It’s been a crazy last month for me, meaning my
attention to this space has faltered.
But, today, I am driven to write a post that I thought up about two
weeks ago and have steadily been ruminating on ever since.
Everyone should know I try not to be a doomsday
machine. When the Caps started last
season with the force of kittens, I did not call for Adam Oates’ head. One division title later, I’d say he’s worked
out well enough to deserve our confidence.
The same cannot be said, however, for any coach on
the Redskins. Don’t be cheeky and tell
me how great the linebacker coach is…you know what I mean. Those men who have the most familiarity with
the three major areas of football have let us down this year. Don’t get me wrong…execution on the field has
been terrible as well. The Skins also
have the problem of turnovers, in which they picked up their own fumbles last
year. This season, that run of grace
reversed itself, bringing everyone back down to earth.
There’s one coach in particular that I think
deserves the most criticism: offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. To illustrate my point, let’s rewind to the
Denver game nigh on three weeks ago.
At the 11:25 mark, the Skins had a 21-7 lead on the
most prolific offense in the NFL. The
defense was getting stops and scored a touchdown! At that point, I admit, my heart fluttered
and I felt a nauseous sense. “If only we
can notch a huge win and start stringing victories together, we might be back
where we need to be…” Denver, of course,
remained in the game and benefited greatly by a neutral zone infraction call on
Ryan Kerrigan that I truthfully want to see again. Anyway, it seemed that all of a sudden, the
game remained tied at 21-21.
But, much like the playoff game against the
Seahawks, Washington should not panic.
Especially when playing a defense that, coming into this game, was a
bottom-5 defense! Alfred Morris, by that
time in the game (just at the start of the fourth quarter), had racked up 74
yards and a touchdown on the ground.
While he might not possess quick speed, he is the best option this team
has when Robert Griffin doesn’t appear to have the necessary stuff in the
pocket. With only 91 yards through the
air until then, it makes sense to slow the tempo down, give the ball to Morris,
and utilize the play-action pass. Makes
sense, doesn’t it? Especially with such
middling receivers, there’s no need to revert to the circus performance
complete with acrobatic hula hoops and trapeze artists.
Makes sense to all except Kyle Shanahan.
Obviously, I don’t call football plays for a
living. Just as obviously, it’s easier
to poke holes in a plan rather than create your own. But, after being tied for 21-21, Shanahan
dialed up three plays, which look like this on the Pro Football Reference
play-by-play:
|
Robert Griffin III pass incomplete deep
middle intended for Aldrick Robinson
|
Lovely to behold isn’t it? Three deep passes in a tie game after your
team has given up two straight touchdowns to a great offense and, dare I say
it, needs some fricking rest. That
“drive” (should you choose to give a meager possession such a positive spin)
finished with a 15 yard punt by Sav Rocca, which effectively ended the game. Knowshon Moreno scored one play later. What’s better is the whole sequence wasted
only 20 seconds of game clock.
In short, Kyle made the same mistake he made during
the playoffs against Seattle: keeping the rock from Alfred and instead putting
the weight on the quarterback. One of
RGIII’s best qualities is that, despite being a miserable long-ball thrower, he
rarely underthrows when trying to hit Aldrick Robinson’s token Go Route once
per half.
Shanahan himself has pinpointed the third series
when, down by 10, the Skins went pass, sack, pass. He’s obviously right, there should be a
running play in there, but the first series matters more. The team is tied and the game still
salvageable. Good enthusiasts will tell
me that RGIII threw behind Josh Morgan on first down and Aldrick Robinson
dropped the third down pass, but these are very deep passes. When presented with the opportunity to
sustain a drive, Shanahan opted for the home run play.
My problem is that this continues to be a
problem. While RGIII played really well
last season and is great when on all cylinders, he has not done well enough to
justify the trust Kyle places in him.
But, for some reason, Alfred Morris receives lots of touches in the
first half, and then sits on the sideline for the majority of the second
half. He had four carries in the second
half last week. You will remember the
same problem plagued the Skins when playing Seattle in the playoffs last
January.
This has now happened enough in big games that
perhaps someone else should be calling the offensive plays. Kyle has not proven that he can call plays in
big spots, and I continue to place some blame for RGIII’s poor play early on
Kyle Shanahan. He believed in big plays
and waited until way too late in games before asking Griffin to utilize
three-step instead of five-step drops.
I know the counter-arguments, and they are somewhat
valid. The defense is the real problem
here, Kyle has a good track record with previous teams, and our offense ranks
sixth in yards gained. All granted
points, but there’s no evidence that Kyle can get the most out of his offensive
unit. His work in last year’s postseason
and in big games this year gives me no confidence that he will lead this
offense to the proverbial promised land.
There are many other changes the Skins can make, and
truthfully I bet the Shanahans are back next year. The salary cap penalties should be
considered, as I do think they are affecting the team’s personnel moves. Above all else, the defensive coaching staff
needs to be replaced. Besides Jim
Haslett, none of the current assistants had any experience with a 3-4 defense
prior to joining DC. That’s inexcusable,
and ridiculous for many reasons. If that
side of the ball can be revamped somehow, it will pay dividends. Shanahan has one year left on his contract,
and I’m okay with another year of their reign.
He’s only one year removed from playing meaningful football in December,
and we’ve seen too many starts and stops in DC.
Dan Snyder always said he wanted to stay out of the think of it until he
was needed…I don’t think he’s needed until next year.
That said, this offense stinks. I am not buying the stats about our yardage
gained, mainly because we certainly haven’t led enough in games, meaning lots
and lots of garbage time. I fully admit
that I have no numbers to back this up, but the eye test doesn’t lie. Wins matter, and right now, the entire team
hasn’t done enough to get them. But,
after the great offensive output last year, we all expected better.
Again, I don’t think the Shanahans will be fired and
I’m not really rooting for that route, but it might be time to bring in
offensive “advisors” and, possibly, fire Bruce Allen in favor of a real general
manager that will take personnel decisions away from Mike Shanahan.
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