I like the format! Eager for the Daniels breakdown, too, but with larger offensive struggles, it's good to get a clearer picture.
It's frustrating that it took until the end of the game for the passing game to get more vertical. That's obviously dictated a lot by game script, but do you think the failure to do that is Kliff overthinking things or just missed opportunities?
I think the thing is they aren’t good enough on the OL or at WR to be a consistent vertical passing attack. The way they can win consistently is via a strong run game boosted by Daniels read-option threat and then building into the play-action stuff off that for explosives. So they clearly wanted to use that yesterday, especially with Daniels look the most explosive he has since the injury. And those read-option plays were working for the most part.
Obviously towards the end of the game, you have to get into other stuff as running the ball takes up too much time. I think the next step for this offense is unless they get back to being incredibly efficient as they were earlier in the season, which I guess is pretty unrealistic, is to find some more chunk plays from intermediate and deeper passes. They need to attack the middle of the field more in my opinion.
I think Cosmi and Biadasz are two strong pieces. I think Coleman can develop into a piece but might be more suited to RT long term. That to me says they still need a starting guard and tackle. Allegretti has been solid but is certainly upgradable. Wylie is in the same boat.
Will be a big offseason. A brief look at free agency shows two top OL talents in Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley and Chiefs RG Trey Smith are both set to be free agents. Now both teams would obviously love to keep their premier OL, but both teams might find it tough to be able to afford them. If you were able to land both of them, one of Smith/Cosmi would have to transition to the left guard spot, but you’d suddenly have an OL of Stanley, Smith, Biadasz, Cosmi, Coleman and feel really good about the whole group. But that is still a long way off and I suspect it would be tough to land both of those pieces, if they even become available.
What is your assessment of the overall offensive game plan? We all thought that Washington would have far more success in the run game against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. It seems that you are mostly attributing the disappointing performance to lack of execution, is that correct? If so, do you think the lack of execution is mostly due to talent, mental error, or something else?
(As an aside, "We didn't execute" is a cliche that seems tautologous. If "lack of execution" just means poor performance, then players and coaches, by using the cliche, are just telling us that they didn't play well because they didn't play well.)
The “we didn’t execute” thing I think is their way of saying the play called was good, the opportunity was there, they just failed to hit it for one reason or another. We saw that in this game quite a few times, especially on third down. Daniels had Ertz on the opening drive, missed him with a bad throw. Noah Brown should have converted on the second drive, dropped the pass. Some plays the pass protection broke down, some times there was a penalty that backed them up. So the lack of execution thing for me is more saying that the call wasn’t bad, the players needed to do better (not miss a throw, not drop a pass, not line up illegally etc).
I’m going to go back and fully chart the game for the overall game plan. I think I can see what they were trying to do. They want to run the ball and set up play-action. They wanted to lean more on the read-option stuff from Daniels because he was back to being a lot more explosive, and it’s a great way to slow down a guy like Parsons off the edge. A lot of it worked quite well and that TD drive out of the half was proof of concept, if you will. But the three straight 3-and-outs after that were brutal.
I do think they need to find ways of winning with more of a drop back passing game and not just default to empty sets and quick game. I’d like to see them find ways to attack the middle of the field more rather than just rely on a one-on-one outside to Noah Brown. Having said that, each time they called that, it was there. Brown dropped one, another was batted down at the line due to Trent Scott getting driven back, and they did hit a few of them. So it’s a bit harsh to say it’s a bad plan when it was available, but I would like to see the passing game diversify a bit more.
I don’t understand why they went away from the quick game stuff when it was obvious that the oline was getting destroyed. Very frustrating performance, and whether it’s fair or not, this is what Kingsbury coached offenses do in the second half of the season. I read an article today from the Arizona republic from 2022, and all of the components are exactly the same.
Yeah, I’m aware of the Kingsbury offense declining in the second half stuff. I did a whole live show on it last week to show why it wasn’t a fair criticism of his current offense after the Steelers and Eagles games. But it’s certainly more of a question after this one. Part of me does think the reality is that they have one really good weapon in McLaurin and not enough else besides him. They’ve squeezed a ton of juice out of guys like Ertz, Noah Brown, Zaccheaus and even Ekeler and McNichols out of the backfield, but those guys aren’t dynamic enough and none of them are long term pieces.
Really liked the new format, but could do with an explanation in a few places (what’s a Hank concept?). On the last TD they had Terry on the right for the only time in the game. Do you think we might see the odd WR move and motion and get away from Kingsbury’s hurry up, at least a few times?
Good point on the explainers. Will keep that in mind. For the record, a Hank concept is when you have the two outside receivers run curl routes, two other receivers run to the flat underneath and an inside receiver, typically a tight end, run a hook route over the middle.
