Running backs

Stud: Clinton Portis hit the hole faster than the rest, which isn’t surprising. Portis was good in protection; looks like the backs are having to pick up more linemen up the middle than in the past. Could be because of the style of blitzes. Portis is, by far, the best pass protector among the backs. Keiland Williams was mixed in protection. Williams had a decent run in which he was able to fall forward for a couple extra yards. Good balance.

Dud: Larry Johnson didn’t have many holes, but he didn’t exactly move the pile either. Johnson did not run with a lot of fury. Didn’t help that his own guy tripped him up once. The drop is an issue; he’s done the same thing all camp – his eyes turn upfield too soon. He did pick up one blitz and on the other he said he was supposed to go out on a screen and was caught in deciding what to do: continue going out or pick up the blitz. Really, he did neither. Willie Parker whiffed in pass protection. In other words, nothing new. Williams had his head down on another protection, but from the TV angle it’s hard to tell if his block led to pressure. Just not a lot of burst out of this group aside from Portis and even he lacks much sizzle on his runs. Darrel Young’s blocking was better last week; stopped on one run because he wasn’t sure who to hit. Mike Sellers whiffed on a block attempt of Terrell Suggs. Portis dropped a pass, too.

Tight ends

Stud: Chris Cooley had a couple nice catches and was decent in pass protection; he lined up in the backfield often on third downs. Fred Davis had one nice catch and run in which he neatly avoided a corner going at his feet. Davis swerved without slowing down; athletic play.

Dud: Cooley dropped one pass and Davis had a possible touchdown catch go off his hands. Couldn’t tell if he would have gotten his feet down, but still a drop. Davis was very mixed with his blocking. Sometimes extends himself too far and loses leverage. Davis played in the fourth quarter, which was a little unusual.

Receivers

Stud: The Redskins really are seeing all that Armstrong can do. Last year, Marko Mitchell made a couple catches but could only run a couple routes. Armstrong is running a variety of them and showing he can get free on all; and he even made a catch on a tight slant in heavy coverage. He’s selling his fakes well and that’s partly why he gets free. Moss is getting open often out of the slot and does well knowing where to run once McNabb starts to move. It got him free a couple times. The Redskins are trying to get him in better matchups this season and they did so Saturday night. Devin Thomas had one nice diving catch and his blocking wasn’t bad. Brandon Banks got terrific separation on a comeback. Why? Because they’re afraid of him deep. Also noticed that the DB couldn’t get a clean shot at him on the tackle. Got him down, but wasn’t a crushing hit or anything.

Dud: Thomas can’t afford to drop more passes. He’ll make the roster because he can help in many areas, but starting? Not if Armstrong is more consistent. Oh, and I’d love to see Joey Galloway do something that says he should be starting. Moss had a drop, albeit in tight coverage on a tough hit. But a drop nonetheless. A couple missed block attempts by the group, but for the most part, a decent game overall.

Offensive line

Stud: Gonna have a hard time with this one. Believe it or not, Stephon Heyer was pretty solid with the starters (he entered on the second series for Jammal Brown). He did whiff on one block, but for the most part he was fine. He was far from the problem in protection. Casey Rabach blocked well when moving laterally. Trent Williams rescued himself from trouble on two occasions because of his long arms; he got beat wide but his arms were able to knock Terrell Suggs away. I liked how Jammal Brown and Artis Hicks worked together on stunts; they seem to do a decent job with those. It helps that Brown is so strong.

Dud: Trent Williams really got himself in trouble a number of times. Didn’t seem like he knew how to handle Suggs’ speed and he struggled when trying to initiate contact. Early, he tried to hit Suggs, but couldn’t get his hands on him. He got driven back on a run and took bad angles on others. Seemed to lack some awareness sometimes and this was evident on one run around the end in which he failed to find the linebacker. Also saw it on the pressure vs. McNabb. The QB probably should have stepped up earlier, but Williams must finish the play. I am concerned with how he and Derrick Dockery will handle stunts and other games up front. Neither seemed fluid in that role Saturday. Williams also was hurt by Suggs ability to anticipate the snap at times; sometimes Suggs would inch back a step or so and then get off the ball before the snap; it allowed him to get a burst without going offsides. Selvish Capers played one series and was dreadful. Was high and off-balance on the first play; couldn’t get his hands on the defender on the second; and was too upright and missed his block on the third. The second unit was a little better than last week; their problem was the blitz and the fact that more often than not there was no back there to help. (But not always; sometimes guys didn’t recognize it was coming so one defender would be double-teamed and a blitzer would come free). Almost seemed like Baltimore would blitz the middle when the back was set as a wing and the tight end was on the line. Why not? It worked. There were issues with this group: All of them were moved back at some point and they don’t get much going in the running game. There really isn’t a lot of depth. Again, Heyer is probably their best reserve lineman at this point. This is an addition, added after the original post, but Rabach did not do a good job when he had to pass protect or run block when not moving laterally. Nose tackles were too strong.

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