Targeting Involvement

Commanders can help themselves Sunday with a win over the Titans. 

Titans have an up and coming young QB and a fine defense. I'm sure they have it in mind to get a winning season in the bag with a victory over Washington being part of the equation.

The meme being created in D.C. about the Commander Offense is that Kliff Kingsbury's typical late season brain fog is hampering production. 

Then there is the issue of the defense being gassed in the fourth quarter. 

One of the Anti-Kingsbury knocks on the Air Raid Offense is it gasses its own defense. Pro-Kliffers cite Kingsbury's willingness to run the ball in the pros to deflect the hate. Yet the Commanders have gone up-tempo quite a bit and they excel in the 2-minute. With some saying they should be in 2-minute the whole game, throwing up the hands on the gassed defense phenomenon believing it is unsolvable due to lack of depth on defense. Hoping they come out ahead in the inevitable shootouts.

Which arrives at placing winning squarely on the shoulders of one Jayden Daniels, M.D.

If we are going to do "basketball on grass", the point guard QB has to maximize involvement of his receivers. Contrary to the thinking of many, that our "Doctor J" stands in need of additional superstars at receiver, the Air Raid, like its companion piece, zone blocking, was designed for offenses with receivers having the skillsets of slow Lilliputians. 

Theoretically, the Air Raid should work no matter who you have at receiver. I'm not saying the cupboard is empty with the Commanders. I'm also not saying Jayden Daniels couldn't use a Randy Moss type to go with Scary Terry. 

I am saying BBall on Grass is like setting the Thanksgiving Table. You have to spread the targets around. Because it is the targets you do that tell people whether you make the defense work to defend the field. You hear but 9 people caught a pass. But if 8 are only targeted once they are not putting any fear in the defense. Make them defend all five and show them you are serious about it. If you can't do it, you are number six. 

I get it. You are not a number. You are a free man. So run like hell.

There's an old saying: Who is Number One?

You are Number 6. Number 5 is Number 6. Check your six, Receivers. Come back to the quarterback. 

All well and good. But how do the Commanders keep from coughing up a 40 Burger to the Titans? How do you play BBall on Grass and not make your defense look like Snails on Peanut Butter?

I mean, in the old days in the NBA you let your Subs play the third quarter and rested your superstars. It helped if your GM got you good defenders for second teamers. 

That's what I would do here. Put those young "freak athletes" out on the field in the third quarter and attack like Barbarians sacking Rome. Nothing fancy. Nothing to communicate. Just simple no brainer primitive aggression. Then allow the first team D to be your closer in the fourth quarter.

Then you INVOLVE the running backs by running the damn ball in the fourth quarter on Offense, 

Like Secretariat in the Belmont. In the fourth quarter run like hell.