They do occasionally move Terry over to the right side, but I don’t think it’s as big a deal as it’s made out to be. They keep him on the left but flip him between the X and Z receiver roles, so he gets different routes based on the alignment and the hashmark they are on. What I would say is they haven’t gotten as much out of the tempo stuff lately and perhaps that’s something they need to revisit. If they aren’t getting the benefits of it, then maybe transition away from it a bit. But we saw just how impactful it can be earlier this season and I think it’s a core part of Kingsbury’s offensive philosophy so I suspect we’ll see them stick with it, which means McLaurin will stick to the left side for the most part.
No Luke sightings. Wasted pick. Sinnott not worthy of second round pick. Someone predicted blowout. 50 points by offense. Didn’t happen. Those of us who have been following this team for many decades understand that without Joe Gibbs we won’t win. No JG. No winning.
You’re right, McCaffrey didn’t have a breakout game. They were in 12 and 13 personnel a lot in the second half and when they went to 11 personnel, McCaffrey was often asked to chip, much like what we’ve seen for most of this season. But to say he’s a wasted pick 12 games into his rookie year is incredibly shortsighted. It’s not like he was a first round pick, he was a third rounder that was effectively a fourth rounder. For a comparison. McCaffrey has 14 catches for 142 yards so far this season (and as I wrote in last weeks post, is very unlucky not to have a bunch more). Troy Franklin was picked 2 picks after McCaffrey by the Broncos. He has 19 catches for 190 yards and 2 TDs. Pretty similar stats. Jalen McMillan was drafted by the Bucs 8 picks ahead of McCaffrey. He has just 11 catches for 120 yards and 1 TD. Again, pretty similar stats. So maybe your expectations for what the 100th overall pick in the draft does in his rookie season needs adjusting.
I don’t necessarily disagree that Sinnott was a bit rich in the second round, but he was the third of their three second round picks. I think if they had drafted Coleman in his spot and Sinnott at Colemans spot in the third round, it would be more fair to him. But to be critical of Sinnott after he made an outstanding block for the Daniels touchdown is a bit odd.
Lots of people predicted a blowout. It should have been one. The Cowboys were on a short week with multiple key starters out injured. Washington had a mini-bye and were coming off two tight losses looking to bounce back. They should have won this game comfortably. The comment of 50 points was a joke, as I told you in the game thread last night. I said that because it was a rivalry game and who doesn’t want to see their team score 50 on their biggest rivals?
Joe Gibbs was an amazing coach, nobody will argue that. But he’s not coaching any more. What do you want them to do, just disband the franchise because Gibbs is retired? They already brought him out of retirement once in the mid 2000s, he went 30-34 and didn’t get past the first round of the playoffs. So it’s not like they were winning a ton when he came back 20 years ago. If you want to keep reliving those glory years, go for it. But in the mean time, the rest of us are going to focus on the reality of the current team who finally have some hope of building a consistent winning team for the first time since the original Gibbs teams. But that will take time. In Gibbs’ first year, he went 8-8 and finished 4th in the NFC East. This current team is well ahead of schedule compared to that…
Would you redraft Sinnott and Luke as 2ds and 3ds or someone else. I would pick someone else. Scary Terry was a third. Jordan Reed was a third. Both good from the get go. Also not in love with Newton in second round. Teams run defense is bad and he has not lived up to the hype. Don’t expect Gibbs to return just note our lack of success without him. Other Coleman and Daniels what has this draft produced to date. Do you think we can stand pat at WR? Do you think we would have been better drafting another O lineman.
Silly reference to Joe Gibbs. His glory days were in the 80's - before free agency and the cap arrived in 1993. Football was completely different then. During the Joe Gibbs 2 era in 2004, he got to the playoffs 2 out of 4 years but never passed the wild card game. He knew this wasn't for him.
You have let your rookies develop and adjust to the NFL game. Before labeling them busts or not worthy, you've got to give someone 3 years.
Gibbs is in the HOF for a reason. Coaches like him don't come around very often. He's in the same league as Reid, Belichick and Parcells.
Our lack of success without him correlates very well with the era of a certain owner who had too much influence over picking the players and was such a bad owner that the best coaches and GMs refused to work for him.
Washington needs more talent. We missed on too many drafts. Even the best coaches need enough good players and we don't have them right now. Gibbs didn't have enough of them when he came back, either.
I loved Joe Gibbs.. Consider him one of the 2 or 3 greatest of all time..
BUT
Some may consider this heresy, but THE GAME HAD PASSED HIM BY.. The Cap and it's ramifications were impossible for him to overcome.. He had made his mark by becoming the DeFacto GM and adding pieces at a premium price whenever he needed to. He had an owner who was willing to go all in on this concept, and he produced.
