It's been a while since the Skins won so it was nice to see them not quit at the end of the season and spoil a divisional rivals chances of getting to the playoffs. It also marked the return of RG3. Pretty exciting game. Here are some thoughts:
1. RG3. Solid game. Thought he was much more decisive and delivered the ball accurately. The good thing was he actually had a little more time to throw this week as the O line provided some better protection. He also ran when he needed to and slid to avoid any big hits. All you can hope is for the guy to learn and it seems like he is doing that. I do believe a full offseason working hard with Gruden both on the field and in the classroom/film room will help him to better understand the concepts of the offense.
2. Morris solid. Got some good hard running from him. Nothing spectacular but was able to get a few good runs in that helped make a difference.
3. Send DJax deep. Jackson is a great deep threat and for one reason or not we haven't used him as much as we should/could. Blame can go around to the QB not seeing him, to the O line not protecting long enough, to DBs taking the deep play away. Still, on Saturday it was good to see RG3 connect with him a couple of times on deeper balls. He can get over the top of defenses and that is where he is best suited.
4. Bend but don't break defense. It was clear the defensive strategy was to not allow big plays. They played more of an umbrella type defense which did take away the deeper plays but allowed for a bunch of underneath stuff particularly to Ertz. Not sure why we didn't double team Ertz as he ended up with like 15 catches still at least they didn't give up the big play which had hurt them for the last several weeks. Interesting as they didn't blitz until the Eagles final drive and when they did, Sanchez made his mistake.
5. Penalties crushed the Eagles. WAY too many penalties taken by the Eagles. It certainly was a reason for the outcome.
In the end, it may not have been the greatest game played but it was still a win and no one should ever apologize for a victory. As mentioned, it was good to see them compete and hurt a divisional rival from gettting to the playoffs.
In other news:
1. Packers clinch. They stumbled last week against the Bills but beat the Bucs to get themselves back into the playoffs. They along with Seattle are looking like the teams to beat in the NFC. Home field advantage will be huge in the playoffs.
2. Bears look a little better with Clausen. Still take the loss but it was a fairly close game. Still, there will be major overhaul in Chi-town so will be an interesting offseason.
2 comments:
I thought the skins played well. There were some third and long conversions for the eagles that were a bit troubling but over all it was win over a tough divisional opponent. The next best thing from going to the playoffs is the spoil the chances of a divisional rival. I thought RG3 played a decent game. Nothing spectacular, but it was a real performance. Not some fluke like we saw from Cousins last time they played the eagles, or from McCoy the last time they played dallas. This was RG3. He made some nice throws, and best of all, no costly mistakes. That says a lot. If he can learn and improve on Saturday's performance, we will see him be the special player that he can be. His upside is still tremendous. I also liked that the skins haven't quit. In past years, with a record like this, many players would have already checked out and it would have been a blowout win for the Eagles.
I think this was a year in which RG3 has grown. He has face adversity and it appears that he has weathered it. I think back to opening day of the 2013 year when the eagles thumped the skins on Monday night. Saturday's game was vastly different against the same opponent. Anyone can say what they want, but the skins are better off this year than last year and so is RG3. I am sure he will benefit from a full offseason learning with Grudens offense game plans. Hopefully they can fill some holes on the team this offseason and improve further next season. Its very likely.
A win against Dallas in which RG3 plays a decent game and you have to feel pretty good about the team going into the offseason.
Agree. RG3 has been through a lot this season and I think he will come out stronger because of it. It appears he has finally learned to stay quiet and not talk too much. It's part of understanding the media. He has been burned too many times now to give out information. I'm sure it's tough for him as he is a very public person that has to learn to be private.
I liked the way he played. If the Skins can get him some protection this offseason, I think he can be a very effective QB. Like you said, there is a tremendous upside to him. If he is willing to work hard and if Gruden can commit to him, I think he can do some really good things.
I also like that there was no quit in the Eagles game. It could be easy to check out but they competed.
I will say that the third down conversions were an issue all day particularly the longer ones. I have a feeling Haslett will take the fall for the season. It's time. The defense has never been spectacular with him in there. Grass isn't always greener on the other side so we have to be careful who is picked to succeed him. Would love to get Rex Ryan as he is probably going to be out in NY.
We need O line help and safety help and a healthy D. Hall and Tracy Porter for some veteran leadership at CB and a quality D coordinator and we should be a much improved team next year.
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