Rewatched Highlights from Last season, what stood out

[HoustonSkin]

I wish you would have stopped with the Good.

 

When I got to the bottom, I said out loud to myself, "oh yeah, that ****ing Saint game".

 

 

[Conn]

1. Its no surprise the OL was blocking better in the running game than most thought, and that it was more the limitations of our RB corps hurting us: if you think back to the early offseason Doug Williams right away was talking about improving the RB position--and that drumbeat from the team never really stopped right up until we finally snagged Guice. Makes it even more amazing that we got him, and so late. That's got to be one of the most unlikely, miraculous occurances of obvious need and obvious value coalescing that I've ever seen in my years as a draft nerd. 

 

2. Its interesting that one of you remarked on our WR's consistently running wide open, while SIP remarked on the lack of separation they were getting (on obvious passing downs, which I assume means when you ignore the play-action stuff--maybe the first poster was paying more attention to the space WR's were getting off PA).

[joeken24]

Yep. Good observations on last season. Like many of the years past, most of the games came down to mental toughness and/or durability.

I hope this team stays healthy and can clean up on situational awareness/mentals. No doubt, they'll be competitive if that happens.

There's some coaching in there somewhere as well.

 

[KillBill26]

5 hours ago, ConnSKINS26 said:

1. Its no surprise the OL was blocking better in the running game than most thought, and that it was more the limitations of our RB corps hurting us: if you think back to the early offseason Doug Williams right away was talking about improving the RB position--and that drumbeat from the team never really stopped right up until we finally snagged Guice. Makes it even more amazing that we got him, and so late. That's got to be one of the most unlikely, miraculous occurances of obvious need and obvious value coalescing that I've ever seen in my years as a draft nerd. 

I remember when Williams said that, and I was thinking, this has to be a smokescreen.  Maybe they were confident with Bibbs/CT/Perine?!? And wanted to divert attention from their true intentions.  Because why would a gm ever telegraph their moves so clearly for their competition to see?  (I felt GMSM was too loose lipped in the past too and it drove me nuts)  So i agree with you completely: how is it possible that a premier rb, often in the first round conversation, with "red flags" that were pretty tame, fall into our laps after trading down fifteen spots when everyone in the nfl world knew we were targeting a rb because our front office already announced it to the world?  Just strange.

[Conn]

1 minute ago, KillBill26 said:

I remember when Williams said that, and I was thinking, this has to be a smokescreen.  Maybe they were confident with Bibbs/CT/Perine?!? And wanted to divert attention from their true intentions.  Because why would a gm ever telegraph their moves so clearly for their competition to see?  (I felt GMSM was too loose lipped in the past too and it drove me nuts)  So i agree with you completely: how is it possible that a premier rb, often in the first round conversation, with "red flags" that were pretty tame, fall into our laps after trading down fifteen spots when everyone in the nfl world knew we were targeting a rb because our front office already announced it to the world?  Just strange.

 

It was insane. I honestly believe it was like that dumbass movie Draft Day, where that star player kept falling for basically no reason other than that each team that passed on him freaked out all the other teams more, everyone assuming someone knew something they didn't, leading to a fall. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy where no one actually knew anything damaging about the player, they just all outsmarted themselves and didn't want to be the one making the mistake. 

 

I can justify some of the RB's who went ahead of him, in context. The Seahawks taking Penny where they did is laughable to me, but they have their own way of doing things and rely heavily on metrics, and he killed those metrics for them. Ronald Jones, again I can see it, he was another highly touted RB even though I easily preferred Guice. But the Lions taking Kerryon Johnson instead of Guice is going to haunt them for years. Years.

[KillBill26]

10 minutes ago, ConnSKINS26 said:

 

It was insane. I honestly believe it was like that dumbass movie Draft Day, where that star player kept falling for basically no reason other than that each team that passed on him freaked out all the other teams more, everyone assuming someone knew something they didn't, leading to a fall. 

 

But the Lions taking Kerryon Johnson instead of Guice is going to haunt them for years. Years.

Good point.  I think the same happened, to our benefit, with Allen last year.  Once he fell out of the top 10, teams may have been thinking oh man his shoulder must be worse than we thought because everyone else is passing on him.  With guice it may have been oh man this guy must be more of a head case than we thought bc everyone is passing on him.  

