Redskins Raiders Post Game Assessments

[kingdaddy]

Lots of great stuff to talk about, here are some of my faves from the game:

 - Preston Smith was a monster last night. Wow, if he's gonna play like that we are gonna go places.

- The hit Brown put on #10 (I think) on the WR screen where Breeland went at him first was a thing of beauty. Collinsworth spelled it out well too. We attack ball carriers and if we miss the tackle someone else cleans it up. Brown does not miss when he fires. Love him.

- Defensively, we had a great draft....period. What a job by the scouting department to grab the young talent they did. Nicholson is a hawk back there.He and Swearinger play with attitude for sure.

- As usual, Kerrigan made plays in the opponents backfield. 

[justice98]

9 minutes ago, Enforcer_FFX said:

I have seen enough - sign Zach Brown long-term now.  That cat is ballin'!  All over the field stuffing plays, in every game.  Consistent.

 

He's a stud we havent had at ILB since Fletcher.

[SkinsGuy]

1 minute ago, justice98 said:

 

He's a stud we havent had at ILB since Fletcher.

 

He's definitely having a pro bowl-type season already.

[Warhead36]

I think yesterday's game is proof of why you don't give up on young talent. Breeland, Fuller, P. Smith, all were criticized heavily last year and constantly you heard CUT HIM HE STINKS. Now all of a sudden with actual coaching and development they thrive.

[cakmoney61]

Wow!!!  The defense was spectacularly dominating last night!!!  I cannot say I saw that coming although we could see they were improved.  I don't want to get too excited, but a defensive performance like that against one of the very best offenses in the NFL is hard to ignore.  Nothing about it was lucky or fluky.  

 

A very hearty HTTR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bradboyd80]

I am absolutely ecstatic for Chris Thompson. I remember watching his college highlights after we drafted him and thought he'd be a beast. He's gotten better every year with us, and finally looks like the nightmare he was in college. Glad we locked him up long term.

[dyst]

That game thread was probably the most positive game thread I've ever seen.

[wilco_holland]

3 minutes ago, dyst said:

That game thread was probably the most positive game thread I've ever seen.

 

Impossible!!!!

[ComManDersFan57]

In one word, wow. Or two, domination.

 

Was that our Redskins? It's been a long time since I've seen the D so pumped up. They swarmed to the ball, got to the QB, made interceptions and essentially owned the Raiders. Grade: A.

 

The O held their own, moved the ball and stayed with the ground game. The fumble happened in a bad spot on the field. Perine got hurt on the play so I can't deduct much for that. How about CT? Good to see Doctson steal a TD. Grade: A-.

 

The special teams could have been better. What's up with Crowder? Two muffed punts in three games. We missed a FG. Grade: C.

[Burgold]

8 minutes ago, dyst said:

That game thread was probably the most positive game thread I've ever seen.

Damn refs.

 

Couldn't resist

 

The refs did start getting to me though... Man, were they ever trying to make it a game.

18 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

I think yesterday's game is proof of why you don't give up on young talent. Breeland, Fuller, P. Smith, all were criticized heavily last year and constantly you heard CUT HIM HE STINKS. Now all of a sudden with actual coaching and development they thrive.

I think it also points to how bad the D coaching and play calling was. I even said it last year, that when every single player on D regresses that it can't be just about the players, but I didn't realize the degree of difference. Yes, we've made some upgrades, but Manusky, Tomsula, Gray, and all the other D coaches deserve a hell of a lot of credit too.

18 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

I think yesterday's game is proof of why you don't give up on young talent. Breeland, Fuller, P. Smith, all were criticized heavily last year and constantly you heard CUT HIM HE STINKS. Now all of a sudden with actual coaching and development they thrive.

I think it also points to how bad the D coaching and play calling was. I even said it last year, that when every single player on D regresses that it can't be just about the players, but I didn't realize the degree of difference. Yes, we've made some upgrades, but Manusky, Tomsula, Gray, and all the other D coaches deserve a hell of a lot of credit too.

