The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

HanburgerHelper wrote:In the truly dark years, you'd never watch the game until the end.

cleg wrote:

HanburgerHelper wrote:In the truly dark years, you'd never watch the game until the end.

I did.

Skinna Mob wrote:As much as last nights scenario reminded me of struggles from years past. I would have to agree on majority if not all of what HanburgerHelper stated. The sky ISNT falling, if the players quit on Zorn then that would be different. Give the team and the new coach a chance to correct the mistakes!!!

And did you see that wicked CP block? Goodness.

BurgundyandGoldfaith wrote:I did too, even in Carolina, even against the Patriots.

DaveD1420 wrote:One game down, and Devin Thomas already has 1/2 the receptions and more than 1/3 the yards that B. Lloyd had all last season.

That makes me smile a little bit. Just a little bit.

SKINFAN wrote:Good positive things about the game:

We need work, yes, but the game identified and magnified all of them, now Zorn can start looking for ways to fix things.

DB's, breathe easy, we are thin but we have guys stepping up to shore things up. Landry, that Jacobs hit will prolly prolong his career a bit, coz we saw that after that one, he started taking better angles and not sacrificing his body. All this in one leg too, that guys a beast.

DE's Jason Taylor was unimpressive, but the knee didn't look like it bothered him at all. Andre Carter's going to be a beast, he caught Jacobs from behind a few times showing us his speed, got to the QB a hair too late a few times showing that he can shed his block. The line will generate pressure, soon, the rotation is good, only a matter of time before we find the right combo of players.

Moss, looks like he's at full speed, I give him a few games before he gets back to Tana of Old.

We just needed the receivers, and we got them

HanburgerHelper wrote: In the truly dark years, you'd never watch the game until the end.

We had some of the pieces for the WCO already; a back that can catch, an elite TE. We just needed the receivers, and we got them.

CanesSkins26 wrote:

We had some of the pieces for the WCO already; a back that can catch, an elite TE. We just needed the receivers, and we got them.

Sure we drafted two receivers. But until they are healthy/ready to play, we have one starting caliber receiver on this team. Thrash and ARE shouldn't be playing the types of minutes that they are. Late in the game when we were trying to go to Thrash it was ridiculous how much trouble he had getting open.

Wahoo McDaniels wrote:Sure, one aspect of what I was talking about is having a coach more than a couple years, but the more important aspect is the wild pendulum swings that we take. Run - Pass - Run - Pass. When the Steelers went for a new head coach, they went after a guy who exemplified the past two coaches....defense first, run the football. Its the vision from the Rooney family of what Steeler football is. While the results with Timlin are still questionable, there were no wild moves that needed to be made to bring in his packages. We have to bring in entirely new pieces or restructure drafts to compensate for whatever new structure that comes along. We went for a receiver only draft for the first 3 rounds, which can only have detrimental effects on the rest of the team. When you restructure entire teams every couple years, you can't build from season to season.

Wahoo McDaniels wrote:

Wahoo McDaniels wrote:Sure, one aspect of what I was talking about is having a coach more than a couple years, but the more important aspect is the wild pendulum swings that we take. Run - Pass - Run - Pass. When the Steelers went for a new head coach, they went after a guy who exemplified the past two coaches....defense first, run the football. Its the vision from the Rooney family of what Steeler football is. While the results with Timlin are still questionable, there were no wild moves that needed to be made to bring in his packages. We have to bring in entirely new pieces or restructure drafts to compensate for whatever new structure that comes along. We went for a receiver only draft for the first 3 rounds, which can only have detrimental effects on the rest of the team. When you restructure entire teams every couple years, you can't build from season to season.

Today's Wash Post seems to support my earlier statements pretty well. Jason La Canfora writes.....
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Some scouts and executives believe Campbell is a poor fit for the West Coast offense, with his size and skills favoring seven-step drops and more deep throws, instead of the three-step drops and quick, rhythmic cadence of Zorn's style. "When I watch that team, I think something's going to have to give," said one NFL executive who has studied Campbell closely and believes he could succeed as a drop-back passer. "Is it the scheme or the quarterback? At some point either the coach is going to have to change what he does to fit the quarterback, or they're going to need a different quarterback."

