Redskins offensive analysis: Kyle needs a co-pilot

A lot of people want to blame head coach Mike Shanahan for the blunders of this team the past two years. He IS the head man in charge, and he SHOULD take his fair share of the blame. The biggest problem this team is having right now is not returning and covering kicks on special teams, they do a good job at that. It’s not even a monster problem with the #9 ranked defense. It’s with the offense. And you can’t put the majority of the blame on Mike when he allowed his son to fly solo with the offense. And even though he says he’s involved with the offense and defense, with the Mike Shanahan we’ve come to know from season’s past, we can tell he’s not as involved as he should be (or at least as much as Redskins Nation would like him to be).

What about the pass plays called on 3rd and 2 and 4th and 2 versus the Eagles when Hightower was running all over them all day long? Can’t blame Pop Shanford for that one. Kyle calls the plays. And you can ask the past few quarterbacks in Washington who have been under him that whatever Kyle calls, you run it. Exactly the way he says.

How bout the fact that there is no backup left tackle on this team? Mike gets some blame because he’s the head of personnel. But Kyle has to ask for the personnel. As much as offensive linemen get banged up on a regular basis, and knowing that you have two right handed quarterbacks, why on earth would you not have someone to back up the guy protecting the QB’s blind side?? This makes absolutely no sense at all. And if this drug suspension rumor is true, without a real left tackle in there, I am not convinced this offense will score another point this season.

And what about the games where they don’t run the ball in the second half? In some research I did a while back, I found that basically if they don’t run the ball as much in the second half as the first if they have the lead, they lose 67% of the time. That is not an exaggeration, folks. In games under the leadership of Shanford and Son, when this team has had the lead going into halftime and they refuse to run the ball as much in the second half, they have lost 67% of those games. Conversely, when they have the lead and the run the ball more, they have won EVERY SINGLE TIME. (Kinda makes you want to bang your head against the wall, doesn’t it?) Again, you cannot blame Mike for this. These are Kyle’s play calls.

I’m not saying Kyle sucks at his job, I’m just implying he hasn’t learned everything yet. And he certainly shouldn’t be allowed to run an entire offense by himself. He needs someone to pull his coat tail occasionally and say, “Hey buddy, we’ve got the lead and there’s a crap load of time on the clock… let’s get Helu some carries.” Someone to lean over his shoulder and tell him, “You know since we need 10 yards on this play, feed it to Fred Davis. His size and speed is a mismatch for just about anybody covering him.” A person to let him know, “You know, Rex isn’t as mobile as John is. Maybe you should run more play action plays or something to get him away from the pressure.” Someone to help him get over his phobia of the red zone. Someone to help him adjust those spectacular plays to the personnel he and his dad have chosen. Someone to be there to pat him on the back when he does well and still be there when he’s not doing well and say, “Hey kid, this ain’t Madden. Think about your plays before you speak into that headset.”

In physics, potential energy is described as energy that is stored up in something. Like a piece of mass hanging in the air. The potential energy is a measure of the weight of the mass, the height off the ground and the acceleration of gravity. This is the amount of energy it COULD produce if it falls.

Just like Kyle, we see his potential. The plays he has stored up in that book he’s put together. We have an idea of how much energy this offense could produce through him if used the right way. You can see he carries the ability to be great. He just needs a co-pilot.

 Follow Me on Twitter: @NFLHustleBabe