[Going Commando]

19 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

I think yesterday's game is proof of why you don't give up on young talent. Breeland, Fuller, P. Smith, all were criticized heavily last year and constantly you heard CUT HIM HE STINKS. Now all of a sudden with actual coaching and development they thrive.

 

It's why I wouldn't give up on Su'a just yet.  The kid has plenty of talent if he wants to come back and play football.

 

Kirk proves the rule too.  I don't think people realize/accept how long it takes to master the QB position.  It's like a five or six year process.  And that's only with consistent opportunity and high quality support.  If your QB is showing you flashes of ability to make plays and take games over and if he's shown you he's got the onions to handle how brutal the position can be, then you commit to him and never waver.  You just do.  You don't pansy out of your commitment when he struggles from time to time, because those are part of the natural process of a young QB growing into the role of franchise QB.  Organizations being stupid about developing QBs is the number one reason so many bust.

[kingdaddy]

33 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

I think yesterday's game is proof of why you don't give up on young talent. Breeland, Fuller, P. Smith, all were criticized heavily last year and constantly you heard CUT HIM HE STINKS. Now all of a sudden with actual coaching and development they thrive.

 

Not to mention Chris Thompson and Ionaidis.....both were on the bubble at times.

[GoDeep81]

So, pushing 50.. Pretty sure I was in my 20's the last time I saw a "complete" performance from the Skins, at home and in primetime!! It was surreal! Everyone looked good great, sans a muff punt and missed field goal. (I'll chalk up the Samaje fumble to an exceptional, well placed hit) The D was stellar every possession and the O, while looking flat a series or two, still got the job done when needed!

 

Unfortunately it may be time to explore kickers again.. I just don't think 52 yards at home, with a 3 td lead, is pressure enough to be missing wide, like he seems to do quite often.. (I noted in the GDT that if that 27 yard'r had been from 37 yards, it would of been wide right as well) That's about the only complaint.. Also need a punt "catcher". lol

[RandyHolt]

Did Hood McGee or McClain even play?  They did not get into the box score.

 

Maybe with TOP favoring the offense, we didn't sub out DL because our top dogs were fresh.

 

I keep asking because I hate the widely accepted notion that a fresh depth player is deserving snaps over a much better <presumed> tired player. If rotating out DL was the key to a good defense, our defenses wouldn't have collectively sucked for the past decade. I have wanted Manusky to drill down and find his best starters, and use them and think we saw it last night. Notice that our defense dominated, and we got consistent pressure from 4? 

 

I still call bunk that a professional athlete doesn't have the endurance to play 30 minutes once a week, with ~25 seconds off between almost every play. 

[frankez99]

Besides the muffed punt and fumble, this game was full on HTTR4LIFE!

[GoDeep81]

Oh and "Did DJ break Beastmode?" 

 

I know the mods would slap me and it's not worth it's own thread, but that title would look so cool being atop the ES stadium!   That hit was awesome! The crowd reaction.. Chills!! What a night!!

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

I'm not sure what else I can add from a positive standpoint, it's all been said numerous times and deservingly so.

 

My assessments are more on Special Teams.  Honestly, they took the momentum away twice in what could have been a soul crushing win.

 

I'm very concerned that Crowder has the yips on return duties.  Very, very costly mistake...AGAIN.  He's jumping into the catch and results not good.  Not sure why we felt Hopkins didn't need any competition in camp. 

[Peregrine]

30 minutes ago, Burgold said:

Damn refs.

 

Couldn't resist

 

The refs did start getting to me though... Man, were they ever trying to make it a game.

I think it also points to how bad the D coaching and play calling was. I even said it last year, that when every single player on D regresses that it can't be just about the players, but I didn't realize the degree of difference. Yes, we've made some upgrades, but Manusky, Tomsula, Gray, and all the other D coaches deserve a hell of a lot of credit too.

