Skins lose yesterday to the Rams. The Rams are much improved but it's still a game we needed to win. Outside of the second quarter, it was pretty much an embarrassment. The first 7-8 minutes were atrocious. We just weren't ready to play.
The Rams first TD was horrible. First, they marched it down the field with relative ease and then Steven Jackson breaks a 42 yarder with a TERRIBLE play by Kareem Moore. The guy flew up to meet Jackson but didn't break down and Jackson did a simple side step and Moore was out of the picture. Maybe Moore was just really excited to be back but still that is tackling 101 and it cost us big time.
Redskins have to punt on our first drive and Gano had to do the punting since Bidwell hurt himself in warmups and was crying off the field...literally. Gano's first punt was blocked setting up a short field for the Rams who took advantage and quickly jumped out to a 14 point lead.
Redskins next drive starts out okay but then Moss fumbles on a crossing route and turns it back over to the Rams. The Rams next play is an INT where Bradford threw it over the middle but Moore made a nice play to get the INT.
It was at this point that the Skins started looking good. We had nice runs and nice passes and were able to put up 13 points pretty quickly. Still, it was disappointing because we seem to be settling for FGs when we need TDs too often.
We had a great goal line stand before the half and were able to block the Rams short FG try sending us to halftime down 14-13 but all the momentum. We opened up the second half with a deep ball to Moss but again had to settle for a FG but took the lead 16-14. At that point, the game totally changed and we were dominated and lost 30-16.
Here are a couple of specifics:
1. What was CP doing on that long run when he just fell down? This is the NFL and you are a running back, you don't just slide like a QB! He is not afraid of contact as we have seen him lay down some heavy blocks but what was that?!!! Then he didn't seem to play too much after that so not sure what was going on there.
2. The deep ball to Galloway in the end zone was pass interference. Too bad.
3. We have got to find a secondary WR. Outside of Moss, there is no other threat.
4. I like Devin Thomas a a KR but would love to see him as a WR. He has the size and speed to be something decent. I understand there is a whole lot more than size and speed but we are not getting anything from anyone else so he certainly can't hurt if given the opportunity.
5. Defense was ATROCIOUS!!!! We could not stop the Rams the entire second half. I felt like the Rams offense was out there the entire second half and we never got the ball. It reminded me a lot of our defenses the last couple of years where when it was time for a stop, we just couldn't get it done. How many freaking times did Bradford do that short/quick pass or find the guy in the soft zone for positive yards? The thing that bothers me most about those plays is that I felt like we were truly outcoached. One of the biggest strengths I felt about our team was our coaching and I just felt like we were thoroughly outcoached there. I mean, you want to send pressure fine. Then you want guys playing off the receivers. Well, Bradford (a rookie) recognized it and wanted to get the ball out quickly and was able to complete because guys were playing off. Fine, it happens once or twice but eventually you think we would have figured it out. Nope. It happened all game. What is that about?!!!
Also, in the second half, it was clear that the Rams made defensive adjustments and started sending pressure on McNabb. We didn't adjust and we suffered. Have more help in protection. Keep a TE back or have a RB back to help out with blocking. Where was CP in the second half? He is a great blocker and excellent at picking up blitzes.
6. What happened to the running game? We were fairly effective with the run and we just seemed to abandon it. Kyle Shanny calls the plays and I have a feeling listening to Mike Shanny in post game conferences that he wants to run more but at the same time, he is doing the right thing by giving control to Kyle and not interfering with his job. Kyle is a young, smart guy and understands that in today's NFL you need to pass to win but that doesn't mean you ignore the run game particularly when you are having some success. I just felt like we should have mixed it up a little more.
Like I said, the worst part about yesterday was that we were dominated in the second half and I really felt like we were outcoached and that I feel is one of our biggest strengths so that is what I found to be most disappointing.
Next week, we go to Philly and take on a rejuvenated Michael Vick who is playing out of his mind and a tough Philly team. A win and we are right back on top of the NFC East. A loss and it will mount many more questions about the Redskins.
HAIL SKINS!!!!
18 comments:
JKSD, you said almost everything that needs to be said. The O-Line sucks without Trent Williams in the game. Stephon Heyer will never be a good OT in this league. The Skins should have either traded him or cut him. Dockery vs. Lichen&%#@(berg? Perhaps they both suck. So the geniuses felt that they could go into this game vs. the lowly Rams with marginal players on the left side of the line and win? Big mistake. Also, I listened to Haynesworth's comments after the game and he doesn't believe that he's playing in the 3-4 when he's on the field. Ok, whatever the hell they are trying is not working on the D-Line. Where was the pressure on a rookie QB? Maybe a little in the first quarter from Rak, but that was it. The coaches and the players need to get on the same page. This is embarrassing. Atleast last year, we could rely on the defense to keep the score close. Now the defense looks like a sive that can't stop anybody on 3rd down. Also, the geniuses had such terrible play calling that the Skins offense were 1 for 10 on 3rd down conversions. I'm just glad this game was on the road because you would have heard very loud booing at Fed Ex! F-ers!
