was piss poor. I think it basically highlighted how unprepared Zorn was to call plays in the NFL.

I was going to mention the exact thing. Jaws and Gruden did a great job analyzing the game. Jaws, you could tell, was trying to give JC the benefit of the doubt, but couldn't let some things slide. He kept saying..let it fly Jason...sometimes your not going to have a reciever wide open. He kept saying trust and follow your instincts. They mentioned the fact JC was just rattled and that he's got to look downfield.

Great analysis by those guys. Seemed like there were more wrinkles thrown into the offense too. A rollout, some good screens, some throws to DT, etc. Who knows, how much a difference it was though.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by SC Skins Fan

Jaws and Gruden were fantastic at breaking down the game. The new MNF crew is my favorite bunch of commentators right now. The level of knowledge that Jaws and Gruden bring to the table is unsurpassed. It is a real shame that Gruden will probably only stick around for one season. They are top notch.

Like Jaws said repeatedly, you have to be willing to make throws into tight windows in the NFL. Guys are not going to be running open very often. Now the Redskins receivers do struggle to win one-on-one match-ups, but Campbell also does not allow the guys an opportunity to succeed. Clearly the offensive line is a serious problem, but the MNF guys did a very good job of highlighting the many instances where Campbell left plays on the field. That missed double move to Moss was heartbreaking, but Jaws saw it right away and the production crew went directly to the wide shot. That is Emmy worthy stuff right there. I have bashed the ESPN MNF crew in the past, but they are really on point this year.

That's nice to hear. Glad that you're liking it this year