When this went away he could no longer get the edge he needed
Also,
His later work as a GM was not so solid and he made some bad errors.. He had one draft where he had 3 first round picks and rolled all of them to move up to second(?) overall in the draft to pick a diminutive return specialist from Michigan (Des Howard) who had just won the Heisman.. only problem was that he was too small to be effective as a WR as a pro, even though he eventually had success elsewhere purely as a returner.. I am sure there were others, but the point is that the game, the front office rules and the Cap made him less effective.. and he knew it was time to permanently step away from the game
There's kernels of truth in what you say. One of them is that the GM and head coach positions have gotten so challenging that it's a really bad idea for any one person to try to do both.
As a head coach, Gibb is still one of the greatest, even in his second go-around. He just needed a great GM given the roster that he inherited. He also needed a better QB. You can win a SB without a HOF QB, but the rest of the team has to be great. It wasn't.
If Peters keeps hitting like he has, he's going to be a HOF GM.
Not sure any of us were making major criticisms of draft picks or waving huge red flags (not to mention throwing in the towel on the season - or any season not coached by JG!) four games ago!
Such is the nature of an NFL season. Just ask fans in SF, LA - and recently HOU…& BALT too! No one is promised nuthin.
I'll only comment on the Gibbs part. Do you remember Steve Walsh in 1989? What about Steve Beuerlein in 1991? Those were both Gibbs teams - the former was a team who had just won the SB and the latter went on to win the SB that year. He had the superior team and lost to the Cowboys when they had back-up quarterbacks playing. That '89 team was the only win for the Cowboys, and they were led by all-time NFL running back, Paul Palmer, in a rousing 13-3 win. That's right - the defending SB champs scored 3 points against a 0-8 team that gave up over 24 points a game. Let's pump the brakes and see how things shake out.
I like this format, but if its a choice between a more detailed breakdown and this, I'd choose a more detailed breakdown. That said, I'd struggle with this type of format if I wasn't able to catch the game live (like the eagles game - time difference and exam).
If we ran the same game again next week how would you scheme around Parsons coming inside in effect negating the chip help? Is it continue to chip and get all OL sliding inwards slightly then back outwards? Or is there not a good way when there is a true defensive gamewrecker?
I think the game just shows the holes we still have, just a shame we went on such a good winning streak and now a losing streak to properly mess with our emotions whereas 7-5 with small streaks even with losing against dallas wouldn't feel so bad.
So what they went to a little more in the second half was instead of going empty quite so often, they kept the running back in the backfield. From that position, he could join the protection more effectively. Instead of lining up on the edge and only being able to chip the edge rusher, the back could insert in the middle of the line and pick up any blitzer. That enabled Washington to slide Biadasz towards Parsons and try to double up on him while the back could pick up any blitzing linebacker. The issue then becomes the tackle on the edge doesn’t get the help they were getting with the chips, but you can’t help everyone all of the time.
Hi Mark, I like this format. This season I've been watching the All-22 but I'm a beginner at film watching so this format actually helps further understand what I'm looking at on each play.
Great format. Going forward other teams will likely attack our protection schemes (overloading the A gaps). Kingsburry/Johnson will need a counter to that strategy.
Man.. We talked about Oline earlier and how you said Allegretti was solid but the LG from the chiefs would be an upgrade if they can’t resign him. Man I didn’t expect them to get dominated like this 3 games of being absolutely dominated on the Oline. Idk what’s up with Cosmi, biadasz seems to be pretty hurt.. but the interior was so solid earlier this year and they’ve just really disappointed these last few weeks. We already know our tackles aren’t good enough and the chips are necessary but we relied on our interior to be stout enough. They just were not able to get it done.
I know a lot of people want us to attack downfield but all I can think is we never have time to attack down field. People want weapons and I get it.. but your weapons won’t get used if you can’t get anything done up front.
I think Coleman did alright this game right? “Good enough for a rookie” but overall it was pretty terrible performance from the Oline. During our win streak our Oline was dominant.. if they can’t get back to that it’s not going to go well.
Our dline was also dominated all game too. Everyone wants weapons.. we need to fix the trenches badly.. can’t run, can’t stop the run? You have no chance doing anything late in the year. Seemed like the only one trying to make a play was Luvu, all the dudes from Dallas were like sleeper agents today.. Armstrong, Fowler, Biadasz all had a poor showing.
Maybe I’m being too negative.. but when Cosmi is out there missing blocks I definitely they need to regroup and figure it out cause the titans aren’t going to lay down.. they have one of the best defenses in the league.
I’ll end it by saying I keep seeing people wanting Mariota and it’s just sad to see.. idk if they’re just trolls or dumb. The only reason we were in the game was JD. Wasn’t his best game no doubt.. but no one was trying to help him and make a play. Drops on critical downs. Maybe players not plays means give Terry that chance. Maybe Dyami needs more looks because when he was in he was making plays for JD. Idk what’s up with Terry but having him block is not a good idea.. we already knew this from earlier in the year. The miss one the corner route to Ertz was unfortunate but it looked like JD expected Ertz to go more vertical? Maybe he just air mailed it idk.
