1. Donovan McNabb might have been a little overanxious on the first series, but he more than settled down on the second. Not that he had to do anything dramatic, and the plays helped him – get the defense flowing one way and hit them back the other. A roughing the passer call helped, too. He threw a bullet to Chris Cooley for 19 yards to the 10. And the running game did its share, grinding out yards.
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2. Albert Haynesworth will be a dangerous nose tackle, especially in passing situations. I like him better than Maake Kemoeatu on run downs, too, for that matter. Kemoeatu got shoved way back on a couple runs, more than five yards a couple times. Those came on double teams, but that’s the life of a nose guard and you can’t get drilled that far back. Haynesworth is so dangerous because teams must pay attention to him and then the Redskins can blitz behind him. That’s how Perry Riley got a sack.
3. Somehow, it’s not surprising that Brandon Banks returned a punt for a touchdown. He has that sort of speed. And watching him set up, he was anxious to get going. Yet he clearly stayed patient and didn’t give away which way he was going to run. What I like about him is that when he sniffs the corner, and knows he can get there, he kicks it into a higher gear. Very rare speed. Of course, he fumbled a punt earlier. When he’s deep, punters would be wise to not outkick their coverage as Buffalo did.
4. The second team offensive line was a major disappointment. Chad Rinehart consistently got knocked deep into the backfield. His man wouldn’t necessarily make the play, but he most definitely would alter it and cause a bad throw if nothing else. Will Robinson had issues with footwork. Have to watch the game again, but sometimes it seemed as if he crossed up his feet and got off-balance. Edwin Williams allowed pressure at guard, but I don’t think that’s the best spot for him. And RT Clint Oldenburg is just not very good. That won’t change.
5. The No. 1 defense was OK, but they weren’t exactly facing a great offense. I didn’t like some of the sloppy play; some bad tackling and bad angles. That could be a function of not tackling in training camp. I did like seeing Brian Orakpo and Andre Carter lining up on the same side before one snap. And Orakpo had one nice series, making one tackle in which he shed the blocker well. It took him a while to do that last year with any sort of consistency.
6. I like watching Josh Bidwell punt inside the 50; does the Australian Rules Football style and gets a lot of backspin on the ball. On the play in which Ramzee Robinson flipped the ball back to Anthony Armstrong to down the ball around the 2-yard line, the play was made because Bidwell stuck his punt inside the 5, but it did not take a big bounce toward the end zone. That allowed Robinson to get behind the ball and stop it before it reached the end zone.
