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Random Commanders Thoughts

Proof Jay was a bad playcaller, at least in the running game.

https://riggosrag.com/2019/06/08/redskins-oc-common-sense-19/
(...It wasn't just the amount of rushing plays overall that hindered the offense, but the timing of said run plays. In a stat provided by analyst Warren Sharp, the Redskins are shown to have been the second worst rushing offense in the NFL, through three quarters, on first and ten.

Their success rate running the football on first down was just forty percent, and yet, they ran it on first down the third-most in the NFL, at a clip of sixty-two percent. Adrian Peterson individually had a dismal 37 percent success rate on first and ten, which per Sharp, ranked nineteenth out of twenty qualifying running backs
....)
 
Proof Jay was a bad playcaller, at least in the running game.

https://riggosrag.com/2019/06/08/redskins-oc-common-sense-19/
(...It wasn't just the amount of rushing plays overall that hindered the offense, but the timing of said run plays. In a stat provided by analyst Warren Sharp, the Redskins are shown to have been the second worst rushing offense in the NFL, through three quarters, on first and ten.

Their success rate running the football on first down was just forty percent, and yet, they ran it on first down the third-most in the NFL, at a clip of sixty-two percent. Adrian Peterson individually had a dismal 37 percent success rate on first and ten, which per Sharp, ranked nineteenth out of twenty qualifying running backs
....)

Said it almost all season long last year: When your opponent,people at home and in the stands know what's coming on first down...and you refuse to mix it up on that down.......you earn the right to fail.

I want this team to be a successful running team but you got to have a little imagination to your scheme and playcalling to keep opponents honest. We rarely saw that from Jay.
 
Proof Jay was a bad playcaller, at least in the running game.

https://riggosrag.com/2019/06/08/redskins-oc-common-sense-19/
(...It wasn't just the amount of rushing plays overall that hindered the offense, but the timing of said run plays. In a stat provided by analyst Warren Sharp, the Redskins are shown to have been the second worst rushing offense in the NFL, through three quarters, on first and ten.

Their success rate running the football on first down was just forty percent, and yet, they ran it on first down the third-most in the NFL, at a clip of sixty-two percent. Adrian Peterson individually had a dismal 37 percent success rate on first and ten, which per Sharp, ranked nineteenth out of twenty qualifying running backs
....)

I wonder if there's an inverse relationship with yds gained vs. down played though? Seems like 1st down rushes, by nature, tend to not be as successful if you are playing conservative football and the other team anticipates you are going to start most series by rushing it? I'd also be curious to see what the stats for the first half of the season, vs. the last half looked like (EDIT: I ran the numbers and we rushed for about 200 yds more over the first half of the season). We were pounding it pretty well before injuries mounted. You could still criticize Gruden for rushing so much on first down even if that's the case.

Here's the other thing we tend to forget. It was Alex Smith's first time running the Redskins offense last year. I know he had a wealth of experience, and he's a conservative game-managing type QB anyway. But I think Jay was trying to keep the offense very basic partially because Alex was still learning it.

I did a review of Super Bowl winning teams a few years ago because @Henry and I were debating whether it's really a 'passing' dominant league. Turns out Henry was right, and that the most common thread for modern Super Bowl winning teams is being a top rushing team. It may not seem intuitively true, but having a very good rushing attack is a lot more critical to success than most fans realize.
 
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It may not seem intuitively true, but having a very good rushing attack is a lot more critical to success than most fans realize.

This is so true, especially with teams who have a back who is capable of churning off yardage late in the game. Dallas could be so much better if they had a complimentary RB who can take some of the workload off Elliott in the late 3rd and early 4th Q so Elliott can come back in late in the 4th to end things.

I strongly believe the mix of James White and Sony Michele are the reason the Patriots won the SB last year. Tom "So-called" Terrific is what he is, but without that run game between those 2 RB's in particular, with a head coach who knows when to ride whichever horse is having more successs, I don't see them winning it all.
 
Said it almost all season long last year: When your opponent,people at home and in the stands know what's coming on first down...and you refuse to mix it up on that down.......you earn the right to fail.

I want this team to be a successful running team but you got to have a little imagination to your scheme and playcalling to keep opponents honest. We rarely saw that from Jay.

