Tough loss. There was good. There was bad. And there was ugly. I will start with the good.
Good:
1. Beck was decent. I must admit that I wasn't expecting much from him and he was a concern for me but he certainly held his own and I thought he played well. He threw for nearly 300 yards and accounted for two TDs. He had some very nice passes and was able to elude some rush and make plays that I don't think Rexy could have. It is one game but I was pleased with his play.
2. Strong running game. Hightower was off to a great start and it was good to see him get going after being out a couple of weeks. It was also good to see him do it behind a make shift line that held up well.
3. O line play. Sean Locklear and Chad Cook were inserted as new lineman. I thought Locklear played very well at the LT position and having to go against Charles Johnson. Cook was okay but made a couple of mistakes. Still, on in all, I was very happy with the line play.
4. First half game plan. We ran the ball effectively and ate up time. I didn't expect this to be a high scoring game as I think the game plan was run the ball and control the clock and keep Carolina's offense off the field. We did that pretty well in the first half. The problem was on third and shorts, we did not convert them and had to settle for FGs. That hurt.
Now for the Bad:
1. DEFENSE. Just bad in the second half. First half, we held Carolina to 9 points (should have been 6 but Gaffney fumbled late). We got 4 sacks on Newton and largely held them in check. Was pleased with the play in the first half. The second half was a different story. Not sure if they made adjustments but we just couldn't stop them. I will say that I give full credit to Cam Newton. I had not seen him play before but he made some very nice plays and he did so with his arm. He made some passes that good vets can't make but still the defense needed to do better and that was disappointing.
2. There were some questionable coaching decisions but I didn't have a huge problem with that. The bad is pretty much on the defense.
The Ugly:
1. Poor officiating. This was some of the worst officiating I have seen in a while. Poor calls made that affected both teams but some just egregious calls and non calls that should put this crew under review by the NFL.
2. Injuries. The injury bug seems to have finally caught up to the Skins. We were already w/o two starting O linemen and Atogwe but we lost Moss, Hightower, Fletcher and Doughty was playing hurt. Tough to lose all those guys but it happens.
To wrap up, I thought there were three key plays that determined this game. They were:
1. Our first drive of the third quarter. We march it down to the Carolina 40. On a third and 2, we do a quick button hook to Austin who was mugged by Gamble. It looked like a clear pass interference. Fine, no call so we go for it on 4th and 2. I didn't mind going for it on 4th but if we believed it was four down territory, I would have rather run it on third. Anyway, sets up 4th and two and with Moss out, there was a mix up with the WRs and Beck had to direct Austin where to line up before the play clock ended. He hurried and snapped the ball and the offense was really set and it resulted in a sack. The play just looked rushed and bad and I didn't like it as it was happening. The turnover in downs gave Carolina good field position and they quickly scored a TD.
2. The other play that I thought won the game for Carolina was the 2nd and 17 at our 37 and Newton threw what I thought was an unbelievable pass to Steve Smith at the one yard line. Josh Wilson had great coverage and Doughty was a tad late to get over (wonder if Atogwe could have made the play) but the ball was thrown perfectly. It had a nice arc and couldn't have been put in a more perfect spot. It was a good catch by Smith as well but that play killed the Skins.
In the end, the Skins find themselves at 3-3. I am okay with that. I still like the make up of the team and feel like we have made strides. 3-1 gave most fans false hope. We are rebuilding. I was disappointed with the defense but I still believe we are taking steps in the right direction and even if we don't win more games than last year, I think we are a much better team than last year because we have guys that are young, talented, can grow and that we can build around. We were never going to get all the pieces this season. As muddled as the NFC looks this season, I believe we can compete with pretty much any team.
20 comments:
John Beck was John Beck - he didn't do anything. He got a little over 100 of his yards late in the game on short 10 yard passes in trash time with the game out of reach at 30-13.
Al Goldy's post-game comments included an admission that most of Beck's yards were in trash time. He said it explictly.
