So, where is the 4th quarter playcalling criticism?

[rskinsfan10]

I've sat back and listened to alot of criticism from fans over the last couple of weeks about conservative playcalling in the 4th qt. It has been my contention that the playcalling has been okay, nothing spectacular, but not as bad as many would like for others to believe. In the 4th quarter today, the playcalling has pretty much been the same as it has been over these last few weeks. The difference: execution. Burns was calling pretty much the same run plays this week to burn clock. This week, the holes were there so that those drives could be sustained, that is the only difference.

As Doc mentioned last week, if some of the plays that went against us because of poor execution are successful, is Gibbs&Co. now geniuses?

[GolfFreak]

I thought the play calling was good in this game. I was totally shocked they threw on 3rd down (Cooley's TD) instead of a run that would keep the clock moving. Great play callling this week.

PS - Greg Williams called a good game too.

[Axegrinder]

I have one.
Our kickoffs suck.
Hall can't keep it in bounds,much less hit the endzone.

Playcalling: why are we passing it inside our 10 yd line[safety play].

[FanFromArizona]

To borrow the playoffs phrase from Jim Mora, Sr:

"CRITICISM? CRITICISM? Not after a win.":lol1:

[rskinsfan10]

I have one.
Our kickoffs suck.
Hall can't keep it in bounds,much less hit the endzone.I agree, but I was talking about playcalling. You're right though.

I think I will edit the title to be clearer.

[IowaSkinsFan]

I thought the playcalling before the half left a lot to be desired. Portis gained 7 on the first play, then Rock real off a large gainer. Prior to that play, the O wasn't in a hurry up at all. They burned a TO after the Rams were stopped on third down. I would think that you were going to try and do something with the next possession. After Rock's big run, they called the last TO. Then they run a WR screen with no TO's left that gained 0 yards.

The planning and playcalling on that whole series was questionable at best, IMO.

[bball7980]

I think Gibb's as always been a little on the conservative side. That is just Gibb's style. I don't mind it because Gibb's as won with this conservative game plan in the past. It is all about the players making the plays.

[Biggie]

I have to criticize the playcalling from the second-third. Too many punts, not enough execution from the offense. However, this week, we got better at the end, not worse.

[hail2skins]

I thought the playcalling before the half left a lot to be desired. Portis gained 7 on the first play, then Rock real off a large gainer. Prior to that play, the O wasn't in a hurry up at all. They burned a TO after the Rams were stopped on third down. I would think that you were going to try and do something with the next possession. After Rock's big run, they called the last TO. Then they run a WR screen with no TO's left that gained 0 yards.

The planning and playcalling on that whole series was questionable at best, IMO.My issues were with the first half as well and the issues you stated.

[PennSkinsFan]

I've sat back and listened to alot of criticism from fans over the last couple of weeks about conservative playcalling in the 4th qt. It has been my contention that the playcalling has been okay, nothing spectacular, but not as bad as many would like for others to believe. In the 4th quarter today, the playcalling has pretty much been the same as it has been over these last few weeks. The difference: execution. Burns was calling pretty much the same run plays this week to burn clock. This week, the holes were there so that those drives could be sustained, that is the only difference.

As Doc mentioned last week, if some of the plays that went against us because of poor execution are successful, is Gibbs&Co. now geniuses?

In fairness, like they said on TV, the Gibbs merting with the vets, the vets had the same complaints we did Kenny. That is one reason we saw a change today. Gibbs heard, listened, and made changes. The play calling was far better today than last few weeks.

[rskinsfan10]

Maybe I need to cut and paste the title of this thread......

[rskinsfan10]

In fairness, like they said on TV, the Gibbs merting with the vets, the vets had the same complaints we did Kenny. That is one reason we saw a change today. Gibbs heard, listened, and made changes. The play calling was far better today than last few weeks.The playcalling in the 4th qt wasn't any different this week.

[skins74]

It was a little better. Execution definitely helps and we had that today. The offensive line did what Gibbs wants them to do. If the line continues to play like this they won't have a problem calling plays but if we can't run the ball it might get hairy.

[OCSKINSFAN]

I think Gibb's as always been a little on the conservative side. That is just Gibb's style. I don't mind it because Gibb's as won with this conservative game plan in the past. It is all about the players making the plays.

Gibbs did win with this type of conservative play calling in the past. I agree with the announcer for the Rams game who stated that the game has changed. You need to keep scoring. The conservative play calling perhaps cost us the 3 prior games. This game was against a very weak opponent, and if not for the last turnover, we would have only scored 17 points. We need to pass more on 1st down. The offense is too predictable and conservative. 17 points (and against a very weak defense) and with no pass rush from our D line, is not going to win many games.

[PennSkinsFan]

The playcalling in the 4th qt wasn't any different this week. Yes, but, the offensive lien did its job this week. Gibbs really did not have to be that clever.

[Biggie]

The playcalling in the 4th qt wasn't any different this week.

The Cooley TD would not have happened last week.

[rskinsfan10]

Yes, but, the offensive lien did its job this week. Gibbs really did not have to be that clever.That's exactly my point Mark. The run plays that he and Burns called were effective. When they threw the ball to Royal, he caught them and helped to sustain drives.

[rskinsfan10]

The Cooley TD would not have happened last week.How do you know this? Sellers and Cooley both have scored multiple times on that same play all year long.

[resdog56]

The paly-calling has been decent all year, the execution hasn't always been there. You're never going to please everyone when you're a coach. Some of your decisions will always be criticized. The bottom line is, this is how Gibbs thinks that we should best utilize our talent, offensively. Last time I checked we didn't have Peyton Manning under center, with 2 top flight recievers running all over the field. We have a decnt QB, a great RB, one very good WR, and a crafty H-back. Our O-line is geared more toward running the ball, and when you have Portis, thats what you should do. Now, on 2nd and short sometime, I think we should take a more aggressive approach, but overall, the play calls are indicative of what our strengths are. If the defense is gearing to stop the play that is called, it's the Qb's job to get us into a better play, not the coaching staff. Gibbs has always won by running the ball and setting up the pass with the run. Who am I to question a guy with 3 rings?


BTW- I'll be in Tempe for the game next week and I have an extra ticket, any takers?

[bball7980]

Are line did it's job against one of the worst run defenses in the league. Lets not get carried away.

[BostonSkins]

Disagree, more runs off tackle instead of straight into the line.

Portis/Cartwright run better outside.

