At half: Lions 13, Redskins 0
…OK, Chad Rinehart is now playing like Chad Rinehart. On the pass that Jason Campbell threw into triple coverage, Rinehart slid to the left to pick up the end on that side. Randy Thomas does this often. Well, Rinehart got slapped around and his man, Jason Hunter, applied pressure. Two plays later, the Rhino got blown up forcing Campbell to sprint to his right.
…The Redskins have been faced with some unusual tough decisions early, but there was no choice but to punt on fourth and short.
…The defense is getting whipped up front and the Lions’ O-linemen are getting to the backers now regardless of whether or not Haynesworth is in the game. Really, this is embarrassing for the Redskins’ defense.
…Andre Carter is having a tough quarter. He lost contain on the backside flip to Kevin Smith for a first down and then on another Smith run, when Haynesworth should have had him in the backfield, Carter fell. Otherwise, he would have cleaned up Haynesworth’s miss.
…Justin Tryon does not cover as well in the slot and has not since camp opened.
…Yikes. Haynesworth down. And carted off.
…We’re back to the Joe Gibbs era of coming up one yard short on every third down. Cripes, you have to be smarter than that. And that’s on the receivers, not Jason. Some routes are designed to take the receiver into the first down. But when you run downfield and turn around, you’d best be beyond the first-down marker.
…Too many missed tackles today, some just because they’re not breaking down. They’re giving the Lions way too many extra yards. They’re lucky that Matthew Stafford does not do a better job leading his receivers.
…The Redskins have a shell-shocked look to them. The defense has tried to give Stafford some different looks, with zone drops by the linemen, but none of it is fooling him, mainly because he has too much time in the pocket.
…Greg Blache is having a bad day as a defensive coordinator. No pressure; blitzes not working; zone drops not working; getting carved up by a rookie QB.
…One thing in the Redskins favor: the Lions have converted almost every third down. That will be hard to continue.
…If Jason Campbell wants to be considered a franchise QB, he must prove it in the second half. He needs to take charge of this game for Washington because his O-line stinks and can’t open up holes on the ground. It’ll be tough for him.
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