Studs
CB DeAngelo Hall. This is his best season against the run, at least in Washington. His tackling has been more consistent and he at least made a play that gave the offense good field position, stripping Vernon Davis of the ball; LaRon Landry recovered at the Redskins’ 44-yard line. Shockingly, they did nothing with it and gave it over on downs. But at least Hall gave them a chance. Also liked how he played the third-and-7 end around, helping string the play by coming up aggressively and fighting through the receiver’s block. He also made a stop on Frank Gore for a 1-yard gain; he didn’t have to fight through any blockers on this one but he came up hard. In some ways Hall is a lot more consistent than in 2010, when he made the Pro Bowl (mainly for a couple good games).
LB Brian Orakpo. Sometimes you pick a guy because you think the defense played well enough to get a couple guys on the list. Maybe this is the case with Orakpo, but nobody else really even flashed. Ryan Kerrigan’s sack was great effort, but much better coverage (5.37 seconds when he was sacked).The hard part for Orakpo is, once more, how quickly Alex Smith unloaded the ball (see below). So it minimizes his ability to pressure. There was one run I did not like how he played it (in the notes section). But despite quick throws and double teams, Orakpo still managed to apply pressure on several occasions (yes, you want more). But he’s in more double teams than anyone, yet he still gets there more often. His sack was not the result of an extended play, it came because in a one-on-one situation he drove left tackle Joe Staley backwards, setting him up with a stutter step then exploding into him and winning inside. It was quick, power, too: he got there in 2.08 seconds. Orakpo does not have a lot of moves, but he’s the only Redskin you have to double team on a rush. He applied pressure on a Smith throwaway in the second quarter (thanks in part to excellent coverage). But it’s an example of what Orakpo faces: he beat Staley inside, but guard Mike Iupati immediately left the end and bumped Orakpo. But Orakpo kept going and was the first to reach Smith, who by the time he threw was about seven yards behind the line and 10 yards to his right. Orakpo shot backside to stop Frank Gore on a third-and-1 inside the 10 late in the game. I’d like to see some game-changing plays from Orakpo, but maybe he’s not an elite player at this point. Still, a good effort.
Duds
DE Stephen Bowen. This is the second straight week for Bowen on this list after a couple strong weeks. He hasn’t been terrible, but he has been moved out of his gap too much the past two weeks. On San Francisco’s first two plays Bowen was moved out or controlled, creating a hole (was turned outside on the first play for a 12-yard run; looked like Iupati just powered him because Bowen had leverage). On the next play Bowen was too high and Staley turned him inside on a 6-yard run to the left. Three plays later he did beat Iupati on a Gore run off tackle, but the fullback took care of him. On the last play of the first quarter, Bowen was turned inside again by Staley, who got into his pads, on a 9-yard Gore run. Bowen didn’t do enough to make up for any lapses. Earlier this year he and NT Barry Cofield would make more plays to compensate for the tough ones (that every linemen has). While the Redskins’ run defense is better than last year, it really isn’t that terrific (20th in yards per carry, a better measuring stick than yards per game – where they’re 22nd.).
LB Rocky McIntosh. He missed three tackles that gave San Francisco a combined 26 yards. The worst was when he tried to shoulder tackle receiver Braylon Edwards in the fourth quarter after he caught a pass at the 28-yard line. (Josh Wilson missed here too). Not sure of this, but it looked like QB Alex Smith looked over at the slant long enough to tip off McIntosh, but he stayed in the middle on his zone drop. But, really, you have to know what he’s asked to do in that drop and I don’t. The missed tackle, however, was an issue. And he also got beat on the 30-yard pass to fullback Bruce Miller. McIntosh anticipated a flat route, but his eyes also were off on the play. McIntosh stepped to his right when Miller started moving to the same side before the snap. But McIntosh’s eyes were all over the place. He looked over at the receiver running a slant, then he turned them back to Miller and then at the quarterback. By the time they returned to Miller, he was gone. Easy score.
NOTES
…The defense had an average day against an average offense that runs the ball well. And against an offense that knew it didn’t have to do anything more than that to win. Not when they have an excellent defense facing a struggling offense. You can make a case that the Redskins’ D is a victim of the offense – a good case, obviously — but it still doesn’t do enough to get off the field.
…You want to know why QB Alex Smith has good numbers? Because he’s rarely asked to attack a defense. And he does precisely what is asked of him; nothing wrong with that – the Niners are 7-1 in part because of what he’s done (or hasn’t done, which is turn the ball over). They also played to the game situation, knowing they didn’t need to be too aggressive. So of his 24 throws, 18 traveled less than 10 yards downfield and 14 went five yards or less downfield.