Here is what Jason Cole said at Yahoo Sports:
"Loathed: Seeing Washington quarterback John Beck(notes) put up some reasonable numbers in the second half against Carolina. I have nothing against Beck, but this is a perfect example of how numbers fool people. Over the first three quarters, Beck was mediocre to awful, so Washington fans better not be duped by the promise of some half-decent numbers at the end of the game."
Looking at his numbers and seeing him play in the first half, I would say that Beck did exactly what I expected - nothing of consequence. Maybe Cole and Goldy were also incorrect, but they seem to support my expectations and my impression of what happened.
I said the Deadskins will lose 8 of the last 11 if they changed over to Beck and I will stand by that. In fact, given how bad the Carolina D is and the schedule that the Deadskins are looking at, getting 3 more wins with Beck at the helm seems overly optimistic.
One other thought - the Deadskin D is going to be exposed for what it is. A 4-3 personnel team trying to play a 3-4 D that just does not fit them.
Now that they are playing better offenses, the Deadskin D is going to flail around.
The D-linemen that they have would work really, really well in the Bears 4-3 system. They do not have a true nose tackle and Orakpo and Kerrigan are much better suited to be D ends in a traditional 4-3.
We'll likely see Buffalo torch this D and Beck will have another nothing performance.
One other thought, the Deadskin players don't really like or respect Glenn Beck. It goes back to last year when he was lobbying hard to take over for McNabb and then he lobbied to be named the starter over Rex this pre-season. Both Donovan and Rex are more popular.
Yesterday, after the game, he made some comment alluding to the poor play of the D (I cannot find the quote, but he was commenting on how when the Deadskins pulled to within 16-13, the D couldn't stop Cam.
Then here are two quotes from after the game:
“I want to be the guy, and I gave it everything I had,” he said. “I prepared my tail off this week. . . . There’s no more that I could’ve done going into this.
“I just want to win, that’s the number one thing. However it can happen. I don’t care if we run the ball 60 times a game and I don’t throw it once, I just want to win. That’s how you remain the guy.”
The latter part of the quote isn't bad, but in total, he just seems like an arse.
There are a lot of quotes by Deadskin defensive players in Jason Reid's piece today:
"They control their own destiny with a guy like that,” strong safety LaRon Landry said of Newton. “He’s a great quarterback. He’s phenomenal. You just have to keep on building around him.”
“You can’t coach that kid’s toughness,” cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. “You can’t coach his swag. You can’t coach his attitude and his demeanor to be great. You can’t coach that, man. And that kid definitely has it.”
“He’s the real deal,” inside linebacker London Fletcher said. “And the thing is, when you’ve got a franchise quarterback, it gives you confidence you’re gonna have a chance each and every week. Especially when you have a young guy like him. He’s a guy you can rally around for the next 10, 12 years.”
These quotes are complementary to Cam, but they also say something about what the team thinks about its own QBs. It will be interesting to see what happens, but I think there is a very real schism on the team about Beck.
I looked more closely at the numbers for Beck yesterday. If you take away the one trash time drive late in the game with Carolina up 30-13, Beck would have finished 15-27 for 199 yards and one interception.
Look, I know he did have that one drive, but my contention is that he padded his stats late in the game with the game out of reach and Carolina playing soft.
To further support my view that Beck didn't do anything of consequence look what happened right after the TD. The D stopped Carolina and forced a punt. What did Beck do with the ball? Complete pass, incomplete pass, lame duck throw to the sideline that was intercepted (maybe Hankerson ran the wrong pattern, maybe not).
So I have not supported Beck much this season but I have to say having watched the game, I was pleased with Beck's performance.
Rick Maese of the Post thought he was solid and B Mitch and Matich of CSN were pleased with his performance.
