Battle for first place Skins vs Gints pregame thread

Washington Redskins lose CB Chris Culliver for season to torn ACL (http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14231988/washington-redskins-lose-cb-chris-culliver-season-torn-acl)

Confirmed. Damn

He really didn't look good even before he was hobbled, with Goldson regressing and D-Hall injured on and off the expected major improvement to the secondary never materialized. I would say it is now the major weak spot on the team, coming in a close second is the O-line's run blocking.
Both have been decimated with injuries. I think with decent health this could have been a 10 win team this year.

This game is even bigger now because we'll most likely be playing against matt Cassell in next week


Yup after what i saw yesterday you can almost pencil us in at 7-6. Bears on the road will be tough. Bills and Giants at home. This game on Sunday is a big time CODE RED, big time.

Jalen Ramsey (Although I think he is better at S than CB)
Vernon Hargraves III
Tre'Davious White

those are the top 3 secondary players in college right now

I'm a FSU fan. Ramsey is the man. He'd be our best player at either position. Would love to have him. But hopefully we're not picking high enough to get him or Hargraves.

Our pass defense is going to struggle. We really need to have a game where we actually stop the rush and hurry the QB.

We're due to beat the Giants, we just have to be.

Past 12 games against the Giants:
09/24/2015 A L 32-21
12/14/2014 A L 24-13
09/25/2014 H L 45-14
12/29/2013 A L 20-6
12/01/2013 H L 24-17
12/03/2012 H W 17-16
10/21/2012 A L 27-23
12/18/2011 A W 23-10
09/11/2011 H W 28-14
01/02/2011 H L 17-14
12/05/2010 A L 31-7
12/21/2009 H L 45-12

3 wins, 9 losses. I don't think any other team has our number like the Giants. Or that we have any other team we just can't game plan for. Even the 2012 win was more about the magic of that season. This season doesn't feel magical, it feels more like plodding improvement. I don't see plodding improvement stopping Eli-Odell, or making KC less turnover prone to the Giants (8 ints to them in 3 games), or massively improving his qbr (39.7, 11!, and 5.5!!).

Also, some of the people who keep calling for the run game just need to stop because it's simply not the answer for this team and this oline. Morris most definitely is off, and Jones is good but fumble prone. CT may be the best answer, but he works best if the passing game works. It amazes me that some on here just keep screaming for it, when it so clearly isn't the panacea for the Redskins woes. We have won, when the passing game has been on. We have lost when the passing game is off. The run has not and is not going to be what turns this team in the right direction.

KC qbr vs W/L
53.4... L
83.4... W
23.2... L
78.7....W
36.0... L
52.6... L
76.9... W
39.7... L
72.4... W
38.2 .. L

all 4 wins, his qbr was over 70. the losses were all less than 60. Even acknowledging the drops against the Pats, if this team had consistent average to good QB play we would be in first place probably by 1 to 2 games.

It's not the run game's fault for inconsistent qb play nor is the run game a solution for inconsistent qb play. It's just not.

...all 4 wins, his qbr was over 70. the losses were all less than 60. Even acknowledging the drops against the Pats, if this team had consistent average to good QB play we would be in first place probably by 1 to 2 games.

It's not the run game's fault for inconsistent qb play nor is the run game a solution for inconsistent qb play. It's just not.Kudos for culling the stats. Question though...the 4 wins with the qbr over 70 what was the run game like in those games?

I agree that with you that with good QB play this team is better and also agree its not the run games "fault" for inconsistent QB play.

But a running game certainly helps the QB and it helps the team as whole by keeping the opposing offense off the field and allowing the defense to stay fresh through the oft overlooked 'hidden' stat of time of possession.

Kudos for culling the stats. Question though...the 4 wins with the qbr over 70 what was the run game like in those games?

I agree that with you that with good QB play this team is better and also agree its not the run games "fault" for inconsistent QB play.

But a running game certainly helps the QB and it helps the team as whole by keeping the opposing offense off the field and allowing the defense to stay fresh through the oft overlooked 'hidden' stat of time of possession.

Fair question, and I hadn't looked, but here they are:
starting game 1:
ATT Yds AVG
37 161 4.4 L
37 182 4.9 W
20 88 4.4 L
32 127 4.0 W
24 51 2.1 L
17 34 2.0 L
19 50 2.6 W
15 37 2.5 L
31 209 6.7 W
12 14 1.2 (ugh) L

So 3 of our 4 wins we averaged 4.0 or better, but 2 of 6 losses we also did.

In one of our wins we averaged 2.6 yds(vs TB)

I don't think it's that telling, especially if you take out the Saints win, because we simply manhandled them in all facets.

The most telling thing to me is that in the 2 early games (MIA and NYG) where KC was off (38.2, 39.7) and the running game was on (161 yds, and 80 yds, avg 4.4 yds) we still lost. IF the running game was the solution, we would have won one game(especially the Miami game) with it.

All that said, it is clear the coaching staff has given up on it's effectiveness starting with Atl, since then, tries ATT are 24,17,19,15,31,12. I would say that shows they have no faith in the run game.

Eli owns the skins, he's always played great against us. Hopefully that changes sun

All 4 wins, his qbr was over 70. the losses were all less than 60. Even acknowledging the drops against the Pats, if this team had consistent average to good QB play we would be in first place probably by 1 to 2 games.

Except for the elite QB's, virtually no QB is consistently at 60 or above in QBR. So I don't think Kirk's efficiency is why we aren't in first place.

Quick, without looking at their numbers beforehand, name two QB's who you think are consistently good (not elite) QB's and then we'll look up their week-to-week QBR's. I wouldn't mind looking up the numbers.

I'll be honest and admit it if I'm wrong about that.

Except for the elite QB's, virtually no QB is consistently at 60 or above in QBR. So I don't think Kirk's efficiency is why we aren't in first place.

Quick, without looking at their numbers beforehand, name two QB's who you think are consistently good (not elite) QB's and then we'll look up their week-to-week QBR's. I wouldn't mind looking up the numbers.

I'll be honest and admit it if I'm wrong about that.

One guy from Each Division - not really saying good or bad, just a comparison sample. It's amazing the lack of good qb's overall.
Nick Foles questionable, but hard division to choose from
Eli Manning
Jay Cutler
Matt Ryan - hard to choose an average qb in that division
Blake Bortles
Alex Smith
Joe Flacco
Ryan Tannehill


I didn't look stats for them. My main point is that KC's issue has been and still is wild swings. I think this team would win with a qb who constantly performed in the average + range, but right now we have a Jekyll and Hyde guy.