Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

vote and discuss

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I feel like the dropped passes have directly lead to both of our losses so far this season. If the receivers could have held onto the ball to keep the chains moving we'd have put the giants and the packers away.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I really think we're only a few more completions away from being 5-0. Moss has been the main culprit with way too many catchable balls going through his fingers, but it seems like everyone has had their share of the drops so far.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

Playcalling has been fine, but I'm sure that will probably get the most votes

Clock management has been superb in several cases, particularly the way we handled the clock in the Lions and Eagles game (save for the end of the first half against Philly)

Offensive Line (under Bugel's guidance) has been our unsung hero up until yesterday. Can't say enough about what Pete Kendall has done for this team

So...I'll go with dropped passes. And, to me, dropped passes includes dropped interceptions

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I said clock managment since I think its flat out inexcusable. When you have a hof coach doing nothing but managing the game Sundays it should be nothing less then perfect.

Offensive line could get us going forward. So far I feel like every replacement has come in and really stepped up, but were pretty much out of replacements. Let hope for no more injuries.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I guess this goes hand in hand with the injury plagued offensive line, but how about the lack of a strong running game this season?
We haven't really been able to pound the ball, which means we're forced to pass more even if we have a second half lead.
For me that's been almost as frustrating as the dropped passes.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I think its playcalling. The coaches let the Giants game get away and they screwed up yesterday.

The O-line injuries are a very close 2nd but every team has to deal with injuries. The dropped passes were only really an issue yesterday.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

Dropped balls. That includes fumbles. Portis is making a habit out of fumbling the football and it has to stop. I have noticed in past years that it seems like he fumbles in bunches and then has long streaks of not coughing it up. Lets all hope he gets that shit out of his system. And for the drops, Moss has been doing that since week 1 and its becoming a problem. He is not the only one who drops passes so I dont want it to seem like I am calling him out but it is magnified by his status as a "playmaker".

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[quote=irish;364541]I think its playcalling. The coaches let the Giants game get away and they screwed up yesterday.

The O-line injuries are a very close 2nd but every team has to deal with injuries. The dropped passes were only really an issue yesterday.[/quote]They were a problem in the Miami game too. Moss dropped 3 or 4 very catchable balls in that game. If he catches 2 of those the Miami game never gets to overtime. Yesterday, if he cathes the long bomb donw the sideline.....well, who knows.

All i'm sayin is the coaches were putting the players in very good situations and the PLAYERS litterally dropped the ball. I'll give you a bad coaching game against NY, but in EVERY other game the coaches were good enough to win.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I think its offensive line. Though our replacements have been playing much better than anyone would have thought, there is NO doubt in my mind that if we had thomas and jansen in those games:
- campbell would have a lot more time to complete pass (esp to check downs)
- we wouldn't have to max protect on obvious passing downs which would free up one Christopher Cooley as an extra receiver (and we all know what he can do/could have done)
- our running game would be a LOT more effective at picking up first downs and playing Redskins-style football (we would have been able to run out that Giants game instead of squandering a 3 TD lead)

I think ppl are underrating the loss of those guys. Our O-line is our foundation and by losing some of those key guys it has showed itself to be a weakness down the stretch in games. Yesterday, we surrendered two sacks on the final drive. Against the Giants we had multiple attempts at the goalline to tie the game and had to run left twice...u tellin me with a healthy thomas and jansen we wouldn't have mixed it up down there?

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I chose dropped passes. Not only Moss but El, Sellers, Lloyd (although a tough one) ALL had critical drops in the game that would have changed the outcome.

They need to shake it off and come back next week with a vengance. AZ is no pushover on defense and they will hit you in the mouth.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I think it's a tie so far between the oline and drops. I think the drops are going to go away down the stretch, but there's not much we can do about the line. It's really hurting us when we play a team with a strong defensive front.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I wish "dropped passes" were changed to "Overall inconsistency / unreliability of the receiving corps"...

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I'll go with dropped passes since thats why we lost yesterday and with only two losses on the season, thats most glaring to me....Theres too much blame to go around for the Giants loss, from the very top with Joe GIbbs to the very last player on this team, so I dont think we can call that public enemy #1...Yesterday I can point right to why we lost, so I'll go with dropped passes....

Now clock managment hasent killed us yet, but I think it might. It boggles my mind how the guys on that sidelines are getting paid 20 million dollars, and a girl is sitting in my basement who just started watching football within the year, knows when to call time outs.

The Oline injuries are huge..but honestly I think the guys who have stepped in have done a phenominal job. Obviously its not like having the starting 5 in, but I think these guys have really played hard and well given the circumstances.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

Public Enemies:
#1 O-line:
With our Defense playing as well as it is, if we had ANYTHING going for us on offense, we would be 5-0. With a healthy Oline we would have a much better running game. I have seen some hate going CP's way, but he is still getting 6-10 yard carries behind this patchwork Oline; if it were healthy he'd be able to win games or us on the ground. Also, late in yesterdays game especially there were many plays when JC didn't get a chance to set his feet. We may have been able to pull out a W against GB and NY if he was given some time in the pocket.

