Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

I think that generally speaking, this forum is far less extremist than some of the other fan forums that are out there and I attribute this to our great moderators and participants. I don't frequently chime in unless I have something to say and I hope some people find this to be a productive contribution.

I am seeing a lot of threads focused on specific areas where the Redskins need to improve. I'd like to just add my two cents on this.

I'll preface this by saying the Redskins have just lost to two teams that have top-tier talent in their defensive front sevens. Throughout the majority of the season, the Redskins have performed well and I think some of this has to do with relative unfamiliarity with Zorn as a playcaller (I believe the league has caught up to him) but a lot to do with pretty good execution throughout the season up until the past two weeks.

I think many of the suggestions herein on what troubles the Redskins are good however I believe that the single most troubling aspect of the last two games is their lack of top-tier talent in their offensive line and defensive front seven.

This is resulting in the Redskins not being able to protect the Quarterback when they face a top-tier front-seven as well as not being able to create pressure from their front seven when the opposing team has a top-tier offensive line. So in cases like the Steelers and Cowboys - two teams with superior talent in the trenches - we are going to have serious problems unless our skill players make significant plays (which they did not do).

However I do not think that strategically, you can rely on players to make extraordinary plays week in and week out. Over the course of a season, successful teams have a tendency to be built strong in the trenches and this is what allows them to deal with adversity and injury throughout the season.

My opinion is that we aren't built deep and strong in the trenches and until this becomes the focus of our draft we will not be able to match the physicality of teams like the Steelers or Giants.

Furthermore, the approach of bringing in talented players in the trenches who are beyond their prime simply isn't sustainable in my opinion. You need to develop young talent in these units, which is something I can't believe that our management team still fails to understand.

At any rate, curious to see what others have to say about this.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

I agree with you, even though I think this has been more than adequately suggested in other threads.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

This is all very correct. Honestly, Campbell's play seems to be more related to the amount of hits hes taking and the health of the starting receivers than it does to the offensive line, which has been pretty consistently bad, and especially so in the last oh, 6 games.

Just because the OL sucks doesn't necessarily Campbell is taking many hits. It does have to do with the front, I think. We're having trouble with 5 man rushes. Traditionally, the 5 man rush is an awful strategy because the offense will generally get it picked up anyway, and you're taking a player out of coverage and giving the Quarterback more options. However, 5 man rushes have killed the Redskins because 1) we're [I]not[/I] picking it up, and 2) the receivers [I]are not[/I] getting open against 6 man backfields. We need to find a way to pick up that five man rush and get some people open down the field.

Or throw screens against it. Zorn doesn't throw enough screens for as bad as we are up front.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

One more word on those 5 man rushes: a hat on a hat is supposed to be a win for the offense. But in pass protection for the Redskins, it just isn't. With three guys on our offensive line, a one on one with a guy with any pass rushing acuity is a mismatch.

Throw some screens, Jim.

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I completely agree with you. You need to build a team from the inside out. The lines need to be focused on first, and this has been mostly ignored in the draft. Our 2009 first round pick needs to be an offensive lineman.

Look at the Titans. They are a bunch of nobodys and they are 10-0 because their offensive and defensive lines are dominant.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

I might as well put my 2 cents in now because at this point I completely agree with everything thats been said so far. Great point by steveo about the Titans. That team proves how important the lines are. And GTripp is right on about picking up the 5 man rush and finding ways to get our receivers open. We need to address the lines ABSOLUTELY during the draft. But as Tripp is saying, there are things that need to be corrected NOW, and can be.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

I think we got spoiled when we came out of the gates with the record we had. The growing pains have set in. I remember back in the spring and summer many of us said we would be happy with a 8-8 record.

One thing I do think we need to work on is adding more youth to our O-line.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

Great post(s). All championship teams have great lines and no Superbowl made that more clear than '07, in which a flashy team w/ tons of talent got dominated by a superior trench team. I only have two quick points: 1) Pitt does not have a superior o-line this season, which is the main reason I do not believe it is on the level of Tennessee or NY. We lost to Pitt because our offense has utterly collapsed and the defense got surprised on a few plays, but not because the Pitt o-line dominated our defense. 2) What Drift said about acquiring/keeping aging talent on the line is the real truth... and I think it says a lot about our FO. Where's the long term strategy?

