Staying Medium

Your assigned Wildcard week reading

2012-01-07T13:23:00.002-05:00

I love playoff football. So, so much. January is my holy month.

Here's what I'm reading, and you should to, to prep for this week's games:

Smart Football

Start with Chris Brown's brief but useful preview post, and I strongly encourage you to click the the links to the older posts that get into the meaty scheme stuff.

Football Outsiders

Like every year, they use their unique stats to tease out the playoff teams' true strengths and weaknesses. NFC Preview, AFC Preview.

Pro Football Focus

These guys, of course, study individual player performances as closely as anyone. They identify three key matchups for each game that ESPN (excluding NFL Matchup of course) would probably never notice while fixating on which teams' veteran leaders want it more. Texans-Bengals, Saints-Lions, Giants-Falcons, Broncos-Steelers.

The Players' Page

Old friend Matt Bowen over at NFP gives us his usual brief but focused and substantive work, first with a "Five Things to Watch" post covering all the games, then with a diagram-y bit about how the Lions will attack Gregg Williams' defense when he goes into Cover-2.

Happy football everyone.

Update: Apparently circumstances didn't permit Shutdown Corner's Doug Farrar to do his usual podcast with Matchup's Greg Cosell this week, but when they return for the second round it will be a mandatory listen. It was great during the regular season, so I'm eager to see what they can do with only a few games to focus on.

Calling it quits

2011-11-11T21:01:00.001-05:00

For now, at least. I could see myself getting the itch again after a hiatus, or doing an occasional post when there's something specific on my mind, but I think I need a break from the weekly analysis. It's hard enough to keep up with in the first place, and midway through my third season I'm honestly a little burned out on it. And the last thing I want to do is to disappoint you guys when I can't keep up with any sort of writing schedule.

I started this before training camp in 2009 thinking that I would probably experiment with it for a month or two, no one but my immediate circle of friends and family would read it, and then I would lose interest and move on. But then it sort of took on a life of its own. The fact that this thing actually got noticed, and that so many of you actually made it a point to read it regularly, is immensely gratifying. And of course it's been an enormous amount of fun.

I'll still be around. I'll certainly still be checking in on Twitter, as it has turned out a great way to keep engaged in the ongoing Redskins conversation. Like a sports bar but cheaper.

So... thanks for reading my ridiculous little football blog, folks.

The Redskins underwhelming defensive line

2011-11-10T17:10:00.001-05:00

The defensive line was a disaster in 2010 and improving it was a pretty clear offseason priority. The Redskins did not disappoint, signing two free agents (Stephen Bowen and Bary Cofield) and throwing in a second round pick (Jarvis Jenkins, who looked outstanding in preseason before tearing an ACL).

The line is better than last year, but unfortunately that's not saying much. I had some doubts about how the free agent additions would fit into this defense, and so far they are unfortunately looking rather accurate.

Let's start with the run defense.

Stephen Bowen just hasn't held up well. He is the lineman most likely to be sealed of simply blown off the line. His job under Wade Philips was to shoot through a single gap and disrupt plays in the backfield, and it's easy to see that where is skill lies although he hasn't been too successful at that either. There have been a few times that he appeared to blow through the line to make a play, but in most of those case upon closer examination it is clear that a missed assignment by the opposing offensive line left him unblocked.

Barry Cofield has looked all along like what he is - a pretty good 4-3 tackle forced into the 3-4 nose tackle position. Since he obviously has more pure athleticism than you would expect for the position, he sometimes makes plays you wouldn't expect a nose tackle to make, such as chasing down a play from the backside.. But he in no way dominates the line and is prone to getting controlled by his blockers.

Adam Carriker, the stalwart from last year's otherwise disastrous line, appears to me to have taken a step back. He's not a liability, but he's not holding up against his blocks as well and gets pushed out of his gap assignment just as often as the other guys.

Things aren't much better against the pass.

The pass rush is once again almost entirely reliant on the outside linebackers or blitzers. I'm not too concerned about defensive linemen getting sacks, but they do need to disrupt the pocket sufficiently that if Ryan Kerrigan or Brian Orakpo don't get there the quarterback still feels some discomfort. But even the nickel front, in which the defensive linemen are aligned much like 4-3 DTs (with the OLBs as ends), penetration is rare. Carriker never was the guy to offer any pass rush, and Bowen and Cofield mostly just get hung up on their blockers.

The one bright spot on the defensive line would be the considerable improvement from Kedric Golston, who has played much stronger than last year and has generally done a good job of overpowering his blocker and shedding to make a play. He's been getting good numbers of snaps this year in relief of both Bowen and Carriker. I'm not sure that at this point he's still the third best player among them and I'm interested to see if his work load increases.

The uneven line performance also means that the recent addition of former first round bust Kentwan Balmer might - just might - be interesting. Of course he could be gone by Monday, and most of these mid-season bottom-roster moves never end up having much significance. The Redskins released the former back Darrion Scott, presumably be lacked much upside. This means they are not just looking for a warm body to fill a roster spot, as Scott seemed perfectly capable of filling in in an emergency. The coaches know they need some playmaking ability up front, and are taking a gamble on a talented underachiever.

Redskins-49ers game review: Will Montgomery's tough day

2011-11-09T21:49:00.001-05:00

After Kory Lichtensteiger went down for the year, Will Montgomery struggled so badly after sliding to left guard that he was moved right back to center. Unfortunately, his first day back in his old job was a rough one and he stood out on the screen as the most prominent weakness on the offensive line.

First quarter

1-10-WAS 36 (14:20) R.Helu left tackle to WAS 38 for 2 yards (I.Sopoaga, P.Haralson).

The DT keeps Montgomery from making solid contact and easily sheds him to fill the hole.

2-8-WAS 38 (13:43) R.Helu right guard to WAS 40 for 2 yards (D.Whitner; J.Smith).

Maurice Hurt at LG pulls and Montgomery does not compensate by picking up the RDT, who penetrates and redirects Helu in the backfield.

1-10-WAS 22 (3:05) R.Helu left tackle to WAS 25 for 3 yards (N.Bowman, P.Haralson).

Montgomery allows the DT to penetrate deep into the backfield; forutnately the guy is overly aggressive and runs himself out of the lane, allowing Helu to make it across the line of scrimmage.

Second quarter

1-10-WAS 47 (10:47) R.Torain right end to WAS 49 for 2 yards (P.Willis).

Montgomery is pushed back while carrying the DT down the line, squeezing Torain's hole as he tries to cut back.

Third quarter

2-13-WAS 17 (10:30) R.Helu left end pushed ob at WAS 18 for 1 yard (P.Haralson).

Trent Williams and Mongomery can't get handles on the DTs and fail to slow them down the line on the stretch; this leaves Torain without inside cutback lanes so he has to try to make it around the edge but fails.

1-10-WAS 19 (4:17) J.Beck scrambles right end pushed ob at WAS 23 for 4 yards (R.Jean Francois).

Helu motions to WR to create an empty backfield, so there is no margin for error. Beck has no chance to even complete his drop before Montgomery is pushed straight back into his face and he is flushed from the pocket.

2-10-WAS 35 (2:55) J.Beck pass short middle to R.Torain to WAS 42 for 7 yards (N.Bowman).

Screen pass. Chester gets a pretty good block to seal out the playside OLB, but Montgomery misses a cut block on the Mike, who ends up making the tackle when there were a lot more yards to be gained.

1-10-SF 41 (1:42) R.Torain right end to SF 45 for -4 yards (N.Bowman).
PENALTY on WAS-T.Austin, Illegal Crackback, 15 yards, enforced at SF 41 - No Play.

This play starts with the standard zone tandem blocking with Williams and Chester on the LDE and Montgomery and Hurt on the LDT. The very aggressive Mike backer shoots the right A gap and neither Chester nor Monty shed their initial block to pick him up.

Fourth quarter

2-4-SF 37 (5:24) (No Huddle, Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete short middle to A.Armstrong.

Again the DT gets under Montgomery's pads and drives him back into Beck's face, so he can't step into his throw. Beck probably should have had the pocket presence to sidestep the pressure, but it did get on him quick.

1-10-SF 34 (3:00) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to R.Helu to SF 31 for 3 yards (D.Goldson).

Williams and Locklear each allow pressure on the edges and Beck can't step up properly because - you guessed it - a DT drives Montgomery into the middle of the pocket again.

3-1-SF 10 (1:34) (No Huddle, Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to R.Helu to SF 9 for 1 yard (D.Whitner, D.Goldson).

Another screen. Hurt can't get to the outside quite quick enough and a safety forces Helu to try to cut inside, where is is confronted by a rapidly closing corner, and the play is polished off by a LB who is running free because Montgomery missed on a downfield cut block on him.

Redskins add Tyler Polumbus

2011-11-09T16:08:00.001-05:00

So the Redskins signed fourth year offensive tackle Tyler Polumbus today. Unfortunately, this says more about the desperate state of the Redskins offensive line than it does about Polumbus.

What this move is: a signing of a warm body by a team whose offensive line has experienced mass casualties in recent weeks.

What this move is not: a meaningful part of some sort of long-term roster building program.

The good news:

- Observers seem to agree that his 2010 season with Seattle was somewhat less bad than his 2009 season with Denver. Granted, the Seahawks still cut him in the middle of this season after playing only three offensive snaps (in the opener) but these things are relative I guess.

- He has played both tackle spots and left guard in his career. Unfortunately he has played all three positions poorly, but there is something to be said for versatility in a backup.

- He was on the Broncos roster (as an undrafted free agent) under Mike Shanahan in 2008, so presumably Mike Shanahan has dug him up both times because he considers his skills to be a match to the offense.

The bad news:

- Bill Barnwell has repeatedly expressed an opinion that Polumbus was the worst starter in the NFL in 2009.

- Football Outsiders' offensive line analyst Ben Muth described Seattle QB's best chance for success this year to be Russell Okung's ability to stay healthy and keep Polumbus off the field.

- Pro Football Focus' grades (paywalled) also do not paint a pretty picture - he scored a -10.1 for 2010.

So the point is that this guy just isn't any good.

None of this means it was wrong for the Redskins to sign him. It's just that he's nothing more than the kind of guy who is unemployed in week 10 and available to a team who's line was weak to begin with and has suffered multiple injuries.

With Jammal Brown still hurting, there is a good chance that Sean Locklear will have to start at right tackle this week. And there's not much behind him. Rookie Maurice Hurt took some snaps at tackle in the preseason, but even if he wasn't already needed at left guard (after Will Montgomery flamed out there) I wouldn't want to trust him on the outside. The only other option would be the ultra-green Willie Smith.

Trent Williams is already playing hurt, so there is an even greater chance than usual of having to put the third tackle on the field. Polumbus may be a poor player, but at least he has taken NFL snaps before.

There's some small chance that Polumbus could get into a game if Locklear performs poorly, but I doubt it. It is more likely he will make an appearance out of pure necessity. Let's hope we never see him.

I've seen enough of John Beck

2011-11-06T21:14:00.001-05:00

After last week's total offensive failure I said that Beck deserves at least one more week. But he's had more than three games nowand he's not just struggling or making mistakes as the result of a learning curve; he's shown absolutely no ability to run a NFL offense. The argument before had been that we already knew Rex was a sub-par quarterback, and Beck at least offered hope as an unknown. He's not anymore.

After 3+ games, this is what we've learned about John Beck:

- He cannot progress through reads - if the first option isn't there he goes straight to the checkdown
- He's inaccurate
- He has a poor deep ball, on the rare occasions when he tries it
- His pocket presence is nonexistent, and this makes his "mobility" useless
- His decision making is painfully slow

The one thing Beck does well is that if his first read is open right as he hits the top of his drop (or as he comes out of his bootleg), he can hit the throw with good timing. That's it, and it's something that any professional quarterback should be able to do.

I am the sort who can be happy with a boring, game manager quarterback, especially given where this team is in it's development. If the offense was simply less than dynamic I could accept that to avoid Rex Grossman's turnovers. And if that means checking down a lot, I could certainly live with it. But this is out of hand.

We all know Rex's weaknesses, and I doubt anyone thinks he would set the world on fire. We can expect at least one or two dumb turnovers per game, and there will always be the possibility of a total meltdown like the one that got him benched against the Eagles. But he will at least give the offense a realistic chance of moving the ball downfield in a meaningful fashion. To resort to cliche, its pretty clear which quarterback gives the Redskins "the best chance to win."

Redskins-Bills game review: A failed running game

2011-11-03T22:01:00.000-04:00

After studying how the offensive line and John Beck managed to completely tank in the passing game against Buffalo, it's now time to look at how the Redskins got held to a total of 26 rushing yards.

Yes, blockers did lose their share of battles at the point of attack. But a far bigger problem was guys simply not knowing their assignments on a given play and leaving Bills defenders unblocked. To a degree I suppose that is inevitable with a bunch of guys new to the field or (in the case of Will Montgomery) moving to new positions. But it was clear that Redskins blockers regularly had no idea who they were supposed to be blocking.

Let's look at some examples:

First quarter

2-8-WAS 41 (11:34) R.Torain left tackle to WAS 43 for 2 yards (G.Wilson).

I assume this isn't how the play was designed, because it is just ugly. Chris Chester drives inside the LDT trying to get to the second level. But the DT is working down the line in pursuit of the play so Chester can't get past him. Montgomery comes clean off the line and turns inside to seal in that same DT, ignoring the MLB that Chester was unable to get to. Brown leaves the backside LDE unblocked and pulls (if that's even what you would call this - it really makes no sense) to the inside and up the middle, where he runs into Chester's back. So that leaves three guys blocking one backside DT, while the MLB is not intercepted at the second level and can therefore set the edge against Darrel Young, allowing a safety to beat Torain to the corner and make the play.

1-10-BUF 49 (1:48) R.Torain up the middle to BUF 45 for 4 yards (N.Barnett, D.Edwards).

Locklear, on the play side, goes straight to the second level, ignores (properly, I think) the MLB, and picks off an in-the-box safety. Chester pulls to the outside and blocks the playside OLB. Davis is also crossing the formation form the backfield and it would stand to reason that he should lead through the gap and take on that still-unaccounted for MLB, but instead he tries to go to the outside of Chester, which make no sense because there's no one there to block. That MLB contacts Torain at the line of scrimmage, and only Torain's hard running turns this into an average gain.

Second quarter

1-10-BUF 31 (14:27) R.Torain left guard to BUF 25 for 6 yards (K.Sheppard; G.Wilson).

The last play was an average gain despite a blown blocking assignment, and this one is a pretty good gain despite a blown blocking assignment. Process over results, folks - we can still feel bad about this one. On the backside Chester tries to slip past the DT and go straight to the second level. This is a problem because Brown is on the LDE, Eric Cook and Young account for the MLB and playside OLB, and Gaffney sneaks out of the backfield to cut off the pursuit of a backside safety. In other words, there's no one at the second level who Chester needs to be blocking, and the penetration he allows causes Torain to be hit behind the line of scrimmage. But once again, Torain's ability to run through contact creates a decent gain.

2-4-BUF 25 (13:51) R.Torain left tackle to BUF 26 for -1 yards (D.Edwards; N.Barnett).

This time Torain's hard running can't make up for the failures of his blockers. Montgomery and Locklear are both driven back hard, rendering Young's efforts to lead around the edge futile. Torain cuts back inside but the LDT is able to shed Chester's block at the line of scrimmage and play his inside gap to stuff Torain,

Third quarter

1-10-WAS 20 (10:56) R.Torain right guard to WAS 21 for 1 yard (G.Wilson).

Four - yes, four - linemen go straight to the second level to take on two linebackers and a safety. Montgomery and Locklear initially leave the RDT untouched, but luckily he overpursues and is unable to make the play when Torain cuts back. But remember that safety I mentioned? He is blocked by Terrence Austin (yes, that means the four second-level linemen were even sillier) but not particularly well, and he is able to chase Torain down before he crosses the line of scrimmage.

1-10-WAS 39 (9:24) R.Torain left tackle to WAS 38 for -1 yards (G.Wilson; Sp.Johnson).
PENALTY on WAS, Illegal Formation, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 39 - No Play.

First of all, the penalty by Davis was downright amateurish. He motions to the left side, where Niles Paul is the split end and, by definition, aligned right up on the line of scrimmage (as opposed to a yard off like the flanker on the strong side of a standard formation). This means that no one else but outside of the left tackle except for Paul can be on the line of scrimmage. That is football 101. I admit I never played the game, but at the professional level how do you lose awareness of the basics of how you can line up? Especially when there's only one guy you have to adjust to. Look to your left, Fred - if you see a WR on the line, make sure to stay a yard off. If you don't see a WR on the line, you are required to get yourself up to the line to cover the tackle. Sorry for the rant, but I'm always puzzled by how something as basic as lining up in a legal formation can still be a problem at the world's highest level of football competition.

Anyway, on to the failed (even before it was canceled by the penalty) run. Tell me if this sounds at all familiar: Cook and Montgomery both go to the second level and leave the LDT completely unblocked. Montgomery, to his credit, recovers in time to wheel back into the backfield and cut off that DT before he can get himself around to take down Torain for an even bigger loss. However, the penetration still forces Torain to take an extra cut and naturally Brown and Davis on the play side are confused about who is responsible for the RDE and... wait for it... both go to the second level. This is really unbelievable.

Redskins-Bills game review: Beck under pressure

2011-11-02T20:08:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone. As discussed yesterday I'm experimenting with using the tape review to zero in on certain aspects of the game - in this case John Beck getting sacked like it's his job - rather than a straight chronological play by play breakdown.

My reaction while watching the game live was that most of the (now ten) sacks were on John Beck. Even when linemen get beat the quarterback is expected to have an ability to react to pressure and either make plays or at least avoid sacks.

Below are a selection of plays including not only the sacks but also a number of occasions where Beck was hit or pressured. As you will see the responsibility varies - Beck showed simply horrendous pocket presence, but when his blockers weren't busy losing physical matchups they were miscommunicating and blowing assignments. It was quite a mess so... enjoy.

First Quarter

3-3-WAS 27 (13:53) J.Beck pass incomplete deep right to T.Austin [A.Moats]. Thrown behind receiver along sideline at WAS 45.

Montgomery fails to adjust to a tackle-end stunt and allows the inside penetration. Beck takes a seven step drop and is already starting his throwing motion when the DE bursts free, so this one definitely goes on the O-line.

3-8-WAS 28 (2:27) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass deep right to L.Hankerson to BUF 49 for 23 yards (T.McGee, L.McKelvin). Caught in flat at WAS 48.

Pressure with a bit of contact, but I don’t think Beck goes down so it may be a stretch to call it a “hit.”

Beck takes a five step drop from shotgun. A Bills DT aligns wide left and drives Brown into the pocket, but Hankerson is Beck’s first read so he gets the ball out on time. The pressure actually came from blitzing safety on the offensive left. Helu identified the blitz well and picked him up but was to passive in is block and let the guy run through him.

A side note: clearly a pass cannot be both "deep" and "in the flat." This scorer showed his confusion over just what the flat is throughout the game book. He's also a little confused about which short passes to running backs are screen and which aren't.

2-6-BUF 45 (1:13) J.Beck pass incomplete deep middle to L.Hankerson. Overthrown, receiver at BUF 5.

Beck takes a five step drop. Cook is driven back from a one on one matchup with the DT and Beck, who is fixated on Hankerson downfield, does not slide to open a passing lane and instead has to throw without stepping into it. This seems to contribute to the ball sailing high, but I also suspect there was another route miscommunication here as it looks Beck was throwing a straight go route but Hank bent inside on a skinny post.

Second Quarter

3-5-BUF 26 (13:08) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to F.Davis to BUF 16 for 10 yards (G.Wilson, B.Scott). Caught in flat at BUF 17.

This play ends up working out but it was nearly disastrous. Three step drop (really three and a half – more on that below) from shotgun. Montgomery loses the leverage battle and is pushed back into Beck’s face. But a Chester-Cook double team neutralizes a DT and both Locklear and Brown, although they give ground, force their guys upfield enough that Beck had a pocket to step into. Rather than sidestep the pressure allowed by Monty he throws over it without setting his feet, and ends up forcing it to Davis. It is tight coverage and a DB jumps in front, very nearly picking it off.

However, I think Terrence Austin hung Beck out to dry here. He starts out aligned wide, then after a signal from Beck motions inside of Paul, who is in the slot. The slot corner is tight on Paul (a good blocker) but soft zone coverage leaves no other DB’s near the line of scrimmage. As soon as he takes the snap Beck takes a half step (hence my parenthetical note above) and looks to his right as if he intends to fire it straight to Austin and let him run behind Paul, but Austin releases into a route forcing Beck to go into a regular drop. It looks like Beck had a plan here but Austin didn’t pick up on it.

1-10-BUF 16 (12:30) J.Beck sacked at BUF 22 for -6 yards (sack split by N.Barnett and A.Moats).

Bootleg. The playside DE slips so Beck has plenty of time to set up. He sees no one open, but he hesitates. The options are to throw it away, or decide to run earlier. He picks the worst possible approach and commits to run too late, giving up an unnecessary sack.

3-16-BUF 22 (11:48) (Shotgun) J.Beck sacked at BUF 31 for -9 yards (J.Byrd).

