Decent game. Sure, it was closer than I would have liked but the bottom line is we came out with the victory and are now 5-3. Seeing how we only won 5 games total last year, I am very happy with where we are right now.
As far as the game is concerned, I was very happy to see the running game get going again. CP had nearly 200 yards rushing and stated that he wants to carry this team. I like CP and would like for him to get more carries. JC was okay. I'm not sure what the deal is but I don't understand why we don't throw it downfield more. I want to be a running football team but all of our passes in the first half were screens or shorter passes in the flat or underneath. We need to get our WRs involved more. It can only help our running game. As an observer and a fan, it seems like it is the game calling. It was nice to see coming out after halftime that we actually started throwing downfield a bit. We need to do that more. Put some more trust in Campbell. Again, JC was okay. Made the plays he was asked and had a good scramble for a key first down. Still, he missed that deep ball to Moss which would have been the equivalent of a walk off home run. I just want to see more of those medium range passes over the middle to the WRs.
A lot of people were saying Moss isn't the same guy as he has been and his injuries are still nagging him. I don't know if that is the case or not but he excels at making those catches over the middle and running for more yardage. I would love to see more of that.
Defense was okay. Run defense was solid and even the pass defense wasn't bad. Still, they had to do a better job of containing Clemens. When he got outside the pocket was when he was most dangerous. He was able to run for nearly 50 yards and he was able to find receivers open when he scrambled. We just have to do a better job of containing the QB. This will be even more critical as we will be facing McNabb and Romo in the coming weeks. Still, the defense only gave up 13 points yesterday.
Special teams was okay. Suisham was huge. Made several long FGs including the game winning kick on OT. However, they allowed the opening kickoff to be run back for a TD.
Again, my biggest issue is with the coaching and the ultra conservative play calling. Let JC open it up a little bit. Lets not be scared of him making mistakes.
Still, there is only one statistic that matters and we came away with the "W." A win is a win and I'll take it. I will take a very ugly win over a very beautiful loss any day. Again, we are 5-3 and in the thick of the divisional and playoff races.
HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!!!!
16 comments:
Right now my frame of mind when it comes to the 'Skins is similar to what I think of UVA. I am glad for the win, but I am skeptical because I really don't think we're doing anything that gives me confidence that it can continue. UVA will at least pressure the QB and run the ball consistently. The 'Skins aren't doing anything consistently and it makes me wonder if this win was just a fluke.
I predicted we'd run through the Jets at will and we did. I was glad to see it, but we seriously compromised the passing game in the process. There was very little play action passing and I was disappointed that we didn't run any misdirection plays to get Campbell out of the pocket given that we were running at will.
Regarding the defense...Man was I disappointed. We gave up some VERY long drives to a poor offense with a rookie QB. I did not expect this. How did we shut down Detroit and Green Bay, but allow the Jets to have multiple 15 play drives. Not good. I hope it was just a hangover from last week.
Despite all this, we are 5-3 and in the hunt for the playoffs. With a home game against a struggling Eagles team up next, we should be 6-3 and I won't complain about that.
We shouldn't complain about a victory. That is all that matters.
Still, moving forward, we need to improve the passing game. Again, I liked the way we came out in the second half and took a few shots downfield. That should be in the offensive mix in the overall gameplan and used through out the game.
Also, they should set up a bomb once or twice a game. I like the play that GB ran in OT against Denver. Basically, it was send each wideout streaking down each sideline and then just air it out. Sure, you can't do this in Cover 2 but when there is a situation like man to man or if you think they are crowding the box looking for the run, surprise them with the bomb. Anyway, the point is, trust JC and mix in some more passes.
Defensively little disappointed but still we only gave up 13 points. Landry kept the one drive alive by getting the personal foul on a third down and Fletcher gave them a good field position with his stupid personal foul. As I previously mentioned, the defense did a decent job with run D and even pass D was okay. The problem was that we let Clemens get outside the pocket and that is where he hurt us. We need to do a better job of containing him. He would step out and have a lot of room to run or would fake the run, making secondary and LBs have to come up for the tackle, and then he would throw to the open receiver. That is how they kept drives alive. Maybe we didn't know enough about Clemens to gameplan for his scrambling ability but in any event, that will have to change with McNabb and Romo coming up.
Like I said, I am going to be happy that we are 5-3 at this point. Also, lets give the ball to CP and lets ride his coattails. Let him be the workhorse and then lets mix in some deeper passes down the field. Stretch the field for Campbell and Portis.
HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!!!!
