Studs
LB Lorenzo Alexander. He looked fresh for the first time in weeks. Not sure if his hamstring was feeling better or what, but Alexander had one of his better games in a while. He had his moments of getting shoved back, etc., but everyone did. One of his best plays came in the second quarter when he shot inside TE Marcedes Lewis – whose blocking was sloppy at best all game – and then avoided the fullback en route to a tackle. He did a pretty good job of pinching the outside lanes, with help from a line that consistently clogged the middle. He drew a holding penalty in the second quarter going to the ballcarrier. He beat LT Eugene Monroe outside for a pressure. Later on the Jags’ end around, he got caught inside, but quickly turned and got back in the play for a good tackle. Finally, he drew another holding penalty in the foruth.
LB Andre Carter. Also one of his best games in a while. Again, not perfect. Again, effective. Played the boot well in the second quarter mostly because his eyes were where they should be; earlier this season he would have bitten hard to the inside on this play, but this time he read the boot and disrupted the pass. Three plays earlier, he got inside a Lewis block and made the tackle. Later in the quarter he hit David Garrard as he threw and he beat right tackle Jordan Black for a sack just before halftime. Carter still looks uncomfortable when he has to turn and run, but he had a solid game and, like Alexander, made sure no one got outside of him.
DE Vonnie Holliday. You can really see why the guy has lasted so long, the way he understands leverage and how to play with his hands. Don’t think I ever see him get upright and, though he doesn’t have a great burst anymore, he is able to pressure. But the ability to play with leverage enables him to get off blocks as well as most of his linemates. On the Jags’ first series, for example, he stayed low, got his hands in the lineman’s pads and shot inside to help on the tackle. On their third series, he beat Eugene Monroe on consecutive plays, first using his arms to get Monroe off-balance and then getting in on the tackle. Next play, he shoved Monroe two yards back. Really, Holliday puts on a leverage clinic at times. In the second quarter, he shot inside the left guard and hit Rashad Jennings two yards deep. Holliday does a good job setting up teammates, especially on blitzes by slanting a certain way, taking two blockers with him and opening a gap. He also did a nice job occupying two Jags on occasion to free linebackers to run to the ball.
PK Graham Gano. When he made his 48-yarder, in tough conditions, you could see a sense of joy and relief from him. He played it perfect, aiming for the right upright with the flags atop the goalposts whipping the other way. The ball curled back inside. His kickoffs were solid, as usual, and then he nailed the 31-yard game winner. Don’t know where this kid is going to go with his career, but he is tough mentally.
NT Anthony Bryant. This was more like the guy we saw this summer. I’d honestly like to know why he wasn’t playing earlier; not in a smart aleck way, but what wasn’t he showing? I can guess it was his ability to play low all the time considering Jim Haslett brought that up and it was evident vs. Dallas. When he played high, the Cowboys gained big yards. But he did a better job of staying low vs. the Jags. One play I liked occurred in the second quarter when he got moved a yard back as he slid to his left. But he recovered, used his arms to get off the block and got involved in the play. Happened a couple times where he’d slide along the line, use his leg power to not get moved back, and then hop on the play. Gotta say, you should see his calf muscles; biggest on the team.
DE Adam Carriker. Maybe he should get into tussles every week with one of his teammates. Like his linemates, Carriker had a strong game. When the line plays well, the linebackers are set up to make plays. London Fletcher and Rocky McIntosh had more opportunities to run free. He forced an early cut by Rashad Jennings when he got inside the right tackle for penetration in the first quarter. He drew a holding penalty on the next series, getting inside Black again. Another time, in the third, he along with Bryant and Holliday collapsed the pocket and gave Garrard nowhere to move. Later in the third, he used his left arm to hold off Black as they moved down the line and then he made the backside tackle. Listen, when there are no holes for the back to choose, there’s one reason: the front.
CB Carlos Rogers. I know he only played a half, but his first quarter interception set up a Redskins touchdown and put Jacksonville in an early 10-0 hole. Considering the problems he’s had holding onto the ball in his career, any interception by Rogers deserves a spot on the Stud side.
LB Rob Jackson. He didn’t start, but he did play a lot especially in the nickel packages. Gotta say, I wasn’t expecting him to deliver the way he did. Take it for what it’s worth, a good first outing and who knows where it goes from there. Still, it was a nice game. He talked last week about his hands being his strength and he was right. They weren’t just quick, they were powerful as he slapped left tackle Eugene Monroe hard enough with his left hand to stun him and get him off-balance. I liked that on one of his early plays in the first quarter the Jags ran to his side. But he stayed low and stayed square and made the tackle. On the final play of the first half, he read screen, raced to the back and prevented Garrard from throwing the ball, allowing Carter to sack him. In the third, Jackson ripped down Monroe’s left hand with his right and got around him. In the fourth, he got inside with a strong swat with his left arm. He did try a spin move once, so good for him for not relying on one move, but it failed. I’m curious to see him this week to see if he can build on a good first performance.
Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett. Anyone who thought the defense would play this well were either eternal optimists or members of the Haslett family. And I’m not sure even the latter could have predicted what they did Sunday. Granted, Maurice Jones-Drew was out, but so, too, were the Redskins best pass rusher; their best player; both safeties and a starting right end. But Haslett compensated for having two converted corners at safety by pressuring QB David Garrard, causing enough confusion to get him to hold the ball. Also liked how he’d mix in zone blitzes and three-man rushes. His blitzes were designed to help the safeties so they wouldn’t have to cover often, forcing Garrard to unload quickly. He also forced RB Rashad Jennings to make quick decisions in protection and a couple times he made the wrong one. On the Kevin Barnes interception, Chris Wilson blitzed up the middle and Rocky McIntosh blitzed through the left guard. Wilson had a clear path to the quarterback, yet Jennings started at him then veered to McIntosh. Wilson’s pressure led to a hurried, and horrible, throw. Maybe McIntosh does the same, but Jennings needed to pick up Wilson. Haslett put his front in a lot of one-on-one matchups and, for a change, they won.
