[ESPN980] Trent Dilfer: "Ultimate offense on 1st and 2nd down"

[kleese]

Agreed on Jaws, major dork and yes, Ill admit he does a good job breaking down film. He's just super annoying to me.

I do more reading than posting on here and I respect you as a poster, so Ill take you word when it comes to Cowherd. Its literally been years since Ive listened to him. I just found myself disagreeing with him more often than not. But the reason I quit listening to him is as far as he is concerned, his word is gospel and if anyone (his callers) had a different opinion, he would condescendingly mock them.

I cant respect that.

Agreed on Jaws, major dork and yes, Ill admit he does a good job breaking down film. He's just super annoying to me.

I do more reading than posting on here and I respect you as a poster, so Ill take you word when it comes to Cowherd. Its literally been years since Ive listened to him. I just found myself disagreeing with him more often than not. But the reason I quit listening to him is as far as he is concerned, his word is gospel and if anyone (his callers) had a different opinion, he would condescendingly mock them.

I cant respect that.

He is completely condescending... It's part of his schtick.

But one thing I find interesting about him is that he is very honest while being condescending. For example, when analyzing why there is so much fan violence at NFL games as opposed to college games, he contends that there are more people with college degrees at college games (likely true) and the more educated you are, the less likely you are to engage in violence. He says "career guys" go to college games while "job guys go to NFL games. It's not something most hosts would say and it certainly be viewed by some as offensive or condescending, but it is also probably a pretty legit theory, and I like that he has the guts to say stuff like that, even when I don't agree with him.

[COOLeyCatchTds]

He is completely condescending... It's part of his schtick.

But one thing I find interesting about him is that he is very honest while being condescending. For example, when analyzing why there is so much fan violence at NFL games as opposed to college games, he contends that there are more people with college degrees at college games (likely true) and the more educated you are, the less likely you are to engage in violence. He says "career guys" go to college games while "job guys go to NFL games. It's not something most hosts would say and it certainly be viewed by some as offensive or condescending, but it is also probably a pretty legit theory, and I like that he has the guts to say stuff like that, even when I don't agree with him.

haha, I would completely agree with that.

[bradboyd80]

I think Dilfer hit the nail on the head......You can easily stop the zone read alone. But stopping the zone read combined with our smash-mouth running game and RG3's arm, will be impossible. We have an absolutely beautiful future ahead of us. This offense is going to be a blast to watch for the next 10 years. If we get half a defense, the rest of the NFL better watch out.

[cphil006]

Very good analysis. I feel like the offense will expand with time... adding new wrinkles and mastering new formations and plays... it's going to be exciting to watch, no doubt.

[DogofWar1]

Listened to this 3 times already, I keep noticing Trent say something I missed a previous time.

I especially like the fact that he actually took some time to learn about the pistol, talking with people who know about it. Most analysts haven't done that, which is why they keep calling it a gimmick, while Dilfer actually took the time to understand it.

He's right, that we will need to improve on pass-only downs, but I do think that's as much the WR corp and line as it is RGIII. If we get ourselves a RT, and either the your WRs continue growing or we add a guy, I think we'll be dangerous. And Fred back should improve that too (assuming we re-sign him).

[Lavarleap56]

I'm working on a post for HTTR but I figured I would put these up. Nothing has really changed with the run game except we run a few zone read,option,or veer plays to break the defense.

2011- Redskins Stretch under center



2012- Redskins Stretch from Pistol

[NOtoDC]

Nice post by the OP. ^^^Nice gifs above

[terrifNick21]

[stevemcqueen1]

Dilfer has positioned himself to be arguably the top technical analyst out there. He is always prepared, has a pretty engaging personality, and isn't afraid to drop criticism when necessary. He has surpassed Jaws as the go to "film breakdown" guy at ESPN.

Yeah Jaws is a bit of a buffoon. He isn't nearly the buff he's been passed off as for so long. He's not very imaginative and his analysis is just nowhere near as good as a lot of other guys, Dilfer being one. Steve Young, Mike Mayock, Chris Collinsworth, John Gruden, etc. Collinsworth is my favorite for explaining tape to laymen. Gruden has the sharpest eye and is the best at keeping perspective. I like Dilfer because of his enthusiasm and the good work he puts into analyzing QBs. He's understands the position.

[Rpredskins]

Jaws Big Board holy crap what a joke!!! Schaub #6?? LOL! Philip Rivers 13?? If Colin Kaepernick wasn't on there I would swear that chart was made in August, that's how little it compares to reality.

[stevemcqueen1]

this

I think a lot of fans are going to have football epiphanies like this now that they actually get to watch transcendent QB play and a potent offense at work.