No doubt, Jay's play-calling has been downright vanilla at times, either that and or his alignments have tells that opposing d's can just tee off on. Play-action and draws should be utilized regularly. No need to get artsy cute but a little misdirection thrown in would do wonders. Andy Reid's offensive system in Philthy and KC are good examples.

However, in the 4th quarter I want the o-line telling the D what's coming and still churn 5 or more yards out with a run. Like Scherff coming up to the line and yelling to the defense, "F+++ yo couch, we're running 50 gut"in the 4th quarter would be pretty fantastic imo.

I'm kinda excited about O'connell getting the play-caller nod. Jay stepping back and letting his supervisors control the game will help errrbody, especially himself.
 
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I wonder if there's an inverse relationship with yds gained vs. down played though? Seems like 1st down rushes, by nature, tend to not be as successful if you are playing conservative football and the other team anticipates you are going to start most series by rushing it? I'd also be curious to see what the stats for the first half of the season, vs. the last half looked like (EDIT: I ran the numbers and we rushed for about 200 yds more over the first half of the season). We were pounding it pretty well before injuries mounted. You could still criticize Gruden for rushing so much on first down even if that's the case.

Here's the other thing we tend to forget. It was Alex Smith's first time running the Redskins offense last year. I know he had a wealth of experience, and he's a conservative game-managing type QB anyway. But I think Jay was trying to keep the offense very basic partially because Alex was still learning it.

I did a review of Super Bowl winning teams a few years ago because @Henry and I were debating whether it's really a 'passing' dominant league. Turns out Henry was right, and that the most common thread for modern Super Bowl winning teams is being a top rushing team. It may not seem intuitively true, but having a very good rushing attack is a lot more critical to success than most fans realize.

1. Agree that a mix of the two are re-enforcing. The defense has to account for more. The playbook widens.

2. Lot of the rushing yards last season were due to AP IMO. Hard to judge other factors.

3. IMO, there is no doubt that offenses have shifted more to the passing game. The NFL forced the matter by changing the rules to favor the passing game.

4. Kinda weird (if you think about it) you don't see RBs with full, lengthy careers these days. No Walter Paytons. No LaDainian Tomlinsons. No Diesels.

5. Hard to qualify last season. We had no receiving corps; no downfield threat; no speed on the outside; so so pass blocking. This season looks like a radical improvement for the passing game/receiving corps.....let us hope!
 
1. Agree that a mix of the two are re-enforcing. The defense has to account for more. The playbook widens.

2. Lot of the rushing yards last season were due to AP IMO. Hard to judge other factors.

3. IMO, there is no doubt that offenses have shifted more to the passing game. The NFL forced the matter by changing the rules to favor the passing game.

4. Kinda weird (if you think about it) you don't see RBs with full, lengthy careers these days. No Walter Paytons. No LaDainian Tomlinsons. No Diesels.

5. Hard to qualify last season. We had no receiving corps; no downfield threat; no speed on the outside; so so pass blocking. This season looks like a radical improvement for the passing game/receiving corps.....let us hope!

When @Henry and I were debating, I was sure when I looked at Super Bowl teams, that it would be the top passing teams that made the grade and ultimately won. Surprisingly, there wasn't as strong a correlation with top passing teams winning it all as there was top rushing teams. In other words, you could get to the big game and win it all without a top 10 passing game. But you weren't doing so without a top 10 rushing game. That's just what the data I looked at showed.

I'll confess - I was really surprised by that. The NFL is a 'passing game' league. But apparently, the bottom line is, you still have to be able to rush really well if you plan on winning. That was @Henry 's point, and apparently he's a smart guy.
 
I think the current NFL requires a certain level of balance. You need a solid passing game to score but you have to have a respectable rushing attack to bury the game and win.
 
I think the current NFL requires a certain level of balance. You need a solid passing game to score but you have to have a respectable rushing attack to bury the game and win.

This is the aspect of a successful run game that goes unspoken all too often. If a RB churns off 100 yards a game, with 85 in the first half, but cannot get that first down late in the 4th Q to seal the game...is the run game successful?
 
Last year our run-game suffered from aspects outside of the control of the run-game itself IMO.

Multiple problems stymied it's effectiveness, especially late in the year.

