WP: Redskins' Saunders Says Run Must Be Established

[bubba9497]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...092201585.html



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Redskins' Saunders Says Run Must Be Established

By Jason La Canfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 23, 2006; E01



Of all the problems with the Washington Redskins' offense that Al Saunders must fix, one in particular consumes him. Saunders often worked through the night this week addressing the problems with pass protection, the lack of any downfield passing game and the struggles of starting quarterback Mark Brunell. But his main focus is resuscitating the running game.

Saunders is under intense pressure just two games into his tenure as associate head coach-offense, and while his résumé includes offenses perennially ranked in the top five in the NFL and a Super Bowl title, that matters little now. Saunders anticipated some rough patches, but the inefficiency of the offense has surprised him. The return of running back Clinton Portis from his shoulder injury for tomorrow's game against the Houston Texans could provide a catalyst to get the offense going.

"The first and foremost thing we have to do is run the ball effectively, and as soon as we do that all the other things we like to do as an offensive football team will fall in suit," Saunders said. "Because as a play-caller, if you don't have that established foundation it's hard, and all of a sudden you're grasping at things trying to move the ball. You have a big play, then you have a little play and then a minus play, instead of being able to establish the run. It's like building up momentum as you continue to go. That's what we're working on, and when we get to that point I think we'll all feel much better than we do right now."

The Redskins' offense has produced just one touchdown in two defeats, and just one play of more than 25 yards. Saunders-run offenses were known for their deep passes and quick scores during his time as a coaching assistant with San Diego, St. Louis and Kansas City. But a powerful running attack has always been at the core. Saunders aims for a balance between runs and passes. The Chiefs rushed the ball 520 times last season and attempted 507 passes.

This season, Saunders has called 61 passes and 45 rushes. The offense has failed to dictate the pace of the game; instead the Redskins were forced to react, unsuccessfully, as Dallas and Minnesota dropped back their safeties, taking away the deep pass and shutting down the running game.

Saunders believes the only way to force the safeties to creep closer to the line and open up the long-range passing game is to run early and often.

[CoachingWinsChampionships]

I hope this game against the Texans ends up looking like the Rams game from last year with at least 200 yards rushing and 75 of them without Clinton Portis on the field. We need to just go out and dominate to get some swagger back.

[TheLongshot]

Well, it would be nice to actually throw it down the field so that the defense doesn't sit close to the line. You have to at least give them the fear of the deep pass.

I'm sure there are some other things, like run blocking, and actually committing to the run (I think the Redskins only rushed it 16 times against Dallas.), but I do think establishing that you can throw deep is a key there.

Jason

[fmorris]

As I mentioned in another thread, I think this game answers a lot of questions. If MB continues to struggle after establishing the running game, I think the coaching staff will definately have to consider alternatives. Other wise this would sort of contradict what Saunders is saying here. On the other hand, if he prospers then we have to weigh how much of that is good MB vs. bad Texans? An obvious no win for Mark, but interesting.

[Mr_Redskins]

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[SkinsHokieFan]

The running game was the lynchpin to Saudner's success in both KC and was a huge part of the Rams 1999 offense

It wasn't all the greatest show on turf going on, and Marshall Faulk and Larry Johnson were both the lynchpin's to those offenses

My guess, CP is going to be the lynchpin to this offense, and when you see a fully healthy CP out there, you are going to see a lot more out of the offense. Ladell is nice and all, but CP brings another dimension, which I think will be unleashed tommorow

[SkinsFTW]

They averaged 4.6 YPC against the Cowboys. Maybe they just needed to run the ball more than 16 times with Betts and Duckett? Give one of them the ball 25 times and the other 10-15 and see how it turns out.

[MRMADD]

Gee, we should establish the run? We brought in a "genius" to tell us that? Hey Al -- your playcalling in the past two games destroyed any ability to establish the run. You didn't commit to the run, and you abandoned it altogether later in the games even while the Skins were still in it.

I hope someone pimp-slapped some sense into Al. OF COURSE we have to establish the run. Go back and look at my "How to beat the Cowboys" thread. It says two things: rush Bledsoe and establish the run. If I can figure it out, why did it take him so long?