Ok. But ask yourself this...Are the Redskins a good football team based on what you've seen in the last few weeks?
My answer is we are very average. We actually looked better at the beginning of the year than we do now and that's not a good thing.
We are 5-3 so we must be pretty good. We are halfway through the season and in the thick of the hunt so we must be pretty good. Could we be doing things better? Sure. I am comfortable with the defense and special teams for the most part. Again, they could improve as well but what aspect of any team couldn't use improvement?
As far as the offense goes, I like that they gave the ball to Portis and made him into the workhorse. The biggest area of concern is the passing game. We have to spread it out a bit. We have a QB that has the arm strength, quality receivers who I assume are healthy, and a highly paid offensive "genius" so there is no reason why we shouldn't be able to air it out some. Again, I want to be a physical running team but we don't pass at all. When we just do underneath stuff and can't get a pass to a receiver for an entire half or haven't had a WR score a TD the entire season midway through the season, it's a problem. We need to pass downfield to help spread the field. It will only help the running game. We have all the tools we just need to call the plays.
Again, to answer your question, we are a good football team. We are not great but we are solid and we should be better so I am happy with where we are at right now.
Another not-so-pessimistic way to look at it is that they game plan based on what they feel they need to do each week...one game at a time. This would explain why some games Campbell looks great or why in some games the running game is clicking.
Whatever. You're right. We're 5-3. We've already won as many games as we did last year and we look like one of the better teams in the NFC.
HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!
If we can just get the passing game going, we could be very dangerous. What concerns me is that the game plan seems too conservative and also the passing attack seems pretty predictable. For example, on a 3rd and short (especially around the opposing team's 5 yard line), you can all but guarantee that it is going to be a short buttonhook pass to Cooley on the left side. We used it last year, we've used it multiple times this year, and I'm sure we will continue to use it. The good thing is it continues to work but I have seen it so many times that it concerns me that we don't have other plays in the bag.
Again, we have all the "tools" to have a better passing attack I'm just not sure why we don't turn it loose a little bit more. I won't complain too much because up until this point, we have had a fairly successful season. However, we are coming up on a tougher stretch of games and unless we can get 200+ yards per game on the ground, a more dynamic offense may be necessary.
We'll see. For now...HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!!!
5-3 is good and I wish the Bears were 5-3, but this Redskin team is nothing more than a mediocre team that will struggle to be above .500 at the end of the year. Their second half schedule looks much tougher than their first half schedule.
It is not like this is a team that has any serious Super Bowl aspirations. Why not take a chance and see what JC can do? Let him make his mistakes and get it out of his system this year. I have to believe that JC must be wondering why the coaches are not showing any confidence in his ability to throw the ball. This may actually stunt his growth.
Let's say they continue to play conservative ball and end up 8-8 or even 9-7 and miss the playoffs. What good will that do if JC still has to learn how to play QB and make his mistakes?
The Redskins running game is not going to be as effective against some of their upcoming opponents and with the offense continuing to sputter, their D will get even more worn down.
Again, I am happy being 5-3. I will take it. It is a HUGE improvement over last year. I will stand by my preseason prediction of going 9-7. After going 5-11 last year, I don't think many people had serious Super Bowl aspirations going into this year.
That said, the way things look right now, we have to be considered one of the better teams in the NFC. Again, there is only one stat that counts at the end of the game and right now, we are in the thick of everything so I am pleased.
Disagree with RobsObs. There is NO reason to abandon what has gotten us to 5-3 and just let JC go crazy with the football. As I mentioned, I am comfortable being a physical running football team. Let Portis be the workhorse. He seems to want it and the line seems to want that. However, open things up a bit for JC. Let him take some shots downfield for mid range passes and allow playmakers like Moss and Randle El to create yards after the catch. Also, set up a bomb on occasion. Just mix it up a bit. Again, we have the "tools" just use them now. If we can get some passing game going, we could be very dangerous.
Schedule is going to get tougher so lets see what happens.
We got to 5-3 with no identity on offense. If we commit to being a power running team like we should, who knows what that will translate into. Last year it resulted in a much better offense over the course of the last 7 weeks.
Like I said earlier, the 'Skins game plan is developed week to week considering the weaknesses of the opposition. Gibbs obviously keeps things conservative to minimize JCs mistakes. It may be a little counterproductive when it comes to his development, but if it continues to mean we win games, does it really matter? The Steelers have a QB who was treated the same way during his first season. He turned out to be pretty good.
