Monday Night Postgame Recap

Here are my top 5 takeaways & thoughts from last night’s disappointing loss to Eagles:

1.  The game overall.  It was bad from the Redskins perspective even though it was nice not to see them give up down 33-7.

But still the first thirty two minutes was a complete domination by the Philadelphia Eagles on both sides of the ball.  Washington was horrible and lost on defense and horrible and lost on offense.  At least the defense showed something at times during the first half unlike the offense which was pathetic.

We talked about the uncertainty of what to expect from Chip Kelly in his first real game and if you’re an Eagles fan you must be thrilled.  Much like the Skins fans after the New Orleans game about Griffin a year ago.  It will be interesting to see what happens with this Eagle offense throughout the year but they must keep Michael Vick on the field.  Or he must keep himself upright I should say.  He missed a few throws but he had the Redskins defense on the ropes all night.

Courtesy of ICON SMI

2.  As for the return of Robert Griffin III.  It obviously didn’t go like last season’s opener, especially the first half.

And I am one who believed he could come in without any preseason snaps and be fine.  I was way off as it took 3 quarters to get him going.  Griffin just didn’t look right until mid-second half and that could be just because they were forced into passing situations.  He was rusty, really rusty unlike what he said.  Throws were late and not with the force we saw last season and that is if he went to the right receiver.

That being said he started to open it up in the second half and looked better with his throws.  But still did not look like Griffin pre-injury.  Hope is that this game was his preseason work and that next week in Green Bay he can ramp it up like the RG3 we know.  He did take a couple hits and eventually ran a few times but the read option was not there at all especially in the first half.  It will need to be very quickly or we could be in trouble offensively going forward.

3.  We’ve talked a lot about Kelly’s offense but the Redskin’s defense did not do much to stop them.

Courtesy of ICON SMI

LeSean McCoy is one of the best in league and the spread quick paced offense seems to be a perfect fit.  Much like the Seattle game the Washington D got scorched by the run all night.  I won’t even mention how many rushing yards they gave up.  At times they did pressure Vick and were able to get off the field but far from enough to be effective.

One Redskin who seemed to struggle was rookie Bacarri Rambo.  Rambo is making a name for himself on highlights for being juked by runners in the open field.  I am surprised Washington didn’t go with Reed Doughty more in the game since against Seattle he was the only one who stopped the run.  Not having a healthy Brandon Meriweather out there hurts but can we ever plan on counting on him being out there?  So Haslett went with a surprise of EJ Biggers at deep safety and it did not work.  This is a spot that Washington has to still find someone long term.  You know Vinny would have already given up 3 draft picks for an injured Jarius Byrd by now.  Barry Cofield had a solid squash on McCoy but that ridiculous sized club has to prevent his effectiveness and they need him bad.

4. The penalties are still a big problem.

I think the frustration of the game can be summed up at the end of the first half when Washington got 2 penalties forcing 10 second run offs and ending any chance that the Redskins can get points to end the half.  I think this was huge because they were receiving the second half kick and went in with 0 momentum.  And we know how the second half started.

And what’s a bad loss without a horrible fifteen yard personal foul from DeAngelo Hall? Just a stupid actual double penalty for bringing Jackson down by a horse collar way out of bounds.  Some guys never learn and lose their heads too easy still like Hall.  Washington is not only getting way too many penalties but at horrible times like the 4th and 10 false start when they did have some momentum.  Last season at least we didn’t have to discuss bad turnovers but so far this season it has to be concern.  Too bad fumbles and two interceptions inside on our half of the field were devastating.

5. Worst part of the loss is losing a home division game to start the season.

Courtesy of ICON SMI

Even Dallas defended their turf on Sunday night.  Since most had this game marked as a win and week two as a loss in Green Bay the Redskins must bounce back to avoid 0-2.  It will be tough especially if Ryan Kerrigan cannot go due to a possible concussion.  And will be interesting to see if Mike McCarthy takes a page from Kelly and speeds it up with Aaron Rodgers.

As for the Skins.  The offense has to be better or we could see another disaster like Monday’s first half.  Green Bay gave up a lot of passing yards to the Niners and Kaepernick but Washington still needs to be all-around better on offense to stick with Rodgers and the Pack.  Is this season over?  How much cap room do we have in 2014?  Just joking, its one loss.  A tough one, but only one.