Studs
LB Brian Orakpo. He got his first sack of the season and he also had a quarterback hurry, a pass defensed and a forced fumble. He chased Kevin Kolb out of the pocket on a few occasions and his sack/fumble was a vicious hit that caused the ball to pop high in the air (make the catch Adam Carriker and you’re on this list!). It’s not just the pressures anymore with Orakpo; he’s doing a much better job of setting the edge. On the first play of Arizona’s fourth series, Orakpo forced RB Beanie Wells to cut inside where Stephen Bowen was waiting after shedding his block. This came two plays after his forced fumble, in which he took a step to his right just before the snap to get wider. It worked as tight end Jeff King tried to engage him, but Orakpo had enough speed and power to ram into him then bounce outside. He stumbled, but never really lost much speed en route to the quarterback. And one play later Orakpo deflected a screen pass. There were one or two times he could not get off his block to make a tackle, but for the most part he’s improved at setting the edge this season. Also not sure I love when he’s in a four-point stance; haven’t seen much pressure from this yet.
LB London Fletcher. I’m just going to leave his name here for the rest of the season; that OK with everyone? Because it seems like Fletcher will be here a lot. He’s two for two. He had two quarterback hurries, an interception and a pass defensed. His tackle total wasn’t too high, in part because he wasn’t running clean to the ball like he did in the opener. And the Cards only ran the ball 16 times. Fletcher’s mark was made in the passing game. He blitzed effectively. In the first quarter, his blitz through the A gap (see below for more details) led to a hurried throw. Fletcher also made the diving interception of a tipped pass that killed an Arizona scoring drive. And he nearly prevented a touchdown pass, drilling Kevin Kolb just after he unleashed his TD pass to Larry Fitzgerald. Kolb wisely slid two steps to his right after the snap; that gave him enough time to make the throw.
LB Ryan Kerrigan. Once more the rookie made some mistakes. Once more the rookie made plays to compensate. This kid isn’t as explosive as Orakpo, but if he’s making plays now imagine what he might do when he’s a finished product. He had a sack, a tackle for a loss, a quarterback hurry and two passes defensed. He pushed back right tackle Brandon Keith early in the second quarter, jamming his hands into his pads. That was a prelude to his sack near the end of the second quarter in which Kerrigan shoved Keith back the same way, getting his hands immediately into his pads and driving him back. Looked textbook; excellent base, allowing him to get good leg drive. He also had a pressure in which he used speed to get around Keith, forcing Kevin Kolb to run where Rocky McIntosh was waiting. Kerrigan had good coverage on Fletcher’s interception, though it helped that the pass was behind the receiver. Still, Kerrigan was in good position. Kerrigan made a nice tackle from the backside, helped by the right side of the defense giving no ground. And he tipped a pass. Again, this is from a guy who has been playing this position for less than two months.
CB DeAngelo Hall. I know, I know. He gave up the 73-yard touchdown catch to Larry Fitzgerald. I get it; a rule of thumb typically is if you give up a play like that you can’t be a stud. Maybe I’m feeling guilty for not putting him on this list last week when he played a terrific game. But Hall played a fantastic game for the first three quarters and even after this play. He bit hard on a fake and lost to arguably the best receiver in the game. However, before that catch Fitzgerald’s longest gain was 24 yards, but that came against zone coverage, not Hall. For much of the game Hall shut him down. Kolb would quickly look off him and try to go elsewhere many times. Yes, he had help for part – but definitely not all – of the game. At times a linebacker would drop and defend the inside routes, with Hall over the top. Sometimes Hall had safety help. That enabled him to jump Fitzgerald inside and nearly intercept a pass. He knew Oshiomogho Atogwe was playing behind Fitzgerald and trusted him. So Hall laid out and made a nice play. His tackling was solid for a second straight game. Though he doesn’t have a pick yet, he’s played better in these two games than he did in many games last year. I also liked how Hall blamed himself for the TD. Yeah, it was obviously on him. But Hall is still good at saying when something is his fault.