Beck had no chance on this one. He is trying to hit Davis immediately in the flat (he was the rear man in a trips bunch, so he would have had two blockers and room to run) but a safety blitzes from the backside. Helu is crossing the backfield, briefly hesitates before releasing into a route in case he needs to help Brown against the RDE, and somehow doesn’t notice the safety flying right past him.

3-7-WAS 18 (7:52) (Shotgun) J.Beck sacked at WAS 11 for -7 yards (M.Dareus).

Beck takes a three step drop from shotgun, but then spends another three full seconds going through his progressions and takes no notice of the gradually developing pressure. Locklear does eventually get beat around the edge, but he worked his DE well upfield and Monty had the DT pinned inside, so there was plenty of room to Beck’s left for him to either run for it or take a slide step and reset to throw.

2-3-WAS 27 (1:26) J.Beck sacked at WAS 20 for -7 yards (D.Edwards).

Beck takes a three step drop from shotgun, but despite looking straight at the LDE as he beats Brown’s cut block (in addition to the three step drop the two cut blocks on this play are a dead giveaway that Beck was supposed to get rid of the ball immediately) he bounces a couple more times and, while he initially has an escape route to the left he uses up his time and falls prey to the DT who overpowers Monty.

Third Quarter

2-17-WAS 32 (8:24) (Shotgun) J.Beck sacked at WAS 27 for -5 yards (C.Kelsay).

Three step drop from shotgun. Locklear gets beat around the corner, but Montgomery has the DT sealed in the middle so Beck has a large and obvious escape route to his left. Instead he tries to slide to his right where he runs into the very same DT whose penetration left the left side open.

2-10-50 (5:08) (Shotgun) J.Beck sacked at WAS 41 for -9 yards (Sp.Johnson).

Beck takes his five step drop from shotgun then remains in the middle of the pocket and bounces several times apparently waiting for someone to come open, with no awareness of Locklear again being beat on the corner. He does no step up, he does not throw it away, he does not escape to his right.

4-4-BUF 44 (3:50) (Shotgun) J.Beck sacked at BUF 44 for 0 yards (sack split by M.Dareus and D.Edwards).

Montgomery fails to adjust to a stunt again. Beck tries to escape up the middle but is chased down.

Fourth Quarter

2-4-WAS 30 (2:56) (No Huddle, Shotgun) J.Beck sacked at WAS 27 for -3 yards (M.Dareus).

The DT escapes from Brown’s block and pursues Beck on the bootleg. Beck finds no one open, but he is well outside the pocket so he only has to throw the ball past the line of scrimmage. Instead, he runs himself straight into a sack for absolutely no reason. This one is just completely indefensible.

3-7-BUF 14 (:53) (Shotgun) J.Beck sacked at BUF 24 for -10 yards (K.Morrison).

Sack off a (sloppy, again – though that’s not the cause of the sack) three step drop. The line fails to adjust to a complex blitz. The Bills rush six against six Redskins blockers (linemen plus Helu). Locklear fans out wide against a linebacker. There are only two down linemen; one is shaded on Cook's left shoulder and the other is head-up on Chester. They stunt and the guy over Chester crosses Cook's face and attacks Monty. The problem is that Cook follows him too so they end up double teaming the guy. Chester is stuck on the other DL. With three linemen blocking two rushers, when a DB comes through the left A gap on a delayed blitz Helu has to pick him up (working inside out, correctly) and ignore a linebacker who takes advantage of the wide rush against Brown to blitz through the right B gap. Beck goes down.

A new approach to game reviews (maybe)

2011-11-01T23:12:00.000-04:00

If you're looking for the first quarter or two of the Bills game review, I'm trying a slightly different tack this week to see how it goes. Basically instead of going through one quarter at a time, I'm considering picking a few themes each week and then highlighting a selection of plays that illustrate it.

Here's what I have in mind this week and we'll see how it goes:

- One post detailing all nine of John Beck's sacks and several more plays on which he was hit or hurried in order to discuss how both the line and Beck himself contributed to the problems.

- Another post on the failure of the run game, with a selection of, I don't know, eight to ten plays or so with which we can pick on linemen for blowing blocks.

- A third post focusing on the defense's failure to stop the run.

- There may or may not be yet another post with miscellaneous observations from the film that I think are worth mentioning but don't really fit into any of the above areas of focus.

Good old Statcounter.com indicates that there is a hard core of a few dozen of you who regularly read all four quarters of each game review (which is greatly appreciated) while other readers drop in when something with a more straightforward "message" is available. So my intentions here are two-fold. First is to be able to post something that has a certain completeness earlier in the week, that will leave those without the patience for wading through all four quarter breakdowns with a "takeaway." The second is to have a better option for those weeks where I don't have time to do each quarter in full. Since each individual post will stand alone better, if I only have time for one or two it will still give people something coherent.

I certainly don't want to shortchange those of you who really like to dive into the weeds, so my intention is to still go into a lot of very detailed play breakdowns. We'll try it this week - the first post won't be til Wednesday night since it took me awhile to think through how I wanted to approach things - and I absolutely want your feedback. If you hate it, by all means let me know. This could turn out to be a one week experiment before we go back old routine, or we could find a way to make the blog a little more readable without sacrificing the more detailed analysis. Let's see how it goes.

Well, that was ugly

2011-10-30T19:36:00.001-04:00

Losing to the Eagles was manageable. They were a talented but under-performing team that matched up well with the Redskins weaknesses. It happens.

Losing to Carolina was a bit tougher as the Redskins played poorly in every phase of the game and were generally manhandled, but much of the damage was done Cam Newton and Steve Smith, and there's no shame in getting beat by those two guys. It was distressing that so many other phases of the team failed as well, but it's the kind of speed bump that mediocre teams like the Redskins experience during the course of a season.

But this shut out loss to Buffalo... well this is pretty hard to take. Buffalo is playing well this year so losing to them isn't a shocker. But I was absolutely not anticipating a total collapse like what we saw today. And as troubled as I am by the poor defensive showing, John Beck looked much worse than even the most Beck-skeptical could have expected.

There's simply no excuse for giving up nine sacks to a defense that Football Outsiders had ranked 20th in DVOA coming into the week. The offensive line did not play well. However - and I reserve the right to change my mind on this after reviewing the tape - I think most of those sacks go on John Beck. In many of the cases where the protection broke down it did so slowly, and Beck showed absolutely no awareness of when it was necessary to either get the ball out or escape the pocket. Mobility doesn't help you if you lack the pocket presence to know when and how to use it.

It seems that Beck can be a good rhythm passer when his first read is open. When the scheme works just right Beck is coming out of his bootleg right as the receiver makes his break to get open, and Beck hits him. But when he has to move beyond that first read, everything about Beck's game seems to slow to a crawl. And today it's clear none of the receivers were getting open. Whether the blame for that lies with Kyle Shanahan or the receivers themselves is an open question.

I suppose a little perspective is in order. John Beck has now played only nine quarters of regular season football since 2007. He's almost like a rookie, and there's certainly a chance (though not a certainty) he could improve with time. For that reason, I disagree with the people who want to see Rex Grossman back in the starting job already. Beck at least deserves another week or two, if only so we can know for certain that he is not an option moving forward. But his performance today was indefensibly awful.

As for the nonexistent running game, it appeared that linemen were regularly just getting plain old beat at the point of attack and letting plays collapse. There were some times when I felt Torain was having his habitual failures of vision and creating losses, but the true post mortem on the run game will have to wait until I can dive into the Tivo.

Just as a reminder of what is in store, the Redskins face the 49ers - 3rd in DVOA - next week.

Redskins-Panthers 4th quarter game review

2011-10-29T17:27:00.000-04:00

1st quarter review
2nd quarter
3rd quarter

Fourth Quarter

1-10-CAR 46 (15:00) C.Newton pass short right to J.Shockey to WAS 46 for 8 yards (L.Landry).

For all his rookie accomplishments we are sometimes reminded that Ryan Kerrigan is raw and still learning to be a linebacker. The bootleg is to his side and he’s way too slow to recognize the significance of the tight end releasing his block on him, and lets the guy get wide open in the flat.

2-2-WAS 46 (14:23) D.Williams right guard to WAS 43 for 3 yards (S.Bowen).

Golston and Nield each get pushed back buy double teams; Bowen penetrates from the backside but not quickly enough to prevent a first down.

1-10-WAS 43 (13:43) J.Stewart left guard to WAS 40 for 3 yards (B.Cofield).

Cofield is initially pushed back a bit by the center but then nicely sheds the block to keep the gain modest.

2-7-WAS 40 (13:04) J.Stewart up the middle to WAS 37 for 3 yards (B.Orakpo, J.Wilson).

Golston is at RDE. A double team drives him to the offensive right, then one of the blockers sheds and gets a hat on Rocky to open a pretty good hole. But Orakpo stands up the play side TE, sheds the block, and makes nice play to prevent a good gain.

3-4-WAS 37 (12:23) (Shotgun) C.Newton up the middle to WAS 30 for 7 yards (L.Fletcher).

Designed QB run. Orakpo sells out on the outside rush and the TE gives him a helpful shove in that direction. The LT seals Carriker inside so there is a huge hole and the RB gets a running start at Rocky, who is the only LB around since Fletcher is blitzing from the opposite side.

1-10-WAS 30 (11:41) C.Newton pass short right to J.Shockey to WAS 27 for 3 yards (L.Fletcher).

2-7-WAS 27 (11:01) C.Newton pass incomplete short middle to J.Shockey.

PENALTY on CAR-G.Hangartner, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at WAS 27 - No Play.

2-17-WAS 37 (10:56) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass deep left to S.Smith to WAS 1 for 36 yards (J.Wilson).

Rob Jackson rushes to the outside, then puts on an inside rip move to beat the LT. Kerrigan gets into the RT’s pads and drvies him back. Cofield – at DT in the four man nickel front – splits the C and RG with a nice swim move. With the pocket collapsing in on him Cam is still able to step into his throw (there’s just enough space because Bowen got little movement on his lineman) and places it absolutely perfectly. Doughty was a hair late getting over to Steve Smith, who had a step or two on Wilson, but the throw was so perfect I doubt it would have mattered. On this play the Redskins just got beat by two great players.

1-1-WAS 1 (10:07) (Shotgun) J.Stewart up the middle to WAS 1 for no gain.

Lorenzo Alexander is on the play side and beats the FB’s block well enough that the RB is directed inside where the LBs can stuff him.

2-1-WAS 1 (9:15) J.Stewart right guard to WAS 1 for no gain (R.Doughty). FUMBLES (R.Doughty), recovered by CAR- B.Hartsock at WAS 2. Carolina challenged the runner was down by contact ruling, and the play was Upheld. (Timeout #1.)

Rob Jackson, who consistently shows little interest in such quaint notions as gap discipline or keeping contain, takes a wide outside rush in just about the worst game situation to do so and leaves a huge open path to the end zone to the offensive right. Fortunately Keyaron Fox does a pretty good job of tracking the play to the outside and the RB cuts back in (I think he could have scored anyway so call this a failure of vision) and is stuffed because Kerrigan, Cofield, and Nield all beat blocks, slowing things up enough for Doughty to close.

3-2-WAS 2 (8:17) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass short left to B.LaFell for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

All the corners are playing inside leverage on their WRs, meaning it’s a simple matter for the slot guy to beat Barnes into the flat. Often on the goal line the slot corner will shade to the outside to cover the flat, and an ILB will be responsible for the slant. But both ILBs (and Doughty) were blitzing so Barnes had to cover the slant and just hope that the pressure would get there on time if the guy ran a flat route. It’s the kind of play where either the pressure gets there or you concede a touchdown.

O.Mare extra point is GOOD, Center-J.Jansen, Holder-J.Baker.

WAS 13 CAR 30, 12 plays, 65 yards, 8:26 drive, 6:47 elapsed

O.Mare kicks 65 yards from CAR 35 to end zone, Touchback.

Washington Redskins at 8:13

1-10-WAS 20 (8:13) J.Beck pass incomplete short left to T.Austin (G.Hardy).

The playside RDE sniffs out the play action and is in Beck’s face on the bootleg.

2-10-WAS 20 (8:08) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short middle to N.Paul to WAS 34 for 14 yards (D.Butler).

Nice little route by Niles Paul splits the coverage.

1-10-WAS 34 (7:37) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to J.Gaffney to WAS 49 for 15 yards (J.Anderson).

Panthers blitz the safety and LB; Beck recognizes it and beats it by throwing over their head to Gaffney on a slant under the soft coverage.

1-10-WAS 49 (7:08) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short right to F.Davis to CAR 34 for 17 yards (C.Godfrey).

1-10-CAR 34 (6:35) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short right to F.Davis to CAR 20 for 14 yards (T.Williams).

A LB gets manned up on Fred Davis and is promptly destroyed on an out route.

1-10-CAR 20 (6:07) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete short left to T.Austin (C.Munnerlyn).

Beck is looking for Armstrong on the go route but he’s not open, so he checks down to Austin on the slant. Montgomery and Cook allow penetration so Beck throws off his back foot; its behind Austin and very nearly intercepted.

2-10-CAR 20 (6:03) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete short right to A.Armstrong.

Helu threatening the flat freezes the play side CB, meaning Armstrong can slip into a very large hole in the zone coverage, but the throw is off target due to pressure given up by Jammal Brown.

3-10-CAR 20 (5:58) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to N.Paul to CAR 9 for 11 yards (D.Butler). Carolina challenged the pass completion ruling, and the play was Upheld. (Timeout #2.)

Another good route by Paul. He initially stems his route a bit to the outside, then when he threatens upfield the CB thinks the outside stem was the misdirection and the real route will be a go – but its an out route all the way and Paul gets open by a couple of steps.

1-9-CAR 9 (5:52) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to R.Helu to CAR 7 for 2 yards (T.Williams).

Beck starts to step into a throw but Montgomery gives up late penetration and he has to pull it down. He spins out of the pocket and before going down flips it out to Helu who can’t beat the CB in the open field.

2-7-CAR 7 (5:12) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short middle to F.Davis for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN. The Replay Assistant challenged the pass completion ruling, and the play was Upheld.

The pocket holds up against a four mand rush. A LB is manned up on Davis (the safeties are nicely frozen by complementary posts from Austin and Armstrong) and is abused on an in-an-out route at the goal line.

G.Gano extra point is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-S.Rocca.

Timeout #3 by CAR at 05:05.

WAS 20 CAR 30, 10 plays, 80 yards, 3:08 drive, 9:55 elapsed

G.Gano kicks onside 14 yards from WAS 35 to WAS 49. L.Naanee (didn't try to advance) to WAS 49 for no gain (T.Austin).

Well, this was frankly a lousy onside kick and the Redskins never stood a chance.

Carolina Panthers at 5:05, (1st play from scrimmage 5:03)

1-10-WAS 49 (5:03) D.Williams left tackle to WAS 49 for no gain. WAS-R.Doughty was injured during the play. His return is Questionable. PENALTY on CAR-J.Shockey, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at WAS 49 - No Play.

This was actually a gain of four before the penalty, not no gain like the scorer is telling you. Although it is only the hold that created a gain as Fox was about to shed a block to make the stop.

1-20-CAR 41 (4:57) D.Williams up the middle to CAR 47 for 6 yards (R.McIntosh).

I have no idea what Cofield is doing here. He seems to read the FB’s kickout block as meaning that the run is going outside and he completely vacates his spot in the middle of the line, meaning the RB has an easy run straight up the middle with the RG free to get to the second level.

2-14-CAR 47 (4:11) J.Stewart right guard to WAS 49 for 4 yards (B.Cofield).

Carriker is driven off the line by a double team and Kerrigan is held outside by the TE. Landry sets the edge but he dives under the FB’s block and the RB is able to cut back cleanly. Very good read by Rocky McIntosh keeps the Panthers to an average gain.

Timeout #1 by WAS at 04:02.

3-10-WAS 49 (4:02) C.Newton up the middle to WAS 47 for 2 yards (K.Fox).

Cofield puts a great spin move on the center and blows into the backfield, but has no chance of chasing down Cam once he decides to run.

Timeout #2 by WAS at 03:59. 4-8-WAS 47 (3:59) J.Baker punts 35 yards to WAS 12, Center-J.Jansen, fair catch by B.Banks.

Washington Redskins at 3:51

1-10-WAS 12 (3:51) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short middle to T.Austin to WAS 24 for 12 yards (A.Applewhite; J.Anderson).

1-10-WAS 24 (3:29) (No Huddle, Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete short right to A.Armstrong (C.Gamble).

Nice blitz pickup by Helu. Brown is pushed back which forces Helu to commit to a side early. He spots the safety first but then does the right thing and works inside-out – rule number one for blitz pick – and takes out the LB.

2-10-WAS 24 (3:26) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete short left to A.Armstrong.

PENALTY on WAS-S.Locklear, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at WAS 24 - No Play.

Locklear had a good day in pass pro on the whole, but in this case he was getting beat to the outside and had to hold the guy to prevent a hit on Beck. Well, maybe not had to – it looks like Beck could have stepped up to escape the pressure.

2-20-WAS 14 (3:26) (Shotgun) PENALTY on CAR-C.Johnson, Defensive Offside, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 14 - No Play.

2-15-WAS 19 (3:21) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass deep right intended for L.Hankerson INTERCEPTED by C.Gamble at WAS 44. C.Gamble to WAS 25 for 19 yards (T.Austin).

The miscommunication is obvious here – Hankerson ran a go route when Beck thought it would be a deep out. Given the initially soft coverage I think the out would have been a reasonable sight adjust so I think it’s likely that it’s the rookie receiver who screwed up, but we can’t ever expect a straight answer out of either of them on the subject.

Carolina Panthers at 3:13

1-10-WAS 25 (3:13) D.Williams up the middle to WAS 24 for 1 yard (R.Doughty). Timeout #3 by WAS at 03:07.

Good discipline by Doughty to stay at home on the backside to guard against the cut back, then a nice open field tackle.

2-9-WAS 24 (3:07) J.Stewart up the middle to WAS 24 for no gain (B.Orakpo; L.Landry).

Carriker and Cofield are pushed off the line but Landry slips through the offensive left C gap to force a cut to the backside, where Orakpo and Golston have stood up their blockers and are positioned to make the play.

3-9-WAS 24 (2:23) J.Stewart left guard to WAS 22 for 2 yards (L.Landry; R.Doughty). Two-Minute Warning

Amazing backside pursuit from Landry.

4-7-WAS 22 (2:00) O.Mare 40 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-J.Jansen, Holder-J.Baker. WAS 20 CAR 33, 4 plays, 3 yards, 1:17 drive, 13:04 elapsed

O.Mare kicks 65 yards from CAR 35 to end zone, Touchback.

Washington Redskins at 1:56

1-10-WAS 20 (1:56) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to F.Davis to WAS 29 for 9 yards (J.Anderson).

Penalty on CAR-C.Johnson, Defensive Offside, declined.

Big mistake by Locklear here. The RDE is obviously offside, but of course that’s just a free play rather than a whistle. Locklear seems to assume the play is dead and simply stops playing.

2-1-WAS 29 (1:50) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete short right to J.Gaffney.

Accurate pass with zip to hit the tightly covered slant.

3-1-WAS 29 (1:46) (Shotgun) J.Beck sacked at WAS 25 for -4 yards (C.Johnson).

The RDE beats Locklear (badly) with a spin move.

4-5-WAS 25 (1:19) (No Huddle, Shotgun) J.Beck pass short middle to R.Helu to WAS 29 for 4 yards (A.Applewhite).

Aaaaand we’re done.

Carolina Panthers at 1:12

1-10-WAS 29 (1:12) C.Newton kneels to WAS 30 for -1 yards.

2-11-WAS 30 (:34) C.Newton kneels to WAS 31 for -1 yards.

Redskins-Panthers 3rd quarter game review

2011-10-26T21:33:00.000-04:00

It's funny to me how some quarters provide so much to talk about and analyze and some are total clunkers. That doesn't mean that what happens in those "bad" quarters isn't significant in terms of the outcome of the game, just that they leave me with little describe, analyze, or otherwise expound upon in these game review. The 2nd quarter was one of those dull reviews where I just couldn't find much interesting to add. Those are just as boring to work on as they are to read. Fortunately these things tend to even out, and the third quarter was much more engaging for me to write, and hopefully makes for more entertaining reading as well.

1st quarter review
2nd quarter

Third Quarter

O.Mare kicks 65 yards from CAR 35 to end zone, Touchback.

Washington Redskins at 15:00

1-10-WAS 20 (15:00) J.Beck pass deep middle to J.Gaffney to CAR 48 for 32 yards (C.Godfrey).

Perfect play action. The LBs bite which means the Mike doesn’t get downfield to take the underneath coverage on Gaffney’s route into the seam.

1-10-CAR 48 (14:20) T.Hightower right tackle to CAR 42 for 6 yards (D.Connor).

Paulsen fights through play side safety (who is then taken out by Young) then drives the LB to the outside, allowing Hightower to cut upfield.

2-4-CAR 42 (13:43) R.Torain left guard to CAR 40 for 2 yards (D.Connor).

Montgomery gets to the second level but completely whiffs and the Mike backer is free to make the stop.

3-2-CAR 40 (13:00) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete short right to T.Austin (C.Gamble).

The slot corner pretty clearly pulled on Austin’s jersey to keep him from getting into the slant on time, but no flag.