I completely disagree with Cole. He didn't put up numbers in the first half because it was obvious they focused on the run. In the opening half, Washington ran the ball 18 times and threw it only 12. Beck had 53 yards passing through the first two quarters. The game plan was run and short pass. He ran what he was told to run. Right before the half when we got the ball, he did send it deep down the sideline but Gaffney dropped it.
The second half he threw for nearly 230 yards. All of his passes in the second half included:
Opening drive: Only pass attempt - J.Beck pass deep middle to J.Gaffney to CAR 48 for 32 yards
Second drive:
1st and 10 at WSH 18 J.Beck pass short right to F.Davis to WAS 40 for 22 yards (C.Godfrey).
1st and 10 at WSH 40 J.Beck pass short right to L.Paulsen to CAR 36 for 24 yards (C.Godfrey).
2nd and 6 at CAR 32 J.Beck pass short middle to L.Paulsen to CAR 8 for 24 yards (J.Anderson; J.Phillips).
2nd and 15 at CAR 15 J.Beck pass short left to F.Davis to CAR 4 for 11 yards (C.Munnerlyn).
Third drive:
1st and 10 at WSH 20 J.Beck pass incomplete short right to A.Armstrong.
2nd and 10 at WSH 20 J.Beck pass incomplete short right to F.Davis. (I believe this was the drop that hit Davis right in the hands)
3rd and 10 at WSH 20 (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to T.Austin to WAS 28 for 8 yards (S.Martin).
First drive in 4th qtr:
1st and 10 at WSH 20 J.Beck pass incomplete short left to T.Austin (G.Hardy).
2nd and 10 at WSH 20 (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short middle to N.Paul to WAS 34 for 14 yards (D.Butler).
1st and 10 at WSH 34 (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to J.Gaffney to WAS 49 for 15 yards (J.Anderson).
1st and 10 at WSH 49 (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short right to F.Davis to CAR 34 for 17 yards (C.Godfrey).
1st and 10 at CAR 34 (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short right to F.Davis to CAR 20 for 14 yards (T.Williams).
1st and 10 at CAR 20 (Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete short left to T.Austin (C.Munnerlyn).
2nd and 10 at CAR 20 (Shotgun) J.Beck pass incomplete short right to A.Armstrong.
3rd and 10 at CAR 20 (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.)
1st and 9 at CAR 9 (Shotgun) J.Beck pass short left to R.Helu to CAR 7 for 2 yards (T.Williams).
2nd and 7 at CAR 7 (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.
You can say this drive was dinks and dunks but I would disagree and we scored in 3 minutes so even it was dumpoffs, I can live with that.
The next drive was the INT to Hankerson and the final drive, it was pretty much over.
Look, I am not saying that Beck is the savior. I am still not sold on the guy but I was pleased with his play yesterday and had no issue at all with him.
JKSD and I had a very interesting call yesterday. Apparently, JKSD still thinks that this team is a solid team, which exhibits a higher level of optimism than I can muster after so many years of disappointment. Parity only works when either one of the two following occurs:
1) Key starters stay healthy for the whole year.
2) If there are injuries, there is younger talent on the team that can step up.
Unfortunately, the Skins are in trouble on both fronts. I look for them to be blown out by the Bills this week.
He wasn't horrible. He was just Glenn Beck doing the best he can - which is not much.
Let me be clear, I don't blame the loss on Beck. Here is the problem as I see it. The Deadskins aren't a very good team. If they are going to really compete and win some games they are going to need their QB to step up and make plays.
Beck is a game manager at best. He is not going to make plays when you need him to, especially against better NFL defenses.
I think his game yesterday was as good as he can play. That is the ceiling on his play - there is nothing more that he can do for you. Given that the Carolina defense stinks, Beck's performance is pretty sub-par.
If you play gun-slinging Rex you have a chance to make some big plays and win some games. Maybe you win a shootout 31-27 or 34-30. If you take Beck then you are going to get stuck losing a lot of games 24-14, 27-20, etc.