Every QB runs an offensive system, no offensive system is any more "legit" than any other one. All that matters is effectiveness. The game transforms constantly as new ideas are implemented and effective responses to them are discovered. The most successful teams are often the ones who are the forefront of an evolution and dictate the match ups to reactionary opponents. Mike Shanahan has always been an offensive mastermind. I think he's hit upon a dynamic melding his zone read WC offense with a pistol running game that's put him at the forefront of a powerful sea change should other teams get athletic QBs and decide to copy us.

There are only two things fundamental or "pure" about football: blocking and tackling. Everything about the game derives from them. A team is effective when it figures out how to advance the ball avoiding tackles on offense and keep the ball from advancing forward by tackling on defense. Start there and figure out how to achieve both ends with a system of packages and plays that you can execute effectively with the personnel you've got.

First you install a reliable blocking scheme to keep ball carriers from getting tackled too quick. Don't have a bunch of the expensive kind of linemen that have power + size + speed? Try to win with quickness and synergy. Hence the ZBS and the outside zone running game as the foundation, the first packages and plays you install. Then you balance them with inside runs and misdirection runs and all of the other handoffs that have been around for decades while keeping the core blocking philosophy. Running the ball effectively is a numbers game, putting a hat on every hat--that's involved in the play. Blocking favors the offense because it's a lot harder to disengage a block than engage it in the short time it takes a ball carrier to reach his gaps at the LoS. You can win this numbers game by effectively allocating the blockers you've got and also by taking defenders out of the play without blocking them--misdirection.

So blocking is emphasized for everyone in the scheme. Even the "ends" of your formations can block creating big outside creases that lead to chunk gains. The run game becomes a dangerously diverse and effective weapon all on its own, before the pass even really comes into play.

When you can consistently run for medium yardage on first and second down and get good leverage situations on third down, no defense can stop you. This has always been the case in football.

So since stopping the run is the most basic task of every D, if you start killing them with the run, they will adjust or die and when they overflow on plays to stop the run, they become vulnerable to misdirection passes. Now the offense is a total weapon. Pretty much every single one of our passes incorporates some sort of misdirection and they have to be honored because we threaten the ability to advance the ball in any way on almost every play.

When you draft a transcendentally gifted QB that can:
- handle all of your running responsibilities, both inside and outside. In fact, he's so dangerous on outside runs that he regularly breaks off huge chunk gains against an overflowing defense
- has the best ball fakes I've ever seen
- is a genius at improvising--running or passing off script
- has an amazing ability to stick downfield throws

Why on Earth wouldn't you boil the script down to a variety of option plays and let your genius playmaking QB just go out and read and react to the defense at the line and mid play--with every option on the table? He's the ultimate offensive weapon. Let him go out there and advance the ball.

Anyway, calling our offense an unsustainable gimmick is meaningless. It's innovative, it's extremely hard to defend, defenses will eventually adjust to it in the same way defenses eventually adjust to every type of effective offense over the years. I'm betting our offense will continuously adjust because every great offense run by an offensive mastermind does. How many innovative offenses have we seen New England run over the years?

Jaws is a moron because he seems to have lost his understanding of the point of running an offense and playing QB. The point is not to sit back in a static pocket, have your receivers run little timed patterns all over the field, you throw it to them on script, they catch it, ball advanced, repeat 30-40 times a game. The point is not to be the best looking guy at doing this. The point is to ****ing advance the ball and score points by blocking defenders and confusing them to keep them from tackling you.

[AsiaticSkinsFan]

Jaws is a moron because he seems to have lost his understanding of the point of running an offense and playing QB. The point is not to sit back in a static pocket, have your receivers run little timed patterns all over the field, you throw it to them on script, they catch it, ball advanced, repeat 30-40 times a game. The point is not to be the best looking guy at doing this. The point is to ****ing advance the ball and score points by blocking defenders and confusing them to keep them from tackling you.

yeah, Jaworski's biggest thing is that he doesnt like atypical quarterbacks. He never has and has always rated the harshly.

He cant wrap his head around a QB doing different things, in his mind its that a QB should drop back and do that only.

I wouldnt call him a moron, just slow to change.

[SAli457180]

I'm working on a post for HTTR but I figured I would put these up. Nothing has really changed with the run game except we run a few zone read,option,or veer plays to break the defense.

2011- Redskins Stretch under center

2012- Redskins Stretch from Pistol

The offense right now is definitely a variation of what they were running last year, but the big exception is under center. RG3 is the reason why team is so dangerous offensively and so hard to defend. What he brings is something so dynamic which hasn't been seen in decades here or the NFL. I'm so glad we're blessed to have him here and watch this unbelievable QB play.

[Gamebreaker]

According to Ron Jaworski, there are "a LOT" of quarterbacks playing better than Robert Griffin right now.

Jaws also once said Jason Campbell should've been an MVP candidate after watching him be a caretaker for an offense for half a season.