4-2-CAR 40 (12:56) (Shotgun) J.Beck sacked at CAR 47 for -7 yards (J.Anderson).

Beat by the blitz. There are blitzers coming through both A gaps. Helu picks up one correctly but his cut block in ineffective and only slows the guy slightly. The other comes clean because Cook is frozen by the DT who is head up on him… but drops into coverage.

Carolina Panthers at 12:52

1-10-CAR 47 (12:52) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass deep left to B.LaFell pushed ob at WAS 16 for 37 yards (K.Barnes).

Doughty and Rocky are blitzing from the defensive left, so on the right Orakpo starts out on the line but just before the snap slides over to the slot receiver. Wilson is on the X receiver with Barnes deep as a safety. It’s unlikely that he play was designed such that Orakpo would be responsible for the slot receiver deep downfield. So Orakpo tracks him into the flat but then passes him off. But Barnes is momentarily frozen when the X receiver threatens the seam, even though Wilson follows that route. It’s at least conveicable that Wilson should have stayed outside and passed off the post to Barnes, but it looks more likely that Barnes messed up by not going straight to the sideline.

1-10-WAS 16 (12:23) (Shotgun) C.Newton left tackle for 16 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Three errors on this play. The first is by the announcer, who calls it an option even though there are no “options” in terms of a back for Cam to pitch it to or a receiver for him to throw to. This is simply a designed QB run.

The second one is on Orakpo, who fails to establish any kind of contain and lets himself get sucked to far inside, where he is obviously burned when Cam runs to the outside.

The third is on Doughty, and man is it a doozy. He has a good angle on the play. However, as part of the Panthers’ play design the FB who initially lined up on the right side of the backfield crossed the formation and was acting as a lead blocker to the left. Doughty should have tried to win a collision with this blocker, forcing Cam to cut inside harder than he did so that Orakpo, Fletcher or Landry would have a chance to catch him. But somehow – God only knows how – Doughty got it in his head that the lead blocker had the ball. He ends up tackling the guy. Really. Good form too – he wraps him up around the waist and drives through him. Unfortunately he drives him to the outside, which doesn’t help with redirecting Cam.

I want to be mad at Reed, as his screw up was probably the biggest (though certainly not the only) factor in giving up this touchdown. But I can’t help but appreciate the man’s contributions to physical comedy.

O.Mare extra point is GOOD, Center-J.Jansen, Holder-J.Baker.

WAS 6 CAR 16, 2 plays, 53 yards, 0:35 drive, 2:43 elapsed

O.Mare kicks 72 yards from CAR 35 to WAS -7. B.Banks to WAS 18 for 25 yards (J.Hines; J.Williams).

Washington Redskins at 12:17, (1st play from scrimmage 12:12)

1-10-WAS 18 (12:12) J.Beck pass short right to F.Davis to WAS 40 for 22 yards (C.Godfrey).

The safety bites on play action, and thanks to Davis’s speed he is unable to recover sufficiently and Davis gets open.

1-10-WAS 40 (11:34) J.Beck pass short right to L.Paulsen to CAR 36 for 24 yards (C.Godfrey).

I love this: Every time Paulsen catches a pass its because the defense flat-out forgets to cover him. It apparently never occurs to the Panthers’ safeties or LBs that Paulsen could do anything other than block, so he just runs past them.

1-10-CAR 36 (10:54) T.Hightower left guard to CAR 32 for 4 yards (D.Connor). WAS-T.Hightower was injured during the play. His return is Questionable.

2-6-CAR 32 (10:27) J.Beck pass short middle to L.Paulsen to CAR 8 for 24 yards (J.Anderson; J.Phillips).

Again! Paulsen is taken so unseriously as a receiver that no one even thinks to cover him. Unfortunately he’s the second tight end now, so this trick won’t work much longer.

1-8-CAR 8 (9:47) R.Torain left end to CAR 15 for -7 yards (J.Anderson, D.Connor).

And this is why some people (including me) have doubts about Torain despite all the fun broken tackles. There was no need for this loss to be so severe. He runs past two cutback lanes that would have resulted in minimal gains, or maybe even small losses, but instead runs sideways to the sideline despite the fact that the corner is clearly denied by the LB beating Fred Davis’ block.

2-15-CAR 15 (9:03) J.Beck pass short left to F.Davis to CAR 4 for 11 yards (C.Munnerlyn).

Helu picks up the blitzing safety, and Montgomery keeps his feet moving but maintains his balance to adjust to a spin move. Gaffney is barely open and Beck fires the ball to the sideline route perfectly. I’m pretty sure Rex can’t make this throw.

3-4-CAR 4 (8:20) J.Beck scrambles left end for 4 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

And here’s another thing Rex doesn’t do – when Brown tries but fails to cut the LDE, Beck is able to flee him on foot and exploit the inside rush of the RDE to create a touchdown.

G.Gano extra point is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-S.Rocca.

WAS 13 CAR 16, 7 plays, 82 yards, 4:03 drive, 6:46 elapsed

G.Gano kicks 65 yards from WAS 35 to end zone, Touchback.

The one-man kamikaze rush is still happening from Carolina kickoff unit. Really wish I knew what was going on there.

Carolina Panthers at 8:14

1-10-CAR 20 (8:14) C.Newton pass deep left to S.Smith to WAS 47 for 33 yards (J.Wilson).

The lack of pressure isn’t a mystery – a four man rush against a seven man protection isn’t goint to get you anywhere.

1 1-10-WAS 47 (7:44) D.Williams right tackle to WAS 46 for 1 yard (R.Doughty, L.Fletcher).

Very nice play by Doughty. The run is up the middle, but Bowen and Orakpo collapse the line. Doughty stays home on the (defensive) left and is in position to make the tackle when the RB tries to bounce it outside. And as an added bonus, this time the guy he tackles is actually holding a football.

2-9-WAS 46 (7:04) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass short right to S.Smith to WAS 31 for 15 yards (D.Hall).

The Panthers adjust nicely to the blitz – the LG stays home to pick up Fletcher and the RB accounts for Rocky on the delay. Cofield does get past the RG with a nice swim move but Cam makes an accurate throw despite the impending hit.

1-10-WAS 31 (6:19) S.Smith left end to WAS 25 for 6 yards (L.Fletcher). End around

Simply outstanding by Fletcher, who reads the end-around despite the misdirection and somehow manages to chase down Steve Smith in a foot race to the sideline.

2-4-WAS 25 (5:34) D.Williams left guard to WAS 22 for 3 yards (R.McIntosh).

Golston holds the point of attack well enough that Rocky is kept clean.

3-1-WAS 22 (4:55) J.Felton up the middle to WAS 19 for 3 yards (R.McIntosh; L.Fletcher).

Bowen, Cofield, and Carriker hold their ground at the line and Fletcher and Rocky rush into the gaps, but just good old fashioned running from the FB turns this into first down yardage.

1-10-WAS 19 (4:18) (Shotgun) C.Newton left end to WAS 17 for 2 yards. Lateral to D.Williams to WAS 12 for 5 yards (L.Landry).

Ok, now this is an option play as Cam has the (ahem) “option” to keep it himself, but since Fletcher and Landry have angles on him he pitches to a trailing RB hoping he can take advantage of the WR’s solid block on Wilson.

2-3-WAS 12 (3:38) D.Williams left guard to WAS 4 for 8 yards (R.Doughty).

The formation gives away this run. Bowen is head up on the LG, meaning the LT and both of the twin TEs are uncovered except for Orakpo with a wide split and Fletcher and two DBs all several yards off the line. Unsurprisingly, a hole is created.

1-4-WAS 4 (2:59) J.Stewart up the middle to WAS 2 for 2 yards (B.Orakpo).

Nield driven way back, but Golston plays some good two-gap which lets Rocky get into the hole and make the play.

2-2-WAS 2 (2:21) (Shotgun) J.Stewart right guard for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Unabalanced line. The LT lines up next to the RT and seals Carriker inside, and Rocky is taken out by a pulling guard. And the Panther’s found a nice way to neutralize Kerrigan – they lined up a trips bunch on the play side and forced him to cover one of them.

O.Mare extra point is GOOD, Center-J.Jansen, Holder-J.Baker.

WAS 13 CAR 23, 10 plays, 80 yards, 5:57 drive, 12:43 elapsed

O.Mare kicks 65 yards from CAR 35 to end zone, Touchback.

Washington Redskins at 2:17

1-10-WAS 20 (2:17) J.Beck pass incomplete short right to A.Armstrong.

This was a challenging catch, but Armstrong still struggles to make enough of the challenging catches.

I find myself saying “well, it would have been a great catch…” a little too often with Armstrong – a NFL starter should make at least some of those.

2-10-WAS 20 (2:12) J.Beck pass incomplete short right to F.Davis.

That same safety lets Davis get open by biting on play action, but Davis just commits a bad drop.

3-10-WAS 20 (2:07) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to T.Austin to WAS 28 for 8 yards (S.Martin).

4-2-WAS 28 (1:46) S.Rocca punts 37 yards to CAR 35, Center-N.Sundberg, fair catch by A.Edwards.

When is a relatively short 37 yard punt still a good punt? When a 4.8 second hang time precludes any possibility of a return. Of course it helps that Niles Paul continues to regularly beat his blockers and find himself standing right on top of returners as the make the catch.

Carolina Panthers at 1:39

Can we call it night? I’m calling it a night.

1-10-CAR 35 (1:39) D.Williams right tackle to CAR 35 for no gain (R.McIntosh).

PENALTY on CAR-B.Bell, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at CAR 35 - No Play.

1-20-CAR 25 (1:15) J.Stewart left guard to CAR 28 for 3 yards (L.Fletcher).

2-17-CAR 28 (:29) C.Newton pass short right to S.Smith to CAR 46 for 18 yards (J.Wilson).

Redskins-Panthers 2nd quarter review

2011-10-25T22:14:00.001-04:00

First quarter review is here.

Second Quarter

2-2-CAR 24 (15:00) T.Hightower right end to CAR 24 for no gain (D.Connor; G.Hardy).

The LDT gets under Cook’s pads (not that hard to do) on the zone run and easily slides down the line to fill the hole.

3-2-CAR 24 (14:27) T.Hightower left tackle to CAR 21 for 3 yards (D.Connor, A.Applewhite).

1-10-CAR 21 (13:48) J.Beck scrambles right end to CAR 14 for 7 yards (S.Martin).

After running a route into the flat Darrel Young turns back and takes out not one but two defenders to allow Beck to turn the corner on his scramble.

2-3-CAR 14 (13:15) T.Hightower left guard to CAR 13 for 1 yard (D.Connor).

A hole opens between Chester and Cook, but no one is available to get a hat on the MLB.

3-2-CAR 13 (12:32) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete short left to J.Gaffney (T.Williams).

Beck stares down Gaffney so the LB reads his eyes and jumps underneath the slant.

4-2-CAR 13 (12:28) G.Gano 31 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-S.Rocca.

WAS 3 CAR 3, 12 plays, 74 yards, 2 penalties, 6:04 drive, 2:36 elapsed

G.Gano kicks 69 yards from WAS 35 to CAR -4. K.Pilares to CAR 11 for 15 yards (L.Alexander).

PENALTY on CAR-T.Williams, Offensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at CAR 11.

Carolina Panthers at 12:24

1-10-CAR 6 (12:24) J.Stewart up the middle to CAR 13 for 7 yards (L.Fletcher).

Rocky redirects the play inside by blowing up the lead FB, but Nield gets pushed off the line by a double team and the RG is able to get a hat on Fletcher.

2-3-CAR 13 (11:45) J.Stewart left end pushed ob at CAR 42 for 29 yards (J.Wilson).

Landry lines up to the offensive left but blitzes through the B gap, so when he loses discipline and breaks to the inside where theTE seals him there is no one else to deny the corner. Wilson and Fletcher would have been in position to make it to the sideline and prevent a big game but both bite on the RB’s initial step and can’t recover when he cuts towards the sideline.

1-10-CAR 42 (11:00) D.Williams right tackle to CAR 47 for 5 yards (R.Kerrigan; R.McIntosh).

2-5-CAR 47 (10:18) (Shotgun) C.Newton sacked at CAR 39 for -8 yards (A.Carriker).

I have no idea what the RT is doing here. Cofield is head up on the center, so if they want to double him the RG can help out. But despite not having a TE next to him he completely ignores Carriker, who gets a free shot at Cam.

3-13-CAR 39 (9:38) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass deep right to S.Smith ran ob at WAS 44 for 17 yards.

Rob Jackson meets the LT in the backfield, lifts him off the ground, and then blows by him to hit Cam, but the ball is already out. Hall is playing very soft on Steve Smith’s corner route and Doughty, who lined up at the LOS to feign a blitz, isn’t fast enough getting back to take the underneath coverage.

1-10-WAS 44 (9:08) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass short left to S.Smith to WAS 23 for 21 yards (R.McIntosh).

Smith takes the pass on the screen. The playside WR turns Barns to the outside and the LT gets downfield and blows away Wilson.

1-10-WAS 23 (8:36) (Shotgun) J.Stewart right guard to WAS 23 for no gain (K.Golston).

Golston is at RDT in the four man nickel front and plays perfect two-gap defense, holding the LG at the line and then shedding to make the stop.

2-10-WAS 23 (7:57) C.Newton pass short left to J.Shockey to WAS 11 for 12 yards (R.Doughty).

Orakpo’s eyes get big when he blows past the TE, and although he was let by intentionally to set up the screen he almost gets there so quickly that he blows it up anyway. But Cam barely gets the ball out and the LT manhandles Fletcher to open up the big gain.

1-10-WAS 11 (7:11) D.Williams up the middle to WAS 11 for no gain (R.Kerrigan).

Orakpo (play side) and Kerrigan (back side) each blow up their TE’s to stuff the run.

2-10-WAS 11 (6:28) (Shotgun) C.Newton sacked at WAS 18 for -7 yards (B.Orakpo).

Timeout #1 by CAR at 05:49.

3-17-WAS 18 (5:49) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass short left to L.Naanee to WAS 12 for 6 yards (K.Barnes).

The LTE releases directly into a route while the LT blocks Golston despite the fact that this leaves the LG with nothing to do. Oops. Orakpo gets a straight shot.

4-11-WAS 12 (5:11) O.Mare 30 yard field goal is GOOD, NULLIFIED by Penalty, Center-J.Jansen, Holder-J.Baker.

PENALTY on CAR-B.Hartsock, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at WAS 12 - No Play.

4-21-WAS 22 (5:06) O.Mare 40 yard field goal is GOOD, NULLIFIED by Penalty, Center-J.Jansen, Holder-J.Baker.

PENALTY on CAR-R.Wells, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 22 - No Play.

(sigh)

4-26-WAS 27 (5:06) O.Mare 45 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-J.Jansen, Holder-J.Baker.

WAS 3 CAR 6, 12 plays, 67 yards, 7:22 drive, 9:58 elapsed

O.Mare kicks 65 yards from CAR 35 to end zone, Touchback.

Washington Redskins at 5:02

1-10-WAS 20 (5:02) T.Hightower left end to WAS 23 for 3 yards (D.Butler).

Davis and Chester get good second level blocks. Locklear is also able to slide downfield since Montgomery is able to slow the LDE down the line, but he doesn’t see the playside CB as the next person who needs to be blocked.

2-7-WAS 23 (4:29) T.Hightower right tackle to WAS 23 for no gain (D.Connor).

The outside zone collapses as Davis gets driven four yards back, so both Young and Hightower cut inside. A slim hole opens but Hightower is tripped up by traffic (namely the DT going to the ground under Cook’s block) and he stumbles into the LB who Young had sought out at the second level.

3-7-WAS 23 (3:55) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to A.Armstrong to WAS 32 for 9 yards (D.Butler).

PENALTY on CAR-C.Munnerlyn, Face Mask (15 Yards), 15 yards, enforced at WAS 32.

1-10-WAS 47 (3:35) T.Hightower right end to WAS 48 for 1 yard (J.Anderson).

Brown is manhandled by the LDE, who first forces Hightower wide and then sheds the block to get hands on him and slow him around the corner.

2-9-WAS 48 (3:06) J.Beck pass incomplete short right to J.Gaffney. Timeout #1 by WAS at 03:02.

Gaffney curls inside, Beck throws outside.

3-9-WAS 48 (3:02) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short middle to J.Gaffney to CAR 34 for 18 yards (S.Martin).

This is the sort of mobility that often goes unnoticed. Pressure comes up the middle – there’s no outright penetration but the entire offensive line gets pushed into Beck’s face, I think that in this situation Rex would stand his ground and try to force a throw over the scrum in front of him, probably resulting in a tip. Beck slides to his right – nothing dramatic just a couple quick steps – and steps into a nice throw over the middle to Gaffney.

1-10-CAR 34 (2:23) T.Hightower left end to CAR 26 for 8 yards (D.Connor).

PENALTY on CAR-S.Fua, Defensive Offside, 5 yards, enforced at CAR 34 - No Play.

1-5-CAR 29 (2:04) T.Hightower right end to CAR 26 for 3 yards (G.Hardy). Two-Minute Warning

Montgomery can’t get to his second level block so the MLB has a bead on Hightower in the backfield, but a hard cut inside salvages a few yards.

2-2-CAR 26 (1:59) J.Beck pass incomplete short middle [G.Hardy].

PENALTY on WAS-J.Beck, Intentional Grounding, 11 yards, enforced at CAR 26.

The RDE is left unblocked, which against this offense should be a pretty obvious tipoff that Beck will be bootlegging to your side. It is, and the Back never even has a chance to turn his shoulders upfield.

3-13-CAR 37 (1:53) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short middle to T.Austin to CAR 31 for 6 yards (C.Munnerlyn). Timeout #2 by WAS at 01:06.

4-7-CAR 31 (1:06) G.Gano 49 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-S.Rocca. WAS

6 CAR 6, 10 plays, 49 yards, 2 penalties, 4:00 drive, 13:58 elapsed

G.Gano kicks 65 yards from WAS 35 to end zone, Touchback.

Carolina Panthers at 1:02

1-10-CAR 20 (1:02) (Shotgun) C.Newton sacked at CAR 17 for -3 yards (D.Hall).

Carriker gets around the outside but loses contain, so despite starting at a disadvantageous position Cofield does a great job of pursuit to chase Cam to the sideline, where he eventually steps out of bounds.

2-13-CAR 17 (:55) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass incomplete short middle to G.Olsen (L.Fletcher).

I think I’m done for the night.

3-13-CAR 17 (:49) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass incomplete short right to G.Olsen (D.Hall).

4-13-CAR 17 (:46) J.Baker punts 48 yards to WAS 35, Center-J.Jansen. B.Banks to WAS 31 for -4 yards (C.Munnerlyn).

Washington Redskins at 0:36

1-10-WAS 31 (:36) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete deep left to J.Gaffney (D.Butler).

2-10-WAS 31 (:30) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to J.Gaffney to WAS 35 for 4 yards (C.Munnerlyn). FUMBLES (C.Munnerlyn), RECOVERED by CAR-J.Anderson at WAS 34. J.Anderson to WAS 34 for no gain (E.Cook).

Carolina Panthers at 0:21

1-10-WAS 34 (:21) C.Newton pass short left to G.Olsen to WAS 30 for 4 yards (R.McIntosh).

2-6-WAS 30 (:17) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass incomplete deep left to S.Smith.

3-6-WAS 30 (:12) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass short left to S.Smith pushed ob at WAS 27 for 3 yards (B.Orakpo).

Timeout #3 by WAS at 00:07.

4-3-WAS 27 (:07) O.Mare 45 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-J.Jansen, Holder-J.Baker.Washington Redskins vs Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium

WAS 6 CAR 9, 4 plays, 7 yards, 0:19 drive, 14:58 elapsed

O.Mare kicks 35 yards from CAR 35 to WAS 30. L.Paulsen (didn't try to advance) to WAS 30 for no gain (G.Olsen).

Washington Redskins at 0:02, (1st play from scrimmage 0:01)

1-10-WAS 30 (:01) J.Beck kneels to WAS 29 for -1 yards.

Redskins-Panthers 1st quarter game review

2011-10-24T21:24:00.005-04:00

Hi kids. Time to re-live and thus internalize a rather dramatic loss. As always the play by play is taken from the NFL Gamebook.

First Quarter

G.Gano kicks 65 yards from WAS 35 to end zone, Touchback.

One – and only one – of the Panthers cover guys, while all his comrades are dropping back into blocking position, sprints straight forward and launches himself at a Redskins who I think is Niles Paul but can’t be sure. It’s not the last time we will see that, and I’m not sure what to make of it.

Carolina Panthers at 15:00

1-10-CAR 20 (15:00) D.Williams left guard to CAR 21 for 1 yard (B.Orakpo).

Bowen is successfully sealed inside, but Rocky stops the pulling guard cold to allow Fletcher to close for the stop, while Orakpo joins him after nicely shedding the FB’s block.

2-9-CAR 21 (14:22) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass incomplete short left to S.Smith.

Cam throws off his back foot with Bowen and Carriker (Maybe Golston? Not a great view but can see the “4”) pinching the pocket and he sails it high.

3-9-CAR 21 (14:18) (Shotgun) C.Newton scrambles right end to CAR 46 for 25 yards (R.Doughty).