Different calls, better results, and I agree...better execution

[CNYSkinFan]

My problem with playcalling is the same as it has been all year, and it is not germain to the fourth quarter. How many times have we gotten a decent gain on 1st down and we find ourself in a 2nd and 4 or less. This is taylor made for playaction pass and over 90% of the time we run a straight nose dive up the middle. You work hard to get into 2nd and short to be able to go playaction. At least do it half the time, it will not only open up big opportunities in the passing game for Cooley and Moss but also keep the defenses guessing and when we do run on 2nd and short there won't be 10 in the box.

[FanFromArizona]

Are line did it's job against one of the worst run defenses in the league. Lets not get carried away.

I agree, we need to see a dominating appearance against dominating defensive lines. That will get me carried away when THAT happens. There was a reason the Rams are the bottom of the list for defense.

[rskinsfan10]

Are line did it's job against one of the worst run defenses in the league. Lets not get carried away.This is what I'm talking about. Who is proclaiming world domination? I understand that you are a Redskin fan that is so full of shame, but please, take the negativity elsewhere. The fact is, the Raiders have one of the worst defenses in the league, and we didn't exploit it. The Giants were one of the worst defenses in the NFL when we played them earlier, yet we didn't exploit them. I don't care how sad the Rams line is, you still have to execute. The game isn't played on paper.

[rskinsfan10]

Disagree, more runs off tackle instead of straight into the line.

Portis/Cartwright run better outside.

Different calls, better results, and I agree...better executionI disagree. More instances of RBs recognizing holes that were there and attacking them. I sit in the endzone at all home games. There are plenty of holes between the tackles and guards that are there but aren't utilized during every game.

[SkinsGuru]

The paly-calling has been decent all year, the execution hasn't always been there. You're never going to please everyone when you're a coach. Some of your decisions will always be criticized. The bottom line is, this is how Gibbs thinks that we should best utilize our talent, offensively. Last time I checked we didn't have Peyton Manning under center, with 2 top flight recievers running all over the field. We have a decnt QB, a great RB, one very good WR, and a crafty H-back. Our O-line is geared more toward running the ball, and when you have Portis, thats what you should do. Now, on 2nd and short sometime, I think we should take a more aggressive approach, but overall, the play calls are indicative of what our strengths are. If the defense is gearing to stop the play that is called, it's the Qb's job to get us into a better play, not the coaching staff. Gibbs has always won by running the ball and setting up the pass with the run. Who am I to question a guy with 3 rings?


BTW- I'll be in Tempe for the game next week and I have an extra ticket, any takers?
I'll be there next week too.

[bball7980]

I disagree. More instances of RBs recognizing holes that were there and attacking them. I sit in the endzone at all home games. There are plenty of holes between the tackles and guards that are there but aren't utilized during every game.

That is something i never really gave much thought to. So the RB's are missing the holes? That is interesting. I thought that our line could be one of the best this year. Maybe they are and our RB's are not hitting the holes like they should.

[redskin_rich]

The playcalling in the 4th qt wasn't any different this week.
You are correct, the difference was the execution. I have tried to say that a thousand times now but people like to place blame on the playcalling, coaching, etc. I really think that Madden football has made some people brain dead.

[smoak]

I've sat back and listened to alot of criticism from fans over the last couple of weeks about conservative playcalling in the 4th qt. It has been my contention that the playcalling has been okay, nothing spectacular, but not as bad as many would like for others to believe. In the 4th quarter today, the playcalling has pretty much been the same as it has been over these last few weeks. The difference: execution. Burns was calling pretty much the same run plays this week to burn clock. This week, the holes were there so that those drives could be sustained, that is the only difference.

As Doc mentioned last week, if some of the plays that went against us because of poor execution are successful, is Gibbs&Co. now geniuses?

The problem Kenny is that Skins fans are a collective group of spineless gutless heartless chumps. Obviously I don't feel that way about most of the people here, but give me a break.... I've never seen a group of bigger quitters. I'm riding this pony all the way back to the station baby, and I am proud of this team.

[smoak]

You are correct, the difference was the execution. I have tried to say that a thousand times now but people like to place blame on the playcalling, coaching, etc. I really think that Madden football has made some people brain dead.

Late candidate for post of the year. I'm sick of the BS that every tom, dick, and jerry thinks he knows more than a HOF head coach with an amazing staff. Have they made mistakes? Absolutely. But some people act as if they could do a better job... PUH-LEESE!

[BandWagon]

i think the play calling was marginally less conservative, but the main thing I agree is execution. Just heard on the post game show that Brunell was 8-8 with a perfect passer rating in the second half. That's how you finish games. I just wish we'd executed like this a few more times this season!

[OCSKINSFAN]

You are correct, the difference was the execution. I have tried to say that a thousand times now but people like to place blame on the playcalling, coaching, etc. I really think that Madden football has made some people brain dead.

Execution is no doubt a critical factor. However, when you play a very weak opponent, it is not a sure thing that the execution was that much better - an average block may work against a weak defensive lineman, but not against M Strahan. The fact is we would only have scored 17 points against the Rams defense without the last turnover, and with many opportunities since the Rams were going nowhere and kept giving the Skins offense more opportunities. I am still very concerned about the conservative play calling.

[rskinsfan10]

That is something i never really gave much thought to. So the RB's are missing the holes? That is interesting. I thought that our line could be one of the best this year. Maybe they are and our RB's are not hitting the holes like they should.I'm not saying that they have played better then they have. I am very dissapointed in their overall play for the entire season. My point is there are times when there are holes available, yet the RBs simply aren't recognizing them.

[Itoolu]

Gibbs did win with this type of conservative play calling in the past. I agree with the announcer for the Rams game who stated that the game has changed. You need to keep scoring. The conservative play calling perhaps cost us the 3 prior games. This game was against a very weak opponent, and if not for the last turnover, we would have only scored 17 points. We need to pass more on 1st down. The offense is too predictable and conservative. 17 points (and against a very weak defense) and with no pass rush from our D line, is not going to win many games.
You took the words out of my mouth, if this was the Midgets or Cowgirls that play calling would not get the job done and everyone would be bashing the coaches again.

[rskinsfan10]

The problem Kenny is that Skins fans are a collective group of spineless gutless heartless chumps. Obviously I don't feel that way about most of the people here, but give me a break.... I've never seen a group of bigger quitters. I'm riding this pony all the way back to the station baby, and I am proud of this team.I would have thought that I would never utter anything like that about this fanbase Brian, but I'm starting to lean that way. It's not all of the fans of course, but it seems that the darksiders are taking over. Or maybe they are just the loudest these days, I dunno.