With Beck at the helm, I think the Bills are going to sack him a couple of times, get 2 ints, and force another fumble. And I don't think the Bills D is that good either - but it is better than Carolina. The Deadskins will still lose the ball but you won't have any of Rex's flair for big plays.
We'll see.
Man, you are really lit up about this Beck stuff.
Your quotes comment is silly. I guarantee that if you look hard enough, you will find plenty of quotes from opposing teams commending Newton for his play. The guy has been fantastic and a huge difference maker for that team and the comments the Skins players are making I'm sure are similar to what other teams players are saying.
"Lame duck" pass to Hankerson? It wasn't a duck. There was zip on the ball but it was clear there was miscommunication. Who was at fault is debatable but it was clear they weren't on the same page.
Look, again, it's not like I am a huge Beck fan but your criticism is crazy - particularly given that you didn't watch much of the game.
Scott, that is not the conversation we had. I do think we are an improved team from previous years. However, this past offseason was the first time in years that we focused on true rebuilding by getting younger and deeper. If we can get another offseason like this past one, we will be much better. There is no question that there is young talent on this team that can be used to build around. I have never said (and didn't say in our conversation) that we are a playoff team this season.
Scott, you called me up after Beck's first TD and were very pleased with his play and the drive. With you, a win (particularly if the QB throws for 4 TDs), you are ready to drive the wagon but a loss and you are ready to blow the whole thing up. You are what I consider more of a typical Skins fan.
Robs, Rexy didn't pull the trigger when he was in there. His numbers showed his decline in play. It's not that I am a Beck fan but I do believe his play yesterday was better than what Rexy has shown in previous weeks. I do not believe he is the answer but I do not believe Rexy is the answer either. Yes, Rexy has his stinkers but I was waiting for the game where he lit it up and after 5 games, it didn't happen. What we have are two QBs that are okay at best. Who is to say what Rexy would have done against Carolina? Maybe he would have thrown for 400 yards or maybe he would have thrown 3 INTs. Who knows? Beck's numbers and play YESTERDAY were solid and he certainly can't be blamed for the loss.
I thought it would be lower scoring with the defense being able to contain a rookie qb.
It ended up being higher scoring because the defense did not play good.
Ill just say that it was John Beck's first start. I cant expect him to go out there and throw for 350 yards and 3 tds in just one game and at will. so far the sample size for beck is small. yeah sure after 5 games if he still puts up mediocre numbers and hes not winning games, then maybe its time to pull the plug on him too. One thing is for sure, he did not lose the game for them as Rex Grossman did on two occasions and almost 3. Becks performance could also be attributed to the lack of talent around him and poor play calling. Im sure if you put Aaron Rodgers in Beck's shoes, you wont see gaudy numbers.
its a rebuilding year again. these losses are expected. as long as they keep improving, and can stay competitive, ill say they are moving in the right direction regardless of outcome.
I don't blame him for the loss. I just say he won't do anything to overcome adversity for the team.
Rex is inconsistent, but he has blow up games that show his talent. We'll see if Beck can do anything, but it seems unlikely to me.
You are looking in the face of another 7-9 year (at best) after a promising start.
Here is an interesting note that Dan Steinberg put in his piece in the Post today: "Through his first 22 games with the Redskins, Jim Zorn was 10-12 as a head coach. Mike Shanahan is now 9-13."
We didn't see any of Rexy's "blow up" games. His play was not great. The numbers show that.
I'm not saying that Beck is the answer but I was okay with his play on Sunday. Again, it is one game and we'll see if he can play similarly or if he will put up Rexy like INTs.
As far as the records of Shanny and Zorn, I don't care too much. You will not hear a single person on the Skins say that things were better run under Zorn as compared to Shanny. Even former player (Rabach after getting cut) commended the Skins front office for making a good selection at coach.
We will take a step back before we go forward. The roster was overhauled to get rid of aging divas and bring in youth, depth, and character guys that better fit the schemes. That much is clear. As I have said a million times, it won't come together overnight. However, I like the direction and we finally seem like we are building something and continuing in this direction will lead to better results.
