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O-line manhandled by Ravens in scrimmage
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
BALTIMORE -- Here are five observations on the Washington Commanders, based on their Aug. 6 scrimmage with the Baltimore Ravens:
1. Yo, attention Commanders offensive linemen. Here's an important public service announcement: That newfangled pass rush the Ravens' defense was using Saturday afternoon is known as a blitz. Comes from the German for blitzkrieg and, from the looks of it, the Commanders' blockers certainly regarded the all-out attack on the pocket as if it was something totally foreign to them. In one 12-play stretch, embattled quarterback Patrick Ramsey was "sacked" (hard not to use the quotation marks when it required just a love-tap on the quarterback to halt the play) four times, including two by cornerback Deion Sanders. We're talking Deion Sanders here, folks, whose 13-year career includes just one sack, and who is more accustomed to knocking down passes than the guys who throw them. The Commanders' line might try looking up the word "flummoxed" -- the unit won't need a German dictionary for that one, because it's the verb that most aptly describes what occurred in the scrimmage. Granted, starting left tackle Chris Samuels did not play in the "live" part of the two-hour combined workout, and that probably had some effect on the overall performance of the unit. But right tackle Jon Jansen, who missed the 2004 season with an Achilles injury, was back. And the blocking unit, which must have been working on some new protections as part of the much-needed offensive makeover, was supposed to be better in 2005.
For one afternoon, at least, it wasn't. Joe Bugel is one of the premier offensive line coaches in recent history, but this bump is starting to tarnish his glittering reputation, and the dysfunction needs to be addressed if the Commanders are to better their No. 30 statistical ranking of last year. Some of the culpability probably lies with Ramsey, who is trying to assimilate a third different offense in his fourth NFL season, and who sometimes holds the ball too long. That said, Ramsey, who will never be the most nimble-footed quarterback around, could move like Baryshnikov, and might still get buried if the line doesn't get better quickly. It might be unfair to judge the unit on a scrimmage outing, especially since the Ravens ran much more sophisticated stuff than one might expect in such a session. But there is still no excuse for the lack of execution, and even more so, absence of recognition that occurred Saturday afternoon.
"Pass protection didn't look good," acknowledged coach Joe Gibbs afterwards, stating the painfully obvious. "Anytime you don't do well, it's a concern."
Given the players on hand, the offensive line should be one of the Commanders' positives, it seems. Samuels has slumped the past few seasons, and probably has slipped from the elite group of "pass pro" left tackles in the league, but is still a good player and Washington just signed him to a long-term contract extension. Jansen is a battler. Right guard Randy Thomas is a Pro Bowl-caliber inside blocker. New center Casey Rabach, signed as a free agent from Baltimore, was the best veteran at his position available this spring. On the running side, the Skins are using more zone-blocking in 2005 to better accommodate the style of Clinton Portis, who got bogged down at times in the former design. The only zone the unit was in when it came to pass-blocking Saturday, though, was the Twilight Zone.
2. That ticking noise you hear in the background is the clock running down on Ramsey's tenure as Washington's starting quarterback. And maybe for Ramsey, one of our favorite people in the league, that's actually a good thing. Ramsey, who completed 5 of 8 passes for 37 yards in the scrimmage, may be better served in a year or two with a change of scenery.
The former first-round pick (2002) clearly has talent, and a strong arm, but still seems to be held back a bit in the Commanders' offense. Maybe he just was not destined to make a splash with his original franchise, but to succeed in wherever he lands for his second incarnation. Just think about Ramsey's history with the team. During his original contract negotiations, because he was late for camp, the Commanders considered trading him to the Chicago Bears. Then came two rocky years under Steve Spurrier. Gibbs had so little faith in him a year ago that he traded for the used-up Mark Brunell to be his starter. And four months ago, Gibbs dealt away three draft picks to get an extra first-rounder so that he could take Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell. The Commanders pay lip service to Ramsey but their words ring hollow. The former Tulane star has two years left on his contract, and by then, Campbell will have completed his apprenticeship. You don't think Gibbs swapped three picks for Campbell to sit around very long, do you? Wherever Ramsey lands, it almost has to be better than his current situation.
