Got to say, I felt pretty good about the game on Sat. night. Sure there could have been some improvements but all in all, they were much improved from last year's preseason.
Even though the starting offense didn't put up any points, I thought JC played pretty well. He was 6-14 for 104 yards. He had two accurate balls thrown about 15 yards downfield that were dropped as well. The only passes that I felt he missed were a 5 yard buttonhook that he threw over Randle El's head (it was a hot and muggy night and it was clear he lost his grip) and a deep flare out that he threw a yard or two past the WR. Still, I felt like he had a pretty solid performance and was pleased.
I was very pleased with the overall play of the defense. I thought the LBs were very good. Fletcher was all over the field and McIntosh showed good athleticism in pass coverage. The D line was solid which was good. Landry made some hard hits especially on Collins on a 3rd down blitz where he came in untouched and leveled Collins. Collins just got the ball away for an incompletion but it took him a few seconds to get up from the hit. Apparently, the thinking is that with the improvements made in the secondary, the D can blitz more and be more aggressive. That's kind of what they showed against the Titans. We'll see how it works during the season.
The problem I had was with the O line. They did not open many running lanes and Campbell was under constant pressure. The pressure led to two fumbles as well which we can't have happen. The first fumble killed a good opening drive by the 'Skins. Granted we had a rookie in at LT in place of perennial All Pro Chris Samuels but still the line looked shaky. Todd Wade apparently is having difficulty adjusting to LG from his normal tackle position and that could be a problem. Hopefully things get worked out in time for the season.
The 'Skins ended up winning the game and scored two late TDs (one coming from the defense). What I thought was really important was how happy the team was with the victory. Guys like Moss showed a rare smile and Portis was jumping up and down on the sidelines with the defensive TD. To me, this is an important factor at this point in the preseason. Guys care about winning even if it is only preseason.
Again, all in all, I was encouraged and hopefully we can make continued improvement in each preseason game leading into the regular season.
10 comments:
It's early, and I did not see much of the game. But from what I saw and what I have read, the Redskins have some work to do.
JC is a young guy and he faced a lot of pressure without any real running game. 6-14 is about what you would expect given the circumstances. People who think he is going to come in and set the world on fire are fooling themselves.
The O-line troubles are going to be significant at least until they get Samuels and Thomas back. That said, Samuels may not be 100 percent all year. Wade is going to be a weak link all year - just a matter of fact. We'll see if they can get their act together - there are still three more preseason games.
D was better, we'll see if they can continue to perform.
At least it looks like Frosty can punt - he had 8 chances.
I read articles as well and thought they were overly critical. I DVR'd the game and watched the bulk of it especially specific plays multiple times to understand where the break downs occurred.
I stand by what I wrote before.
I don't think JC is going to light the world on fire but he is a MUCH better option than Brunell. JC gives us a legitimate passing threat and can actually throw the ball downfield. In my opinion, he is a HUGE upgrade at the position.
Hopefully the O line can shore up and provide the consistency they did last year. As a young QB, Campbell could use all the help he can get.
I like JC. He have his moments, but but he is going to have a lot of games this year where he is 12-24, or 13-28 and around 200 yards. That is what happens to most young QBs.
As for the O-line - good luck. My view is that it is going to be a problem all year.
I am curious to see if they go with Brunell as the #2. He sucks and does not belong on an NFL roster. At least Todd Collins gives you a chance to compete.
The good:
-J.C. was able to hit a few passes downfield. He didn't throw any picks and his athleticism and poise showed while he was on the field.
-Santana Moss looks healthy.
-D didn't give up a touchdown.
-Improved LB play.
-Defense applied good pressure on the QB all day.
-Secondary didn't give up any huge plays.
-Frosty can punt.
The bad:
-The o-line. What a mess. I can't say I'm too surprised with a rookie at left tackle and a tackle playing left guard.
-Campbell fumbled twice on two sacks...gotta hold on to the ball.
-First team didn't score.
Overall, I can't say I'm too disappointed. My biggest concern going in was the defense and it looked much improved. I didn't think the o-line would be such a project though. Hopefully when Samuels returns things will get better. At least it seems like we've found ourselves a legitimate prospect for the back-up tackle spot in Heyer.
Deepie, let's hold back the enthusiasm for the D a bit. It was Tennessee and it was Tennessee without Vince.
The D may be OK, but I think Pittsburgh will be a far more reasonable test of how far they have come.
O-line sucks. The loss of Dockery will be big. Samuels should help, but man, Jansen seems to have lost something. They should have given his huge contract to Dock before he went on the open market. It would have been far wiser in the short and the long runs. We'll see if Jansen can play in coming weeks.
Ladies,
It was ONE PRESEASON game. It is WAY too early to make claims like the the "O-line sucks." I think that is ignorant.
The O-line was one of the best last year and yes, we lost Dockery but he did not hold the whole line together. Also, the line is not that old. Lets please not get into this argument again because our line is overall younger than the Bears line and you love them so don't start with that bullshat.
It was a good victory. There were positives and negatives and lets see how they do in the next preseason game.
You are one of the few people (in fact the only person) that I have heard say it was a "good victory."
The O-line sucks. The loss of Dockery is going to be huge - just as I predicted. Wade will not be the starting guard in his place - I've read enough to know that is true. Jansen is average, when he is playing at his best. Samuels and Randy are a bit dinged up, but they are not a concern right now. Rabach is an excellent center. But the end result is going to be a very weak O-line. It doesn't have to do with age - it has to do with talent and it appears that Jansen has lost it.
Perhaps things will greatly improve over the next couple of weeks. Buges and Gibbsy better figure something out.
Oh, and by the way, think about this - the Redskins signed Todd "alligator arms" Pinkston. So all of the money they have put into wide receiver has been for naught.
I'm not concerned about Jansen. On one of the many blog sites I've visited since the game, it was noted that Jansen always starts out slow. He'll be fine. Wade is the big question mark. It also is unfortunate that Jason Fabini is apparently having a terrible camp. Veteran depth is usually beneficial, but not when it comes from an ex-Cowboy.
I saw enough out of the defense to see that it will be much better than last year. That's not to say we'll have a top 10 defense all of the sudden. Going from 31st to 15th or even 20th would be fine with me. Last year's defense was soft and it was aggravating to watch. I saw aggressiveness and toughness on Saturday and that already indicates improvement.
RobsObs, any victory is a good victory. Yeah, I would have liked to have seen a lot more out of the 'Skins but who cares? We won.
That was your attitude all last year with the Bears. When they won ugly, you still said who cares? They won.
Per usual, I pretty much agree with Deepie. I'm not too concerned with the line yet. They did not play well Saturday but they were a very good line last year and I expect them to be better when the season starts. Still, Wade is a concern and depth is a concern but lets see how that plays out.
Agree with Deepie in that the D looked much improved. They looked hungry and aggressive and had a little bit of a swagger which was nice. As Deepie mentioned, I don't expect to jump to top 10 defense but if we can get to middle of the pack, that would be a HUGE improvement.
As far as the WRs go, I have already indicated my displeasure with the whole Lloyd experiment. Hopefully we can reap just a fraction of how much we invested in the guy.
Why not bring Pinkston in? It doesn't hurt to bring him in to take a look at. Yeah, he had a tough injury and has been out of football for a while but it doesn't hurt to look at him especially given the injuries we have to some of our WRs.
Good luck Redskin fans. We'll see how the O and D lines do against Pittsburgh.
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