The season is on the brink of going horribly wrong. There will be questions about this regime when they take a few blowouts. Make no mistake, a few are coming.
I said in the offseason/preseason, the defense is the side where we need to see improvement as that is where we made more of our additions (Bowen, Cofield, Atogwe, Wilson, Kerrigan). I can be patient with the offense.
So far, outside of two halves (the first half against Philly and the second half against Carolina), the defense has played well.
Again, you won't find a single player say things were better under Zorny than Shanny.
comparing zorn and shanny is comparing two different mind sets. zorn inherited a playoff team. where as shanny has taken a broken team and is in rebuilding.
Rex Grossman is really no better than Beck.
Since 2003 (9 years in the nfl):
*only one year where he threw for more than 10 TDs (23 tds)
*only one year where he thew for more than 3000 yards ( 3193)
*only one season in which he played more than 8 games
Ill say that he had one good year but that year, he still threw 20 Ints and basically lost the superbowl for the Bears.
Very pedestrian. the fact that hes played more than 8 games only once in nine years sounds very John Beck like.
My point is that Grossman got his second chance and it didnt work. It didnt work because hes not a good QB. Hes not a winner.
In the Bears superbowl year, the Defense was amazing and so was the special teams. Id also say that the Bears would have won against the colts if it werent for Grossmans two late interceptions.
The D will end up around #25 and there will be a divided locker room with a lot of finger pointing. This will become more clear after a couple of blowout losses in coming weeks. It is not looking good right now.
It looks to me like the Deadskins will again end up last in the East. Fourth straight year.
Things can change in one week. The Pears were down and many people were all over them and now they are back in the thick of things. The Lions were the toast of the town and after two straight losses, people are questioning how legit they are.
We are down right now and while I don't think we are a playoff team, the expectations have to be realistic. I will say it again, we are in rebuilding mode. It is our first year in rebuilding mode. Yes, Shanny was here last season but I would never call that year a rebuilding year. We are definitely improved and need another offseason similar to the one we just had and we will be much more competitive. I have maintained this position from the get go.
I wouldn't be surprised in the least to finish last. The Eagles are built to win now and the Giants have had much more stability than us because of them buildng around a core group of guys and having consistency at coaching. The Cowboys have good talent but are unpredictable. We are trying to play catch up to them.
The thing is there is no question there is better youth/talent on this team and we have a group of guys that we can start building around. This is the biggest difference from previous years.
I would not say, "There is no question . . ."
Until enough of those younger players that Shanny has brought in make a difference we can't be sure.
I like Kerrigan (although he is not playing his natural position). Helu will likely contribute as a part-time back, but he is not going to be a star. Jackson may be good at linebacker. But who else are we talking about?
If the Deadskins finish up the year 6-10 or 7-9, it will certainly be debatable.
Atogwe for Moore is an upgrade.
Wilson for Rogers is a wash.
Cofield for Haynesworth is an upgrade.
Bowen for Daniels is an upgrade.
Kerrigan for Carter is an upgrade.
As far as the youth, the draft this season included:
Kerrigan - a starter and candidate for defensivey ROY.
Helu - a solid contributor on the offense.
Paul - special teamer and seeing time at WR.
Neild - a NT that has a couple of sacks already.
Gomes - is a solid special teamer and saw his first action last week when Doughty went down.
Hankerson may end up being the second coming of Devin Thomas but he has the tools to be a quality WR. We'll see if he pans out.
Apparently in preseason, the best of the rookie crop was Jarvis Jenkins. He was competing for a starting job before he went down in the preseason.
There is no question we are better with these guys in as opposed to Wynn, Daniels, Carter, Holliday, Alexander, Moore, etc.
We'll see if those guys pan out. I think it is to early to say. Like I said, only Kerrigan looks like a true impact player right now. The other guys are OK, but we'll see.
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