[redskin_rich]

Execution is no doubt a critical factor. However, when you play a very weak opponent, it is not a sure thing that the execution was that much better - an average block may work against a weak defensive lineman, but not against M Strahan. The fact is we would only have scored 17 points against the Rams defense without the last turnover, and with many opportunities since the Rams were going nowhere and kept giving the Skins offense more opportunities. I am still very concerned about the conservative play calling.
We won by 15 points on the road against a team, going in, with the same record as ours. I don't like to draw parallels, so I won't compare what we did today against another team. The fact is, we controlled this game completely, from start to finish and hopefully we will do this again next week, against a percieved weaker team. After that, I will talk about what we need to do against the 'girls and little Giants.

[colkurtz]

We are who we are. We are an above average team who won on the road against a below average team . Hey - it is an improvement - we would have lost this one a year or three ago! Plus, Dallas lost!

Gibbs did make adjustments in the second half - probably his best adjustments this season. We've lost the leads in the second half for most of our games.

The game has changed and all the older coaches have had to change their game style - Vermeil, Schottenheimer and now Gibbs. These days - you have to keep the hammer down the whole game and keep scoring. Gibbs has been successful throughout his career because he made changes to win. I see him continuing to change his style to get out of the conservative mode.

The rest is up to the players.

[BigCountry]

I've sat back and listened to alot of criticism from fans over the last couple of weeks about conservative playcalling in the 4th qt. It has been my contention that the playcalling has been okay, nothing spectacular, but not as bad as many would like for others to believe. In the 4th quarter today, the playcalling has pretty much been the same as it has been over these last few weeks. The difference: execution. Burns was calling pretty much the same run plays this week to burn clock. This week, the holes were there so that those drives could be sustained, that is the only difference.

As Doc mentioned last week, if some of the plays that went against us because of poor execution are successful, is Gibbs&Co. now geniuses?

Of course the excecution was there. We played a defense ranked no higher then 29th I think in all the major categories. Not really a good measuring stick to find out if things have improved. If we would have tried to close out a game against the Giants or Cowboys like we did today, would we have had the same success? History (games against good defenses) is still on the nay sayers side if you ask me.

[ConradCountry]

I've sat back and listened to alot of criticism from fans over the last couple of weeks about conservative playcalling in the 4th qt. It has been my contention that the playcalling has been okay, nothing spectacular, but not as bad as many would like for others to believe. In the 4th quarter today, the playcalling has pretty much been the same as it has been over these last few weeks. The difference: execution. Burns was calling pretty much the same run plays this week to burn clock. This week, the holes were there so that those drives could be sustained, that is the only difference.

As Doc mentioned last week, if some of the plays that went against us because of poor execution are successful, is Gibbs&Co. now geniuses?

I don't have any complaints about the 4th quarter play calling, I have a problem with the weak game that was called all game. If we had been playing a less pathetic team we would have gotten worked, wait, wait that happened the last three weeks.

[BostonSkins]

I disagree. More instances of RBs recognizing holes that were there and attacking them. I sit in the endzone at all home games. There are plenty of holes between the tackles and guards that are there but aren't utilized during every game.


I believe this is a result of Portis being a better outside runner than a 'between the tackles' type of back.

I have been calling for sweeps and pitches all year, portis just seems to run better out there.

I have no problem with Cartwright getting the ball 2 yards or less to go.

I still think it seemed like more of a conscious effort by the coaching staff to run outside, which I applaud.

Let's win next week and then anything can happen after that...

[ObiWan1278]

I actually agree about Portis being a better sweep runner. I watch Portis and it seems to me he has a stutter step looking for holes at the line instead of busting through. I have always thought that Ladell Betts would be a better running back than Portis, and Gibbs was kinda stuck with Portis cause of the huge investment he made in Portis.

Don't get me wrong I like Portis...I just think Betts is better for Gibb's offense.

[whitskins]

I actually agree about Portis being a better sweep runner. I watch Portis and it seems to me he has a stutter step looking for holes at the line instead of busting through. I have always thought that Ladell Betts would be a better running back than Portis, and Gibbs was kinda stuck with Portis cause of the huge investment he made in Portis.

Don't get me wrong I like Portis...I just think Betts is better for Gibb's offense.

Betts is a much worse fit for this offense for the sole reason that the guy can't stay healthy for three games in a row. And all the dude does is play special teams and backup running back, he'll never be able to handle 20+ carries every week. Thank God we have a horse in Portis who seems to get dinged up every week but comes back each and every time.

And for some reason Betts also has a rep as a more bulldozing running back. He really isn't. The dude's only 5-10 pounds bigger than Portis (Betts is 223) and he's far from a Riggins. Someone described him as a "tweener" in another thread because he is too big to be a typical slasher/outside back and not big enough to be a Jamal Lewis type back (Lewis is 245) and I agree with that. But even if he were the perfect fit for us then he'd still be on the injured list every week, so I'm glad we have a bull in Portis who can carry this load week in and week out.

[whitskins]

There are a lot of geniuses on this board who want to bash the playcalling every week but fail to realize some pretty basic truths. We're not talented enough on offense yet to just air out our full bag of tricks and dominate any team in the NFL. We have no one at WR opposite Santana. We have no WR who can win a jump ball or eat up passes over the middle. We have a very inconsistent TE in Royal who is not much of a receiving threat. We have an O-line that is inconsistent, but seems to be reaching a higher level. And we have a very efficient and smart QB but not one who is going to create miraculous plays out of thin air like Brett Favre in his prime.

Once these people come to grips with our shortcomings in the personel department on offense, the reason why we fail to dominate opposing defenses and our playcalling will become easy to reason. It's really easy to just whine about playcalling whenever an offense stalls, to simply see that it is not good enough yet and still needs to be injected with more overall talent is more in tune with reality though. You could put Mike Martz on our sideline and run a wide open offense and take shots down the field all day, but you're still going to have Jimmy Farris as your #3 WR. There's no magic play to turn some average players on offense into legitimate weapons.

Oh yeah, and we still have over 400 yards of offense, 250 on the ground, 3 TDs, no turnovers, and no sacks.

[BurgundyNGold]

The play calling was a lot better in the 4th quarter this week because our OL did a great job. For the most part, we still ran a whol lot. The big difference is that given 3 downs, our OL was able to get 10 yards a few times. That'll make any play caller look like a genius.

On a separate note, however, the decision to go for the 48 yard FG on 4th and inches from the Rams 30 or so in the 1st quarter was total bunk. At best, a 48 yard FG for Hall is 50% or 60%. We would've gotten the first down and if not at least the opponent would've been gotten the ball at their 31 and not their 38. That was WAY too conservative IMO.

Conversely, on the Rams only TD drive, they had a similar situation and went for it. A PI gave them a first down and a few plays later they scored a TD.

