Thoughts On The Redskins Game: The Dallas Debacle

Why Can’t We Get Our Special Teams Right?

For the 2nd straight week the Redskins missed a crucial field goal, not because of weather, distance or a poor kicker, but because the other members of the unit didn’t do their jobs. Last week it was Jamaal Brown and Adam Carriker who let their man get inside, this week it was Nick Sundberg and Sav Rocca who couldn’t get the snap and hold together. I know things like this happen, but most teams might have two blown FG’s (can’t really call them missed since it wasn’t Gano’s fault) for the season, the Redskins already have two through three weeks.

How Do You Have Seven Loose Balls And Your Defense Only Recover One Of Them?

Including Phil Costa’s awful snaps, their were seven live balls on the ground for our defense to recover, but we only managed to get one of them. Some of it has to do with Tony Romo being a very smart quarterback, like when he was stripped by Ryan Kerrigan only to pick it up and avoid the loss of yardage, or when the snap went 20 yards over his head and he grabbed it and completed it for a two yard gain. But still the defense has to do a better job of recovering the ball when it is on the ground.

Look Who’s Talking:

All week DeAngelo Hall talked about how he was going to target Tony Romo etc. etc., but in the end he was the one being targeted by Romo and the Cowboys. He had a couple bad coverages all game, but the worst was on Dallas’s final drive on 3rd and 21 when he allowed Dez Bryant to get open and get the first down. To add insult to injury he committed a 15 yard facemask penalty that put Dallas in FG range and allowed them to run some clock.

What Is Fred Davis and Trent Williams doing?

Early in the game the Redskins had the ball in the Cowboys redzone and looked ready to score. Unfortunately after one play DeMarcus Ware and Fred Davis started getting into it, and Trent Williams joined in. Now you can blame this on Ware, but he’s not the one who has to worry about the play clock. Davis and Williams getting into it, forced the Skins to take a timeout, one that would have been crucial during the two minute drill before halftime.

Where Was The Coverage?

In addition to Hall, there were other Redskins who blew their coverage assignments. London Fletcher failed to cover Felix Jones out of the back field on at least two plays, one of which led to a huge gain that set up the Cowboys first FG. Kevin Barnes missed a couple assignments that led to some key first downs. Yes some of that will happen, but it happened far too often last night.

Ground To A Halt-

For the 2nd time this season the offense managed to average 3 yards per carry or less. Now some might yearn for the days of Ryan Torain, but this is really the fault of the offensive line and TE’s/FB’s. The Redskins are allowing far too much penetration on running plays to the point where Tim Hightower and Roy Helu are having to deal with their first defender while still in the backfield on quite a few plays. The Redskins need to be able to run if they want to win games and protect leads, but they simply couldn’t last night. This I believe led them to abandon the ground game despite having the lead in the 4th quarter.

What Can Brown Do For You?

That is the question the Redskins need to ask, as once again Jamaal Brown put together an awful performance. He gave up all three sacks, including ones that stalled the drive before halftime, and that ended the game (he also false started as well). Brown fared no better in the ground game, and looked completely overpowered out there. Even when he doesn’t give up a sack/pressure, he allows the defender drive him back 5 yards deep and eliminates part of Rex’s pocket, ensuring he can’t step up to his right (which is the side he should). I don’t know what leverage Jamaal Brown has on the Shanahans, but it has got to end now. Sean Locklear has to be better than what we’ve seen.

The Anti-Hogs-

Jamaal Brown might have been the worst, but that whole line got beat last night, in both the ground and passing game. The Redskins gave up 21 pressures last night, which is just ridiculous. For a team that once prided themselves on having the best line in the league, their current bunch is a mockery of that proud tradition.

In Rex We Trust-

Look a lot of people will look to blame Sexy Rexy, but this isn’t his fault alone. No he’s not Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, but that shouldn’t exactly be a news flash. Grossman got eaten alive by the pressure and made some bad decisions, that is going to happen. Now is not the time to get down on Rex because of that game. Sure it wasn’t pretty, but it also wasn’t a horrible game either.

We Are Who They Thought We Are-

The Redskins fans, coaches and media, gave the National media a lot of grief for the Redskins poor ratings and predictions this year, but in the end they are probably closer to being right. Look the Redskins are a rebuilding team, now they aren’t awful, and should be close in most games, but this isn’t a real contender regardless of their record. The Redskins still have a defense that has given up a ton of big plays, despite all the resources spent on that group. They are a team who’s offensive line is still among the bottom units in the league (despite drafting Williams and trading for/signing Brown), and they are a team with just average-good skill position talent, rather than great. Washington is a work in progress, and there is nothing wrong with that.