First of all, we'll see if the 'Skins can really get their running game going. The Jets are not exactly a strong defensive team. For all of their running, if Jericho Cotchery catches that 3rd down pass in OT, the Jets very well could have kicked the winning field goal.
I'm not saying the Redskins did not deserve to win, my point is that they are going to have to get their passing game going if they expect to win games against the better teams they face in the second half.
As for the comparison to Big Ben, it isn't really a good comparison. He was awesome his rookie year and he was not really held back. In 14 games he threw 17 TDs, 11 interceptions, and 2621 yards. He threw for 8.9 yards per attempt. He was sacked 30 times and fumbled twice but his completion percentage was over 66 percent and his QB rating was 98.1 for the year. He was clearly a playmaker for his team.
Now he had the best rookie year of any QB in history, but to say that he was held back is incorrect. Bottom line - JC's numbers are nowhere near comparable to Big Ben and he is not really a playmaker for his team like Ben was.
There you go with your numbers again. Did you watch the Steelers play in '04? They relied solely on their running game to move the ball and on their defense to keep them in games that year and clearly tried to avoid situations where Ben would be forced to be THE playmaker. That, my friend, is very similar to the situation JC is in.
Yes, Ben had the greatest rookie season ever for a QB, but his team was very good. He had a potential future HOF running back, a perennial Pro Bowler at WR, a GREAT o-line, a very good coach, and a defense that was second to none. Ben made plays and managed games very well, but if you watch the Steelers now and compare them to how things were run in '04, there is a HUGE difference in what Ben is allowed and expected to do.
I'm sorry, but if you look at all of the numbers, Ben is performing about the same this year as his rookie year. It is better, but he isn't really throwing all that much more, he isn't any more accurate, he isn't throwing for much more per game. He is playing within the confines of the system that they run, but he is making plays just as he did his rookie year.
He is clearly more comfortable and is throwing more TD passes, but that is what comes with experience.
The last game he was 13-16 for just over 200 yards, but he threw 5 TD passes.
It is my contention that the Steelers asked Ben to throw downfield and make plays as a rookie and it helped him develop. The Redskins are hampering JC and their offense by being so conservative. As the season wears on and they play the better teams JC will make his mistakes and the Redskins will lose. Then, JC will have to learn again next year. We'll see what happens.
What stats are you looking at?
He only threw 295 passes in all of '04. He already has 208 through 8 games this season.
His pass attempts alone indicate that he is allowed to do more now and that he was kept under wraps to some degree in '04. It is clear that he was more productive than JC is this year by his yards/attempt and his completion %, but that comes with being on a very good team that was able to go 15-1.
I agree that the 'Skins are hampering JC's development, but Big Ben is solid proof that new QBs on otherwise decent teams can be limited by their coaches in what they are expected to do, but still emerge as a solid QB in years to come. All I'm saying is we may be wrong that JC's is being hampered with this approach that is being taken.
We're looking at the same stats. You have to remember that he only started and played in 14 games. He only has like 4 more pass attempts per game this year. But the key number to look at is the yards per attempt. In 2004 and now he throws for more than 8 yards per attempt. That is an indicator that he was and still is throwing down the field.
I think it is safe to say this - the 2004 Steelers did work Ben in carefully, but I also think it is fair to say that they allowed him to make a significant number of plays for the team. He made plays relatively often. That is not happening with JC. He is not being given enough opportunities and he is not making plays whenever he does get those chances. In my opinion it does not really make any sense for either the short term or the longer term.
If Ben was allowed to do more than JC is this year, then I completely agree with you. But I seem to remember him relying on Bettis and Staley heavily and their passing success was a byproduct of the running game.
Whatever...We agree that JC is on a short leash and it's not good for his development.
Jets may not have the greatest defense but 250 yards rushing (or whatever it was) is good I don't what team you play. It is still the NFL and those types of rushing yards are impressive. As far as Cotchery's dropped pass, so what. There you go again with "if this" or "if that." Again, there are a number of plays in any given day that we could say if that happened than we could have/should have/would have won. Bottom line, we came away with the victory and that is all that matters.
Regarding JC, I think we all agree that the leash should be loosened but again for me, stay the course. If it ain't broke, why fix it. I don't care what we do as long as we win. However, I think to make our offense more dynamic opening up the passing game a little bit would help. We have to tools, we just need to use them. Again, stick with the physical running game but open up the passing a little bit. Send Moss on a bomb every now and then and send him across the middle a few times for some medium range passes. It will spread the defense and open up the running game and again, make our offense more dynamic.
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