I think it also points to how bad the D coaching and play calling was. I even said it last year, that when every single player on D regresses that it can't be just about the players, but I didn't realize the degree of difference. Yes, we've made some upgrades, but Manusky, Tomsula, Gray, and all the other D coaches deserve a hell of a lot of credit too.

Exactly this.  One of the very telling things about this year has been how improved the playcalling is.  How do you know?  Because players are in position to make plays.  Thats ALL coaches can do, put them in position.  This year we have left a lot of points on the board from bad drops, to missed throws, but it means players are in position to make plays.  On the defensive side, even in the Eagles game the playcalling was so good that we were always in position to make plays.  We dropped 4-5 interceptions in that one, and missed 3-4 sacks.  

 

I really really really hope Manusky, Tomsula, and Gray have made the difference and this is a long term change for the good, because if so, this team can be scary good.

[Going Commando]

7 minutes ago, RandyHolt said:

I still call bunk that a professional athlete doesn't have the endurance to play 30 minutes once a week, with ~25 seconds off between almost every play. 

 

You can't make that generalization.  What's true for a DB isn't true for a DL.  Most of the interior DLs are built for power, not endurance.  They're firing into and pushing guys who are usually bigger than them or chasing down ballcarriers who are faster than them.  It's very intense exertion for the bulkiest athletes in pro-sports.  If you don't rotate them, you're going to get guys taking plays off.  And when you get guys taking plays off, offenses move chains and find rhythms.  You have to be willing to use your depth and trust them to execute to be successful on D.

 

Setting aside that some reserves have certain skills that make them the better situational play than a more well rounded guy above them on the depth chart, we should acknowledge that all of these guys are good at football.  You don't get to the NFL and make a roster without being good.  What we're judging is how consistently good a player can be over the course of a game, season, career, etc.  Terrell McClain can be a weak option as a starter but still give you 20 to 25 good snaps a game.  That makes him a good and useful player when playing the proper role.

[Renegade7]

The whole game I was wondering if we were really that good or Raiders playing that poorly.  I do believe we matched up very well with them, and just flat out wanted it more.  That's all I can ask for sometimes with this team, and I'm not going to lie, I was so stunned by the defense that I was nervous we were going to screw it up.  Great team victory, but we won't know if its legit or not until the results of the Cheifs game.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

10 hours ago, TryTheBeal! said:

Best defensive effort since Gibbs 2 era.  A joy to watch.

 

I would go much further back when you factor in how aggressive and swarming they were combined with their tackling and discipline. With Gregg Williams, we had some stout defenses, but we never had a game like this. 

 

We took the ball away 3 times, didn't yield a third-down conversion, and held them under 100 yards until the final two minutes. That's some 1985 Bears **** right there. 

 

Also - take into account who we just dominated. This Raider offense has been very, very good for over a year now (at least with a healthy Carr) and they looked lost. This wasn't the same as when we destroyed the 49ers in 2005 or the Jags a couple years ago. 

[Darrell Green Fan]

35 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

It's why I wouldn't give up on Su'a just yet.  The kid has plenty of talent if he wants to come back and play football.

 

 

 

Coaches can develop technique, they can not get inside a player's heart and make him love football. 

[thebeermonkey]

Didn’t see the game but sounds a tremendous performance - Credit to coaches and players.

 

defences win championships. Stop them on third down and convert your own.

 

onwards and upwards 

[RandyHolt]

15 minutes ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

You can't make that generalization. ..

 

I can try

Food for thought, more than questions I want answered.  How did NFL defenders survive in the era without heavy subs? Da 85 bears. Mann and Manley never left the field that I can recall, yet never seemed any worse for wear.  We went sans a NT this year, THE player with the least endurance of anyone - so doesn't that mean we are less likely to have to sub? Do you want Allen at 90% or Ziggy Hood at 100%, with the game on the line.  I will take Allen.  Did anyone see McClain McGee and Hood get a single snap last night, and did our DL dominate in what seemed like the first time in a decade?  It was hot last night, too.

