Disappointing. Makes the win over Dallas pretty meaningless. They had a chance to string three wins in a row and go into the bye week feeling pretty good. Instead, it leaves a sour taste in their mouths that they couldn't get the job done. Here are my thoughts:
1. RG3. Wasn't perfect but given that the guy has missed nearly the entire season, I was happy with the way he played. I know everyone is giving him grief for the INT before the half that led to the Vikings first score. However, I put this as much on the play call as I do on RG3. The Skins were up 10-0 and had just stopped the Vikings on a 4th and 2. We get the ball back around our 35 yard line with just over a minute left. I would have been content with the 10-0 lead and having all the momentum. I get that there was time to get an additional score. However, if you are going to go for it, call a VERY high percentage play. Call a bubble screen or a regular screen or a draw play...anything that is VERY high percentage and if you get some significant yardage they can proceed with trying to get more points on the board. They called an out pattern that is no guarantee. Obviously, the pass sucked and RG3 would be the first to admit to that but the play call should have been much more conservative in that situation. Still, other than that play, I was fine with his play. He made some really nice throws and did a good job of eluding pressure which was on him much of the day. He led a great drive late in the game when the Skins were down 21-20 to take back the lead 26-21. He certainly is not the reason why we lost.
2. Morris. Thought he had a strong game. For the first time all season, he looked more like the Morris we are used to seeing. I'm sure part of this is a direct result of having RG3 back. Hopefully we see more of this Morris moving forward.
3. Desean Jackson has been worth it. The guy is a playmaker. He is not going to get a ton of balls thrown his way but he will get big yards when it is thrown his way. He is good for 2-3 long balls each game and getting him balls in space is dangerous for opposing defenses as he is small and quick enough to elude guys.
4. Defense SUCKED!!!! Giving up four TDs on the Vikings last five offensive drives is INEXCUSABLE. I gave Haslett and company credit last week for doing a great job against Dallas but this week he was terrible. They let a rookie QB who is one of the lowest rated in the NFL pick us apart. The Skins put up 26 points against a solid defense. That should be enough to win that game but the defense couldn't get it done. Don't understand why we couldn't get pressure on Bridgewater. I do chalk up a lot of this to coaching. He just didn't get the job done. I think there is enough talent on this defense that it should be better. London Fletcher didn't seem thrilled with Haslett as he left in retirement. I would not be opposed to letting him go now and installing Raheem Morris in as DC for the remainder of the season to see what he can do. It's sickening. They lost this game for us. With the score 17-14 Skins winning, the defense allowed Bridgewater to march the length of the field to score a TD. RG3 leads a TD drive to take back the lead 26-21. The defense again allows Bridgewater to lead a length of the field drive for the game winning TD. UNACCEPTABLE!!! The poor play of the defense was the story of the game. They blew it.
Not much else to say.
3 comments:
I saw most of the game. I think RG3 did well enough to win the game except for the incompletion on 4th down at the end. He looked like a week 1 qb. Nothing special, but nothing terribly bad. I would just want to see him grow and play better every week and stay healthy. I think he took some awkward hits also. He doesn't look that fast either.
I was really hoping the skins would have found a way to win this game and climb back into the playoff hunt especially now that Dallas and Philly have problems at QB. I think the defense did not do its part. Letting the Vikings offense score 29 points is alarming. Had RG3 been in midseason form, I think he would have been able to do more to compensate for the weak defensive performance and possibly win the game. I think the skins should be able to beat the Bucs in two weeks and hopefully get up to 4-6.
I completely agree about the defensive effort. It was really disappointing to see the lack of pressure and Bridgewater finding wide open receivers in the holes of our pathetic zone coverage. I'm not sure what the deal was, but giving up long drives in the 4th quarter when the offense was able to put up 26 against a good defense is not acceptable.
Lets face it. If RG3 doesn't throw the INT before the half and the Skins won, everyone would be saying that RG3 played well.
As far as the fourth down throw, it wasn't an easy throw. He was flushed from the pocket, was rolling to his left and Garcon is slanting in the opposite way. It was a tough throw. Still, he should have had a much better effort than the one he had. You could see by his body language he knew he didn't throw it well as soon as the ball was released from his hand.
It happens. Still, all in all a decent performance by him. While people will want perfection and will criticize him, I'm good with it and he did enough to win that game.
Defense BLEW IT!!! Why not dial up some of those blitzes? We blitzed 60% of the time against Dallas. Why not apply the same type of pressure on a rookie QB that has been struggling? We let that guy drive the length of the field TWICE in the fourth quarter. Haslett botched this one.
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