Otherwise, I was pretty pleased with the playcalling.

[/rant]

[whitskins]

The play calling was a lot better in the 4th quarter this week because our OL did a great job. For the most part, we still ran a whol lot. The big difference is that given 3 downs, our OL was able to get 10 yards a few times. That'll make any play caller look like a genius.

On a separate note, however, the decision to go for the 48 yard FG on 4th and inches from the Rams 30 or so in the 1st quarter was total bunk. At best, a 48 yard FG for Hall is 50% or 60%. We would've gotten the first down and if not at least the opponent would've been gotten the ball at their 31 and not their 38. That was WAY too conservative IMO.

Conversely, on the Rams only TD drive, they had a similar situation and went for it. A PI gave them a first down and a few plays later they scored a TD.

Otherwise, I was pretty pleased with the playcalling.

[/rant]

I agree. The 4th quarter play calling in this game was exactly the same in my opinion, only the holes in the run game were there this time and the open receivers caught the ball when it was thrown to them. Simple as that. Once we get some more talent at WR opposite Santana and a more consistent TE we'll see consistently improving execution and the whining about the play calling will cease.

I agree about going for it on fourth down, but the FG was a 45 yarder which is pretty well in Hall's range, don't know why he missed that one. I think he's a lot better than 60% from that range, but I don't have his stats. The announcer during the game said he was kicking 45 yarders like they were chip shots in warm-ups though. I would have gone for it too though but our short yardage conversions have been terrible this year so I can't fault Gibbs too much for wanting to take some points, but I agree that I would have tried to punch it through.

[ObiWan1278]

I want to start off by saying I certainly mean no offense, I bleed burgandy and gold, and I want Portis to be all that he was built to be when he arrived here. I like Portis, I just think he tries to create too much instead of taking what is there.

I can't argue that Betts hasn't been injured but I know he hits the holes, and he seems to pick up tough yards that at least to me at times it seems that Portis don't

I also read somewhere and heard all night from those commentators that you can't win with Ball Control (maybe not pin point quote but close enough) that football has changed.

I totally totally disagree with that, if you control the ball and make your firsts downs and wear that clock down you win period. Anyone to suggest that football has changed that much from when Gibbs was last here is nuts.

The only reason the skins haven't won more games this year with the conservative play calling is they have had a little bit of Fumble Itis, and drop itis. If we cut that out....everyone would be talking about how controlling the clock and winning close games is what Gibbs and his coaching philosophies excell at.

You control the ball you control the game...whether its 1991 or 2005, its football. Those commentators tonight in my opinon sucked.

[PyroGenic]

This is what I'm talking about. Who is proclaiming world domination? I understand that you are a Redskin fan that is so full of shame, but please, take the negativity elsewhere. The fact is, the Raiders have one of the worst defenses in the league, and we didn't exploit it. The Giants were one of the worst defenses in the NFL when we played them earlier, yet we didn't exploit them. I don't care how sad the Rams line is, you still have to execute. The game isn't played on paper.

maybe so but can you apply that same logic to jimoh? You're not gonna ever have him be a starter but he could very well start for the raiders and shut us down. we shoud've done better and we didn't. period.

[whitskins]

I want to start off by saying I certainly mean no offense, I bleed burgandy and gold, and I want Portis to be all that he was built to be when he arrived here. I like Portis, I just think he tries to create too much instead of taking what is there.

I can't argue that Betts hasn't been injured but I know he hits the holes, and he seems to pick up tough yards that at least to me at times it seems that Portis don't

I also read somewhere and heard all night from those commentators that you can't win with Ball Control (maybe not pin point quote but close enough) that football has changed.

I totally totally disagree with that, if you control the ball and make your firsts downs and wear that clock down you win period. Anyone to suggest that football has changed that much from when Gibbs was last here is nuts.

The only reason the skins haven't won more games this year with the conservative play calling is they have had a little bit of Fumble Itis, and drop itis. If we cut that out....everyone would be talking about how controlling the clock and winning close games is what Gibbs and his coaching philosophies excell at.

You control the ball you control the game...whether its 1991 or 2005, its football. Those commentators tonight in my opinon sucked.

I don't think anyone is taking offense here to what you've said, I certainly haven't, and while I don't think Portis is a picture perfect fit for this offense, I think he's one of the few guys in the NFL who can be relied on to be a complete back in terms of running, catching, blocking, and durability. I think we've all been a little bit teased by his prior 1500 yard seasons with Denver, and I don't know if we'll ever see those here with the Skins, but he'll still be a 1200 yard runner at the absolute minimum and a true workhorse.

I don't think Betts is a bad back at all and I have liked him quite a bit since last year whenever he has come in to spell Portis, but I don't think he'll ever be the answer as a #1 RB for a team because he cannot stay healthy. Dallas was smart to draft a guy like Marion Barber because they realized that they have a potentially great RB in Jones who can't stay off the injured list. Neither can Betts, and he is only a backup and a special teamer. For that reason above all others I see him as strictly a backup.

[whitskins]

Late candidate for post of the year. I'm sick of the BS that every tom, dick, and jerry thinks he knows more than a HOF head coach with an amazing staff. Have they made mistakes? Absolutely. But some people act as if they could do a better job... PUH-LEESE!

Well, I think that is a part of sports in general when a team loses, so while it annoys me to no end, I can deal with it. But when we win and people still wanna act like they could have done better, it gets a little ridiculous. Especially when we won by 15 points.

[Skinz4lyfe]

I have been very critical of the play calling all year. However, IMO this game is a little different. I think it was slightly improved this game. If I wanted to be greedy I would have like to have gotten the ball to Santana Moss more. Nevertheless, we were effective running the ball today and when we can run the ball it makes all the difference in the world. That's Joe Gibbs' staple and there is nothing more that he'd love to do. Also, Royal decided to stop playing hot potatoe w/the football and catch it instead. Overall it did ultimately come down to better execution today. If our line can continue to perform well we'll be alright.

[LATrueRedskin]

I've sat back and listened to alot of criticism from fans over the last couple of weeks about conservative playcalling in the 4th qt. It has been my contention that the playcalling has been okay, nothing spectacular, but not as bad as many would like for others to believe. In the 4th quarter today, the playcalling has pretty much been the same as it has been over these last few weeks. The difference: execution. Burns was calling pretty much the same run plays this week to burn clock. This week, the holes were there so that those drives could be sustained, that is the only difference.

As Doc mentioned last week, if some of the plays that went against us because of poor execution are successful, is Gibbs&Co. now geniuses?