#2 Drops:
Especially from Moss. It is killing us. Matty is right, if we had a couple more catches in our two losses we'd have won the games. I'll give Santana a pass for now because of the bad weather, but if he doesn't start making big plays for us soon, count this team out. (BTW, I know the wet ball is hard to catch, but Cooley sure was able to, and so was McArdell when he came in late in the game, so that is kinda a weak excuse for Moss, but he has single handedly won many games for us in the past, so I'll give him the benefit of doubt.)

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[QUOTE=dgack;364547]I wish "dropped passes" were changed to "Overall inconsistency / unreliability of the receiving corps"...[/QUOTE]

Does inconsistency and unreliability have anything to do with coaching? I think it does.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I would say it has been consistent execution. We always seem to play extremely well in the first half and then lose all mojo in the second.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

Drops, easily.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

Going forward, I think it's going to be the offensive line, since that has a direct impact on the running game, and Campbell's ability to make multiples reads.

Yesterday, it was the drops...

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I think the playcalling has improved the last two weeks. The drop passes have been, in my opinion, the one direct contributor to our 2 losses. There's no disputing that.

However, the clock management is where I cast my vote. I don't care how the clock is managed for 3 1/2 quarters, it's those last 2-5 minutes of the game that matter the most. This is one of the few times over the course of a game when the game is actually in the coaches hands.

It's been a reoccuring theme since Gibbs has returned, and I'm not sure what the problem is to be honest. But it doesn't help our confidence as a team when the game is on the line.

I think we "tense up" when the game is close and when it's in the coaches hands. Look, wide receivers and running backs are going to have off days - days when things just aren't clicking. But the coaches have to be on their on Ps and Qs when the game is tight. We seem so reactionary on the sidelines. It doesn't seem like we're thinking two or three plays at a time during the two minute drill.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

Unfortunately (or fortunately) I was flying home from Jamaica mon!! Missed the packers game. It was such torcher sitting in Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville in Montigo Bay watching the scores ticker while the cowboys were getting smacked. Then 17-14 game up and Campbell 21-37 with 220 and a td and pick. No running attack again. I didn't see the game but heard that Moss dropped a really easy pass in that game. Would have been a field goal if not more. I saw his fumble and it looked like he needed to wait for blockers and he had something on that reverse. His head hasn't been in any game this year and we need him to snap out of it. Moss lost that game with his fumble and dropped passes.

Our defense looks unreal and that's good for the long haul. We need to figure out the running game against a much improved but very beatable Cardinals team. We play so much better at home and NEED to win this game.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

we have a good qb and a great defense.....that should be enough....we just need everyone else to stop crapping the bed

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I went with injuries to the offensive line because that has been the big factor in in our deflated running game. You definitely wouldn't know it by their stats so far that the Skins have two 1,000 yard rushers sharing the load out of the backfield. I mean so far the only rb who's been consistent with running the ball has been our damn fullback. I know it's still a ways away but u can bet that the o-line is what gets the most attention in the offseason and draft. A very close second would be the dropped passes because as others have posted that also counts dropped ints for me.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

yeah, a pic 6 from taylor would have really set the tone, and we could have run them outta the building....but he made up for it later

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

4-2 will make us all feel a lot better. We just need Rabach healthy badly...

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I say the O-line is the biggest factor, because that has affected the running attack all season. As for drops, I'm stunned at how many balls Moss has dropped this season. In his first two seasons here, drops were few and far between. Now they have become a trend. I have faith that Moss will be his old self, and hopefully this will be a wake up call.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

To answer the topic though, I'm going with something not listed...luck.

The breaks just don't go our way when it matters. So far EVERY GAME this year, there's a big play that's just straight up un-lucky.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

Bottom line
Our O-line is the most important part of our offense.
It sucks that everyone is hurt

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;364612]To answer the topic though, I'm going with something not listed...luck.

The breaks just don't go our way when it matters. So far EVERY GAME this year, there's a big play that's just straight up un-lucky.[/quote]

That's always been our problem....we blame luck...instead of making our own luck....Ravens D doesnt need luck because they are constantly ball hawking.....and always finish out plays...instead of putting their heads down after a play MEANWHILE THERE IS AN F***ING LIVE FUMBLE

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[QUOTE=SmootSmack;364532]Playcalling has been fine, but I'm sure that will probably get the most votes

Clock management has been superb in several cases, particularly the way we handled the clock in the Lions and Eagles game (save for the end of the first half against Philly)

Offensive Line (under Bugel's guidance) has been our unsung hero up until yesterday. Can't say enough about what Pete Kendall has done for this team

So...I'll go with dropped passes. And, to me, dropped passes includes dropped interceptions[/QUOTE]

I don't know if I've ever disagreed more with one part of a post and agreed so strongly on another.