Bowen rushes to the inside through the offensive left B gap, and despite the fact that his rush is meant to be diversionary to open a path for Barnes off the edge (who is picked up by the RB) he is the only one to really penetrate. The scramble that follows leaves little to analyze because it is simply Cam Newton being an amazing athlete. If you want to nitpick I suppose you could criticize Barnes, DeAngelo Hall, and Fletcher for badly missing open field tackles, but then it was Cam Newton they were trying to tackle so I’m not inclined to be that hard on them. Landry, by the way, got absolutely leveled by a blind side block.

1-10-CAR 46 (14:18) PENALTY on CAR-C.Newton, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at CAR 46 - No Play.

1-15-CAR 41 (13:20) C.Newton pass short right to L.Naanee to CAR 48 for 7 yards (D.Hall).

A simple smoke route; soft coverage conceded the yards. Good open field tackle by Hall.

2-8-CAR 48 (12:41) C.Newton pass short left to J.Felton to WAS 35 for 17 yards (J.Wilson).

Someone gets confused in coverage. Wilson is initially lined up over the wide receiver. When the TE motions out wider, Wilson shifts to him and Orakpo abandons his potision on the line to cover the WR, who is now the inside guy. That guy runs a a slant and go – Orakpo covers the slant, then Fletcher picks him up when he runs upfield. That leaves no one responsible for the flat and the FB is wide open.

1-10-WAS 35 (11:56) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass short right to J.Shockey to WAS 26 for 9 yards (L.Fletcher).

2-1-WAS 26 (11:19) J.Felton up the middle to WAS 22 for 4 yards (R.McIntosh).

Carriker and Cofield are each muscled off the line by double teams.

1-10-WAS 22 (10:34) D.Williams left end to WAS 20 for 2 yards (L.Landry). Direct snap to 34-Williams, Deangelo

Rob Jackson is in at ROLB. He jumps to the inside which should give up the corner, but Wilson evades the FB’s block and Fletcher and Landry put on a good pursuit.

2-8-WAS 20 (10:10) (Shotgun) J.Stewart left guard to WAS 6 for 14 yards (R.Doughty).

Jackson is still in. He drives to the inside of the TE and is exploited by the cut outside but it is clearly a one gap play so I think the real responsibility lies with Landry who was on the LOS and let himself get too far upfield (he was pursuing the deep back; Stewart was lined up like an offset FB) and lost contain.

1-6-WAS 6 (9:33) C.Newton up the middle to WAS 2 for 4 yards (A.Carriker).

The Carolina line opens a wide hole betweem Carriker and Cofield and Cam see his chance, but Carriker sheds his block just enough to get a hand on him and slow him down a little.

2-2-WAS 2 (8:57) (Shotgun) PENALTY on CAR-G.Olsen, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 2 - No Play.

2-7-WAS 7 (8:38) (Shotgun) C.Newton right tackle to WAS 8 for -1 yards (L.Landry).

This was a designed QB run after the fake handoff and Landry read it well and was waiting at the LOS – Cam slips while trying to juke him.

3-8-WAS 8 (8:05) (Shotgun) C.Newton scrambles right end to WAS 2 for 6 yards (L.Fletcher).

Redskins drop eight in coverage, so Cam see no one open and escapes to his right. Barnes takes a bad angle and gets beat, but he at least forces Cam to the sideline so Hall and Fletcher can close and stop him short of the touchdown.

4-2-WAS 2 (7:34) O.Mare 20 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-J.Jansen, Holder-J.Baker.

WAS 0 CAR 3, 13 plays, 78 yards, 7:29 drive, 7:29 elapsed

O.Mare kicks 65 yards from CAR 35 to end zone, Touchback.

Washington Redskins at 7:31

1-10-WAS 20 (7:31) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to S.Moss to WAS 21 for 1 yard (J.Anderson).

Bubble screen. Niles Paul fails to hold his block and Montgomery simply misses his entirely.

2-9-WAS 21 (6:55) T.Hightower right end to WAS 31 for 10 yards (J.Phillips).

Brown gets pushed back and forces Hightower to take it wider than he would want, but he makes it outside and cuts upfield because Darrel Young manages to sloppily but effectively set the corner.

1-10-WAS 31 (6:24) J.Beck pass short middle to S.Moss to WAS 47 for 16 yards (J.Anderson).

Hightower puts a good strong block on a blitzing safety. More impressive is Young’s ability to read the LB coming on a delayed blitz behind him.

1-10-WAS 47 (5:41) T.Hightower right end to CAR 47 for 6 yards (D.Connor).

Darrel Young false starts by nearly a full second and somehow gets away with it. This obviously helps him get to the edge and then down field, and Brown seals the LDE to the inside to allow Hightower to cut.

2-4-CAR 47 (5:34) T.Hightower left guard to CAR 40 for 7 yards (J.Anderson).

Power running here. Montgomery double teams the RDT with Cook, and Young leads through the hole and puts a hat on the WLB. Then Hightower runs through two tackles to pick up the first down.

1-10-CAR 40 (4:57) J.Beck pass incomplete deep middle to F.Davis (J.Anderson).

Beck thought he had Davis manned up on a LB and saw Davis beating him. But Beck was wrong – a safety was over the top to pick Davis up which allowed the LB to slip underneath this route and nearly pick it off.

2-10-CAR 40 (4:57) PENALTY on WAS-F.Davis, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at CAR 40 - No Play.

2-15-CAR 45 (4:53) (Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete short right to T.Hightower (A.Applewhite).

3-15-CAR 45 (4:49) (Shotgun) J.Beck sacked at WAS 48 for -7 yards (A.Applewhite). FUMBLES (A.Applewhite), RECOVERED by CAR-T.McClain at WAS 48. T.McClain to WAS 48 for no gain (E.Cook).

Both Helu and Davis (lined up in the backfield) release into routes, so no one is there to bail out Brown when the LDE beats him to the outside with a speed rush. Nonetheless, the pressure took enough time to develop that Beck really should have sense it – he had no idea he was in danger when he got stripped form behind.

Carolina Panthers at 4:41

1-10-WAS 48 (4:41) C.Newton sacked at CAR 46 for -6 yards (sack split by A.Carriker and L.Landry).

Penalty on CAR-B.Bell, Personal Foul, declined.

Both the TE and LT follow Orakpo’s wide rush so Landry, who crossed the formation at the last second before the snap, can blitz through a wide open A gap. When Cam steps up he runs into Landry and Carriker, who drives the RG back and then sheds the block.

2-16-CAR 46 (4:22) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass short right to L.Naanee to WAS 46 for 8 yards (D.Hall).

3-8-WAS 46 (3:42) (Shotgun) C.Newton pass incomplete deep left to B.LaFell.

4-8-WAS 46 (3:36) J.Baker punts 33 yards to WAS 13, Center-J.Jansen, fair catch by B.Banks.

Washington Redskins at 3:28

1-10-WAS 13 (3:28) T.Hightower left end to WAS 30 for 17 yards (C.Godfrey).

Paulsen and Locklear seal outside, Montgomery and Cook seal inside. It’s not a big hole, but Hightower shoots through it just quick enough.

1-10-WAS 30 (2:50) T.Hightower left end to WAS 32 for 2 yards (D.Connor).

2-8-WAS 32 (2:10) T.Hightower right tackle to WAS 37 for 5 yards (J.Anderson).

Locklear doesn’t get a good cut on the RDT, but second effort from Hightower turns this into yards.

3-3-WAS 37 (1:25) J.Beck pass incomplete short left to S.Moss.

Penalty on CAR-C.Johnson, Defensive Offside, offsetting, enforced at WAS 37 - No Play.

Penalty on WAS-S.Locklear, Offensive Holding, offsetting.

This is the first of two instances in which Locklear never would have committed a hold without the guy jumping offside in the first place. Seems like an odd loophole.

3-3-WAS 37 (1:22) R.Helu left end to WAS 36 for -1 yards (J.Anderson, D.Butler).

PENALTY on CAR-T.Williams, Unsportsmanlike Conduct, 15 yards, enforced at WAS 36.

Davis and Montgomery seal the RDE and Paul gets a good block on the playside OLB, but no one gets to the second level to cut off the second LB.

1-10-CAR 49 (:51) T.Hightower left end to CAR 32 for 17 yards (A.Applewhite).

Hightower’s speed to the edge allows him to escape the penetration given up by Locklear and Montgomery, and the big yards are sprung by great downfield blocks by Davis and Young.

1-10-CAR 32 (:24) T.Hightower left tackle to CAR 32 for no gain (J.Anderson).

PENALTY on CAR-T.McClain, Defensive Offside, 5 yards, enforced at CAR 32 - No Play.

1-5-CAR 27 (:06) T.Hightower left end to CAR 24 for 3 yards (C.Munnerlyn).

This was only a modest gain, but it was only a strong block from Davis that got Hightower even this much.

Redskins suffer a bad loss to Carolina

2011-10-23T16:27:00.001-04:00

This is a bad one. Not just because it was to a (generally) weaker opponent, but because I would be really surprised to see the Redskins beat either Buffalo or San Francisco, so even though we're only at .500 this feels like being in a hole already.

In the second half Beck at least showed he can move the team down the field a bit. I think he gets a pass on the first half since, other than a drive or two last week, it was his first regular season football since 2007. If you recall what I wrote before the season, this sort of chain-moving but unexciting offense was what I expected from the Redskins this year. That's simply the roster's current state of development, and it's better than last year. But it doesn't let you mount fourth quarter comebacks. When the defense gets blown away, this offense can't be expected to keep up.

And man, did the defense ever get blown away. I know you're probably expecting one of my anti-Jim Haslett rants here, but at least on the first viewing it just looked like simple failure of execution. None of the front seven could get off blocks, and I hope to have some idea of why once I start the review.

And don't blame the corners for getting lit up by Steve Smith. Smith and Cam Newton were executing some excellent plays, and the rules of the game are such that if the quarterback is not pressured no corner can cover a good receiver for very long. As for why there was such little pressure... I wish I knew. Hopefully the trusty Tivo will provide me with more insight on that.

I'll leave you with this outstanding video, because it always cheers me up in this sort of situation.

A new look for the Redskins running game?

2011-10-23T10:34:00.001-04:00

Something interesting is happening with the Redskins running game.

We all know that Mike and Kyle Shanahan are strong devotees of zone blocking and have worked to build the offensive line with the sort of athletic, though not necessarily overpowering, players that can excel in that system.

Pure zone blocking schemes have a pretty unique look, and part of the beauty of the system is that you see mostly the same runs (primarily inside zone and outside zone, well explained here) without all that much variation. That's why it really jumps off the screen when a supposedly pure zone team like the Redskins starts showing you characteristics of traditional power blocking.

But in the opening game, as the Redskins were trying to run out the clock to clinch a win against New York, the Redskins ran five consecutive plays that seemed to come out of a good old-fashioned power blocking playbook. The most conspicuous characteristic were repeated pull blocks from Chris Chester - the pulling guard just isn't really a characteristic of a zone run.

It happened again in St. Louis - some power runs were sprinkled throughout, and the final three plays before the Redskins went to victory formation were all power runs.

What puzzled me about this trend was that if the plays were considered effective, then they should be used more often. And if not, why use them at all?

I think the Eagles game solved that mystery. In the first half we got to see Chester pull a couple times, interspersed with the usual inside zone/outside zone fare. But in the third quarter, the zone runs disappeared for all but one play. The line was doing standard seal blocks, and blockers were trying to move guys off the point of attack and pulling guards were being sent through the holes. These power runs are excerpted below for your reading pleasure (due to time constraints I never got to review the fourth quarter).

The results were mixed, and yet I love this development on principle. The Shanahans have long been committed to the zone run system, so I'm sure it's not a permanent scheme change. But the fact is that teams with an athletic front seven and some good game planning can often blow up zone blocking. And you can usually see early in the game if the zone game will work. If it's struggling in the first quarter, that's not likely to change as the game goes on. So the Shanahans have taken the sensible precaution of having a backup plan in place. If it's clear a team knows how to beat the zone, the Redskins can switch gears and try a different approach. I am always in favor of coaches having enough flexibility to adjust their scheme based on what will work against a given opponent.

The Panthers are a weak run defense. Zone blocking usually dominates a weak front seven. I would expect that against Carolina and other poor defenses we should see mostly the zone runs, as zone blocking often lets even a mediocre line dominate weak competition. Against tougher competition that has been getting penetration and blowing up the zone, the Shanahans will will seal an end and send a guard pulling around the edge and see if they can't create a hole and then let Torain, Hightower, or Helu break some tackles.

I will admit I have a totally selfish reason for welcoming this development. Zone running is often successful football, but it is boring both to watch and to describe for you guys. In the zone you're not really trying to blow a guy off the line, but to control him enough so that the back has multiple cutback lanes. That's fine, but it doesn't give me much to talk about in the game reviews. With good old-fashioned power blocking, however, there are a number of discrete acts designed to create on particular hole. Collisions happen, and either the blocker or the defender wins each. There's a lot for even an amateur like myself to analyze and describe.

As promised, here's some power running highlights from the 3rd quarter:

1-10-PHI 15 (14:09) R.Torain left tackle to PHI 9 for 6 yards (B.Rolle).

Well, the run game is certainly evolving. Darrel Young is offset to the left, he rushes up and takes on the RDE, which allows Paulsen and Locklear to get straight to the second level and take out the MLB and WLB. Chris Chester then pulls again and puts a hat on the SLB.

2-4-PHI 9 (13:28) R.Torain left tackle to PHI 8 for 1 yard (M.Patterson).

Still more traditional blocking concepts. This is getting really interesting. Locklear kicks out the RDE while Montgomery and Cook get push the RDT off the line and set up second level blocks, but Jammal Brown is unable to prevent the backside penetration from the LDT.

2-10-WAS 32 (10:32) (Shotgun) R.Torain right tackle to WAS 35 for 3 yards (B.Rolle, D.Landri).

OK, are the Redskins even a zone running team any more? Very curious what is going on here. Brown seals the RDT inside, Davis kicks out the LDE, and Montgomery pulls through the hole. But the hole collapses after only a modest gain because neither Mongtomery nor Davis hold there blocks any more.

1-10-PHI 18 (7:15) R.Torain up the middle to PHI 20 for -2 yards (D.Tapp).

Even when it doesn’t work, the new approach to the running game is at least interesting to watch. Paulsen and Mongtomery turn the RDE and RDT to the outside, while Chester jumps outside and tries to seal out the LDE. Meanwhile Young, offset to the left, crosses the backfield to take out the LDT who is initially unblocked because he is initially unblocked to let Cook and Brown, along with Locklear, go straight to the second level. Unfortunately Locklear never locks onto his LB and Montgomery can’t keep his man to the outside, so the hole collapses on Torain.

Redskins-Eagles 3rd quarter game review

2011-10-22T13:48:00.002-04:00

And we're back. I'm wishing I hadn't gotten to the 3rd quarter so late in the week, as there's a lot here that's interesting - specifically a startlingly new look to the Redskins running game and some examples of aggressive blitzes from Jim Haslett that actually make some sense.

Here are links to the 1st quarter and 2nd quarter reviews.

Third Quarter

A.Henery kicks 72 yards from PHI 35 to WAS -7. B.Banks pushed ob at WAS 40 for 47 yards (A.Henery).

And here we get back to the good Brandon Banks. There’s no wasted motion, he presses the ball downfield while letting his blocks set up, then turns on the jets at just the right instant to evade a defender who had an angle on him. It was a key block from Kedric Golston that turned this from a good return into a great one.

Washington Redskins at 15:00, (1st play from scrimmage 14:55)

1-10-WAS 40 (14:55) R.Grossman pass deep middle to J.Gaffney to PHI 15 for 45 yards (A.Samuel). FLea flicker from #29 Helu

I’m not a big fan of the flea flicker in general, though of course it worked here. The corner is playing outside leverage against Gaffney’s post and has no inside help since the safety is frozen by the initial fake. But when you see how close the DT was to Helu as he pitched it back to Rex you are reminded how dangerous this play can be. It relies on a bunch of guys holding their blocks for a long, long time.

1-10-PHI 15 (14:09) R.Torain left tackle to PHI 9 for 6 yards (B.Rolle).

2-4-PHI 9 (13:28) R.Torain left tackle to PHI 8 for 1 yard (M.Patterson).

3-3-PHI 8 (12:50) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to S.Moss.

This is the kind of play where John Beck’s mobility might make a difference. The protection holds up, with the exception of Jammal Brown building way too much depth – he is never even contacted by the LDE – and getting in the way of Rex’s throwing motion. Rex has Santana in the flat, but has to sail it way high in order to get the ball over Brown. Since the LDE had worked himself inside, a quarterback with some quicker feet should have been able to slip a few steps to the outside and create himself a throwing lane.

4-3-PHI 8 (12:45) G.Gano 26 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-S.Rocca. PHI 20 WAS 6, 5 plays, 52 yards, 2:20 drive, 2:20 elapsed

G.Gano kicks 74 yards from WAS 35 to PHI -9. D.Lewis, Touchback.

Philadelphia Eagles at 12:40

1-10-PHI 20 (12:40) M.Vick pass deep left to J.Maclin to WAS 21 for 59 yards (L.Landry).

Vick runs another sprint little sprint out. Kerrigan is initially unblocked off the backside, though the LTE crosses the backfield to cut him off. Oddly, Kerrigan seems to think this TE is releasing into a route and abandons his pass rush. Meanwhile Cofield earns some penetration, but the center maintains contact enough to mess up his angle so Vick only has to step aside before throwing.

Now on to the coverage. Hall is lined up with soft coverage on Maclin, and the way he plays the route it’s clear he’s expecting safety help on the inside. But Landry starts creeping up toward the line before the snap, then compounds the error by biting on play action. Maclin then has a free run on the deep post, and Hall actually makes a nice play to recover and get his hands in there, but Maclin just makes a good catch to wrestle it free. If Landry was freelancing here, then it was just a case of him abandoning responsibility and being overly aggressive. If Landry’s initial approach to the line was part of the play design, then it’s just another case of Jim Haslett ignoring matchups and getting out coached by his opponent.

1-10-WAS 21 (11:51) (Shotgun) L.McCoy left end to WAS 16 for 5 yards (L.Fletcher).

2-5-WAS 16 (11:09) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass incomplete short right to L.McCoy.

The blitz works. The Eagles are in four wide – so no tight end – with one back in the backfield. Landry blitzes off the edge but both ILBs threaten the A gaps to prevent the line from adjusting such that the LT can pick him up. Rocky and Fletcher drop into coverage, the LT blocks Orakpo while the RG is blocking nobody, and Landry gets a free run at Vick.

3-5-WAS 16 (11:04) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass short middle intended for B.Celek INTERCEPTED by O.Atogwe (B.Cofield) at WAS 1. O.Atogwe to WAS 1 for no gain (J.Avant).

Bowen drives the center right into the backfield and gets his hand up to tip the throw. Atogwe then shows his natural instincts for reacting to balls in flight that led the Redskins to sign him.

Washington Redskins at 10:57

1-10-WAS 1 (10:57) R.Grossman pass short right to F.Davis to WAS 32 for 31 yards (M.Fokou; A.Samuel). PHI-A.Samuel was injured during the play. His return is Probable.

The LBs bite hard on the play fake and can’t catch up to Davis when he slips behind them.

1-10-WAS 32 (10:36) R.Grossman pass incomplete short left to R.Helu.

There were the makings of a successful screen here, but the pressure gets to Rex faster than expected and he panics a little and misses the throw. This happens because an unexpected MLB blitz occupies Chester and he can’t slow down the RDT after Montgomery lets him slip by to set up his screen block.

2-10-WAS 32 (10:32) (Shotgun) R.Torain right tackle to WAS 35 for 3 yards (B.Rolle, D.Landri).

3-7-WAS 35 (9:53) R.Grossman pass short right to R.Helu to WAS 38 for 3 yards (N.Asomugha, B.Rolle).

4-4-WAS 38 (9:21) S.Rocca punts 53 yards to PHI 9, Center-N.Sundberg, downed by WAS-N.Paul.

Five second hang time and it lands at the 7 yard line with a friendly bounce. I don’t think it’s taking anything away from Chris Chester, Stephen Bowen, or Barry Cofield to say that Sav Rocca was the most important free agent acquisition this offseason.

Philadelphia Eagles at 9:10

1-10-PHI 9 (9:10) L.McCoy up the middle to PHI 11 for 2 yards (L.Fletcher).

Penetration by Cofield forces McCoy to cut back into Landry’s backside pursuit.

2-8-PHI 11 (8:34) M.Vick scrambles up the middle to PHI 31 for 20 yards (L.Landry). PHI-M.Vick was injured during the play.

PENALTY on PHI, Offensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at PHI 11 - No Play.

Orakpo slips right under the LT’s outside shoulder and has a straight shot at Vick before the LT simply grabs him by the collar and yanks him to the ground, drawing the flag.

2-13-PHI 6 (8:09) (Shotgun) V.Young scrambles up the middle to PHI 8 for 2 yards (A.Carriker; B.Orakpo).

Orakpo does a good job shedding the LT’s block and filling the lane Vince Young tries to run through.

3-11-PHI 8 (7:25) (Shotgun) V.Young pass short right intended for J.Maclin INTERCEPTED by D.Hall [L.Landry] at PHI 23. D.Hall to PHI 18 for 5 yards (J.Maclin).

