Wednesday, October 22, 2003

Bugel Pays Redskins A Visit (washingtonpost.com)

I was excited about the prospect of Bugel rejoining the Skins but was disappointed when I read in the article that it was only one day of watching film. It doesn't sounds like Bugel will be joining the team on a regular basis.

I think the solution is, and it might be too simplistic, but use MAX PROTECTION. If they blitz, leave your backs and tight ends in to block! Gardner, Coles, and McCants are talented enough to find holes and catch balls if Ramsey has enough time to get it there.

Spurrier's approach seems to welcome the blitz and take the chance for the big play. More often than not, it fails, either through a hurried incompletion or an interception or a sack and possible fumble.

Mike Martz in St. Louis has started protecting Bulger with Max Protect and Bulger is looking very good. Norv Turner and Gibbs would often use Max Protect to give their QBs the time they needed.

I think Max Protect definitely favors the offense because it clogs up pass-rushing lanes for the defense. It's not as easy to go around or toss someone aside because there are so many bodies alongside each other.

Spurrier -- Use MAX PROTECT! Please! Ramsey needs it.

Thursday, October 09, 2003

Washington Redskins

The Redskins could not have landed a better receiver than Laveranues Coles. This article epitomizes why he is one of the best receivers in the league. He hasn't done year in and year out yet but he will. It's the drive to succeed and constantly prove to others that he belongs. The drive for perfection, to constantly improve one's game, to find flaws when there are few, are the traits that separate great players from great talents.

The only thing that can derail him is a devastating injury that leaves him at less than 100%. Even if he suffered one (knock on wood), his drive is such that he would might back at 80% of his physical ability but give 120% in courage to make up for it. His drive comes across as so strong that he would be a successful post-injury player.

Ramsey should be very glad that he can count on throwing to Coles for several more years.

Wednesday, October 08, 2003

Arrington to Sapp: Don't Tread on Us (washingtonpost.com)

How ironic that this article comes out only a day after I'm shredding the Skins for lack of intensity. I love reading articles like this but for now, it's only talk. We have yet to see the Skins show concentration and intensity week in and week out, performing at a high level because they want to, because they expect to, and because they can.

It's one thing to be intense and talk a good game. It's another thing to show it game-time. Let's see no penalties out of LA. No unsportsmanlike conducts. Keeping teammates in line. That's the kind of leadership he needs to show.

Tuesday, October 07, 2003

It Seems Like They're Only P(l)aying for Keeps (washingtonpost.com)

This article points out perfectly what's wrong with this year's team and why they won't go far in the playoffs, if they even get there at all. You can see in it how the defense picks up opposing players upon conclusion of the play. You can see it in penalty after penalty. There's no consistent serious intensity that carries throughout the game.

"Attitude reflects leadership," says Julius to Bertier in Remember the Titans. For all the great things LaVar Arrington has going for him, he is a leader on the team. He has fun playing football and it shows. For the die-hard fan, he doesn't take it seriously enough. When Boswell mentions some players joking after the game, it's not hard for me to imagine that LaVar was one of them.

Now is the time for the experienced leaders like Bruce Smith and Armstead to step forward and make a speech about how to achieve excellence, how it takes discipline, seriousness and dedication. And fun comes along with it -- but that's not the focus.

The team is more disciplined than when Norv was at the helm. No doubt about that. But less so than when Marty was around. Edwards is an example of that. He trusts his players a bit too much for my tastes and watching them play out this year, I can see myself writhing in agony at each blown assignment due to freelancing. As much as I hope it's not true, I feel that the abandoned responsibilities will keep the defense from maximizing it's potential. It's the typical case of a team with a lot of talent underachieving.

So some reporters write that the Skins have been competitive in every game, they can use this as a moral victory, blah blah blah. That's baloney. When an opportunity arises (like this, with the best collection of talent and no-injuries that the Skins have had in years), you have to take full advantage. Too much changes year to year to "wait 'til next year."

Next year, Bailey could be gone. Ramsey and/or Coles could get injured. Any number of things could happen that rip apart the cohesiveness and talent nucleus that they share this year, here and now. And because they don't have the discipline to see it through, they're losing out on a golden opportunity. Another contract year for so many talented players will play itself out and the Skins could easily have nothing to show for it.

Frustrating is a word tossed around often these days around Redskin Park. That doesn't even begin to describe it.