We are ahead of schedule but we severely lack talent and we win by being more physical.. and we didn’t out physical anyone today at any level. I still think Lattimore will give us a better chance to make the playoffs and the trade is good if he stays but we need picks for the trenches and we will need a lot of FA to fill the gaps on this team before we are ready to really compete. The best teams have the best Oline.. eagles/lions. We have a way to go and that’s ok! Protect our QB and he will be a stud.
I’m with you on building up the OL. I think they will be under no illusions that this OL is still very much upgradable. I think Biadasz has done really well generally speaking at C. Cosmi has the long term contract and is locked in at RG. He’s been a little up and down the past few weeks but the highs are very very high. Allegretti has been solid at LG the same way Wylie has been solid at RT. He has a nasty mind set and can move people in the run game, but he can be exposed in pass protection without help. I think in a long term approach, you look at upgrading one or both of those guys this offseason. Wylie’s contract is one that you probably move on from this offseason and then they have to make a decision if Coleman is their long term LT, in which case they need a RT, or do they shift Coleman to the right side and find a stud LT somewhere (easier said than done). That might be the priority this year, which means Allegretti sticks at LG next year. But if Trey Smith from the Chiefs does hit free agency, I wouldn’t be opposed to them going big on him and having either Smith or Cosmi switch to LG to really solidify that interior OL. It’s what the Chiefs did for Mahomes - went and signed Joe Thuney at LG, used a high pick on Humphrey at C and then landed a steal in Smith at RG in the later rounds. Those three provided an excellent interior, probably the best in the league over the last few years. Stealing one of those pieces to go along with Cosmi and Biadasz would be huge.
My comment won't add much more to what's already been asked, so I'll simply note I like this format to start the week better. Start big picture with the overall gameplan and then work into the details of individual positions. That was a brutal game to watch, but we've been here before if you've watched this team for over 40 years. Thanks, Mark!
Love the format…one person we haven’t talked about at all but has played a critical role on the defense is Noah Igbinoghene. Seems like he’s playing the slot and almost never comes off the field. Want to get your take on him. Can he be a building block or just a temporary piece?
I don't think he's a building block no. He's been serviceable which when compared to how the CBs were playing at the start of this season, is a big improvement. But I still think the long term look of the secondary is Lattimore CB1, Sainristil in the slot and either a FA or a rookie as CB2. Igbinoghene can be a cheap depth option behind that with some versatility to play inside and outside, while offering special teams ability. That's what he was meant to be this year.
My big question is in the first half of the season, KK's offense had a ton of misdirection - both on passing AND run plays. There were throwback screens that worked beautifully. They're not doing this anymore. Both the run and pass game seem much more straightforward and basic. Do you agree?
I'm not sure I would say basic, but perhaps less diverse? I think the what we saw early in the season was such a wide variety of things while they tried to figure out what worked. Then they started to zero in on the core concepts that worked best for them and add layers to those concepts. They've done well at adding new layers to those concepts, but perhaps the diversity and variety has gone.
And the screen game... man if there is something that has fallen off a cliff, it's that. They cannot set up a RB screen at all right now. It's been bad for a month at least.
I figured most people would probably prefer the traditional breakdowns. I'm definitely still going to get into those, but I'm wondering if a quick primer like this works well on a monday morning, particularly after an offensive struggle. Maybe in the future I could mix in a few clips to go into more detail on a few key plays?
Here is the real problem Mark. You thought we might go for 50. I don’t know how long you have been doing this but it seems not long enough to understand the internal dynamics of the NFC East regardless of record. We squeaked by a terrible Giants team twice. While other teams in the division blow us out the opposite is rarely the case. Maybe beating Dallas 4-5 years ago was an example. Divisional games are different and your Xs and Os analysis does not fit them very well.
For the 3rd time, I didn't think they would get 50, that was a joke. If you keep saying that at this point, you're deliberately being an asshole and taking things out of context. I'm perfectly fine with people disagreeing with me here, but I'm not going to have people deliberately be assholes.
I like the format! Eager for the Daniels breakdown, too, but with larger offensive struggles, it's good to get a clearer picture.
It's frustrating that it took until the end of the game for the passing game to get more vertical. That's obviously dictated a lot by game script, but do you think the failure to do that is Kliff overthinking things or just missed opportunities?
I think the thing is they aren’t good enough on the OL or at WR to be a consistent vertical passing attack. The way they can win consistently is via a strong run game boosted by Daniels read-option threat and then building into the play-action stuff off that for explosives. So they clearly wanted to use that yesterday, especially with Daniels look the most explosive he has since the injury. And those read-option plays were working for the most part.
Obviously towards the end of the game, you have to get into other stuff as running the ball takes up too much time. I think the next step for this offense is unless they get back to being incredibly efficient as they were earlier in the season, which I guess is pretty unrealistic, is to find some more chunk plays from intermediate and deeper passes. They need to attack the middle of the field more in my opinion.