Great post. I've felt the same way on this subject. We've been calling the proper plays all along, the OLine just made it happen and overpowered an inferior DLine.

[BurgundyNGold]

I agree. The 4th quarter play calling in this game was exactly the same in my opinion, only the holes in the run game were there this time and the open receivers caught the ball when it was thrown to them. Simple as that. Once we get some more talent at WR opposite Santana and a more consistent TE we'll see consistently improving execution and the whining about the play calling will cease.

I agree about going for it on fourth down, but the FG was a 45 yarder which is pretty well in Hall's range, don't know why he missed that one. I think he's a lot better than 60% from that range, but I don't have his stats. The announcer during the game said he was kicking 45 yarders like they were chip shots in warm-ups though. I would have gone for it too though but our short yardage conversions have been terrible this year so I can't fault Gibbs too much for wanting to take some points, but I agree that I would have tried to punch it through.
Normally, I would agree with you, but Hall is still not 100%. Not even close. His kickoffs sometimes don't make it past the 15 and rarely land inside the 10. I think his accuracy is good, but 45 yards is where I start looking realy hard at the measurement.

[Sonoma]

Why have most of us not agreed with the playcalling in recent weeks in the 4th? Because it has not been working, today it worked. The past 2 loses I think fall squarely on the terrible playing calling in the 4th quarter. When something is not working you need to switch it up, the previous 2 loses we were leaving our D out there way too much.

Grinding it out in the 4th worked today, the past couple weeks the play calling did not work. This D is still one of the best D's in the league but we can not expect they are going to hold up when our O goes 3 and out every drive in the 4th. But today it worked but we need to realize we can not sit on these 10 point leads going into the 4th if your O is producing 3 and outs. If we sustain so descent drives so our D can rest then great, ball control offense works.

[Lennysev]

We should be 11-1, this is no time to be happy. This team needs to get the DESIRE to win

[whitskins]

We should be 11-1, this is no time to be happy. This team needs to get the DESIRE to win

We just won. That's always a time to be happy. Not complacent, overly-confident, or delusional, but definitely happy.

[whitskins]

Normally, I would agree with you, but Hall is still not 100%. Not even close. His kickoffs sometimes don't make it past the 15 and rarely land inside the 10. I think his accuracy is good, but 45 yards is where I start looking realy hard at the measurement.

Well Hall's kickoffs have never been very strong to begin with, and before his missed 53 yarder last week, he was perfect this season both before and after the injury. He's probably not 100%, but he's not walking wounded either. If he was not even close to 100% I'd imagine he'd still be in street clothes.

And if he was hitting 45 yarders in warm ups like chip shots (again, this is what the announcer said), then I'd have confidence in his ability to make the kick. And it had plenty of leg, it was just hooked. I don't think Gibbs hesitates the next time Hall has to kick a 45 yarder, he's still pretty darn reliable, but if it were two inches to the first down I'd still go for it.

[helimech24]

I have supported Joe Gibbs play calling all along. I always said it was the execution, last week it was Rabach.

I also keep hearing that portis isn't strong enough to get short yardage, and I absolutely agree. When He was in Denver, they ran Mike Anderson for short yards. Don't act like you don't know what kind of back he is. He is not a power back, and he/Gibbs made a mistake adding weight to him. He should have stayed small and fast, and get a short yards back. They had one with Betts and Nemo. Gibbs just needs to use Nemo more.

[X-Factor13]

I want to start off by saying I certainly mean no offense, I bleed burgandy and gold, and I want Portis to be all that he was built to be when he arrived here. I like Portis, I just think he tries to create too much instead of taking what is there.
I can't argue that Betts hasn't been injured but I know he hits the holes, and he seems to pick up tough yards that at least to me at times it seems that Portis don't

I also read somewhere and heard all night from those commentators that you can't win with Ball Control (maybe not pin point quote but close enough) that football has changed.

I totally totally disagree with that, if you control the ball and make your firsts downs and wear that clock down you win period. Anyone to suggest that football has changed that much from when Gibbs was last here is nuts.

The only reason the skins haven't won more games this year with the conservative play calling is they have had a little bit of Fumble Itis, and drop itis. If we cut that out....everyone would be talking about how controlling the clock and winning close games is what Gibbs and his coaching philosophies excell at.

You control the ball you control the game...whether its 1991 or 2005, its football. Those commentators tonight in my opinon sucked.



how about this game's performance? i'd say that was taking what was there... and then some.

[whitskins]

I have supported Joe Gibbs play calling all along. I always said it was the execution, last week it was Rabach.

I also keep hearing that portis isn't strong enough to get short yardage, and I absolutely agree. When He was in Denver, they ran Mike Anderson for short yards. Don't act like you don't know what kind of back he is. He is not a power back, and he/Gibbs made a mistake adding weight to him. He should have stayed small and fast, and get a short yards back. They had one with Betts and Nemo. Gibbs just needs to use Nemo more.

Rock has actually always been a very good short yardage back and I think he should get a look on the 3rd and 2 or less plays. Betts is a good runner, but I'm not overly impressed with what he does in short yardage, he's not a bulldozing back. Nemo may be, but who knows, haven't seen him play against real NFL competition nearly enough.

Back with Spurrier, Rock ALWAYS had a knack for getting in the end zone on short yardage. He is a powerful runner but also short enough that sometimes he can squeak through or under holes to get the necessary few inches. He was good in that regard today, for some reason Portis just doesn't seem to have that ability on a consistent basis.

[ObiWan1278]

I actually today thought that this was one of Portis best days as a skin and hitting holes. But its hard to gage Portis when Cartwright too broke 100 yards. Seemed like you could have had anyone back there and they would have broke throgh those Mac Truck size holes that the offensive line created.

[X-Factor13]

i will bite the dust and admit that i was wrong. The playcalling was fine all along i suppose, but we ended up winning because the team was determined and didn't make those retarded mental mistakes we have done the last few times in the 4th quarter. I'm glad we finally got a win and now maybe we can win another instead of losing 3 in a row again!

[helimech24]

Rock has actually always been a very good short yardage back and I think he should get a look on the 3rd and 2 or less plays. Betts is a good runner, but I'm not overly impressed with what he does in short yardage, he's not a bulldozing back. Nemo may be, but who knows, haven't seen him play against real NFL competition nearly enough.

Back with Spurrier, Rock ALWAYS had a knack for getting in the end zone on short yardage. He is a powerful runner but also short enough that sometimes he can squeak through or under holes to get the necessary few inches. He was good in that regard today, for some reason Portis just doesn't seem to have that ability on a consistent basis.

