1. It’s always back to the quarterback and Mike Shanahan made a surprising decision to start Rex Grossman. First off: John Beck did nothing to keep the job. After last week I felt the leash needed to be tightened. It was. Shanahan said after the Niners loss that Beck would start in Miami and he said his intention was to stand by that statement (Joe Gibbs’ intention was to coach a fifth year, too) but clearly things changed. It wasn’t about players going to him – though it’s clear the players wanted Rex – but it was about knowing Beck did not give them the best chance to win. Shanahan said this is a weekly decision. That’s just awesome. But think about this: If he doesn’t give you the best chance to win against a 1-7 team, why start him against, well, anyone? Fairly damning, right? The Redskins have made some changes, but they weren’t facing Green Bay or Pittsburgh. Maybe it’s as simple as this: he knew the Redskins wouldn’t be able to run against this defense (3.8 per carry allowed this season) and that there’d be a stronger emphasis on throwing the ball. And he didn’t think Beck could pull it off. Also, at some point you have to worry about keeping the locker room. The players need to know you’re trying to help them win.
| More Examiner Coverage: Redskins Week 10 |
|
|
|
|
2. Also wonder if Grossman hadn’t had pneumonia, when would he have returned to the lineup? After all, if Beck didn’t give you the best chance in this game what about two weeks ago vs. Buffalo when Trent Williams, Chris Cooley, Tim Hightower and Santana Moss were sidelined? Plus Will Montgomery was out of position at guard and a second-year center in Erik Cook started. Bottom line: Beck just isn’t the QB Shanahan hoped he would be. Remember, the reason many people expected Beck to win the job in camp was because Shanahan had been telling people how much he liked him. Yet he failed to win the job in camp (OK, loss of OTA’s hurt) and didn’t show enough improvement to keep starting. He’s zero for two. This is not a hotshot rookie we’re talking about; this is a 30-year-old QB (limited experience, I know). A lot, or at least some, of it falls on the supporting cast to be sure, but if you don’t think he’s ready now when will he be? I know he needs more “pieces to the puzzle” to help him. They both do. But if you think one guy is better for the team when surrounded by worse parts, doesn’t that make him, you know, a better QB? Neither QB has proven he’s a quality starter, or will be in the future, and I’m done trying to make sense of it all. Until next week that is.
3. Remember, all of these headaches are just to find a backup QB of the future. Sorry to add to your pain. Get your scouting hats on during the college bowl games. I want full reports. We’re really getting a sense of how tough this rebuild is; injuries have hurt, yes. Does it explain everything? Regarldess, this will require a ton of patience from fans who probably show more than the organization deserves. Did I say probably?
4. Meanwhile, Rex was Rex. He showed good rhythm and trust with his receivers – a rhythm we never really see out of Beck. When Grossman gets hot, he’s throwing passes as he did to Leonard Hankerson on an out route, where the ball comes out before he breaks, and to Jabar Gaffney on an out to the other side. They turn and the ball is headed their way. On a blitz early in the game, liked how Grossman went to his hot target (Hankerson) on the other side for a good gain. Grossman throws as if he trusts the receivers; it leads to less indecision when he’s on. And you can’t blame Grossman for the first interception as Hankerson slipped on his cut. But you know what? Isn’t it getting a little tiring how many times we feel like we have to say: You can’t blame Grossman for that pick, as if he’s the only one this happens to and he deserves an asterisk. Cripes; all I know is the interceptions keep coming. Blame whoever the heck you want, but they still count. On the second one the blame is easy. It was Grossman. It’s a quicker throw, but that doesn’t mean you have to stare at the receiver the entire way. That’s what led linebacker Karlos Dansby to that area; he read the eyes. Grossman attacked the middle of the field, where the Dolphins are vulnerable. Grossman is like Redskins teams under Norv Turner: Just when you think, “Hmmmm,” something bad happens and you go, “Oh, yeah.”