This is a perfect example of how a defense can be “aggressive” with a blitz and yet non-suicidal when it comes to coverage. More of this please, Mr. Haslett.

Bowen is lined up in the offensive left A gap, with no one else to that side except Orakpo, who is lined up over the slot receiver. Orakpo shows like he’s going to blitz anyway. This draws the LT wide outside. But Orakpo drops into coverage and Bowen rushes to the outside. The LG follows Bowen outside because he thinks the LT needs to block Orakpo, but instead Bowen ends up occupying both of them. Why is this important? Because it means that the line cannot adjust to the overload on their right side. Cofield attacks the center, and Kerrigan launches himself at both the RG and RT, taking them out of the play. The RB is then left to pick up both Rocky and Landry, who are blitzing off the offensive right edge. When Rocky hits the back, Landry is free to pursue Vince Young to the outside and force a bad throw.

Meanwhile, in coverage, Hall was free to play underneath Maclin’s route and take advantage of Young’s bad decision because Atogwe was over the top to clean up in case Hall’s gamble didn’t pay off.

Note that this play had more impact on the offense than many of the hairy-chested eight man blitzes we’ve seen, yet it was done with a rather pedestrian number of pass rushers – five. That meant a sensible coverage could be run behind it, so that all is not lost if the pass rush doesn't get there. This is what I want to see out of the Redskins defense.

Washington Redskins at 7:15

1-10-PHI 18 (7:15) R.Torain up the middle to PHI 20 for -2 yards (D.Tapp).

2-12-PHI 20 (6:38) R.Grossman pass short middle intended for F.Davis INTERCEPTED by K.Coleman [J.Babin] at PHI 5. K.Coleman pushed ob at PHI 29 for 24 yards (J.Gaffney).

Brown gets beat by an inside spin move, though Rex still makes the throw he wants so the pick is on him. He never once takes his eyes of Fred Davis and the safety reads this and jumps the route.

Philadelphia Eagles at 6:29

1-10-PHI 29 (6:29) L.McCoy right end to PHI 29 for no gain (R.Jackson, R.McIntosh).

2-10-PHI 29 (5:50) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass incomplete short left to D.Jackson (J.Wilson).

Josh Wilson channels his inner DeAngelo Hall here, jumping underneath the out route to break up the pass.

3-10-PHI 29 (5:44) (Shotgun) M.Vick scrambles left end pushed ob at WAS 40 for 31 yards (L.Landry).

Barnes blitzes from the slot but the line adjusts and he is picked up by the LT, and unfortunately goes to the ground rather than simply abandoning his rush and guarding against a Vick scramble.

1-10-WAS 40 (5:08) L.McCoy left end to WAS 42 for -2 yards (R.Jackson).

Carriker plays his gaps perfectly and gives McCoy nowhere to cut back to escape Jackson on the corner.

2-12-WAS 42 (4:31) M.Vick pass short middle to D.Jackson to WAS 31 for 11 yards (J.Wilson).

Another example of a sensible blitz. Doughty is unblocked on Vick’s blind side, but the ball comes out just a second before he gets there. Wilson is playing outside leverage on Jackson as he attacks the seam, so he can’t break up the play. But safeguards are in place. Fletcher has the short middle zone, so there is another possibility to stop the pass but he is drawn to the other side by the TE’s route. So the pass is completed and Wilson makes a nice tackle from behind. But what if he doesn’t? Landry is closing to clean up if necessary. This was a sensible gamble because the downside was a first down, in a game situation where a first down is, though undesirable, not the end of the world.

3-1-WAS 31 (3:55) L.McCoy left end to WAS 32 for -1 yards (S.Bowen; B.Orakpo).

Cofield drives back the center, Bowen holds his ground against the LG, and the LT tries to drive Orakpo outside but Orakpo wins. McCoy has nowhere to go.

4-2-WAS 32 (3:10) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass incomplete short middle to J.Avant.

The slot receiver turns turn Barnes to the outside and then beats him on a quick slant, and we’re in Haslett’s beloved cover-0 so a completion could be a touchdown. Fortunately the RG simply blows it – he doubles Cofield even though the center already has him and Fletcher is right up on his face before the snap. So Fletcher comes completely free and forces the high throw.

Washington Redskins at 3:07

1-10-WAS 33 (3:07) R.Grossman pass incomplete deep right to F.Davis (K.Coleman).

PENALTY on PHI-N.Asomugha, Defensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 33 - No Play.

This is not the first time that Davis has beaten the coverage but Rex’s limited arm strength makes it a tight throw anyway.

1-10-WAS 38 (2:59) R.Torain right guard to WAS 39 for 1 yard (D.Landri, T.Laws).

This I think was back to a simple inside zone, for a change, but I gets blown up badly. Chester and Montgomery get good second level blocks, but Brown and Cook are both driven into the backfield and Locklear completely misses his cut block on the back side.

2-9-WAS 39 (2:25) R.Grossman pass incomplete deep right to J.Gaffney [J.Parker].

3-9-WAS 39 (2:20) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass deep left intended for J.Gaffney INTERCEPTED by K.Coleman at PHI 30. K.Coleman ran ob at PHI 31 for 1 yard.

Don’t even know what to say here – it’s nice that after escaping the pocket Rex was still looking downfield, but just what did he see to make him think this throw was at all open?

Philadelphia Eagles at 2:10

1-10-PHI 31 (2:10) M.Vick pass short right to B.Celek to PHI 36 for 5 yards (D.Hall; L.Fletcher).

2-5-PHI 36 (1:31) M.Vick sacked at PHI 30 for -6 yards (O.Atogwe, K.Golston).

Bowen rushes to his left and draws the LT with him. The TE is staying in to block Orakpo, but Orakpo is in man coverage on the TE, which means they just stand there and stare at each other a bit. This is great as the TE doesn’t even notice the real blitzer, Atogwe, who has a huge gap to run through.

3-11-PHI 30 (1:31) (Shotgun) PENALTY on PHI-M.Vick, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at PHI 30 - No Play.

3-16-PHI 25 (:25) (Shotgun) L.McCoy left end to PHI 34 for 9 yards (L.Fletcher, R.McIntosh).

A LG-LT double team seals Bowen to the outfield, and Cofield is just a split second too slow getting to the gap – I think he was the victim of an uncalled hold.

Redskins-Eagles 2nd quarter game review

2011-10-21T06:16:00.005-04:00

First quarter review is here.

Second Quarter

2-1-WAS 1 (15:00) M.Vick up the middle to WAS 1 for no gain (L.Fletcher; C.Neild). QB sneak

As enjoyable as Fletcher’s leap over the line was, it’s the interior defensive linemen dominating the middle that really win this play. Unfortunately we don’t get a good camera angle to pick out individual efforts.

3-1-WAS 1 (14:19) T.Herremans reported in as eligible. L.McCoy left end for 1 yard, TOUCHDOWN.

Carriker drives the LG into the backfield, but with Atogwe losing a backfield collision with the fullback and Landry getting driven off the corner by the TE McCoy never needs to cut back.

A.Henery extra point is GOOD, Center-J.Dorenbos, Holder-C.Henry.

PHI 14 WAS 0, 10 plays, 72 yards, 5:40 drive, 0:45 elapsed

A.Henery kicks 70 yards from PHI 35 to WAS -5. B.Banks to WAS -4 for 1 yard. FUMBLES, and recovers at WAS -4. B.Banks pushed ob at WAS 10 for 14 yards (A.Jordan). PENALTY on WAS-K.Golston, Offensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 10.

Washington Redskins at 14:15, (1st play from scrimmage 14:07)

1-10-WAS 5 (14:07) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass incomplete short left to J.Gaffney.

The snap wasn’t high and Rex appeared to be ready for it, so can’t really see why he failed to catch this snap.

2-10-WAS 5 (14:03) R.Helu left tackle to WAS 7 for 2 yards (J.Babin).

The LDE is in a wide alignment and blows past Brown’s outside shoulder, and gets a hand out to hook Helu’s jersey even as he’s taking the hand off.

3-8-WAS 7 (13:29) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass incomplete deep middle to R.Helu.

PENALTY on PHI-K.Coleman, Unnecessary Roughness, 15 yards, enforced at WAS 7 - No Play.

Trent has been looking better, but here he commits one of his trademark bad habits from last year. He gets back on his heals when he allows the LDE to initiate contact with him and is driven straight back into Rex. He pays for it as he gets pushed into position for the RDE, working around Brown, to fall on the back of his leg. Rex gets it out just in time and Helu has found himself a nice little gap in the coverage, but the throw is about 8 inches too high and Helu gets leveled.

1-10-WAS 22 (13:24) R.Grossman pass short left to F.Davis to WAS 28 for 6 yards (M.Fokou).

Having Davis leave the RDE unblocked is one thing, but its even ballsier since the playfake takes Torain in the opposite direction. Rex is rather lucky that the DE slips. Brown and Paulsen double the LDE, but Brown fails to abandon the double team in time to intercept the OLB on a delayed blitz so Rex is under even more duress and takes a hit.

2-4-WAS 28 (12:44) R.Torain up the middle to WAS 29 for 1 yard (D.Landri).

Chester pulls (!). Locklear and Montgomery (remember he’s at LG now) try to double team the RDT but after getting a little push initially the defender manages to drive underneath the blocks and take down Torain.

3-3-WAS 29 (12:10) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass incomplete short middle to J.Gaffney (D.Rodgers-Cromartie).

Penalty on WAS-F.Davis, Offensive Pass Interference, declined.

Rex takes the snap from shotgun, takes a three step drop, and then clearly his pocket sense fails him as he tries to step up into the pocket despite the fact that both tackles are in the process of getting beat to the inside. He escapes, but then forces a throw to Gaffney who has a corner lurking right over him and it should have been picked.

4-3-WAS 29 (12:03) S.Rocca punts 50 yards to PHI 21, Center-N.Sundberg, fair catch by D.Jackson.

50 yards and 4.8 seconds of hang time, plus some excellent gunner work from Brandyn Thompson, is a pretty good recipe for a fair catch.

Philadelphia Eagles at 11:56

1-10-PHI 21 (11:56) L.McCoy right end to PHI 21 for no gain (R.McIntosh, L.Fletcher).

Rocky and Fletcher read the play immediately and race to the corner before the intended second level blocks can get out to them.

2-10-PHI 21 (11:14) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass deep right to J.Maclin pushed ob at PHI 47 for 26 yards (D.Hall).

1-10-PHI 47 (10:44) M.Vick pass deep middle to B.Celek to WAS 32 for 21 yards (L.Fletcher; R.McIntosh).

The blitz works, it’s just slow-developing – like many of Haslett’s blitzes. Orakpo rushes from a very wide alignment and despite one member of the Eagles tight trips bunch staying in protection and running him outside, the LT also fans out to follow him and this opens an easy blitz lane for Barnes, but Barnes has a good distance to travel and Vick gets the ball out quick.

1-10-WAS 32 (9:57) (Shotgun) L.McCoy left end to WAS 21 for 11 yards (J.Wilson).

The Eagles have twins TE to the left, who in conjunction with the LT create a pretty good seal on Orakpo and Bowen, while the pulling LG keeps Wilson from denying the corner.

1-10-WAS 21 (9:18) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass short middle to B.Celek to WAS 12 for 9 yards (R.Kerrigan).

Kerrigan doesn’t get as good a jam on the TE as he wants and consequently is a step or two behind in coverage.

2-1-WAS 12 (8:36) L.McCoy up the middle to WAS 9 for 3 yards (B.Orakpo).

Bowen gets dominated and taken to the inside to open up the cutback on the counter run, and the LT gets out to Rocky to preserve it. Orakpo is unblocked and in a position to take down McCoy after his initial cut, but McCoy is just too good to be taken down by one guy in the open.

1-9-WAS 9 (7:51) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass short right to J.Maclin to WAS 10 for -1 yards (O.Atogwe, K.Golston) [R.Kerrigan].

Redskins crowd the line with eight defenders, but despite showing blitz Landry and Atogwe buzz the short zones, which allows the three corners to play soft and makes this a fairly safe call. The confusion works as neither the RT or either back picks up Kerrigan off the edge and he bats the pass in the air.

2-10-WAS 10 (7:10) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass incomplete short middle to L.McCoy. shovel pass

This time the apparent eight man blitz really is an eight man blitz, and the Eagles know this because Haslett’s macho aggressive streak is so predictable. So they call the perfect play for it and if McCoy hadn’t dropped the shovel pass it would have been an easy touchdown.

3-10-WAS 10 (7:07) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass incomplete short right to J.Maclin [R.Kerrigan].

Eagles line up with a tight trips bunch to the left, and McCoy in the backfield but split way out behind that bunch turning it into a diamond of sorts. Removing McCoy from the protection turns out to be a bad idea as Kerrigan is left unblocked and Vick has to rush his throw.

4-10-WAS 10 (7:03) A.Henery 28 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-J.Dorenbos, Holder-C.Henry.

PHI 17 WAS 0, 10 plays, 69 yards, 4:58 drive, 8:02 elapsed

A.Henery kicks 73 yards from PHI 35 to WAS -8. B.Banks to WAS 15 for 23 yards (J.Jarrett; B.Hughes).

Washington Redskins at 6:58, (1st play from scrimmage 6:54)

1-10-WAS 15 (6:54) R.Grossman pass deep middle intended for J.Gaffney INTERCEPTED by N.Allen at PHI 40. N.Allen to WAS 47 for 13 yards (R.Torain).

Gaffney is running a skinny post and either Rex expected him to break inside much harder or he simply underthrows it – probably the latter.

Philadelphia Eagles at 6:40

1-10-WAS 47 (6:40) M.Vick scrambles up the middle to WAS 22 for 25 yards (L.Fletcher, J.Wilson).

Any other QB and Orakpo just destroys this play. Due to some sort of miscommunication on the line the LT blocks to the inside on Bowen and but the center has Cofield. The LG has no one to block, realizes something is wrong, but can’t twirl around and get to the outside before Orakpo completely embarrasses the TE who is left alone against him. Unfortunately Vick is Vick, and he does his thing.

1-10-WAS 22 (5:54) L.McCoy right end to WAS 21 for 1 yard (L.Landry).

Golston, Cofield and Carriker all stand up their blockers at the line, forcing McCoy to about his intended play and try to slip around the right edge. The logjam in the middle also prevents the center from getting to the second level cleanly, meaning Fletcher can track McCoy across the field forcing another cutback, which allows Landry to make the tackle from behind.

2-9-WAS 21 (5:13) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass incomplete deep middle to B.Celek (L.Fletcher).

Carriker gets push on the RG and gets his hand in the air but the pass slips by him; Fletcher is a couple steps behind the TE down the deep seam and never turns to play the ball but raises his arm and breaks things up just enough.

3-9-WAS 21 (5:06) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass incomplete deep left to D.Jackson.

PENALTY on WAS-J.Wilson, Illegal Contact, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 21 - No Play.

It appears that Atogwe got confused here. He starts to blitz off the offensive right edge but aborts when the TE releases into a route despite the fact that Fletcher was already covering the guy.

1-10-WAS 16 (4:59) L.McCoy up the middle to WAS 5 for 11 yards (L.Landry).

The RT misses the second level block on Rocky, who ends up perfectly positioned after the TE crosses the backfield and seals Kerrigan to the inside, but McCoy puts one of those infuriating little moves on him at the LOS and then splits Fletcher and Atogwe to pick up the big gain.

1-5-WAS 5 (4:19) (Shotgun) L.McCoy left end to WAS 5 for no gain (S.Bowen; L.Fletcher).

Cofield gains penetration from the backside forcing McCoy to cut early; Bowen pushes the C into the backfield and lets Fletcher close cleanly.

2-5-WAS 5 (3:40) (Shotgun) L.McCoy up the middle to WAS 5 for no gain (S.Bowen).

Very nice play by Bowen here. Fletcher shoots the offensive left A gap and absorbs the trap block and Bowen, unblocked because he was supposed to be the target of the trap, reads the play and instead of getting over eager and penetrating slides to his left and stuffs the play.

3-5-WAS 5 (3:03) (Shotgun) M.Vick sacked at WAS 6 for -1 yards (B.Cofield).

Orakpo is completely unblocked off the edge. Vick escapes because he’s Vick, but Rocky works his way toward the sideline versus the TE and forces Vick to cut inside, where Cofield is in position to take him down due to the fact that his motor runs longer than the guys blocking him.

4-6-WAS 6 (2:31) A.Henery 24 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-J.Dorenbos, Holder-C.Henry. PHI 20 WAS 0, 8 plays, 41 yards, 1 penalty, 4:13 drive, 12:33 elapsed

A.Henery kicks 70 yards from PHI 35 to WAS -5. B.Banks to WAS 30 for 35 yards (R.Cooper).

Washington Redskins at 2:27, (1st play from scrimmage 2:21)

1-10-WAS 30 (2:21) R.Grossman pass short left to F.Davis pushed ob at WAS 47 for 17 yards (K.Coleman).

The LBs bite hard on the play fake meaning the Davis doesn’t have much in the way of opposition in front of him after taking the screen.

Two-Minute Warning

1-10-WAS 47 (2:00) R.Grossman pass incomplete short middle to S.Moss.

2-10-WAS 47 (1:56) R.Grossman pass short middle to F.Davis to PHI 35 for 18 yards (D.Rodgers-Cromartie; N.Allen). Timeout #1 by WAS at 01:43.

The safety and one of the two LBs from Philly’s nickel package blitz. Rex sees it coming and dumps it to Davis right in the void left by the blitz, and he has the speed to slip away from the other LB for a good gain.

1-10-PHI 35 (1:43) R.Grossman pass incomplete short middle to S.Moss.

Santana beats the jam and takes advantage of a coverage miscommunication to fins a big hole in the zone, but falls before Rex can get him the ball.

2-10-PHI 35 (1:38) R.Grossman pass short middle to D.Stallworth to PHI 23 for 12 yards (N.Asomugha).

1-10-PHI 23 (1:18) (No Huddle) PENALTY on WAS-E.Cook, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at PHI 23 - No Play.

The penalty gets called on Cook, but he’s actually the only one who didn’t false start – he was down in his stance holding the ball when the rest of the line started the play. I guess the refs didn’t want to make that “on the entire offensive line” call.

1-15-PHI 28 (1:14) R.Grossman pass incomplete deep right to S.Moss (N.Allen).

Rex fails to read the coverage again and throws a should-be pick.

2-15-PHI 28 (1:13) (Shotgun) R.Helu right guard to PHI 24 for 4 yards (J.Chaney).

Timeout #2 by WAS at 00:42.

Montgomery pulls to the right, but all he manages to do is run into the LDT who Brown had already sealed to the outside.

3-11-PHI 24 (:42) (Shotgun) R.Grossman sacked at PHI 32 for -8 yards (M.Patterson).

The RDT drives Montgomery back then puts a swim move on him and takes down Rex. Redskins have an empty backfield so there is no help.

Timeout #2 by PHI at 00:35.

4-19-PHI 32 (:35) G.Gano 50 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-S.Rocca.

PHI 20 WAS 3, 9 plays, 38 yards, 1:57 drive, 14:30 elapsed

G.Gano kicks 65 yards from WAS 35 to end zone, Touchback.

Philadelphia Eagles at 0:30

Redskins-Eagles 1st quarter game review

2011-10-18T21:54:00.005-04:00

[Ed. - sorry for the slow pace this week. I have the 2nd quarter mostly done but will have to finish it up tomorrow.]

First Quarter

G.Gano kicks 73 yards from WAS 35 to PHI -8. D.Lewis, Touchback.

Philadelphia Eagles at 15:00

1-10-PHI 20 (15:00) M.Vick pass incomplete deep left to D.Jackson.

The Eagles try to start a second consecutive game with a deep touchdown to Jackson, but Atogwe is kept very, very deep – probably in anticipation of this. Wilson is manned up on Jackson and blankets him, but its unnecessary because there is clearly a route miscommunication and Vick sails the ball straight downfield while Jackson runs a corner route.

2-10-PHI 20 (14:54) (Shotgun) PENALTY on PHI-T.Herremans, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at PHI 20 - No Play.

2-15-PHI 15 (14:54) (Shotgun) L.McCoy left tackle to PHI 15 for no gain (B.Cofield).

Redskins in the four man nickel front. Orakpo beats the TE’s kick out block and Cofield gets penetration from the backside.

3-15-PHI 15 (14:14) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass incomplete short middle to B.Celek.

4-15-PHI 15 (14:07) C.Henry punts 46 yards to WAS 39, Center-J.Dorenbos. B.Banks to WAS 41 for 2 yards (A.Jordan).

PENALTY on PHI-C.Harbor, Face Mask (15 Yards), 15 yards, enforced at WAS 41.

Banks had yards if he cut to the outside and upfield; instead he tries to cut across the field and gets almost nothing. He’s regressing.

Washington Redskins at 13:55

1-10-PHI 44 (13:55) R.Grossman pass short left to F.Davis to PHI 32 for 12 yards (N.Allen).

Davis is an in-line TE here and sells the block well enough that the RDE blows right past him into the backfield. The only other option to cover Davis into the flat is the OLB who bites hard on the play action and takes himself out of the play.

