01. Legendary Redskins Hall of Game QB Sonny Jurgensen said this about benched QB Donovan McNabb on the ESPN 980 radio pregame show:
“He wasn’t performing, and at practice, he’d never practice hard, and I think that had some bearing on it also. Because Shanahan’s a stickler for practice, working hard in practice so that you carry that over into the game. And he never could get him to go 100 percent in practice, and that’s what he wanted. You talk to people in Philadelphia, and they say why didn’t you see this coming, why are you surprised. Because the Eagles had seen it, and they traded him within the division. And so why are the people in Washington surprised?”
I have two thoughts about this. First, if it is true that McNabb didn’t work hard in practice, that’s damning. Every single player has an obligation to practice as hard as he can every day and McNabb’s semi-iconic status in the NFL doesn’t exempt him from that. Second, why is this the first we’re really hearing about this? Has Jurgy been sitting on this or is this just another Shanahan torpedo to hit McNabb below the water line. If the Shanahans have so much confidence in Rex Grossman and McNabb hasn’t been practicing hard all year, why did it take so long for him to be replaced? Something is fishy here.
02. For all the abuse Rex Grossman has taken since his elevation to the starting lineup was announced on Friday, he played pretty well today. He started out poorly, completing only 2 of his first 5 passes, with one interception. He bounced back in the second quarter and the entire second half, when he threw four touchdown passes and converted two two-pointers. Just to be clear, Donovan McNabb has thrown no more than two touchdowns in a game this season. Grossman finished 25-43 for 322 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT and 1 fumble lost. That’s not great — 4 scores and 3 turnovers — and he held on to the ball a few times today, but there wasn’t any of the panicky, stupid decisions we’ve come to expect from Grossman. After the game Head Coach Mike Shanahan said he wasn’t surprised by Grossman’s performance because he sees it in practice every day, something outsiders do not. Grossman hardly made the case for giving him the starting job in 2011, but he played pretty well abd led the team back from a 2-TD deficit. Is there any reason to think Donovan McNabb would have played that well today? No, there is not. I’m not a Rex Grossman believer, but he played well for most of the game and justified the decision to give him the start in Dallas.
03. I don’t understand why WR Roydell Williams is still in the game ahead of youngsters Terrence Austin and Brandon Banks. Williams didn’t do anything today [as usual], but he’s still the #3 wideout, behind Santana Moss and Anthony Armstrong and ahead of the two rookies. Why is he still ahead of the rookies? What, exactly, has Roydell Williams done this year to justify this? Is he another one of these great practice players? Even if he is there is no reason for him to be out there. If he was making plays it would be justified, but he’s not so it’s not. If the Redskins are having a good, long look at Rex Grossman, why can’t they take a good, long look at Brandon Banks and Terrence Austin at wide receiver? I just don’t get it.
04. Rookie WR Anthony Armstrong continues to be the feel-good story for the Redskins this season. He had 5 catches for 100 yards today, his first 100-yard receiving day. He’s got 40 catches for 772 yards this season, averaging well over 19 yards per catch. I’ve regarded Armstrong as a good 3rd receiver thus far, but maybe I’ve short-changed him. Armstrong will probably finish with less than 1000 receiving yards this year, but considering the poor quarterback play of the team this year, its impressive that a rookie [even a 27-year-old rookie] is playing this well. Maybe he is a legitimate #2 wideout. I’d still prefer him as a 3rd wideout, but I can’t deny he’s been much better than I anticipated.
05. Ryan Torain looks like he might be a starting tailback in the NFL. Torain averaged 4.8 yards per carry today, though he got only 11 caries [53 yards] because the team fell behind early and also because OC Kyle Shanahan was determined to pass a lot to prove Rex Grossman could handle the offense well. Torain also caught 5 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown. I thought he did pretty well in pass protection, as well, and Mike Shanahan confirmed that after the game, while acknowledging he wasn’t perfect in that area. Keiland Williams got only one carry today and James Davis hasn’t been seen since failing badly at pass protection in the first half of the game against Tampa Bay. Torain seemed like the real deal when I saw him in training camp and he’s confirmed that in the games. He’s clearly the team’s best tailback and let’s hope he stays healthy enough to really secure the job the next two weeks.