Smith attempted three passes that traveled more than 15 yards downfield (he completed two of them for 51 yards, including the 30-yarder on the wheel route to the fullback).
…All totaled, of the 71 combined passes attempted in this game, only 21 traveled at least seven yards downfield. And only 13 went for 10 or more yards.
…LaRon Landry must be the most gregarious player in the league. He enjoys talking to the opposition after every play.
…The Redskins clearly wanted to stop Frank Gore, and force Smith to beat them. They used eight defenders in the box to stop the run 37 times out of their 58 snaps. Obviously it didn’t work as Gore managed 107 yards on 19 carries. Of his first 15 carries, 11 went for four yards or more. And of Gore’s 19 runs, he faced an eight-man box 17 times. It’s impressive what he did, but it’s not like the Redskins were getting gashed with huge holes. It was more of a slow death (though 53 yards came on three carries). By the way, his last four carries netted four yards.
…The Redskins continue to give up 20-plus plays, most of which stem from their own mistakes. The 30-yard TD? Poor coverage/fundamentals. The 27-yard run by Gore? A missed tackle at the line by Reed Doughty. He’s missed the tackle on this play a couple times this season; when he does, it’s a big gain. Doughty had a couple nice hits in this game, as well as 10 tackles. But he needed to make this stop.
The 24-yard catch by Edwards? Two missed tackles after the 8-yard throw. On Vernon Davis’ 21-yard catch in the fourth, London Fletcher could have played better coverage, but turned the wrong way initially. The 21-yarder in the first quarter to Michael Crabtree against zone coverage. But three of the five could have been prevented and perhaps four with better technique. Should the Redskins feel good about that? No because it’s happened all year. And the fact that the linebackers get beat in coverage is not unusual. They have their moments in coverage, but as a group are inconsistent.
…This is where the Redskins’ offense and special teams failed to help: field position. The Niners started seven of their 12 drives at their own 37-yard line or better. Of their five scoring drives, they only traveled more than 44 yards once. Only three times did the Niners start a drive inside their own 25. Compare that to the Redskins who started nine of their 12 drives inside the 25.
…However, the defense didn’t force a three-and-out until the fourth quarter, when the Niners led by 16 points.
…San Francisco executed well in the ground game. Though the Redskins consistently stacked the box with eight defenders, the Niners did catch them one time with only six on a first-down play at the end of the first quarter. It led to a nine-yard Gore run. They split two receivers to the left and the Redskins countered with Brian Orakpo playing the inside receiver (aligned near the numbers). They opted for two safeties deep on the play. DeAngelo Hall was on the left side, but about five yards off and outside the box. Smith audibilized to a Gore run; he started up the middle then bounced outside left tackle. Orakpo clearly thought it was a pass: he turned to the receiver and shaded him to the inside, never looking at the ball. Bowen was turned inside. Gore took advantage and wasn’t hit for seven yards on the play.
…Liked their run design on a first-down run in the second quarter, too. They aligned a tight end on the right side but had the fullback offset on the left. An H-back went in motion from the right to the left. That motion changed the Redskins’ alignment as LaRon Landry, up on the left, dropped deep and Doughty came racing up on the right side.
The Niners quick-pitched the ball to Gore, making it appear as if he was going to his left (the Redskins’ right side reacted this way). But it was just a counter. The fullback and tight end left guard all pulled to the right; taking care of London Fletcher, who not fooled at the snap. Gore took off around right end for a 13-yard gain (he was never touched, but was forced out of bounds).
…Of course, I have no idea what the Niners were thinking using a tight end on an end around on a third-and-seven.
…San Francisco blew a shot for a huge play on its first drive of the third quarter. The officials also missed a penalty on the play. On the play – where Smith threw incomplete deep to Davis – the QB looked first at Braylon Edwards, up against Josh Wilson (who was about seven yards off the ball). But Smith did not stick long enough with Edwards (in part because the pocket was collapsing thanks to Adam Carriker and Ryan Kerrigan). Not that Smith made a bad decision to throw deep to Davis; he was open against LaRon Landry. But Davis dropped what would have been a nice catch inside the 10-yard line.
On the other side, Edwards ran over Wilson. Yes, ran him over. As Smith lets the ball fly, you can see Wilson in the picture being drilled and off his feet falling backwards. So two things: If Smith had stayed another half-second with Edwards, he’s wide open; and, second, how was nothing called? It wasn’t incidental; Edwards ran into him and shoved him eight yards downfield. The series ended in a punt anyway. Nonetheless, seems like we’re seeing a lot more missed calls this season (both ways).
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