You can reach Rich
Tandler by email at WarpathInsiders@comcast.net
·
Never has such a nice flavor been given such a
bad name. I've got to think that the Vanilla Growers Association has to be
getting pretty annoyed at the constant use of the term "vanilla" to describe
the Redskins' putrid offense during the course of the preseason. They should be
striking a deal with the Milk Carton Manufacturers Association to have it
listed on their products since the offense can better be described as missing.
·
Al Saunders had an interesting comment on the
subject on TV on Monday, indicating that the Redskins do not want to reveal how
they would compensate for and scheme around weak spots on the offense. That's a
very plausible explanation for the weak showing by the offense so far this
preseason. You just have to hope that Jon Jansen isn't one of the weak spots
that needs protection.
·
I wonder if there is a plan to cover for John Hall, who appears to be a major weak link. New England got some penetration on
that block, but the low kick was the main reason it got blocked. He missed a
36-yard try that would have pulled the Redskins to within four of the Seahawks
in Seattle last January. In the scrimmage against the Ravens he missed two
tries and then there was the block last Saturday. That's called a cold streak
and it is not a way to instill much confidence.
·
To finish going through the kicking game, I
don't understand why more serious competition wasn't brought in for Derrick Frost. And while Gibbs has the final say in such matters he largely delegates
such things to Danny Smith. In talking to a reporter around the time of
minicamp Smith himself said that Frost got some of the luckiest bounces he'd
ever seen. Yet the only challenger they brought in was David Lonie. Nothing
against him, mind you, but if he wasn't from Australia and a pretty interesting
story nobody would have given the slightest chance of making the team. Lonie
had to have a great camp to have a shot and he had far from that.
·
And by “serious competition” I don’t mean Eddie
Johnson, who the Redskins signed and then cut in the space of several hours on
Tuesday. At least he didn’t have the buy or rent dilemma—he didn’t even spend
the night as a Redskin. From what I could gather in research done during the
brief period of time that he was with the team, one of his best skills was running.
This was a necessary talent as he had a propensity to mishandle snaps. The
picture above shows him running for a first down after fumbling a snap, not
something you want your punter to do on an unplanned basis.
·
You can't make the club if you're in the tub and
that's especially true if you come in with a history of injuries. So tight end
Robert Johnson and linebacker Kevin Simon are among the 12 who were handed
their walking papers by the Redskins yesterday. It was Johnson's ankle that
kept him in the trainers' room and in the doghouse of the coaching staff. Being
6-6, 278 and fast and athletic doesn't get you anywhere if you can't produce on
the field. Simon was a gamble as a seventh-round pick. The seasons he was
healthy at Tennessee his production was excellent but he was on the field just
two of his four years there. He's an outside possibility for the practice squad
but you usually don't cut guys that you want to keep around in the initial
round.
·
Back to Saunders, a comment he made about Jason Campbell created a bit of a stir. In taped remarks shown during last Saturday’s
preseason game, the Redskins offensive guru said the following about whether or
not he thought that Campbell has what it takes to make it in the NFL:
That’s hard to say. He’s a
big, strong guy, he has all the physical tools. But there’s more to the
quarterback position than just being a physical player. It’s not only
emotional, it’s consistency and it’s playing and reacting at a very, very high
level. There are a lot of things going on out on the football field at a very,
very fast pace. It’s an intellectual position as well as a physical position
and sometimes it takes longer than other guys to be prepared to play at that
level. Some guys never get there despite their great ability. The only way to
do it is to continue to work on it and get into game situations to see if it
can be done and that’s where we are with Jason right now.
Some interpreted this as being fairly critical of Campbell and it certainly
could be seen that way. My view is that Gibbs and Saunders play different roles
in Campbell’s development. Gibbs is the “good cop”, delivering praise and
encouraging the young quarterback while “bad cop” Saunders is the one kicking
him in the butt, prodding him to work harder and being careful not to be too
effusive in his praise. The comments were consistent with what Saunders has
told me on the couple of occasions when I have asked him about Campbell.
Rich Tandler is the
author of The Redskins From A to Z, Volume 1: The Games. This unique book
has an account of every game the Redskins played from when the moved to
Washington for the 1937 season through 2001. For details and ordering
information go to http://www.RedskinsGames.com
