Gibbs Talk

[Texans_Chick]

Originally Posted by LZ

I just watched a DVD of Alex Gibbs from a coaching clinic in May 2007 for offensive line coaches where his topic of discussion was the outside zone play. After watching the video, here are some things I came away with:

* Gibbs has his way of doing things and that is pretty much that. He believes the system that he coaches should stand alone and not be meshed with other systems because his system is based on timing and repetition and it requires plenty of practice.




Gibbs isn't going to be the offensive coordinator and he's not picking the players. I do, however, think he has the complete and total trust of Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak and I think that they will be more than happy to consult with him on which guys are good fits. More importantly, I think Kubiak basically went to "the master" to get him to install the system that he wants and get it going properly before he (Gibbs) bows out.

Nice. Like having you here.

Your first point about not meshing with other systems is EXACTLY what wasn't working for a consistent running game under Sherman.

As to your first point, little Shanny in a clinic said that it is absolutely essential for the Denver system for the blocking to appear to defenders to be the same whether it is a run or a pass. Even if it feels like the tackle should seal off the end more on a naked boot.

He says that by making the blocking the same, defenders "feel" run, and play run, even when it is going to be a pass. Of course, I heard him talk about this the summer before Sherman instituted a blocking scheme that wasn't like that at all.

Though Alex Gibbs gets tons of credit for making the Denver line work, I've been told by Denver friends that RB coach Bobby Turner should get credit for having an eye for what sorts of backs may work in the system and coaching them up quickly in that system. Portis got in trouble early on for dancing, but they scared him out of that.

[The1ApplePie]

Just wanted to say that I played in a Gibbs style ZBS in High School, and it was the most fun I had playing O-Line

Though, it sucked being a D-Lineman on scout team when I was a junior. I still don't think my knees have recorvered

[Hardcore Texan]

Originally Posted by LZ

I just watched a DVD of Alex Gibbs from a coaching clinic in May 2007 for offensive line coaches where his topic of discussion was the outside zone play. After watching the video, here are some things I came away with:

* Gibbs has his way of doing things and that is pretty much that. He believes the system that he coaches should stand alone and not be meshed with other systems because his system is based on timing and repetition and it requires plenty of practice.

* I don't believe Gibbs would have agreed to come out of retirement if he wasn't going to be allowed to implement what he believes will work for the Texans. He's coming in with a purpose and my guess is that purpose is to teach and implement his zone concepts and that extends to not just o-linemen but also RBs (how to approach the read and the initial decision) and WRs (in blocking).

* I now see why RBs are devalued in this system. He wants his RBs to make their decision by their 3rd total step (it takes 1.5 steps to get the ball on the handoff) and the decision in the wide zone is to bounce it outside or cut it back. To be a successful RB it takes burst, decisiveness and guts to hit back inside with authority. Making a good read is essential as well. It doesn't necessarily take an elite back to do these things. RBs who dance around (Morency) after taking the handoff won't fit into this scheme.

* If you are a WR and you aren't interested in getting after the safety on zone plays when it comes to blocking, then he won't be a fan of yours. And you don't want to be on his (bleep) list.

* If the RBs and the offensive linemen are not working in tandem, then this scheme will look very bad from time to time. In other words, RBs can make the linemen look bad if they don't make the proper reads.


Gibbs isn't going to be the offensive coordinator and he's not picking the players. I do, however, think he has the complete and total trust of Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak and I think that they will be more than happy to consult with him on which guys are good fits. More importantly, I think Kubiak basically went to "the master" to get him to install the system that he wants and get it going properly before he (Gibbs) bows out.

I think Darius Walker is a good example of this, while he may not be a speed guy, he has enough burst to get through the hole quickly and the with the limited playing time he got I thought he showed very good vision and decision making when to bend one back and go. I think he could have a LOT of success in this system.

[Specnatz]

Originally Posted by Hardcore Texan

I think Darius Walker is a good example of this, while he may not be a speed guy, he has enough burst to get through the hole quickly and the with the limited playing time he got I thought he showed very good vision and decision making when to bend one back and go. I think he could have a LOT of success in this system.

That is funny because his first two year at Notre Dame a lot of us thought he did exactly what a ZBS back is supposed to do, but his third and final year he seemed to hesitate and dance around to much. Not sure if this was because he had already planned on leaving school early or injury. Whatever it was he did not run with the same zeal of one cut and go type he did his first two years.

[Kaiser Toro]

I was not a fan of Walker, but he raised a couple of eye brows last year. He has that look of a ZBS runner in my opinion, but still not sure if that will scale over a 16 game season.

Hopefully we will know what zone blocking finally looks like next year.

[badboy]

Originally Posted by Kaiser Toro

Thanks for sharing in total, but I was drawn to the WR bullet.

I trust Jacoby has the desire, but if there is one hang up I have on small school guys it is the small things which they were not called on to perform such as a WR finding and hitting a Safety.

I agree but the WRs do have the size to provide good blocking down field and can be coached up. I think this offense will definitely focus on the run and a Rb to fit the ZBS as Lance mentioned will be a priority in first two rounds we select in. I think we will see even more productivity from passing game even if plays decrease somewhat. I think the pass to RB will be utilized more and the TE over all receptions decrease. I think the TE will have more first down and red zone attempts. We are going to be very please with this offense.

If Gibbs is here for 2 or even 3 years, I will be very pleased. I see Kyle S. as a very intelligent young man that sees Gibbs as a source to help him become a successful head coach. For some reason, I compare Kyle and former OT QB turned coach Major Applewhite favorably.