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

It's not like we don't have solid young linemen that have developed (will develop) into NFL starters-Golston, Montgomery, Heyer, Evans, hopefully Rinehart, Geisinger, and Jackson/Wilson in the not so distant future.

But I guess the concern is that we're not spending high draft picks on the line?

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

SmootSmack:

I think that the the apprehension here is that the young players you cite are good and solid OL/DL, but none have shown that they can/will be dominant players.

The defensive tackles on the squad are OK, but the last one the Skins had that was "special" was probably Dave Butz. That was long ago.

On the OL there are competent guys but no dominant ones. There is no one there who threatens to erase the memory of a Russ Grimm or a Joe Jacoby or a Jim Lachey. At one point, the Redskins had all three of those guys on the same team; now it would be spectacular if they had just one - - or one in the making.

Notice, I don't say it is [B]necessary[/B] to spend high draft picks to get these kinds of guys because I know that Jacoby was an UFA and Grimm was a third(?) round pick. But it would be nice to see the Skins use a draft pick to obtain a really top-shelf offensive lineman and defensive lineman sometime in the very near future. Maybe that means drafting one in Round 1; maybe it means the scouts have to find a real gem in the later rounds. But the Skins need one stud DT and one - preferably two - stud offensive lineman pretty quickly.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

[quote=SmootSmack;502217]It's not like we don't have solid young linemen that have developed (will develop) into NFL starters-Golston, Montgomery, Heyer, Evans, hopefully Rinehart, Geisinger, and Jackson/Wilson in the not so distant future.

But I guess the concern is that we're not spending high draft picks on the line?[/quote]Well, there's nothing young about Evans. He's 29 and currently in his prime. Still, I think we have to find a way to get him an extension. He's a truly great player that Gibbs uncovered and hid behind Daniels. But this season appears to be his career year.

Montgomery, I think, has much more value to a 3-4 team as a dominating, penetrating nose tackle in the mold of Shaun Rogers, Vince Wilfork, or Kris Jenkins. As long as we have him though, we're only going to get Kris Jenkins from Carolina or Shaun Rogers from Detroit. It's not a scheme that fits him very well, and if we can get the going rate for a player like him (a second rounder, or a third and a fifth, or a third and a young player) I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Golston will be that great run stopping nose tackle for us well into the future. But that leaves one key spot that were already not getting any production from when Monty is not in: the 3 technique tackle.

This is what we need to address in the draft. A DT with multiple moves, and I think it's going to be a good draft class for that.

And Rinehart's got potential, but if Geisinger was worth anything in future value, he's be starting already. Rabach is awful, and he still can't get on the field, so I'm guessing that no one is looking at Geisinger seriously.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

Also, the Jason Taylor trade: officially horrible. We got waxed.

We're going to have to make a decision next off-season between Daniels and Taylor. And by no means is this a simple decision. Vinny needs to realize that the 2nd round pick we send for Taylor is a sunk cost, and that if a 36 year old Daniels can help us more than a 35 year old Taylor, Daniels needs to stay and Taylor must go.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

Yeah I think there's a lot of truth to this. When it comes to the offensive line, we have a major weakness at RT, we have a major strength at LT (though Samuels has had some disappointing moments), and the rest of the line is solid but is overmatched against very talented defenders.

When it comes to the defensive line, we have solid DTs in the middle, but no playmakers. Andre Carter is a playmaker at end, but teams have been able to neutralize him with Taylor not himself on the other side.

Our lines have games where they show up and play well, but other games where they're sub-par. It's hard to establish the upper hand needed to put together a serious playoff run and beat 3 or 4 playoff teams and take a Super Bowl title.

You're right, we'll struggle to ever be a dominant team unless we can get some trench players in house who are capable of dominating not just one game, but multiple games in a row against various opponents.

With these lines, it's kind of hard to see how we can ever be much better than 10-6. Not that 10-6 is bad, but ya know, we kinda want to win the whole thing.

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I agree about drafting linemen. Snyderatto - NO MORE WR's, TE's or RB's.

