Three Questions!

[Gmanc711]

Question 1: The West Coast offense; its hard to say. We defntley have the tools in place to be good in that type of offense; but the players we have really could be good in any type of offense, they just need to execute.

Questoin 2: If Clarett has a good career, I think he will get credit for that as long as he has no off the feild problems in the NFL. I really dont think people will dwell on his entering the NFL early if he performs well.

Question 3: I dont think this spells doom for anyone in perticular. Ramsey will not be cut, MAYBE Brunell after June 1, but still i find that highly doubtful and unessacarry (he did take a pay cut, so its not a pressing cut). I think cuts will be made, but I dont think the draft will really effect anyone.

[sportscurmudgeon]

Daseal:

To address your questions in order:

No, I don't think that the Skins are edging toward a West Coast offense. I do believe that the "Joe Gibbs offense" can look a lot like a West Coast offense when it focuses on the short passing game to the exclusion of the deep game, but I don't think the Skins are moving in that direction in any intentional way.


I know you like Clarett. You know that I do not. Here's where I am on Clarett as of today. He got drafted by Denver. If there is ANY team in the NFL that has a history of knowing who is potentially a productive RB in the NFL, it has to be the Broncos. So I defer to their judgment here. If Clarett becomes the man in Denver and gains 1200 yards this year, he will have some folks who say he is a product of the system. After all, he would certainly not be the first back to do that! So he may indeed be shortchanged for some potential accomplishments. But the reverse is not true. If injuries force him to be the starter and all he does is gain 800 yards in that running system, he will be pilloried as a draft day bust. Is that fair? Maybe not. But I think that is where it stands as of today.



Will Betts be traded/cut? Probably not, but it might happen if some other back shows REALLY well in training camp and in the exhibition games.

Will Ramsey be traded/cut? Not this year. Not even if he plays as poorly as Brunell did for the first 8 games of last year - or even a bit worse. If he plays that badly, he'll be gonzo next February/March, but not during the season. The issue you may need to worry about is this one:

Suppose Ramsey has a good - but not spectacular - year. What will the Skins offer him under those circumstances in the next offseason? That could provide for some REAL soap opera melodrama and fireworks for next March and April!

[Beemnseven]

3 Questions, 3 answers...

A change to the West Coast Offense? Actually, Gibbs learned his offensive scheme from Don Coryell while he was an assistant at San Diego, so in a sense, his philosophy was the original 'West Coast' offense way before Bill Walsh implemented what we now know it to be in San Fransisco. In any case, I hope we don't. That would only mean more short, sideline to sideline passes and less deep throws, and that was the main point of criticism Gibbs took last year. It would also involve changing terminology, no more H-backs, bringing in fullbacks, and running slant patterns -- something Gibbs has publicly said he doesn't like to run, something about it exposing wideouts to injury. To the contrary, I've read that Auburn's offense is similar to Gibbs' one-back system. If anything, I'd like to see more 3 wideout sets.

Maurice "The Rules Don't Apply To Me" Clarett ?? His success will depend greatly on how soon he sells out his teammates and coaches similar to the way he did at Ohio State. We also need to see if he's improved his 40 yard dash time since the Combine. You know, when 300 plus pound offensive linemen were beating his run time? Hopefully he's cleared that up.

Ladell Betts really solidified himself with his big effort against Minnesota. I think he'll need one more season backing up Portis before he gets any value in terms of a trade. Hopefully it won't come in the way of a significant injury to Portis, of course. But it would be nice to see Betts become the next Lamont Jordan. Whether he gets that chance remains to be seen.

Taking Campbell doesn't say much for the coaching staff's faith in Patrick Ramsey. To me, there's no other way to look at it. Anyone who disagrees is probably being a little naive. Obviously Ramsey didn't do enough to completely sell the coaches that he's the man, and that there's no need to start grooming a replacement.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I disagree, but I don't think I'm being naive. I think that the coaching staff is bringing in talent as a "just in case" situation.

I mean look at our backups pre-draft. A has-been and a never-was.

I'd prefer to have someone be a project waiting in the wings if none of them pan out.

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

I disagree, but I don't think I'm being naive. I think that the coaching staff is bringing in talent as a "just in case" situation.

I mean look at our backups pre-draft. A has-been and a never-was.

I'd prefer to have someone be a project waiting in the wings if none of them pan out.

See, I think Hasselbeck was perfect for the back-up job. Maybe not for long periods if Ramsey went down for more than one game, but in a pinch, he would be fine. And again, I'd have no problem with the pick if Brunell weren't a salary cap deadweight issue -- but I still think that was an awful lot to give up for the #25 pick.

[Daseal]

Ladell Betts really solidified himself with his big effort against Minnesota.

I don't think we should consider Ladell Betts anything. He ran against Minnesota's run defense. An autistic midget could.

[JWsleep]

Sir, I am an autistic midget, and I resent that. We can run on lots of defenses. And we can catch out of the backfield too.