OK, went a little longer than I wanted to; check that, a lot longer. But it’s the first game, we’ve written about practices for two weeks and I’m full of coffee. So here goes:
1. This is what I really liked about Rex Grossman’s night: he got rid of the ball in a hurry and kept the chains moving. Nothing fancy, just efficient. It gives you an opportunity to take more shots. I would love to have seen him vs. the Steelers’ No. 1 defense for the entire first half to get a better barometer. Still, he did his job. And because of it, he bailed out a few offensive linemen on occasion. Saw Jammal Brown get knocked off-balance and beaten inside. Saw Chris Chester get moved back a few times. But there was no damage because Grossman released the ball in a hurry. Will there be issues in other games? Sure. But there weren’t any Friday.
2. It was clear how much rhythm Grossman felt with Santana Moss, whom he played with last year, and Jabar Gaffney, his college teammate. He could unload the ball fast because he trusted where they would be. But the way to measure Grossman is how he fares under duress; barely faced any last night and that won’t be the case in other games.
3. Nobody on Pittsburgh’s D looked at Fred Davis on the bootleg throwback play. Have to imagine teams will do a better job with this once they game plan. But this play is a staple and can burn you even when prepared.
4. The starting line did a better job vs. the No. 1 Steelers’ defensive line of not allowing much penetration on the stretch zone runs (a tough style to face when you don’t game plan). Part of the reason was Will Montgomery in the middle, who is stronger than Casey Rabach. One time Montgomery was moved back a yard or so (on the second play of the game) but it didn’t matter as he recovered. On the same play, a stretch zone to the left, Trent Williams drove out Brett Keisel by more than five yards. Last season, it seemed like many of the stretch runs included guards or centers getting moved back and mucking up the play. The goal is to keep the defenders even with the line; on one play (a second and 2 on the first drive) the entire Steelers’ front was moved at least two yards downfield. In fairness to Pittsburgh, this is a tough offense to face in a preseason opener; the Steelers also only played their starting unit for two series.
5. Back to Brown. He seemed to move better than last year, but he also showed that he can still be beaten inside; get him upfield and duck inside and see how his feet react. Too often it’s not fluid and this is when he gets off-balance. But overall he was solid and, again, helped by quick throws. A QB who makes quick decisions is a lineman’s best friend.
6. A couple plays later showed perhaps the better cohesion up front. On one, Montgomery blocked the nose tackle, then LG Kory Lichtensteiger cut him allowing Montgomery to get to the linebacker and seal the opening to the right. Tim Hightower made a good cut and ran up (running through safety Ryan Clark at the end). A lot of work remains for this front but the play-calling combined with quick decisions by the quarterback can compensate for many sins.
7. Hightower runs hard and with energy. He also does a nice job with decisive plant-and-cuts as he did on his second carry, pressing the hole and stepping slightly inside, drawing in corner Ike Taylor and safety Ryan Mundy. Then Hightower cut back outside for 16 yards.
8. The Redskins still lack big playmakers on offense. Most of the big plays come from the design of the play.
9. Liked Evan Royster’s night, but not about to go crazy. Early on he stutter-stepped too much going through the hole and it cost him any explosion. Royster looked slow early. But he corrected that later with better plant-and-cuts, showing greater comfort and aggressiveness. He had a nice plant-and-cut on a stretch zone to the right for nine yards in the fourth quarter. One thing I noticed about Royster: he typically gets only the yards that are available. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; if the play is blocked for four he’ll get it, but that’s also what he did in college. He’s steady but unspectacular; there are worse things to be.
10. Royster was inconsistent with his blitz pickups. He got a couple; he also kept his head down on one that resulted in pressure from the outside and again kept his head down on one trip into the hole for a miss. Royster got away with another when his head was a little down. Keiland Williams missed a blitz pickup. But, overall, Royster did a fine job in his debut.
11. Roy Helu does not pick up the blitz as well as Royster, but his feet are quicker. I love how he has the ability to keep moving forward as he cuts, almost gliding a bit. Very little wasted movement with his feet, particularly in space. Saw this on two plays but one in particular: In the fourth quarter he ran around left end through a good hole. As he moved forward, he dipped his shoulder and planted his right foot inside, fooling safety Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith and then sliding back to the left for an 18-yard run. He made more defenders miss than Royster, but they are different backs. But Helu also was working against guys who won’t make the roster, so let’s see how he fares earlier in games.
12. Kyle Shanahan called pass plays on the first down of a series three times out of four with the starting unit in the game. He also called pass plays on first down 13 of the 19 times with the No. 1 offense. In fact, he called for a pass on the last 10 first down plays of the first half (five of which came in the two-minute). File this away.
13. Terrence Austin will be a tough cut. Last year, he’s a no-brainer keeper because of his hands, good feet and special teams ability. This year, there’s more depth at receiver and it makes you wonder what will happen to a guy like Austin. Would they keep Donte Stallworth ahead of him? Austin is a good route-runner and dependable.
14. Yes, rookie Leonard Hankerson needs to work on his hands. His eyes definitely turned up on his one drop. This has to be maddening for the coaches because it’s been a camp-long issue – and it’s a problem he dealt with in college. Maybe he’ll never get it, but you don’t give up on a third-round pick who has legitimate talent because he’s dropped too many passes in the first two weeks of camp. They knew this issue existed before now; they need time to see if they can correct it. If you trade for a young left-hander in baseball who is wild, do you cut him after he walks several guys in his first game? No; you see if your coaching can get you out of it. If they cut him because he drops the ball, then why draft him in the first place?
15. I do wonder about Hankerson coming in and out of breaks. On some routes he’s not using his body well enough, as he showed last night. He gets more open on routes where he doesn’t need to plant quickly and cut, like on the play where he dropped the pass. But the kid does try and pick up tips from the vets. Maybe he’ll never get it, but once you pick him you must try and develop him.
16. Mike Sellers playing in the fourth quarter? He couldn’t have been happy. He definitely needs to prove a few things. I’m not sold on Williams as a backup fullback; saw him hesitate on some blocks as he seemed to be uncertain who to go after. But Darrel Young was fine; he had a good catch and run in the first quarter where he made three guys miss.
17. Of the backups, center Erik Cook was pretty solid, much more so than I anticipated. Selvish Capers was not. But that’s how he’s been in camp. He ends up on the ground too often; a linebacker buried him one time. Big Mo Hurt was fine for his first outing; he played both left guard and left tackle. He blocked with some power moving down the line, got to the linebacker a couple times; sealed the end once. Of course, Cameron Heyward, a legitimate player, quickly beat him to the right once and stopped Helu for a loss.
18. Want to know what should have happened on the blitz up the A gap by Stevenson Sylvester? The quarterback can read it and drop into shotgun formation; or the guard on that side (in this case, Hurt) must recognize it and chip over. He failed.
19. Brandon Banks didn’t play from scrimmage, but his impact on offense is big because of his returns. Again, this offense lacks playmakers and he is one. Tough to unload those guys unless they can’t stay healthy. He’ll have a short NFL career because of his durability, but he’s still electric. Liked how he set up his 20-yard punt return, pausing then hopping and then taking off to his left. It allowed Young to get in front of his man, which helped open the outside.
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