The other point of concern for me about the Redskins is the way we throw money around. We are getting better but still we have a ton of our 2009 salary cap tied up on just a handful of old players that are either injured a lot or are under-performing. We have $39.5 million committed to just these six players:

In 2009:
1) Jason Taylor $8.5 million
2) Andre Carter $6.5 million
3) Marcus Washington $6.5 million
4) Jon Jansen $5.6 million
5) Shawn Springs $8.5 million
6) Fred Smoot $4.15 million

None of these players are playing up to level to deserve their high salary. Shawn Springs and Marcus Washington play well when healthy. But they are injured all time in 2008. The others do not play at a high level [B][U]anymore[/U][/B]. We could do alot to invest this $39.5 million on young players to develop for the future.
By the way the Cowboys, as did the Giants exposed that Andre Carter and Jason Taylor are weak against the run. Team that have a strong running game will exploit this.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

[quote=sportscurmudgeon;502222]SmootSmack:

I think that the the apprehension here is that the young players you cite are good and solid OL/DL, but none have shown that they can/will be dominant players.

The defensive tackles on the squad are OK, but the last one the Skins had that was "special" was probably Dave Butz. That was long ago.

On the OL there are competent guys but no dominant ones. There is no one there who threatens to erase the memory of a Russ Grimm or a Joe Jacoby or a Jim Lachey. At one point, the Redskins had all three of those guys on the same team; now it would be spectacular if they had just one - - or one in the making.

Notice, I don't say it is [B]necessary[/B] to spend high draft picks to get these kinds of guys because I know that Jacoby was an UFA and Grimm was a third(?) round pick. But it would be nice to see the Skins use a draft pick to obtain a really top-shelf offensive lineman and defensive lineman sometime in the very near future. Maybe that means drafting one in Round 1; maybe it means the scouts have to find a real gem in the later rounds. But the Skins need one stud DT and one - preferably two - stud offensive lineman pretty quickly.[/quote]

Fantastic post.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

[quote=GTripp0012;502224][B]Also, the Jason Taylor trade: officially horrible. We got waxed.
[/B]
We're going to have to make a decision next off-season between Daniels and Taylor. And by no means is this a simple decision. Vinny needs to realize that the 2nd round pick we send for Taylor is a sunk cost, and that if a 36 year old Daniels can help us more than a 35 year old Taylor, Daniels needs to stay and Taylor must go.[/quote]

Oh thank God someone finally said it (pretty sure you're the first anyway).

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

I also don't think it has anything to do with scheme. JT has always been awful vs. the run, he's not providing any pass rush, and he's making rookie esque mistakes in play recognition that Daniels/Evans/Golston, and possibly even Chris Wilson would never make.

I'll elaborate more in my breakdown, but it's pretty embarassing to have a player making 8 million dollars who wouldn't be starting for most teams in the NFL right now.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

[quote=GTripp0012;502235]I also don't think it has anything to do with scheme. JT has always been awful vs. the run, he's not providing any pass rush, and he's making rookie esque mistakes in play recognition that Daniels/Evans/Golston, and possibly even Chris Wilson would never make.

I'll elaborate more in my breakdown, but it's pretty embarassing to have a player making 8 million dollars who wouldn't be starting for most teams in the NFL right now.[/quote]

Unfortunately JT isn't the only player on our roster making a truckload of cash who wouldn't start for most teams... on the other hand we're the only franchise paying Hall, a top pick, a mere million for his services through the remainder of '08. If we use him as a punt returner, he continues to get picks and behaves himself then... well it still doesn't really balance out but it's something.:thumb:

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

I totally agree with the first post as far as the trenches are concerned.

I've said it forever. Run the ball and stop the run. That's it. If you can do that, everything else is easy.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

I count three guys on the OL that were brought in. That whole line, less CS, of course is not holding up well, and CS has a bad wheel.

I count three guys brought in on the DL with Griff on the IR.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

Well we dominated Dallas in week 4 and we ran the ball in week 4 alot more. The past two games against the Steelers And Boys we have ran the ball 33 times v/s 77 pass plays. If your having trouble protecting the QB running the ball helps slow down the rush. Maybe its play calling as much as protection. I feel Zorn is going away from the run way too early when its not working. How many times have you seen a team pound the ball in the first half with little success and then in the second half the running game starts to move the ball and opens up the passing game. It seems that when the running game is not clicking Zorn goes to the pass and teams start to key in on JC. I'm not saying that our Oline is getting the job done but I do feel the play calling is not helping at all.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

[quote=GMScud;502253]I totally agree with the first post as far as the trenches are concerned.