You know, I totally forgot about those spurrier days, I was busy playing russian roulette during the game, I think you are absolutely right about the Rock being able to get it done.

[bgforever]

I thought the playcalling before the half left a lot to be desired. Portis gained 7 on the first play, then Rock real off a large gainer. Prior to that play, the O wasn't in a hurry up at all. They burned a TO after the Rams were stopped on third down. I would think that you were going to try and do something with the next possession. After Rock's big run, they called the last TO. Then they run a WR screen with no TO's left that gained 0 yards.

The planning and playcalling on that whole series was questionable at best, IMO.


Thanks for the facts. I had to leave when the 4th qtr started, wife and I went out for a change and had dinner, yep while a game was being played.

[bgforever]

We just won. That's always a time to be happy. Not complacent, overly-confident, or delusional, but definitely happy.

I am :flower1:

I was gone got back 1/2 hour ago and its AWESOME to have that win!

Yes!

[Axegrinder]

Late candidate for post of the year. I'm sick of the BS that every tom, dick, and jerry thinks he knows more than a HOF head coach with an amazing staff. Have they made mistakes? Absolutely. [But some people act as if they could do a better job... PUH-LEESE!
This would include today's game colorman,Brian Baldinger.
He said something along the lines that Gibbs' old school,ball control philosophy won't win many games in today's NFL.

[DEFENSEGURU]

I've sat back and listened to alot of criticism from fans over the last couple of weeks about conservative playcalling in the 4th qt. It has been my contention that the playcalling has been okay, nothing spectacular, but not as bad as many would like for others to believe. In the 4th quarter today, the playcalling has pretty much been the same as it has been over these last few weeks. The difference: execution. Burns was calling pretty much the same run plays this week to burn clock. This week, the holes were there so that those drives could be sustained, that is the only difference.

As Doc mentioned last week, if some of the plays that went against us because of poor execution are successful, is Gibbs&Co. now geniuses?

No still no genius. But simple straight ahead plays work much better against inferior teams. Unfortuantley the Redskins won't make the playoffs because they are not allowed to play just the inferior teams. Come down off your bandwagon homer. There's nothing wrong with celebrating a win, but don't confuse beating the Rams or Arizona with playing Dallas or New York.

We just beat a losing team with a losing record with an interim head coach. Your point is?

[smoak]

I would have thought that I would never utter anything like that about this fanbase Brian, but I'm starting to lean that way. It's not all of the fans of course, but it seems that the darksiders are taking over. Or maybe they are just the loudest these days, I dunno.

Yeah, I have often been critical of Skins fans, but after San Diego, I despise them. I was going to start a thread, but it is porbably better that I was too busy at work. I mean about 1/4 of my section didn't show up and about 1/2 that did left in the fourth quarter when we were winning or tied. I was furious!!! I give up hope that fans will ever be supportive before we start winning.

[smoak]

This would include today's game colorman,Brian Baldinger.
He said something along the lines that Gibbs' old school,ball control philosophy won't win many games in today's NFL.

Look at the source. He is maybe experienced enough to be a ball boy... Maybe.

[flave1969]

How do you know this? Sellers and Cooley both have scored multiple times on that same play all year long.

But we did not use the plays that have been successful this year in the 4th Quarter, the past couple of weeks. Cooley and Sellers have been our get of Jail card often but against San Diego he was thrown to once in the last 19 minutes of the game, whilst Royal and Jacobs were getting multiple looks.

Granted people have got to execute, but when you need it you play your percentages and go to your key players.

[GWBlitzST]

I am very concerned with our play calling. At the end of the first half, we essentially called a timeout FOR ST LOUIS. We called a timeout on D, only to stop them, just like we planned, to give our offense the ball with over a minute and a half on the clock. We then milked the clock and walked into the locker room without even taking a shot down field. Then at the end of the game, had our D not gotten that turnover and that holding call on Holt, it could have been a much scarier game.

Toss left, toss right. Repeat. That should be the essence of our running game. Not this run up the middle for 3 or 2 yards all the time.

I also have a complaint about the Portis pass. Why can't Brunell throw that pass? He NEVER passes deep to the right, and it worked perfectly in the Niners game to Moss. Haven't run it since. It's like Joe abandons what works thinking it won't work again.

Post routs to Moss would be cool too. Teams are stacking the box and we can't capitalize.

Joe needs to get with it and take some chances on second and 1, second and 3, and on some third and long situations.

[DUCKIN_TACKLERS]

I've sat back and listened to alot of criticism from fans over the last couple of weeks about conservative playcalling in the 4th qt. It has been my contention that the playcalling has been okay, nothing spectacular, but not as bad as many would like for others to believe. In the 4th quarter today, the playcalling has pretty much been the same as it has been over these last few weeks. The difference: execution. Burns was calling pretty much the same run plays this week to burn clock. This week, the holes were there so that those drives could be sustained, that is the only difference.

As Doc mentioned last week, if some of the plays that went against us because of poor execution are successful, is Gibbs&Co. now geniuses?
IMO the difference is the teams we played. Why throw Deep over and over on a team that hasnt stopped the run(Oakland) and then Run and Run into a team that is the number 1 run D (San Diego). So if your talking about me questioning the playcalling specifically which i doubt, then there is my reason for Questioning. Im still not entirely happy with the play calling because we continue to be predictable IMO and it puts us in 3rd and long way to much against teams that shouldnt be stopping us like they are.

[silverspring]

hard to criticize when we literally run over a team, the rams run defense sure made our playcallers look good. i still think the playcalling was bad and have lots of negative criticism for the team. What about the end of the half, what was that all about? Clock management anyone? Were we really trying to score? At what point are we going to figure out how to run a two-minute drill?
This game gave me some hope, but we barely did what should have done. The rams have a poor defense and a rookie qb and we should have killed them. We still squandered a couple scoring opportunities, which is all good when you play the rams, but when we play a real team we will lose if we squander opportunities like that.

[mexskins]

hard to criticize when we literally run over a team, the rams run defense sure made our playcallers look good. i still think the playcalling was bad and have lots of negative criticism for the team. What about the end of the half, what was that all about? Clock management anyone? Were we really trying to score? At what point are we going to figure out how to run a two-minute drill?
This game gave me some hope, but we barely did what should have done. The rams have a poor defense and a rookie qb and we should have killed them. We still squandered a couple scoring opportunities, which is all good when you play the rams, but when we play a real team we will lose if we squander opportunities like that.

Amen !!!!

The Rams almost lost to the Texans guys !

They are horrible !!