I think with the exception of the Detroit game, the offensive playcalling has been basic, unimaginative and too conservative. Now coming off of the fumbled reverse that cost us the game I know that I'm not operating from a position of strength. With OL problems, I'd expect more quick passes to get our WR the ball with their feet moving, spreading the field a little more-not with more WR but more imagination in route combinations (the INT was an indirect result of Moss & ARE running the same route within 5 yards of each other, WTF kind of design is that?), our complete lack of a screen game and utilization of our personnel.. Watching other teams, even bad ones, it's clear our offense is stuck in 1991. The Dolphins, Titans, Texans among other teams have sub-standard offensive personnel yet are much more imaginative and aggressive offensively than we are. I don't compare us to the Pats, Colts or Bolts from an offensive standpoint because they are elitely talented but we've got to get with the times. We've got better personnel than any of Saunders KC teams yet seem to be stuck in neutral 80% of the time.

I disagree with you on clock management, but a lot of that falls under the playcalling topic IMO.. Trying to bleed the clock the entire 2nd half (Giants game, no downfield passes until too late, swing passes and runs off tackle aren't going to get it done) with a 14 point lead is pathetic.

I agree with you on the OL & dropped passes, especially on defense.. We should have hung 30 on GB if Taylor makes those plays, inexcusable to miss all of those. Smoot should have ended the Miami game with a pick.. For all of Danny's $$$ he can't invest in a Juggs machine!?!?! We're on pace for another below average turnover output this year despite the defensive heroics and that's the difference between 7 wins and 10 wins. Getting the ball back with a short field or taking it to the house yourself has a huge impact on your team as a whole.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

agreed, scoring on long epic 80 yard drives is not necessary in todays NFL...we need to be starting on a shorter field= less chance of screwing up.....need to cause more TO's favre was trying to lose the game yesterday

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

I'm amazed that I am only the 4th person to vote for play calling as public enemy #1. We could be 5-0 easily despite the O-line injuries if Saunders and the rest of the staff could remove their head from their ass in the 2nd half. Some of play calling has been downright comical. Too many cooks in the kitchen, and I think it's starting to rear it's ugly head.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[quote=gibbsisgod;364542]Dropped balls. That includes fumbles. Portis is making a habit out of fumbling the football and it has to stop. I have noticed in past years that it seems like he fumbles in bunches and then has long streaks of not coughing it up. Lets all hope he gets that shit out of his system. And for the drops, Moss has been doing that since week 1 and its becoming a problem. He is not the only one who drops passes so I dont want it to seem like I am calling him out but it is magnified by his status as a "playmaker".[/quote]

I say we do call out Moss. He's having a terrible, injury-filled season. The question is, Was his great year in 2005 a fluke?

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[quote=Twilbert07;364736]I say we do call out Moss. He's having a terrible, injury-filled season. The question is, Was his great year in 2005 a fluke?[/quote]

I think Moss' great season in 2005 was absolutely a fluke. He's been hobbled by groin and hamstring issues his entire career dating back to his days at the U. It showed all of last year and so far this year. He's super fast and can change a game with one play, but in terms of staying healthy and consistency, 2005 was in fact a fluke. I'd rather have Coles frankly. At least he plays every game and makes clutch catches. Plus he can go over the middle and he's tough as nails. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike Moss, and when he's clicking he's really fun to watch, but it just hasn't happened since '05. Coles in the meantime is quietly putting together a nice year on an extremely offensively-challenged Jets team...

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[QUOTE=The Zimmermans;364728]agreed, scoring on long epic 80 yard drives is not necessary in todays NFL...we need to be starting on a shorter field= less chance of screwing up.....need to cause more TO's favre was trying to lose the game yesterday[/QUOTE]

Didn't we start at the 50 yard line (thanks to Rock's great return) when Moss fumbled and CW ran it back for the deciding TD? Short field didn't help us much there

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[quote=GMScud;364729]I'm amazed that I am only the 4th person to vote for play calling as public enemy #1. We could be 5-0 easily despite the O-line injuries if Saunders and the rest of the staff could remove their head from their ass in the 2nd half. Some of play calling has been downright comical. Too many cooks in the kitchen, and I think it's starting to rear it's ugly head.[/quote]The plays themselves aren't the problem, excluding some typical "what the f was that Al" 3rd and short play calling. Saunders on the whole does a good job mixing it up and keeping the defense on it's heels throughout the game. His situational play calling is utter shit, but again, this makes only about one iota of difference in the outcome of the game.

Course, the situational play calling wouldn't look nearly as bad in the short run if 1) we could block for the runner, or 2) the quarterback could hit an open receiver 7 yards away.