1-10-PHI 32 (13:19) R.Torain right end to PHI 28 for 4 yards (B.Rolle; K.Coleman).

PENALTY on WAS-T.Williams, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at PHI 32 - No Play.

Lichetensteiger and Montgomery get good second level blocks to give Torain a cutback lane. Trent realizes he is giving up backside penetration to the RDT, wrestles him to the ground, and gets called for it.

1-20-PHI 42 (12:57) R.Torain left tackle to PHI 38 for 4 yards (K.Coleman; B.Rolle).

Well this one certainly wasn’t yet another inside zone/outside zone. Lichtensteiger and Montgomery double team the RDT drive him to the outside. Chester avoids the LDT completely and crosses the formation to get a second level block on the MLB. The Redskins have now built a wall to the left and Torain wants to cuts right behind Cooley’s surprise block on the LDT who ignored by Chester. But Cooley lets the hole get pinched in and Torain is directed straight into traffic.

2-16-PHI 38 (12:16) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass incomplete short left to R.Torain.

This is a pretty sloppy attempt at a screen. Lichtensteiger and Montgomery let the RDT slip past (as they should) but he reads that Torain is going to slip out of the backfield for the screen and simply grabs him to slow his release. Meanwhile Lichtensteiger and Montgomery completely fail to set up their block on the playside LB who is position to blow up Torain.

3-16-PHI 38 (12:09) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass deep middle intended for F.Davis INTERCEPTED by K.Coleman [T.Laws] at PHI 3. K.Coleman to PHI 3 for no gain (F.Davis). WAS-K.Lichtensteiger was injured during the play. His return is Questionable. PENALTY on WAS-T.Williams, Unnecessary Roughness, 15 yards, enforced at PHI 3. 78- Right Knee Injury

Someone ran a wrong route here. Davis and Stallworth are both in the slot on the right side, and both run go routes. They are never more than a few yards apart. This must be wrong as the point of multiple downfield routes is to force the safety to choose one guy and then throw to the other one. Instead the deep safety was able to provide help on both receivers. But if either Davis or Stallworth screwed up it doesn’t excuse Rex, as he threw a pass that the coverage (probably with an assist from one of our guys) had clearly taken away.

Philadelphia Eagles at 12:02

1-10-PHI 18 (12:02) (Shotgun) PENALTY on PHI-C.Harbor, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at PHI 18 - No Play.

1-15-PHI 13 (12:02) M.Vick pass short left to L.McCoy to PHI 16 for 3 yards (R.McIntosh).

Really good pursuit by Rocky versus the screen.

2-12-PHI 16 (11:21) (Shotgun) M.Vick Aborted. J.Kelce FUMBLES at PHI 16, recovered by PHI-M.Vick at PHI 0. M.Vick pass incomplete short left. PENALTY on WAS-R.McIntosh, Roughing the Passer, 15 yards, enforced at PHI 16 - No Play.

Orakpo had unstoppable momentum, so the call seems borderline. But he did hit Vick high and we all know that the benefit of the doubt goes to throwing the flag, so I guess it’s not a totally blown call.

1-10-PHI 31 (11:15) M.Vick pass incomplete short right to D.Jackson.

2-10-PHI 31 (11:09) M.Vick pass deep middle to D.Jackson to WAS 46 for 23 yards (O.Atogwe).

OK, there’s clearly some confusion in the pass rush here. Cofield rushes to his left, drawing the center that way. But Fletcher is trying to blitz through the B gap and Cofield’s rush pushes the RG right into his path. It gets worse when both of them totally fall for the play action and abandon their rush thinking that the RB has the ball. Kerrigan, to his credit, probably would have hit Vick before the throw if he wasn’t slowed by an uncalled hold.

1-10-WAS 46 (10:28) (Shotgun) Direct snap to L.McCoy. L.McCoy right end to WAS 45 for 1 yard (K.Barnes, R.Kerrigan).

It’s the four man nickel front and the two true DLs, who in this formation are basically 4-3 defensive tackles, win the day. Cofield is at LDT and rides the RG down the line to force McCoy to cut inside, and Bowen beats the LG to force him to make another cut at the line of scrimmage, and even though he misses the tackle the multiple cuts slow McCoy down enough that Barnes and Kerrigan can close.

2-9-WAS 45 (9:46) (Shotgun) L.McCoy up the middle to WAS 38 for 7 yards (R.McIntosh; L.Fletcher).

3-2-WAS 38 (9:04) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass incomplete short middle to B.Celek (L.Fletcher) [B.Cofield].

Cofield blows right past the center and lands a direct hit on Vick but the ball is out quick – fortunately Fletcher gets away with very blatant PI.

4-2-WAS 38 (8:59) M.Vick pass short middle to J.Avant to WAS 20 for 18 yards (K.Barnes, O.Atogwe).

Barnes tries to make an aggressive jam on the slot WR but fails, which is bad because of course he is then left in the dust. With one ILB blitzing and the other manned up on the TE, and the safeties deep, there is no one else left to cover the slant.

1-10-WAS 20 (8:23) L.McCoy left end to WAS 9 for 11 yards (J.Wilson).

Carriker, at RDT in the four man front, takes an inside rush against the LG and gets penetration. But this is bad since Rob Jackson at ROLB (basically RDE in this formation) rushes to the outside, and McCoy has a huge hole. The LT, who lets Jackson get upfield because he knows it will spring the runner, absolutely levels Atogwe downfield.

Timeout #1 by PHI at 07:37.

1-9-WAS 9 (7:37) (Shotgun) L.McCoy left end to WAS 7 for 2 yards (L.Landry).

Good tackle by Landry at the corner.

2-7-WAS 7 (6:58) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass incomplete short left to D.Jackson (B.Orakpo).

Both ILBs blitz, and both OLBs rush as well from the four man front. Atogwe is slow to track the WR into the flat but Orakpo gets under the LT’s outside shoulder and bats down the pass.

3-7-WAS 7 (6:55) M.Vick pass short left to B.Celek for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

TE screen beats the blitz. The TE lets Orakpo beat him to the outside then sets up to take the pass, and has a clear path to the end zone because Rocky can’t shed the TE’s block.

A.Henery extra point is GOOD, Center-J.Dorenbos, Holder-C.Henry.

PHI 7 WAS 0, 11 plays, 82 yards, 1 penalty, 5:12 drive, 8:10 elapsed

A.Henery kicks 69 yards from PHI 35 to WAS -4. B.Banks to WAS 25 for 29 yards (C.Anderson; M.Fokou).

Washington Redskins at 6:50, (1st play from scrimmage 6:44)

1-10-WAS 25 (6:44) R.Torain right end pushed ob at WAS 27 for 2 yards (J.Parker).

Cooley is an in-line TE here and can’t control the LDE well enough to keep him from racing down the line and denying Torain the corner.

2-8-WAS 27 (6:14) R.Torain right end to WAS 33 for 6 yards (M.Patterson).

Cooley is at RTE again and this time gets a pretty good block on the LDE (it helps that it's an inside zone this time so Cooley is trying to keep the guy from coming back inside rather than getting to the outside) while Brown gets a good block on the playside OLB, opening up a good cutback lane. But the LDT blows up Montgomery and is in the backfield, and takes down Torain from behind before he can take advantage of the miles of open space in front of him.

3-2-WAS 33 (5:32) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short left to C.Cooley to WAS 32 for -1 yards (N.Asomugha). WAS-C.Cooley was injured during the play. Right Ankle injury

Rex immediately turns his head to Cooley on the swing route and Asomugha reads this and blows Cooley up.

4-3-WAS 32 (5:03) S.Rocca punts 40 yards to PHI 28, Center-N.Sundberg, downed by WAS.

Short hang time – I think it was about 3.5 seconds but I had a hard time timing it due to a change it camera angle just before it hit the ground – but Rocca was trying to avoid a return by DeSean Jackson and succeeded. A 40 yard net is a win any day.

Philadelphia Eagles at 4:55

1-10-PHI 28 (4:55) M.Vick pass short right to J.Maclin to PHI 35 for 7 yards (D.Hall; O.Atogwe).

2-3-PHI 35 (4:21) M.Vick pass short right to J.Maclin to PHI 45 for 10 yards (O.Atogwe).

Hall is playing well off the X receiver to prevent the deep route, and Atogwe is too slow getting outside to cover the hook.

1-10-PHI 45 (3:43) L.McCoy left tackle to WAS 49 for 6 yards (L.Landry).

Rocky overpursues and leaves a big hole for McCoy to cut back into, though I find these things more forgivable in this game since McCoy is simply one hell of a running back.

2-4-WAS 49 (3:04) (Shotgun) L.McCoy right end to WAS 47 for 2 yards (R.McIntosh, R.Kerrigan).

Hall tries to go low and take out the pulling guard but kind of misses and McCoy has room to cut upfield. Fortunately Kerrigan stands up to a double team well enough that McCoy runs into the TE’s back just after crossing the LOS.

3-2-WAS 47 (2:22) (Shotgun) M.Vick pass short left to D.Jackson pushed ob at WAS 35 for 12 yards (J.Wilson).

1-10-WAS 35 (1:41) M.Vick pass short right to J.Avant to WAS 29 for 6 yards (K.Barnes).

2-4-WAS 29 (1:02) L.McCoy up the middle to WAS 8 for 21 yards (J.Wilson).

I’m not sure what Bowen was doing here- he jumps hard inside way too fast for it to even be a reaction to this counter play. The LT easily walls him inside, the RTE crosses the backfield to keep Orakpo to the outside, and Rocky is slow to read run and abandon his coverage on the TE.

1-8-WAS 8 (:16) (Shotgun) D.Lewis right tackle for 8 yards, TOUCHDOWN. The Replay Assistant challenged the runner broke the plane ruling, and the play was REVERSED. (Shotgun) D.Lewis right tackle to WAS 1 for 7 yards (B.Orakpo; L.Fletcher).

Atogwe and Orakpo are unblocked off the left edge but the RB is too quick through the hole created when Rob Jackson is driven off the line by the LT.

Reacting to the loss to the Eagles

2011-10-17T18:46:00.000-04:00

[Update: Just FYI looks like it will be tomorrow night before I can finish the 1st quarter review.]

Losses hurt, and divisional losses hurt more. But given that most of us expected the Redskins to lose between eight and ten games this year, I am befuddled why many among the fanbase are reacting as if this one loss to a tough opponent is particularly disastrous or disappointing.

We already knew Rex tends to throw dumb interceptions. This is the sort of game we were all expecting when he was named as the starter. It was an absolute train wreck of a game, but when you have a QB who throws dumb interceptions you’ll have the occasional week where he throws four of them. And I think most of us assumed that we would be seeing John Beck at some point. This is what we signed on for.

We already knew that the Eagles have very good cornerbacks who can neutralize most wide receivers.

We already knew that the Eagles’ receivers are capable of beating the Redskins cornerbacks in man coverage. This is because the Eagles’ receivers are really good and can beat pretty much any corners one on one.

We already knew that the Redskins line is improved enough that it can create cutback lanes against bad defenses, but still sufficiently mediocre that it can be shut down by talented opponents with a good game plan. Hopefully the game review (which I will begin right after I post this) will provide more insight on the run game’s failure.

Nothing about this loss should be remotely surprising. Everyone agrees the Redskins are a flawed team, and they played an opponent who had struggled to this point but is stocked with talent that matches up well against the Redskins.

Here are the valid real reasons to be concerned about this loss.

- I am legitimately distraught over having to rebuild the left side of the offensive line.

- As I wrote yesterday the Redskins next three games will be challenging, and we should expect a couple of losses. I badly wanted a win against Philadelphia to build some cushion in the standings.

- Jim Haslett, once again, called a terrible game that set up his secondary for failure against very talented wide receivers. But at least he got to further add to his Aggressive All-Out Blitzer persona which is evidently more important than crafting a sensible approach to beating the opposition.

End result – the Redskins are 3-2 and both losses came against opponents that match up well against the Redskins’ weaknesses. Sorry, but I can’t get too worked up over this one. It’s football and sometimes the other team just beats you. It's just another loss, and there will be more this year.

Redskins enter a dangerous stretch

2011-10-15T14:23:00.001-04:00

This upcoming game worries me. The Eagles' season has been a disaster to date and it may continue to be one, but the matchups are worrisome.

The much-maligned wide-9 obviously gives you opportunities to run up the middle, all the more so when it is played poorly. If the Redskins can get to the second level the Eagles’ mediocre blockers should be neutralized. What worries me is that the Eagles have been struggling primarily due to failures in scheme. The talent is still there (although Trent Cole not playing is a huge bonus for the Redskins). The beauty of football is that talent doesn't trump game planning and team work. But talent still gets the benefit of the doubt. The Eagles know they are in desperate circumstances and are probably inclined to start tinkering with play calling and game planning. Let's hope they don't get it right this week and suddenly all those good players start producing.

Even if things go well, it is in the nature of the NFL that even a team that is controlling a game is unlikely to be up by more than a score or two except in the very best of circumstances. We know all too well that DeSean Jackson can blow past DeAngelo Hall, LaRon Landy or both at any time. And of course it’s hard to be confident that Rex won’t throw his once per week interception to an invisible linebacker working the underneath coverage on a post route. Even if the Redskins mostly dominate the game one big play like that one each side of the ball could flip the game, and the Eagles match up with the Reskins in such a way that they have a great chance to take advantage of those opportunities.

Division games are supposed to be tough, of course, but what’s really worrying me about a potential loss here is that I also think we’re in for a rough stretch the next three games. In preseason when everyone was talking about the Redskins having one of the easier schedules in the NFL that was largely because of the stretch of games against Carolina, Buffalo, and San Francisco.

Carolina's only 1-4, but we can’t take confidence from the rookie quarterback factor. To the surprise of most everyone, Cam Newton is succeeding immediately as an NFL quarterback. And not just as an athlete, mind you – he is playing the position at an NFL level. Fortunately the rest of the roster is still pretty weak, and the Redskins are certainly the better team. But like I mentioned above close scores are the norm in the NFL, and Newton is better equipped than we would have expected to take advantage of one overly-aggressive and ill-timed Jim Haslett blitz.

Buffalo and San Francisco are both playing very solid football – Football Outsiders ranks them 1st and 2nd by DVOA, respectively. It’s still early in the year and their performance could regress to less than elite status, but its pretty clear these are good teams and haven’t just gotten lucky for a couple of games. The Redskins, who continue to look like a decent but flawed 8-8 team, will have their work cut out for them against quality competition.

Despite my tendencies to worry, I think the Redskins are have pretty good odds of beating the Eagles and burying their season. And even with the next three opponents tougher than we would have expected, the Redskins are at least decent enough that they can compete with anyone. If forced to make a prediction for the second quarter of the season, I would guess that we will see the Redskins go 2-2 over the next four games. That puts us at 5-3 at the halfway point, and very much in contention for a division that has no really solid teams. Three or even four wins, especially if Dallas and New York struggle during that period, could put us in a very good spot. But the potential exists for a rough stretch of games that could be a rude awakening after the relatively good feeling of a 3-1 start.

Redskins-Rams 4th quarter game review

2011-10-10T21:04:00.003-04:00

And here is your very late 4th quarter game review. Thanks, bye week, for bailing me out.

Here's the previous quarters:

1st quarter review

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

Fourth Quarter

3-8-SL 33 (15:00) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short left to J.Gaffney to SL 25 for 8 yards (A.Harris; Q.Mikell).

Gaffney sells the go route hard so that when it turns into a hitch just short of sticks the CB on him hits the ground trying to adjust and Gaff gets an easy first down.

1-10-SL 25 (14:18) R.Torain right tackle to SL 25 for no gain (R.Quinn). FUMBLES (R.Quinn), and recovers at SL 23. R.Torain to SL 23 for no gain (J.Bannan).

Torain is late and slow on his cut, which allows the DT on Lichtensteiger to play him in the gap and knock the ball out.

2-8-SL 23 (13:35) R.Torain up the middle to SL 26 for -3 yards (Q.Mikell).

The LDE gets under Jammal Brown’s pads and drives into the backfield like he isn’t there.

3-11-SL 26 (12:45) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short left INTERCEPTED by J.King at SL 18. J.King pushed ob at WAS 31 for 51 yards (T.Hightower).

The protection works. Two DBs come through the right B gap. Hightower does what he’s supposed to do and blockes the inside guy, leaving Rex responsible for adjusting to the fact that the outside blitzer cannot be blocked. He does so. He knows he has to get out immediately, so he looks straight to Santana. The route combo works. The slot corner is playing 9 yards off the line and Davis runs the LB out of the short zone, so Santana comes wide open on the short crossing route. He seems to slip a bit coming out of the break, but regardless the pass hits him right in the hands and bounces to aDB. Rex recognized the blitz, made the appropriate adjustment, and threw an accurate ball to the right receiver – none of this is remotely his fault. Serious hustle from Hightower to save a touchdown.

St. Louis Rams at 12:34

1-10-WAS 31 (12:34) S.Bradford pass short right to B.Bajema to WAS 24 for 7 yards (R.McIntosh).

Rocky was slow getting out to the flat to cover the TE, and given that Kerrigan was blitzing from the same side you’d think he would have been prepared for such a route.

2-3-WAS 24 (12:34) S.Jackson right tackle to WAS 23 for 1 yard (S.Bowen).

Cofield controls the center and shows up in the offensive right A gap just before the RB, forcing him to cut back into traffic.

3-2-WAS 23 (11:19) S.Bradford pass deep right to D.Alexander to WAS 8 for 15 yards (D.Hall).

PENALTY on WAS-D.Hall, Unnecessary Roughness, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 8.

I see why they called this on DeAngelo, but in fairness the receiver was still trying to run despite the ref calling him out of bounds, so Hall would have been hard pressed just to let him go.

1-3-WAS 3 (11:05) (Shotgun) S.Jackson left guard to WAS 4 for -1 yards (R.Doughty).

Orakpo holds the edge against the TE, which prevents the pulling RG from making it around the corner. Doughty, showing off those beautiful run instincts, wastes no time getting into the backfield to clean up.

2-4-WAS 4 (10:28) S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to B.Miller.

PENALTY on SL-R.Saffold, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at WAS 4 - No Play.

Some sympathy for the LT here – he has no TE help and Orakpo is aligned very wide outside his left shoulder. The FB offset to the left releases directly up the middle into a route. The LT has no choice but to react strongly to Orakpo’s initial outside step, and of course he gets destroyed by the subsequent inside move. He then does the only sensible thing to do if you don’t want to be held responsible for the hospitalization of a second year franchise quarterback and simply tackles Orakpo from behind.

2-14-WAS 14 (10:21) S.Bradford pass incomplete short right to S.Jackson.

Doughty and Rocky both show blitz, freezing the RT and letting Kerrigan come free off the edge.

3-14-WAS 14 (10:17) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to L.Kendricks.

Kerrigan stunts inside of Cofield's outside rush (from the four man front) but it takes a second too long to develop so Bradford is able to step into his throw and zip it to the TE who had split the zone between Fletcher and Atogwe. This was a very, very lucky drop for the Redskins – Bradford beat the blitz and the coverage.

4-14-WAS 14 (10:13) Josh.Brown 32 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-J.McQuaide, Holder-D.Jones.

WAS 17 SL 3, 7 plays, 17 yards, 1 penalty, 2:25 drive, 4:51 elapsed

Josh.Brown kicks 66 yards from SL 35 to WAS -1. B.Banks to WAS 14 for 15 yards (B.Miller).

Washington Redskins at 10:09, (1st play from scrimmage 10:03)

1-10-WAS 14 (10:03) R.Torain left tackle to WAS 21 for 7 yards (B.Leber).

Very nice combo block here by Mongtomery and Lichtensteiger. Montgomery controls the RDT well enough the Lichtensteiger can get to the second level, and keeps the guy from playing the outside gap. Lichtensteiger then drives the MLB right out of the play while Cooley leads from FB and, while he fails to fully neutralize the WLB, gets him off balance enough that Torain drives through him for seven yards after contact.

2-3-WAS 21 (9:26) R.Torain left end pushed ob at WAS 21 for no gain (J.Hall).

Davis fails to control the edge, and Trent Williams is too slow to the second level to cut off the playside OLB.

3-3-WAS 21 (8:47) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass incomplete short middle to T.Hightower.

Rex beats another blitz but is again penalized by his teammate’s bad hands. He has to get it out quick because of a safety blitzing through the left B gap (Cooley picks it up but fails to land a solid block) so he hits Hightower on an angle route that finds the hole in the zone at the sticks.

4-3-WAS 21 (8:43) S.Rocca punts 40 yards to SL 39, Center-N.Sundberg. Q.Porter to SL 40 for 1 yard (N.Paul).

Another example of a relatively weak punt from Rocca (3.9 seconds, 34 yards) that has a beneficial outcome because the returner is playing so deep out of respect for his leg strength.

St. Louis Rams at 8:32

1-10-SL 40 (8:32) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short right to A.Pettis pushed ob at WAS 48 for 12 yards (K.Barnes).

1-10-WAS 48 (8:07) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short left to D.Alexander to WAS 42 for 6 yards (J.Wilson).

Landry lines up over the slot receiver but may as well hold up a big blinking neon sign that says “I’M BLITZING” and draws that ever-frustrating finger point from the WR. This of course dictates an easy throw to the outside hook against soft coverage.

