So RG3 will inevitably get much of the blame for the offensive woes and for holding on to the ball and everything else. I am not excusing his performance entirely. No question he has to improve but to place full blame on him is silly. In looking at the sacks he took against SF, he just didn't have much time to release the ball. Here are the times from snap to sack:
3.7 seconds—On the first one, which came on the second play of the game, Griffin kept his eyes downfield. Rookie left tackle Morgan Moses fended off Aldon Smith for as long as could reasonably expected. Even then Griffin may have had a little more time but he drifted back and right into Smith’s path.
2.54 seconds—On third and nine Griffin dropped back from under center. Ray McDonald was lined up over Moses but he stunted, getting past Shawn Lauvao and then Kory Lichtensteiger. Maybe Griffin had time to get rid of the ball but he appeared to be looking downfield and McDonald was in his face in a hurry.
2.75 seconds—This was another third-down sack, this one with six to go in 49ers territory. Smith got past Moses, who probably should have had some help on the play, very quickly and got Griffin from the blind side.
6.9 seconds—This was the second play the Redskins first drive after they went down 17-13 in the fourth quarter. Griffin looked and started to scramble before being brought down for a loss of three by Aaron Lynch. It didn’t look like any receiver was open but maybe the all-22 will reveal someone that Griffin should have been able to hit.
2.4 seconds—This was in the final, desperation drive. End Justin Smith lined up wide on the right side, went around Moses, and blindsided Griffin, knocking the ball out.
For the record, he was sacked one other time in 2.1 seconds but that was negated on a roughing the passer penalty on Lynch.
Conversely, watching the Dallas/NY Giants game, Collinsworth and Michaels kept on talking about the Cowboy O line and how much time they were giving Romo to throw. On the Cowboy game winning drive, Romo had all day to throw. They even did some replays with a stopwatch in the corner of the screen showing multiple plays where Romo had 7-8 seconds to throw. Give a QB, that much time and any QB should be able to complete a pass.
Again, not excusing RG3 entirely but it's clear he needs some help.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Skins fall to 9ers 17-13
Skins hung in there but couldn't pull it out. Just a few thoughts:
1. Defense was good. As bad as they were the last couple of weeks, they deserve credit for keeping the game close. They got three turnovers and the secondary was solid particularly with all the injuries (D. Hall, Amerson, Porter, Biggers). They were down to some guy named Ducre who I had never heard of who ended up getting an INT. The only problem with this group was when it came time to get a stop near the end of the game they couldn't do it. That's the difference between good teams and bad teams.
2. Morris. Guy had his first 100+ yard rushing game. He was strong the entire game. He was able to cut back and make people miss and also break through tackles to extend runs. Looked more like the guy we are used to seeing the last couple of years.
3. RG3. Not that great. Wasn't terrible. I get that he will get the bulk of the blame but he didn't get much time. Still, I won't excuse his play. He has to get more comfortable and make some plays. Not every play will be ideal and the great QBs can still overcome and make plays. Generating only a little over 100 yards of passing offense is not good enough. However, this truly is a combination of his play, the O line not protecting, and play calling.
4. O line. It's a banged up O line with their best starter out and a rookie replacing him. It was a tough assignment for Morgan and there was more than one occasion where he just whiffed resulting in a sack/pressure. Just not good enough.
5. Special teams. WAY too many penalties that were just costly. They would have been good if not for the penalties.
Not a whole lot more to be said. At this point, really need to see what we have in RG3. This game was shaping up almost perfectly for him to silence his critics as he got the ball back with three minutes left down by four points. He wasn't able to generate anything. Again, it's not all on him but he certainly isn't excused for this. Great QBs somehow shine in these moments. Also, just someone on the entire team needed to make a play whether it was offense or defense or special teams and no one could come up with that late last play to put the game away. Good teams seem to find a way to make that play and we just aren't good enough to make that play.
It will be another week of RG3 discussion and then on to Indy next week.
1. Defense was good. As bad as they were the last couple of weeks, they deserve credit for keeping the game close. They got three turnovers and the secondary was solid particularly with all the injuries (D. Hall, Amerson, Porter, Biggers). They were down to some guy named Ducre who I had never heard of who ended up getting an INT. The only problem with this group was when it came time to get a stop near the end of the game they couldn't do it. That's the difference between good teams and bad teams.
2. Morris. Guy had his first 100+ yard rushing game. He was strong the entire game. He was able to cut back and make people miss and also break through tackles to extend runs. Looked more like the guy we are used to seeing the last couple of years.
