1. After watching John Beck for three games and Rex Grossman the past two, have to ask: What were the Redskins thinking benching him the first time? This is not to play revisionist and say Grossman was doing great. He wasn’t. Talked to one scout before the game who called him a good backup and that’s exactly what he is. Good backups are capable of good games and that’s what Grossman played Sunday. But, cripes, he’s a lot better than Beck and it shows. With Grossman it’s a professional offense. With Beck it was not. Now, it wouldn’t have mattered to a degree because Grossman contracted pneumonia and would have missed at least two games anyway. But if I’m a player I’m still a little annoyed at the whole three-game experiment. One player said he would have returned to Grossman “a long time ago.”
2. This is not about Beck. Well, maybe a little bit. But it is about Grossman and he played well enough to lead a win. The players respond to him; they like his demeanor and attitude on the field. After his touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney, Grossman and Jammal Brown did a little handshake celebration that you never would have seen with Beck. It’s not that players didn’t like Beck, they just respond to Grossman. It also shows when you get good quarterback play, it lifts up the supporting cast. The Redskins put up 24 points and had 336 yards of offense with a bunch of third and fourth receiver types behind a line starting its fourth left guard of the season and a right tackle playing with an injured groin. This league is about making plays and when you do that you don’t have to make excuses about OTAs or supporting cast. The problem for Grossman is doing that on a weekly basis. But it happened Sunday.
3. I know Grossman was sacked three times, but the line did a good job protecting him. Left tackle Trent Williams, off first glance, seemed to play one of his better games. It’s not as if he was always going against DeMarcus Ware. Instead, Ware spent a lot of the first half especially against right tackle Jammal Brown. Don’t blame him at all considering Brown’s groin. But the pocket was sound and Grossman typically had enough time to step into his throws. The Redskins had six plays of 20 yards or longer (all passes) compared to just four for Dallas. Tough to remember the last time they had more explosive plays than the opposition. You can’t get those plays, typically, unless you have time to throw. Also didn’t understand Dallas rushing only three when Grossman was starting to get into a rhythm. In that case, I’d make sure I apply some pressure. It’s one thing to rush four and cover with seven. But with only three? Too much time. That’s what happened on the 16-yard TD pass to Jabar Gaffney. The run blocking wasn’t as good; need to see more from Tyler Polumbus. But the Redskins couldn’t run vs. Dallas when completely healthy; it wasn’t going to happen Sunday.
4. Sounds like it was LB Perry Riley who should have been locked on tight end Jason Witten on the 59-yard touchdown pass. CB DeAngelo Hall said as much after the game when he talked about London Fletcher having to leave the game with cramps and how the next guy in needs to make the play. Well, Rocky McIntosh came in but Riley slid over to Fletcher’s spot. Safety DeJon Gomes was deep and over the top, but he had to also worry about Laurent Robinson on the outside. Riley just lost sight of Witten, who initially came off the line and sat in a soft part of the zone. When Tony Romo scrambled, Witten took off and Riley lost him. It’s the first time he’s played against Romo and when the guy scrambles, the play changes dramatically. Tough lesson. Gomes didn’t seem to break any speed records chasing him, but that might have been because of his knee that he had hurt earlier in the game.
5. Hall was in a cranky mood after the game. Initially he did not want to talk to the media; haven’t seen that before after a game. About 10 minutes later he agreed to talk, but only wanted to answer questions from one reporter. Eventually he answered questions from others but it was a bit odd. Hall was obviously very upset with himself for being victimized on yet another crucial third down play vs. Dallas. Can’t blame him. They gave him the help he wanted in the first game and it still didn’t matter. Hall is right: in clutch situations he must play better.
6. There were too many breakdowns in coverage as Dallas converted five times on third and eight or longer. Five times. It wasn’t just one guy giving up the plays, either. Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe was late on the 22-yard TD pass to Dez Bryant. There was the Riley play and Hall’s slip on third and 15 in overtime. Hall also gave up a 17 yarder on third and 12. The knock on the defense from outsiders is the lack of sound coverage. The problem, too, is that Brian Orakpo is close to too many sacks that he ultimately does not get, especially against Romo. Yes, many players can say the same thing. But he needs to start making more of those plays.
7. The defense deserves a lot of credit for its performance against the run. DeMarco Murray averaged just 2.9 yards per carry on 25 attempts. He had averaged 8.01 yards per carry the last four games. It helped that DeJon Gomes was up near the line an awful lot, but the Redskins front excelled at winning the point of attack and they didn’t miss many tackles; if they did someone else was there. Didn’t see them getting moved up front. Also, according to one Dallas insider, the Cowboys entered the game wanting to run more at Orakpo than Ryan Kerrigan. Dallas had more success running to its left but it wasn’t that much as their longest run for the game was only nine yards. Orakpo did do a nice job on at least two runs by shedding the blocker and making a stop. But it is interesting that this was the plan. Also, end Stephen Bowen is not considered as physical a player by some evaluators as Adam Carriker.
8. Anthony Armstrong continues to be unproductive. He had his hands on a ball in the end zone – on a pass from the Dallas 22 in the third quarter — that he dropped [NOTE: after watching the offense this morning, the defender got his hand on the ball; Armstrong did as well but it was definitely deflected] and then there was the interception thrown his way. Did he run the wrong route? Well, we usually find out that the receiver did something wrong as you may have noticed. Regardless he and Grossman were not in sync on that play. Armstrong was open on a route in overtime and was missed. But Grossman gestured at him after the play. Meanwhile, Donte Stallworth caught all four of his passes in the fourth or overtime as he started to play more – after the interception. On his touchdown, the corner played inside leverage, something Grossman noticed on the previous play (a run). Grossman told Stallworth to be ready and he threw his way. Just a nice throw and a nice catch. Grossman did a good job giving his receivers chances to make plays – David Anderson in the second quarter; Jabar Gaffney along the sidelines. The guy was on today and it was fun to watch at times. Haven’t said that in a long time. Interceptions aren’t good but they’re softened when you throw two touchdown passes and run for a third (on a great play call; no way Dallas anticipated that one).
9. Graham Gano has now missed four kicks the past two weeks. You can blame it on the wind in Miami, but that’s still too many misses. I don’t think Gano is bothered by the pressure, but I do think he overthinks and overanalyzes each kick.
10. And that’s why Brandon Banks remains on the roster. It’s really the first game he’s had that sort of impact on this season. First, Mat McBriar kicked away from him – and it backfired as his 23-yarder went out of bounds at the Dallas 32. The Cowboys had been in control; that changed the momentum as the Redskins scored a touchdown. Then Banks had the 32-yarder that set up another TD. He also had a 24-yard return nullified by a Terrence Austin — who had two excellent blocks on two other returns — block in the back. Here’s Austin’s take: “That was a bad call. Terrible. The guy was falling down in front of me. I just stepped back and moved out the way. I didn’t even touch him.” If it was a missed call, it might not have been the only one. Still not sure how Fred Davis’ fumble wasn’t overturned. Freeze the picture and his left knee is down with the ball still tucked.But Davis never tucked the ball away and left himself vulnerable. A smarter finish to the play and there’s no need to review because there would have been no fumble. It led to a Dallas touchdown. Anyway, back to Banks: he also had the 55 yarder in which the punter stopped him. He’s one of the few returners in the league who can’t be given grief for not running over a punter.
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