Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

I know some of you don't care what he has to say, figuring it's all just cliche-coach talk. That's fine, but for those that are interested I thought I'd share.

[url=http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20070223-123751-6524r.htm]Gibbs gives overview of Redskins' plan - Sports - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper[/url]

"Speaking extensively for the first time since his end-of-season press conference on Jan. 1, Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs answered questions from two reporters for nearly 40 minutes this morning at his downtown hotel."

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

Thanks TAFKAS.

Hope you can post the whole article tomorrow. I think what he said is some good things. I love that CP is ready to rock next year. I think he is going to have a monster year.

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

I like what he said about Dock, it may have been code for "he's asked for a huge sum of $, but we hope his agent reduces that demand & we sign something next week."
I like what he said about AA as well, who knows maybe he'll have a decent year.

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

Sounds good, looking foward to catching the entire interview tomorrow in the times. Great to hear something from THE MAN!

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

I liked this part the best, as usual he listens to his players and he's not afraid to change things up:

Delaying the start of on-field, off-season activities: "I felt like what we did last year made absolute sense. We started early; went Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; and gave them long weekends. But what they kind of felt, and they are guys I trust, is that they would like to be more on their own from a conditioning standpoint further into the off-season. So we're going to do that. We'll probably start six [or] seven weeks later."

Starting training camp early: "Training camp ... will probably be different for us, too. It will probably come earlier."

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Six or seven weeks later in the offseason is HUGE! I think that will certainly pump up the troops and keep them fresh for later in the year.

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good read. and I'm not sold on A.A. sucking as bad as last season. I'm the guy who keeps saying great coaches don't forget how to coach. i think the same goes for players. not that A.A. is great, but he is alot better then he showed last season

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

[quote=dmek25;279916]good read. and I'm not sold on A.A. sucking as bad as last season. I'm the guy who keeps saying great coaches don't forget how to coach. i think the same goes for players. not that A.A. is great, but he is alot better then he showed last season[/quote]

A.A.'s problem is pretty simple- speed, or lack there of. He just isn't fast enough to cover the way we needed him to. He had the nickname "toast" before we ever made him the richest safety in league history.

I do love what Gibbs had to say about listening to the players regarding conditioning/training camp.

Does anyone else think it was a bad idea to cut Vincent? It may be a tad off topic, but I feel like we should cut Fauria, John Hall, David Patten, Kozlowski, maybe a a few others- but Vincent had become a leader, Taylor's play improved when he joined the team, and as the Prez of the NFLPA he was very respected, plus our secondary is so weak... I dunno, I just felt like we should have kept him around.

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

Vincent requested to be released. He was looking for more playing time. Once Prileaou returned, Vincent was not going to be the starter.

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

Nevermind, I just found the other thread about releasing Vincent. I wasn't trying to turn this into a discussion about him. Sorry

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

[QUOTE=dmek25;279916]good read. and I'm not sold on A.A. sucking as bad as last season. I'm the guy who keeps saying great coaches don't forget how to coach. i think the same goes for players. not that A.A. is great, but he is alot better then he showed last season[/QUOTE]



I concur in your thought process. Many of the comments made about AA reminds me so much of all the derogatory things that were said about Brunell after his first season here, words came a little more kindly after his second year here, and I'm hoping the same will hold true for AA.

Three circumstances that could have affected his play will not be prevelant this season: Changing teams, pressure of a huge contract in a different City, and learning a new defense. I'm hoping he too is out to demonstrate that he's a better player than he showed last year. I'll be satisfied with him at least having that opportunity.

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

[quote=Longtimefan;279928]I concur in your thought process. Many of the comments made about AA reminds me so much of all the derogatory things that were said about Brunell after his first season here, words came a little more kindly after his second year here, and I'm hoping the same will hold true for AA.

Three circumstances that could have affected his play will not be prevelant this season: Changing teams, pressure of a huge contract in a different City, and learning a new defense. I'm hoping he too is out to demonstrate that he's a better player than he showed last year. I'll be satisfied with him at least having that opportunity.[/quote]

Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE A.A. to live up to expectations, but did anyone other than me notice how SLOW he always looked on the field?? I hope he spends the entire offseason with parachutes tied to his back and weight vests on. He needs to be faster. Period.

And Brunell was injured most of his first season here. A.A. was healthy and just flat out stunk.

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do you think the effect of having a seperate coach for safeties and corners had an effect on his play namely steve jackson

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[quote=diehardskin2982;279931]do you think the effect of having a seperate coach for safeties and corners had an effect on his play namely steve jackson[/quote]

I don't think so. It shouldn't. Unless they were telling him conflicting things, which at this level I doubt would happen. When A.A. played in St. Louis, the team played a pretty conservative style of D. Now he comes to GW's blitz heavy schemes. When we send all those LB's, it leaves the secondary exposed. That's when A.A. would get exploited speed-wise. And he took bad angles of pursuit in run support... I just don't think the guy is that good.