Obviously losing Alex and Colt had a huge effect. Not that Alex was lighting it up through the air particularly, but suddenly with the likes of Sanchez and Johnson
under centre, we were about as one-dimensional as it gets. Toss it the injuries at Receiver and TE, or the lack of production from WR's like Doctson and opponents
just didn't respect any air attack. They were always at that point going to tee off on Run Defence. Having balance would have helped us no end.

The O Line injuries didn't help the run game either.

Then there was also the fade of the Defense down the stretch, which forced us into desperate positions where we were forced to try and air it out with a sub-par
aerial attack that was never going to cut it.

For probably the last 6 or 7 games since Alex and Colt went down it was always going to be an uphill struggle for the Running Game. It would be interesting to see
how the production faired across the year to see if that was the issue.

Does that mean out running game was bad? Or just that we had no choices and the opponent knew it? Running the ball well depends upon having some sort of balance
that the O-line can exploit to open up holes, and at least the threat of a pass attack to displace or freeze the linebackers and safeties.

All of the above contributed to a run game that looked bad down the stretch.

It's totally unproven, I realize that, but I like where our run game is at right now. We have a savvy veteran with a professional attitude as a workhorse, who can also
hopefully rub off on the youngsters. We have a back in CT who has a track record of explosive plays but due to being injury prone can't be the lead back, if used properly
in spots then could have an impact. We have a young back coming back from injury who looks very good, could be our feature back for the foreseeable.

If (and it's a BIG if) our O-line can stay healthy (assuming Trent is back) and stay consistent, then we should be in good shape.

And if Keenum/Haskins can show enough command of the offence to keep things balanced, and the Defence can take a step forward and keep games honest... sky is the limit.

The big thing about this years team is the questions.

I see lots of potential that excites me, but my expectations are tempered by experience.
 
 
Hey @Win4us - thanks for posting that brother, never would've caught it otherwise.

Man... you have to feel for Alex. Love his spirit and attitude. It's really a shame what's happened to him. Setting aside how limited the offense was last year early on, you just have to feel like good things were in store for him with the Skins. There was a stretch of that interview where you could really hear the doubt in his voice regarding his future in football. Acknowledging the reality of how hard it is to fathom 'trusting' that leg going forward, his uncertainty about the future was really palpable.

I have the feeling that he's not going to give up on football and that he will fight his way back. I just think that's the kind of guy he is. I have no idea what that will mean in terms of the Skins, but I'm rooting for Alex Smith no matter what his future holds.
 
Yeah it's impossible to dislike the guy, such a crap year injury wise to the whole team but Smith a tad more. I think someone from the team, if not his family needs to put the brakes on the comeback, at least ON the field. I'm definitely no dr but it would seem another big hit to that same leg may cripple him for life, his health is just not worth the risk.

That Dude is a huge asset to have in the qb meetings and sideline though. Whether he would want a position coach job is another matter, but I would hope Master Blaster would pitch it to him all the same. Basically we value you so much that we don't want you on the field anymore type thing. Shit give him Larry Michael's job and call it a day
 
So it's gonna be on Jay, Doug, the owner and Bruce on whether or not Haskins starts??
So basically, Dan and Bruce learned absolutely nothing from the whole RG3 fiasco. Great....awesome......
 
So it's gonna be on Jay, Doug, the owner and Bruce on whether or not Haskins starts??
So basically, Dan and Bruce learned absolutely nothing from the whole RG3 fiasco. Great....awesome......

Did you really expect anything different?

Look for someone from the team to come out to clarify this statement from Doug to keep up the front, but it's been about marketing since the kid was drafted. In the DC market, Dwayne Haskins will sell more than Keenum...by sell more I mean jerseys, tickets, and anything else Dan is trying to push.

I don't see any Case Keenum jerseys in the following...

https://www.nflshop.com/washington-redskins/jerseys/t-36938381+d-6715004568+z-98-3585822992

https://www.google.com/search?q=Redskins+jersey+sales+2019&client=firefox-b-1-ab&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiOxPvUs4fjAhUQUt8KHW4VAI8QsxgILw&biw=1848&bih=1037

https://store.redskins.com/washington-redskins/t-14484992+z-9176847-873937260?ab={wt-button2}{pt-home}{al-position_1}{ct-Bestsellers}{tt-washingtonredskins}
 

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