[CNYSkinFan]

Yeah, I have often been critical of Skins fans, but after San Diego, I despise them. I was going to start a thread, but it is porbably better that I was too busy at work. I mean about 1/4 of my section didn't show up and about 1/2 that did left in the fourth quarter when we were winning or tied. I was furious!!! I give up hope that fans will ever be supportive before we start winning.

I have to tell you that is something I noticed when I came to the Oakland game as well. I mean looking at the upper dome right before kickoff half the seats are empty. It filled up during the first quarter but never to the point where I would say it was filled to the brim

Cmon redskin fans you gotta rock it out against Dallas and NY Giants.

[vabeach_skinsfan]

The Lambs rushing D is basically last in the leauge. So the playcalling didn't take much of a hit since we executed pretty well against a run-deficient defense. The Cardinals seem to lack the run-stout defense as well, so hopefully we can continue to call good plays as well as execute.

[vabeach_skinsfan]

I have to tell you that is something I noticed when I came to the Oakland game as well. I mean looking at the upper dome right before kickoff half the seats are empty. It filled up during the first quarter but never to the point where I would say it was filled to the brim

Cmon redskin fans you gotta rock it out against Dallas and NY Giants.

It took me dang near 30 minutes to get to the upperlevel. It was pretty packed up there where I was at, section 432. Everybody was still stuck in line to get on the escalators. I missed kickoff by two minute, probaly cuzz I was the bar getting two screwdrivers. Look at background of my avatar pic, it seemed pretty packed.

My bro is trying to get tickets to the Dallas game, so count me in to contribute.

[smoak]

The Lambs rushing D is basically last in the leauge. So the playcalling didn't take much of a hit since we executed pretty well against a run-deficient defense. The Cardinals seem to lack the run-stout defense as well, so hopefully we can continue to call good plays as well as execute.

Gee it is funny how when the players execute (e.g. against the Rams, Niners, etc.) the coaches are geniuses, but when players don't execute (e.g. Chiefs, Chargers, etc) they are idiots and all of us could do a better job.

Madden and Fantasy Football are killing the sport from a fan perspective b/c every fan (across all teams) thinks they are smarter than the head coach and GM/Front Office.

[frankez99]

We won by 15 points on the road against a team, going in, with the same record as ours. I don't like to draw parallels, so I won't compare what we did today against another team. The fact is, we controlled this game completely, from start to finish and hopefully we will do this again next week, against a percieved weaker team. After that, I will talk about what we need to do against the 'girls and little Giants.

Well stated RR....I don't know where people are getting this "we only scored 24 points against the Rams" attitude when were are....by all accounts....not much better than them. We are not, and will not be, an offensive juggernaut. So much goes into calling a single play, that to question Gibbs and co. is humorous at best.

"Conservative" is hR's 2005 most overused term...

2004's was "Noodle arm".....

We won. Don't question the gameplan. I don't think in the history of football, that a team gameplanned to lose.

[Warpath23]

I've sat back and listened to alot of criticism from fans over the last couple of weeks about conservative playcalling in the 4th qt. It has been my contention that the playcalling has been okay, nothing spectacular, but not as bad as many would like for others to believe. In the 4th quarter today, the playcalling has pretty much been the same as it has been over these last few weeks. The difference: execution. Burns was calling pretty much the same run plays this week to burn clock. This week, the holes were there so that those drives could be sustained, that is the only difference.

As Doc mentioned last week, if some of the plays that went against us because of poor execution are successful, is Gibbs&Co. now geniuses?Are you stating that play calls were not bad in the 3 losses? The play calling was better but the Rams are alot worse than I thought. Not to take away from what the team did but good play calling is based off whats working for you & the strength & weaknesses of the team you're playing. For example the Rams had 8-9 players in the box the entire game and still couldnt stop the run so the coaches really didnt have to think to hard. The past opponents had waaaay better defenses so we couldnt just line up and run on 1st & 2nd down with out being stuffed one of those downs. I'd still like to see more 1st down passes just to keep teams off balance. We are so predictable when we have 4th qtr leads.

[CowboyKilla]

I thought the playcalling in the first half was pretty bad. Overall though, they saw that we could pound them all day so they stuck with it and got it done. Not too many issues from me. A win is a win, and we dominated them today. I will reserve judgement on any playcalling issues till the end of the season, cause its not like its going to change much in season anyhow.
Playcalling Grade: B+
1st half: C
2nd half: A
Whatever Works, right? Arizona next up. Get it done Skins.HTTR.

[CNYSkinFan]

It took me dang near 30 minutes to get to the upperlevel. It was pretty packed up there where I was at, section 432. Everybody was still stuck in line to get on the escalators. I missed kickoff by two minute, probaly cuzz I was the bar getting two screwdrivers. Look at background of my avatar pic, it seemed pretty packed.

My bro is trying to get tickets to the Dallas game, so count me in to contribute.

ESCALATORS?????? Where the hell are the Escalators? I I hustled my 300+ lb butt up the ramps to get to my seat on time!!! If I can do it anyone can!!!

[MONK_in_HOF]

I don't think the playcalling has been bad at any point this year really. It is much improved over last year. WTEM has been flooded the past 2 weeks with people complaining about Gibbs playcalling. I personally attributed our 4th quarter struggles mainly to poor execution. I think the main problems have been timely drops and penalties late in the games.

The one thing I can't figure out is why we always get the ball first and never defer???? Do we win the coin toss every week??? I just think we would want our strongest unit on the field first and to get the ball in the second half. I don't think we have scored on an opening drive all year and more times than not it seems we usually set the other team up w/ good field position on their opening drive.

[rskinsfan10]

maybe so but can you apply that same logic to jimoh? You're not gonna ever have him be a starter but he could very well start for the raiders and shut us down. we shoud've done better and we didn't. period.I have no idea what you are talking about here.

[rskinsfan10]

No still no genius. But simple straight ahead plays work much better against inferior teams. Unfortuantley the Redskins won't make the playoffs because they are not allowed to play just the inferior teams. Come down off your bandwagon homer. There's nothing wrong with celebrating a win, but don't confuse beating the Rams or Arizona with playing Dallas or New York.

We just beat a losing team with a losing record with an interim head coach. Your point is?My point is this is a great example on getting yourself kicked out of here, and since I have sat back and watched you act like a jerk to numerous folks since you registered, let me take this time and bid you adeiu for all of those that you pissed off.