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

[QUOTE=GMScud;279930]Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE A.A. to live up to expectations, but did anyone other than me notice how SLOW he always looked on the field?? I hope he spends the entire offseason with parachutes tied to his back and weight vests on. He needs to be faster. Period.

And Brunell was injured most of his first season here. A.A. was healthy and just flat out stunk.[/QUOTE]



While AA has been highly critisized for his lack of speed, it should be noted that speed is not a major prerequisite for playing the position. We had two safeties play here who were two of the slowest players in the NFL when they played; In the names of Paul Krause & Mark Murphy, they both enjoyed great careers and were no faster than AA. As a matter of fact Krause went on to become an all-pro with Minnesota. Toughtness and recognition are more required from the safety position than is speed.

When Brunell was being rediculed no one was saying it was because he was hurt, word was he just plain sucked, along with many other adjectives. What followed after his first season goes to show opinions can change.

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[QUOTE=GMScud;279933]I don't think so. It shouldn't. Unless they were telling him conflicting things, which at this level I doubt would happen.[/QUOTE]

According to the Tom Friend article, that is exactly what was happening.

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[QUOTE=JoeRedskin;279938]According to the Tom Friend article, that is exactly what was happening.[/QUOTE]

Which still baffles me. I mean all three (including Williams) coached together in Buffalo

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[quote=TAFKAS;279942]Which still baffles me. I mean all three (including Williams) coached together in Buffalo[/quote]

Agreed. How on earth can that go on in the NFL, especially with coaches who have worked together for multiple seasons? Could this be a microcosm of what's wrong with the defense? We've got so many coaches/coordinators, maybe signals are being crossed? Maybe that's why we just hired a new defense quality control coach? I'm pretty bothered by this. You make a guy the richest to ever play his position and he isn't even being coached consistently?? Anyone have the link to that Tom Friend article?

(I still think Archuletta isn't fast enough. Today's game is much more about speed than it was back in Mark Murphy's day)

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[quote=GMScud;279955]Agreed. How on earth can that go on in the NFL, especially with coaches who have worked together for multiple seasons? Could this be a microcosm of what's wrong with the defense? We've got so many coaches/coordinators, maybe signals are being crossed? Maybe that's why we just hired a new defense quality control coach? I'm pretty bothered by this. You make a guy the richest to ever play his position and he isn't even being coached consistently?? Anyone have the link to that Tom Friend article?

[B](I still think Archuletta isn't fast enough. Today's game is much more about speed than it was back in Mark Murphy's day[/B])[/quote]


Aint no thinkin about it. AA is a slow piece. Mark Brunell could probably outrun his goofy looking ass. Now, get me a Gatorade Arch.....

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according to redskins.com joe gibbs said the redskins are seriously considering trading down to acquire a couple more picks

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

[QUOTE=EARTHQUAKE2689;279994]according to redskins.com joe gibbs said the redskins are seriously considering trading down to acquire a couple more picks[/QUOTE]

What I've been hearing for a while is they want Gaines Adams (I hope they don't get him) but if he's picked up before he lands at #6 they'll look to trade down. If they trade down they could look at guys like Moses, Pittcock, and Okoye and maybe they could get a third and take Josh Wilson

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

[quote=GMScud;279930]And Brunell was injured most of his first season here. A.A. was healthy and just flat out stunk.[/quote]To be honest, you don't know that he was healthy this year. I know for a fact he's been quietly hinting at a chronic back injury.

Brunell's 2004 injury was not yet disclosed at this point, I don't think.

We have a sample size of five years where Arch was a solid Safety, and a sample size of 9 games where he was flat out horrible. Based on the above logic, doesn't it seem more likely that we get the player from the Rams next year and not the player that stunk here?

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[quote=TAFKAS;279995]What I've been hearing for a while is they want Gaines Adams (I hope they don't get him) but if he's picked up before he lands at #6 they'll look to trade down. If they trade down they could look at guys like Moses, Pittcock, and Okoye and maybe they could get a third and take Josh Wilson[/quote]

wilson, being the only sub 4.3 db, and a good tackler, will probably end up going in the 2nd (his speed is good, but its more straight line speed than overall speed (ie he doesn't have champ's fast cuts/burst)).

if we can get one of those DL AND wilson, it'd be a pretty good draft though.

