An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense

[Beemnseven]

Greg Cosell, nephew of Howard Cosell, works for NFL Films and breaks down coaching tape -- something he's done since 1984. He created the "NFL Matchup" show and while not a coach, has seen lots of films on lots of players over the years.

He has a blog, and gave what I thought was an interesting breakdown of the Redskins vs. the Lions, offensively.

Here's his take.

And here's a snippet:

◦WR Thomas very slow in and out of his breaks, Too many steps when he throttled down to make his break – Lateral quickness and separation clearly an issue

◦RG Rhinehart impressive: Physical, tough, played with determination and effort – More of a phone booth player than an athletic mover

[Hog1]

I heard that on ESPN this afternoon. It's good stuff and right on for JC moving in the pocket, Portis lack of explosion, as well as some others

[Eknox]

Very interesting, I couldn't agree more especially with the Campbell wind up and footwork and Portis whom I think we need to look at replacing next year. He just laid down on that 1 yard run , that shit frustrates the heck out of me..

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I won't lie, but if you're not an actual football coach, credibility is lacking there JUST a touch. Haven't all of us been watching football in depth for years? What makes his critique more legit than our's?

Interesting read, but a lot of those things I disagreed with.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

I won't lie, but if you're not an actual football coach, credibility is lacking there JUST a touch. Haven't all of us been watching football in depth for years? What makes his critique more legit than our's?

Interesting read, but a lot of those things I disagreed with.

I disagree with some of his assessments as well, but the only difference between Cosell and an NFL coach is that the coach doesn't have time to do these for multiple teams. There's no credibility issue.

[htownskinfan]

that was a depressing read,especially since the progress of Kelly and Thomas were 2 things we as fans were counting on.The things about JC and Portis I already knew.

[skinsfaninok]

It's the entire offense, coaching and personel.. Our wrs suck other than moss, portis is old and washed up with no good backup behind him. Jc's release is so slow it's ridiculous, oline is avg at best. Cooley is a beast but gets double teamed, so yea basically nothing can be fixed in one yr. Come next yr we will see a new rb and qb unless somehow jc can change his stupid mistakes overnight, highly unlikely.

[SC Skins Fan]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

I won't lie, but if you're not an actual football coach, credibility is lacking there JUST a touch. Haven't all of us been watching football in depth for years? What makes his critique more legit than our's?

Interesting read, but a lot of those things I disagreed with.

No offense, but you don't have access to coaches tape and don't spend 60+ hours a week breaking down film. At least I don't think you do.

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

I won't lie, but if you're not an actual football coach, credibility is lacking there JUST a touch. Haven't all of us been watching football in depth for years? What makes his critique more legit than our's?

Interesting read, but a lot of those things I disagreed with.

I thought it was good to hear something positive about Chad Rinehart.

About the credibility issue -- I've thought about this too. Can only football experts or coaches comment on what they see on film? I mean, can't anybody look at a football game and see that a wideout has trouble getting separation? Is the person who makes that statement somehow less credible because he isn't a football coach?

It's not quantum physics we're talking about here.

[Defensewins]

His analysis of Campbell and Portis is accurate.

[JGisLordOfTheRings]

Damn good read. Just reinforced what I was already thinking on most parts.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by Beemnseven

Greg Cosell, nephew of Howard Cosell, works for NFL Films and breaks down coaching tape -- something he's done since 1984. He created the "NFL Matchup" show and while not a coach, has seen lots of films on lots of players over the years.

He has a blog, and gave what I thought was an interesting breakdown of the Redskins vs. the Lions, offensively.

Here's his take.

And here's a snippet:

Good stuff. On that int to Moss JC had ARE wide open on a crossing route but I think he had his mind up that we was going to Moss. And if you saw the video you saw ARE letting JC know he was open.

[jamf]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

I won't lie, but if you're not an actual football coach, credibility is lacking there JUST a touch. Haven't all of us been watching football in depth for years? What makes his critique more legit than our's?

Interesting read, but a lot of those things I disagreed with.

How many of us actually have been watching game film for years?
I think that is a major differentiator in this instance.

[Slingin Sammy 33]

Originally Posted by htownskinfan

that was a depressing read,especially since the progress of Kelly and Thomas were 2 things we as fans were counting on.The things about JC and Portis I already knew.

I don't think it's too depressing on Thomas and Kelly. We knew who they were already. Thomas is a burner who you want to stretch the field or hit on a short slant or crossing route in some space and let him outrun people. Kelly ran about a 4.7 I believe, so he's no speed demon, but has good hands and runs solid routes. No shame for either guy, this just re-inforces who they are. We all knew neither was Andre Johnson or Calvin Johnson.

No real surprise on JC or Portis either. JC's release has always been an issue and so has his pocket presense, although I think he's doing a better job of stepping up and finding lanes in the pocket. We all knew Portis was slowing down and becoming a between the tackles guy.

What Zorn needs to do is not try to put square pegs in round holes and make sure he understands the players strengths and weaknesses and plays to their strengths.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by Beemnseven

I thought it was good to hear something positive about Chad Rinehart.

About the credibility issue -- I've thought about this too. Can only football experts or coaches comment on what they see on film? I mean, can't anybody look at a football game and see that a wideout has trouble getting separation? Is the person who makes that statement somehow less credible because he isn't a football coach?

It's not quantum physics we're talking about here.

Yeah, I agree.

However, more of the same in other areas:

-Struggling in pass pro (Samuels included, which is troubling)
-Portis a shadow of his former self
-Thomas and Kelly slow/struggling
-Poor route combinations hurting the passing game (playcalling issue, or playbook issue?)
-Campbell with poor footwork, slow delivery, long windup

Anybody curious just what in the hell Jim Zorn is looking at when he says "we're improving?" Not a good sign when the head coach thinks you're an improving team right after you just lost to a team that hasn't won in 20 months.

I am really happy that Rinehart looks like a gamer though.