Redskins at Bears Post Game Thoughts

[REDSKINS4ever]

The Bears have a hard nosed stout defense. I was under no illusion. I knew RG3 would have to fight it out against a defense like that. For his first time playing against such a great defense, I thought he did well. The passing game lacked with the starters but RG3 did have a decent pass completion percentage. He just needs to learn how to scan the field quickly to locate an open receiver and if there is no one open, he should just take off and outrun the entire defense to the end zone for 6.

[SmootSmack]

For those wondering, Shanahan says Griffin will play the first half and one series in the 3rd quarter. That will be it for him this preseason

[hooskins]

Originally Posted by SmootSmack

For those wondering, Shanahan says Griffin will play the first half and one series in the 3rd quarter. That will be it for him this preseason

Pretty much the same thing as last week, huh? I guess that's enough.

[The Goat]

My notes on the offense:

Too early and way too small sample size to say much about RGIII and/or the offense overall but there are a few things we know.
A rookie QB will miss things and RGIII is no different. In one of his later series, on a 3rd down, he threw high downfield to a WR. It would have been a tough completion no matter what but RGIII was way off. The bigger thing on the play though is we had a TE, I think Davis, open enough across the flat for a 1st down. RGIII will see this on video and learn from it.
The offensive line is very weak at this point, even adjusting for a stout front 7 Chicago boasts. The line doesn't execute most plays well and struggles in both run blocking and pass blocking.
Garcon has neither the speed nor the strength of a true #1 WR. I went back and rewatched all the snaps where we had a view on Garcon and he really doesn't outrun anybody. The play most notable was the downfield bomb that was (incorrectly) called for pass interference. The DB had no trouble keeping up w/ Garcon, but more importantly he had no troube (easily) forcing Garcon out of bounce, which is why the pass interference call would never fly with real refs. I kind of see Garcon as a poor man's, albeit younger, Anquan Boldin. My fear is both the Shanahan's, out of ego, and RGIII, out of inexperience, will force too many shots Garcon's way and the offense suffers for it. Moss is still our best WR and Davis is the best overall downfield target, both coach and QB would be wise to play to this reality.

[Slingin Sammy 33]

Originally Posted by The Goat

A rookie QB will miss things and RGIII is no different. In one of his later series, on a 3rd down, he threw high downfield to a WR. It would have been a tough completion no matter what but RGIII was way off. The bigger thing on the play though is we had a TE, I think Davis, open enough across the flat for a 1st down. RGIII will see this on video and learn from it.

Really good post, agree on this point 100%, and it was Davis....WIDE OPEN. Just patience and trust in the play development, it will come. RG3 is a very bright guy, he'll get it.

[30gut]

Originally Posted by Slingin Sammy 33

Really good post, agree on this point 100%, and it was Davis....WIDE OPEN. Just patience and trust in the play development, it will come. RG3 is a very bright guy, he'll get it.

I'm not saying Griffin didn't make mistakes, he did.
But, I don't agree that Davis was 'wide open'.
I don't have the all 22 and from watching regular TV feed you can't see what Griffin saw before he threw the ball.
You only see how the defenses looks after the ball is halfway to Moss, by which time the defenders are gonna stop covering their previous assignments and follow the ball in flight.

[Slingin Sammy 33]

Originally Posted by 30gut

I'm not saying Griffin didn't make mistakes, he did.
But, I don't agree that Davis was 'wide open'.
I don't have the all 22 and from watching regular TV feed you can't see what Griffin saw before he threw the ball.
You only see how the defenses looks after the ball is halfway to Moss, by which time the defenders are gonna stop covering their previous assignments and follow the ball in flight.

I don't have all 22 either...yet.
You're 100% right, you can't see coverage downfield on that one and I couldn't see enough to even make an educated guess....but I sure saw a bunch of bodies there.
Possible he and the WR miscommunicated, he may have saw something in coverage that the WR missed or vice versa. But the TE progression was there, he just needed to be 1/2 sec more patient and trust his TE & OL.

[The Goat]

Originally Posted by 30gut

I'm not saying Griffin didn't make mistakes, he did.
But, I don't agree that Davis was 'wide open'.
I don't have the all 22 and from watching regular TV feed you can't see what Griffin saw before he threw the ball.
You only see how the defenses looks after the ball is halfway to Moss, by which time the defenders are gonna stop covering their previous assignments and follow the ball in flight.

Actually the broadcast angle shows Davis wide open the whole time, and looking back again he had lots of space to run. It definitely would have been the first down and possibly gone for another 10 yards.

RGIII will learn from this one when he sees the video, but I think you could make the case he was already rattled at this point based on the poor protection.

Toward that point, anyone paying attention saw the Bills defense went vanilla. The Bears played at full speed and absolutely destroyed our line. The right side specifically is just garbage. Polumbus cannot pass protect, period, and Montgomery is struggling badly to run block or pass protect.
Short of a Festivus Miracle the line is going to be a huge liability this season, and I think that should appropriately raise a lot of questions. In it's third year the regime has regressed the oline and its best downfield weapons are the same ones it inherited, Davis and Moss.

Also the more video I watch the slower Garcon looks.

[30gut]

Originally Posted by The Goat

Actually the broadcast angle shows Davis wide open the whole time, and looking back again he had lots of space to run. It definitely would have been the first down and possibly gone for another 10 yards.

