An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

Greg Cosell, nephew of Howard Cosell, works for NFL Films and breaks down coaching tape -- something he's done since 1984. He created the "NFL Matchup" show and while not a coach, has seen lots of films on lots of players over the years.

He has a blog, and gave what I thought was an interesting breakdown of the Redskins vs. the Lions, offensively.

Here's his [URL="http://www.fantasyguru.com/StaffBlog/2009/10/01/cosells-coaching-tape-10109-notes/"]take.[/URL]

And here's a snippet:

[QUOTE]◦WR Thomas very slow in and out of his breaks, Too many steps when he throttled down to make his break – Lateral quickness and separation clearly an issue

◦RG Rhinehart impressive: Physical, tough, played with determination and effort – More of a phone booth player than an athletic mover[/QUOTE]

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

I heard that on ESPN this afternoon. It's good stuff and right on for JC moving in the pocket, Portis lack of explosion, as well as some others

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

Very interesting, I couldn't agree more especially with the Campbell wind up and footwork and Portis whom I think we need to look at replacing next year. He just laid down on that 1 yard run , that shit frustrates the heck out of me..

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

I won't lie, but if you're not an actual football coach, credibility is lacking there JUST a touch. Haven't all of us been watching football in depth for years? What makes his critique more legit than our's?

Interesting read, but a lot of those things I disagreed with.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;600976]I won't lie, but if you're not an actual football coach, credibility is lacking there JUST a touch. Haven't all of us been watching football in depth for years? What makes his critique more legit than our's?

Interesting read, but a lot of those things I disagreed with.[/quote]I disagree with some of his assessments as well, but the only difference between Cosell and an NFL coach is that the coach doesn't have time to do these for multiple teams. There's no credibility issue.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

that was a depressing read,especially since the progress of Kelly and Thomas were 2 things we as fans were counting on.The things about JC and Portis I already knew.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

It's the entire offense, coaching and personel.. Our wrs suck other than moss, portis is old and washed up with no good backup behind him. Jc's release is so slow it's ridiculous, oline is avg at best. Cooley is a beast but gets double teamed, so yea basically nothing can be fixed in one yr. Come next yr we will see a new rb and qb unless somehow jc can change his stupid mistakes overnight, highly unlikely.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;600976]I won't lie, but if you're not an actual football coach, credibility is lacking there JUST a touch. Haven't all of us been watching football in depth for years? What makes his critique more legit than our's?

Interesting read, but a lot of those things I disagreed with.[/quote]

No offense, but you don't have access to coaches tape and don't spend 60+ hours a week breaking down film. At least I don't think you do.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;600976]I won't lie, but if you're not an actual football coach, credibility is lacking there JUST a touch. Haven't all of us been watching football in depth for years? What makes his critique more legit than our's?

Interesting read, but a lot of those things I disagreed with.[/quote]

I thought it was good to hear something positive about Chad Rinehart.

About the credibility issue -- I've thought about this too. Can only football experts or coaches comment on what they see on film? I mean, can't anybody look at a football game and see that a wideout has trouble getting separation? Is the person who makes that statement somehow less credible because he isn't a football coach?

It's not quantum physics we're talking about here.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

His analysis of Campbell and Portis is accurate.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

Damn good read. Just reinforced what I was already thinking on most parts.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=Beemnseven;600958]Greg Cosell, nephew of Howard Cosell, works for NFL Films and breaks down coaching tape -- something he's done since 1984. He created the "NFL Matchup" show and while not a coach, has seen lots of films on lots of players over the years.

He has a blog, and gave what I thought was an interesting breakdown of the Redskins vs. the Lions, offensively.

Here's his [URL="http://www.fantasyguru.com/StaffBlog/2009/10/01/cosells-coaching-tape-10109-notes/"]take.[/URL]

And here's a snippet:[/quote]

Good stuff. On that int to Moss JC had ARE wide open on a crossing route but I think he had his mind up that we was going to Moss. And if you saw the video you saw ARE letting JC know he was open.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=TheMalcolmConnection;600976]I won't lie, but if you're not an actual football coach, credibility is lacking there JUST a touch. Haven't all of us been watching football in depth for years? What makes his critique more legit than our's?

Interesting read, but a lot of those things I disagreed with.[/quote]


How many of us actually have been watching game film for years?
I think that is a major differentiator in this instance.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=htownskinfan;600980]that was a depressing read,especially since the progress of Kelly and Thomas were 2 things we as fans were counting on.The things about JC and Portis I already knew.[/quote]I don't think it's too depressing on Thomas and Kelly. We knew who they were already. Thomas is a burner who you want to stretch the field or hit on a short slant or crossing route in some space and let him outrun people. Kelly ran about a 4.7 I believe, so he's no speed demon, but has good hands and runs solid routes. No shame for either guy, this just re-inforces who they are. We all knew neither was Andre Johnson or Calvin Johnson.

No real surprise on JC or Portis either. JC's release has always been an issue and so has his pocket presense, although I think he's doing a better job of stepping up and finding lanes in the pocket. We all knew Portis was slowing down and becoming a between the tackles guy.

What Zorn needs to do is not try to put square pegs in round holes and make sure he understands the players strengths and weaknesses and plays to their strengths.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=Beemnseven;600984][B]I thought it was good to hear something positive about Chad Rinehart.[/B]

About the credibility issue -- I've thought about this too. Can only football experts or coaches comment on what they see on film? I mean, can't anybody look at a football game and see that a wideout has trouble getting separation? Is the person who makes that statement somehow less credible because he isn't a football coach?