3. The best player on the field for Washington Saturday was actually a second-string safety. Maybe you've heard of him: A guy by the name of Sean Taylor. Demoted to the second unit because he boycotted all the team's offseason workouts, and then got himself into a legal mess in South Florida, the second-year veteran and 2004 first-round choice was an absolute monster. No doubt, by the time you read this, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will have bumped Taylor up the depth chart to the first unit.
On one run off the left side, Taylor came up out of the secondary like a heat-seeking missile, got under the blocking, and impacted tailback Tellis Redmon with such force his helmet flew off. A few plays later, he went deep into the secondary to swat away a pass. And then, in a red zone situation, when a botched coverage forced him to try to check two receivers, he absolutely drilled Baltimore wideout Randy Hymes in the back of the end zone, separating him from the ball.
"I'm always kidding that we keep him in a cage and feed him raw meat," linebacker Marcus Washington said. "On game day, we turn him loose."
The difference between this summer and last, when we saw Taylor in his debut training camp, is profound. As a rookie, at least in camp, Taylor seemed to have no feel at all for coverage and looked like a guy who was strictly an "in the box" safety. He may never be a player who looks entirely comfortable in coverage because his game really is attacking the line of scrimmage, but Taylor has made remarkable progress. And, as noted, this by a youngster who got in no offseason workout time with the team.
Taylor had 89 tackles and four interceptions as a rookie, and with the ways Williams will use him, should only get better. If Saturday was any indication, the scouts who suggested in 2004 that Taylor was the best safety prospect in at least a decade might be right. The Commanders figure to be solid at safety, with Matt Bowen likely to join Taylor in the starting lineup. Bowen did not participate in the scrimmage, and was one of nine starters or key reserves on defense who did not play, but he is a tough guy for whom Williams has created big-play opportunities.
4. There were a lot of people wearing LaVar Arrington jerseys Saturday, since plenty of folks from Washington made the drive here for the practice session, and donned the No. 56 in support of their favorite player. Unfortunately, none of them was LaVar Arrington, who hasn't practiced much in camp after missing a dozen games in 2004 because of a knee injury. If any of the Arrington poseurs merely broke a sweat watching the two-hour proceedings, then they did more than the five-year veteran linebacker has done for the Commanders of late. Forget the acrimony that's existed recently between the team and its supposed defensive star, who has alleged the Commanders bilked him out of $6.5 million on the contract he signed late in the '03 season. Based on nothing more than performance for five years, and the potential with which Arrington entered the league as the second overall selection in 2000, has the fortune owner Dan Snyder paid the linebacker been a good investment? One could make a pretty compelling argument that it was money ill-spent.
Snyder faced a tough decision in '03: Pay Arrington or cornerback Champ Bailey big money to be the face of the team's defense. He doled out the dollars for Arrington and then, when Bailey balked at several offers, traded him. In a league that places an incredibly high premium on cornerbacks, and in which the overall significance of the linebacker position has been diminished, Snyder made the wrong call. Arrington is a good player when he's on the field, and has authored an average of 8.7 big plays (sacks, interceptions, fumbles forced and fumbles recovered) over five seasons. But he is hardly the dominant force Washington thought he was when drafted in 2000, and now, with his knee problems, he might never be that player. And there is this element to consider as well: Williams is such a superb defensive coordinator, a reality driven home last season, that a team can get by with a little less, especially at linebacker. Anyone ever hear of Antonio Pierce before the 2004 season? Starting for the first time in his career at middle linebacker, Pierce made 160 tackles, a performance that turned him into an instant millionaire when he defected to the New York Giants as a free agent this spring.
Taking nothing away from Pierce, but we're betting that Lemar Marshall, inserted at middle linebacker, will be this year's version of Pierce, a guy whose value is ratcheted up by the system in which he plays. In short, Williams doesn't need Arrington to be successful because his design will elevate the play of lesser players who are earning far less. Washington is a very good linebacker, and playing for Williams, veteran Warrick Holdman might be able to turn back the clock to his Chicago Bears glory days.