Zorn discounted the notion Campbell might not be a perfect fit for this offense but was honest about the length of time necessary to grasp it fully. He spoke again yesterday about how "wild" Pro Bowl passer Matt Hasselbeck was in his first season in Seattle with Zorn as quarterbacks coach, even after Hasselbeck's four years as a backup in the same system in Green Bay, but said Campbell has enough talent to overcome any hiccups.

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Somebody tell Zorn he doesn't have 4 years for Campbell to learn the offense. If it takes that long, Zorn will be back teaching QB's at Boise State.

Besides, Campbell it looks likes ey's not really fitting in with the WCO through pre-season or the 1st game. Doesn't seem to be a good enough blocker to help out or get off the line fast enough to get into his pattern. We may see Fred Davis a lot sooner than planned if this continues. I wouldn't be suprised to see ey working more of his H-Back and Slot in the future and not much actually as an end.

Give Zorn, 'Skins some time to grow

GRANT PAULSEN:

Date published: 9/7/2008

IT MUST BE late Dec- ember, with the end of the NFL season drawing near. The Washington Redskins have to be several games under .500.

Wait, what? The playoffs aren't about to start? Oh, wait, that's right, it's barely September and 30 NFL teams still haven't played a regular-season game. I've spent too much time in Redskins country this week.

I don't know if you've heard, but the sky is falling. And the rain that has been pelting our area for the last few days isn't leaving. I mean ever.

Forgive my sarcasm, but the response to Washington's season-opening loss to the Giants on Thursday has been excessive. Humorous is a more fitting description.

Jason Campbell should be benched and Colt Brennan should start. Jim Zorn isn't capable and Greg Blatche can't run a defense. Gregg Williams should have been retained, and where is Joe Gibbs when you need him?

Those are just a few of the post-loss opinions that I found to be particularly entertaining.

This state of panic is normal after a loss. If the Redskins lose, they are really bad; if they win, they are on their way to a title. But this terror--after just one loss--seems different.

Step back from the ledge for a second. Things could have been worse than they turned out. The Redskins suffered a nine-point loss on the road against the defending Super Bowl Champions.

Was Washington sharp at any point? Not even close. Did the Redskins look like a playoff team? No chance.

A better question would be whether they should have been expected to.

Zorn was coaching his first game. He was calling plays and guiding a team for the first time, and it showed.

Does that mean he's incompetent or that his hiring was a mistake? Not quite. Maybe if he had been hired to coach for those 60 minutes alone, but he signed a five-year deal.

Campbell made no game-changing plays, but he also didn't do anything to hurt Washington. He's made 21 career starts. Do you realize that he has a better touchdown-to-interception ratio than Peyton Manning did through 21 games? He's also thrown half as many picks as Manning had at this point.

Manning never got benched.

It's also worth noting that Campbell was playing in his first game in a new offense. He wasn't going to throw for 300 yards and a bunch of scores on Thursday. Those kind of dramatics may happen in the movies, but the Meadowlands isn't Hollywood and Zorn isn't any closer to being Steven Spielberg than he is to being Joe Gibbs.

Yes, the offense was lethargic, the defense missed too many tackles, and the coaches were outcoached. But that doesn't mean mass changes should be made.

Had the entire game played out the way the first quarter did, it might be more understandable for people to reach for a panic button. But as the game progressed, so did Washington's defense. The offense eventually should follow suit.

It may take Campbell several games to feel comfortable in the new scheme, and Zorn might not manage the clock flawlessly right away. But that's to be expected when a team makes massive schematic and coaching changes.

The notion, however, that the Redskins should replace their quarterback or coach after one loss is ludicrous. Besides, if you're panicking now, what will you do if things really get bad?

HanburgerHelper wrote:Reading the posts on this is funny sometimes as everyone wants to say I told you so (FinNasty) or I can't take losing anymore and I'm glad I trashed my season tickets (cleg).

Look, the sky isn't falling. If we have patience in what Zorn and the front office is doing, I believe this will turn around.