I've said it forever. Run the ball and stop the run. That's it. If you can do that, everything else is easy.[/quote]Unless you can't stop the pass. Then you're just the 07 Vikings.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

[quote=GTripp0012;502291]Unless you can't stop the pass. Then you're just the 07 Vikings.[/quote]

True, but a dominant defensive line can make a secondary look alot better. If the QB has to get rid of the ball quick, then you only have to ask your secondary to cover for a few seconds which most can do. If your defensive line sucks and the QB has time, then even the best cornerback is going to give up passes against the good WRs.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

Good post D.R. - I've been saying that we've ignored bolstering our play in the trenches through the draft for years. LaConfora mentioned today that we haven't spent a draft pick before the 5th round on a D-lineman since Kennard Lang was picked in the 1st round ELEVEN YEARS AGO!!!

Yes we've added some free agents on both lines, but there is no long term substitute for drafting young talent, which is much more cap friendly, especially after the 1st round. The Giants have been masterful at this, getting Justin Tuck in the 3rd round and Osi Umenyiora in the 2nd.

The Gibbs 1.0 teams were great in the trenches. Until we get serious about bolstering the O and D lines through the draft, I believe that the most this team will achieve is squeeking into the playoffs via wild card, which usually means an early exit.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

If you look at our personnel we have good personnel, it has got to be the scheme. IMO

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

When Landry played close to the line and blitzed he was on Romo before he could blink and that led to the Rocky interception after Rogers hit T.O. I am tired of seeing blitzers not get to the QB. Scream! Scheme!

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

[quote=joethiesmanfan;502300]When Landry played close to the line and blitzed he was on Romo before he could blink and that led to the Rocky interception after Rogers hit T.O. I am tired of seeing blitzers not get to the QB. Scream! Scheme![/quote]I believe Landry is far more effective near the line of scrimmage, and he gets to the QB in a flash when he blitzes. He is clearly no Sean Taylor at FS. Taylor would have blown up Bennett on the winning TD. I cannot think of a signature hit this season where Landry has blown up a receiver. To be honest, the two best hits made by our DBs this season were both by Rogers - the one on Josh Cribbs and the one on T.O. on Sunday that led to Rocky's INT.

I really thought that Landry would be an enforcer in the Taylor mold, but it hasn't happened so far this season. Again, his talents are probably more suited to playing closer to the line.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

I think the skins need to seriously start conisdering benching both Rabach and Jansen. The two of them are mkaing Thomas play/look like crap, and I would consider him one of our best lineman. Move Jansen to Center and put Heyer back on the edge.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

[quote=Stacks42;502304]I think the skins need to seriously start conisdering benching both Rabach and Jansen. The two of them are mkaing Thomas play/look like crap, and I would consider him one of our best lineman. Move Jansen to Center and put Heyer back on the edge.[/quote]
How do you bench Jansen by moving him to center? Heck, can he even play center?

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

[quote=GTripp0012;502291]Unless you can't stop the pass. Then you're just the 07 Vikings.[/quote]

I suppose I should have prefaced my statement with "if you have a decent secondary." But your point is well taken.

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[quote=GTripp0012;502224]Also, the Jason Taylor trade: officially horrible. We got waxed.

We're going to have to make a decision next off-season between Daniels and Taylor. And by no means is this a simple decision. Vinny needs to realize that the 2nd round pick we send for Taylor is a sunk cost, and that if a 36 year old Daniels can help us more than a 35 year old Taylor, Daniels needs to stay and Taylor must go.[/quote]

We definitely got waxed, because we are a stop the run first, generate pressure second defense. I'm so glad we gave up a 2nd round pick and $8M per for a guy who is only playing on situational 3rd downs.

After reading this, I don't think anyone here should anticipate any more sacks any time soon. This is frustrating. We suck up front on both sides of the ball.

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/18/AR2008111803819.html?sub=AR&sid=ST2008111803998&s_pos]Jason La Canfora - Redskins' Pass Rush Is Stuck in the Slow Lane - washingtonpost.com[/url]=

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

it is funny how things turn so quickly on here. Just a few weeks ago everyone was praising our offensive line on how great is was playing. They did play phenominal early in the season, against those same cowboys. Now, they may have done some different things this time around, and maybe Joe and boys didn't plan on it so they were a bit confused, and technique wise, we just weren't prepared. Most of our success this season has been running the ball, and Dallas took that away from us, as did pittsburg. We haven't had to drop back and throw the ball 30+ times very often, again subjecting Jason to more potential hits. Dallas did to us what we like to do against teams. Stop the run, play up on the corners and disrupt timing. I tip my hat to their defense for doing exactly what they wanted to do.