 

In the second round in 2018 draft, i admit I was going in hoping for Hernandez / Corbett / Daniels / Braden smith, but turned to rooting for guice when they were off the board.  When the Lions traded up right before us, and the rumors of them moving from Abdullah already circulating, I was thinking that the Lions knew we wanted guice and leaped us to snag him. And if so Williams comments would've infuriated me.  Such a redskins thing to do.  I was shocked that they took kerryon.  Almost to the point of laughing like what are they thinking.  I was thinking man we really got lucky now we can get guice and then we trade back and I thought I was going to lose my mind haha.  Glad it worked out (hopefully).  

[#BgMase76#]

On 6/27/2018 at 12:35 AM, bakedtater1 said:

I agree with missing Ryan Grant..where did he go?..wasn't it Indy?

I know it's just OTA's. But I think that's a role Quinn will come to fill.

[bakedtater1]

49 minutes ago, #BgMase76# said:

I know it's just OTA's. But I think that's a role Quinn will come to fill.

True

[Burgold]

Yesterday on 980, I caught some of the jocks talking about how Crowder was really opening Alex Smith's eyes and how the QB said he had no idea how good a receiver he was and how he really was good at making himself "available." Hopefully, whatever injuries and yips were gnawing at Crowder last year are gone and he can return to being the receiver he had been every year except last year.

 

I still think he's a good one. He just had a ridiculously bad year. He became a fumbler where he never was one. His hands became suspect when they were always secure. He became invisible which is a part of his past though, last year, that may be because Cousins only wanted to throw the ball to Thompson and when Thompson went down so did Kirk's oline.

[bakedtater1]

And any of those who wanted to trade Norman..is..well off there rocker

2 hours ago, Burgold said:

Yesterday on 980, I caught some of the jocks talking about how Crowder was really opening Alex Smith's eyes and how the QB said he had no idea how good a receiver he was and how he really was good at making himself "available." Hopefully, whatever injuries and yips were gnawing at Crowder last year are gone and he can return to being the receiver he had been every year except last year.

 

I still think he's a good one. He just had a ridiculously bad year. He became a fumbler where he never was one. His hands became suspect when they were always secure. He became invisible which is a part of his past though, last year, that may be because Cousins only wanted to throw the ball to Thompson and when Thompson went down so did Kirk's oline.

what the hell was that hop in the air before receiving that punt Week 1 against Philly??. But I agree with you here

[Guardshock]

3 hours ago, Burgold said:

Yesterday on 980, I caught some of the jocks talking about how Crowder was really opening Alex Smith's eyes and how the QB said he had no idea how good a receiver he was and how he really was good at making himself "available." Hopefully, whatever injuries and yips were gnawing at Crowder last year are gone and he can return to being the receiver he had been every year except last year.

 

I still think he's a good one. He just had a ridiculously bad year. He became a fumbler where he never was one. His hands became suspect when they were always secure. He became invisible which is a part of his past though, last year, that may be because Cousins only wanted to throw the ball to Thompson and when Thompson went down so did Kirk's oline.

 

One word.

 

Confidence.

[NoCalMike]

Jordan Reed staying healthy is going to be a big factor.  Alex Smith to Kelce was a winning combination and really helped the Chiefs get back into the game against the 'Skins D.   

 

I remember being at the Rams game, sitting at a vantage point where I could see the plays develop from a semi-bird's eye view.  What stood out the most to me with the running game is how often Robert Kelley made incorrect cuts or never found the cutback lane at all.  The O-line was creating holes and where Kelley might bully his way for 3 yards, there were lanes there to at least get 5-7 yards.  When Thompson had the ball he changed that and he was taking advantage of the running lanes. 

 

I truly think if Guice is the guy everyone seems to think he is, the running game is going to transform this season.

[petey hodge]

This seems an appropriate thread to post this... or vent.

 

I was watching the World Cup Spain v Portugal recently.  And at the sports bar, they had the replay of the Skins vs Saints game.

 

My eyes could not help but be drawn to the Burgundy and Gold instead of the monotony of the soccer pitch.

And there it was... a massacre in slow motion.

We were still very much in the playoff hunt at 4-5

On the road at New Orleans, taking it to a 7-1 team led by Drew Brees

up 31-16 in the 4th quarter with 5 minutes to go...

Win and we're solidly in the national conversation.  Losing?  Not really an option, but it is Drew Brees over there.

 

And watching the stupid soccer game, I watched us botch and squander that game away again.  This time knowing the outcome, it was no less easier to watch in slow motion.  Crap, man!