I am worried about how Saunders and Gibbs never seem to be able to be on the same page regarding 3rd vs 4th down calls. Now, this isn't a problem at all, only because Al doesn't usually consider down and distance when picking his play. But Gibbs is making the decision whether or not to go for it on 4th AFTER Saunders has called in the 3rd down play. On 99% of teams, this would really hurt the offenses' chance of converting. But again, Saunders already makes awful situational calls, so in this case it doesn't matter.

To me, the only way to rectify this is for Gibbs to call both the 3rd and 4th down play on a situation where the clock is an issue.

I don't think Coaches can do a whole lot to help their team out, and our coaches certainly are not. I guess the playcalling being generally unpredictable balances out the predictably awful short yardage playcalling so we really don't have a big disadvantage in the coaching staff relative to other teams.

Anyway, while the coaches do a lot of frustrating moves in-game, they are pretty much about par for the league. There are a lot of bad coaches in this league, and neither Gibbs, nor Saunders, nor Williams is a bad coach at all. It's just that I know theres a lot of things they could be doing better, and it's finally starting to frustrate me a bit.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[quote=SmootSmack;364745]Didn't we start at the 50 yard line (thanks to Rock's great return) when Moss fumbled and CW ran it back for the deciding TD? Short field didn't help us much there[/quote]

True True.....think we started on like the 35....but we did cost ourselves at least 100 yards of field position by not picking off some of those gimme's and failing to recover fumbles. With a wet field and a shaky run game....we really really needed those plays

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[quote=GMScud;364729]I'm amazed that I am only the 4th person to vote for play calling as public enemy #1. We could be 5-0 easily despite the O-line injuries if Saunders and the rest of the staff could remove their head from their ass in the 2nd half. Some of play calling has been downright comical. Too many cooks in the kitchen, and I think it's starting to rear it's ugly head.[/quote]

I didn't see the coaches out there dropping balls or fumbling yesterday. Take away those drops and turnovers and we win that game easy.

Blaming the coaches is an easy cop out.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[quote=GTripp0012;364750]The plays themselves aren't the problem, excluding some typical "what the f was that Al" 3rd and short play calling. Saunders on the whole does a good job mixing it up and keeping the defense on it's heels throughout the game. His situational play calling is utter shit, but again, this makes only about one iota of difference in the outcome of the game.

Course, the situational play calling wouldn't look nearly as bad in the short run if 1) we could block for the runner, or 2) the quarterback could hit an open receiver 7 yards away.

I am worried about how Saunders and Gibbs never seem to be able to be on the same page regarding 3rd vs 4th down calls. Now, this isn't a problem at all, only because Al doesn't usually consider down and distance when picking his play. But Gibbs is making the decision whether or not to go for it on 4th AFTER Saunders has called in the 3rd down play. On 99% of teams, this would really hurt the offenses' chance of converting. But again, Saunders already makes awful situational calls, so in this case it doesn't matter.

To me, the only way to rectify this is for Gibbs to call both the 3rd and 4th down play on a situation where the clock is an issue.

I don't think Coaches can do a whole lot to help their team out, and our coaches certainly are not. I guess the playcalling being generally unpredictable balances out the predictably awful short yardage playcalling so we really don't have a big disadvantage in the coaching staff relative to other teams.

Anyway, while the coaches do a lot of frustrating moves in-game, they are pretty much about par for the league. There are a lot of bad coaches in this league, and neither Gibbs, nor Saunders, nor Williams is a bad coach at all. It's just that I know theres a lot of things they could be doing better, and it's finally starting to frustrate me a bit.[/quote]

Yeah, I wasn't saying that every play, every down is a problem. But when a head coach and offensive coordinator can't get on the same page repeatedly on crucial 3rd and 4th downs (this has been a problem going back to early last season), then to me that makes play calling a huge issue. I was screaming at the TV when Gibbs sat there with a confused look on his face and didn't call a timeout as the clock ticked down to the two minute warning. I just don't know if this offense will ever get it together. We're averaging 16.75 pts a game against teams not named the Lions. That's awful. We're 53 regular season games into Gibbs 2.0. I'm so over the excuses.

Re: Public enemy #1 for the Skins this year has been...
 

[quote=Mattyk72;364757]I didn't see the coaches out there dropping balls or fumbling yesterday. Take away those drops and turnovers and we win that game easy.

Blaming the coaches is an easy cop out.[/quote]

See my post below. Play calling isn't the only reason, but it ain't helping either.

Of course yesterday the main reason for the loss was drops/turnovers, but I'm talking about overall. How about not being able to get a first down until very late in the 2nd half in the Giants game? That's a defense that adjusted well to us, and we failed to readjust. How about scoring a measley 16 points at home against a miserable Dolphins defense that leaks like a sive? Coaching...