Duds
PR Brandon Banks. Tossing a ball at the opponent? That was a dumb 15-yard penalty and in close games you can’t do that. Any game, for that matter. But, really, that’s about it; his punt returns are down, but that’s not just about him. And he’s been unable to get wide on kickoffs; looks like teams are doing a better job of pinching him to the middle. He set up one return with a jab outside, then cut inside for 32 yards.
LG Kory Lichtensteiger. Gotta give him credit for battling, but that’s what he’s supposed to do. He’s just not big enough to get the job done here. On the second series, he got moved back two yards on first down; he failed to sustain a block on Daryl Smith that led to a tackle. On the next play, when the Redskins were in the wildcat formation, the play might have resulted in a touchdown had ‘Steiger blocked Smith, who naturally made the tackle. I think it’s just a lack of power, but that’s been evident all year. He’s best when he can get out on screens, as happened in the fourth quarter when he blocked corner Don Carey in space.
RG Will Montgomery. Got moved back a bit too much, causing the pocket to collapse. Once, he got pushed back almost into Rex Grossman’s face, causing the QB to be unable to make a better throw. He had to throw low to Chris Cooley and … the pass was dropped. But it’s hard to throw with someone in your face. He was flagged for a false start. He also allowed a Jags’ lineman to get off his block and make a tackle on second and goal in the fourth quarter.
TE Chris Cooley. First of all, he rebounded with a solid second half so I don’t want to put this in his worst-game-ever category. But overall it wasn’t his best game, that’s for sure. Cooley dropped three or four passes in the first half, depending on if you consider the one in which his hands were outstretched a drop or near miss. Whatever; it was a bad half. And the one in the end zone was horrendous. A soft pass right in his mitts and all alone. But Cooley lifted his head and assumed the catch. His blocking was mediocre and a couple times he was unable to hold his block on linebacker Daryl Smith. Once, he and Anthony Armstrong failed to sustain a block on the end, leading to a tackle on a Ryan Torain run that could have been a good one.
QB Rex Grossman. Yes, he was victimized by some drops. But what quarterback isn’t? Grossman can do what most quarterbacks do: hit receivers who are open when he’s given time and a good lane. Otherwise, he struggles to make plays when things break down and that’s a good way to measure a QB’s effectiveness. Unless, of course, you think a good pocket is doable every time. His interception in the end zone wasn’t a bad decision, but his timing of it was off and he threw it as he was falling back – if the wind is that bad, you need to step into the throw. And coach Mike Shanahan said that pick changed Grossman. Hasn’t he played enough to not let that happen? He certainly hesitated on certain throws, like inside the 5 when he appeared to have TE Fred Davis breaking the other way in the end zone, with a step on the defender, and he failed to pull the trigger. Grossman also threw one pass away at a defender’s helmet; and another two passes that were tipped looked like they could have been picked off if not for the deflection. He did a nice job hitting open receivers on the touchdown drive in the second half.
Suds (Half and half)
CB Kevin Barnes. Not gonna go crazy over his first start at safety mainly because he was OK; good at times and not good at others. He of course set up the game-winning points with an interception, which was aided by a well-timed blitz. Barnes was in perfect position. He also had a tackle for a loss when he came in unblocked off the edge. Barnes did whiff on a blitz when he must have thought David Garrard threw the ball because he ran right past the Jags QB without attempting to hit him. Barnes looked like a guy playing a different position, which is fine. That is, after all, what he was doing. I’m also not joining the chorus of those wanting to see him switch to safety. He’d have to add a solid 10 to 15 pounds to do that; I think his future remains at corner.
Special mention:
Darrell Young. Not exactly a high-profile guy and his contributions weren’t many. But in a subtle way he helped set a tone. On the Redskins first kickoff, he got off his block and made a nice tackle. On their second kickoff, he had another big hit. And on their ensuing punt, Young, again, made the tackle. He didn’t exactly change the game, but I liked what he did when he was in the game.
Note
Trent Williams and Stephon Heyer held up fine; I didn’t have a lot of issues with Heyer though he had his customary bad series. Other than that, he was OK. Williams was inconsistent, again. I don’t like the way Williams seems to look lost against stunts. If I’m rushing against the Redskins, I test him with this all the time because more often than not when his man goes inside, Williams goes with him and the outside is left open. Sunday, this happened and, once, by the time Grossman threw, Williams was staring right at him. Sometimes, if they’re in man blocking, they’ll stick with their guy and it’s impossible to know that unless you talk to them about a specific play; but too often it looks like ‘Steiger is ready to pass his man off and Williams is too far inside.
S Macho Harris. I know he’s playing his first game for a new team and that he’s a converted corner. So you have to cut him some slack. But he did not play like someone who has a future at this position, at least as a starter. He didn’t pack much punch on his tackle attempts and one time in the open field he dove at the ballcarrier – or maybe the lead blocker, it was hard to tell – and ended up a couple yards short and instead took out Andre Carter. Harris, like Barnes, needs to get bigger to play here full-time.
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