2-4-WAS 42 (7:41) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to D.Alexander.

Either Bradford misses the throw or the WR cuts the wrong way, which is lucky since Wilson is playing way off and Orakpo is slow getting outside to take the underneath coverage on this route.

3-4-WAS 42 (7:38) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short middle to A.Pettis to WAS 34 for 8 yards (L.Fletcher).

Haslett blitzes Barnes from the slot and Fletcher up the middle. Either Rocky or Landry (who lines up in the box) screws up here as both follow the TE downfield so the slot WR is wide open over the middle for Bradford to beat the blitz. Pretty sure it’s Landry because he looks lost before the snap and Rocky can be seen trying to shove him into proper position.

1-10-WAS 34 (7:10) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short right to M.Sims-Walker to WAS 28 for 6 yards (D.Hall).

2-4-WAS 28 (6:44) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short right to M.Sims-Walker.

Redskins stack eight at the line so Bradford thinks he has soft man coverage against both his X and his slot receiver. Rocky and and Fletcher blitz, but Atogwe and Landry don’t. Atogwe cuts off the inside angle on the X receiver’s post and Landry is all over the slot guy’s shallow cross, so Bradford loses his blitz beating routes and Bradford has to throw it away.

3-4-WAS 28 (6:37) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short left to A.Pettis to WAS 20 for 8 yards (J.Wilson).

Redskins again crowd the line, and again Atogwe and Landry drop back to cover the quick routes (as well as Fletcher who is on the TE). Landry cheats to the inside to cut off the anticipated shallow cross from the slot WR and gets beat when he works back to the outside.

1-10-WAS 20 (6:03) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to S.Jackson [R.Jackson].

PENALTY on WAS-R.Jackson, Roughing the Passer, 10 yards, enforced at WAS 20 - No Play.

This is a new front. Cofield is head up on the center, Bowen has a wide alignment outside the LTE, and Kerrigan is wide outside the RT – and that’s it on the line of scrimmage. Rob Jackson is in the game for Orakpo but begins the play floating about 3 yards over the LG. He puts a great move on the LG and blows by him to land a solid hit on Bradford. The problems is that Bradford does not go down immediately and Jackson keeps driving him well after the throw, hence the flag.

1-10-WAS 10 (6:03) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to S.Jackson.

More Rob Jackson, but this time in the standard nickel front. He avoids a chip from the RB and bounces inside of Bowen but the RG recovers and slows him down enough that Bradford can get the ball out. Wilson makes a nice break on the route to force the incompletion.

2-10-WAS 10 (5:54) (Shotgun) PENALTY on SL-L.Kendricks, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 10 - No Play.

2-15-WAS 15 (5:54) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to L.Kendricks.

Orakpo gets around the edge but Cofield and Bowen don’t collapse the middle of the pocket so Bradford can step up and step into his throw but he just misses the TE who is wide open in the seam because both Fletcher and Landry cover the same guy.

3-15-WAS 15 (5:50) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short left to S.Jackson for 15 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Orakpo blows this one. He clearly has responsibility for the RB and is probably supposed to read whether he will release into a route or stay into block. But Orakpo begins the play rushing all out and is unable to recover as the RB gets wide open on him on a wheel route.

Josh.Brown extra point is GOOD, Center-J.McQuaide, Holder-D.Jones.

WAS 17 SL 10, 10 plays, 60 yards, 1 penalty, 2:47 drive, 9:15 elapsed

Josh.Brown kicks 73 yards from SL 35 to WAS -8. B.Banks, Touchback.

Washington Redskins at 5:45

1-10-WAS 20 (5:45) R.Grossman pass short middle intended for S.Moss INTERCEPTED by J.Laurinaitis at WAS 34. J.Laurinaitis to WAS 19 for 15 yards (T.Williams).

I understand the argument that the Redskins should be running here to kill the clock, but I also understand why Kyle Shanahan would be tempted to run the play action and attack downfield when the Rams aren’t expecting it. Unfortunately the MLB isn’t fooled by the play action drops back to cut off the inside angle of Moss’ post route, and we all know that Rex is completely incapable of seeing LBs who are cutting off the inside angle on post routes. It was an outstanding play by Laurinaitis, but Rex keeps failing to see the same coverage again and again and it is a real problem.

St. Louis Rams at 5:30

1-10-WAS 19 (5:30) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to D.Alexander.

Orakpo gets his left shoulder under the LT and uses pure strength to run through him and hit Bradford.

2-10-WAS 19 (5:25) (Shotgun) S.Jackson up the middle to WAS 16 for 3 yards (R.McIntosh).

PENALTY on SL, Illegal Shift, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 19 - No Play.

2-15-WAS 24 (5:06) (Shotgun) S.Bradford sacked at WAS 34 for -10 yards (S.Bowen).

Not to take anything away from Bowen, but Orakpo gets him this sack. Orakpo lines up two yards off the line of scrimmage over the RG. At the snap he crosses behind Cofield at the nose, attacks the LG’s outside shoulder, and drives through him to knock the LT off his feet. Bowen is then free to bounce inside and get a free shot at Bradford.

3-25-WAS 34 (4:42) (Shotgun) S.Bradford sacked at WAS 39 for -5 yards (B.Orakpo).

Orakpo takes a wide alignment, forces the LT to drop way into the backfield, then wins the contact seven yards behind the line of scrimmage and drives through the blocker for the sack.

Timeout #1 by SL at 04:35.

4-30-WAS 39 (4:35) D.Jones punts 37 yards to WAS 2, Center-J.McQuaide, downed by SL-D.Curry.

Washington Redskins at 4:27

1-10-WAS 2 (4:27) R.Helu right guard to WAS 6 for 4 yards (B.Poppinga).

The RDT beats Lichtensteiger and controls the outside gap, but because Trent keeps first the RDE and then the WLB to the outside Helu is able to run through the tackle and pick up some breathing room despite being tripped up.

2-6-WAS 6 (3:50) R.Helu left tackle to WAS 9 for 3 yards (J.Bannan; J.Laurinaitis).

Montgomery gets a good second level block, but neither Chester and Lichtensteiger can control their DTs. Once again it is the second level block that allows Helu to drive forward and gain yards aftetr contact.

Timeout #2 by SL at 03:38.

3-3-WAS 9 (3:38) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to S.Moss.

Rex doesn’t have a clear passing lane because Chester is pushed back, so he throws high.

4-3-WAS 9 (3:34) S.Rocca punts 63 yards to SL 28, Center-N.Sundberg, downed by WAS.

This was quite possibly a game-saving punt. It travels 44 yards before bouncing but, more importantly, is in the air a solid five seconds. Why the returner didn’t simply fair catch it is a mystery, but any sort of return was out of the question.

St. Louis Rams at 3:20

1-10-SL 28 (3:20) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short right to L.Kendricks to SL 35 for 7 yards (R.McIntosh).

Orakpo is in a wide alignment and runs a very slow-devleoping inside stunt rather than just being allowed to beat the LT like a drum, so Bradford is given too much time and the TE gets open on Rocky.

2-3-SL 35 (2:58) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to D.Alexander (B.Cofield).

Cofield sees he’s not going to beat the double team, so he steps back and times his leap perfectly to deflect the pass.

3-3-SL 35 (2:54) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short middle to L.Kendricks to SL 42 for 7 yards (O.Atogwe).

OK, it is always hard to tell coverage assignments. We’re not in the meetings, et cetera et cetera. But this is the third time this quarter that I strongly suspect LaRon Landry of blowing his coverage on a blitz. Barnes follows the slot receiver into the flat… and so does Landry. An apparently startled Atogwe has to react to the TE’s hook and can’t get there in time.

1-10-SL 42 (2:31) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep left to D.Alexander.

Nickel front, and again the two Des (this time Cofield and Carriker) fail to squeeze the pocket appreciably. Bradford is allowed to step into his throw, and he’s going for the jugular. Wilson fell and the Redskins are incredibly lucky that this was overthrown.

2-10-SL 42 (2:26) (Shotgun) S.Bradford sacked at SL 39 for -3 yards (A.Carriker).

Penalty on SL-R.Saffold, Offensive Holding, declined.

Rocky blitzes and fights his way through a hard block from the RB, which forces Bradford to his left where Carriker would have been able to shed his blocker and take him down if not for the holding. As it is Bradford sees Orakpo closing and goes down anyway, though not due to Carriker’s contact.

3-13-SL 39 (2:20) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to A.Pettis.

Carriker muscles the LG to the ground and leaps over him to hit Bradford.

Timeout #2 by WAS at 02:16.

4-13-SL 39 (2:16) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep right to A.Pettis.

I believe it’s Nield in on this play, though I can never get a close enough look to be sure it’s not Cofield. Whoever it is caves in the RG enough to discomfit Bradford drives the LF into the backfield so Bradford has to throw high. This probably saves the day as the WR had split Landry and Barnes downfield.

Washington Redskins at 2:11

1-10-SL 38 (2:11) R.Torain left tackle to SL 37 for 1 yard (J.Bannan).

It is now becoming a pattern that when it is time to ice a game the Redskins drop the ZBS and revert to old fashioned power blocking. Paulsen drives the RDE inside very nicely, but the pulling Chester and leading Cooley both zero in on the OLB and neither accounts for the safety off the edge.

Timeout #3 by SL at 02:07.

2-9-SL 37 (2:07) R.Torain left tackle to SL 31 for 6 yards (J.Laurinaitis).

Paulsen again seals the RDE inside, and Chester and Cooley again lead to the left. The gain is realy secured by Niles Paul, who aligns tight and drives the playside safety.

Two-Minute Warning

3-3-SL 31 (2:00) R.Torain left guard to SL 27 for 4 yards (J.Laurinaitis).

Trent seals the RDE (easy, since the guy was selling out to the inside gap anyway). Paulsen is at LTE and goes straight to the second level to blow up a safety. Paul keeps the playside OLB outside just enough to keep a lane open. Chester pulls again and – with Cooley – buries the other safety. First down; ballgame.

1-10-SL 27 (1:16) R.Grossman kneels to SL 28 for -1 yards.

Victory formation.

2-11-SL 28 (:36) R.Grossman kneels to SL 29 for -1 yards.

Again.

Redskins-Rams 3rd quarter game review

2011-10-06T22:35:00.003-04:00

Click here for the 1st quarter review, and here for the 2nd quarter.

Third Quarter

Josh.Brown kicks 67 yards from SL 35 to WAS -2. B.Banks to WAS 18 for 20 yards (E.Sims).

Washington Redskins at 15:00, (1st play from scrimmage 14:56)

1-10-WAS 18 (14:56) R.Torain left tackle pushed ob at WAS 20 for 2 yards (J.Hall).

Lichtensteiger is pushed into the backfield and knocks into Torain.

2-8-WAS 20 (14:23) R.Torain right tackle to WAS 27 for 7 yards (D.Stewart).

I have no idea what happened on this play because Fox is simply terrible at telecasting football games.

3-1-WAS 27 (13:48) R.Helu left end to WAS 34 for 7 yards (J.Hall).

The line blocks hard to the right and takes the front seven with them, Helu then takes a pitch to the left and easily gains the first down due to Niles Paul’s excellent block from the slot position.

1-10-WAS 34 (13:12) R.Torain right tackle to SL 27 for 39 yards (Q.Mikell).

Not to take anything way from Torain, who did a fine job running here, but this is textbook zone blocking. Davis and Brown attack the LDE and Chester and Montgomery the LDT. Then Montgomery and Brown each shed off the combo blocks and go straight to linebackers, while Davis and Chester control the defenders enough that they can’t fill the gaps. Torain times his cut just right and bursts through the hole fast enough that the closing safety takes a terrible angle and misses the tackle, releasing Torain deep into the secondary. Beautiful all around.

1-10-SL 27 (12:26) R.Helu right tackle to SL 26 for 1 yard (J.Laurinaitis).

This time Chester is pushed three yards back by the DT, who may have known the snap count as he was the first guy on either team out of his stance. Or he guessed and got lucky. Either way, Torain has to go around him before turning the corner. He’s late to the hole, meaning he is met there by the MLB whom Montgomery missed with a second level cut block.

2-9-SL 26 (11:42) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right.

This play was hard to decipher, and I’m still not quite sure what went on. I get the feeling the line made incorrect adjustments to a blitz. Also, though it seems like Rex panicked too early, we don’t get to see the routes so we don’t know what he was looking at. The blocking by both tackles is imperfect but good enough to allow a throw; the problem comes from the interior linemen and Torain. Despite no obvious tip off that my amateur eyes can spot, it appears that the line expected the Mike to blitz. Montgomery avoids the LDT altogether and squares up on the MLB, who remains downfield. Montgomery’s absence is a problem because the LDT is attacking Chester’s inside shoulder; he gains leverage and forces his way into the backfield. Torain comes to help, but instead of making solid contact he stays back on his heels and bear hugs the guy. But as soon as Torain’s there Chester abandons the block and Torain is overpowered. Then the Mike finally does come on a (very) delayed blitz, but both Montgomery and Chester simply fail to intercept him in space. Despite all this Rex’s desperate backwards flight from the pocket seems premature, as the protection problems take a few seconds to develop.

3-9-SL 26 (11:35) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short left to F.Davis to SL 20 for 6 yards (C.Dahl).

Davis takes the screen after letting the LDE slip by him. Trent gets a good downfield block, but Montgomery trips getting off the line and leaves the MLB untouched. This forces Davis outside where a safety has a good pursuit angle.

4-3-SL 20 (11:12) G.Gano 38 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-S.Rocca.

WAS 17 SL 0, 8 plays, 62 yards, 3:52 drive, 3:52 elapsed

G.Gano kicks 74 yards from WAS 35 to SL -9. Q.Porter, Touchback.

St. Louis Rams at 11:08

1-10-SL 20 (11:08) S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to S.Jackson.

2-10-SL 20 (11:03) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep right to L.Kendricks [L.Landry].

You can tell from Landry’s stance that he’s blitzing. So can the slot receiver, who points him out before the snap. The RB picks him up, and fortunately Landry is sufficiently physically fearsome that he defeats the block and hits Bradford anyway to force an errant throw.

3-10-SL 20 (10:57) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep right to L.Kendricks [B.Cofield].

The four man nickel front. Orakpo and Kerrigan get just enough pressure on the edges to force Bradford ro step up, right into a hard blow from Cofield who beat the RG with a spin move. This was a pretty clear helmet hit; not sure how Cofield didn’t get 15 yards.

4-10-SL 20 (10:52) D.Jones punts 49 yards to WAS 31, Center-J.McQuaide. B.Banks to WAS 26 for -5 yards (D.Curry).

This is either a fair catch or a ball you let drop. As I have written many times Banks’ appeal is not only his speed and cutting ability but also his mature approach to returns. When he starts getting frustrated, he gets sloppy.

Washington Redskins at 10:42

1-10-WAS 26 (10:42) R.Grossman pass short right to F.Davis to WAS 34 for 8 yards (B.Poppinga).

The cameraman gets completely fooled by the play action here.

2-2-WAS 34 (10:04) R.Torain left tackle to 50 for 16 yards (B.Poppinga).

Trent Williams clearly has the play wrong here as he tries to bolt to the outside as if on a zone stretch but everyone else blocks straight ahead. He simply trips over Fred Davis and it is pretty embarrassing. This results in the MLB coming clean right into the running lane, but Torain puts a move on him that takes him to the ground in even more humiliating fashion than what happened to Trent. Lichtensteiger gets tossed to the ground by the RDT, but on his way down takes out the guys legs. This opens up a path for Torain between Montgomery and Davis who have driven their men outside to create a rather classic alley. This was an ugly play, but it got done.

1-10-50 (9:26) R.Torain right end to SL 46 for 4 yards (D.Scott).

Chester fails in his second level block and the LB bursts into the backfield, but Torain puts on a nice spin move.

2-6-SL 46 (8:39) R.Torain left tackle to SL 41 for 5 yards (B.Fletcher).

Timeout #1 by WAS at 07:50.

3-1-SL 41 (7:50) R.Grossman scrambles right end ran ob at SL 39 for 2 yards (C.Long).

1-10-SL 39 (7:28) R.Torain right tackle to SL 33 for 6 yards (J.Laurinaitis).

Montgomery allows penetration, but Chester completely controls his man and gives Torain a hole to cut through.

2-4-SL 33 (6:52) R.Grossman pass incomplete short middle to S.Moss (E.Sims) [J.Hall].

There are dumb plays, then there are Rex Grossman plays, then there’s this abomination. I stared in silence at my paused TV for several seconds after first viewing this one. So the Redskins run play action to the right, then Rex boots to the left. Routine. Apparently no one is open downfield. Santana, after angling in, doubles back and heads towards the sideline. He’s at the first down line and is an obvious option, but he seem to give up to quickly on the route so the DE pursuing Rex cuts off the passing lane. Rex’s solution is to jump back to the inside and, while falling, try to fire a desperation pass to Cooley over the middle. Rex doesn’t see the DT who is closing in underneath and he knocks the ball in the air. Rex seems to not see underneath defenders often. I mean, like all the damn time. It’s bizarre.

3-4-SL 33 (6:43) PENALTY on WAS-R.Grossman, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at SL 33 - No Play.

3-9-SL 38 (6:43) (Shotgun) R.Grossman Aborted. W.Montgomery FUMBLES at SL 46, recovered by WAS-T.Hightower at SL 46. T.Hightower to SL 46 for no gain (E.Sims).

Rex is still making adjustment when Montgomery shoots the ball into his chest. Oops.

4-17-SL 46 (6:10) S.Rocca punts 29 yards to SL 17, Center-N.Sundberg, fair catch by Q.Porter.

PENALTY on WAS-D.Gomes, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at SL 17.

Would like to have seen this a bit deeper, but at least it wasn’t a line drive. The 4.4 second hang time allows the coverage team to once again be in place and standing around waiting for the ball to come down. The penalty, of course… well the special teams penalties have got to stop.

St. Louis Rams at 6:05

1-10-SL 27 (6:05) S.Jackson up the middle to SL 30 for 3 yards (K.Golston).

Nield plays himself out of his gap responsibility, but fortunately Golston keeps his at RDE. He stands up the LT and maintains enough control to shed him and tackle the gap as he goes through the hole.

2-7-SL 30 (5:35) S.Bradford sacked at SL 23 for -7 yards (B.Orakpo).

The Rams have a moving pocket to their right, but that oh-so-sneaky center curls around to set up for Orakpo who is initially unblocked on the back side. But the center never gets his feet set and Orakpo goes right through him for the sack.

3-14-SL 23 (5:06) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep middle to L.Kendricks.

Bowen defeats the LG out of the nickel front, though its hard to tell if the pressure directly led to the incomplete pass.

4-14-SL 23 (4:59) (Punt formation) PENALTY on SL-D.Curry, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at SL 23 - No Play.

4-19-SL 18 (4:59) D.Jones punts 42 yards to WAS 40, Center-J.McQuaide, fair catch by B.Banks.

Washington Redskins at 4:51

1-10-WAS 40 (4:51) T.Hightower right end to WAS 42 for 2 yards (B.Fletcher).

Chester goes to the second level without anyone else having a grasp on the LDT, so Hightower has to break a tackle in the backfield and it’s to his credit that he managed two yards.

2-8-WAS 42 (4:15) R.Torain left tackle to WAS 42 for no gain (C.Long).

This one, I think, goes on Torain. He plants way to early and looks for a backside lane that isn’t there, and the pursuit takes him down.

3-8-WAS 42 (3:31) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short right to S.Moss to SL 47 for 11 yards (B.Fletcher).

Nice adjustment by the line to a complex blitz, and Rex is confident in the protection and even almost steps into his throw. Sort of.

1-10-SL 47 (2:55) R.Torain left end to SL 40 for 7 yards (J.King).

The WLB and slot corner both blitz leaving the outside open for Torain, especially after Paul puts a nasty crackback block on the MLB out of the slot.

2-3-SL 40 (2:19) R.Torain left tackle to SL 35 for 5 yards (J.Hall; J.Laurinaitis).

Davis stands up the LDE and Cooley (from FB) takes on the SLB, while Chester pulls and leads through the hole. First down.

Getting late, so I
hope nothing terribly interesting happened in the next few plays because I’m
calling it here. Check back Saturday morning for the 4th quarter
review.

1-10-SL 35 (1:39) R.Torain left guard to SL 30 for 5 yards (G.Gibson).

PENALTY on WAS-W.Montgomery, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at SL 35 - No Play.

1-20-SL 45 (1:15) R.Grossman pass short left to F.Davis to SL 38 for 7 yards (B.Poppinga).

2-13-SL 38 (:32) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short left to S.Moss to SL 36 for 2 yards (A.Harris).

PENALTY on WAS-T.Williams, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at SL 36.

2-21-SL 46 (:07) R.Grossman pass short middle to F.Davis to SL 33 for 13 yards (Q.Mikell).

Redskins-Rams 2nd quarter review

2011-10-05T21:48:00.001-04:00

First quarter review is here.

Second Quarter

3-7-WAS 40 (15:00) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep left to M.Sims-Walker.

Redskins get a little lucky here. Barnes assumes responsibility for the deep coverage on the go route but is slightly late getting over and Bradford places the ball well.

4-7-WAS 40 (14:55) D.Jones punts 30 yards to WAS 10, Center-J.McQuaide, downed by SL.