It's not quantum physics we're talking about here.[/quote]

Yeah, I agree.

However, more of the same in other areas:

-Struggling in pass pro (Samuels included, which is troubling)
-Portis a shadow of his former self
-Thomas and Kelly slow/struggling
-Poor route combinations hurting the passing game (playcalling issue, or playbook issue?)
-Campbell with poor footwork, slow delivery, long windup

Anybody curious just what in the hell Jim Zorn is looking at when he says "we're improving?" Not a good sign when the head coach thinks you're an improving team right after you just lost to a team that hasn't won in 20 months.

I am really happy that Rinehart looks like a gamer though.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=Slingin Sammy 33;601006]I don't think it's too depressing on Thomas and Kelly. We knew who they were already. Thomas is a burner who you want to stretch the field or hit on a short slant or crossing route in some space and let him outrun people. Kelly ran about a 4.7 I believe, so he's no speed demon, but has good hands and runs solid routes. No shame for either guy, this just re-inforces who they are. We all knew neither was Andre Johnson or Calvin Johnson.

No real surprise on JC or Portis either. JC's release has always been an issue and so has his pocket presense, although I think he's doing a better job of stepping up and finding lanes in the pocket. We all knew Portis was slowing down and becoming a between the tackles guy.

[B]What Zorn needs to do is not try to put square pegs in round holes and make sure he understands the players strengths and weaknesses and plays to their strengths[/B][B].[/B][/quote]

That ain't gonna happen.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=htownskinfan;600980]that was a depressing read,especially since the progress of Kelly and Thomas were 2 things we as fans were counting on.The things about JC and Portis I already knew.[/quote]

I don't think it's surprising that he called Kelly an intermediate possession receiver. That's exactly how they should be using him, with Moss being the deep threat. Doesn't mean he can't win jump balls downfield or in the end zone for us.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

Nice info. Thanks for the link Beem. Cosell's a well respected game evaluator. As mentioned before, he watches lots and lots of tape that few people have access to and he's constantly in communication with NFL player, coaches, and execs to get their take and better understand the game.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=Defensewins;600988]His analysis of Campbell and Portis is accurate.[/quote]

Absolutely. Especially this comment - "Campbell lacks a refined sense of pocket movement". JC can't seem to detect pressure until it's too late. He hangs in the pocket too long.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=Slingin Sammy 33;601006]I don't think it's too depressing on Thomas and Kelly. We knew who they were already. Thomas is a burner who you want to stretch the field or hit on a short slant or crossing route in some space and let him outrun people. Kelly ran about a 4.7 I believe, so he's no speed demon, but has good hands and runs solid routes. No shame for either guy, this just re-inforces who they are. We all knew neither was Andre Johnson or Calvin Johnson.

No real surprise on JC or Portis either. JC's release has always been an issue and so has his pocket presense, [B]although I think he's doing a better job of stepping up and finding lanes in the pocket.[/B] We all knew Portis was slowing down and becoming a between the tackles guy.

What Zorn needs to do is not try to put square pegs in round holes and make sure he understands the players strengths and weaknesses and plays to their strengths.[/quote]

Can you give an example? I'm really not trying to be a smart ass for once either. The fumble and TD against the Giants? Got his arm hit again on a long pass attempt against the Lions that caused the ball to hang in the air like a punt.

And I just can't recall any plays where he ran OUT of the pocket as it was collapsing, kept the play alive and made a big play. Stafford seemed to do a lot of that on Sunday. Just don't recall seeing much of that from Campbell.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=44Deezel;601031]Can you give an example? I'm really not trying to be a smart ass for once either. The fumble and TD against the Giants? Got his arm hit again on a long pass attempt against the Lions that caused the ball to hang in the air like a punt.

And I just can't recall any plays where he ran OUT of the pocket as it was collapsing, kept the play alive and made a big play. Stafford seemed to do a lot of that on Sunday. Just don't recall seeing much of that from Campbell.[/quote]Ball security was definitely one of the negatives for JC this week. But as Samuels/Heyer are riding their men upfield, JC is finding the seams in the pocket a bit better to step up or to the side and make throws. He had the big run for 20 yards getting out of the pocket. I believe on both 3rd down plays that Moss and Cooley came up short, JC did his job, stepped up nicely and delivered solid passes.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

Not thefirst time heard that about CP this season. Poor running game=not many wins. Is this O doomed?

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

Don't worry, we have Mason :)

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

Overall I have been happy with Campbell's performance. When I watch CP I feel as though I am watching the decline of a career. RB's careers are short lived and I think we are seeing that now.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

Bad part is I drafted Portis in my fantasy league, sure would like to have that 2nd rounder back.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

Obviously, people don't effing pay attention to the fact that on the Campbell pick, the defender had already gotten to Campbell two seconds into the play!!! He had no time to look for Randle El, set, and then throw it to him.

Re: An outsider's breakdown of the Redskins offense
 

[quote=44Deezel;601031]Can you give an example? I'm really not trying to be a smart ass for once either. The fumble and TD against the Giants? Got his arm hit again on a long pass attempt against the Lions that caused the ball to hang in the air like a punt.

And I just can't recall any plays where he ran OUT of the pocket as it was collapsing, kept the play alive and made a big play. Stafford seemed to do a lot of that on Sunday. Just don't recall seeing much of that from Campbell.[/quote]
That throw to Moss in the first drive in the RZ which pass was inaccurate and thus off the mark first had him dodge the rush first to even have a to make the throw.
Bad accuracy
Good pocket presence.