[rskinsfan10]

Are you stating that play calls were not bad in the 3 losses? The play calling was better but the Rams are alot worse than I thought. Not to take away from what the team did but good play calling is based off whats working for you & the strength & weaknesses of the team you're playing. For example the Rams had 8-9 players in the box the entire game and still couldnt stop the run so the coaches really didnt have to think to hard. The past opponents had waaaay better defenses so we couldnt just line up and run on 1st & 2nd down with out being stuffed one of those downs. I'd still like to see more 1st down passes just to keep teams off balance. We are so predictable when we have 4th qtr leads.Yes, that is what I'm saying. If the plays that were called are executed as they should have been, then other then the Tampa game IMO we win easily. It's funny you mention more passes on first down to keep teams off balance. Well, I heard plenty of people complaining about the pass play where Portis knocked the ball out of Brunell's hands that led to the safety. They were saying that he shouldn't have called a pass there. Which is it going to be Redskin fans?

[frankez99]

Yes, that is what I'm saying. If the plays that were called are executed as they should have been, then other then the Tampa game IMO we win easily. It's funny you mention more passes on first down to keep teams off balance. Well, I heard plenty of people complaining about the pass play where Portis knocked the ball out of Brunell's hands that led to the safety. They were saying that he shouldn't have called a pass there. Which is it going to be Redskin fans?

rskinsfan10....it has become apparent that the prevailing thought is:

Pass, pass, pass....we need to pass more! We do, then it's....

Wait...Run, run, run....why aren't we running more?

Flavor of the day mentality.

We beat a team Sunday that had the same record as us...and as much to lose.....and yet the gameplan is getting questioned.:banghead:

It seems as if nobody is happy w/the "gameplan"....even after a win. I don't get it.

If I hear the team "conservative" one more time I am going to vomit on myself.

[rskinsfan10]

rskinsfan10....it has become apparent that the prevailing thought is:

Pass, pass, pass....we need to pass more! We do, then it's....

Wait...Run, run, run....why aren't we running more?

Flavor of the day mentality.

We beat a team Sunday that had the same record as us...and as much to lose.....and yet the gameplan is getting questioned.:banghead:

It seems as if nobody is happy w/the "gameplan"....even after a win. I don't get it.

If I hear the team "conservative" one more time I am going to vomit on myself.I'm not understanding it either. People say that we should take chances, yet some of those same people, not nessarily here, questioned the HB option pass yesterday. People are saying that Gibbs is stubborn and won't listen to others that suggest changes, yet they conveniently forget that if it weren't for the input of Bill Musgrave, then we probably would not be seeing Brunell in the shotgun this season.

[BurgundyNGold]

I'm not understanding it either. People say that we should take chances, yet some of those same people, not nessarily here, questioned the HB option pass yesterday. People are saying that Gibbs is stubborn and won't listen to others that suggest changes, yet they conveniently forget that if it weren't for the input of Bill Musgrave, then we probably would not be seeing Brunell in the shotgun this season.
Personally, I liked the HB option. I wish Portis hadn't thrown it like such a girl though, lol.

As for the other thing, if you're talking about Brian Baldinger, well, he's an idiot who clearly doesn't know anything about our team. At one point yesterday, he was stuttering for like 5 seconds during the broadcast as he fumbled through his notes to remember that David Patten was the WR who is usually on the other side of Moss. What a dolt.

[Dolla Bill]

And I will quote this for empathis

When the coach calls a play and the team doesn’t execute it, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t the right call, it means that it was poorly executed.

That was from the Doc himself in his weekly column. I don't think the playcalling was that much different than any other week, but it came down to execution. I mean, when the Rams were substituting 6' rocks out there for their run defense, why change what you have been doing all game long? We ran, ran, and then oh yeah, ran some more and it was effective. I have criticized alot of Gibbs' playcalling, but that was more in the heat of the moment. I think we are logistically about 1-2 players away from what Gibbs really really wants to do with this offense.

[helimech24]

My point is this is a great example on getting yourself kicked out of here, and since I have sat back and watched you act like a jerk to numerous folks since you registered, let me take this time and bid you adeiu for all of those that you pissed off.

Thank you rskinfan10 for kicking a hater to the curb [slow clap starts here]. For the life of me, I don't understand what Gibbs has done differently in the 4th Quarter in the TB game, Oak game, and the SD game. Well Ok, he passed to much in the Oakland game, but the other two had even mixes of pass and run. It was the lack of execution, not play calling. Whether it be dropped balls, missed blocks, or CP not cutting a run against the grain. Whatever it was, It wasn't his play calling.

[smoak]

Thank you rskinfan10 for kicking a hater to the curb [slow clap starts here]. For the life of me, I don't understand what Gibbs has done differently in the 4th Quarter in the TB game, Oak game, and the SD game. Well Ok, he passed to much in the Oakland game, but the other two had even mixes of pass and run. It was the lack of execution, not play calling. Whether it be dropped balls, missed blocks, or CP not cutting a run against the grain. Whatever it was, It wasn't his play calling.

Gee and I wonder if Portis' TWO fumbles against Oakland had anything to do with coach going to the passing game a little more. Not to mention that supposedly Oakland's secondary is vunerable and the offense just didn't take advantage.

(continues with slow clap)

[JoeDaSchmoe]

I'm on the fence with this one, because while I agree that our offensive line must block better in these crucial situations, Gibbs seems extremely hesitant to run the simplest alternative plays. I mean, with 7 minutes left and a one-score lead, it's okay to call a play action bootleg on first down and tell Brunell to just quickly throw it to a releasing tight end on that side. It's a very simply play, works 95% of the time, and if the defense is overcommitting against the run, it could result in a good chunk of yardage. We don't see that happen, though.

[helimech24]

Gee and I wonder if Portis' TWO fumbles against Oakland had anything to do with coach going to the passing game a little more. Not to mention that supposedly Oakland's secondary is vunerable and the offense just didn't take advantage.

(continues with slow clap)

I wasn't criticizing him for throwing a lot in that game, like a heck of a lot of people on here, I was just pointing out that Gibbs has been consistent throughout the year. I had nothing bad to say against the playcalling in that game, I wouldn't have given the ball to Portis either after that.

(still slow clapping)

[bgforever]

how about this game's performance? i'd say that was taking what was there... and then some.

I am just guessing he means INSIDE the O Line. There were moments that appeared even though the line was packing in, inside, the outside was there for the taking. Of course when the outside was designed that way, Portis and Rock exploited it. The inside stuffs of Portis aren't cute.

[bgforever]

Yes, but, the offensive lien did its job this week. Gibbs really did not have to be that clever.

Point taken to the bank. But I still think we waste some plays on trying to move the middle for a first or just to get it in better position. Yet at the same time, we can't have them key on him, knowing he'd only go outside. Its not strange the same plays were called. To me it was the OLine and "when" they called them in the 4th qtr and "who" carried the ball, who was the receiver for what particular moment.