Talent ultimately wins- especially on the OL. Detroit has years of premium draft picks on the OL. It shows
Outside of Cosmi and maybe Coleman or Biadacz I can see the entire line replaced over next 2 years
I think Cosmi and Biadasz are two strong pieces. I think Coleman can develop into a piece but might be more suited to RT long term. That to me says they still need a starting guard and tackle. Allegretti has been solid but is certainly upgradable. Wylie is in the same boat.
Will be a big offseason. A brief look at free agency shows two top OL talents in Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley and Chiefs RG Trey Smith are both set to be free agents. Now both teams would obviously love to keep their premier OL, but both teams might find it tough to be able to afford them. If you were able to land both of them, one of Smith/Cosmi would have to transition to the left guard spot, but you’d suddenly have an OL of Stanley, Smith, Biadasz, Cosmi, Coleman and feel really good about the whole group. But that is still a long way off and I suspect it would be tough to land both of those pieces, if they even become available.
Hi Mark,
What is your assessment of the overall offensive game plan? We all thought that Washington would have far more success in the run game against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. It seems that you are mostly attributing the disappointing performance to lack of execution, is that correct? If so, do you think the lack of execution is mostly due to talent, mental error, or something else?
(As an aside, "We didn't execute" is a cliche that seems tautologous. If "lack of execution" just means poor performance, then players and coaches, by using the cliche, are just telling us that they didn't play well because they didn't play well.)
The “we didn’t execute” thing I think is their way of saying the play called was good, the opportunity was there, they just failed to hit it for one reason or another. We saw that in this game quite a few times, especially on third down. Daniels had Ertz on the opening drive, missed him with a bad throw. Noah Brown should have converted on the second drive, dropped the pass. Some plays the pass protection broke down, some times there was a penalty that backed them up. So the lack of execution thing for me is more saying that the call wasn’t bad, the players needed to do better (not miss a throw, not drop a pass, not line up illegally etc).
I’m going to go back and fully chart the game for the overall game plan. I think I can see what they were trying to do. They want to run the ball and set up play-action. They wanted to lean more on the read-option stuff from Daniels because he was back to being a lot more explosive, and it’s a great way to slow down a guy like Parsons off the edge. A lot of it worked quite well and that TD drive out of the half was proof of concept, if you will. But the three straight 3-and-outs after that were brutal.
I do think they need to find ways of winning with more of a drop back passing game and not just default to empty sets and quick game. I’d like to see them find ways to attack the middle of the field more rather than just rely on a one-on-one outside to Noah Brown. Having said that, each time they called that, it was there. Brown dropped one, another was batted down at the line due to Trent Scott getting driven back, and they did hit a few of them. So it’s a bit harsh to say it’s a bad plan when it was available, but I would like to see the passing game diversify a bit more.
I don’t understand why they went away from the quick game stuff when it was obvious that the oline was getting destroyed. Very frustrating performance, and whether it’s fair or not, this is what Kingsbury coached offenses do in the second half of the season. I read an article today from the Arizona republic from 2022, and all of the components are exactly the same.
Yeah, I’m aware of the Kingsbury offense declining in the second half stuff. I did a whole live show on it last week to show why it wasn’t a fair criticism of his current offense after the Steelers and Eagles games. But it’s certainly more of a question after this one. Part of me does think the reality is that they have one really good weapon in McLaurin and not enough else besides him. They’ve squeezed a ton of juice out of guys like Ertz, Noah Brown, Zaccheaus and even Ekeler and McNichols out of the backfield, but those guys aren’t dynamic enough and none of them are long term pieces.
Really liked the new format, but could do with an explanation in a few places (what’s a Hank concept?). On the last TD they had Terry on the right for the only time in the game. Do you think we might see the odd WR move and motion and get away from Kingsbury’s hurry up, at least a few times?
Good point on the explainers. Will keep that in mind. For the record, a Hank concept is when you have the two outside receivers run curl routes, two other receivers run to the flat underneath and an inside receiver, typically a tight end, run a hook route over the middle.
They do occasionally move Terry over to the right side, but I don’t think it’s as big a deal as it’s made out to be. They keep him on the left but flip him between the X and Z receiver roles, so he gets different routes based on the alignment and the hashmark they are on. What I would say is they haven’t gotten as much out of the tempo stuff lately and perhaps that’s something they need to revisit. If they aren’t getting the benefits of it, then maybe transition away from it a bit. But we saw just how impactful it can be earlier this season and I think it’s a core part of Kingsbury’s offensive philosophy so I suspect we’ll see them stick with it, which means McLaurin will stick to the left side for the most part.
No Luke sightings. Wasted pick. Sinnott not worthy of second round pick. Someone predicted blowout. 50 points by offense. Didn’t happen. Those of us who have been following this team for many decades understand that without Joe Gibbs we won’t win. No JG. No winning.
