Tomorrow’s focus will be defense. But today, we talk offense –
Washington Redskins’ Head Coach Jay Gruden will get the ball rolling on a new era in team history this week as the NFL scouting combine commences Saturday, Feb. 22. Combine participants start heading out to Indianapolis for registration and medical exams Wednesday. Measurements, interviews and meetings with the NFL Players Association takes place the following day. Then, of course, the trip for each positional group ends with on-field workouts.
For over a month now, Jay Gruden has been working like a mad scientist composing a fresh philosophy for Washington’s offense. With assistance from Sean McVay, Washington’s new offensive coordinator, Gruden plans to incorporate a multifaceted scheme. Obviously there will be similarities to what Gruden did with the Cincinnati Bengals. However, he will adapt to some of the core Redskins’ players. Gruden doesn’t believe in boxing guys into a system. He’s always adding to it and finding ways to highlight what each player does best.
Now that Gruden has had an opportunity to devise his offensive plan and formulate a coaching staff, it’s time for him to mobilize his unit. Gruden and McVay skipped January’s Senior Bowl to work on the offense. Other than face-time, they probably didn’t miss much as the Senior Bowl practices were filmed. Not to mention, Redskins’ GM Bruce Allen, scouts and defensive coaches attended and likely took detailed notes on players of interest.
The scouting combine is an important part of the off-season process each team goes through to improve their roster. Other than on-field drills, teams get to essentially speed date with players. They are able to get thorough medicals on each participant. In addition to, gauging which positions are deep enough to focus on in the draft versus free agency.
It’s still early in the process, but many wonder what direction the Redskins will go with their high second round pick (34 overall). It wouldn’t shock me if Washington goes offense. A source told me that Jay Gruden is never satisfied with offensive talent. He’s always looking to get better on that side of the football. That proved true in Cincinnati and there’s no reason to believe that won’t continue in Washington.
Prior to the 2013 NFL draft, Gruden talked-up how he needed to continue adding playmakers to Cincinnati’s already explosive offense. “We just need to get our pretty good players and turn them into great players and our great players need to be extraordinary,” Gruden said of the Bengals’ offense pre-draft 2013. “And we just need to keep pushing the envelope and making sure everybody gets better.”
The Bengals went on to somewhat shock some people by selecting a tight end in the first round of 2013’s draft. Gruden loves to run the “12 personnel” that requires two tight ends, two receivers and a back. In fact, he ran that personnel grouping slightly more than the “11 personnel” which requires three receivers, one tight end and one back. This means that Washington has to become deep at both Wide Receiver and Tight End.
The Redskins also have to get heavier and more powerful up front. Gruden’s bread and butter with the Bengals was an old John Riggins favorite — the “Power O” play. That was a staple of the offense, especially against 3-4 defenses. Washington will transition from a base zone blocking team to more of a power run game. Every position right of Trent Williams needs an upgrade. But I believe the focus will be primarily on both guard spots.
For the Washington Redskins, it marks the beginning of this new “front office democracy,” if you will. There will no longer be one voice overruling every decision maker. GM Bruce Allen has the final say but is touted as a very good listener. Allen will lean heavily on Scott Campbell, who oversees the college scouting department. Campbell will be assisted by new personnel executive Doug Williams, who will have a hand in both college and pro personnel moves. Morocco Brown, of course, oversees pro personnel moves. All of those guys will work together with coach Jay Gruden to improve Washington’s roster.
Although it sounds like there’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen, the system makes sense. Its quite different than Washington’s system(s) of old — which were not successful. Jay Gruden had a lot of say as to who was added to his offense in Cincinnati. While he may not have final say in Washington, his voice will continue to be heard.
Gruden will now have his first opportunity to evaluate talent in-person for his new team at the scouting combine.
Offensive needs:
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