SBNDC: Redskins face true test in Ravens

[themurf]

(photo by Brian Murphy)

[Editor's note: For those who still haven't heard the news, I've started writing a weekly sports column for SB Nation DC. So every Tuesday, my contribution to society (or at least the D.C. sports scene) is located over there.]

Preseason or not, the Washington Redskins put together one of their most inspired performances in recent history with their 42-17 thumping of the Buffalo Bills Friday night.

In the debut of head coach Mike Shanahan and quarterback Donovan McNabb, the Redskins had little trouble moving the ball on offense, they created constant pressure on defense and special teams, for the first time in seemingly decades, tilted the field in favor of the burgundy and gold.

McNabb was solid, completing five of eight passes for 58 yards and a touchdown in limited action. The 33-year-old even surprised a few folks by keeping the team’s second drive alive with his legs – something Philly fans were convinced he could no longer do.

Once the six-time Pro Bowler was done for the night, backup quarterback Rex Grossman saw his first action as a member of the Redskins. And if McNabb was good, then “The Rex Cannon” was great.

Having spent last season in Houston with Kyle Shanahan, it was readily apparent that Grossman has already found a comfort level in this offense. The only thing prettier than Rex’s first touchdown pass – a nine-yard dart to tight end Fred Davis in the second quarter – was his second touchdown.

On that play, Grossman was able to do something rarely seen during the Jason Campbell era – display touch and accuracy on a deep ball – dropping a 44-yard bomb into the waiting arms of receiver Devin Thomas to effectively end the competitive portion of the evening at 35-3.

If McNabb is ever forced out of action for any length of time this season, ‘Skins fans can only hope that Grossman is able to replicate his performance on this night. And if Grossman goes all Colt Brennan on us – playing lights out in his debut and never coming close to that level again – well, at least Hawaii will love him.

Jim Haslett’s 3-4 defense was equally impressive against Buffalo. While keeping things admittedly “vanilla,” the Redskins were able to pressure Bills quarterbacks to the point that even disgruntled defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth was impressed with the showing.

And special teams … wow. What can I say?

Someone allegedly named Brandon Banks came out of nowhere and is now the talk of the town, after busting out a 77-yard punt return for a touchdown. The undrafted rookie out of Kansas State finished the game with four returns for 97 yards and a touchdown.

To put those numbers in proper context, Antwaan Randle El finished the 2009 season with 17 punt returns for 102 yards. In 90 attempts over the last three seasons, Randle El never returned a punt for a touchdown and his longest return was 43 yards.

So basically, on Banks’ next punt return, he’ll likely match Randle El’s production for an entire year. Whether that says more about Banks or Randle El is your call.

In short, the preseason opener was everything ‘Skins fans could have ever hoped for. The stadium was rocking, the new high-definition video boards were a dream come true and the Redskins actually resembled a competent football team for the first time since Joe Gibbs said goodbye.

Here’s the thing though – none of it matters.

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[MattFancy]

Nice article!

I do agree that it would nice to have a good showing Saturday night. I think we will definitely be better than the 23-0 beatdown last preseason. It would be nice for the offense and defense to build on what they did last week. But the final outcome doesn't mean anything to me. As long as our first teams look good and no one gets hurt I'll be happy.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Nice article!

I do agree that it would nice to have a good showing Saturday night. I think we will definitely be better than the 23-0 beatdown last preseason. It would be nice for the offense and defense to build on what they did last week. But the final outcome doesn't mean anything to me. As long as our first teams look good and no one gets hurt I'll be happy.

I agree. I have very little doubt that the Ravens have a deeper team than ours so I'd expect some struggles in the second half. Granted, their starters are probably better as well. But if our starters can get some stops defensively and have some nice drives/get on the board offensively, I'll be very happy with the jump from 2009 to 2010.

[Potato Sack]

Surely, this will be the 2010 Redskins first test of the season. I know it's preseason, but I think we can all agree that the 34 looked a bit shaky last game. I'm curious to see how the OL stands up against the tenacious Ravens' D.

[authentic]

Nice piece again Murf...But i will say this; they MUST find a spot for this kid Banks. He's one of those guys that you may have to shuffle some players around to make room for him. Because he won't last 3 seconds on the practice squad.

[authentic]

Surely, this will be the 2010 Redskins first test of the season. I know it's preseason, but I think we can all agree that the 34 looked a bit shaky last game. I'm curious to see how the OL stands up against the tenacious Ravens' D.