Disagree. Sinnott is a great blocker. Especially being used like the Niners use Juszwicz. They need to get the ball in his hands more
You’re right, McCaffrey didn’t have a breakout game. They were in 12 and 13 personnel a lot in the second half and when they went to 11 personnel, McCaffrey was often asked to chip, much like what we’ve seen for most of this season. But to say he’s a wasted pick 12 games into his rookie year is incredibly shortsighted. It’s not like he was a first round pick, he was a third rounder that was effectively a fourth rounder. For a comparison. McCaffrey has 14 catches for 142 yards so far this season (and as I wrote in last weeks post, is very unlucky not to have a bunch more). Troy Franklin was picked 2 picks after McCaffrey by the Broncos. He has 19 catches for 190 yards and 2 TDs. Pretty similar stats. Jalen McMillan was drafted by the Bucs 8 picks ahead of McCaffrey. He has just 11 catches for 120 yards and 1 TD. Again, pretty similar stats. So maybe your expectations for what the 100th overall pick in the draft does in his rookie season needs adjusting.
I don’t necessarily disagree that Sinnott was a bit rich in the second round, but he was the third of their three second round picks. I think if they had drafted Coleman in his spot and Sinnott at Colemans spot in the third round, it would be more fair to him. But to be critical of Sinnott after he made an outstanding block for the Daniels touchdown is a bit odd.
Lots of people predicted a blowout. It should have been one. The Cowboys were on a short week with multiple key starters out injured. Washington had a mini-bye and were coming off two tight losses looking to bounce back. They should have won this game comfortably. The comment of 50 points was a joke, as I told you in the game thread last night. I said that because it was a rivalry game and who doesn’t want to see their team score 50 on their biggest rivals?
Joe Gibbs was an amazing coach, nobody will argue that. But he’s not coaching any more. What do you want them to do, just disband the franchise because Gibbs is retired? They already brought him out of retirement once in the mid 2000s, he went 30-34 and didn’t get past the first round of the playoffs. So it’s not like they were winning a ton when he came back 20 years ago. If you want to keep reliving those glory years, go for it. But in the mean time, the rest of us are going to focus on the reality of the current team who finally have some hope of building a consistent winning team for the first time since the original Gibbs teams. But that will take time. In Gibbs’ first year, he went 8-8 and finished 4th in the NFC East. This current team is well ahead of schedule compared to that…
Would you redraft Sinnott and Luke as 2ds and 3ds or someone else. I would pick someone else. Scary Terry was a third. Jordan Reed was a third. Both good from the get go. Also not in love with Newton in second round. Teams run defense is bad and he has not lived up to the hype. Don’t expect Gibbs to return just note our lack of success without him. Other Coleman and Daniels what has this draft produced to date. Do you think we can stand pat at WR? Do you think we would have been better drafting another O lineman.
Silly reference to Joe Gibbs. His glory days were in the 80's - before free agency and the cap arrived in 1993. Football was completely different then. During the Joe Gibbs 2 era in 2004, he got to the playoffs 2 out of 4 years but never passed the wild card game. He knew this wasn't for him.
You have let your rookies develop and adjust to the NFL game. Before labeling them busts or not worthy, you've got to give someone 3 years.
Gibbs is in the HOF for a reason. Coaches like him don't come around very often. He's in the same league as Reid, Belichick and Parcells.
Our lack of success without him correlates very well with the era of a certain owner who had too much influence over picking the players and was such a bad owner that the best coaches and GMs refused to work for him.
Washington needs more talent. We missed on too many drafts. Even the best coaches need enough good players and we don't have them right now. Gibbs didn't have enough of them when he came back, either.
I loved Joe Gibbs.. Consider him one of the 2 or 3 greatest of all time..
BUT
Some may consider this heresy, but THE GAME HAD PASSED HIM BY.. The Cap and it's ramifications were impossible for him to overcome.. He had made his mark by becoming the DeFacto GM and adding pieces at a premium price whenever he needed to. He had an owner who was willing to go all in on this concept, and he produced.
When this went away he could no longer get the edge he needed
Also,
His later work as a GM was not so solid and he made some bad errors.. He had one draft where he had 3 first round picks and rolled all of them to move up to second(?) overall in the draft to pick a diminutive return specialist from Michigan (Des Howard) who had just won the Heisman.. only problem was that he was too small to be effective as a WR as a pro, even though he eventually had success elsewhere purely as a returner.. I am sure there were others, but the point is that the game, the front office rules and the Cap made him less effective.. and he knew it was time to permanently step away from the game
There's kernels of truth in what you say. One of them is that the GM and head coach positions have gotten so challenging that it's a really bad idea for any one person to try to do both.