3. RG3. Not that great. Wasn't terrible. I get that he will get the bulk of the blame but he didn't get much time. Still, I won't excuse his play. He has to get more comfortable and make some plays. Not every play will be ideal and the great QBs can still overcome and make plays. Generating only a little over 100 yards of passing offense is not good enough. However, this truly is a combination of his play, the O line not protecting, and play calling.
4. O line. It's a banged up O line with their best starter out and a rookie replacing him. It was a tough assignment for Morgan and there was more than one occasion where he just whiffed resulting in a sack/pressure. Just not good enough.
5. Special teams. WAY too many penalties that were just costly. They would have been good if not for the penalties.
Not a whole lot more to be said. At this point, really need to see what we have in RG3. This game was shaping up almost perfectly for him to silence his critics as he got the ball back with three minutes left down by four points. He wasn't able to generate anything. Again, it's not all on him but he certainly isn't excused for this. Great QBs somehow shine in these moments. Also, just someone on the entire team needed to make a play whether it was offense or defense or special teams and no one could come up with that late last play to put the game away. Good teams seem to find a way to make that play and we just aren't good enough to make that play.
It will be another week of RG3 discussion and then on to Indy next week.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Caps vs. Avs tonight
Caps are looking to take two of three on their road trip tonight against the Avs. Varly is hurt so not sure if he will be playing. For the most part, I like the way the Caps play. The only thing is that every game is decided by one goal. Sure would be nice to have them be able to put a team away. Still, I'll take a win anyway they can get one.
Jordan Zimmerman's gift to Steven Souza
Jordan Zimmermann said he would buy something for Steven Souza, Jr. after the rookie's incredible catch to seal his no-hitter on the final day of the regular season. On Wednesday, we found it what it was.
According to MLB.com, Zimmermann bought Souza a gift card to Best Buy that doubled as a housewarming gift.
A GIFT CARD?!!!! Actually, I'm sure it was for a fair amount. Souza declined to say how much the gift certificate was worth, but the present from Zimmermann helped Souza out big time.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
ESPN Power Rankings - Week 12
Skins: #29 - down 3 spots
Pears: #23 - up 4 spots
Puckers: #3 - up 2 spots
Iggles: #8 - down 4 spots
Still lots of football left and many things can change.
Pressure is on RG3 and the clock has started. He is on a six game tryout.
Trestman may be coaching his last six games for the Pears and Cutler needs to prove his is worth something near to what he is being paid.
Rodgers and the Puckers are on fire and been putting up ridiculous numbers the last couple of weeks. Can they continue?
Sanchez is driving the Iggles. Question is will he drive them off a cliff?
Pears: #23 - up 4 spots
Puckers: #3 - up 2 spots
Iggles: #8 - down 4 spots
Still lots of football left and many things can change.
Pressure is on RG3 and the clock has started. He is on a six game tryout.
Trestman may be coaching his last six games for the Pears and Cutler needs to prove his is worth something near to what he is being paid.
Rodgers and the Puckers are on fire and been putting up ridiculous numbers the last couple of weeks. Can they continue?
Sanchez is driving the Iggles. Question is will he drive them off a cliff?
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
RG3
The guy is facing probably the most pressure and adversity he has ever faced in his life in terms of his football career and abilities. Coming off of a lackluster performance followed by comments that give the impression he was throwing his team under the bus have resulted in him being slammed by critics.
It's great material for the media. My own thoughts are that it wasn't a great performance. He was not good. However, the team was not good. I won't deflect blame from him as he is the QB and more attention will go to him and more expectations are on him as the QB and a guy that was expected to be great and a guy that has been treated like a star without proving much. Still, we need to put things in perspective. None of us know what he is doing in practice. If he isn't performing there that's a bigger problem. All we see is game day. TB was one game. He has six more games to prove he is a franchise QB. It's on him. Gruden was very critical of him in Monday's press conference mentioning that his fundamentals and footwork needed work. He also mentioned that RG3 is receptive in listening and works hard so lets see if he progresses. The clock is on and RG3 needs to show something. Will be interesting to see how he handles these next six games.