[bubba9497]

Gee, we should establish the run? We brought in a "genius" to tell us that? Hey Al -- your playcalling in the past two games destroyed any ability to establish the run. You didn't commit to the run, and you abandoned it altogether later in the games even while the Skins were still in it.

I hope someone pimp-slapped some sense into Al. OF COURSE we have to establish the run. Go back and look at my "How to beat the Cowboys" thread. It says two things: rush Bledsoe and establish the run. If I can figure it out, why did it take him so long?

Damn you so freaking smart, why aren't you coaching...

please,..... tell us how would you do this? How would you've combat what Dallas was doing to allow you to accomplish these goals... I'm sure going 2-14 on 3rd downs, horrible field position, poor blocking and playing behind never would have stopped you

[DieselPwr44]

Damn you so freaking smart, why aren't you coaching...

please,..... tell us how would you do this? How would you've combat what Dallas was doing to allow you to accomplish these goals... I'm sure going 2-14 on 3rd downs, horrible field position, poor blocking and playing behind never would have stopped you

Well...the very few times he was in there, TJ seemed to be able to gain some yards....at least a whole lot better than Betts.

Inserting him into the lineup would've been a nice start. Besides, if your going to give up draft picks to cover yourself for CP's injury, doesn't it make sense to use him for exactly that purpose??

It's like you have two cars. One you drive everyday and one for backup if it breaks down. Car #1 breaks down and you decide to walk to work and leave your backup car parked in the garage.........

[skinsaddict]

Damn you so freaking smart, why aren't you coaching...

please,..... tell us how would you do this? How would you've combat what Dallas was doing to allow you to accomplish these goals... I'm sure going 2-14 on 3rd downs, horrible field position, poor blocking and playing behind never would have stopped you

it is so sad that if anyone expresses THIER opinion on this board, the sheep jump to the conclusion that person is trying to act as a head coach and should "love it or leave it"

i think he made a good observation, fortunantly, so did Al Saunders and we will hopefully be in shape come triple zeros in the fourth quater tomorrow.

lighten up, this is a discussion board....right?

[GhostofAlvinWalton]

Damn you so freaking smart, why aren't you coaching...

I guess you never watched a game and wished that a different play had been called, right? You are quickly losing the respect of some people that used to like reading your posts.


.

[TheLongshot]

Well...the very few times he was in there, TJ seemed to be able to gain some yards....at least a whole lot better than Betts.

I'm guessing he isn't completely up on the offense yet. I heard that his pass blocking was awful in the Dallas game.

Jason

[909997]

i hope we sign a big name guard next year

[LoudMouth12thMan]

Gee, we should establish the run? We brought in a "genius" to tell us that? Hey Al -- your playcalling in the past two games destroyed any ability to establish the run. You didn't commit to the run, and you abandoned it altogether later in the games even while the Skins were still in it.

I hope someone pimp-slapped some sense into Al. OF COURSE we have to establish the run. Go back and look at my "How to beat the Cowboys" thread. It says two things: rush Bledsoe and establish the run. If I can figure it out, why did it take him so long?

Not having our starting running back in the game handcuffed Saunders. Portis has had 10 carries in two games. Don't you think that is relevant to this discussion? You can put your blinders on pal, but Betts is not Portis (his vision, his pass pro' technique, and his physical attributes as a Back are far more superior than Betts). You obviously didn't figure that out or you'd have understood the article and its content. Read between the lines . I didn't read your thread about getting pressure and establishing the run, but isn't that a formula for every game? I think that is pretty easy to figure out even for a novice like myself or Bubba My point is that not having Portis' 20-25 touches is hurting this team. Hopefully he'll be healthy enough from here on in to get even more touches than that. Did you watch the 2005 team? Portis gets stronger as the game wears on.
Betts 19 62 3.3
Duckett 5 24 4.8
You can see who needs to be touching the ball as a backup. The problem here is that this guy can't pass pro' either, and one of the main reasons is that he doesn't know his assignments in Saunder's offense yet. Portis does, so get ready to see the difference between our offense with and without Portis.
HTTR!