Until the fans realize that the Deadskins are a bad team, there will continue to be shock at these types of losses. The Rams won a couple of games last year, but he Deadskins only won 4 - including a tight home win against these lowly Rams.
This is a rebuilding year, and any expectations should be tempered by the fact that:
1. The Redskins are a bad team.
2. The Redskins are trying to find guys that fit the Shannahan program.
3. It takes time to re-build a franchise from scratch (which is what the Deadskins are trying to do).
As for yesterday's game I have three thoughts:
1. The Redskin receivers are who we thought they were (sucky second-hand players).
2. The running game doesn't work because they don't have the athletic linemen needed to run the Shannahan cut-back system, nor do they have a true running back to run the system. Portis has lost a step and stumbles every time he is in the open field.
3. The D does not have the personnel to run the 3-4 effectively. Carter is out of place. They don't have a true nose guard. Their linebacking corps does not fit the system. They don't really have a solid free safety (Moore may be good, but missed too many tackles yesterday). Also - what happened to motor mouth DeAngelo Hall? He sucked. After talking all week, he laid an egg. Can't do that if you are going to talk so much.
I put this one squarely on the defense and on Haslett. We didn't put any pressure on Bradford and let him get comfortable in the pocket. The scheme was vanilla...but it was like that crappy vanilla that they put in store brand ice cream sandwiches...just terrible. The lack of depth and the defensive roster full of guys who don't fit the scheme really stood out.
The defense bored me in the 2nd half and I didn't watch much of the 2nd half after the Lambs took back the lead. Obviously I didn't miss much.
I'm afraid to see what happens when we play the Packers and the Colts. I think we'll play better next week against the Iggles as they are a division rival, but we could be staring at 1-5 in the face.
I heard someone on 980 say this - the team is creaky.
He was referring to a team that is full of a lot of older players who are stitched together trying to learn a new offense and defense.
I think that is a good assessment.
Deeps, I wouldn't put it all on the D - the D saved the game with the interception after the blocked punt. It could easily have been 21-0 or at least 17-0, and the game may have been over without the INT.
The offense had 4 possessions in the second half that went - 5 plays and punt, 3 plays and punt, 3 plays and punt, 3 plays and INT.
The D did not play well, but the O didn't help at all. The Redskins were beaten on both sides of the ball and just lost to what appeared to be a superior team.
The offense didn't click, but when you're up against a rookie QB and your game-plan doesn't get adjusted even slightly when you start getting gashed by the quick slants, you have to shoulder the blame. The D is ranked dead last in the NFL...this after 5 or 6 years as one of the top defenses (yardage wise).
The offense got the ball 5-6 times in the 2nd half only because they got the ball back after a Rams' score. As Barkley likes to say...turrble.
Personnel is the problem on D. The 3-4 is totally different from the 4-3, and the majority of the players are 4-3 players.
The Rams had great field position most of the second half because the offense/special teams couldn't turn the field position game around.
It was a team loss - I wouldn't place it on the D or the O - I'd say both.
They have to get back to the drawing board and see if they can figure out how to fix things so that they can be respectable.
I put most of this loss on the coaching. Sure, we don't have all the personnel for the schemes and so forth but two things:
1. On defense, we could not figure out if we were going to pressure or cover. The thing is you will never get to Bradford when he is doing those quick throws. Fine. However, if you are going to send the blitz and we knew from time and time again, that Bradford was going to do a quick throw (common for coaches to scheme this way with a rookie QB - I'm sure the Rams knew the blitz was coming and they didn't want Bradford to stand in the pocket) then you have to jame the WRs and play close to them so that it is difficult for him to release the ball on a guy that is already jammed or covered for a couple seconds when the ball is snapped which is when Bradford would throw. There is no time to get to the QB in that situation but we had to play closer to the WRs.
2. On offense, I didn't understand getting totally away from the running game. Washington ran for 115 rushing yards on 12 carries in the first half but in the second half, the ground game disappeared. The Redskins had only one yard on five carries in the final two quarters. We just abandoned it. Second, we did not adjust at all to the Rams increased pressure. The second quarter we were very good and clearly the Rams made adjustments at halftime and we didn't make any adjustments at all in the second half. As Mora said, adjustments don't just happen during halftime, they happen throughout a game and we didn't change at all.
There was more pressure on McNabb and give Heyer some help with a TE or a RB. On his hold later in the game, he had two guys blitzing at him and he didn't have much choice but to try and get a hand on the blitzing DB because there was no help. Again, I just think coaching was a big issue in this game and that's most disappointing.