As a head coach, Gibb is still one of the greatest, even in his second go-around. He just needed a great GM given the roster that he inherited. He also needed a better QB. You can win a SB without a HOF QB, but the rest of the team has to be great. It wasn't.
If Peters keeps hitting like he has, he's going to be a HOF GM.
Whoa! Some are taking this loss especially HARD!😅
Not sure any of us were making major criticisms of draft picks or waving huge red flags (not to mention throwing in the towel on the season - or any season not coached by JG!) four games ago!
Such is the nature of an NFL season. Just ask fans in SF, LA - and recently HOU…& BALT too! No one is promised nuthin.
I'll only comment on the Gibbs part. Do you remember Steve Walsh in 1989? What about Steve Beuerlein in 1991? Those were both Gibbs teams - the former was a team who had just won the SB and the latter went on to win the SB that year. He had the superior team and lost to the Cowboys when they had back-up quarterbacks playing. That '89 team was the only win for the Cowboys, and they were led by all-time NFL running back, Paul Palmer, in a rousing 13-3 win. That's right - the defending SB champs scored 3 points against a 0-8 team that gave up over 24 points a game. Let's pump the brakes and see how things shake out.
I like this format, but if its a choice between a more detailed breakdown and this, I'd choose a more detailed breakdown. That said, I'd struggle with this type of format if I wasn't able to catch the game live (like the eagles game - time difference and exam).
If we ran the same game again next week how would you scheme around Parsons coming inside in effect negating the chip help? Is it continue to chip and get all OL sliding inwards slightly then back outwards? Or is there not a good way when there is a true defensive gamewrecker?
I think the game just shows the holes we still have, just a shame we went on such a good winning streak and now a losing streak to properly mess with our emotions whereas 7-5 with small streaks even with losing against dallas wouldn't feel so bad.
So what they went to a little more in the second half was instead of going empty quite so often, they kept the running back in the backfield. From that position, he could join the protection more effectively. Instead of lining up on the edge and only being able to chip the edge rusher, the back could insert in the middle of the line and pick up any blitzer. That enabled Washington to slide Biadasz towards Parsons and try to double up on him while the back could pick up any blitzing linebacker. The issue then becomes the tackle on the edge doesn’t get the help they were getting with the chips, but you can’t help everyone all of the time.
Like this concept better.
Better than a more detailed breakdown on a specific topic with lots of clips?
Yes.. I think I get more out of this format because I can "see" the ebb and flow of the drives
The detailed stuff goes over my head a lot because I dont have that kind of knowledge
The clips are fun to watch.
I will continue to watch your threads no matter what you choose to do.Very very worthwhile and informative
Hi Mark, I like this format. This season I've been watching the All-22 but I'm a beginner at film watching so this format actually helps further understand what I'm looking at on each play.
I’m glad to hear it. I did think some people might find it interesting to watch through the game with my notes and see what I’m seeing.
Enjoying watching the All-22? It really shows a much more complete story of the game compared to the TV broadcast
Great format. Going forward other teams will likely attack our protection schemes (overloading the A gaps). Kingsburry/Johnson will need a counter to that strategy.
I might do a post on this because it was a smart plan from the Cowboys
Would love to know possible counters to that strategy
Man.. We talked about Oline earlier and how you said Allegretti was solid but the LG from the chiefs would be an upgrade if they can’t resign him. Man I didn’t expect them to get dominated like this 3 games of being absolutely dominated on the Oline. Idk what’s up with Cosmi, biadasz seems to be pretty hurt.. but the interior was so solid earlier this year and they’ve just really disappointed these last few weeks. We already know our tackles aren’t good enough and the chips are necessary but we relied on our interior to be stout enough. They just were not able to get it done.
I know a lot of people want us to attack downfield but all I can think is we never have time to attack down field. People want weapons and I get it.. but your weapons won’t get used if you can’t get anything done up front.
I think Coleman did alright this game right? “Good enough for a rookie” but overall it was pretty terrible performance from the Oline. During our win streak our Oline was dominant.. if they can’t get back to that it’s not going to go well.
Our dline was also dominated all game too. Everyone wants weapons.. we need to fix the trenches badly.. can’t run, can’t stop the run? You have no chance doing anything late in the year. Seemed like the only one trying to make a play was Luvu, all the dudes from Dallas were like sleeper agents today.. Armstrong, Fowler, Biadasz all had a poor showing.
Maybe I’m being too negative.. but when Cosmi is out there missing blocks I definitely they need to regroup and figure it out cause the titans aren’t going to lay down.. they have one of the best defenses in the league.
I’ll end it by saying I keep seeing people wanting Mariota and it’s just sad to see.. idk if they’re just trolls or dumb. The only reason we were in the game was JD. Wasn’t his best game no doubt.. but no one was trying to help him and make a play. Drops on critical downs. Maybe players not plays means give Terry that chance. Maybe Dyami needs more looks because when he was in he was making plays for JD. Idk what’s up with Terry but having him block is not a good idea.. we already knew this from earlier in the year. The miss one the corner route to Ertz was unfortunate but it looked like JD expected Ertz to go more vertical? Maybe he just air mailed it idk.