RGIII will learn from this one when he sees the video, but I think you could make the case he was already rattled at this point based on the poor protection.

I don't think Griffin was rattled in the slightest, possibly annoyed at the protection breakdowns and the playcalling but not rattled.

Maybe I'm misremembering that play but I've watched the game twice already and don't recall Davis being wide open on that play that we could see without seeing it from a different vantage point where you could see the defense and see Griffin prior to releasing the ball to Moss.
What I saw was Griff throwing the pass to Moss then the camera showing Davis as the ball was in flight and yes at that point Davis looked open, but everyone who's not getting the ball looks open once the ball is in the air and the defenders follow the ball in flight.

We can just agree to disagree on this one.

Toward that point, anyone paying attention saw the Bills defense went vanilla. The Bears played at full speed and absolutely destroyed our line. The right side specifically is just garbage. Polumbus cannot pass protect, period, and Montgomery is struggling badly to run block or pass protect.

I'm not prone to hyperbole but I agree the right side struggled against the Bears.

I question why they didn't do it last night, but in a regular season game they're gonna gameplan/scheme around the inadequacies as best they can.
Gettis showed promise and with help and time could be equal to Chester.

Polumbus is gonna need help all season, through playcalling/scheme but that really isn't that much different from Jammal Brown.
Personally I think Willie Smith is the better OT between the 2 players, and to my eye he showed it against the Bears.
But I've only seen games (where Smith has held his own) and not practices where supposedly he's struggled.

Monty does get pushed back but Cook is no better and LeRib nor any other OL has taken meaningful reps at center in the games.
If it was up to me I would bump Gettis or LeRib to center, but its kinda late in the game to switch up now.
Monty has the contunuity w/ Griffin and has been the one constant on an ever shuffling OL.


I certainly agree that the FO should have addressed the OT during the offseason but that is moot now.
The brightside is that even with Jammal Brown (one of the league worst OTs) the OL as a unit wasn't terrible and Polumbus is no worse then Brown.
And with good playcalling and a smart RB with good vision this scheme allows for the OL as a unit to better then the sum of its parts.
Hopefully the individual parts step up between now and the Saints game.
I'm banking on Willie Smith and Gettis/LeRib.

[Monkeydad]

Tied Gould's own Bears franchise record of 57 yards, by the way.

Thing barely had the height of the crossbar the whole 57 yards.

[44Deezel]

Originally Posted by Monkeydad

Tied Gould's own Bears franchise record of 57 yards, by the way.

Thing barely had the height of the crossbar the whole 57 yards.

Undrafted in 2005.

[The Goat]

Notes on defense:

The secondary is a huge liability, no doubt about it. Wilson is the only decent cover corner. Hall's risk/reward ratio is only positive if he creats at least one turnover every game.
My bigger concern is the front seven. Apart from Kerrigan this group looked weak yesterday. London's absence was unmistakable. Zoe isn't ready to play ILB during the regular season and Riley isn't consistent (yet).
But most importantly it's just not clear what the defense is trying to do. Is it a pressure based defense, or a stout front 7 that punishes the running game?
Someone said Haslett should be sacked. I would say if the FO doesn't see him as part of the picture beyond the Shanahan regime then there's no reason to keep Haslett.

[REDSKINS4ever]

Originally Posted by The Goat

Notes on defense:

The secondary is a huge liability, no doubt about it. Wilson is the only decent cover corner. Hall's risk/reward ratio is only positive if he creats at least one turnover every game.
My bigger concern is the front seven. Apart from Kerrigan this group looked weak yesterday. London's absence was unmistakable. Zoe isn't ready to play ILB during the regular season and Riley isn't consistent (yet).
But most importantly it's just not clear what the defense is trying to do. Is it a pressure based defense, or a stout front 7 that punishes the running game?
Someone said Haslett should be sacked. I would say if the FO doesn't see him as part of the picture beyond the Shanahan regime then there's no reason to keep Haslett.

I hope the Redskin defense isn't slacking off but I understand what you mean. I keep telling myself that it's just preseason and once the games count, the Redskins will get better defensively. The main problem is the secondary just like last season. Kerrigan, Fletcher, Riley, and Orakpo can certainly make plays as long as Carriker, Bowens, Cofield, and whoever else is on the D line find ways to constrict the opposing offensive line much like they did last season. If Cedric Griffin and Brandon Meriweather are not the answers in the defensive backfield, I would expect Jim Haslet and Raheem Morris to make changes. I'm looking forward to seeing Tanard Jackson play safety next Saturday vs. the Colts and lets hope that the rookie CB Crawford continues to shine. Crawford could be in line for the nickel back job if he continues to impress.

[Hog1]

As you boys point out, Robert is bright....very bright. THAT and his motivation are undoubtedly his best attributes. Of the Rook mistakes he makes....He won't do it long. He'll improve....fast

[Gtothearry]

Originally Posted by iamsrk

It'll be interesting if shanahan decides to start cousins in the next preseason game. After all its preseason, so there's no harm in preparing your second string qbs to take over in the event of rg3 getting injured midseason.

Shannahan isn't stupid. If he starts Cousins he opens the door for the BS hype for a qb controversy.