Mixed thoughts on the victory. It's nice to see the Skins win and it was a pretty good game but I have said before that I would like to see us lose out as that is pretty much the only way we can hope to see change with the ass that is Cerrato in the offseason.
However, again, it was nice to see a win. It's been a while and you kind of forget how good it feels to pull one out.
Here are some thoughts on the game:
1. Levi Jones was a HUGE step up from Heyer at LT. He helped anchor a rejuvenated line that didn't allow a sack the entire first half and provided Betts and Cartright good running lanes that led to our best running game of the year.
2. JC was solid hitting 10 different receivers in the game. He hung in the pocket and again tucked and ran decisively which is want we all want to see. Disappointed he missed Moss on the wide open deep ball. He has done that a few times this year and we really need those since those opportunities are few and far between.
3. The 4th and 20 pass from Hunter the punter was ridiculous. I was shocked to see what the hell we were doing. I figured it would be a quick kick and then when he was looking to throw in front of him, I was thinking what the hell is this? We have no shot at getting a first down and then when he flung it across the field and I saw a wide open Sellers, it was amazing. It seemed like a really long and confusing play and I guess it was. It was pretty neat to see it work. If the Skins had a better record and playoffs seemed like more of a possibility, I would not have liked the call but given that we don't really have much to lose at this point, it was an exciting play.
4. Betts and Cartright were solid. These guys seemed to both have a little extra hop in their step. What I liked was that they were running to the holes hard. These guys practice every day (unlike CP) so they know their linemen and know when/how to hit the holes. I also liked that we were running hard up the middle and doing less stretch runs which do not play to our O line strengths. Will be interesting to what happens as CP gets healthy. Really feel like Betts and Cartright deserve bigger roles in our offense.
5. Playcalling was sound. We had great balance between run and pass. I like that we worked in some pass plays with JC rolling out. We also seem to have better and more decisive short passes. I have noticed things being a little more aggressive and JC and other Skins have mentioned the same. Maybe Sherm Lewis knows what he's doing after all.
6. Devin Thomas. Liked that he was getting a little more involved. His screen that he turned into a 27 yard gain was tremendous individual effort. The guy made more guys miss in that one play then in his entire NFL career. He can be a playmaker but we just need to get him the ball. The guy is an exciting player that brings a lot of energy. He's a playmaker and you need to get the ball to your playmakers. He's the kind of guy that can make shorter passes into longer gains with his ability to run after the catch and we need to find ways to get him the ball.
7. Defense is becoming an issue. For the third game in a row, we have been giving up multiple big plays. This is unacceptable. Understand that we knocked Orton out of the game but if we take those two deep balls away from the Broncos, they pretty much had nothing. I don't understand how guys get SO wide open. Again, these big plays must stop.
8. Carlos Rogers once again falls for the double move. I like Rogers and think he could be a pretty good CB but he always falls for the double move. He has had issues with that his entire career. I was happy to see him get benched and thought Smoot did a good job stepping in. The tough part for Rogers is that he is in a contract year and playing the way he did and getting benched doesn't help his cause for a bigger contract. Still, he has to play better or else I say go with Smoot.
9. Orakpo is a monster. That guys along with Andre Carter are very disruptive and with the help of Haynesworth, we finally have a line that is able to get pressure on the QB.
10. Red zone offense has gotten MUCH better. All of a sudden the last couple of weeks we are finding ways to get TDs. That's great news.
All in all a good effort. Again, in some ways, I prefer losing out but then again, it was nice to see a victory. What's interesting is that with all these NFC teams losing, the Skins really aren't out of it. I know that is kind of crazy talk and I really don't want to entertain that idea right now. After all, it was only one game. However, a victory this week against Dallas would make things kind of interesting.
2 comments:
I'm totally with you here. It's nice to win, but what will happen if we win a few more games? Snyderatto will once again believe that we're just a few pieces away and we're going to deepen the cess-pool of mediocrity that we're up to our eyeballs in now.
In response to some of your points:
1. The line looked better with Levi Jones at LT and Heyer back at RT. I think Williams can serve as a good enough backup until he gets into real playing shape. Right now he's too slow to provide adequate protection for JC.
2. I have mixed feelings about JC's performance. He got the job done, but he missed some key throws. He missed Moss deep, and missed Moss and Davis who were wide open with bad overthrows over the middle. He's proving to be a decent QB, but not a difference maker.
4. Betts looked fresh and was much more decisive with his cuts than Portis has been. I think Portis' lack of practice is hurting him. Betts should remain the starter until Portis is healthy enough to practice, but that won't happen because Snyder loves him some CP.
6. Thomas made a couple great plays, but so did Sleepy Davis and MK. It was good to see contributions from those three. If we can get these guys in the mix, it will be hard to deal with all of the weapons we'll have.
7. What's up with the D??? We can't stop the run and we keep leaving the other team's best receivers wide open. I guess we're missing something with Horton out, but those passes to Marshall were ridiculous. The pourous run defense is more troubling though. We need to be able to stop the run with our front seven.
8. I don't like Rogers. He's been a bust for all but a short stretch last year. Stone hands can take his inability to cover a double move somewhere else for all I care.
9. I am gay for Orakpo. He's a beast and he will only get better.
All that being said, we're not beating the Cowgirls...so enjoy this one game win streak.
Couple of thoughts to your points:
1. It seems clear that Betts runs with a little more passion but I think more importantly, the guy practices and is ready to go on Sunday. Football is a game of perfection. Each and every guy on a respective play has to do their job properly. That only comes from practice and Portis does not practice and that hurts him and the team.
2. Good to see the young guys out there. Would also like to see Mitchell out there more. Lets just play them and see what they can do. They have been more involved recently and are showing a little more why we drafted them.
3. Regarding the defense, it doesn't have much to do with Horton being out. He was on the field in the Iggle game when Jackson was torching us. Defense in general needs to shore up. Still, we have given up several big plays in the last 3 games and that has got to stop.
4. Rogers is done here in D.C. I am a little tired of him too. He can be decent at times but his brick hands and propensity to continually fall for the double move is ridiculous. I am tired because he is not learning from his mistakes. I can accept mistakes if he would just learn but he doesn't and frankly his stone hands have hurt us. If he had even halfway decent hands, he would have like 4-5 INTs a season. I like the Hitler clip where he is making fun of Rogers and talking about even if we put on robotic hands covered in stick'em and all this other stuff, the guy would still find a way to drop the ball.
5. Love Orakpo as well. I still would like to see what he could do as a DE. Obviously, he is not playing his natural position but he is no doubt a solid player on this defense.
We've played well for 6 straight quarters. We'll see if that continues or if we just fall down again.
It's strange because I enjoyed the feeling of the win and there is some momentum going into this week's game so it kind of gets your hope up but at the same time, I highly doubt we are going to run the table and a couple of wins down the stretch only serves to justify Cerrato's position on the team and that cannot happen.
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