CRedskinsRule
09-12-2011, 06:25 PM
Good breakdown Bucket.
I think Rex Grossman could have gone in both the good and bad categories. Once he settled down he did get in to a groove for a while. But his fumbling is becoming a really big issue because throughout his career he has fumbled so many times....and it keeps happening.
His slow foot speed and lack of athleticism in this system (play action bootleg) is also a concern. The two or three consecutive sacks that cost us a chance at a field goal was a bone head rookie move. He should have dumped the ball instead of holding it for consecutive sacks. He seems slow at recognizing the blitz and getting rid of the ball quickly.
Reed Doughty is another guy that was up and down. He took some awful angles on some run plays that made him whiff on a couple of tackles. His slow reaction to the long TE completion in the middle of the field was frustrating because Eli threw a floater that was ripe for picking off or at least batting it down. That pass should never have been completed. Doughty was a step behind so many plays yesterday. Kind of reminded me of Andre Carter last year. I really like Doughty as a back up and special teams stand out. Awesome locker room guy and leader to the younger players. But he seriously lacks the athleticism to be an outstanding every down starting safety in the NFL. He is a huge weak link in the secondary and he will continued to get picked on by opposing offenses in the coming weeks until Dirty 30 comes back. He can improve the mental part but he is not going to get miraculously faster and more athletic. It is a matter of time until Gomes or another young player takes his back up role.
Lastly the running game was frustrating in the second half. It was getting so predictable that Hightower was running almost all of the stretch plays to the outside. I did not see any cutting back to the back side like we saw with great success in the preseason. Not sure why?
The BIG THUMBS UP to the defense. Thank you Allen and Shanahan for understanding the importance of fixing the defense first. Thank you Thank you Thank you. It already is paying dividends. The defense saved our hides this week.
A lot of people were ticked off that we changed to the 3-4 last year with the wrong players. Can I, even it is early in the season, just say that that choice will serve us well this year and beyond.
1) the players who could succeed in it are a year better and flow faster.
2) especially with the lockout, if we had stayed heavy 4-3 last year, this year's defense would be atrocious, if the coming change occurred now.
3) the coaching staff/FO were able to fairly evaluate every player, and team need for the draft and prioritize what players to go after.
4) the young guys can now draw off of the vets, ie Kerrigan from Orakpo, instead of all changing together.
I would like to believe all of these reasons fed into the 2-3 year plan that Shanahan and Allen have been working on. Assuming that that is true, it also gives me hope because even as exciting as beating the Giants at home on opening day was, we can build a little faith that what we see as defects are being worked on and the plan is being adjusted.
Shanahan and Allen are "The Adjustment Bureau"
I think Rex Grossman could have gone in both the good and bad categories. Once he settled down he did get in to a groove for a while. But his fumbling is becoming a really big issue because throughout his career he has fumbled so many times....and it keeps happening.
His slow foot speed and lack of athleticism in this system (play action bootleg) is also a concern. The two or three consecutive sacks that cost us a chance at a field goal was a bone head rookie move. He should have dumped the ball instead of holding it for consecutive sacks. He seems slow at recognizing the blitz and getting rid of the ball quickly.
Reed Doughty is another guy that was up and down. He took some awful angles on some run plays that made him whiff on a couple of tackles. His slow reaction to the long TE completion in the middle of the field was frustrating because Eli threw a floater that was ripe for picking off or at least batting it down. That pass should never have been completed. Doughty was a step behind so many plays yesterday. Kind of reminded me of Andre Carter last year. I really like Doughty as a back up and special teams stand out. Awesome locker room guy and leader to the younger players. But he seriously lacks the athleticism to be an outstanding every down starting safety in the NFL. He is a huge weak link in the secondary and he will continued to get picked on by opposing offenses in the coming weeks until Dirty 30 comes back. He can improve the mental part but he is not going to get miraculously faster and more athletic. It is a matter of time until Gomes or another young player takes his back up role.
Lastly the running game was frustrating in the second half. It was getting so predictable that Hightower was running almost all of the stretch plays to the outside. I did not see any cutting back to the back side like we saw with great success in the preseason. Not sure why?
The BIG THUMBS UP to the defense. Thank you Allen and Shanahan for understanding the importance of fixing the defense first. Thank you Thank you Thank you. It already is paying dividends. The defense saved our hides this week.
A lot of people were ticked off that we changed to the 3-4 last year with the wrong players. Can I, even it is early in the season, just say that that choice will serve us well this year and beyond.
1) the players who could succeed in it are a year better and flow faster.
2) especially with the lockout, if we had stayed heavy 4-3 last year, this year's defense would be atrocious, if the coming change occurred now.
3) the coaching staff/FO were able to fairly evaluate every player, and team need for the draft and prioritize what players to go after.
4) the young guys can now draw off of the vets, ie Kerrigan from Orakpo, instead of all changing together.
I would like to believe all of these reasons fed into the 2-3 year plan that Shanahan and Allen have been working on. Assuming that that is true, it also gives me hope because even as exciting as beating the Giants at home on opening day was, we can build a little faith that what we see as defects are being worked on and the plan is being adjusted.
Shanahan and Allen are "The Adjustment Bureau"