Wasn't the prettiest win and The Raiders didn’t have their starting quarterback and lost their star running back early in the second half but I am not going to apologize for any victory and the Skins found a way to win their first game 24-14 against Oakland.
Didn't look good early as the Skins gave up a blocked punt in their end zone recovered by the Raiders giving them a quick 7-0 lead. Oakland engineered another drive making it 14-0 in the first quarter. However, borrowing the Iggles playbook, the Skins went no huddle and quickly drove down the field to inside the Raiders five yard line but an intentional grounding call on RG3 killed the drive and we settled for a FG. On the ensuing Raider drive, perhaps the play of the game, when rookie David Amerson stepped in front of a Raider WR crossing over the middle and got a pick six to make the score 14-10 and the momentum had quickly shifted.
The rest of the game, SURPRISINGLY, the Redskins defense took over. They stopped the run and put consistent pressure on Matt Flynn sacking him seven times total with quiet superstar Ryan Kerrigan in on three of them which included knocking the ball out with a Barry Cofield recovery. The Skins offense did enough to score two more TDs (a short RG3 to Garcon pass for a TD and a good run by Helu to seal the game).
Again, it was pretty but a win is a win and we needed it. It does boost morale and motivation going into the bye week. The other great part is that all the other teams in the NFC Least lost allowing the Skins to only be one game out of first with our next game against divisional leader and rival Dallas Cowboys. A win there and all is grand in Redskin land.
A couple of notes:
1. Morris had to leave the game with what was described as a bruised rib. I suppose the injury comes at a good time with the bye week coming but Roy Helu certainly seems capable of handling the load should Morris be out for an extended amount of time.
2. Kerrigan is a superstar. The guy is the most unassuming star I have ever seen. Just seems like a nice guy that goes out and plays hard each and every week and makes big plays. I am happy for him.
3. Special teams needs to improve. We've had some issues this season and the blocked punt didn't help. Danny Smith left the Skins to go to his hometown Steelers and we brought in T.C. Williams grad and for Denver Broncos special teams great Keith Burns. This group has to improve. Our return game is minimal and short/blocked punts has to improve.
4. RG3 was okay. He did some scrambling and I think he is still trying to get his legs back but it's good to see him move around more. Again, I expect better play week to week.
5. Offensive coaching questions. One thing I have noticed a lot of in the first few games is that opposing teams are blitzing a lot. Maybe it's because they want to see how healthy RG3 is and make him beat teams with his arm. That's fine. However, seems like we need to have more shorter passes called to address the continual blitzing. I noticed that guys are still in their routes as the blitz is coming and it puts RG3 in a vulnerable position. I may be wrong on this but would like to see the game film to see what's going on.
6. I like Amerson. He seems like a keeper. The guy is big, physical, and athletic. He's made some mistakes but by in large, I think he has played pretty well so far this season. He came in known as a playmaker and he had a huge one yesterday. I expect good things from him over the years.
7. Help coming for the defense. The bye week also brings the return of Jarvis Jenkins and Rob Jackson to the Skins as they finished serving their four game suspensions. These two guys should help out so it's good to be getting them back for our next game.
In the end, we did what we needed to do and we are right back in the thick of things. Funny how much can change in one week. The Skins should get some time off to rest and then it's back to work to prepare for the Assboyz.
HAIL SKINS!!!
2 comments:
Good win for Skins. They desperately needed it. They were able to stop the Raiders on third downs and convert enough of their own. The best thing for the skins is that they are right in the race for NFC east. That may be all the motivation they need. Unfortunately their schedule is very difficult. If everything doenst go their way, they may easily lose the next few games consecutively.
The win over the Raiders wasn't an impressive win at all. Now we know why Flynn has lost two starting jobs in two years. McFadden was injured also. Still I give credit to Skins defense more. The Offense only scored 17 points against a widely regarded weak opponent. A week off should help with Carrriker and Jenkins and Jackson coming back. I dont know how good this offense will be. 4 weeks in, and it doesn't look like it will as prolific as last year at all. I think the Defense will have to carry the team. Teams in the NFL have figured out how to defend the Read option. At least much better than last year which posses a huge problem for this offense as we are seeing.
The East is wide open. We have the bye week and then it's the Cowboys. A win there and we have a chance to be in first place in the division.
I do believe this team hasn't even played close to their best football. I do believe the offense will improve over the course of the season. The question is if the defense can hold enough for the offense to get going.
Getting Jenkins and Jackson back will definitely help. I think Carriker is done for the season so can't really count on him coming back this year.
There is a lot of football yet to be played and much can happen in just one week. We'll see how this season unfolds.
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