1. John Beck wasn’t awful. John Beck also wasn’t inspiring. He’s an easy guy to like and admire, but I still haven’t seen anything that says, “Now I get it.” That goes to practices in the spring; practices in the summer; preseason games, etc. Yes, he needs time to develop and it’s a difficult circumstance to measure him by, with all sorts of starters being hurt. But when you’re John Beck, and you’ve waited four years to start, you’re not going to complain if the situation isn’t optimal. They don’t give guys like Beck the keys to a Mercedes, you know? So if he wants more opportunities, he must lead this particular situation. And if he does, more power to him. Trent Green took over a team that was 0-7 and led them to 6-10 and parlayed that into a big contract and, eventually, TV gigs.
2. Beck needs to give people reason to believe in him, more than just having the job. Maybe had the Redskins’ defense stiffened in the fourth quarter, Beck would have had that opportunity. But they didn’t, so he didn’t either. Maybe with more game action he’ll start to settle down and the coaches will start to figure out what they do best. I like how they used his legs more in the second half, with bootlegs and rollouts; he made good decisions in the final two quarters. The interception was a result of two players (he and Leonard Hankerson) not having been together in a game. Hankerson ran a go-route; Beck threw a back-shoulder fade. Carolina intercepted. Hankerson insists he ran the right route. Regardless, their lack of time together showed. Beck did get away with a near-pick early in the game when he eyed Fred Davis too long. I’m curious if my opinion on his game will change after watching the game again and seeing more of his poise in the pocket, etc.
3. Clearly this loss isn’t on Beck; it’s on the entire team. Beck’s importance is more about the position going forward and whether or not he can rightly win this job. As for the present, the Panthers’ offensive game plan was excellent. Love the way they use Cam Newton, but when you give a guy tons of time, sort of hard to stop him. The Redskins didn’t fool him and their only real pressure came when the Panthers inexplicably left a defensive end unblocked on one play (Adam Carriker) and a rush linebacker unblocked on another (Brian Orakpo). Otherwise, another quiet day by the defense. They’ve forced only eight turnovers in six games, which is not good. And now that they’re facing good offenses, they’re giving up yards (and 53 points in two games).
4. This is what I want to see watching the game again, too: the coverages on Steve Smith. He was open a lot. They clearly tried different things, with safeties up and corners over the top. But it didn’t work.
5. I’ll say it again: they sometimes seem torn between who they are and who they want to be. I love the aggressiveness, but I also wonder if there are times to just take a different approach. They could have taken a 6-6 tie into the locker room at halftime. Instead, they tried to move the ball (they started on their own 31, so it’s not a crazy idea) and fumbled with less than 30 seconds left. Now, it’s not like Beck was throwing 20 yards downfield and was picked. He dumped a short pass to Jabar Gaffney – who had fumbled twice in his career before Sunday. Maybe you recognize that your passing offense hadn’t done anything to this point and you just let it go, take a knee and move to the second half. Then, in the third quarter on fourth and 2, they went for it. Carolina fooled them with its look (more on that later) and two plays later scored a touchdown. The Redskins, at this point, were involved in a defensive battle against a team that typically turns it over, especially in the second half of games. You have a punter that pins teams inside the 20; do it again. Plus you have a banged-up offense. Play to your strengths, right? Mike Shanahan is aggressive and it’s why he’s lasted this long in the NFL. Maybe that’s why I’m not a coach and never will be.
6. And I’m not going to join the chorus just blaming it all on Kyle Shanahan. I honestly like the passing scheme, though too many bootlegs just means you’re cutting down half the field. They’ve been more balanced this year (largely because they lack the firepower in the passing game). Heck, in the first half they ran the ball 15 times and passed 12, knowing what they had offensively and what they were facing in Carolina’s defense. The problem is, they just don’t have anyone who scares a defense. And it’s hard to be too aggressive with an offense that turns it over when it throws too much. Maybe that’s the lesson. Maybe going forward we’ll see more two tight end and I-formation sets. The reason Tim Hightower got those two 17-yard runs is because Fred Davis and Logan Paulsen opened a nice path on the outside (where Carolina was vulnerable). But you also have to know this: the Redskins haven’t really run the ball on good teams. That’s another problem. Good lord, there’s plenty of issues on offense and now two more guys are hurt? You hate to lose a guy like Santana Moss, but I’m curious what Terrence Austin can do in the slot. Has good feet for this position. Hightower’s loss hurts because of the protection skills, especially behind this line.
7. Man, Cam Newton is going to be fun to watch. And though I’m not a huge fan of the spread offense in college, it is fun to watch when a talent like Newton is involved. That offense is sometimes designed to cover up flaws in a team; but for Newton it highlights his skills and makes him even more dangerous. He completely fooled the Redskins on his 16-yard touchdown run. Brian Orakpo said his job was to take the running back; it looked like London Fletcher was headed at the back as well. That left no one to take Newton, who kept the ball and scored easily. It didn’t help that the Redskins had six defenders on the other side of the field. The Panthers caught them short-handed on the other side and benefitted.
8. Newton’s 25-yard scramble was nice as well. He did not look to escape immediately under a five-man rush. But defenders were spread wide and he took advantage. Kevin Barnes, DeAngelo Hall and London Fletcher all missed tackles. Newton just cut inside Hall; the other two missed at Newton’s feet. Tough way to try and tackle a 6-foot-5, 248-pound QB.
9. When you have a new starting quarterback and you have a second-year center making his first start, a team will try to take advantage. That’s what happened on the fourth-and-2 play by the Redskins in the third quarter. The Redskins actually changed up their protection at halftime and in the look Carolina provided a 3-4 look with a nose tackle over center Erik Cook. In previous games, the Panthers had not blitzed two linebackers through the ‘A’ gaps. So Cook went to block the nose tackle, as he was assigned to do on this play and guard Chris Chester took the end. That left an alley for the linebacker to pressure Beck. Yes, the Redskins changed their protections back after this series. I’d like to talk to Beck more about this, but if the QB diagnoses this sort of blitz he can audible or call a time out – the latter seeming like a good idea in hindsight.
10. Say what you want about Carlos Rogers, but he was good in the slot last season. The Redskins miss that because Kevin Barnes has struggled in this area. He gets beat easily off the line and in key situations; two fourth down plays last week (one of which was incomplete) and on the touchdown throw Sunday. It’s a tough spot to play. The question is, can Phillip Buchanon play it well? He hasn’t done it in a while (one note: Rogers hadn’t done it before last season). …The tough part for Washington is that it plays another team with a strong offense in Buffalo. The Redskins absolutely need their defense to play well and give them more short fields. Of course, this happened vs. Philly to no avail. The Redskins are on the verge of going south with all their issues. They need to respond.
