Looking back to Week 1 (video) and discussion

[30gut]

I stumbled upon this youtube highlight cut-up of the Week 1 victory over the Giants:



Its the offseason and all there seems to do now is speculate.
But maybe this video could be a springboard for a discussion not only about this game but the direction the team went and a look at the personnel going forward.

Some things that stood out to me:

o Fred Davis is a beast; made some plays people forget that he's capable of making-which made me think of how this article:
Kyle Shanahan: Rex Grossman was Redskins best playmaker in 2011 - DC Sports Bog - The Washington Post

o When Tana is healthy he can be a major piece of the passing game puzzle

o We ran the ball 25 times despite the low YPC

o Armstrong made tough catch and caught a fade route for TD (where did that route go during the rest of the season?)

o Defense had 4 sacks and 7 QB hits

o Hightower is a good edge runner

o Kerrigan tip/INT TD was huge play

o Rex only turned the ball over once via fumble and had 0 interceptions

[GTripp0012]

The Redskins are running a lot more stuff out of doubles than they did most of the season. Typically, they went seven or eight man protection for nearly all of the season, Dallas on. I have no idea why. The passing game works when they are in 11 or 12 personnel.

When they go to two receivers and try to max pro everything, our offense goes stupid.

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Are Rex and Grossman two different people??

[The Goat]

Originally Posted by EARTHQUAKE2689

Are Rex and Grossman two different people??

It seems so depending on the season, I mean game, I mean play...ahhh hell he always sucks!!

[CultBrennan59]

God I miss football already..Draft, PM, FA, OTAs, Training Camp, please start ASAP!

[30gut]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

The Redskins are running a lot more stuff out of doubles than they did most of the season. Typically, they went seven or eight man protection for nearly all of the season, Dallas on. I have no idea why. The passing game works when they are in 11 or 12 personnel.

When they go to two receivers and try to max pro everything, our offense goes stupid.

I'd bet the concern about pass pro had an effect of the formations/gameplan especially when Trent, Jamal and Licthensteiger were banged up.
Can't say I recall how effective the offense was/wasn't based on personnel groupings but on the whole I think the passing offense can get people open.
But imo the offense doesn't often set the receivers up for catches 'instride' which creates more YAC/RAC chances.
The passing game in my recollection features a lot of 'stop/sit' routes inside the hashes.
Also I think Kyle's challenge will always remain finding a balance between the run/pass which effects the personnel selection/playcalling also.

That game reminded/reinforced for me how completely absurd the notion that Rex is our best playmaker really is.

It also reminds me that the major limiting factor for our team on offense wasn't lack of 'playmakers' rather: injuries, playcalling/gameplanning, QB play.

If we inject a healthy Moss+Cooley and a developing Hankerson into a group of receivers that includes Davis, Gaffney and a bounce back Armstrong that makes a solid group of recievers that would not rank as a priority to upgrade compared to other areas of the team.

Of course Rex is a problem and I have full faith that they'll find a solution to our QB problem both for the present and going forward.

[Paintrain]

Originally Posted by EARTHQUAKE2689

Are Rex and Grossman two different people??

Rex fumbles and Grossman throws interceptions.

[los panda]

using this clip as the sample. davis and armstrong are big weapons, but so is rex grossman.
on a separate note, london fletcher is amazing. i am so glad that he is a redskin, and proud for him that he finally started getting the pro bowl nods that he has deserved since day one.

[30gut]

Thanks for the reply, I get tired of talking about speculation.

Originally Posted by los panda

using this clip as the sample. davis and armstrong are big weapons, but so is rex grossman.

I didn't get that same feeling.
Davis and Armstrong made the plays making tough catches on some poor throws.
Moss and Davis made plays gaining yards after the catch.
Rex was simply standing behind an OL that gave good protection while throwing to open receivers (he also threw in a lost fumble).
Rex didn't make any plays any other professional QB couldn't have made.

on a separate note, london fletcher is amazing. i am so glad that he is a redskin, and proud for him that he finally started getting the pro bowl nods that he has deserved since day one.

Amen.
Fletcher is a beast he's been one of my favorite players since he came to the team.
I broke my own rule against jerseys and proudly own a London Fletcher jersey.

[diehardskin2982]

I'd like to see a video of the bill's game to understand our flaws on this roster

[REDSKINS4ever]

That particular game against the Giants showed how ferocious the defense had become within a year after a great draft and key free agent pickups. The defense had Eli Manning under duress the whole game, forcing him to conclude the contest with a 69.9 QB rating and sacking him 4 times.

The offense was very crisp. This to me was the best day Grossman had all season. This was the only game Rex played in where he didn't throw a damn interception. He did however turn the ball over on a sack-fumble. Gaffney, Moss, F. Davis, and Chris Cooley did a wonderful job getting open underneath. The running game, although average on that day of September 11th 2011, was the only flaw in that game.

[Defensewins]

It's not how you start a season, it is how you end it. The Redskins started healthy and ended some what beat up. The Giants started beat up and ended healthy.

The Skins did find some interesting players from some of the back ups that had to play this season. Skins will be alright. No need to give away a ton of draft picks to get one good QB that we THINK we will be great. There will be a descent number Qb's available in FA and draft. No need to panic.

[30gut]

Originally Posted by REDSKINS4ever

The offense was very crisp. This to me was the best day Grossman had all season. This was the only game Rex played in where he didn't throw a damn interception. He did however turn the ball over on a sack-fumble. Gaffney, Moss, F. Davis, and Chris Cooley did a wonderful job getting open underneath. The running game, although average on that day of September 11th 2011, was the only flaw in that game.

I actually saw the running game as a positive from this game.
Sure they didn't run for a huge ypc but Kyle kept the rushing attempts up which provided balance.
And that balance kept the defense honest.
I think lack of balance was a major reason the offense struggled.
Too often Kyle got away from the run.
It seemed to my eye that if the running game wasn't successful early Kyle didn't give it more attempts.
An offense makes it easier for defense when they don't force them to respect the run.
In this game there were 28 rushing attempts.

[REDSKINS4ever]

The Giants defense actually played well against the run. Once Kyle Shanahan discovered how much the Giants defense were vulnerable against the pass, he called for plays for Grossman to air it out. F. Davis had 5 receptions for 105 yards in this game. Santana Moss was able to get open underneath to keep the chains moving. Jabar Gaffney had a busy game that game and Anthony Armstrong was also in the mix, catching one TD grab.

[2BIG2BSKINNY]

Man seeing this clip makes me miss Hightower and how hard he runs... The one great thing that has changed in years past is that the Running backs position is fixed. Pick your poison we can get it done!
Now we need to do that with other positions...
The Big one QB...but I will leave that to the numerous threads being discussed already.
Thank you for letting me remember how I felt after that game with a friend who is a Giants fan sitting in my living room watching with me...I kept thinking if this is the same old Redskins we lose this game...We won and we have the starting of something good.. Slowly we will win again!