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Redskins Can't Find Their Offense in St. Louis
Rams 28, Redskins 3
By Jason La Canfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 28, 2004; Page D01
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 27 -- Joe Gibbs's old protege, quarterback Doug Williams, sat in the press box above the 50-yard line of the Edward Jones Dome Friday night, picking his former offense apart. Williams, a player personnel executive for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, watched every nuance of the Washington Redskins' 28-3, blowout loss to the St. Louis Rams with a keen eye, preparing to face Gibbs and the Redskins in the regular season opener two weeks from now.
Williams, who led Gibbs's Redskins to a Super Bowl championship in 1988, admitted that his former coach was still revealing little of his offense in the exhibition -- Washington's fourth of five preseason games. But with the NFL anticipating the return of the Hall of Fame coach after an 11-year absence, opponents are seeking any possible insight into what to expect.
What Williams and a fellow scout from Tampa Bay observed was another tepid performance from the Redskins' offense, the defense's worst showing this month and another shaky outing from quarterback Patrick Ramsey, who started the game but seems destined to back up veteran Mark Brunell, who played only the third quarter, when the real games begin.
The Redskins also suffered another injury to a starting offensive tackle, as Chris Samuels sprained his ankle in the second quarter and did not return. Team officials called the injury minor -- X-rays were negative -- but Samuels's bookend tackle Jon Jansen is already out for the season with an Achilles' tendon injury, making an offensive line that struggled last season a potential trouble spot again.
Gibbs played his first-team offense, minus Brunell, for the first half and it sputtered, collecting 107 total yards.
Gibbs did expose a few more wrinkles of his offense, using some of the motion that perplexed defenses during his first tenure in Washington. The H-back -- a Gibbs trademark position that is part fullback, part tight end -- was active in the backfield, moving up to the line, going in motion to the right or left and often settling back near where he started. Wide receiver James Thrash sometimes lined up in the backfield, moved to the line, then went out wide. One of those shifts had the Rams confused in the first quarter, as cornerback Aeneas Williams waved his hands and shouted to get the attention of his teammates. Thrash found himself open in the back of the end zone on the play, but Ramsey could not connect on the pass.
Ramsey, entering his third NFL season, finished the game going 5 for 10 for 81 yards and missed open receivers on several occasions. He is 15 for 37 for 196 yards in the preseason with one interception and no touchdowns. Ramsey's swagger returned on one pretty deep throw late in the first half, however. The Redskins were pinned at the 12 when Ramsey spotted Taylor Jacobs in man-to-man coverage down the left flank. Ramsey lofted a perfect toss over Jacob's shoulder, but the wide receiver fumbled away the 44-yard gain and St. Louis recovered. It was a mistake that could loom large for Jacobs, with teams set to cut their rosters to 65 by Tuesday.
Washington mustered its only three points in the first quarter, with Ramsey in the game, on a drive that was aided by several penalties. Starting running back Clinton Portis carried three times for eight yards before making way for Ladell Betts, who made his preseason debut after recovering from a hamstring injury. Betts, facing stiff competition to be Portis's backup, broke off a 10-yard gain on his first carry. But he was limited to four handoffs before leaving the game, as the Redskins are taking no chances with his injury.
Nothing went unnoticed by Williams, who has watched at least three of Washington's four games to this point. He took note of every personnel change and charted the game as the Buccaneers scouts shouted out the numbers of the Redskins on the field for each offensive package. They scanned the sidelines with dueling binoculars trying to discern any hand signal that might indicate what play was coming next.
In the end, it may not mean much come opening day at FedEx Field on Sept. 12 -- "They aren't showing much," Williams said -- but Gibbs was hoping the Redskins would build off a strong performance last weekend in Miami and not take a step back.
The Redskins' defense, which had looked good up to now and played the game without injured starting linebackers LaVar Arrington and Mike Barrow -- was not sharp Friday. St. Louis's complex attack and speedy wide receivers carved away chunks of yardage at a time and used the artificial turf to their advantage.
The Rams' first scoring drive in the second quarter included an 18-yard run and receptions of 18 and 19 yards. One play after Jacobs fumbled, wideout Torry Holt beat cornerback Fred Smoot to the inside and backup quarterback Chris Chandler hit him for a 58-yard pickup that led to a one-yard touchdown plunge by Chandler.
St. Louis went ahead 21-3 early in the second half and had its way with Washington's second-team defense as well. The Rams racked up 343 yards through three quarters and found gaping holes in the line and the secondary.
Gregg Williams, Washington's assistant head coach-defense, induced false-start penalties from St. Louis early in the game by running aggressive schemes with linebacker Marcus Washington. Rookie safety Sean Taylor again provided the defensive highlight, scaling high to intercept a pass just before halftime to give him three interceptions -- one for a touchdown -- and two forced fumbles in four preseason games.