As noted above, the Commanders were minus nine key defenders for the Saturday scrimmage, and pretty much bottled up the Baltimore offense much of the day. Williams finds ways to use players in manners they never imagined, and all one need do is look at the performance of cornerback Shawn Springs last season. In the first seven years of his career, Springs had 1½ sacks. In the Williams scheme in 2004, he had six sacks and five interceptions, his best showing since 1999. The Commanders statistically ranked No. 3 in total defense a year ago, and allowed the fifth fewest points in the NFL, and basically did that without Arrington. The bet here is they could do it again.
5. For all the rhetoric about adding some vertical dimension to the passing game in 2005, as the Commanders' offense tries to move into the 21st century, it won't be too surprising if the team's most productive receiver is tight end/H-back Chris Cooley. If safety Taylor was the best player period on the field Saturday, then Cooley, a second-year veteran, was the top guy on the offensive side of the ball. The statistics from the "live" part of the scrimmage show that Cooley, a third-round choice in '04, had just one reception for 6 yards. But the former Utah State standout was a factor in virtually every other segment: from red zone to 7-on-7 to individual drills. Cooley has a natural ability to separate inside and, while he is probably a better receiver than blocker at this early juncture of his career, he can hit on the move, which is a huge commodity for the H-back position.
As a rookie, Cooley had 37 receptions for 314 yards and six touchdowns. He'll need to add more yards after the catch, but his touchdown-per-catch ratio is indicative of just how effective Cooley can be inside the 20-yard line. Cooley didn't have a touchdown catch of longer than 9 yards in 2004 and his average scoring grab was for 5.3 yards. But one could see Saturday just how adept Cooley is at finding open spaces in the end zone and then settling down into them. He figures to be even better in 2005 than he was as a rookie, and a 50-reception season certainly is possible.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click here
.
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By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com
BALTIMORE -- Here are five observations on the Washington Commanders, based on their Aug. 6 scrimmage with the Baltimore Ravens:
1. Yo, attention Commanders offensive linemen. Here's an important public service announcement: That newfangled pass rush the Ravens' defense was using Saturday afternoon is known as a blitz. Comes from the German for blitzkrieg and, from the looks of it, the Commanders' blockers certainly regarded the all-out attack on the pocket as if it was something totally foreign to them. In one 12-play stretch, embattled quarterback Patrick Ramsey was "sacked" (hard not to use the quotation marks when it required just a love-tap on the quarterback to halt the play) four times, including two by cornerback Deion Sanders. We're talking Deion Sanders here, folks, whose 13-year career includes just one sack, and who is more accustomed to knocking down passes than the guys who throw them. The Commanders' line might try looking up the word "flummoxed" -- the unit won't need a German dictionary for that one, because it's the verb that most aptly describes what occurred in the scrimmage. Granted, starting left tackle Chris Samuels did not play in the "live" part of the two-hour combined workout, and that probably had some effect on the overall performance of the unit. But right tackle Jon Jansen, who missed the 2004 season with an Achilles injury, was back. And the blocking unit, which must have been working on some new protections as part of the much-needed offensive makeover, was supposed to be better in 2005.
For one afternoon, at least, it wasn't. Joe Bugel is one of the premier offensive line coaches in recent history, but this bump is starting to tarnish his glittering reputation, and the dysfunction needs to be addressed if the Commanders are to better their No. 30 statistical ranking of last year. Some of the culpability probably lies with Ramsey, who is trying to assimilate a third different offense in his fourth NFL season, and who sometimes holds the ball too long. That said, Ramsey, who will never be the most nimble-footed quarterback around, could move like Baryshnikov, and might still get buried if the line doesn't get better quickly. It might be unfair to judge the unit on a scrimmage outing, especially since the Ravens ran much more sophisticated stuff than one might expect in such a session. But there is still no excuse for the lack of execution, and even more so, absence of recognition that occurred Saturday afternoon.