To dog the offensive line may be a bit harsh. They didn't play well the last two weeks, but the previous 7 weeks and even against the Giants they didn't play all that bad. They may be a bit old, but they are not so far over the hill they have to be considered past the capability of playing good enough to get to the playoffs. I think their may need to be some adjustments to some playcalling early in the game so teams aren't just pinning their ears back and coming after him. This is the NFL, DT and DE's are more than capable of getting to the QB when all they are asked to do is go after the QB. Until we show the ability to do more than run the ball we will probably see a ton more of this. The last two games teams have successfully been able to run blitz into our running gaps and with the 3-4 style its a little more difficult to handle. I think our offensive line is very capable until and will play better down the stretch.

But Zorn has to be able to call better plays early to get teams out of that mode, we have to make plays early down the middle of the field of 20+ yards to cooley, thomas, randel el to move those LB's back from the line of scrimmage, and at least try to hit some deep balls early to move the safeties back. That will take some pressure of the offensive line and make us a little more of a two headed monster.
as far as more screens go, its hard to run when no one really respects our down field game. Screens dont work all that well when you have 8 - 9 defenders only worried about a 15 yard area.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

Each week, the opposing QB gets less pressure. Little pressure from our DL against Dallas - even with blitzes. Our DB's are playing well, which is why we've been close in our games.

Our offense is going downhill. Teams know how to beat us in the trenches and are doing so. Jason is just not at his best with a rush.

We're going to be ok this season but our problems in the OL and DL will finally have to be addressed in the draft and FA.

Re: Putting the Redskins in Perspective
 

[quote=#56fanatic;502317]it is funny how things turn so quickly on here. Just a few weeks ago everyone was praising our offensive line on how great is was playing. They did play phenominal early in the season, against those same cowboys. Now, they may have done some different things this time around, and maybe Joe and boys didn't plan on it so they were a bit confused, and technique wise, we just weren't prepared. Most of our success this season has been running the ball, and Dallas took that away from us, as did pittsburg. We haven't had to drop back and throw the ball 30+ times very often, again subjecting Jason to more potential hits. Dallas did to us what we like to do against teams. Stop the run, play up on the corners and disrupt timing. I tip my hat to their defense for doing exactly what they wanted to do.

To dog the offensive line may be a bit harsh. They didn't play well the last two weeks, but the previous 7 weeks and even against the Giants they didn't play all that bad. They may be a bit old, but they are not so far over the hill they have to be considered past the capability of playing good enough to get to the playoffs. I think their may need to be some adjustments to some playcalling early in the game so teams aren't just pinning their ears back and coming after him. This is the NFL, DT and DE's are more than capable of getting to the QB when all they are asked to do is go after the QB. Until we show the ability to do more than run the ball we will probably see a ton more of this. The last two games teams have successfully been able to run blitz into our running gaps and with the 3-4 style its a little more difficult to handle. I think our offensive line is very capable until and will play better down the stretch.

But Zorn has to be able to call better plays early to get teams out of that mode, we have to make plays early down the middle of the field of 20+ yards to cooley, thomas, randel el to move those LB's back from the line of scrimmage, and at least try to hit some deep balls early to move the safeties back. That will take some pressure of the offensive line and make us a little more of a two headed monster. as far as more screens go, its hard to run when no one really respects our down field game. Screens dont work all that well when you have 8 - 9 defenders only worried about a 15 yard area.[/quote]

I was very surprised to see the thread evolve like this and really have gotten a lot out of the insights on this board so far. I'm going to address this post:

My perspective is that the run blocking has been solid throughout the season and I wasn't intending to disparage the line. In fact, I think it is a solid line and above-average in run blocking. The problem is that it is not truly an elite line in my opinion and has been exploited by more athletic front sevens during the past two weeks. Using deep passes to set-up the run is good however if you don't have a line that can contain a pass rush on a five-step drop then you're setting yourself up for failure.

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[quote=SmootSmack;502217]It's not like we don't have solid young linemen that have developed (will develop) into NFL starters-Golston, Montgomery, Heyer, Evans, hopefully Rinehart, Geisinger, and Jackson/Wilson in the not so distant future.

