1. Before we get on to the reality check that Sunday provided, have to talk about Trent Williams and Fred Davis. If the reports are true about their suspension – nothing is official yet but the team expects to hear something soon (Monday perhaps, but not definitely) – I’m not sure anyone should be surprised. Before the 2008 draft, I talked to one draft expert/scout and asked him for three guys he would stay away from in the draft. Davis was one of them. He just didn’t trust him or the direction he would go in his career, based on off-field concerns. After some early issues in his career, Davis was mostly clean. He had improved as a player this year and was becoming a playmaking tight end. And now this. In a contract year no less! (Notice the rare use of an exclamation point). How do you make that sort of mistake? How can a team trust a guy who failed a drug test at least three times (again, according to reports)? Good lord.
2. Meanwhile, we all know what Williams’ reputation was at Oklahoma when it came to his work ethic. It was subpar. They wondered if he was willing to put in the effort to be great. In fairness, he reported to camp in terrific shape. Now, I’m quite sure there are players in this league who have smoked marijuana who have been good players. There are players who drink and are stars, too. They just know when to do it and when not to. If it’s habitual, that’s an issue. And I’m sure others are doing it now. But this also speaks about Williams’ maturation and decision-making. You want to be great? Then get serious. And if you’ve already tested positive, wake up. If you’re in the NFL’s substance abuse policy program and still testing positive? There are bigger issues. On Friday, Williams was talking about being a leader and now this. That’s not leadership. Remember, this is the first guy this current regime drafted. Talented as heck, no doubt. He’s played well the past three games. But talent alone only takes you so far. If you want to go far, that is. He’s a team captain, too. Not sure how that happened.
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3. Guess we now know why Chris Cooley felt confident that he would return. The coaches need someone they can trust, clearly, at tight end. Cooley may still need to take a pay cut to return (not a guarantee, however) but this certainly helps his case. Davis has a lot of talent, but any team that signs him would risk losing him for a year with another positive test. So you’d better have other good players at that position. And you probably won’t want to pay him as much as you would have otherwise.
4. The killer for the offense is that these are the two most talented players remaining. Logan Paulsen is not Fred Davis, nor would he expect to be. He’s not nearly as athletic; he’s more of a blocker. Davis was not a particularly strong blocker (below average, one executive called him). But at least he was a major threat in the passing game. And losing Williams will hurt the ground game especially. Sean Locklear couldn’t set the edge in the run game when he filled in for Williams before. Maybe Willie Smith can. Who knows? Haven’t seen him play since this summer, but imagine a left side of the line of Smith and Maurice Hurt. Two guys learning on the fly. Those of you angling for draft position will be happy.
5. This was a revealing day for the Redskins. And then again it wasn’t. We already knew they needed a quarterback. We already knew they lacked elite playmakers at receiver. Guess what? We exit the game knowing the same things. Rex Grossman struggled much of the game. He never seemed to find the rhythm he had the past couple games when he showed more poise in the pocket. Sunday, he threw high and wide and missed targets. He was intercepted once and had another overturned by a penalty. He for some reason thought it wise to throw to 5-foot-9 double covered David Anderson. Say that again just to let it sink in. Grossman threw to the back of the end zone to 5-foot-9 Santana Moss. That’s fine. But there were three Jets defenders in the path. The odds aren’t good on that one. But that’s Grossman. And it’s why they’ll pick a QB in April, or should at least.
6. Do you wonder where this franchise would be had they landed Jay Cutler in 2009? And he had been paired with Mike Shanahan right away? It’s amazing how a last-minute decision by Chicago has set the Redskins back (well, that and some poor personnel decisions). I had also heard at the time that the Redskins liked Mark Sanchez. He didn’t exactly look good for much of the game until the final five or six minutes. And that’s what he does in many games. But he’s an example that just taking a quarterback fifth overall doesn’t mean he’ll be great. In fairness to Sanchez, he’s still only 25.
7. Know who the Jets players were raving about in the locker room after the game apparently? Roy Helu. Heard that some of their players said he gave them a lot of problems and was one of the better backs they had faced. Have to say Helu did a nice job again of getting yards after contact early in the game. And I love how fast he hits the hole when he sees it open. It’s impressive and it gives him a chance to make big plays. They also talked apparently about how much heart he ran with. That’s another word for toughness.
8. I know Kyle Shanahan gets blamed for a lot when the offense doesn’t work. I like his scheme. The talent isn’t that great. So I can’t pin all the blame on him. Thought his play-calling last week was terrific. But today was another example at times of the coaches calling plays for the team they want to be and not who they are. You know what though? This really isn’t about the play-calling. I wasn’t crazy about how they got away from Roy Helu; nobody was. Six of the first eight plays in the fourth quarter were Grossman passes (they punted at the end of this series). He was not having a good day; he was facing a defense that causes hesitation and confusion in quarterbacks. But the Jets also have holes in their pass defense. Still, there wasn’t much rhythm with the entire passing game. An inconsistent quarterback was having a bad day. Helu was not getting consistent yards after that first series but I don’t know any running game that gets four or five yards every carry. I also know it appears they kept trying to get Helu carries on second and long in the second half, trying to hit the Jets in their nickel defense. That strategy failed: 2nd and 16, three yards; 2nd and 10, four yards and a fumble; 2nd and 8, one yard.
9. Got sidetracked there. The point I was getting around to is this: Nearly two years into Mike Shanahan’s regime there’s still nothing they can rely on offensively. Two years. Blame it on whatever you want. Injuries have been a factor. Personnel decisions have been as well. They knew they lacked elite talent on this side of the ball; some of that talent they brought in of course. But they’re still going to exit a second season without anyone really knowing what their calling card on offense is. Well, maybe we do know: they want to be aggressive. But you have to have the right talent to play that way all the time. That’s what this offseason will be about finding. The defense is much further along because of a strong front seven. So we can say that side of the ball is headed in the right direction. It remains to be seen if the offense is doing the same.
10. A couple things from the game. Josh Wilson was beaten because he looked too much at Sanchez after Santonio Holmes ran the slant and go. Wilson admitted that once he took his eyes off his work – Holmes – he was toast. Problem is, the safety on that side, Oshiomogho Atogwe, was flying up to cover the slant as well and there was no help. Atogwe has had a rough season. I go back to what I heard this summer: other teams didn’t want him because they felt he was done. And we haven’t seen enough of the intangibles rubbing off at this point. It just hasn’t gone the way I’m sure he or they had hoped. Again, injuries. Atogwe has just never looked comfortable. But maybe there’s some track record too. It could be that the Redskins need two safeties next season, though DeJon Gomes clearly could have a future as a starter.
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