NFL Preseason Adjustments

Redskins: A year ago Joe Gibbs brought in Al Saunders as associate head coach and offensive coordinator. His resume is outstanding, having worked with Dick Vermeil in Kansas City developing wide-open spread offenses that led the NFL in yards several times. His first season in Washington, however, was a colossal disappointment as the Redskins were awful offensively.

The Redskins' offense ranked 20th in points, 21st in passing yards per game and 17th in pass plays over 20 yards. Part of it was learning a new, complex system and part of it was the personnel was hurt. The offensive line was more finesse than power, running back Clinton Portis got injured, and they tried different quarterbacks in Mark Brunell and Jason Campbell.

Saunders has said it takes at least a year to learn his system and has vowed that the Washington offense will be better. In his second year in Kansas City in 2002, the Chiefs led the league in scoring. They did so again in 2003, and in 2004 and 2005, Saunders's offense was ranked #1 in total offense. Saunders said that this season's ground attack will be much better because he has two healthy, solid backs in Portis and Ladell Betts. Both have rushed for a 1,000 yards in a season. We should get a good look at how improved the Redskins are on offense in preseason.

Cowboys: Dallas has young QB Tony Romo running the show, but made a move for a veteran to replace Drew Bledsoe by bringing in QB Brad Johnson. They also have a new coach in Wade Phillips, who was the Chargers defensive coordinator last fall. Phillips blitzed all the time with the Chargers and don’t be surprised to see an aggressive, attacking Dallas defense, even in preseason. That will be a sharp contrast to Bill Parcells, who likes a containing defense rather than an attacking one.

Vikings: The Minnesota QB rotation: Tarvaris Jackson and Brooks Bollinger. Talk about a combination of youth and lousy arms! In practice, Jackson has worked almost exclusively with the first-team offense, while Bollinger has been getting snaps with the second unit. They better hope Adrian Peterson can be their Larry Johnson and carry the offense. In addition, the Vikings have a new defensive coordinator in Leslie Frazier.

Bucs: While Minnesota doesn’t have enough quarterbacks, the Bucs appear to have too many (Jeff Garcia, Chris Simms, Bruce Gradkowski, and Luke McCown.) Look for changes in the Tampa Bay offense. Jeff Garcia's presence has prompted Coach Jon Gruden to consider the shotgun as a legitimate option for his version of the West Coast attack. Gruden is eager to expand his playbook in terms of rollouts and bootlegs to capitalize on Garcia's mobility.

Jaguars: Jacksonville is another team that should look different in preseason. We think of the Jags as an all-running team with a fierce defense. The defense is still great, but coach Jack Del Rio brought in Dirk Koetter as offensive coordinator, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. They’ve already been throwing the ball like mad in practice and Del Rio hinted you will see a lot of passing in August. After all, the heat is on, as his job is on the line in 2007.

Back to Article Listing