Going to school 25 minutes away from Lincoln Financial Field meant that I would be living my next four years in Eagles territory. What better way for me set my mark then by watching all the Eagles fans in the room moan as the Redskins rip them apart for the third straight game. Sadly it was I who was embarrassed, so much so that in the 3rd quarter, when Kai Forbath missed the field goal, I threw the remote down and angrily stormed out of the lounge and never came back.
This year I decided to tone down the length of my Redskins articles to 5 bullets on what I took from the game. Hopefully this makes for some quicker reads and a little more substance rather than just game summaries. Also, my stat experiment isn't off to the best start, but I made a new tab just for it! So you can check out the results without searching through blogposts. Without further ado, here are my five bullets from last nights game.
1. First half was nothing but complete ineptitude on all levels
The defense was giving up a first down every other play. Vick had enough time to go through his progressions twice, look back at the sideline, eat a sandwich, and still complete the ball. Philly ran for some 220+ yards. I could drive a truck through the holes LeSean McCoy ran through. However, they did score a touchdown and buckle down eventually to keep the game competitive. The real story is how bad the offense was. Alfred Morris fumbles on his first carry, RG3 throws a pick on his first pass, Alfred Morris fumbles a pitch which results in a safety, and no scores in the first half. This tired out the defense who just started getting a handle on Vick. Which resulted in 2 more Eagles touchdowns. Even Kai Forbath missed a field goal albeit not in the first half.
2. Robert Griffin III was not comfortable this game.
Having not seen live action for over 8 months RG3 was bound to be rusty. He was scared, he didn't set his feet, he threw two picks, (that's almost half as many he threw ALL of last season) he barely ran the ball, he missed so many throws I thought it was the other RG3 (Rex Grossman III) out there. Luckily Shanahan kept him in because he needed to play. He started getting a grip on things in the 2nd half, running a little more, hitting more plays, running the no-huddle, and making better throws, albeit against what appeared to be a prevent defense. He finished the game with a respectable stat line, 300+ yards, 2 scores and 2 picks. Not spectacular but not Blaine Gabbert horrendous either. Fear not, he will have a much better game against Green Bay. He just needed to get his bearings back; he hasn't been healthy since last October.
3. The running game wasn't there.
RG3 and Alfred Morris combined for less than 75 rushing yards the whole game, a far cry from the 168 they averaged last year. It was a combination of the Eagles' game planning to stop our rushing attack and the lack of any passing threat from RG3 in the first half that bogged us down. RG3 can be a pocket passer and doesn't the read option but every quarterback needs some help from the running game to keep the passing lanes open.
4. Our defense looked worse than last year
McCoy ran for a whopping 184 yards, a per carry average of 5.9 yards. Vick chipped in with another 54. Vick passed for 200 yards and 2 scores. When we got pressure, the secondary didn't hold up. If the secondary held up, Vick would get 10 minutes to throw the ball. When McCoy ran it, nobody was within 5 yards of him, and when they were, they missed tackles. After letting them score 33 points the defense finally buckled down and had a scoreless quarter and a half, but by then it was too late and our offense couldn't fully catch up. Run defense was a strong suit last year, and with the return of Orakpo it was only expected to get better. If Eddie Lacey runs like this next Sunday there's no way we can stop Aaron Rodgers.
5. Hop of off Chip Kelly
I'm not saying this because I'm angry we lost but people have been putting too much of an emphasis on Kelly's "fast paced" offense. The reason it worked so well was because it was NEW. Remember when the Redskins had a new offense with RG3 in the mix last year? Totally caught the Saints off-guard and gave us the win. Remember Jim Zorn? He had a new offense and we went 6-2 before everyone figured out how to stop it. Sure he uses the no-huddle a little bit more than others, good for him, but don't call him an NFL coaching guru after one game. Also, Vick played a near perfect game which made his offense succeed, not the other way around.
Bottomline: For Redskins fans, that game was a nightmare to watch but it probably won't get worse than that. RG3 is working his way back into the system and hopefully Brandon Meriwether will be healthy enough to play Sunday. Our defense had flashes of dominance but were on the field way too long to remain effective. Look for all that to change next week as we give the Packers a tough fight if nothing else.
This year I decided to tone down the length of my Redskins articles to 5 bullets on what I took from the game. Hopefully this makes for some quicker reads and a little more substance rather than just game summaries. Also, my stat experiment isn't off to the best start, but I made a new tab just for it! So you can check out the results without searching through blogposts. Without further ado, here are my five bullets from last nights game.
1. First half was nothing but complete ineptitude on all levels
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| This sums up the day |
2. Robert Griffin III was not comfortable this game.
Having not seen live action for over 8 months RG3 was bound to be rusty. He was scared, he didn't set his feet, he threw two picks, (that's almost half as many he threw ALL of last season) he barely ran the ball, he missed so many throws I thought it was the other RG3 (Rex Grossman III) out there. Luckily Shanahan kept him in because he needed to play. He started getting a grip on things in the 2nd half, running a little more, hitting more plays, running the no-huddle, and making better throws, albeit against what appeared to be a prevent defense. He finished the game with a respectable stat line, 300+ yards, 2 scores and 2 picks. Not spectacular but not Blaine Gabbert horrendous either. Fear not, he will have a much better game against Green Bay. He just needed to get his bearings back; he hasn't been healthy since last October.
3. The running game wasn't there.
RG3 and Alfred Morris combined for less than 75 rushing yards the whole game, a far cry from the 168 they averaged last year. It was a combination of the Eagles' game planning to stop our rushing attack and the lack of any passing threat from RG3 in the first half that bogged us down. RG3 can be a pocket passer and doesn't the read option but every quarterback needs some help from the running game to keep the passing lanes open.
4. Our defense looked worse than last year
McCoy ran for a whopping 184 yards, a per carry average of 5.9 yards. Vick chipped in with another 54. Vick passed for 200 yards and 2 scores. When we got pressure, the secondary didn't hold up. If the secondary held up, Vick would get 10 minutes to throw the ball. When McCoy ran it, nobody was within 5 yards of him, and when they were, they missed tackles. After letting them score 33 points the defense finally buckled down and had a scoreless quarter and a half, but by then it was too late and our offense couldn't fully catch up. Run defense was a strong suit last year, and with the return of Orakpo it was only expected to get better. If Eddie Lacey runs like this next Sunday there's no way we can stop Aaron Rodgers.
5. Hop of off Chip Kelly
I'm not saying this because I'm angry we lost but people have been putting too much of an emphasis on Kelly's "fast paced" offense. The reason it worked so well was because it was NEW. Remember when the Redskins had a new offense with RG3 in the mix last year? Totally caught the Saints off-guard and gave us the win. Remember Jim Zorn? He had a new offense and we went 6-2 before everyone figured out how to stop it. Sure he uses the no-huddle a little bit more than others, good for him, but don't call him an NFL coaching guru after one game. Also, Vick played a near perfect game which made his offense succeed, not the other way around.
Bottomline: For Redskins fans, that game was a nightmare to watch but it probably won't get worse than that. RG3 is working his way back into the system and hopefully Brandon Meriwether will be healthy enough to play Sunday. Our defense had flashes of dominance but were on the field way too long to remain effective. Look for all that to change next week as we give the Packers a tough fight if nothing else.
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