Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover
 

[url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/26/redskins-insider-make-do-or-makeover/]Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover - Washington Times[/url]

Can't wait till this season starts!!!

Re: Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover
 

Good article, tells it like it is...You would think the FO would want a quality kicker when our offense struggles to score and the our defense keeps the game close, we need every point we can get and to lead the league in missed field goals is absolutely pathetic and unacceptable. I like the comment with Samuels and the O-Line "Because the decision-makers have neglected to draft a player to groom or fill in for him," Yeah thinking ahead and building with the draft for some reason doesnt resonate with the FO. Sorry to sound negative, but our season hinges on the health and play of the O-Line and it just frustrated me to read the article and to be reminded. Hopefully the guys we brought in will work out.

Re: Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover
 

To go along with the blurb about Chris Samuels, the entire offensive line has me seriously worried and tailoring my expectations. I have this sneaking suspicion that we will not be able to stay healthy all season, which in turn will handicap our playcalling and lead to mixed results on the offensive end. I will even go as far as to say even with a perfectly healthy offensive line we are mediocre at best as a unit.

I would say that if we fail to reach the playoffs this season and it can even partially be attributed to the offensive line, i think we should blow up the majority of our line (with the exception of dockery and maybe samuels depending on health) and start over there (i.e. draft, trade, beg, borrow, deal, whatever). Stop gaps wont make us an elite unit there.

Re: Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover
 

[quote=Rajmahal33;570300][B]I will even go as far as to say even with a perfectly healthy offensive line we are mediocre at best as a unit.[/B]

I would say that if we fail to reach the playoffs this season and it can even partially be attributed to the offensive line, i think we should blow up the majority of our line (with the exception of dockery and maybe samuels depending on health) and start over there (i.e. draft, trade, beg, borrow, deal, whatever). Stop gaps wont make us an elite unit there.[/quote]I wouldn't. I'd say when healthy they can be top ten in the NFL. The exact same line from 2008 (with an upgraded LG) was considered elite in the first half. Led the league in rushing and provided JC with excellent protection.

Re: Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover
 

With a healthy OL last year we were 6-2, Portis was being mentioned as the league MVP, and JC had zero INTs.

Re: Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover
 

[quote=Mattyk72;570307]With a healthy OL last year we were 6-2, Portis was being mentioned as the league MVP, and JC had zero INTs.[/quote]

And it was a brand new system for JC, which kind of debunks the consistency thoery;) I just hope the 2-6 finish can be pinned entirely on the O-line break-down and not on Zorn being "figured out".

Re: Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover
 

While it was a good stretch for us and a stat that people often refer to, if u really look at our 6-2 start last year you realize a couple of things:

1) We won a lot of close games (ALL one possession differences)

2) We played a lot of poor teams including three of the worst: DET(0-16), CLE (4-12), and STL (2-14)...and actually lost to St. Louis largely because of poor offensive line play.

3) We only beat two playoff teams, eeking out victories against Philly and Arizona (at home). Also it was pretty apparent that neither of those teams were in their playoff form at that point in the season.

4) The only team we beat with a formidable pass rush/D-line during that stretch was Dallas (by 2 points)...basically our 6-2 record wasn't necessarily indicative of superior offensive line play. In fact whenever we played teams with good D-lines we consistently failed: Baltimore, Pittsburgh, first time against Philly (the 2nd time we beat them in an ugly 10-3 defensive struggle), both times to the Giants, and the 2nd time Dallas.

I forgot who said it (maybe Randle El), at the bye week, it was pretty apparent that our 6-3 record was deceptive and we were lucky to be in the position we were. I think it was pretty clear by the way we finished that we were a mediocre team (including the offensive line) in 2008.

Certainly, our offensive line has turned out many great, clutch performances over the years but i guess my main point is that they have lacked consistency and reliability over the past few years. This has hurt us down the stretch in becoming a perennial playoff contender. I think as a group they are aging and their play will begin to drop off quickly. Their best days are definitely behind them...

Re: Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover
 

[quote=Rajmahal33;570316]While it was a good stretch for us and a stat that people often refer to, if u really look at our 6-2 start last year you realize a couple of thing:

1) We won a lot of close games (ALL one possession differences)

2) We played a lot of poor teams including three of the worst: DET(0-16), CLE (4-12), and STL (2-14)...and actually lost to St. Louis largely because of poor offensive line play.

3) We only beat two playoff teams, eeking out victories against Philly and Arizona (at home). Also it was pretty apparent that neither of the latter teams was in their playoff form when they played us

4) The only team we beat with a formidable pass rush/D-line during that stretch was Dallas (by 2 points)...basically our 6-2 record wasn't necessarily indicative of superior offensive line play. In fact whenever we played teams with good D-lines we consistently failed: Baltimore, Pittsburgh, first time against Philly (the 2nd time we beat them in an ugly 10-3 defensive struggle), both times to the Giants, and the 2nd time Dallas.

I forgot who said it (maybe Randle El), at the bye week, it was pretty apparent that our 6-3 record was deceptive and we were lucky to be in the position we were. I think it was pretty clear by the way we finished that we were a mediocre team (including the offensive line) in 2008.

Certainly, our offensive line has turned out many great, clutch performances over the years but i guess my main point is that they have lacked consistency and reliability during the past few years. This has hurt us down the stretch in becoming a perennial playoff contender. I think as a group they are aging and their play will begin to drop off quickly. Their best days are definitely behind them...[/quote]


The health of the line was the main reason for the 2nd half collapse. Just looking at the bottom line, 6-2 when healthy, 2-6 when banged up.

