Vision Quest: Close But No Cigar

After the Redskin loss on Monday night I sat around trying to think of exactly who we should be blaming for the loss. Sure the easy answer would be John Hall who missed the 48 yard FG to tie the game. And for those of us Danny Smith haters out there, a group I am proud to be associated with, we could point to a general malaise of the coverage units and even Punter Derrick Frost whose 31 yard punt set up a Minnesota FG which was the margin of victory. Some will point to the defense that could not generate a pass rush all night and dropped 3 interception opportunities. And of course there is the vaunted Saunders offense that produced 16 points in the first half including 3 FGs inside 27 yards, but none in the second half.

All these options are right but I have come to another conclusion: Maybe Joe Gibbs has not spread himself thin enough.



In giving up his play calling duties to Al Saunders this year Coach Gibbs has become the ultimate CEO. He delegates Responsibility to Gregg Williams for the Defense, Al Saunders for the offense, and Danny Smith for special teams and rarely if ever intervenes. And up until Monday I thought this was a very good thing. We all know Coach Gibbs is up there in years and a diabetic. We want him to spend more time on his health so he can stay with the Redskins through his contract and beyond.

But in doing so we may have given up something that we rarely appreciated about a Gibbs coached team, and that is the second half adjustment. Rarely did the Redskins over the past two years play as poorly in the 2nd half as they did last Monday. It was the offense though that bears the brunt of this criticism. After scoring 16 points in the first half, they put up a goose egg in the second half. As the rookie coach for the Vikings sent wave after wave of pressure at him, Saunders still went back to the same plays he used in the first half. He was out coached, plain and simple. I doubt Joe Gibbs would have been caught so flat footed.

Now I am not saying we should fire all the coaches and work Gibbs into the ground. But there is a happy medium here. And I think it is already happening. If you watched his post-game press conferences this week I think you see a more determined coach. Ultimately this could be a blessing in disguise and spark a productive run by the Redskins. And at the very least it will focus the entire team on the Dallas game this week.

We shouldn’t panic over losing the first game of the season. After all of last year’s playoff teams, Chicago, Denver, Carolina, & Seattle all lost their first game of the season. They rebounded well and fought their place into the playoffs. All of those teams won their next game and it is important to note that a couple of teams that just missed the playoffs last year, Dallas & Minnesota, both started 0-2. It is important we go into Dallas and come away with a victory or we may dig ourselves too much of a hole to get out of.

And if not, I blame Tom Cruise.

5 Things We Don’t Know Now

Every game we learn a little bit more about the 2006 Redskins. But after a loss like Monday more questions are presented then answers. Here are 5 things we may know less about then we did last week.

Why did we trade for TJ Ducketts? Look I know the standard line is that he has not been in the offense long enough but it just does not wash right for me. Trading a 3rd round pick next year for a back that only is going to serve in goal line situations and is not the main backup even when our starting running back is only taking ½ the snaps due to injury. Not to mention he is on a one year contract as well.

What is the Saunders offense capable of? Too many check downs and too conservative of play calling prevented us from seeing what the Saunders offense is. We need to open it up more this week and the following weeks and trust the players to protect the lead while making plays.

What is the Gregg Williams defense capable of? We gave up so many 3rd and longs that I looked for George Edwards to be roaming the sidelines. Where is the pass rush that Andre carter was supposed to provide? What abut the run defense which consistently gave up positive yards all game long? How many interceptions can you drop all game long? This is not the defense we were used to the last two years and despite only giving up 19 points had a very sub-par day.

What is the Joe Bugel line capable of? Keeping with the assistant coaching theme, our line protection seems to have taken a step back from last year, despite being relatively injury free all off season. Only the savvy play of Brunell kept him from being planted more times then a daisy in March. The protection simply has to get better or else Brunell will be diving and ducking for his life all night long.

Why is Danny Smith the special teams coach? It’s not just the John Hall miss, nor the Frost inconsistency; it is the absolute refusal to bring in real competition for them in the pre-season that we are paying for right now. Even when they are successful they look bad. Hall’s first FG looked like a wounded duck going through the uprights. And when Frost pinned Minnesota on the 2 it was a real lucky bounce. The kick was high and long and dropped in the middle of the field inside the 5. Nine times out of ten that rolls into the end zone. If it wasn’t for Randle El the whole teams units would be worth a used pair of socks. On second thought the socks could keep my feet warm, even if they did stink.

Looking Ahead. The Cowboys. I think Joe Gibbs got it right when he said that Dallas had some of the ugliest fans in the world. The only thing that made last week even palatable was the fact that the Cowboys lost as well. I hate them more then I hate reality TV. In fact I am sure that Emmit Smith on Dancing with the Stars is a sure sign of the apocalypse. So of course I want the Redskins to win badly.

However this is not the standard rivalry game. Both teams are 0-1 and the loser of this game will be in a big hole at 0-2. I know it is early in the season but this is as close to a must win game as you can get. The NFC East is stacked and going 0-2 at this stage could be an insurmountable deficit.

But this is not a cakewalk. Those of you looking fondly on the 2 wins against Dallas last year need to realize we are not the same team that played them. We may be better, but we have not gelled into a cohesive force. Owens and Glenn are formidable receivers that are mismatched against our injured and depleted secondary. Springs will most likely miss the game and Prioleau is now out for the year. That will mean Taylor will have to play coverage more and can not be lined up man to man on Owens. Julius Jones seemed to emerge last week as a viable running back in the NFL as he rushed well against Jacksonville, a premier defensive team.

Look for GW and Saunders to change up their playbook from last week. You will see more zone coverage to accommodate the weak secondary. This will cause us to blitz less and the front four will need to generate a pass rush. Sure Bledsoe is a statue but given time he can be accurate. Portis should get more carries but I would not be surprised to see Betts start one more game and let Portis take the full load of work against Houston.

That’s it for now until next time Hail to the Redskins

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