5. But the Redskins scored just nine points and that’s unacceptable, no matter who isn’t playing. The defense handed them the ball at the 5-yard line… three points. They gave them the ball at the 24-yard line… three points. The defense did exactly what everyone said: set up the offense with short fields. But the last four times the offense has started inside the 50, they’ve managed a combined nine points (and that includes three drives inside the 35). It’s too bad Kevin Barnes didn’t score on his pick, as he nearly did. That’s on the entire offense: an inconsistent ground game and a passing game devoid of playmakers. Teams can rush four and cover with seven in this area. It’ll be tough for the Redskins any time this happens. Miami did this on third and goal from the 11 on the first trip in the red zone. No chance. But that drive featured two runs that did gain four yards up the middle. However, the third down hold on Logan Paulsen also highlighted one thing: Chris Cooley’s absence. He’s a better blocker, so it’s not just his catches that they could use. Guess this is just another way to say the offense is struggling. I’m going on a limb by saying you probably know that by now.
6. Another mildly surprising decision: starting Ryan Torain over Roy Helu. I know Helu had 14 catches last week, but not sure any of them actually hurt the 49ers so it’s not as if it was an unbelievable game. Good numbers but all his 146 all-purpose yards led to was … not a whole lot. Still, it was surprising to see him not start. And don’t get confused by him playing more at the end of the game. When the Redskins use their three-receiver packages, Torain typically comes out anyway. The same thing happened in Carolina when Tim Hightower was hurt and the Redskins fell behind in the fourth; Helu played almost the entire time. Another thing you shouldn’t be fooled by: Helu averaging 6.8 yards on his second-half carries. He gained 21 on the last play of the game for goodness sake. His 10-yard run came when the Redskins had their three-receiver set, forcing Miami to only use six in the box and they ran a draw. A good play. Not picking on Helu; I’d like to see more of him (he’s really improved as a pass protector) but I’d also like to see him do more. Loved his effort on the third down run to pick up a first down; that was all him. But I just haven’t seen him make enough defenders miss to get me up in arms about this move. At least he offers the potential to improve the more he plays. Torain doesn’t exactly excite anyone either right now.
7. Two young guys who impressed: Linebacker Perry Riley and Hankerson. Obviously, losing Hankerson to a hip injury would be bad. He would be one of the fun players to pay attention to the rest of the season. He used his size well Sunday and was consistent with his hands; he made a nice grab on a slant route that was thrown high early in the game. He added energy to the offense until leaving late in the game. Riley did the same for the defense in replacing Rocky McIntosh. Riley’s reactions were excellent and he played fast; have to watch again to focus more on him but the initial impression was a solid one. He made four tackles behind the line as the Redskins seemed to run blitz a good bit. Riley diagnosed plays well. McIntosh started off well this season, at least playing better than last year. But recently his play had slipped and one evaluator called him a “liability.”
8. By the way, if you’re Anthony Armstrong and Terrence Austin, how does it feel that David Anderson comes in and plays ahead of you in the slot after only three days of practice? Anderson was OK; he’s a couple inches smaller than his listed height of 5-foot-10 so the one pass that appeared high wasn’t all that bad, though it was behind him.
9. The offensive line is now minus two starters so you knew it would be tough. I’ll complain later about having as your backups a guy who isn’t ready (Maurice Hurt) and another guy who was done (Sean Locklear). At least Locklear is a veteran, but his play seems to worsen late in games and more should be expected. But this is far from just on him as every member of the line had their bad moments. In some ways they look like a unit in the preseason, trying to get their rhythm. In Hurt’s case, I just don’t see it happening anytime soon. He’s playing as he did this summer when I thought: a couple years away. But you’d like to see more cutback lanes provided by those who have been playing all season. That didn’t happen, either. This offense has no chance if it can’t run and I just don’t see it getting that much better (especially if Trent Williams is suspended for testing positive for a drug per a Yahoo report). Nobody was getting to the linebackers so it was tough to get any solid runs. I could point out a bunch of individual negatives; no need. They can’t run the stretch zone right now; they can’t overpower people either. Tough times.
10. Ryan Kerrigan. Stud.
To subscribe to my Friday email reports, click here.
