No real surprise that the Skins fell to the 9ers given our offensive woes. Interesting because my prediction was pretty much spot on. It's tough because defensively we did enough to win the game. The problem is that our offense is terrible and I am convinced a large part of it is because of John Beck. The guy cannot play. With that, let me get into my grades.
Special Teams: B: This is largely because of Gano's 59 yard FG which was pretty tremendous. The kick and punt coverages were good too. However, Banks is starting to look like the second coming of ARE. Actually not that bad but what bothers me about him is that he is so intent on trying to make a play that he forgets his fundamentals. He fielded a punt inside our 5 and then did nothing. That is football 101 and it was a mistake. He also regularly tries to return kickoffs that are sent deep into our end zone. I understand why he is doing this as he is trying to justify his job on the roster since this is his only function but he has to do better and be smarter. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind seeing Austin back there.
Defense: B-: I thought this group did enough to win the game. Given that they got NO help from the offense, I was pleased with their effort. The turnover right before the half that set up the 49er TD was a killer but we got consistent pressure Smith and did a decent job against Gore. I am comfortable with this group.
Offense: D-: The only reason why this grade is not an F is because it was nice to see production from Hankerson, Helu, and Mo Hurt. Hankerson actually looks like he is capable out there as he saw his first extended action. However, Beck is useless. Much of the blame for the offensive issues fall on him. I know Shanny was trying to defend him but you could see in his face he wasn't thrilled with Beck. All he did was dump off. For F's sake, Helu caught 14 passes! Never took a shot downfield. Blocking was decent during the game so that is not an excuse. Again, teams are going to take the run away and force Beck to beat them and he can't do it. There were also some dropped balls by Davis and Austin that were disappointing but I am tired of Beck.
I wasn't happy when the switch was made as we were 3-1 (on the road to 3-2) and atop the East. I admit that I wasn't satisfied with Grossman and I still don't think he is that great but he is much better than Beck. I heard Kyle Shanny last week saying that Beck is essentially a rookie but if that is their feelings on the guy, why make the freaking change when they did? You put in a rookie when the season is tanked and you want to see the potential future.
Now I will say that Beck was okay in Carolina. He made some nice decisions and throws but he was bad against the Bills (granted I thought the offense was bad in general so I can't put it all on him). However, I put more blame on him against SF because again he had time and his WRs (Davis and Gaffney) said that they were open a number of times. Beck will say that he needs to review the tape but I say F THE TAPE! He isn't capable of playing. He was probably scared of throwing INTs (especially after his first downfield throw was an INT - looked like he was late throwing it to Davis).
Now I like what we have done on defense and I said before the season started that we needed to see progress on the defensive side of the ball and I give credit to Shanny for improving the defense but the one thing he has completely botched is the QB situation. The Mc5 situation was a fiasco and going to Beck was a mistake. Shanny has already named Beck starter for next week's game against Miami and now that Beck is in, I am fine with that but this should be the last straw. If Beck can't get up and perform against the team that drafted him and then cut him, he will show that he can't play and I say go back to Rexy to at least get something going with our offense.
I can appreciate the players telling Beck to keep his head up and patting him on the back but our offense has taken a big step back with him in. Also, those roll outs that Beck does isn't fooling anyone. A j.v. high school coach could game plan against that and it's obvious the last three weeks our opponents were ready for that so that's not doing anything. Again, lets see what Beck can do against the Fins but if it goes south (which I expect), bring Rexy back.
I pretty much said this was going to happen. I said that Beck would get in and struggle and all the people chanting for Beck will see him for what he is and then want Rexy back. We'll see what happens.
13 comments:
He is Captain Checkdown. The guy does not throw with much purpose and seems afraid to throw downfield.
He is who he is - a third string QB playing the part of an NFL starter.
If the Deadskins are going to win any more games this year they are going to have to go to Rex - at least he gives them a chance.
The D was OK against an efficient, but hardly overpowering 49er offense. I think they played a fairly conservative game offensively because they knew they had the game under control.
I'm still not that convinced about the Deadskin D, but they played fine yesterday.
The Skins do not look good.
I really am doubting that this team is any improved from last year. I really don't see them winning more than 2 more games this year. Miami looked pretty good yesterday so that might not even be a cake walk. Itll be a tough fought game but I think the Redskins will win.
You cant just put in Rex Grossman and magically expect everything to work. There's probably going some disconnect there.