 

Players that have poor endurance are liabilities IMO and any OC with half a brain will go hurry up and easily exploit them.

[Voice_of_Reason]

9 hours ago, PartyPosse said:

Spaight was incredible as well

I think Spaight played well.  It's interesting that they went with him over Compton.  I am willing to bet in years past they would have put the "coach on the field" out there to minimize the loss of a starter.  This year they put the more physically talented guy out there. That's a risk, because if he runs the wrong way, you've got a problem.  However, Spaight was where he was supposed to be, and the added athleticism helped tremendously.  

 

 

9 hours ago, thebluefood said:

Defense almost had it's first shutout/<100 total yardage game since the beat down the '91 team gave Philadelphia at RFK. What an incredible game to watch - especially with the way the defense clamped down on 3rd down and the way the offense dominated time of possession.

 

I was downright giddy coming home.

I said in the game day thread that this is the best team victory since the '91 teams' superbowl.  There were other games that year which were more dominant.  You picked one, the Falcons regular season game (wasn't that like 44-0 or something with MC Hammer in the house?) was another.  

 

Any performance that is comparable to a Gibbs 1.0 team is ridiculously high praise.  

 

Good opponent, prime time, complete domination.  Though I think Gibbs 1.0 would put his fist through a chalk board today over the 2 turnovers.  Even if 1 was kinda explainable.  Helmet to hand must hurt like a mo-fo.  

 

 

9 hours ago, Springfield said:

While it is just one game, I think that we can draw a few conclusions from the first 3 games of the season.

 

1.  Our defense is actually REALLY good.  On all facets of the game.  Line play, LB play, secondary, all really good.

 

2.  Our offense can score points but not the way it did last season and the sooner we play to this the better.  Lots of short/intermediate passes and if Doctson can get going then maybe we go up top sometimes.

 

3.  Our run game is average and we need to pass to open up the run.  Before getting hurt, Piron didn’t look great.  Kelley hasn’t looked great.  Only Thompson has looked great but that’s mostly as a threat to pass out of the backfield.

 

 

Just a few thoughts off the cuff.

1. Totally agree.  They played really well last week, just had a couple busted plays, which happens when you have a new DC early in the season.  Same for Philly.  This week it all came together in beautiful fashion.

 

Something Cooley has been talking about is that in zone coverage, they are "pattern matching" which is different than what they've done under previous coordinators.  And that takes some time to fully understand and get comfortable with.  But when it works, damn, it's a think of beauty.  

 

2. I think the offense will come around and be much more productive by mid-season.  They really need a lot more from Pryor and Doctson.  Pyror is still learning the system and Doctson is getting more involved after being hurt.  It's going to take some time, but if they can get those 2 guys really up to speed, the offense can become more dynamic.  But it's going to take some time.  

 

3. I agree, the only nit to pick that I have on playcalling is that Gruden consistently runs the ball on 1st down.  I'd love to see him change it up a little and go quick-game on first, and run on second about half the time, just to keep the defense honest.  But, eh, that's a really small nit.  

 

 

9 hours ago, NickyJ said:

If coaches can get game balls, Manusky gets a game ball. I would never have guessed that he was Joe Barry's assistant.

I have nicknamed Malcomb Kelley "He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named" (did this back in like 2010) because he was such a waste of time to talk about.  I'm considering nicknaming Barry "He-Who-Never-Should-Have-Been-Here"  because his presence in our team history annoys me.  

 

9 hours ago, Warhead36 said:

We won every key individual matchup. Not just won, dominated. 

Well ... Small nit, but Luavao lost a lot of individual matchups very quickly.  But most of the time, he was bailed out.  He's still not good.  But you can operate effectively if your LG is the weakest part of your offense.  

 

9 hours ago, stevemcqueen1 said:

That was a Seahawks-esque defensive performance and we got to see a lot of McCloughan pieces shine.  Just perfect execution at each level, and some stand out performances from young players and other new faces.  It looks like there has been a real culture shift in that unit.