"Pass protection didn't look good," acknowledged coach Joe Gibbs afterwards, stating the painfully obvious. "Anytime you don't do well, it's a concern."
Given the players on hand, the offensive line should be one of the Commanders' positives, it seems. Samuels has slumped the past few seasons, and probably has slipped from the elite group of "pass pro" left tackles in the league, but is still a good player and Washington just signed him to a long-term contract extension. Jansen is a battler. Right guard Randy Thomas is a Pro Bowl-caliber inside blocker. New center Casey Rabach, signed as a free agent from Baltimore, was the best veteran at his position available this spring. On the running side, the Skins are using more zone-blocking in 2005 to better accommodate the style of Clinton Portis, who got bogged down at times in the former design. The only zone the unit was in when it came to pass-blocking Saturday, though, was the Twilight Zone.
2. That ticking noise you hear in the background is the clock running down on Ramsey's tenure as Washington's starting quarterback. And maybe for Ramsey, one of our favorite people in the league, that's actually a good thing. Ramsey, who completed 5 of 8 passes for 37 yards in the scrimmage, may be better served in a year or two with a change of scenery.
The former first-round pick (2002) clearly has talent, and a strong arm, but still seems to be held back a bit in the Commanders' offense. Maybe he just was not destined to make a splash with his original franchise, but to succeed in wherever he lands for his second incarnation. Just think about Ramsey's history with the team. During his original contract negotiations, because he was late for camp, the Commanders considered trading him to the Chicago Bears. Then came two rocky years under Steve Spurrier. Gibbs had so little faith in him a year ago that he traded for the used-up Mark Brunell to be his starter. And four months ago, Gibbs dealt away three draft picks to get an extra first-rounder so that he could take Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell. The Commanders pay lip service to Ramsey but their words ring hollow. The former Tulane star has two years left on his contract, and by then, Campbell will have completed his apprenticeship. You don't think Gibbs swapped three picks for Campbell to sit around very long, do you? Wherever Ramsey lands, it almost has to be better than his current situation.
3. The best player on the field for Washington Saturday was actually a second-string safety. Maybe you've heard of him: A guy by the name of Sean Taylor. Demoted to the second unit because he boycotted all the team's offseason workouts, and then got himself into a legal mess in South Florida, the second-year veteran and 2004 first-round choice was an absolute monster. No doubt, by the time you read this, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will have bumped Taylor up the depth chart to the first unit.
On one run off the left side, Taylor came up out of the secondary like a heat-seeking missile, got under the blocking, and impacted tailback Tellis Redmon with such force his helmet flew off. A few plays later, he went deep into the secondary to swat away a pass. And then, in a red zone situation, when a botched coverage forced him to try to check two receivers, he absolutely drilled Baltimore wideout Randy Hymes in the back of the end zone, separating him from the ball.
"I'm always kidding that we keep him in a cage and feed him raw meat," linebacker Marcus Washington said. "On game day, we turn him loose."
The difference between this summer and last, when we saw Taylor in his debut training camp, is profound. As a rookie, at least in camp, Taylor seemed to have no feel at all for coverage and looked like a guy who was strictly an "in the box" safety. He may never be a player who looks entirely comfortable in coverage because his game really is attacking the line of scrimmage, but Taylor has made remarkable progress. And, as noted, this by a youngster who got in no offseason workout time with the team.
Taylor had 89 tackles and four interceptions as a rookie, and with the ways Williams will use him, should only get better. If Saturday was any indication, the scouts who suggested in 2004 that Taylor was the best safety prospect in at least a decade might be right. The Commanders figure to be solid at safety, with Matt Bowen likely to join Taylor in the starting lineup. Bowen did not participate in the scrimmage, and was one of nine starters or key reserves on defense who did not play, but he is a tough guy for whom Williams has created big-play opportunities.
