Preseason Week 2 - Redskins vs. Jets - Is it real?
Landover, MD - Welcome all to the Extremeskins coverage of the second preseason game. I'm TSO in the Press box providing you with the best damn coverage I and Spaceman Spiff, who will be providing coverage from the sidelines, possibly can!
1999 Redskins go 10-6 and win the NFC East. The following season? Failure.
2005 Redskins go 10-6 and nab a wildcard spot. The following season? Disaster.
2007 Redskins go 9-7 and sneak into the playoffs. The following season? Zorn.
2012 Redskins go 10-6, win the NFC East with their shiny new franchise QB. The following season? Epic collapse.
So now, here we are. The Redskins are coming off a season that saw a seismic shift occur within the Front Office, where a legitimate talent-evaluating GM was hired to take control of the scouting department and personnel. Gruden got the help he desperately needed and asked for from the Front Office. The Redskins went 9-7 and miraculously won the NFC East on the heels of a young group of draft picks and a ton of personnel hits in general.
So, the following season?
We're going to find out if this is real.
Is it? Is our newly and properly structured Front Office as organized and professional as it seems? Is it real?
Is our energetic and smart coaching staff as good for player development as they were last season? Is it real?
Is Kirk Cousins the franchise QB we've been so desperately lacking? Is he for real?
Are the young players truly developing into a core of consistent championship potential? Are they for real?
It might just be the preseason, but these games play a role (albeit a small one) in teaching us who will rise to the occasion and who won't. Who will solidify their spot on the team and who will continue to remain a question. Who will be a part of the new reality we all hope is happening right before our eyes, a hope we continue to question is real?
The hope that we're witnessing the rise of the Redskins as a perennial contender.
Let's start to find out together here on Extremeskins Gameday Coverage!
Speaking of players I noticed, Anthony Lanier seems to have moved up on the depth chart as he was often playing with 2nd team in the 3rd quarter if my eyes didn't deceive me.
Reiter continues to impress. On run play where Marshall went for about 9 yards with slightly under 3 minutes left in the 3rd, he gets his first block accomplished and then passes him off and lands his second block, opening up a nice lane up.
Stay tuned for the 4th Quarter update!
4th Quarter Analysis
Again, not much to discuss other than the obvious (Sudfeld with an awesome drive to win the game)... but here are a couple things I thought were interesting.
Fuller gives up long pass play to start the 4th but then recovers with three nice plays. He breaks up two passes and then makes the tackle on a 3rd and 2 to stop the Jets drive and force a FG.
Garvin continues to make plays, with a nice pass break up and then a pressure that resulted in an errant throw to force a Jets punt. Recovers fumble caused by Deshazor Everett on Jets drive that was moving easily by hustling. As mentioned in my previous blog, he's been impressive.
Anthony Lanier with the sack to finish the game, love that guy!
Final impressions:
So today's game clearly didn't go a long way in determining if this Redskins' resurgence is for real (or as much as any preseason game possibly could), considering many of the players who will play a massive role in said resurgence didn't play, but we did get to see who might potentially add their hats to the discussion.
And who are those guys?
Aside from the obvious answers in Rashad Ross, Ryan Grant, Colt McCoy, Matt Jones and Martrell Spaight who absolutely killed it, there were guys like Anthony Lanier (check out the exclusive interview) who seemed to play a bigger role today on the Dline after showing up really well last week.
Stephen Paea improved significantly upon his performance last week as well, often finding his way in the backfield of the opposition. Other players who improved from last week were Keith Marshall, Will Blackmon, and Morgan Moses.
Reiter continued to impress as did Maurice Harris who continues to be used with the second stringers, making him an interesting roster decision to follow considering how much depth there is at his position.
Unfortunately, there are some guys who continue to be questions moving forward and are nowhere near a "yes" on the "is it real" scale. Kuandjio continues to be a mixed bag who has a tough time finding any consistency as does Quinton Dunbar, though he had a lot more positive happen than last week. Fuller had himself a mixed bag of a game as well, but his rookie status makes it much more forgiving.
So as we move forward and into the third preseason game where we're expected to get a much closer glimpse of the team's "is it real" factor, let's hope to see continued improvement from the players we need to play significant roles in this resurgence... that is, if it's real this time.
Click here for ES Exclusive Game Photos ~ courtsey of Spaceman Spiff
EXCLUSIVE ES AUDIO CONTENT
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