Studs
LB London Fletcher. Anyone who thinks it’s better just to play young players, keep in mind that Fletcher is 36 years old. And he can play for a couple more years if he wants. Fletcher recorded 16 tackles vs. Dallas, with a sack and two tackles for a loss. Maybe his most impressive play came in which he raced to his left, and cut the lead blocker who took the ball-carrier with him. Yeah, Murray juked him to the ground on one catch and run but that happens. Also like how Fletcher is able to help others. It’s his job, but he does it well and I saw him instructing DeJon Gomes before the snap on a couple plays. Also like how hard he takes on lead blockers. Drilled the pulling guard on the second play of the game at the line, which enabled Perry Riley to scrape over the top for a stop of no gain. He also had a sack when he blitzed untouched from the right side. The tackle anticipated Brian Orakpo coming his way and when Orakpo went inside Doug Free looked and then tried to get out to Fletcher. No dice. Sack. Fletcher finished with eight stops for two yards or less.
P Sav Rocca. It’s been a couple weeks for Rocca, but he’s back. Rocca averaged 48.6 yards per punt with a net of 44.2 yards on five punts. That’s an awesome total as the return unit only allowed 22 yards on three punt returns. Rocca had a 52-yarder from his own 20 in the first quarter and a 63-yarder from his 29 in the second. The latter punt, coupled with a holding penalty, left the Cowboys with the ball at their own 5-yard line. And it eventually set up a poor punt and good field position for Washington. He landed two punts inside the 20.
DE Adam Carriker, NT Barry Cofield, DE Stephen Bowen. None of these players had a great game. But each of them made plays that helped and collectively they did their job. How can you tell? Anytime the inside linebackers combine for 26 tackles, you have to figure out why that happened. Yes, the ‘backers made good plays. But they also ran free to the ball quite a bit. Bowen had a sack, though it did occur after Tony Romo had the ball for 6.7 seconds. Still, it’s a sack. Carriker was in on a sack; Cofield had a pressure and did a good job at times of fighting off blocks or holding double teams to get back into the play. There was one run in which OLB Ryan Kerrigan and Cofield occupied four blockers, enabling the linebackers to make a good stop in overtime. On a second and 2 early in the game, Cofield’s quick pressure forced DeMarco Murray to cut wide where DeJon Gomes and Perry Riley waited for the stop. Give Chris Neild a little credit, too, for coming in with a good push up the middle to help on a sack.
SS DeJon Gomes. Don’t want to go crazy over him because he was not the same player/athlete as LaRon Landry, especially when the latter is healthy. Gomes arrives, but not with the same pop. But he does get there and that’s what counts. On one play he stuck the ballcarrier in the backfield but needed Riley’s help to bring him down for no gain. Still, a good job. And for the same reason the DL is on this side, so is Gomes. They stopped the run cold and he was a factor with 13 tackles (his 14th came on special teams). Six of his 13 were for three yards or less while six were for five yards or more downfield. But he did his job and for a first start it was pretty darn good. He also had a QB pressure with one blitz when he beat RB DeMarco Murray inside (Murray needs work in protection).
One thing I wonder about with Gomes: his size. He’s not a tiny guy, obviously. But at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds he’s the Redskins smallest safety. By comparison, LaRon Landry is 6-foot, 220 pounds. Oshiomogho Atogwe is 5-foot-11, 205 pounds (Troy Polamalu: 5-foot-10, 207, but please don’t go there) so it’s not as if Gomes can’t survive at his weight but I wonder about playing in the box at that size fulltime. Then again, the guy played a linebacker role at Nebraska at times and he survived quite well. He’s clearly physical. But with that speed the Redskins can eventually make the safeties more interchangeable. Gomes did have a chance to make a huge play by recovering a fumble but rather than fall on it in traffic, as you should do, he tried to scoop and run. Call it inexperience. The Redskins would have had a first down at the Dallas 41 had he done so. And on the Jason Witten touchdown, maybe he should have seen this a bit quicker but he had to honor the deep half on his side with Laurent Robinson running down the other sideline. But it did not appear Gomes ran as fast as he could once Witten made the play. Gomes had hurt his knee earlier in the game; perhaps that’s the reason. Still, he had a fine game.
