The first quarter was a debacle but outside of that it was a competitive game. The Skins were just sloppy all around in the first quarter. Fortunately we didn't dig too big a hole and still had a chance late but it wasn't to be. Here are a few thoughts on the game:
1. Wilson. The guy shredded the Skins D early and had like 80 yards rushing in the first quarter. What was most bothersome about these yards was that much of them came off of the bootleg or read option. For F sake play your position! Whether it was O-Krapo, Kerrigan, or Murphy all these guys bit on the handoff. I don't doubt this was practiced and these guys have seen RG3 do it so fine if it happens once but it happened over and over again. Play your freaking position! I know it is easier said than done but these guys are the best at what they do and they need to be disciplined. It was frustrating to see it happen over and over again. I also know that Lynch is a beast and that you have to pursue from the back but trust your teammates to make a play and stay home and do your job/role.
2. 1st quarter stunk. Whether it was biting on the boot or dropped balls, missed blocks, missed assignments, it was just all ugly in the first quarter. Just sucky! The only redeeming thing was that it did get much better after the first quarter.
3. Field position. Just really poor field position for us all game and as a result, Seattle had really good field position. Didn't mind going for the onside kick when we did. The only problem was that because it didn't work, it pretty much set up poor field position for most of the second half. I believe there was a stat that came up in the fourth quarter that we didn't have a drive start from outside the 20 yard line the entire game and many of the drives started within the 10 yard line.
4. Play of the game. We had a chance late in the game after scoring to get the ball back for a last drive. On a 3rd and short, Wilson just made a big time play. He got pursuit from Kerrigan and spun around and ran to his left with pressure coming. He floated a pass just over the out stretched hands of Jason Hatcher to Lynch who got the ball deep into the Skins territory. Great play and it sealed the victory.
In the end, outside of the first quarter, it was a solid effort. Still, there are no moral victories and it stinks. I know everyone wants to be down on the Skins and while I'm not thrilled with a loss, this is something to build off of. It wasn't the sort of embarrassment that took place a couple of weeks ago against the Giants. Have to get better and healthy and keep pressing on.
At least the Nats won and kept there season alive.
4 comments:
I saw some of the game. From what I saw, I felt like the skins didn't do enough to get the running game going. Morris only had 13 attempts. That could be because they were down 17-0 in the first half but still part of getting the running game going is being successful at it. I thought the play of the game was Cousins to Jackson for the 60 yd td. Cousins showed some Aaron Rodgers type elusiveness and accuracy. That is instinct and can't be taught. I enjoyed watching that. He looked inaccurate on many other throws but I think those types of passes will decrease with time. Look the seahawks are the best the NFC has to offer and they played them as well as a team with a new coach, new qb, new receivers could play them. The seahawks have a tough offense to defend. You're never really going to shut them down. The skins defensive performance was better than what they showed against the Giants. I think they will get better.
The skins aren't meant to win anything this year. What I am looking for is to see if they can show some signs of a team coming together. What I want to see is for them to pull off a couple of wins. Maybe go 7-4 or 6-5 the rest of the way out. Looking at the schedule, and the way their future opponents are playing, it can be accomplished.
The Seahawks are the top team in the NFC. Again, outside of the first quarter, I thought the Skins played them well.
I would like to see more of Morris in general but Seattle is a very hard team to run against. I am okay with the play calling.
Honestly, everyone got really down on the Skins because of that Thursday debacle and frankly I think Thursday games are a mistake. No player or coach likes these games and as you can see from the last few weeks, EVERY Thursday game has been a blow out (a minimum of 20 point victory). These games are not good for anyone and I would hope that the NFL would revisit this in the offseason.
The Skins have been in every game this year except for that Thursday night game. Winning is contagious and losing is contagious. There is so much parity in the NFL that you don't know who is going to win each week. The Skins are okay and they will be fine once they get some of their players back healthy and more time under Gruden. It's hard to win in the NFL and it's especially hard with your backup QB and the number of injuries they have sustained on the D line.
This posting is a hodge podge of thoughts but it was just things that came to my mind.
The other thing that I just find annoying is the fans and media and how fickle they are. What I love is how in the preseason and in the first game, everyone is complaining about RG3 trying to improvise too much and extending plays and how he should just run the play that is given to him. After last night's performance by Russell Wilson, the same people are commending Wilson for improvising and extending plays and saying that he should be the model RG3 follows. Ridiculous. Basically, people want everything. Honestly, winning cures everything. Losing and everyone wants to chime in about issues left and right and create stories.
Whatever. That is the world we live in.
Very true about the Wilson thing. The guy has a complete team around him. I like him, I think he is a good QB for that team and system. I don't think you can put him on say the Bills or even the Chargers and expect him to do the same things or be as good.
I don't know how long RGIII is out for but when he comes back, he just needs to stay healthy. I really think a good QB coach is needed also. I am not ready to give up on the guy. After a few weeks I've seen that Cousins cant win games on his own, but RGIII has the potential to change a game all by himself. If his "taking off" can be managed like Kaepernick's and Wilson's, and if he can just learn to better read defenses before the snap rather than just relying on his legs to bail him out if he doesn't see what he likes, I think he has a huge upside. Its interesting that the Skins don't have dedicated QB coach. I think it is really important to have one. Especially for the younger QBs.
Jay Gruden is essentially the QB coach. That was one of the big reasons he got the job. It was experience developing Andy Dalton and I don't doubt for a second that it was explained to him in the interview process that RG3 is the future and that he needs to develop RG3.
Wilson is a good QB but as you stated, he has a tremendous team around him. The defense is stellar and he has weapons around him on offense. Don't want to take too much away from the guy but there are other players on that team that can win games for the team besides him.
Who knows how Wilson would be on a different team. You would hope the offensive coordinator would work a system with the guys they have. Still, you mentioned the Bills. No way he is as successful because the Bills don't have the same overall talent that the Seahawks have.
There is no reason to give up on RG3 (although I know a number of people have - which is ridiculous). I have said it many times but you can't judge his play off of last year. Again, he had no offseason and was still hampered by the knee injury during the season. It's a tall order for anyone to come in and be effective under those conditions. I thought he started off this season fine. There is not nearly enough body of work to judge him. Problem is people want perfection immediately and they question/criticize the second things go wrong. It's amazing how this happens even to guys that are established (Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady). Whatever. It is the world we live in.
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