Quick Thoughts From The Skins 1st Preseason Game

These are some initial thoughts before I go over the game in more detail.

The Debut:

-While the first two drives weren’t promising, Robert Griffin redeemed himself with an impressive TD drive. He showed good decision making and a quick release. Griffin also showed good poise when under pressure. On the downside his touch was a little off, and he may have been partly to blame on the fumbled handoff. Also, while the numbers were good, it was very much a simplistic offense the Redskins were using with their rookie QB. The Redskins wisely used very easy reads to not try to force Griffin to do too much. Overall the Redskins should be happy with Griffin’s performance, and see this as a nice building experience.

O-Line woes:

The blocking throughout the game, and especially early on was not pretty. It cost the Redskins a number of plays, especially in the running game. The line came together for a couple plays here and there, but there wasn’t good consistency. The Bills also didn’t blitz much or get too creative on defense which makes it even more troubling. Things could be getting worse for the offensive line as Trent Williams got injured on the Redskins lone TD. The foot wasn’t fractured so Williams shouldn’t be out too long (hopefully), but he could make things difficult next week for Griffin in the preseason game.

New Receivers Catching On:

Pierre Garcon ran with the ones and Josh Morgan with the back-ups, but both made some impressive plays for the Redskins. Garcon looked to be very much intune with Griffin, and he showcased some nice separation and short area quickness. Morgan didn’t work with Griffin, but I thought he did a nice job overall. He showed an ability to get open deep.

Banks Struggles as a Receiver:

-The Redskins tried to force feed Brandon Banks the ball to prove that he warrants a roster spot, but the results weren’t what the Redskins hoped. Banks showed good speed, but he really wasn’t burning the defense like people thought. He struggled getting in and out of his breaks, slipping one time that nearly led to an interception. Banks also showed that he was incapable of fighting for jump balls (which also showed his lack of height). And it bears to mind the question that if he struggles versus a corner who isn’t likely to make the Bills final roster, exactly how will he do against starters or back-ups.

Other notes:

-Skins front 7 looked strong, both the first and second unit. If they can keep it up, it can keep the Redskins in games. One note, they weren’t tested much against the run as the Bills first team didn’t run the ball a single time.

-Griffin may be the star, but Cousins was impressive in his own right. I really liked a lot of the little things of his game.

–Alfred Morris impressed me, I think he will make it hard for the Redskins to cut him.

-Chris Baker could be a find as a back-up rotational defensive lineman. He handles the point of attack really well, even if it was against back-ups.