 

Then overtime comes.  And I see Captain Kirk "Clutch" Cousins run onto the field.

 

And you know the rest.

 

Seeing this game again in its glorious meltdown leaves me with nothing but confidence that we in a better place without Captain Clutch assuring an overtime disaster.  Not looking back.

 

HTTR

 

 

 

 

[bedlamVR]

Since we are going over past history ... does any remember when Smith - Davis was taking the league by storm ? I doubt it will be a make our season but there was a connection there ... maybe he could be something to watch  ? 

[Skinsinparadise]

To the comment about the NO game.  I was at that NO game and Kirk just letting us down was the last thing going through my mind -- I was sitting next to Saints fans and they kept telling me that guy Cousins is really really good.  Offense changed that day when Thompson went down -- so did the season.  Kirk was dueling with Brees for most of the game with half of the quality of Brees supporting cast.  What ran through my mind when we had the lead late is our defense can give up points in a hurry.  A Saints fan was about to leave and I told him look in your shoes, I'd hang in there, the Redskins defense isn't great and it isn't clutch.

 

The Saints ran through our defense like a hot knife through butter. Then we had the token 3rd and short where we got stuffed on the ground on a critical play. I like  Alex but ironically his critics slam him almost word for word exactly how Kirk's critics hit him -- red zone, not clutch, need big supporting cast, etc.  I think criticisms of both QBs are unfair, personally.  I don't see Alex though as some savior over Kirk -- I think at best its a lateral move.  The key for this team IMO to thrive and take the next step is to have a defense that doesn't collapse in key moments and have a running back who can make first downs in big moments.  And I think we might have that, will see.

 

I just watched the highlights of every game on youtube so I can see better the perspective of this thread.  Yeah watching those cherry picked plays gives you a different impression versus watching the full games slowly via coaches tape.  Yeah watching the highlights, they don't show much of Jordan Reed.  That makes sense since he only played 6 games and he's an underneath guy typically so by extension you won't see as many big play highlights.  And yeah you won't see Norman because he didn't make INTS.

 

However, if you watch both of them closely -- they are still studs IMO.  Norman was tough to throw against.  And you can see in his limited snaps, Jordan by a mile is the best receiver as to getting open.  You can see a little what Cooley likes to say which is the receivers last year struggled to beat man to man.  Doctson and Pryor weren't great at stemming or selling their routes,  Reed on the other hand uses his basketball moves, quick feet, savvy to get open.  On a bunch of plays you can see these guys didn't get a lot of separation.  Hopefully, Doctson really evolves this year.   It's not uncommon for receivers to take time to develop.    

[Skinsinparadise]

On 6/29/2018 at 10:15 AM, NoCalMike said:

Jordan Reed staying healthy is going to be a big factor.  Alex Smith to Kelce was a winning combination and really helped the Chiefs get back into the game against the 'Skins D.   

 

I remember being at the Rams game, sitting at a vantage point where I could see the plays develop from a semi-bird's eye view.  What stood out the most to me with the running game is how often Robert Kelley made incorrect cuts or never found the cutback lane at all.  The O-line was creating holes and where Kelley might bully his way for 3 yards, there were lanes there to at least get 5-7 yards.  When Thompson had the ball he changed that and he was taking advantage of the running lanes. 

 

I truly think if Guice is the guy everyone seems to think he is, the running game is going to transform this season.

 

I agree big time with both points.  You can see a lot if you slow down plays and Kelley and Perine had some holes/creases that they didn't take advantage of.  Yeah the TEs and Wrs on this team aren't great blockers but nonetheless I think Guice has a big year.    I don't think Kelley or Perine have great vision or quick feet or great balance.  And at some point, I am tired of collecting RBs with 4.65 speed.  Eventually it matters as to being able to breakaway and have some 20 yard plus runs -- and that's tough to do when you are playing against LBs, safeties, CBs who are all faster than them. 

[XxSpearheadxX]

Sometimes in addition to speed and vision towards lanes RBs need to just make a man miss in the open field, guice is going to bring that.

 

Watching kelley and Perine they never did it. Even on plays that were blocked at an average level. Our late season RB pick ups had a bit of it but by then our offende was decimated. 

[Vanguard]

18 hours ago, XxSpearheadxX said:

Sometimes in addition to speed and vision towards lanes RBs need to just make a man miss in the open field, guice is going to bring that.

