The experiment on offense has't worked, it's time for a change

By Rich Tandler

Sometimes, you make a change that just doesn’t work out. When you realize that you have done this you can do one of two things. You can stick with it even though the chances of success are slim and perhaps getting slimmer every day. Or you can admit that you were wrong, rectify the situation, and move on.

The Redskins made a change on offense during their Oct. 16 game against the Eagles that just hasn’t worked out. The unit has sputtered and struggled ever since. It’s time to pull the plug on the experiment and go back to the lineup that gives the team the best chance of winning.

It’s time to put Will Montgomery back in at center.

When Kory Lichtensteiger went down with a season-ending knee injury, the solution was to move Montgomery from center, where he has been playing well, to Lichtensteiger’s left guard spot. Second-year player Erik Cook went in at center.

The move weakened two positions. Montgomery is a natural center who struggles at guard. Cook may one day develop into solid depth but right now he is getting moved backwards on a regular basis.

As long as Trent Williams is sidelined with a high ankle sprain, three line positions are subpar. Including the Philadelphia game, when both Williams and Lichtensteiger left early with their injuries, the Redskins have averaged 11 points and 272 yards of offense per game since the O-line shuffle took place.

The low point was the 178-yard effort in Toronto against the Bills last Sunday that resulted in a goose egg on the scoreboard for the Redskins. The Redskins set a highly dubious team record by allowing 10 sacks in that game to a Buffalo team that had just four sacks coming into the came.

Some situations scream for change. This one lets out a blood-curdling screech to do something different, anything.

The Redskins need to put Montgomery back in at center. Cook simply is not ready for the big time.

Who would play left guard? Rookie Maurice Hurt probably isn’t quite ready yet either but it is better to have cover for weakness at one position instead of two. Or, tackle Sean Locklear could move inside and play guard, a position he manned in college.

Neither Hurt nor Locklear is an ideal solution at guard. But with the way things are right now, the Redskins can’t afford to bypass improvement in hopes of achieving the perfect solution.

 

Comments

[BurgundyBlog]

Couldn't possibly agree more with every possible word. This "experiment" didn't make any sense from the beginning. Possibly my biggest complaint with the coaching staff in 2011.

[BurgundyBlog]

That was possibly the most times one could use "possibly" in a single comment.

[Billy Crawford]

Tremendous call, Rich.

I have no idea how Cook made it past training camp. I feel I am not exaggerating when I say he does not belong in any league. Beck himself was responsible for the majority of the sacks, believe it or not. Here is a link to an objective and independent, truly analytical analysis of each of the 9 sacks. The analysis is from Hogs Haven website. It includes series of sequential pictures of each play (at various angles, which is very important) as each play developed:
http://www.hogshaven.com/2011/10/31/2528355/a-look-at-all-9-sacks-by-the-bills-against-the-redskins#storyjump