Apart from Preston Smith, who I'm convinced was the victim of Alien Abduction and Reprogramming, which other McCloughan player really jumped?  I guess Fuller and Ionitis.  But both were rookies last year, and played well at times.  

 

To me, the biggest, most unexpected performance jumps are Preston Smith and Bree, who looked like he was headed for a lifetime of therapy instead of return ot lock-down corner status.  Both were just awesome.  

 

 

9 hours ago, dyst said:

Would love to start a new tradition like this.

 

Allow opposing fans to invade our stadium only to send them home with an ass whopping.

 

"come on folks, come on in get your ass whopping"

I'd prefer a tradition of fans of opposing teams not wanting to come to our home field because they know their team is going to get their ass kicked, so they just stay home.

 

I'd like that a lot better, in fact.  

 

9 hours ago, Warhead36 said:

Norman destroying the Raiders WRs LOL

Norman's eyes looked like saucers all night.  He might have been the best defensive player on the team, though you wouldn't know it, because the ball never came his way.  He was just ridiculously good.

 

 

9 hours ago, TryTheBeal! said:

Whew!  Josh Norman is feeling himself for the locker room media.  Dude is firing me up.

Michele Tafoya might have had the line of the night, after interviewing Norman, she said something like, "After talking to Norman, I think I want to go play for the Redskins."  

 

He was in great form last night, both on and off the field.  

 

9 hours ago, NoCalMike said:

To me tonight's performance just makes the @KC game all that much more intriguing. Win or lose that game, I want to see how the 'Skins perform on the road, against another team considered "elite."   The domination of the Raiders has alleviated the "omg we have to win" pressure of the game, but I still want to see what our team has for an elite team like the Chiefs in their own house. 

That's going to be a TOUGH game to win.  The Chief's defense is tough, and playing in prime time at Arrowhead is generally a losing proposition.  And for my money, Andy Reid has been the 3rd or 4th best coach in the NFL for about 15 years, minus his inability to manage a clock.   

 

As long as the 'Skins come out and play well, win or lose, I'll be extremely happy.  They've already far exceeded my expectations.  Which is so awesome.  

6 hours ago, illone said:

 

Gruden might be playing the long game on some of those runs.  Setting it up to tendency break in a future game;)  This game was well in hand and the team kept converting 3rd and longs

Somebody asked Bellichick why he was lining up and blitzing on 3rd and 4th down in some game they were winning by tons last year, and he answered, "I'm trying to throw off the analytics."  (I also kinda think that answer might be cover for, "I'm an enormous DB who likes to rub it in, here, take a look at my 5 rings, ****es." 

 

I would love to see Gruden to both of those things.  Be an enormous DB and run up the score after having 5 SB rings, and break the analytics.  

 

2 hours ago, RandyHolt said:

Defense  A-

...

We get a minus because we allowed more than 100 yards.

Dude, you are a TOUGH TOUGH grader.  Holy moly.  

 

Mine:

Offense: A

 

A few bobbles, but they scored when they needed to, converted turnovers, and controlled the clock.  In a big win like this, I'm going to forgive the average rushing average, and the Perine fumble.  If you almost break your hand while the ball is being ripped out, you get a pass.

 

Defense A+

 

Just nothing to criticize.  It was a perfect game. 

 

ST: C.  Missed FG and fumbled punt.  But also made a couple critical FGs, and had a couple good punt returns.  Also, fan-freaking-tastic coverage on punts all night.  

 

Coaching: A+

 

I've been as hard on Gruden as anybody on the board.  He earned a lot of respect from me tonight.  That team was ready to go, had a great plan, executed, and beat the snot out of a 2-0 team, and held the #1 scoring offense to essentially 0 points minus to stupid turnovers.  Credit where credit is due, and Gruden should get all of it this week.  That was an absolutely Gibbs 1.0 like performance, the likes of which we haven't seen since, well, Gibbs 1.0.