06. The Redskins defense gave up 434 yards of offense against the Cowboys and didn’t create a single turnover. CB Phillip Buchanon dropped an interception but other than that the Redskins never really got close to creating a turnover. I thought the defense came up with some nice stops in the red zone when Washington’s special teams screw-ups gave the Cowboys excellent field position. However, the defense also repeatedly allowed long drives by the Cowboys and gave up 33 points. That’s the 6th time this season the defense has given up at least 30 points. In the 96 games [that's 6 full seasons] before Jim Haslett became defensive coordinator the Redskins defense gave up 30 points only 11 times. Very quickly the Redskins gave gone from a solid, but unspectacular defense to arguably the worst defense in the NFL. If the defense creates no turnovers, as it did today, it is a complete albatross for the team. In Haslett’s defense he was forced by Head Coach Mike Shanahan to go to the 3-4 defense and wasn’t given proper 3-4 personnel. On the other hand, the head defensive coach has to take a lot of the blame for such a complete collapse by a previously-respectable defense.
07. To make things worse for the defense, OLB Brian Orakpo missed more than half the game with a hamstring injury. After the game Orakpo indicated the injury is serious and there is a very good chance he will miss the rest of the season. Rookie linebacker Perry Riley [4th round pick out of LSU] came in and played pretty well, making two key stops of Cowboys TE Jason Witten, both on 3rd down, both preventing a first down. If Orakpo really is out for the final two seasons I sure hope we see a lot more of Riley for the rest of the season, such as it is.
08. Another young player, CB Kevin Barnes, played pretty well as a safety filling in for the injured Reed Doughty. Barnes has the height you like in a safety, but not the weight for the position. Nevertheless, Barnes played reasonably well, laying a bit hit on Cowboys TB Tashard Choice on one running play. He seemed a bit lost when trying to cover TE Jason Witten, but that’s not a shock considering the size differential between the two players. Since I think Carlos Rogers should and will be playing elsewhere next season, we need to see a lot more of Barnes. He’s got great size and good speed for a cornerback and the more experience he gets this season, the better. I’d really like to see Barnes step into that cornerback slot opposite DeAngelo Hall next season.
09. What has happened to the tight end in the Redskins offense? Chris Cooley didn’t make a catch until the final possession of the game last week. This week, he didn’t get a catch until well into the second half. Cooley finished with 5 catches for 62 yards, a touchdown and a 2-point conversionFred Davis didn’t even get a pass thrown his way today. Considering the third wideout on this team is Roydell Williams, you’d think the offense would use a lot of two-tight end sets and utilize both Cooley and Davis as receivers, since both are good at it. Nope. Instead, the Shanahans prefer Roydell Williams as a pass-catcher. Again, nothing Roydell Williams does in practice can justify this.
10. There has been little talk about the special teams this year until the last week, when PK Graham Gano had a meltdown and punter/holder Hunter Smith was cut. However, the Redskins special teams had repeated breakdowns today, allowing the Cowboys to play virtually the entire first half in Redskins territory. The first Dallas kick return was brought out 38 yards to the Dallas 46-yard line and the Cowboys scored on that drive. The Redskins also gave up a 27-yard punt return, putting the Cowboys deep in Redskins territory in the first half. Meanwhile, the blocking for Redskins RS Brandon Banks was putrid, with Cowboys swarming all over him once he got near the 15-yard line on kickoffs. Banks managed to average only 19 yards on 5 kick returns and that wasn’t his fault, the blocking was terrible. To top it off, punter Sam Paulescu averaged 26 yards per punt today. The special teams was just a mess again. When will Special Teams Coach Danny Smith come under some real scrutiny?
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Possibly Related Posts:
- Anthony Armstrong post game video
- Orakpo could miss final two games
- Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down
- Give it up for Grossman
- Redskins player reaction (videos)
Original Story:
http://dcprosportsreport.com/2010/12/...
