Comfort level just not there yet on offense
ASHBURN – The numbers reflect the inconsistency. Santana Moss is having a terrific start, but no other receiver is close to his totals. The offense is producing in the first half of games; in the second half, it has been a dud.
Donovan McNabb is terrific on first down but less than adequate on third down. His yards per attempt are high; his touchdown passes are low.
Add it up and this comes as no surprise: The Redskins are a middle-of-the-road offense, ranking 17th in the NFL. The Redskins are 13th in passing yards a game but 19th when it comes to scoring. They’ve had one game with more than 17 points.
“To get it orchestrated the right way,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said, “it takes a lot of work.”
Indeed it does. And some of that inconsistency stems from an offense still finding its identity, not to mention a passing attack that is a bit two-sided: Moss (22 catches) and tight end Chris Cooley (16 catches) have combined for 38 of the team’s 70 receptions.
“As an offense, we’re not comfortable with everything yet,” Moss said. “It’s a learn on the job type of thing.”
That’s true for everyone, which makes the transition to the Mike/Kyle Shanahan offense a difficult one at times. McNabb spent 11 years in a different offense in Philadelphia. Equally important is that he had a rhythm with his receivers there that he hasn’t yet found in Washington.
After Moss, the receivers with the most catches are Anthony Armstrong and Joey Galloway, both of whom have four. In fact, the other four receivers have combined for 11 catches and 236 yards — or 54 fewer yards than Moss. They’ve only had one game in which more than two receivers have caught a pass.
And 37 of McNabb’s completions have gone to backs or tight ends — often dump-off passes. Downfield throws require more trust.
“Well, we’re winning ballgames,” McNabb said. “As everyone gets comfortable in this offense, that will begin to happen.”
Moss thinks he knows why it hasn’t.
“It’s just the comfort of [McNabb] knowing where we’re going to be and when we’re going to be [there],” Moss said. “He has to feel for us. He played with guys for a certain amount of years, and he had that feeling, ‘OK, when he ran this route he’s going to be here.’ Now we have to get on the same page, that’s all.”
McNabb said his comfort level in the offense has increased since the beginning of the season.
“You go through your reads quicker,” he said. “When you can get it to a guy for maybe a 5-, 6-, 8-yard catch and he turns it into a 30-, 40-yard reception, that says a lot. That says we’re progressing.”
But his growing pains are evident in some numbers. For his career, he’s a 59.0 percent passer; he’s completing 57.9 this year. He has a career passer rating of 86.5; it’s 84.7 this year.
But in a possible preview of things to come, his yards-per-attempt this year (7.92) is a yard above his norm.
“Once we explode, I tell you,” McNabb said. “It’s gonna be high-powered.”
