Accurate assessment: Not a bad way to start.

[TheShredder]

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Not a bad way to start

By: John Keim

Examiner Staff Writer

August 15, 2010

Ryan Torain and the Redskins mauled the Bills in their preseason opener, but many of their top players downplayed the victory. (Rob Carr/AP)

Still, Redskins refuse to put a lot of stock into blowout victory

The win — and the number of points that went with it — didn’t faze most of the Redskins’ principal players. They understood what Friday’s 42-17 win over Buffalo meant: nothing. OK, it meant a little something. But in the big picture?

“It’s preseason, but you can’t toot your horn too much about preseason,” Redskins receiver Santana Moss said. “But we wanted to come out and get something done.”

POSITION REVIEW

» Running Backs

Darrel Young

Mike Sellers’ backup at fullback cleared the way on several runs vs. Buffalo, including on Keiland Williams’ second touchdown. Another time, he took care of one defender, peeled off and blocked a second. Young blocks with a fury. “I’m excited about Darrel,” running backs coach Bobby Turner said. “He can catch the ball. He’s fearless. He’s aggressive. He’s an outstanding pupil of the game. Even when I give him time off he’s in there looking at tape.”

Keiland Williams

Williams ran hard, gaining 56 yards on 11 carries and scoring two touchdowns. On both runs he ran low, making it tough to get a clean hit. He cut off Young’s block for his second run, showing good vision. Williams also whiffed one time in pass protection. But he was pleased with his night. “You go over plays in your head and you picture yourself making big plays,” he said. “To come out and do it is an incredible feeling.”

Ryan Torain

Torain rushed for a game-high 62 yards on 17 carries and also caught one pass for 22 yards. At times he showed good vision on his cuts. But he ran too upright. He also failed to press the hole enough on some of his cutback runs. Had he done so on one second-quarter run that resulted in a yard, he could have gained at least 10. But the defensive back never bought him going into the hole and therefore was able to slide over when he cut.

Said Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall: “You don’t put too much stock into it.”

Redskins Confidential

Game Review: Redskins offense

Game review: Redskins defense

Redskins notes

» The Redskins signed former New York Jets long snapper James Dearth on Saturday. Dearth, originally drafted as a tight end, had snapped with New York for nine seasons. Washington’s Nick Sundberg has struggled snapping the ball most of camp.

» According to ESPN.com, free agent running back Brian Westbrook will sign with the St. Louis Rams. The Redskins had been interested in him as a third-down back. Westbrook has been bothered in recent years by concussions, and there have been some questions about his knees, though a league source dismissed those concerns.

» Receiver Devin Thomas’ night opened with him running up too far to field a kick return and muffing the ball. But his night ended with a 44-yard touchdown grab on an out-and-up move that fooled the corner and froze the safety. “I had a slippery start, but I bounced back,” he said. “Hopefully next game I’ll get a chance to take [a return] to the crib.”

Maybe not, but there are things you can learn.

Five observations from the game:

Brandon Banks is fast » Couldn’t you tell? The Bills did a poor job covering the outside, perhaps underestimating his speed. That won’t happen again. Banks received good blocks, but once he sniffed the corner, he was gone. Banks is the smallest guy on the roster and would be one of the tiniest in the league, but he has difference-making speed. He would be a long shot to help much at receiver, but as a returner? It would be hard to let him go, but he still has more to prove.

Albert Haynesworth still can dominate » Think the Bills knew he was on the field? His first three plays: double-teamed, freeing up Perry Riley to hit the quarterback on a blitz; splits a double team to pressure the quarterback; and drives the guard into the backfield for more pressure. As an end, he did appear to hit the wrong hole once, arriving at the same spot as Riley. That will lead to long runs. But overall Haynesworth did what he does best: disrupt.

The Redskins still need work at left outside linebacker » They’re not getting much of a rush from this spot, whether it was Friday night or in practice. Andre Carter is still learning to play upright, and that sometimes means his knees aren’t bent as much as desired. And that means a loss of explosion. Carter also was fooled on a run on which he got caught too far inside. These issues can be overcome, but they also bear watching.

The offensive line depth is questionable » The worst unit on the field was the second offensive line. Edwin Williams is excused because he actually played well. But right tackle Clint Oldenburg, right guard Chad Rinehart and left tackle Will Robinson all struggled. Robinson’s feet got crossed up several times, Rinehart was shoved into the backfield way too often and Oldenburg just all-around struggled, especially with his hands.

Rookie Trent Williams fared well » He wasn’t flawless, but he played a solid first game. His initial punch was excellent, and he made nice blocks on the move. However, there were a couple times when he had to zone block to his right and the defender controlled him. The first line was pretty good, though right guard Artis Hicks struggled again. His hands just are slow, a problem for a long-armed guard. When he got his hands inside the defender, he would win. But when he didn’t, he struggled, and it’s harder for him to recover than the others.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/sports/Not-a-bad-way-to-start-100702204.html#ixzz0wg74iYo1

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Of all the articles I read about the game review, I liked the fairness of this one the best.

The depth at OL is a little concerning and the search for a solution at OLB remains.

All in all, it will be interesting to see what happens in camp this week and how the mistakes are addressed. Game 2 will offer another opportunity to up the ante and take another step in the process.

What can be done with the weakness without replacing personnel? What do you think the coaches can do?

Really wondering if I'm wrong about Carter being able to get in the right position when dropping back in coverage??

HTTR!!!:dallasuck

[MrJL]

I thought it was the third team O-line.

[SWFLSkins]

This was an excellent read. And the second team OL is of the biggest concern. I see some of those guys going and maybe someone else coming in. It is that concerning IMO. Maybe that is an overreaction through just one game but if one of the starters goes down can the team count on one of those second tier guys starting with much success?

[zoony]

No link to the original article and an improperly formatted thread title.

If someone would like to start a proper thread to discuss this article, please feel free.

However, (and we're not trying to be hard asses) we are just going to start banning people for however long it takes to get this issue corrected on the board. For the board to continue to be able to post news articles from other sources, we need compliance on this.