Questions I asked before the game … and now the answers.
1. Can Rex Grossman do it again? Thought he might be able to, considering how bad Jacksonville is defensively. But Grossman was merely average; when he had a good pocket, he made good throws. But he also made a few bad decisions and his interception in the end zone, after watching it again, he threw while moving back and into a stiff wind. The wind no doubt hurt the throw, but he didn’t put much zip on the pass to begin with. He also had a couple passes tipped that, if not for the deflection, might have been intercepted. He was up and down; it’s who he is.
2. Will John Beck play? Nope.
3. Will Grossman avoid the killer mistakes? He cost Washington points with his pick in the end zone, but his other mistakes did not cost them much other than delaying drives or hurting them.
4. Will they target Chris Cooley early in the game? Uh, yes they did. Next time perhaps he’ll hold onto the ball. Cooley had four drops, though one was an outstretched attempt. Still, that was one of his worst halves. But he finished strong.
5. Will Fletcher Smith and the Shanahans exchange statements during the game? I was kidding about this, but then we get reports about Donovan McNabb wanting to ask for his release at season’s end. All parties denied this, but it makes sense. Why would McNabb want to return? And why would the Shanahans want him back? Being released allows him to pick his next team.
6. Will Ryan Torain be a big factor? Thought he would be, but he wasn’t as big a factor as I anticipated, mainly because Kyle Shanahan loves calling for passes. He’s an aggressive play-caller. Torain had some nice runs, slipping tackles at the line. He was enough of a factor for the bootlegs to work (though not all the time). And Torain had a good plunge on fourth and 1 at the goal line.
7. Does it matter if Maurice Jones-Drew plays? Yes it does. I thought Rashad Jennings was capable of hurting the Redskins, but he never did aside from a screen pass or two. Part of the problem is that he had few holes as the front seven consistently won one-on-one battles. The line played well, with Anthony Bryant clogging cutback lanes and Vonnie Holliday forcing double teams and Adam Carriker getting good penetration. Also thought Lorenzo Alexander was as active as he’s been in a while. The Redskins used many eight-man fronts, and that helped, but the front seven did an admirable job. Where Jennings hurt the Jags is in pass protection; he choose the wrong blitzer on a couple occasions.
8. How good is David Garrard? He’s good and he was mostly accurate, but without a good run game the Jags are in trouble. They don’t want to pass that much. Garrard likes to stay in the pocket and he’s not the most mobile guy around. The Redskins did a good job of keeping him in the pocket with their rush or pursuing him when he got on the edge. Of course, he did hurt them on the draw, but that was a good call as much as anything.
9. How much will the injuries impact Washington’s defense? Um, not at all? That’s not what anyone was thinking going into the game, including me. The backups played very well, doing their job and nothing more. Sort of a simple philosophy. I already talked about the front three, so I’ll leave them be for now. But Rob Jackson was impressive; he has strong hands, which enabled him to get inside on a couple occasions. What does this mean for his future? Who knows. But on Sunday he looked good. Kevin Barnes and Macho Harris were fine at safeties. Barnes in particular looked good, making some tackles in the backfield and intercepting a pass (forced by pressure from Chris Wilson). Not sure I’d want Barnes playing safety full-time just yet; he’d need to add about 10-15 pounds to hold up over the season. But he’s athletic enough and smart enough to be a swingman and that’s good to know. Also thought Andre Carter played a solid game. And Byron Westbrook helped in a reserve role when Carlos Rogers left the game. Made a good read and tackle on a screen.
10. How good are Jacksonville’s special teams? They were supposed to be one of the best, but they hardly played like it, from the opening kickoff to the end. The Jags missed a field goal, they were sloppy in coverage, they had a kickoff go out of bounds. Then, on the opening kick of overtime, they let the ball bounce and get past the returner, resulting in a first down at their own 12 and setting up the interception. Just a bad job. The Redskins had some issues, but Graham Gano was excellent. Sam Paulescu? Don’t cross punter off the wish list.
11. Who Will Win? Thought the Redskins would win another game, but then thought their defense was way too banged up, even to stop a backup runner. I thought they’d need to score a lot, which was wrong. I thought they had to do better than the Jags on special teams and create a turnover and wasn’t optimistic that either would happen. Both did. Had the Jags winning by a point. Wrong again.
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