Washington Redskins at 14:46

1-10-WAS 10 (14:46) R.Grossman pass incomplete short middle to F.Davis (J.Bannan).

This is one of those terrifying Rex throws. Lichtensteiger goes to the ground but leaves his DT standing. For reason unknown Rex, while sliding to the right with the moving pocket, tries to force it over the middle to Davis on the slant, and the DT is in the passing lane and easily knocks it in the air.

2-10-WAS 10 (14:42) R.Helu right tackle to WAS 15 for 5 yards (D.Stewart).

This run really showcases Roy Helu’s outstanding vision. This being an inside zone to the right, Helu initially aims at Chris Chester’s right hip. Williams and Montgomery both go straight to the second level, but both block the LB. That leaves an unblocked safety in the right B gap. Helu cuts hard and slips through the gap to Chester’s left.

3-5-WAS 15 (14:00) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass incomplete short left to F.Davis (D.Stewart).

Helu picks up the (obviously) blitzing MLB, but Jammal Brown is easily beaten around the edge by the LDE. But Rex is staring down Davis from the beginning because his route is aimed at the sticks, so he has time to get it out but is denied by blanket coverage.

4-5-WAS 15 (13:55) S.Rocca punts 56 yards to SL 29, Center-N.Sundberg, downed by WAS.

One of the few weak punts we’ve seen from Rocca this year, and it still worked out. It carries for 3.9 seconds and 37 yards, but the returner is playing very, very deep and lets it drop, whereup on rolls for an additional 19 yards. That’s a benefit of a strong punter I hadn’t thought of – because returners have to respect his leg they are not in a position to take advantage of the few short punts that do occur.

St. Louis Rams at 13:42

1-10-SL 29 (13:42) S.Jackson right tackle to SL 32 for 3 yards (B.Orakpo).

Stephen Bowen penetrates but overpursues and leaves what would be a big cutback lane to the backside, but Orakpo overpowers the TE and shoves him to the ground to fill the hole.

2-7-SL 32 (13:07) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to S.Jackson (B.Cofield).

3-7-SL 32 (13:01) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to A.Pettis [R.McIntosh].

Four man nickel front. Kerrigan takes his rush extra wide, drawing both the TE and RT. That means that Rocky’s delayed blitz comes free through the B gap. If Orakpo had also rushed to the outside this may have been a sack, but he tried an inside spin move that just got him caught in the scrum in the middle field and may or may not have forced Fletcher to abandon his own blitz.

4-7-SL 32 (12:55) D.Jones punts 46 yards to WAS 22, Center-J.McQuaide. B.Banks MUFFS catch, and recovers at WAS 24. B.Banks to WAS 26 for 2 yards (D.Curry).

Ball security has been a concern with Banks since the 2010 preseason, and so far he has lucked out in the games that count. One of these days, he’s going to give away a turnover.

Washington Redskins at 12:45

1-10-WAS 26 (12:45) R.Grossman pass short left to C.Cooley pushed ob at WAS 30 for 4 yards (B.Leber).

2-6-WAS 30 (12:16) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to C.Cooley (D.Stewart).

Play action to the left means Hightower is not available to pick up the corner blitzing from the offensive right.

3-6-WAS 30 (12:09) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short right to S.Moss to WAS 37 for 7 yards (B.Fletcher).

Hightower’s cut on the LB blitzing through the left B gap gives Rex the time to hit Santana, who is sprung open by the trips bunch run against the Rams man coverage.

1-10-WAS 37 (11:40) T.Hightower left tackle to WAS 35 for -2 yards (F.Robbins).

Trent completely loses his footing and lets the RDE blast into the backfield, while Brown simultaneously gives up the backside penetration.

2-12-WAS 35 (10:57) T.Hightower right tackle to WAS 39 for 4 yards (C.Dahl).

Hightower misses one here. A huge cutback lane opens to Montgomery’s left, but Hightower has already pressed it to far downfield and is forced to cut to Montgomery’s right and into a bunch of traffic, although some nifty moves save him from getting stuffed.

3-8-WAS 39 (10:14) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to D.Stallworth [E.Sims].

PENALTY on WAS-R.Grossman, Intentional Grounding, 11 yards, enforced at WAS 39.

Clearly someone gets open out of the trips bunch to the left as Rex starts to throw right as he reaches the top of his 5 step drop, but Montgomery lets a stunting LDE push him into the center of the pocket. Rex is forced to pull the ball down, and doesn’t take care to get out of the tackle box before throwing it away.

4-19-WAS 28 (10:05) S.Rocca punts 39 yards to SL 33, Center-N.Sundberg. A.Pettis MUFFS catch, touched at SL 35, recovered by SL-D.Curry at SL 41. D.Curry to SL 41 for no gain (N.Sundberg). PENALTY on WAS-P.Riley, Unnecessary Roughness, 15 yards, enforced at SL 41.

Leaving the penalty aside, this was a 5.1 second punt so it’s pretty clear why the coverage was right on top of the returner (again).

St. Louis Rams at 9:52

1-10-WAS 44 (9:52) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep right to M.Hoomanawanui. WAS-D.Hall was injured during the play.

Hall has outside leverage on the TE’s slant, and it looks like Rocky was supposed to cut it off from underneath but hesitates as the RB came out of the backfield. Lucky drop, as the guy was easily open.

2-10-WAS 44 (9:47) (Shotgun) S.Jackson right tackle to WAS 38 for 6 yards (B.Westbrook).

Kerrigan bites way too hard to the inside, setting up the RB for his cut.

3-4-WAS 38 (9:29) (Shotgun) S.Jackson right tackle to WAS 35 for 3 yards (S.Bowen).

4-1-WAS 35 (8:47) S.Bradford pass short right to A.Pettis to WAS 31 for 4 yards (K.Barnes).

The FB is offset right, and when he fakes left it freezes Barnes, allowing the RB to slip into the flat uncontested.

1-10-WAS 31 (8:10) S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to M.Sims-Walker.

2-10-WAS 31 (8:03) S.Bradford pass short left to S.Jackson to WAS 28 for 3 yards (S.Bowen).

Bowen recovers well on the screen and takes down the RB from behind.

3-7-WAS 28 (7:20) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to A.Pettis (A.Carriker).

PENALTY on SL-J.Smith, Personal Foul, 15 yards, enforced at WAS 28 - No Play.

Carriker is at LDT in the four man nickel front but crosses the center’s face and attacks the opposite A gap in order open a blitz lane for Barnes. Barnes is taken down by the RB and the RT defeats Kerrigan’s edge pressure with the facemask foul, but Carriker’s supposedly diversionary rush leads to penetration and he knocks the ball down. One note, although it did not effect the play – Kevin Barnes once again got eager and tipped his blitz, and you can see the slot receiver point him out just before the snap.

3-22-WAS 43 (7:14) S.Bradford sacked at 50 for -7 yards (R.Kerrigan). FUMBLES (R.Kerrigan), RECOVERED by WAS-B.Cofield at SL 47. B.Cofield to SL 44 for 3 yards (R.Saffold).

Redskins crowd the line with eight guys, but only four end up rushing. Carriker and Cofield attempt a sloppy stunt and get nowhere, but Orakpo bullrushes the LT and drives him back into Bradford. Bradford spins to escape, but by the time he gets his feet back under him Kerrigan, with his typical relentless pursuit, is there to knock the ball out from behind.

Washington Redskins at 7:07

1-10-SL 44 (7:07) R.Grossman pass short middle to J.Gaffney to SL 27 for 17 yards (B.Fletcher).

1-10-SL 27 (6:33) R.Torain left tackle to SL 20 for 7 yards (D.Stewart).

And this is where the Torain fun begins. Davis and Williams turn the RDE to the outside, but the interior line allows penetration and Brown doesn’t land a solid second level block on the MLB. And yet Torain shows that sudden speed through the hole we remember from last year, then flattens a DB as he’s being taken down.

2-3-SL 20 (5:54) R.Torain left tackle for 20 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Montgomery and Lichtensteiger both get pushed back but Torain beats them both to his cutback point and puts on his burst, then at the three lowers his shoulder and obliterates a DB who was trying to knock him out of bounds.

G.Gano extra point is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-S.Rocca.

WAS 14 SL 0, 3 plays, 44 yards, 1:25 drive, 9:18 elapsed

G.Gano kicks 63 yards from WAS 35 to SL 2. A.Pettis pushed ob at SL 25 for 23 yards (G.Gano).

PENALTY on SL-D.Alexander, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at SL 21.

St. Louis Rams at 5:42, (1st play from scrimmage 5:37)

1-10-SL 11 (5:37) (Shotgun) S.Jackson up the middle to SL 14 for 3 yards (R.McIntosh).

Orakpo holds up the tight end and plays his gaps. He doesn’t make the play but he forces the RB to make multiple cuts.

2-7-SL 14 (5:11) S.Bradford pass short left to B.Gibson to SL 28 for 14 yards (J.Wilson).

Orakpo drops into coverage while Fletcher blitzes off the offensive right edge. He gets the pressure, but Orakpo lacks the awareness to play the underneath coverage on the WR’s post (Wilson was playing outside leverage with a cushion in anticipation of help on just such a route).

1-10-SL 28 (4:30) S.Jackson right end to SL 29 for 1 yard (R.McIntosh).

Penalty on SL-J.Smith, Illegal Formation, declined.

Carriker takes on a double team from the RG and FB and stands them up on the line of scrimmage while Kerrigan does the same with the TE, preventing them from sealing the corner and allowing Rocky to make the play.

2-9-SL 29 (4:08) S.Bradford pass short right to B.Bajema to SL 33 for 4 yards (R.Kerrigan).

3-5-SL 33 (3:26) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short right to L.Kendricks to SL 41 for 8 yards (D.Hall).

1-10-SL 41 (2:52) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short right to S.Jackson to SL 47 for 6 yards (D.Hall).

2-4-SL 47 (2:19) S.Jackson left tackle to SL 45 for -2 yards (R.Jackson).

Rob Jackson is at ROLB and blows up the FB in the backfield.

Two-Minute Warning

3-6-SL 45 (2:00) (Shotgun) PENALTY on SL-L.Kendricks, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at SL 45 - No Play.

3-11-SL 40 (2:00) (Shotgun) PENALTY on SL-Jason.Brown, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at SL 40 - No Play.

3-16-SL 35 (2:00) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep left to D.Alexander [R.Kerrigan].

Kerrigan attacks one tight end, shoves him off the line, then powers through a second tight end who was in an H-back position behind the first. Meanwhile Orakpo beats the LT and both get hands on Bradford as he is throwing.

4-16-SL 35 (1:54) D.Jones punts 65 yards to end zone, Center-J.McQuaide, Touchback.

Play Challenged by Replay Assistant and Upheld.

Washington Redskins at 1:39

1-10-WAS 20 (1:39) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to S.Moss.

Rex simply misses the throw.

2-10-WAS 20 (1:36) T.Hightower up the middle to WAS 29 for 9 yards (C.Dahl).

Lichtensteiger is destroyed by a swim move from a DT, but this merely has the effect of opening up a hole for the draw. Chester dominates the other DT to keep the hole open, while Davis gets a good second level block on a LB and Santana takes out the slot corner.

Timeout #1 by WAS at 00:49.

3-1-WAS 29 (:49) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to S.Moss (D.Stewart).

A safety jumps Santana’s slant and Rex doesn’t see him lurking. This should have been a classic Rex interception but was dropped.

4-1-WAS 29 (:46) S.Rocca punts 56 yards to SL 15, Center-N.Sundberg. A.Pettis MUFFS catch, touched at SL 10, recovered by SL-J.Gordy at SL 3. J.Gordy to SL 3 for no gain (R.Doughty). PENALTY on WAS-N.Paul, Unnecessary Roughness, 15 yards, enforced at SL 3.

4.9 seconds. Another interesting side effect of a strong punter – the coverage guys are already on top of the receiver in most cases, which means there are lots of opportunity for penalties like this one and the one called on Perry Riley earlier.

St. Louis Rams at 0:34

1-10-SL 18 (:34) (Shotgun) S.Bradford sacked at SL 16 for -2 yards (sack split by B.Orakpo and S.Bowen).

2-12-SL 16 (:23) (Shotgun) S.Jackson right tackle to SL 17 for 1 yard (R.Kerrigan).

Redskins-Rams 1st quarter game review

2011-10-04T20:24:00.004-04:00

Here we go getting started on win number 3. As I mentioned yesterday I only got to catch the last quarter of this game on Sunday, so I really am seeing most of this fresh. As usual they play by play is taken from the NFL Gamebook.

First Quarter

G.Gano kicks 72 yards from WAS 35 to SL -7. Q.Porter, Touchback.

St. Louis Rams at 15:00

1-10-SL 20 (15:00) S.Jackson left guard to SL 20 for no gain (R.Kerrigan).

Kerrigan engages the TE, then gets his left arm to the inside and powers through the line to stuff the runner.

2-10-SL 20 (14:31) (Shotgun) S.Jackson left tackle to SL 33 for 13 yards (L.Landry).

Well blocked by the Rams against the Redskins four man nickel front. Orakpo is initially unblocked, but a TE crosses the backfield and takes him out. Bowen reacts to Jackson’s initial step to the offensive right and pursues, allowing the LT to keep him inside. The LT gets a free release on Rocky and Landry is line up in the box on the backside, so he can’t make it across the field on time and instead has to chase the guy down from behind.

1-10-SL 33 (13:53) S.Jackson left tackle to SL 33 for no gain (B.Orakpo).

The LT and LG take Bowen way, way off the line. Fortunately Orakpo eneages the TE, wins the fight, and plays the inside gap to stuff the run.

2-10-SL 33 (13:18) S.Jackson left guard to SL 36 for 3 yards (D.Hall).

The center engages Cofield, then the TE joins in and blows him off the line. DeAngelo Hall appears to have been lined up in the slot (the telecast cuts off the formations and the start of the play) and he reads run quickly and reacts, which means that when the RG gets to the second level he is faced with two defenders. He chooses Fletcher, but blocks him ineffectually, so Fletcher and Hall first deny the RB his cutback and then pull him down.

3-7-SL 36 (12:47) (Shotgun) PENALTY on SL-R.Saffold, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at SL 36 - No Play.

3-12-SL 31 (12:32) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short right to S.Jackson to SL 26 for -5 yards (R.McIntosh).

Rocky is reading the RB from the snap and sniffs out the screen, allowing him to slip behind the linemen who are heading downfield to block. Very good play.

4-17-SL 26 (11:59) D.Jones punts 37 yards to WAS 37, Center-J.McQuaide. B.Banks ran ob at WAS 42 for 5 yards (B.Kehl).

Washington Redskins at 11:49

1-10-WAS 42 (11:49) R.Grossman pass short right to S.Moss ran ob at SL 45 for 13 yards (J.King).

The Rams linemen bite hard on the play action and play their gaps instead of rushing the passer, so Rex has all day to let Santana come open on his out route.

1-10-SL 45 (11:19) R.Grossman scrambles left end ran ob at SL 43 for 2 yards (J.Hall).

2-8-SL 43 (10:51) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to M.Sellers [C.Long].

Both Sellers and Cooley run routes in flat, but not widely spaced enough that it would offer any “levels” advantage so I figure somebody messed up here. A decent gain was available to Sellers with a quick decision from Rex, but he’s rather locked onto Stallworth who trip going into this cut.

3-8-SL 43 (10:41) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short middle to T.Hightower to SL 39 for 4 yards (J.Laurinaitis).

Williams get beaten by an outside speed rush, though I think it’s possible that it’s partly because he is impeded by Cooley who is releasing into a route. Rex is able to run away from the pressure (and has space to do so because the rest of the line adjusted well to stunts) and throws back over the middle to Hightower who the defense has forgotten about.

4-4-SL 39 (9:55) (Shotgun) PENALTY on WAS-J.Brown, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at SL 39 - No Play.

4-9-SL 44 (9:45) S.Rocca punts 33 yards to SL 11, Center-N.Sundberg. A.Pettis to SL 11 for no gain (L.Alexander).

Hang time is an average 4.3 seconds, but it’s more than enough for the coverage unit. Niles Paul is a gunner and races right past his blocker (he seems to do this regularly) and is closing in on the returner from the left, while Alexander gets a clean shot right down the field and is in the returner’s face.

St. Louis Rams at 9:36

1-10-SL 11 (9:36) S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to M.Sims-Walker.

2-10-SL 11 (9:32) (Shotgun) S.Jackson left tackle to SL 16 for 5 yards (L.Landry).

Bowen gets taken off the corner again. The TE attempts to kick out Orakpo, but Orakpo again sheds him and jumps into the gap. This is important because now the pulling RG has to account for him, and that means Landry can make the play before the RB can exploit a pretty big hole.

3-5-SL 16 (8:59) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short right to M.Sims-Walker (D.Hall).

Hall was playing outside leverage so it is a nice play here to break on the WR’s inside cut and break up the catch.

4-5-SL 16 (8:51) D.Jones punts 54 yards to WAS 30, Center-J.McQuaide. B.Banks to WAS 31 for 1 yard (B.Miller).

Washington Redskins at 8:40

1-10-WAS 31 (8:40) R.Grossman pass incomplete short middle to T.Hightower.

Hightower runs an angle route and lets the ball bounce right off his hands.

2-10-WAS 31 (8:35) T.Hightower left end pushed ob at WAS 33 for 2 yards (B.Fletcher).

Fred Davis is unable to slow the RDE down the line, meaning both that Trent can’t get to the second level and that Gaffney’s pretty good block on the CB is useless because Hightower has to take the play to the outside.

3-8-WAS 33 (8:12) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass deep middle to J.Gaffney to SL 47 for 20 yards (C.Dahl).

Trent does a nice job moving his feet and maintaining his balance against the RDE’s speed rush and late spin move.

1-10-SL 47 (7:32) T.Hightower left end pushed ob at SL 42 for 5 yards (B.Poppinga).

Williams and Davis again have trouble keeping the RDE from moving down the line on a stretch play, but Cooley from FB takes care of him after Davis sheds and gets onto the SLB. Very strong block from Paul on the play side CB opens up the corner.

2-5-SL 42 (7:08) T.Hightower right end to SL 44 for -2 yards (D.Stewart).

Brown gets pushed off the line by the LDE but manages to seal him to the inside enough that Hightower would still be able to make the corner, except that Davis is overpowered by the OLB and gives him nowhere to go.

3-7-SL 44 (6:25) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass deep middle to J.Gaffney to SL 27 for 17 yards (C.Dahl).

Brown is beat to the outside and an OLB gets under Trent’s pads and drives him up, but the nice pickup of an interior blitzer by Hightower means Grossman is able to get his throw out just before the contact comes.

1-10-SL 27 (5:42) T.Hightower right end to SL 21 for 6 yards (D.Stewart).

2-4-SL 21 (5:00) R.Helu left tackle to SL 12 for 9 yards (B.Fletcher).

Jammal Brown getting to the second level and Niles Paul’s cut block on the RDE allow Helu to put on a hard cut and reverse his field.

1-10-SL 12 (4:23) R.Helu left tackle to SL 8 for 4 yards (B.Poppinga). SL-G.Gibson was injured during the play.

There’s not much to be had here as both Lichtensteiger the DT he is blocking go to the ground right in front of Helu, but he hurdles them like a goal line play to create an average gain.

2-6-SL 8 (3:47) (Shotgun) R.Helu right guard to SL 6 for 2 yards (D.Stewart).

3-4-SL 6 (3:11) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short left to S.Moss for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN [C.Dahl].

Rams blitz seven, so even though Helu picks up a safety coming through the right A gap Williams is faced with two rushers (RDE and the other safety) and Rex has to immediately loft the ball to the edge of the end zone and hope Santana can run under it. He does.

G.Gano extra point is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-S.Rocca.

WAS 7 SL 0, 11 plays, 69 yards, 5:34 drive, 11:54 elapsed

G.Gano kicks 63 yards from WAS 35 to SL 2. Q.Porter to SL 15 for 13 yards (D.Stallworth).

St. Louis Rams at 3:06, (1st play from scrimmage 3:00)

1-10-SL 15 (3:00) S.Bradford pass short right to B.Miller to SL 18 for 3 yards (D.Hall).

Another solid open field tackle from Hall, who races to the flat to compensate for Atogwe’s blitz.

2-7-SL 18 (2:24) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short right to L.Kendricks pushed ob at SL 29 for 11 yards (R.Kerrigan).

Landry blitzes from the edge but slows up as he sees the RB has him dead to rights. Since Bradford has time he can take advantage of the fact that Kerrigan gets a little lost in man coverage and gives up the out to the TE.

1-10-SL 29 (1:56) (Shotgun) S.Jackson up the middle to SL 32 for 3 yards (L.Landry; R.Kerrigan).

Impressive little under-the-radar play from Kerrigan here. He absorbs a TE block in the backfield but in a nice display of strength he gets his shoulder inside the blocker and reaches out to the back who is shooting him through the hole, hooking his jersey and spinning him around so Fletcher can bury him.

2-7-SL 32 (1:23) S.Bradford pass short middle to D.Alexander to WAS 43 for 25 yards (O.Atogwe).

Landry is again neutralized by the RB, and Kerrigan gets around the edge but comes up just a couple inches short of swiping Bradford’s throw from behind.