On another front, RG3 spoke after the game and some of his comments were twisted to make it sound like he was throwing his teammates under the bus. Anyone that watched the comments would understand that that was not the case. He accepted blame and his message was that everyone in the locker room was together and understood the situation and that everything is going bad and everyone needs to step up and improve starting with himself. He was not deflecting blame nor was he ever comparing himself to Rodgers or Manning or anyone else. He was saying that no one can do it on their own and that football is a team sport and everyone needs to contribute. THAT SAID, RG3 should not have said any of this. I understand that he wasn't trying to disparage anyone or throw anyone under the bus but Jay Gruden cleared it up yesterday saying that RG3 should just talk about himself and not anyone/anything else. That is his job as the coach to discuss those things. Gruden had some meetings yesterday morning to clear the air recognizing how media/social media can take the words and spin them up and then it can get out of control. He said that they have to deal with those things in house. It's unfortunate because it creates unnecessary drama. Again, I don't doubt for a minute that RG3 did not intend to disparage anyone. He was trying to rally his team and said that he would battle with the guys in the locker room any time but things get twisted and it ends up having the opposite effect than what he intended. It's too bad but it is on him for talking too much. Just as he needs to learn his craft on the field, he needs to understand what the media does and their role and that it's best to just keep things simple and focused on himself. He has had a few brushes like this now and hopefully he is aware to just be quiet.
In the end, people are really starting to turn on RG3 and the Skins. It's a pretty critical time for him and this team. For me, I don't much care for wins at this point. Playoffs aren't even a consideration. What we need to see is progress and improvement -- week to week. We need to find out if RG3 is going to be part of the future as well as some other young guys. I would be most interested in finding about Morgan Moses, Spencer Long, and Phillip Thomas as all these guys are young, drafted pretty high, and would fill major gaps that this team has. Also, calls for McCoy or Cousins are silly. McCoy is a journeyman that was picked up off of the scrap heap. There is a reason for that. Cousins had his chance and loved throwing INTs almost as much as Cutler. These next six games are a tryout for RG3 to prove he can be that guy.
Wednesday is media day in the locker room so you can bet there will be much more stuff to be talked about this week.
It's great material for the media. My own thoughts are that it wasn't a great performance. He was not good. However, the team was not good. I won't deflect blame from him as he is the QB and more attention will go to him and more expectations are on him as the QB and a guy that was expected to be great and a guy that has been treated like a star without proving much. Still, we need to put things in perspective. None of us know what he is doing in practice. If he isn't performing there that's a bigger problem. All we see is game day. TB was one game. He has six more games to prove he is a franchise QB. It's on him. Gruden was very critical of him in Monday's press conference mentioning that his fundamentals and footwork needed work. He also mentioned that RG3 is receptive in listening and works hard so lets see if he progresses. The clock is on and RG3 needs to show something. Will be interesting to see how he handles these next six games.
On another front, RG3 spoke after the game and some of his comments were twisted to make it sound like he was throwing his teammates under the bus. Anyone that watched the comments would understand that that was not the case. He accepted blame and his message was that everyone in the locker room was together and understood the situation and that everything is going bad and everyone needs to step up and improve starting with himself. He was not deflecting blame nor was he ever comparing himself to Rodgers or Manning or anyone else. He was saying that no one can do it on their own and that football is a team sport and everyone needs to contribute. THAT SAID, RG3 should not have said any of this. I understand that he wasn't trying to disparage anyone or throw anyone under the bus but Jay Gruden cleared it up yesterday saying that RG3 should just talk about himself and not anyone/anything else. That is his job as the coach to discuss those things. Gruden had some meetings yesterday morning to clear the air recognizing how media/social media can take the words and spin them up and then it can get out of control. He said that they have to deal with those things in house. It's unfortunate because it creates unnecessary drama. Again, I don't doubt for a minute that RG3 did not intend to disparage anyone. He was trying to rally his team and said that he would battle with the guys in the locker room any time but things get twisted and it ends up having the opposite effect than what he intended. It's too bad but it is on him for talking too much. Just as he needs to learn his craft on the field, he needs to understand what the media does and their role and that it's best to just keep things simple and focused on himself. He has had a few brushes like this now and hopefully he is aware to just be quiet.
In the end, people are really starting to turn on RG3 and the Skins. It's a pretty critical time for him and this team. For me, I don't much care for wins at this point. Playoffs aren't even a consideration. What we need to see is progress and improvement -- week to week. We need to find out if RG3 is going to be part of the future as well as some other young guys. I would be most interested in finding about Morgan Moses, Spencer Long, and Phillip Thomas as all these guys are young, drafted pretty high, and would fill major gaps that this team has. Also, calls for McCoy or Cousins are silly. McCoy is a journeyman that was picked up off of the scrap heap. There is a reason for that. Cousins had his chance and loved throwing INTs almost as much as Cutler. These next six games are a tryout for RG3 to prove he can be that guy.
Wednesday is media day in the locker room so you can bet there will be much more stuff to be talked about this week.
Monday, November 17, 2014
This is how I feel about the Skins...
I support them. I stick up for them. They can't even beat the Bucs at home! Yeah, imagine me as Cerrano and Jobu is the Redskins.
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