You said it right:
"I wasn't happy when the switch was made as we were 3-1 (on the road to 3-2) and atop the East. I admit that I wasn't satisfied with Grossman and I still don't think he is that great but he is much better than Beck. I heard Kyle Shanny last week saying that Beck is essentially a rookie but if that is their feelings on the guy, why make the freaking change when they did? You put in a rookie when the season is tanked and you want to see the potential future. "
That really puts into question the competencies of the coaching staff. It just seems like they have no clue. I pretty much agree with your assessment of the game. One other thing I noticed is when Fox would put the camera on the coaches. You see Harbaugh running around, yelling at his players and just actively engaged in whats going on on the field. The cameras then switch to Shanny and hes just standing there staring out into space or just walking with his hands behind his back without any emotion. I dont know if thats his coaching style but Id rather have Harbaugh.
Itll be interesting to see if the Skins can win this weekend.
Robs, I have no problem with the D. It is MUCH improved from last year and still learning so no problem with them. The main issue with them is that they get NO help from the offense and that hurts them a lot.
JSR, all coaches are different. Belichik is not a big rah rah kind of guy so I don't care that one guy is animated and one is not. I don't know how many more games the Skins will win but we are certainly better than last year. Again, where you have to understand the improvements are in the organization where we cleaned house and got rid of a lot of garbage and then instilled more order and structure. Then we made most of our offseason improvements on the defensive side of the ball and clearly we are stronger there. I expected to struggle on offense although not as bad as we are. The biggest problem is the QB. John Beck is terrible. I firmly believe that if Grossman was in there this past week, we would have been able to move the ball much more efficiently because he would've taken shots downfield where it was clear guys were open.
Again, we may not win as many games as last year but we are rebuilding and we made strides on defense and have guys we can build around. We have 12 picks in the upcoming draft and need to focus on the offense. If we can find ourselves a decent QB, we can improve significantly. Honestly, with Beck in there, we are playing without a QB. Not sure how many teams can win in that situation.
I am still okay with the Shannys. I felt that the offensive game plan was sound this week but the QB execution was poor. I think what happens this offseason and results next year will be telling of Shanahan. We'll see what he can muster.
Unless Shanny walks away on his own - which I doubt - he will most certainly be back.
I do think the Deadskins are going to have some blowout losses in coming weeks as they play better offensive teams. Their D is better than last year, but I don't think it is as good as you think. We'll find out.
I think Miami is going to beat the Deadskins pretty soundly and then the Beck experiment will mercifully be over. The Deadskins will then surprise a couple of teams with wins as Rex plays like his normal hot/cold self.
How about CEAFOD? I'm waiting for your normal weekly posting.
No reason for Shanny to walk away. We are rebuilding. Seems like you guys are having a hard time understanding what that is. We will take steps back before we move forward.
We are halfway through the season and by and large the defense has been solid. We will give up points because the offense is not doing their share and staying on the field. It puts the defense at a real disadvantage. However, I am comfortable with this group and if we even had a semi proficient offense, we could win some games with this defensive group.
Focus of the offseason needs to be on the offense - specifically the QB.
I understand what rebuilding is. I think the difference we may have is that we may assess schemes and talent differently.
You think the Deadskins had a great draft and that the schemes are good but they do not execute them well.
I think the 4-3 would be better for their personnel and think there are still talent-related questions about the guys they have brought in. Other than Kerrigan, all of the other guys are just guys. Their talent level has yet to be truly understood.
I do know that Shanny does not have a good track record when it comes to talent evaluation and I am beginning to wonder about whether he is up to the enormous task that remains 2 years into his tenure.
I thought it was a very good offseason. I like Kerrigan and by all accounts Jarvis Jenkins was doing very well before he got hurt. I expect him to be a force next season. Helu is productive and Hankerson looks like he has promise. There are other guys as well that are contributing and we'll see if they can do more. However, there was also addition by subtraction. Don't have to deal with Fat Albert anymore and judging by his antics in NE, it seems like a good thing. Same with CP. As much as I liked him, he was a locker room liability. The defensive personnel is better and there are guys that you can build around. Keep in mind, that not EVERY draft pick pans out.
Where Shanny should be questioned as far as talent is the QB position. Mc5 was a big mistake and believing in Beck is a mistake. I know a lot of people are saying right now that we should have drafted a QB but I am fine with Kerrigan and happy that we focused on defense. There is no question that it is an improved defense and now we need to focus attention on offense.
Again, Shanny's third year will be very telling of what he can do.
I agree with your last comment. We will see next year.
For all of their draft picks this year it is not clear that anyone is really going to emerge as a star player. When you are as talent starved as the Deadskins are, you have to have some of your draft picks really take off if you are going to be successful.