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Just FYI the continuation of the article is up now... Says in there that Gibbs confirmed that AA will be back next season

[URL="http://www.washingtontimes.com/sports/20070224-123707-6394r.htm"]Gibbs, staff look ahead*-*Sports*-*The Washington Times, America's Newspaper[/URL]

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

[quote=TAFKAS;279995]What I've been hearing for a while is they want Gaines Adams (I hope they don't get him) but if he's picked up before he lands at #6 they'll look to trade down. If they trade down they could look at guys like Moses, Pittcock, and Okoye and maybe they could get a third and take Josh Wilson[/quote]


how about we trade the panthers the 6th pick for their 14th pick and their second rd cause they want to get brady quinn

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

[QUOTE=GMScud;279955]Agreed. How on earth can that go on in the NFL, especially with coaches who have worked together for multiple seasons? Could this be a microcosm of what's wrong with the defense? We've got so many coaches/coordinators, maybe signals are being crossed? Maybe that's why we just hired a new defense quality control coach? I'm pretty bothered by this. You make a guy the richest to ever play his position and he isn't even being coached consistently?? Anyone have the link to that Tom Friend article?

(I still think Archuletta isn't fast enough. Today's game is much more about speed than it was back in Mark Murphy's day)[/QUOTE]



AA is experiencing the same uniqueness with the Redskins that Travis Knight did with the Lakers, and Darius Songaila is with the Wizards.

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i'm sure gibbs is thinking a lot about next year,but i bet he is having a hard time NOT thinking about his sick grandson.he is human after all.

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

A couple of comments if I may:


1. Adam Archuletta is not 14 years old any more. He's not going to get faster than he is now. By the time you reach adulthood and your late 20s, you are as fast as you are going to be on a football field. He has as much chance of increasing his IQ by 30% as he does of decreasing his time in the 40-yard dash by 10%. The safety position is not one that demands great speed, but when you ask the safety to do as much man-coverage as this scheme did to Archuletta last year, he damned well better be able to run with the receivers he's asked to cover. And he couldn't; and he won't next year either if they do the same things with him. Gregg Williams (remember, the second "g" stands for genius) better damned well figure out how to use Archuletta differently next year or there will be a $10M signing bonus guy covering punts and kickoffs and not much more.


2. Somoene suggested that Archuletta may have a "chronic back injury". If that's so, then expecting him to get any better is really dumb. Chronic back injuries don't get better in the collision sport that is NFL football.


3. I didn't notice any of the Skins' players being horribly out of condition or having run out of gas at the end of the year. So, I'm not sure why the idea of changing up the workout program and modifying it by six or seven weeks makes a lot of sense - - other than to put more responsbility on the players themselves. That would have worked with the team that Gibbs had here in the late 80s; I wonder what leads him or anyone else to believe that this cxast of characters will "get it right". I don't know they'll get it wrong, but what makes anyone think this is a group that only needs to be responsible for itself and then they'll achieve wonderous things...

Re: Gibbs' Offseason Thoughts
 

[quote=sportscurmudgeon;280746]1. Adam Archuletta is not 14 years old any more. He's not going to get faster than he is now. By the time you reach adulthood and your late 20s, you are as fast as you are going to be on a football field. He has as much chance of increasing his IQ by 30% as he does of decreasing his time in the 40-yard dash by 10%. The safety position is not one that demands great speed, but when you ask the safety to do as much man-coverage as this scheme did to Archuletta last year, he damned well better be able to run with the receivers he's asked to cover. And he couldn't; and he won't next year either if they do the same things with him. Gregg Williams (remember, the second "g" stands for genius) better damned well figure out how to use Archuletta differently next year or there will be a $10M signing bonus guy covering punts and kickoffs and not much more.


2. Somoene suggested that Archuletta may have a "chronic back injury". If that's so, then expecting him to get any better is really dumb. Chronic back injuries don't get better in the collision sport that is NFL football.
[/quote]#2: Tendonitis is considered a "chronic" injury. However with rest, and aritroscopic surgury, it can be removed. Chronic doesn't mean you can never get rid of it, it means that there will always be a [I]risk[/I] of reaggrivating it.

If he was able to make those open field tackles, he would have never been replaced. Poor cover skills alone are not going to get a safety benched as MOST safeties have weak man coverage skills. I'm saying theres a chance that playing sporadically over the 2nd half of the season will give him an "extended offseason" and assist him in his recovering. If he is still injured next year, hes useless to us and his career is over. But we don't know that right now.

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I loved hearing Joe speak out. Not sure what Dockery is thinking? Totally changed my veiw of him. If he wants the Pro Bowl money then make it first!!

Worried about Shawn Springs also. He may be gone, I liked him.

I knew we would not get rid of AA. Who knows maybe he will have a big year for us and make some sacks and force turnovers??

Looks like our # 1 priority is our front 7 on defense. If we can't create pressure without the D line we are in trouble. That seems to be what the coaches are thinking.......

The X Factor is Jason Campbell, I'm confident he can put up 20 tds and 10 picks (something like that). Maybe better?!!! With our running attack all we need is a top 20 Defense and we're in the Playoffs. If we're better on Defense we're a FORCE!!!

Total comeback year for Skins! I LOVE THAT GIBBS STUCK OUT LAST YEAR WHICH WAS LIKE A ROOT CANAL.