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Redskins Notebook
First-String Defense Has Second-Rate Day
By Nunyo Demasio
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 28, 2004; Page D04
ST. LOUIS, Aug. 27 -- The Washington Redskins' defense has shown promise during the preseason under Gregg Williams, the assistant head coach-defense, after floundering last year. Employing blitzes with abandon, the first team hadn't allowed a touchdown in the first three preseason games. Conversely, the St. Louis Rams' offense had sputtered, with the starting unit not scoring a touchdown.
Washington viewed Friday night's game as a true test because the Rams' offense has highly skilled players such as wideouts Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce and tailback Marshall Faulk. But Washington's defense struggled against the Greatest Show On Turf, as the Rams' offense is known, during a 28-3 loss at Edward Jones Dome. Washington, which had confounded quarterbacks with well-disguised blitzes during its first three games, was often exploited when it tried to pressure the St. Louis quarterbacks.
One of the worst breakdowns occurred in the third quarter, on first and 10 from the Redskins 35-yard line. Rams quarterback Chris Chandler, subbing for Marc Bulger, completed a 35-yard pass to wideout Shaun McDonald, who beat cornerback Ade Jimoh and brushed aside cornerback Ralph Brown's tackle to scamper into the end zone.
Washington's starters didn't fare much better than its reserves. Holt torched Washington's secondary in the second quarter, with a performance that included a 58-yard reception against cornerback Fred Smoot to set up a touchdown. Holt used his speed to find a seam between Smoot and safety Sean Taylor before hauling in Chandler's perfect pass and taking the ball to Washington's 1-yard line. On the next play, Chandler scored on a quarterback sneak to give St. Louis a 14-3 lead.
Betts Makes Debut
After being plagued with a hamstring injury for much of training camp, running back Ladell Betts made his preseason debut Friday night in a bid to make the team. Betts showed flashes of the talent that made him a 2002 second-round pick, yet didn't return after a first-quarter appearance, apparently because of his injury.
Betts rushed four times for 15 yards. He helped the Redskins take a 3-0 lead, filling in for Clinton Portis on Washington's first drive. Betts's best run came on first and 10 from Washington's 42-yard line. He sprinted off right tackle for 10 yards to St. Louis's 48-yard line.
Gibbs initially projected Betts as Portis's backup. But Gibbs emphasizes durability, particularly from running backs, and Betts's injury doesn't help his cause. The Redskins will have a tough decision, likely keeping two backups from among Betts, Rock Cartwright, John Simon and Sultan McCullough. Chad Morton, a part-time runner, is assured a job as the lead kick and punt returner.
Samuels Apparently Okay
With right tackle Jon Jansen out for the season after rupturing his right Achilles' tendon, the Redskins breathed a sigh of relief when X-rays for left tackle Chris Samuels's sprained ankle were negative. With about nine minutes left in the second quarter, Samuels suffered the injury after Cartwright fell on him near the line of scrimmage. Samuels left the game and didn't return.
Air Coryell Flies In
Don Coryell, the legendary offensive mastermind, returned to St. Louis for Friday night's game. Coryell created the famed "Air Coryell" passing attack, which heavily influenced many NFL coaches, particularly Gibbs and St. Louis Coach Mike Martz.
Gibbs got his start as an assistant under Coryell at San Diego State, then worked for Coryell in St. Louis and San Diego before turning into a Hall of Fame head coach by winning three Super Bowls in Washington. Martz, who invited Coryell, 79, to the game, installed the framework of Coryell's offense after joining St. Louis in 1999.
Coryell's top assistant in San Diego was Ernie Zampese, who Gibbs has hired for his second NFL stint as an offensive consultant.
"He meant a lot to me," Gibbs said of Coryell. "No ego, nicest person, but yet he was so intense that he portrayed that in everybody. He got ready to coach the game as if he was going to play. And he could portray that to the players. So the players knew he was for real. He was a real honest guy. He showed me that you don't have [to have] a huge ego and all those kinds of things."
Arrington Sits Out
LaVar Arrington (left-knee sprain) headlined a slew of Redskins who didn't make the trip because of injuries. Linebacker Mike Barrow (knee), tight end Fred Baxter( knee), linebacker Chris Clemons (hamstring), defensive end Phillip Daniels (abdominal strain), cornerback Walt Harris (calf) and offensive lineman Dwayne Morgan (knee) also did not play. . . . Andre Lott started at strong safety in place of Matt Bowen.
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As Far as Gibbs's System Goes, Ramsey Just Doesn't Get It
By Thomas Boswell
Saturday, August 28, 2004; Page D05
ST. LOUIS
Take a good look at Patrick Ramsey when he plays the second half of the Redskins' last preseason game next week at FedEx Field. Remember what the rugged, willing but befuddled and scatter-armed Ramsey looks like wearing a helmet. If Mark Brunell stays healthy, it may be quite a while before you witness Ramsey in Redskins combat again. The preseason that was supposed to be a quarterback competition is now a quarterback implosion.
On Friday night at the Edward Jones Dome, Ramsey overthrew a wide-open receiver in the end zone. On a sideline pattern, he heaved one pass so far over an open receiver's head that it almost beaned unsuspecting coaches near the bench. On other plays, he overthrew on Joe Gibbs's favorite deep pattern -- the fade -- or his miscommunications with receivers left him tossing the ball in one direction while they cut in another.