There may be a few in a couple of years, but nobody really stands out yet. Even Kerrigan has a lot to prove yet.
Given his track record in Denver and the fact that there has been limited success so far, I am not sure Shanny is the right guy to be running the Deadskin organization.
Eliminating the distractions is fine, but ultimately you have to be competitive and win. The last few weeks I would not say that the Deadskins have been very competitive.
And, I really don't think it is just the QB that is the problem. It is a problem, but not the only problem.
We are not able to generate any offense. The offense was dwindling under Grossman but at least we were able to move the ball some.
Beck was okay against Carolina and he was bad (along with the rest of the offense) against the Bills. However, I felt that Beck was just bad against the 49ers. The defense did their part but our offense has taken a step back.
We can disagree on the defense. Again, I am comfortable with that group and the direction of them. I am comfortable with cleaning house and creating better organization there. I wasn't/am not comfortable with the offense. We need to make changes there and I expect that this offseason.
Year 3 will be telling.
Yeah I guess youre right in that a lot of the garbage from last year is gone and that the offense is not helping an improved defense. I just know that this team has a long way to go from where they are right now. If QB is the only issue, which its not, then it takes a while to develop a QB into a winner. Unless of course you have Andy Dalton or Cam Newton or Ben Rothlisberger. But those are rare cases and its improbable to find that next QB who is a winner right out of the gates. I just don't know if Shanny has that kind of time to develop a QB. Snyder isnt going sit back after a losing season this year and possibly next year.
I disagree with the Kerrigan pick. I think they should have gone after a QB and let this year be the grooming year, and fill some holes in free agency and make a push at the playoffs next season. Christian Ponder or Andy Dalton would have been excellent choices. Plugging in a LB is much easier than plugging in a QB.
I don't have a problem with Kerrigan per se, but I do think that it would have made more sense if they had a 4-3. In their 3-4, they basically have two guys in Orakpo and Kerrigan who are good rush players but not as good in space and coverage. They basically have two Clay Matthews when you only need one.
I'm not sure Dalton or Ponder would have been good picks either. Ponder was a reach and I'm not sure that he is that good. Dalton has been perfect for Cincy, but I'm not sure that he would be a fit in DC. Cam certainly doesn't fit Shanny's system.
QBs are always risky in the first round. If I were the Deadskins I likely would have gone offensive line or secondary, but Kerrigan seems like a good player who will be productive.
I think we have yet to see if the D is really all that much better. If Beck continues to be the starter - which I don't expect after this week - the Deadskins will lose all of their remaining games.
After they lose this week, Shanny will go back to Rex and the Deadskins will go 3-4 down the stretch.
However, in any event, I think the D will give up 30 points in at least 4 of the last 8 games.
JSR, actually we have seen recently many more rookie QBs developing quickly than before (Newton, Dalton, Stafford, Ryan, Sanchez, Freeman, Bradford, etc.). There is NO question that the QB position is a HUGE liability for us right now. I believe the O line is solid enough. I am comfortable with our RBs and TE. WRs we need to see if Hankerson and/or Paul can be a playmaker. If not, we need to get another WR as Moss and Gaffney are getting long in the tooth.
I am fine with the pick of Kerrigan. We had Andre Carter and Lorenzo Alexander manning that spot last year and both sucked. Again, it was a major need and I have been pleased with the play of Kerrigan. Again, at the midway point of the year, the Skins have had a solid defense. We are ranked high statistically and that's saying something given how poor our offense has been. Honestly, we have had about three bad halves of football.
As far as the 3-4 or 4-3 debate. Again, there is a lot of 4 down lineman sets so there is 4-3 aspects to the defense.
Additionally, you need to understand the 3-4. There are two major variations of the 3–4 defense. Both variations are directly related to coverage schemes on obvious passing downs. For the first type, the outside linebackers will rush the quarterback, the great majority of the time. This defensive scheme is largely attributed to Dick LeBeau, and this is the one we run. On key situations, the rush linebacker will be sent to cover the flat on the opposite side of the blitzing defensive back; this is the infamous "zone blitz". The other common 3–4 defense is typically associated with the New England Patriots. This scheme requires outside linebackers to have the ability to back pedal and drop into coverage. Of course they do rush the passer at times, it is just that they are much more likely to drop into coverage.
I am comfortable with the personnel and the scheme. I will say that it would be nice to have a larger NT as that is key but as far as Kerrigan...neither he nor Orakpo has been a liability in coverage because they are not often going out in coverage.
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