We are ahead of schedule but we severely lack talent and we win by being more physical.. and we didn’t out physical anyone today at any level. I still think Lattimore will give us a better chance to make the playoffs and the trade is good if he stays but we need picks for the trenches and we will need a lot of FA to fill the gaps on this team before we are ready to really compete. The best teams have the best Oline.. eagles/lions. We have a way to go and that’s ok! Protect our QB and he will be a stud.
I’m with you on building up the OL. I think they will be under no illusions that this OL is still very much upgradable. I think Biadasz has done really well generally speaking at C. Cosmi has the long term contract and is locked in at RG. He’s been a little up and down the past few weeks but the highs are very very high. Allegretti has been solid at LG the same way Wylie has been solid at RT. He has a nasty mind set and can move people in the run game, but he can be exposed in pass protection without help. I think in a long term approach, you look at upgrading one or both of those guys this offseason. Wylie’s contract is one that you probably move on from this offseason and then they have to make a decision if Coleman is their long term LT, in which case they need a RT, or do they shift Coleman to the right side and find a stud LT somewhere (easier said than done). That might be the priority this year, which means Allegretti sticks at LG next year. But if Trey Smith from the Chiefs does hit free agency, I wouldn’t be opposed to them going big on him and having either Smith or Cosmi switch to LG to really solidify that interior OL. It’s what the Chiefs did for Mahomes - went and signed Joe Thuney at LG, used a high pick on Humphrey at C and then landed a steal in Smith at RG in the later rounds. Those three provided an excellent interior, probably the best in the league over the last few years. Stealing one of those pieces to go along with Cosmi and Biadasz would be huge.
My comment won't add much more to what's already been asked, so I'll simply note I like this format to start the week better. Start big picture with the overall gameplan and then work into the details of individual positions. That was a brutal game to watch, but we've been here before if you've watched this team for over 40 years. Thanks, Mark!
Really appreciate the feedback Paul! Definitely was a tough one to watch yesterday, but at least most of this season has been promising overall
While I really enjoy your breakdowns, I love this new format.
Seems to be quite popular, haven't seen the comments section this active in a while!
Love the format…one person we haven’t talked about at all but has played a critical role on the defense is Noah Igbinoghene. Seems like he’s playing the slot and almost never comes off the field. Want to get your take on him. Can he be a building block or just a temporary piece?
Format is fine. Overrating players is not.
I don't think he's a building block no. He's been serviceable which when compared to how the CBs were playing at the start of this season, is a big improvement. But I still think the long term look of the secondary is Lattimore CB1, Sainristil in the slot and either a FA or a rookie as CB2. Igbinoghene can be a cheap depth option behind that with some versatility to play inside and outside, while offering special teams ability. That's what he was meant to be this year.
I like the format a lot. Keep it coming.
My big question is in the first half of the season, KK's offense had a ton of misdirection - both on passing AND run plays. There were throwback screens that worked beautifully. They're not doing this anymore. Both the run and pass game seem much more straightforward and basic. Do you agree?
I'm not sure I would say basic, but perhaps less diverse? I think the what we saw early in the season was such a wide variety of things while they tried to figure out what worked. Then they started to zero in on the core concepts that worked best for them and add layers to those concepts. They've done well at adding new layers to those concepts, but perhaps the diversity and variety has gone.
And the screen game... man if there is something that has fallen off a cliff, it's that. They cannot set up a RB screen at all right now. It's been bad for a month at least.
My two cents: I read mainly the summaries of each drive. I rather prefer the traditional breakdown, but it does not hurt to have a bit of both.
I figured most people would probably prefer the traditional breakdowns. I'm definitely still going to get into those, but I'm wondering if a quick primer like this works well on a monday morning, particularly after an offensive struggle. Maybe in the future I could mix in a few clips to go into more detail on a few key plays?
I think that using different formats can be a good idea. A mix sounds good, too. They are worth trying.
Here is the real problem Mark. You thought we might go for 50. I don’t know how long you have been doing this but it seems not long enough to understand the internal dynamics of the NFC East regardless of record. We squeaked by a terrible Giants team twice. While other teams in the division blow us out the opposite is rarely the case. Maybe beating Dallas 4-5 years ago was an example. Divisional games are different and your Xs and Os analysis does not fit them very well.
For the 3rd time, I didn't think they would get 50, that was a joke. If you keep saying that at this point, you're deliberately being an asshole and taking things out of context. I'm perfectly fine with people disagreeing with me here, but I'm not going to have people deliberately be assholes.
Maybe I read too quickly but I didn’t see it as a joke. But I accept that it was. You still don’t assess the divisional game phenomenon.