 

Watching kelley and Perine they never did it. Even on plays that were blocked at an average level. Our late season RB pick ups had a bit of it but by then our offende was decimated. 

 

You're right, Perine nor Kelley could make tacklers miss.  Guice has a knack for that, and you can tell he runs with passion.  He has a mean streak.

[ExoDus84]

On 6/28/2018 at 3:37 PM, HoustonSkin said:

I wish you would have stopped with the Good.

 

When I got to the bottom, I said out loud to myself, "oh yeah, that *****ing Saint game". 

 

 

With the help of Xanax and therapy, I had nearly forgotten that game. Now I can look forward to another episode of night terrors. 

 

That game haunts me. 

 

Also, the season finale debacle against the lowly Giants. What a pitiful display of football that was. I'm not sure I've ever been as angry and despondent as I was after that putrid display of ineptitude. 

[crabbypatty]

I know a bunch are harping about missed cutbacks and lanes by the running backs, and while there were plenty, there were also a ton of times there were defenders blowing by the O-line and getting hits or redirects in the backfield. Those guys don't have the lateral agility or vision to make defenses pay for that, so it was what it was. Hopefully Guice is the cure for that problem.

 

Some things that stood out to me:

 

Doctson is slower than I imagined he'd be. He's definitely got the hops, but his hands were 50/50.. and the guy is marshmallow soft. Just like Pryor was. For their size, those guys won't win any wrestling matches with cornerbacks.

 

Perine was a big disappointment, he looked slow and hesitant. We already knew that is what we had that in Kelley, so hoping for better but getting worse sucked.

 

CT and Reed need to stay healthy this year for the offense to function correctly.. with those guys out it changes everything.

 

Far too many field goals instead of Td's.. especially from inside the 10

 

 

[skinsOLfan]

I have also watched all of the games from last year and I remember Kirk throwing pick 6s or INTs in the endzone and having to settle for too many field goals. That will change with Alex Smith, also the addition of Guice will make the run game more dynamic, Crowder only hurt us on punt returns (fumbles).

With DaRon and Tim our run defense will be much better, our secondary will be good and I just believe overall if we don't get hit with injuries again I think we're a playoff team this year.

[Darth Tater]

 

@skinsOLfan

 

Kirk threw 2 pick sixes last year, neither of which changed the game outcome (one was during desperation time). The only red zone interception that may have negatively effected game outcome was the one in the first game. He threw just one more the entire season but it was the Crowder fumble that opened the floodgates.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

3 minutes ago, Darth Tater said:

 

@skinsOLfan

 

Kirk threw 2 pick sixes last year, neither of which changed the game outcome (one was during desperation time). The only red zone interception that may have negatively effected game outcome was the one in the first game. He threw just one more the entire season but it was the Crowder fumble that opened the floodgates.

 

Yeah, I don't even recall either of Cousins pick-6's which probably means they came in a meaningless game or a desperate time of a game. I would say that his red zone interception vs. Dallas was pretty bad, just as his one against Philly was. If I recall, both were high throws (one Crowder had no chance and the other would have been an incredible catch). 

 

But certainly the post you quoted was overstating the mistakes Cousins made! 

[Darth Tater]

4 hours ago, crabbypatty said:

I know a bunch are harping about missed cutbacks and lanes by the running backs, and while there were plenty, there were also a ton of times there were defenders blowing by the O-line and getting hits or redirects in the backfield. Those guys don't have the lateral agility or vision to make defenses pay for that, so it was what it was. Hopefully Guice is the cure for that problem.

 

 

The main times I saw hits in the backfield was because there was no seal on the outside, not due to O-line fail. The main fail that might be put at the o-lines feet was that it didn't look like it could force issues.

[Commander -JB-]

The WR group, as a whole, was really bad last season.  Josh Doctson did flash some excellent ability.  He was too uneven last year, needs to become more consistent.  Jamison Crowder was flat out bad last year.  Definitely needs to step away from being a return guy and focus solely on his slot WR role.  It truly is most frustrating when you have multiple impact guys on offense who can never stay healthy.  Huge concern with Thompson/Reed.  Two very talented guys who are seemingly always hurt.  Definitely keeps you from being overly confident in this group.  Do not have any clue what to expect out of Richardson.  He’s a speed guy but can Alex Smith get him the football.  Hopefully with Guice running hard & if Thompson is healthy and a threat to catch the ball, it will open up the pass game deep. Pass protection, hopefully Smith gets all the time in the world back there.