Duds
NT Barry Cofield. There weren’t a lot of players who had terrible games. The Redskins forced six punts, held them to three of nine third-down conversions and recorded three sacks. But Arizona still ran the ball quite effectively, with Beanie Wells averaging 6.6 yards per run and the Cards did manage 239 yards in the second half. That’s on the unit, not just one person. Still, this wasn’t Cofield’s best game. Didn’t really see him involved as he was during key spots in the opener or like he was for most of the preseason. And his off-game was still better than what the Redskins received last year. But the Cardinals big runs usually stemmed from Cofield getting moved out. On the first run of the third quarter, Cofield tried to penetrate to the center’s right. That created a big opening and allowed the center to then move on to block Rocky McIntosh, creating an opening. Beanie Wells gained nine yards. Two plays later the Cards’ line blocked to the right; Cofield gained no penetration and opted to peel off and run downfield to help make a tackle after a 10-yard run. Also saw Cofield get stood up on a couple occasions and he did not win one-on-one battles (no, there weren’t a lot) like he had in previous games. Really, he didn’t play that much different than in the opener. But in that game he was still able to make plays; he didn’t do that Sunday.
Hall. For one play.
Notes
…Honorable mention Studs: Safety Reed Doughty; had the fumble recovery but made sure tackles and along with Oshiomogho Atogwe did not get beat deep. Byron Westbrook deserves mention for his forced fumble. Also, when Phillip Buchanon returns Westbrook will be the fifth corner, yet he was the No. 2 for part of the second half. Also thought DE Stephen Bowen did a nice job at times.
…The defense still has work to do, considering it allowed 6.8 yards per play. Arizona only ran 48 plays yet gained 324 total yards. The Cards had 11 plays gain at least 10 yards; that’s 23 percent of their snaps. Too much.
…I know Rocky McIntosh recorded a sack, but after watching the game again I wondered about several plays with him in which either he or a teammate appeared out of position. Because I don’t know the run fits on certain plays, or the responsibilities it’s unfair to blame it on a particular person. One thing I learned long ago: you can’t assume you know what happened. With no player access Monday, there was no way to find out.
…The same is true of Arizona’s first touchdown, the pass to Jeff King. Doughty went to double the receiver running an in-route;Fletcher was the linebacker on that side, but when King went to the flat Fletcher let him go. Josh Wilson came off his man – he was covering the receiver – to try and make the tackle. In essence, the Redskins had three defenders near one receiver and let the tight end go free.
…Kerrigan lined up in a four-point stance on one play; it’s the first time I’ve seen him with his hand in the ground as a rusher (a couple times in preseason he put his hand down to steady himself because he was leaning a bit too far forward). Kerrigan’s butt was higher in the air than the other three rushing from a three- or four-point stance, with his head pointed down. Orakpo rushed from this stance 11 times; his body is much more level at the snap than Kerrigan’s. But Orakpo’s best rushes come out of the two-point stance.
…The Redskins used their base 3-4 front on 20 of Arizona’s 48 snaps. And nine of those 20 times occurred on the first drive of the second half. After that point, the Redskins used their base just three times as Arizona used more four-receiver sets.
…Rookie NT Chris Neild played six snaps.
…Sometimes Orakpo can cause pressure without moving forward. That’s what happened on Arizona’s fourth play of the game. The ball was snapped and the tackle set for a rush by Orakpo. Except he didn’t come. The guard was engaged with DE Stephen Bowen. Meanwhile, McIntosh and Fletcher ran a stunt through the A gaps; the center picked up McIntosh who came through first. But Fletcher had an unimpeded path because the left guard was slow to break from Bowen. The result? A hurried incompletion. By the way, the Redskins only rushed four on this play; but when you do it creatively it causes havoc.
…Another fun blitz that did not result in a sack, but did garner another intentional grounding (just as good as a sack; so in two games the Redskins have seven sacks and two intentional groundings; not bad). Anyway, on this play, the Cards used a four-receiver set. The Redskins countered with their nickel, with Cofield and Bowen as the tackles. Fletcher moved from the middle to the outside of the Redskins’ line on the left. Kerrigan, just inside Fletcher, slanted to his right on the snap, drawing the tackle’s attention. Fletcher shot upfield, with running back Beanie Wells coming his way. And corner Kevin Barnes shot through the opening to force the pressure.
…Arizona ran well against the Redskins in the second half, regardless if they were in their base coverage or not. Of the Cards’ 12 second-half running plays, seven came vs. Washington’s base front and gained 39 yards. Three came vs. the nickel and gained 39 yards (the other two were in short yardage or goal-line situations).
…Someone needs to tell FOX that Bruce Allen was not the orchestrator of the draft. Give Scott Campbell, his staff and the coaches credit for this. But Allen? It’s just not his role. That’s not a knock, just the truth.