4. There were a lot of people wearing LaVar Arrington jerseys Saturday, since plenty of folks from Washington made the drive here for the practice session, and donned the No. 56 in support of their favorite player. Unfortunately, none of them was LaVar Arrington, who hasn't practiced much in camp after missing a dozen games in 2004 because of a knee injury. If any of the Arrington poseurs merely broke a sweat watching the two-hour proceedings, then they did more than the five-year veteran linebacker has done for the Commanders of late. Forget the acrimony that's existed recently between the team and its supposed defensive star, who has alleged the Commanders bilked him out of $6.5 million on the contract he signed late in the '03 season. Based on nothing more than performance for five years, and the potential with which Arrington entered the league as the second overall selection in 2000, has the fortune owner Dan Snyder paid the linebacker been a good investment? One could make a pretty compelling argument that it was money ill-spent.
Snyder faced a tough decision in '03: Pay Arrington or cornerback Champ Bailey big money to be the face of the team's defense. He doled out the dollars for Arrington and then, when Bailey balked at several offers, traded him. In a league that places an incredibly high premium on cornerbacks, and in which the overall significance of the linebacker position has been diminished, Snyder made the wrong call. Arrington is a good player when he's on the field, and has authored an average of 8.7 big plays (sacks, interceptions, fumbles forced and fumbles recovered) over five seasons. But he is hardly the dominant force Washington thought he was when drafted in 2000, and now, with his knee problems, he might never be that player. And there is this element to consider as well: Williams is such a superb defensive coordinator, a reality driven home last season, that a team can get by with a little less, especially at linebacker. Anyone ever hear of Antonio Pierce before the 2004 season? Starting for the first time in his career at middle linebacker, Pierce made 160 tackles, a performance that turned him into an instant millionaire when he defected to the New York Giants as a free agent this spring.
Taking nothing away from Pierce, but we're betting that Lemar Marshall, inserted at middle linebacker, will be this year's version of Pierce, a guy whose value is ratcheted up by the system in which he plays. In short, Williams doesn't need Arrington to be successful because his design will elevate the play of lesser players who are earning far less. Washington is a very good linebacker, and playing for Williams, veteran Warrick Holdman might be able to turn back the clock to his Chicago Bears glory days.
As noted above, the Commanders were minus nine key defenders for the Saturday scrimmage, and pretty much bottled up the Baltimore offense much of the day. Williams finds ways to use players in manners they never imagined, and all one need do is look at the performance of cornerback Shawn Springs last season. In the first seven years of his career, Springs had 1½ sacks. In the Williams scheme in 2004, he had six sacks and five interceptions, his best showing since 1999. The Commanders statistically ranked No. 3 in total defense a year ago, and allowed the fifth fewest points in the NFL, and basically did that without Arrington. The bet here is they could do it again.
5. For all the rhetoric about adding some vertical dimension to the passing game in 2005, as the Commanders' offense tries to move into the 21st century, it won't be too surprising if the team's most productive receiver is tight end/H-back Chris Cooley. If safety Taylor was the best player period on the field Saturday, then Cooley, a second-year veteran, was the top guy on the offensive side of the ball. The statistics from the "live" part of the scrimmage show that Cooley, a third-round choice in '04, had just one reception for 6 yards. But the former Utah State standout was a factor in virtually every other segment: from red zone to 7-on-7 to individual drills. Cooley has a natural ability to separate inside and, while he is probably a better receiver than blocker at this early juncture of his career, he can hit on the move, which is a huge commodity for the H-back position.
As a rookie, Cooley had 37 receptions for 314 yards and six touchdowns. He'll need to add more yards after the catch, but his touchdown-per-catch ratio is indicative of just how effective Cooley can be inside the 20-yard line. Cooley didn't have a touchdown catch of longer than 9 yards in 2004 and his average scoring grab was for 5.3 yards. But one could see Saturday just how adept Cooley is at finding open spaces in the end zone and then settling down into them. He figures to be even better in 2005 than he was as a rookie, and a 50-reception season certainly is possible.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com. To check out Len's chat archive, click here
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