Chris Luva Luva wrote:SkinsJock wrote:I did expect more from RG3 - he is looking rusty and I agree with CLL - in that he's not showing any mobility at all
I think, looking back... We fooled ourselves. Me included. The same way people fooled themselves about this defense.
PulpExposure wrote:I actually think CLL is right on with RG3 not being a pocket passer. But...since his legs aren't right, maybe this is his opportunity to learn how to be one. Think about how good this kid could be IF he had the traditional drop back ability, plus mobility. I hope he takes this time to learn how to read a defense from the pocket...that means more for the long term of this team than winning a game or two right now.
I think his legs are fine. He just doesn't have the skillset, he doesn't have the pocket awareness yet. Those were his deficiencies and he hasn't had a chance to work on them. His legs are more than capable enough to slide around in the pocket, it isn't natural to him.
The read option masked his weaknesses, just like it did for Pat White. The mask is done and you're seeing the incomplete QB that he is. It's a hard dose of reality that nobody really wants to own.
I hope you're wrong, but it sure looks like you could be right. I have a slightly different fear which is even worse than yours.
I'm really surprised .. as I think many are, that he's played the way he has so far, given his accuracy last year, even throwing on the run, the kid was on target. He's been all over the place these first two weeks .. and doesn't look sharp at all. I'm trying to remain optimistic about RG3 figuring this out ... he's being asked to play a different style than he's accustomed to playing, and perhaps that, combined with a lack of full confidence in the knee is causing him some anxiety and he's pressing too much, and not playing loose and relaxed as is his nature. But I also have a fear in the back of my mind that this team suffers the same problems from the two previous seasons before RG3, that RG3+Morris+read option covered up last year.
The whole situation rekindles in my mind the inability of Kyle to put a solid functioning and efficient offense on the field with three other QBs over the first two seasons .... and that last year's success was due primarily to Robert and Alfred and the read option really throwing defenses curve balls, that without that threat, we're back to the bad old days. Keep in mind that what we saw last year was NOT Kyle Shanahan's system .. it was a borrowed system resembling nothing like Kyle's offense that proved successful. And the even greater fear is, that unless they can figure this out, and devise a more traditional offense that doesn't require RG3 to be a tackling dummy/option running back, they're going to go back to last year's approach, and the Kid will not be able to endure the punishment that style of offense guarantees he'll receive.
As for defense, last week, I was giving a pass to them, because of how unknown the Eagle offense was and how badly our offense stunk the joint up .... but sadly, no such excuse is available for what happened yesterday. The packers are no mystery offense ... plenty of film on them and we were unable to stop anything they wanted to do.
What happened to the front 7 on this defense? We knew we were going to have a few growing pains with the rooks in the secondary, and that GB can throw the ball against anybody ... but they also ran the ball like the redskins were a high school defense ... then, throwing for a gazzillion yards on top of that. The defense was a literal embarrassment, and had the offense even presented a competitive challenge, the Packers could have scored as many points as they needed to win.
The only good news at this point is that there is nowhere to go but up ... as these first two weeks are about as bad as it can get. I don't recall seeing the Redskins being this bad on both sides at the same time, in a very long time. 0-2 doesn't bother me near as much as HOW we got there ... two miserable performances on both sides of the ball for a team who's supposed to be contenders? At some point ... you've got to start questioning the capability and wisdom of the ENTIRE coaching staff ... when you see this type of failure across the board ... when you see obvious no-no's like calling a damned pitch out in your own end zone ... that just reminds me of amateur hour ... there is a reason why you don't run those types of plays when you are backed inside the 10. And when you can't run 4 plays without a penalty ... and the only productive offense you're able to draw up gets your franchise QB beat to death ... you have a problem there. The fact is, we've not seen a successful Kyle Shanahan offense here ... we saw two years of failure, redeemed by a couple of extremely talented rookies running a college offense that took everyone by surprise. Now that the decision was made to return to the more traditional system, we once again see failure. Is this an inaccurate assessment?
The offensive failure is simply compounded by a defense, and particularly a secondary that has been a relative joke ever since Morris was brought in to coach them up .... how many players can you change? I mean, almost the entire team, save for a couple players have been hand chosen by Shanahan ... so you can't keep blaming lack of talent, especially when you're told by Shanahan himself that the team is so much better now, talent and depth wise, compared to when he first arrived in town? By making these claims, he's taking away the "lack of talent" excuse himself.
I know I'm probably in the severe minority on this opinion, but when you see such a dramatic, across the board failure like we've seen these past two weeks ... talent cannot continue to be the primary scapegoat. If the movie sucks and the actors suck .... you gotta start looking at the director.