Guys, there is no need to panic. It's one game. It was a tough loss but the good thing in my mind was much of the loss was attributed to coaching. In my mind, many of the issues can be fixed.
That's the nature of the NFL. When you win, everything is great and fans/media think SUPER BOWL!!!! When you lose, it's the end of the world and lets fire everyone.
Hopefully these coaches figure it out and can correct some of the issues before next week. A win next week will cure everything. Sure, it is a tough game against an Eagle team that looks very tough with Vick at the helm and it will be in Philly so it is a tall order but we have shown the capability to be a good football team this year so it's very possible to win that game.
Things just need to be figured out.
I only see the skins winning 2 maybe 3 more games this season. They may beat the Lions, Jags, and Bucs. The next nire are against, at Eagles, Packers, Colts, at Bears, at Lions, Eagles, at Titans, Vikings and at Giants. BRUTAL to say the least. 4-12 is very likely.
1. CP has got to go. Falling down when no one touches on a break away run = time to go.
2. What do you think Danny Boy is thinking?
3. I agree with Rob - this is rebuilding year. These types of losses should be no surprise. Question is, again, will Dan the man keep out and let this team and staff build something?
No way dude...It's full-on panic time. This sucks. We shouldn't lose to the Rams. We're the 5-time NFL champion Washington Redskins! I was ready to buy my ticket to Dallas for the Super Bowl based on all of the "Future is Now" garbage that Bruce Allen was spewing. What the hell am I going to do now! JSR says we're going to win 2-3 more games, so it must be true! Oh, the horror!
JSR it is way too early to give those types of predictions. The Bears, Giants, Vikings (yes, the Vikings) are all questions marks still.
No question we are a work in progress but lets not forget that we were within a called back FG from beating the Texans. If we had won that game, everyone would have thought we were one of the better teams in league.
Now I don't think we are great but I am still happy with the direction of the team.
JSR, not sure I understand your comments about Danny Boy. It seems by getting rid of his stoolie, Cerrato, and the paper coach, Zorn, and bringing in proven football guys in Shanny and Allen, he has relinqueshed control of the team.
We were a 4-12 team last year and just went through an off season of major overhaul. To expect everything to come together in one off season is unrealistic. What you hope to see is improvement from week to week as we are that work in progress.
We'll see how the season plays out. Again, fans are funny because they can hop on or off the bandwagon from one week to the next.
I think the Deadskins will squeeze out a few wins, but the best anyone should have been hoping for this year is 7-9. I think they will get to at least 6-10 and I still think they will get to 7-9.
That said, I am not sure what Danny Boy will do. He has a history of being impatient and if the team goes 4-12 or 5-11 and gets blown out a couple of times who knows? A call to Vinny may occur.
Robs is making a bit more sense now.
The Cerrato talk is crazy. Next Robs will say that we will be calling Pepper Rogers.
It is still way early. But looking at what theyve done to this point and what their upcoming competition has done up to this point, anyone can see that the Redskins will struggle to win. The upcoming teams for the Redskins are far superior. Most are playoff caliber at least, if not championship caliber. 4-12 or 5-11if they are lucky and dont choke against the Bucs, Lions or Jags like they did against the Rams. Its fine for a re-building year. But I dont know how much "re-building" Dan the Man is willing to allow. I know Danny Boy has relinquished control (for now) just as he always has in the past for the first few games. But give it a few more losses and he'll start creeping up a bit more.
Danny will have Bruce attempt to resurrect his father and then will fire him when he fails. Pepper will be inserted as GM and will immediately fire Shanny and make Vinny the head coach so he can have "his guy."
McNabb will leave. Fat Albert will be given another $100 million to stay. Clinton Portis will be given a talk show on Snyder 980 so he can express himself.
Hail 'Skins!
C-A-P-S! CAPS! CAPS! CAPS!
The next five games for Deadskins:
at Philly (loss)
Green Bay (loss)
Indy (loss)
at Chicago (BIG LOSS)
at Detroit (win - maybe)
BYE
2-6 looks pretty realistic right now.
I expect them to play a bit better in the second half. Looking ahead they will probably go 4-4 in the second half.
6-10 is likely to me. I thought they would go 7-9, but the Rams loss really hurts.
Despite our political differences, I have to agree with Rob on his predicition. I don't think the Skins can really attack a defense with this offensive line and only one receiver, who can't actually be labeled elite because he drops too many balls and doesn't block well. Big mistake not bringing in an established receiver still in his 20's. With regards to the defense, even if these 4-3 players get their minds around playing the 3-4, which seems to be asking a lot, that schedule is terrible. JKSD, perhaps you should look to the JMU Dukes, or better yet the W&M Tribe to give you sports related satisfaction.
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