I'm not going to bother getting into all the particulars, because the 2-6 finish could be nitpicked apart just the same to show they were just a few plays away from finishing 10-6.

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Absolutely you could nitpick for the positive or the negative...so you would agree that over the course of the season, you are as good as your record (everything tends to even out, law of averages and so on) and can only be judgedt hat way.

If so...we were 8-8. We allowed 38 sacks (10th in the league). We were in the middle of the pack offensively over the whole season. We were on the fringe of making the playoffs and we didn't. Those are the facts.

I think with all of that considered and through avidly watching all of the games, our offensive line was a mediocre unit. Good at times, but unreliable at others...basically inconsistent

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Tells it like it is. Good article.

Re: Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover
 

[quote=Rajmahal33;570316]While it was a good stretch for us and a stat that people often refer to, if u really look at our 6-2 start last year you realize a couple of things....[/quote]
Yes, you do. I don't care who you play, an average of 155 YPG rushing over 8 games is impressive. Also consider against the Eagles - 203, Cowboys - 161. Campbell's average per game QB rating was 99.58.

Not sure how the STL game was the OL's fault. JC was 18-26 for 208 and the Skins racked up 181 on the ground. Is it the OL's fault that Cooley fumbled? How do you blame the "OL" for a freak bone-head play by Kendall? You don't win too many games when you put the ball on the ground 4 times and lose 3 of them.

[quote]Certainly, our offensive line has turned out many great, clutch performances over the years but i guess my main point is that they have lacked consistency and reliability over the past few years. This has hurt us down the stretch in becoming a perennial playoff contender. I think as a group they are aging and their play will begin to drop off quickly. Their best days are definitely behind them...[/quote]I agree age/injury is catching up to the OL as a whole. Hopefully Dock, Bridges, Williams, Heyer, Rinehart turn out to be healthy & productive this year. We need a new C ASAP. R. Thomas probably has one good full year left in the tank. Samuels hopefully 2-3. Unfortunately the draft hasn't been kind for us on the OL front, but we have restocked our WR corp and Orakpo was a must at # 13 this year. Let's have a bit of optimism, at least until our first regular season game.

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[quote=Slingin Sammy 33;570306]I wouldn't. I'd say when healthy they can be top ten in the NFL. The exact same line from 2008 (with an upgraded LG) was considered elite in the first half. Led the league in rushing and provided JC with excellent protection.[/quote]

Imo the OL was decent in pass protection good at run blocking during the 1st half.

I don't think at any point we had the type of OL that could line up and dominate.
A great OL imo should be able to run against 7/8 man fronts, like the Giants. We cannot.
Imo our passing game and running game complement each other.
Neither is good enough on their own to hang your hat on.

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[quote=Slingin Sammy 33;570332]

Not sure how the STL game was the OL's fault. JC was 18-26 for 208 and the Skins racked up 181 on the ground. Is it the OL's fault that Cooley fumbled? How do you blame the "OL" for a freak bone-head play by Kendall? You don't win too many games when you put the ball on the ground 4 times and lose 3 of them. [/quote]

Let's not forget that the defense, maybe worn out from being on the field all day due to the 4 turnovers, couldn't hang onto the lead. Bulger had all day to throw and hit Avery in single coverage to set-up the winning field goal. Also not the offensive line's fault.

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If JC can become a consistent play every week we will scare alot of teams... I believe he will and we will shine!!!!

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[quote=44Deezel;570340]Let's not forget that the defense, maybe worn out from being on the field all day due to the 4 turnovers, couldn't hang onto the lead. Bulger had all day to throw and hit Avery in single coverage to set-up the winning field goal. Also not the offensive line's fault.[/quote]

This single play, the shock of it, and amount of time Bulger had, probably single handedly ensured AH was coming here this year. It was unbelievable to watch such a devastating loss after JC and the offense had gotten it together and put a good 4th qtr in the books.

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note - the only small forgiveness to that game in the season was Dallas' loss to them shortly thereafter :) I hate Dallas.

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Hmmm... The Post has a blog called "Redskins Insider" and now the Times is using the same tag. Wonder how this will play out.

Good article. Pretty obvious at this point, but well put.

My big question is this: can the D actually WIN us some games outright this year? Not just holding opponents down statistically, but really winning games by scoring or setting up very short fields? We've spent a lot of cash on the D. If they can put some points/TOs up, the offense may not need to explode into WC paradise.

Agreed about the o-line worries. I almost feel like we shouldn't play Samuels at all in the preseason. Save him for when it counts!

Re: Redskins Insider: Make do or makeover
 

We'll now be known as Warpath Redskins Insider

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i agree that when healthy the line can be an elite unit ....

it is one of, if not THE key to our offenses performance this year

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[quote=JWsleep;570354]Agreed about the o-line worries. I almost feel like we shouldn't play Samuels at all in the preseason. Save him for when it counts![/quote]

That would be pretty good idea, however it might hinges the rebonding with Doc..

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One other thing to consider relates to the widely accepted idea that if the redskins do poorly (or even just miss the playoffs) this year, that both campbell and zorn are gone. As much faith as I have in the two of them, I really don't think DS will hesitate one second before getting rid of them if things go sour. The bigger problem I have with this is that the redskins don't play well, I really don't think it will be either campbell or zorn's fault - the most likely culprit being o-line injuries. While this may be pessimistic, I can't help but have bad dreams about another mediocre season peppered with injuries that end with a major overhaul of the team. I'm not usually a worrier, but man I would be so much more confident had we picked up a quality starter at RT/RG.