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GREAT game! Obviously, the story was RG3. He was fantastic! Don Banks of SI summarized things well (see below).
Knowing what we know now, it turns out it was the Washington Redskins who got the steal in March when they shipped a mere three first-round picks and change to St. Louis for the rights to draft Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.
I mean, if you could renegotiate the terms of that blockbuster deal today, in light of Griffin's spectacular regular season debut on Sunday in a solar-plexis-punched Superdome, the Rams might wind up demanding Washington's first-round picks in perpetuity, plus insist Daniel Snyder pick up the tab for all those costly improvements St. Louis is seeking for the Edward Jones Dome.
And the Redskins would pay it. Gladly. If Griffin keeps this up, no price would have been too high, no package too costly for a Washington franchise that has been searching for a savior at quarterback at least since Joe Theismann retired several decades ago. If you thought the RGIII honeymoon was going well in Washington so far, the Redskins' 40-32 upset of the chip-on-their-shoulder New Orleans Saints should send it raging to ridiculous levels.
Griffin wasn't just as good as advertised, he was better. He threw for 320 yards (the fourth-highest total for any rookie quarterback in their debut) and two touchdowns on 19 of 26 passing while dismantling the Saints defense with a performance in which both his arm and legs (10 rushes for 42 yards) did significant damage.
You like symmetry? The Redskins scored exactly 10 points in each quarter, the same number Griffin now wears on his back. The 40 points were easily a high for the three-year Mike Shanahan era in D.C., and Griffin's perfect passer rating in the first half (158.3, 11 of 13 for 182 yards and two touchdowns) included an 88-yard scoring throw to new Redskins receiver Pierre Garcon, who happens to wear No. 88.
Indeed it was No. 1, as in the first. But with Griffin, you get the feeling there's much more to come and even bigger, better days ahead. As happy realities go, that's one I imagine Washington wouldn't trade for anything.
Other thoughts on the game:
1. RG3! Still can't say enough of that performance. He showed poise by hanging in the pocket throughout the game particularly on the TD to Garcon. Play action, blitz coming, RG3 saw it but held on to the ball just long enough for Garcon to make his cut and then released knowing he would take a good hit...TD. Throughout the game he hung in there. He ran when he needed to. His throws were accurate. He commanded the field. It is one game but hopefully this is a sign of good things to come. To Robs, I don't think anyone is talking QB controversy now.
2. Good coaching. Thought the Shannys did a good job utilizing RG3. Loved the rollouts as I know this is something Kyle wanted to do but never had the QB that could do it before. The Saints obviously had to respect the run AND pass when Bob rolled out. It's a great advantage for us. I liked that we came out doing short passes. Nothing too fancy and also kept New Orleans off balance.
3. Cundiff. He was 4 of 4 on his FGs including a 45 yarder. Feel a whole lot more comfortable with him in there than Guano.
4. Strong running. Morris took the lead but I felt like all the backs had solid games running hard and getting good yardage on the ground (a total of 153 yards).
5. O line play was solid. For the most part, RG3 was never under major pressure. As mentioned, the run game was solid. I'll take that O line play any day.
6. Defense was solid. The game didn't feel as close as the score. I thought we mounted good pressure on Brees. We gave up two late TDs both on 4th downs which I didn't like but particularly in the first half, we shut Brees and Co. down. Even on NO first TD (pass from Brees to Graham), I thought it was perfect coverage by Fletcher with help from Williams over the top. It was just a perfect pass to the very tall and athletic Graham. I felt good about the defensive effort. We need to clamp down on those fourth downs but it was a good effort.
7. Special teams average. I thought Banks was good in the return game. Made me feel better about retaining him. Already mentioned Cundiff's game. The blocked punt was unacceptable. Not sure who had the assignment (had to be either Young or Doughty) but they just plain missed the assignment allowing for an unimpeded lane towards Rocca for an easy block that led to a TD right before the half. That was a momentum changer and could have proved to be a disaster for the Skins.
