After hearing all the talk last year about Al Saunders’ 700-page play book, we spent the off season analyzing every single offensive snap of the Redskins’ 2006 season to experience his prodigious genius. Much to our surprise however, the Redskins only ran four plays last year:
- Hand off to Clinton Portis or Ladell Betts
- Screen pass, with a skinny post
- Slants, with a skinny post
- Play action deep post
Granted, it was Saunders’ first year as Joe Gibbs’ offensive coordinator and you don’t just install a system that’s 700-pages long but come on, now - four plays?
With an offense that has had a year and a full off season to absorb Saunders’ “playtome,” he will hopefully be able to call a more diverse range of plays for Jason Campbell, who took over the starting job from Mark “Wily Veteran” Brunell last year, to execute.
It’s not like the Redskins aren’t loaded with weapons. Betts, Portis, Chris Cooley, Santana Moss, Antwan Randle El, and Brandon Lloyd (whose diet consists of twenty egg whites and four chicken breasts, three liters of water, and a brownie - because he “likes them” - a day) can make plays so it falls squarely on Saunders and his encyclopedia of offense to put them in positions to make them.
Beyond that, I’m a little more concerned with the Redskins 31st ranked defense last year and that was from a defense that was expected to do well. Though they addressed their weakness at linebacker by signing London Fletcher in the off season, it remains to be seen if they’ll be able to create any pressure up front.
The progress of first round draft pick LaRon Landry seems to be very encouraging for the secondary. With Sean Taylor arriving in camp with slimmer and stronger, he may get arrested again for armed assault, this time on the football field. The two of them may kill somebody this year by hitting too hard.
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