I will try to give them a slight benefit of the doubt and say that the Bills game was the first, actual tackling environment, this offseason. Otherwise, i'm hoping that the first team can improve from what they showed last week. Especially in the run game.

[HailGreen28]

Nice article. Especially how embarrassing the last meeting was.

[RichmondRedskin88]

Banks will be a great returner for the Skins in the future. He's just such a hard guy to catch too. My dad said its like a mouse running down the field and the endzone is his cheese.

I would love us to win but if our first team defeats the Ravens first team I won't be upset by a loss.

[authentic]

Nice article. Especially how embarrassing the last meeting was.

yeah, we got beat with the BIG stick that night.

[MustangSteve]

If people are going to take the Redskins seriously this year, then it starts this weekend. Show up to play and deliver a little payback for the embarrassing shutout you were dealt a year ago. Send a message to the Ravens quarterback coach, a guy by the name of Jim Zorn, that the best thing that could have happened to the franchise was booting him to the land of purple camouflage. Prove to Ray Lewis and company that you’re no longer pushovers and deserve a seat at the grown-ups’ table.

In short, go out there and make believers out of all of us. Do that, and then you’ll have everyone’s undivided attention.[/Quote]

Great thread Murf, and this is what I'm hoping for. This game will show us how far we are along in our new system, and how ready we are to contend with the big-dogs in the league. I'm hoping our starters will be able to play toe to toe with legit Super Bowl contenders.

[themurf]

Great thread Murf, and this is what I'm hoping for. This game will show us how far we are along in our new system, and how ready we are to contend with the big-dogs in the league. I'm for our starters to be able to play toe to toe with legit Super Bowl contenders.

Thank you, sir.

Without a doubt, the regular season opener against Dallas is the most important game on the schedule this year. But if the Redskins have improved as much as we think/hope, then they'll have a much better showing against the Ravens this weekend.

[MattFancy]

Surely, this will be the 2010 Redskins first test of the season. I know it's preseason, but I think we can all agree that the 34 looked a bit shaky last game. I'm curious to see how the OL stands up against the tenacious Ravens' D.

Well we were running a "vanilla" defense last week, so I don't think it will change this week. Haslett wants to keep offenses guessing so he isn't going to show anything during the preseason. I would definitely like to see Carter or Alexander step up, but I'm not too worried about the rest of the defense.

I would like to see the offense continue to move the ball well, especially against the Ravens D. But again, I'm sure we're seeing a "vanilla" offense so as long as McNabb has good timing with his WRs and the OL is protecting him, I'll be fine with that.

Its hard to take alot away from a preseason game because you don't know if the offense and defense are actually showing what they are going to be doing during the regular season.

[SkinsHokieFan]

This is kind of my thought right now

Even if our boys win 52-0, with the starters being up 21-0 at the end of the first quarter, there is still very little I can take from it.

We'll have no clue how the Ravens game planned or what they were looking for.

However, and it may not be a fair standard, if we get thumped 23-0 again like last year, well that'll be a cause of concern for me because it means the Ravens still physically beat us up

[Dukes and Skins]

Great job Murf loved the article. This weekend will be a big test and as you said Dallas is the biggest game on the regular season schedule, but the Ravens game will gave us hopefully a feeling of how we can stack up with the big boys in the NFL

[themurf]

Even if our boys win 52-0, with the starters being up 21-0 at the end of the first quarter, there is still very little I can take from it.

Looking back at last year's preseason opener against the Ravens, there was plenty we could take away from that 23-0 loss. The Redskins were outmatched before they even took the field and it showed all season long.

[BlackBush]

This week Ravens, next week Jets... I'm still doubtful that we'll change minds at ESPN & NFLN unless we are able to clearly outplay their starters and reserves. I'm hoping to stay competitive and stay injury free through the preseason. I looking for good play from our Oline and DBs, and for some of these WRs start to separate themselves from the pack.

[AllBusiness]

Just as long as Ray"Where's the camera?" Lewis does nothing, I'm that much better about things.

[tiger187126]

i used to be a "preseason doesn't mean much" kind of guy, but week 1 i thought to myself that we should beat the bill's soundly because we should be a better team in every aspect of the game at every depth chart position. i didn't expect what we did, but still it's obvious which team is in better position for the future and which team has a lot of question marks to address.

hopefully on sat we'll look like we belong on the same field as the ravens.

"And if Grossman goes all Colt Brennan on us – playing lights out in his debut and never coming close to that level again – well, at least Hawaii will love him."

this was pretty funny.