All in all, to be able to go down to NO and beat a quality team particularly the way we did, I was VERY happy. That's one of the tougher places to play so you have to feel good. Again, RG3 was better than I could have ever hoped for and I love that all his teammates rallied behind him and that RG3 has quickly become a leader on this team. Hopefully it is a sign of good things to come. Makes that 2-14 prediction for the Skins look ridiculous.
Again, it is one game so can't get too excited but there were a lot of positives and for the first time in a long time we look like a real team heading in the right direction.
HTTR!!!
8 comments:
Good start. But this is still a team that will end 7-9. What I hope doesn't happen is people start to think that Bob will have games like yesterday every week.
He rushed 10 times - too many in the NFL. He will get hurt and that will end the Deadskin season.
I didn't watch the game, but there is some debate about how well prepared the Saints were. Their coaching situation is obviously a problem.
Every year the Deadskins start strong and fade away.
The redskins played great overall. I was highy impressed by RG3. Looked like a seasoned vet. He makes all the difference in the world. Running game was on. Dfense was dominant. I really cant find a flaw in their performance on both sides of the ball. One thing is for sure this team is headed in the right direction.
The Saints def were not the usual saints besides Brees for the most part. it is clear how important Sean Payton is to that team. They were not really prepared or coached like last years team.
I am even more intrigued by RG3.
What you hope doesn't happen is people start to think that Bob will have games like yesterday every week? Of course that is going to happen. That is the nature of fans.
Right now, there are fans across the country ready to buy their Super Bowl tickets or throw all their team garb away based on how their team fared yesterday. Okay, so I am embellishing a bit but you get the gist of what I am saying. Fans go overboard on a weekly basis.
Look, it was one game so we are commenting on yesterday's game. That said, it was a GREAT performance. That sentiment seems universal if you look at the headlines of most reputable news outlets. You will probably dig up some article from a jr. high school newspaper written by a guy on the a/v squad that criticizes RG3 but the fact is that he was awesome yesterday. Again, it was one game so who knows if he will fare the same on a weekly basis. My guess is that he won't given that he had such a tremendous performance. However, I also believe that we will see quality QB performances more times than not and he increases our chance of success immensely.
You didn't even watch the game, Robs. If you get a chance, it is pretty clear even for a novice football viewer that the kid can play.
NO was fine. You won't find a guy on that team making excuses for their loss. Again, they are a veteran laden team with guys that have played together well for a number of seasons. They were beaten. I don't doubt NO is going to be a solid team again this season.
I'm not saying Super Bowl or anything for the Redskins and, again, it was ONE game. That said, it was a good team effort led by a GREAT performance by RG3. We'll see how he/the team fares next week in St. Louis.
He definitely makes the game more fun to watch.
HTTR!!!
One game does not a season or career make! Luck had all kinds of trouble against the Bears. But he showed signs that he can play. What is troubling is that just like every year, the Deadskins started well and fans are delusional. I am not saying he did not play very well, but what is irritating is that already there is drooling and crazy talk about Bob leading this Deadskin team to the playoffs this year.
Next week they go to St. Louis and if he plays well again and the Deadskins beat one of the weaker teams in the NFL, many fans will be buying trips to the Super Bowl. Crazy.
Robs, I assume you wrote what you did prior to reading my response.
Skins beat the Giants in the opener last season pretty decisively. Then they barely beat Arizona. And from there on they went down hill. Same may or may not happpen again. RG3 wont perform to this level week in week out. No qb does except mvp caliber ones. Hes under a microscope and the reactions to his performances will be amplified. Teams will gameplan for him as more info becomes available. Not to mention the shannys have had all offseason to gameplan against the saints and prepare RG3 for the saints. None the less it was a great performance that couldnt have kicked off his career and season any better.
Agree with JSR. It was one game. It was a good game but it is meaningless if we don't build off of it.
I say this pretty much every year...you really don't know how good/bad a team is until several weeks into the season when you can see how a team performs over a course of several weeks.
The only thing I can say is that I am encouraged by RG3 and the team in general. We are definitely younger and appear faster and certainly have more depth.
HTTR!!!
Yep, I wrote it while you were writing/posting.
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