As a sidebar, I hope Aldridge from UH is undrafted and given a chance as a spot type player with Texans. I hate to lose a roster spot for him because odds are against him in NFL, but that makes me root for him.

[Specnatz]

Originally Posted by Kaiser Toro

I was not a fan of Walker, but he raised a couple of eye brows last year. He has that look of a ZBS runner in my opinion, but still not sure if that will scale over a 16 game season.

Hopefully we will know what zone blocking finally looks like next year.

This is why I brought up what he looked like his first two years at ND versus how he looked his last year.

[Second Honeymoon]

Walker more than deserves a shot after his performance last year. He came into a rough situation and made the best of it. He also looked comfortable coming out of the backfield for the dump off/screen. He will need to improve his ability to pick up the blitz but that is pretty much that way with any rookie RB.

I like the guy's game.

[infantrycak]

Funny how there was so much debate on whether DD was a serviceable RB and now folks are clamoring for a poor man's version of him.

[tulexan]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Funny how there was so much debate on whether DD was a serviceable RB and now folks are clamoring for a poor man's version of him.

I think people like Walker as a complementary back. I wasn't sold on DD being a feature back, but I thought that if he was part of a tandem, he would be fine. I don't think many people here want Walker to be our feature back, but more as a 3rd down back.

[Hervoyel]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Funny how there was so much debate on whether DD was a serviceable RB and now folks are clamoring for a poor man's version of him.

I think it says a lot about what we've had to look at around here. I also think that we could put somebody like Darius Walker into our offense next season (assuming a "classic" Denver style ZBS is installed and functioning well) and we'd see very impressive DD type numbers from him.

[Second Honeymoon]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Funny how there was so much debate on whether DD was a serviceable RB and now folks are clamoring for a poor man's version of him.

I never had a problem with DD. I did have a problem with them resigning him so damn early into his initial contract as some sort of 'your my guy' reward. He then stopped being 'our guy' and we have been eating deadmoney ever since. Thanks Asserley.

[El Tejano]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Funny how there was so much debate on whether DD was a serviceable RB and now folks are clamoring for a poor man's version of him.

Perhaps it is because DD was initially here to be a 3rd down back and if not for the lack of talent then, would probably be one. In this case we know DW is a 3rd down back.

[HOU-TEX]

I don't expect Walker to be on the roster this season. If he is it would mean either Green, Taylor or the rookie was hurt during TC.

[badboy]

I think Walker with a power back like Stewart could prove to be lethal in the new system

[LZ]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Funny how there was so much debate on whether DD was a serviceable RB and now folks are clamoring for a poor man's version of him.

Exactly. I don't think Texans fans really appreciated Dom Davis as much as we should have. He is a classic example of a being able to find depth at RB in the later rounds in most drafts.

[TEXANRED]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

Funny how there was so much debate on whether DD was a serviceable RB and now folks are clamoring for a poor man's version of him.

I could never understand people who talked bad about DD, he only counted for 47% of our offense.

[Hervoyel]

Originally Posted by TEXANRED

I could never understand people who talked bad about DD, he only counted for 47% of our offense.

When DD had great days the Texans generally lost as often as when he had very average days. It was because DD wasn't going to kill the opposition and with Carr under center we had nothing else. Hell it's a miracle that Andre Johnson did as well as he did while Carr was here. We got a small taste last year of how he might have been producing all along if he'd had a real NFL offense (and QB) to work with.

Teams were content to funnel our offense through DD and control us. In a sense many of his biggest days were something of an "optical illusion". I'm not saying that he couldn't be dangerous. I'm just saying that without anything else to compliment him he wasn't dangerous and other teams knew it, hence the big stats.

I'd say in the offense we're about to have DD (healthy) would have been a real weapon and been a 1500 (give or take) yard back for as long as his body could hold up.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

It was because DD wasn't going to kill the opposition and with Carr under center we had nothing else.

I'd say in the offense we're about to have DD (healthy) would have been a real weapon and been a 1500 (give or take) yard back for as long as his body could hold up.

What I was getting at earlier was the relative talent, but I think you nailed it. DD wasn't a star who could carry a team, but he was definitely a dual threat RB. Imagine the play-action and bootlegs Schaub could run with that threat and then it becomes synergistic with them not being able to key the run and it opening up.

[Double Barrel]

Originally Posted by Hervoyel

When DD had great days the Texans generally lost as often as when he had very average days. It was because DD wasn't going to kill the opposition and with Carr under center we had nothing else. Hell it's a miracle that Andre Johnson did as well as he did while Carr was here. We got a small taste last year of how he might have been producing all along if he'd had a real NFL offense (and QB) to work with.

Teams were content to funnel our offense through DD and control us. In a sense many of his biggest days were something of an "optical illusion". I'm not saying that he couldn't be dangerous. I'm just saying that without anything else to compliment him he wasn't dangerous and other teams knew it, hence the big stats.

I'd say in the offense we're about to have DD (healthy) would have been a real weapon and been a 1500 (give or take) yard back for as long as his body could hold up.

My memory is fuzzy, but could DD pick up a blitz? I wonder if he would be a RB that Kubiak likes because of this very important aspect of our current offensive philosophy.

I'm glad they've brought Gibbs into the fold. I we never a fan of the hybrid Kubiak/Sherman style of blocking. Gibbs is a no-B.S. coach and knows what he needs to do.