Revamped offenses beginning to hit their stride
By Cris Collinsworth
Special to NFL.com
(Oct. 5, 2006) -- In many ways, a new coordinator can be a tougher adjustment for an NFL team than a new head coach.
The head coach might change the team's philosophy and practice routine, but a coordinator can change an entire playbook, which is a lot harder to memorize than a philosophy.
Several teams this season have sprung to life offensively after a slow start under new offensive coordinators. The Lions, Redskins, Rams and Chiefs scored an average of barely more than 10 points per game in the first two weeks of the season. That rose to 23 points in Week 3 and 38 points in Week 4.
Mike Martz, Lions
Things were ugly in Detroit for the first couple of weeks. The Lions managed only 13 points in two losses to the Seahawks and Bears, two of the best defenses in the NFC. The season-opening loss to the Seahawks (9-6) was particularly frustrating since their defense kept the defending NFC champions out of the end zone.
In the past two weeks, the Lions have scored 58 points against the Packers and Rams. WR Roy Williams and RB Kevin Jones have been the two biggest contributors to the swift turnaround. Williams has caught 16 passes for 277 yards in the past two games after catching nine for only 107 yards in the first two. Now he's on pace for a 100-catch season. Jones went from 79 rushing yards, 3.0 yards per carry and zero touchdowns to 174 yards, 4.8 yards per carry and three touchdowns. All four of Jon Kitna's touchdown passes have come in the past two games and his 87.1 passer rating is 11 points above his career average.
Mike Martz's offense is extremely complicated and it shouldn't be surprising that the Lions weren't running on all cylinders to start the season, but they're up to speed now and should be a lot of fun to watch the rest of the season.
Al Saunders, Redskins
When the Redskins struggled on offense through a winless preseason and lost their first two games of the regular season, Al Saunders' move from Kansas City to Washington was beginning to look like that rare move that could actually hurt both teams. They had averaged only 8.8 points in the six losses and hadn't scored more than 16 points in any of them. Even worse, at 0-2 they were in danger of falling hopelessly behind in the ultra-competitive NFC East.
Two victories and 67 points later, they are back in the playoff chase, only a game behind the Eagles. A 31-point effort against the winless Texans could be seen as an aberration, but hitting the Jaguars, who were only two weeks removed from shutting out the Steelers, with 36 points and 481 yards of total offense shows that this offense is for real. Clinton Portis still isn't 100 percent recovered from his preseason shoulder injury, but his 198 yards and three TDs over the past two weeks show that he's healthy enough to be dangerous. Santana Moss had 138 yards and three TDs on only four catches (34.5 yards per catch!) against the Jaguars and can still take over a game when he needs to.
Greg Olson/Scott Linehan, Rams
After the first two games of this season, the Rams found themselves in unfamiliar territory -- 23rd in the NFL in passing. They had to consider themselves lucky to start the season 1-1, considering they had scored only one touchdown. They started to show signs of life in Week 3 with Marc Bulger passing for over 300 yards for the first time this season, but still managed to score only a single touchdown in a 16-14 victory at Arizona.
They made up for it in Week 4. After scoring 47 points in the first three games, they scored 41 against the Lions, scoring touchdowns on four of their five trips inside the red zone. Marc Bulger has exceeded 300 yards passing and a 100.0 passer rating in each of the past two weeks, and the Rams are back in the top 10 in passing offense. Steven Jackson, who should have gotten more work when Martz was running the Rams, has carried the ball at least 22 times in every game this season and leads the league with 531 yards from scrimmage.
Mike Solari, Chiefs
A bye week never had been needed more or used more effectively than the Chiefs' Week 3 bye this season. Still reeling from the offseason losses of tackles Willie Roaf and John Welbourn to retirement and fullback Tony Richardson to free agency, the Chiefs lost starting quarterback Trent Green in the Kickoff Weekend loss to the Bengals (23-10). Damon Huard, whose previous start was in 2000 with the Dolphins, still looked rusty a week later when he passed for 133 yards and no touchdowns in a 9-6 loss against a tough Broncos defense.
After an extra week to regroup, Kansas City pounded San Francisco 41-0 at Arrowhead. Though they didn't put up spectacular numbers, the Chiefs thoroughly dominated the 49ers defense. They did it through the air in the first half and, with the lead, on the ground in the second half.
The Chiefs' Week 4 turnaround was the most dramatic, but it might also be the least convincing. The 49ers aren't exactly the '85 Bears, Green's return still is uncertain and, although Larry Johnson has back-to-back 100-yard games, he still hasn't looked like the dominating runner he was in the second half of last season behind that much better offensive line. Teams will continue to follow the 49ers' plan of stacking the line of scrimmage and forcing Huard to beat them.