But I guess the concern is that we're not spending high draft picks on the line?[/quote]

I think out of this list, Golston, Montgomery, Heyer and Evans all have shown that they can be starters. But none of these guys are stars. There isn't one guy on this list who is in the same league as a DeMarcus Ware or Jay Ratliff on Dallas, or Harrison or Woodley on Pitt.

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[quote=firstdown;502306]How do you bench Jansen by moving him to center? Heck, can he even play center?[/quote]


[COLOR=black][FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']I meant bench him from his starting Tackle position. Jansen obviously can’t handle the rush, I don’t think he ever fully recovered from the Achilles injury a couple years back. He is great run blocking (pushing forward) and not pass blocking (moving backwards). He has practiced playing center a little (it was stated earlier in the season) [url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/04/AR2008060404331.html]Jansen Is at Center of Team's Backup Plan - washingtonpost.com[/url][/FONT][/COLOR]

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Ppl blast Taylor, but Carter has only 3 sacks. Taylor is hurt and getting double-teamed. For what we are paying both these guys we're not getting much pressure or sacks.

Griff is on the down-side of his career. Gholston - may or may not be a starter on other teams.

We need a star player on the DL who can still take a double-team and get pressure. Other teams use their best draft picks for the DL or OL. When will we do it?

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[quote=Drift Reality;502332]I think out of this list, Golston, Montgomery, Heyer and Evans all have shown that they can be starters. But none of these guys are stars. There isn't one guy on this list who is in the same league as a DeMarcus Ware or Jay Ratliff on Dallas, or Harrison or Woodley on Pitt.[/quote]

Three of those guys you mention aren't even linemen, they're linebackers aren't they?

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[quote=SmootSmack;502346]Three of those guys you mention aren't even linemen, they're linebackers aren't they?[/quote]Ware, Woodley, and Harrison are 3-4 outside LBs. BTW, I agree with the earlier assessment of Jason Taylor's poor fit for our scheme. He's a disaster against the run when we face a strong offensive line. It is time to draft a strong 2-way DE and a stud DT. We could have had Phillip Merling last draft, but Vinny felt that trading down and drafting WR's was the way to go. I will always maintain that championship caliber clubs are almost always strong on the O and D lines. We will not become an elite team until that is addressed.

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[quote=#56fanatic;502317]it is funny how things turn so quickly on here. Just a few weeks ago everyone was praising our offensive line on how great is was playing. They did play phenominal early in the season, against those same cowboys. Now, they may have done some different things this time around, and maybe Joe and boys didn't plan on it so they were a bit confused, and technique wise, we just weren't prepared. Most of our success this season has been running the ball, and Dallas took that away from us, as did pittsburg. We haven't had to drop back and throw the ball 30+ times very often, again subjecting Jason to more potential hits. Dallas did to us what we like to do against teams. Stop the run, play up on the corners and disrupt timing. I tip my hat to their defense for doing exactly what they wanted to do.

To dog the offensive line may be a bit harsh. They didn't play well the last two weeks, but the previous 7 weeks and even against the Giants they didn't play all that bad. They may be a bit old, but they are not so far over the hill they have to be considered past the capability of playing good enough to get to the playoffs. I think their may need to be some adjustments to some playcalling early in the game so teams aren't just pinning their ears back and coming after him. This is the NFL, DT and DE's are more than capable of getting to the QB when all they are asked to do is go after the QB. Until we show the ability to do more than run the ball we will probably see a ton more of this. The last two games teams have successfully been able to run blitz into our running gaps and with the 3-4 style its a little more difficult to handle. I think our offensive line is very capable until and will play better down the stretch.

But Zorn has to be able to call better plays early to get teams out of that mode, we have to make plays early down the middle of the field of 20+ yards to cooley, thomas, randel el to move those LB's back from the line of scrimmage, and at least try to hit some deep balls early to move the safeties back. That will take some pressure of the offensive line and make us a little more of a two headed monster.
as far as more screens go, its hard to run when no one really respects our down field game. Screens dont work all that well when you have 8 - 9 defenders only worried about a 15 yard area.[/quote]Well, the line wasn't pass blocking any better early in the season, it's just that on 3rd down and 4 in the fourth quarter with the game on the line, Zorn used to just run right at them, which is our best offensive play.

Now, he feels like our best play is compromised due to Portis' health and such that when we need yards, he feels like we have to throw.