The Rams confused him. But perhaps just as much, the Gibbs system, one that usually requires lots of veteran acclimation, obviously has Ramsey flummoxed. In training camp practices Ramsey has explained how odd it feels to throw before his receiver has made his final cut. The trust between passer and receiver must be total. Now, as the season draws near and the quality of the opposition improves, it's becoming clear that Ramsey isn't close to mastering the Gibbs method. The pressure to keep his job, or at least make a good showing as the nominal incumbent, has apparently rattled him, too.
Last season, when Ramsey, 25, was swamped by pass rushers and pounded so mercilessly that a whole city winced for him, he managed a kind of brutal gallantry. In an offense unsuited to the NFL and without even a hint of a running game, Ramsey managed decent statistics, such as a 75.8 passer rating, while winning four games before a foot injury mercifully ended his year.
After just four preseason games it seems hard to believe that Ramsey could regress so quickly. Especially under the tutelage of a coach who got to the Hall of Fame, in part, because he could win titles with quarterbacks few others wanted. It was an NFL axiom that every quarterback, protected by Gibbs's blocking schemes and aided by his play-action passing game, got better as soon as Joe touched him. Not Ramsey. Not so far, anyway.
After a 5-for-10 passing night in a first half in which he generated only three points, Ramsey is now 15 for 37, with 196 yards, one interception, two fumbled snaps and zero touchdown passes. The realization is growing that, relative to most quarterbacks his age, Ramsey has had very rudimentary football schooling. In high school, he was nationally known as a javelin thrower as much or more than a quarterback. At Tulane, hardly a college power, he spent most of his time proving his courage behind poor offensive lines. Then, finally, as a Redskin, he spent two years of his career learning the one offensive system on the planet that is of no use whatsoever to an NFL quarterback: Steve Spurrier's chuck 'n' duck.
These are the times when good character, popularity with teammates, fine work habits and a history of physical courage under great duress will stand Ramsey in fine stead. If he played this poorly and had other NFL weaknesses besides, it might be easy for the Redskins to lose patience with his development. But in terms of physical gifts, a bright mind and an unassuming manner, Ramsey is practically a prototype.
If there's a silver lining, it's that Ramsey presumably now understands what Gibbs grasped as soon as he saw last season's tapes: He's not ready yet. Someday, probably. Now, learn the game from a master. When the Redskins signed Brunell, Ramsey initially made noises through his agent that he wanted to be traded, implying that he'd proved he had the NFL right stuff. Gibbs convinced him that he'd be given a fair chance in the preseason to keep his job.
The fair chance was given. Though Ramsey will play again in the second half against the Falcons next week, the verdict has, for all intents and purposes, arrived. If Brunell stays vertical, he plays.
Just as Ramsey was getting an abrupt reminder of his true place in the scheme of things, the Rams were providing the entire Redskins team with a rude reality check. Maybe the new Gibbs era actually began here on Friday night with this rude 28-3 reality check, courtesy of the gifted and extremely impolite Rams.
Welcome back, Joe. Remember what it's like to take a good one-sided licking?
When a team that went 5-11 last season visits the home of a 12-4 perennial powerhouse just two weeks before the season opens, that's what's supposed to happen. The proven quality team dominates, even when it plays sloppily. The struggling club that is trying to rebuild can't do anything right and, instead of discovering answers at key positions, finds itself left with more questions.
Yet until the Rams trotted off at halftime here with a 14-3 lead that could easily have been larger, it was easy to forget how far the Redskins have fallen in the 11 years since Gibbs left. Despite the largest payroll in NFL history, they are not merely a work in progress but, probably, like Ramsey, a work that has barely begun.
The preseason opener in Canton, Ohio, was a mere inspirational interlude as Gibbs took the Redskins onto the field just a block from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, where his bronze bust sits on view. His return to Washington as a coach two weeks ago at FedEx Field was far more a night of nostalgia than a football game. Even last week's visit to Miami proved to be meaningless because the Dolphins are a mess. Gibbs took pity on a team reduced to playing wide receivers as defensive backs.
This was the first real semi-test. And it wasn't pretty. The Rams had 179 yards of passing offense in the first half, with Torry Holt grabbing seven passes for 143 yards. Holt beat both Redskins starting cornerbacks, Shawn Springs and Fred Smoot, with imperious impartiality. He didn't seem to notice that either was even in the vicinity -- because, usually, they weren't.
The Redskins have time, and a reasonable schedule, on their side. Washington, thanks to its rotten record last year, has only six games with teams that made the playoffs a year ago. Also, Gibbs has barely shown any of his offense yet. Former Redskins quarterback Doug Williams, scouting for opening day opponent Tampa Bay, recognized virtually every Redskins play immediately and said, "He's still pretty vanilla."
One bitter night for Ramsey and many of his fellow Redskins should not leave too sour a taste. This night should just be a useful reminder that the Redskins, even with Gibbs leading the construction project, weren't rebuilt in a day.
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