Duds
LB Brian Orakpo. As usual with Orakpo, we’re measuring him against expectations and past performance. He is a Pro Bowler; he’s graded on a curve. He made some nice plays, but in this game he needs to make some big plays. Also, in the past two weeks he’s been double teamed much less than in previous games (Ryan Kerrigan is getting about the same double team looks he has been throughout the season). Orakpo was only doubled four times, leaving him one on one on 22 rushes, most against LT Doug Free. He did rush from the left side once vs. RT Tyron Smith, getting no pressure. Orakpo had six tackles and was credited with no pressures, though he did force Tony Romo from the pocket on a couple of occasions with inside push, like on a key third down in the third quarter (see below). He did have some rushes in which he drove Free back, but given the opportunities more is expected. His run defense was solid; Dallas wanted to test him and it couldn’t really generate as much on his side as anticipated. Again, it wasn’t a bad game and it’s not just about sacks. But he can make more of an impact.
CB DeAngelo Hall. He wanted more help in certain situations and he got it. But it didn’t matter as he allowed the key completion on third and 15 in overtime. I’m not convinced that it was just because he slipped, either. Dez Bryant ran a good route and Romo extended the play which didn’t help Hall. On the previous play, Hall did a nice job vs. Bryant on a deep ball to the right, staying with him and forcing an incompletion. But I didn’t like that on the first down throw in overtime to Martellus Bennett that he tried to strip the ball rather than tackle him. He and Oshiomogho Atogwe couldn’t stop him and Bennett gained five more yards after contact for a total of 14. He also allowed a 17-yard catch to Jesse Holley on third and 12 in the second quarter.
FS Oshiomogho Atogwe. He was late on the TD pass to Laurent Robinson in the first quarter. It didn’t seem that he was completely fooled or frozen by another defender, though Romo did cause him to pause with his eyes. But Atogwe just lacks the explosiveness to close on the play. Wonder if it will take a couple weeks to get some of that back as his legs finally get a bit healthier. Or is this just who he is at this point? He nearly made a diving interception down the middle of the field, but I also wonder if he could have gotten there a little faster. It’s been such a rough year for him with leg injuries that there has to be an impact.
Notes
…It’s not like Tony Romo spent the entire game scrambling and making plays. But good things happened for Dallas each time he was forced out of the pocket.
Here are the four times it happened:
1. Third and 6, Redskins’ 14: Orakpo beats Doug Free inside, causing Romo to spin out and scramble to his left. Orakpo reaches but misses Romo as Free then shoves him. Romo leaves the pocket after 2.67 seconds and extends the play by 1.6 seconds. Romo hits DeMarco Murray, who turns outside to gain an additional four yards and a first down.
2. Third and goal, Redskins’ 7: Romo has time, but Kerrigan drives right tackle Tyron Smith back. A wide rush by Orakpo leaves a gap to Romo’s left. But he’s in the pocket for 3.09 seconds before he leaves. He extends the play by another 1.5 seconds and finds Laurent Robinson (who beat Josh Wilson on a crossing route; Wilson, though, had a fairly solid game again) for the score.
3. Third and 8, Redskins’ 41: Romo had time as the Redskins sent four rushers. Nobody really was pressuring Romo, but Orakpo was the closest defender. After 3.76 seconds – an eternity in the pocket – Romo spun out and rolled to his left. Once again, this extended the play by nearly 1.5 seconds and he hit Jason Witten for the 59-yard touchdown.
4. Third and 15, Redskins’ 49: Stephen Bowen gets an inside push to the left, forcing Romo to leave to his left. There’s a big gap as Orakpo is eight yards upfield and there’s no push on the other side (Barry Cofield is being double teamed; Perry Riley is on the right side making sure Murray doesn’t slip out). This is the first time there was quick pressure as Romo leaves the pocket after 2.18 seconds. He extends the play by 1.2 seconds and finds Bryant for 26 yards.
…The third down defense killed the Redskins – Dallas converted eight of 17 third downs. The Cowboys were in third and five or more on 13 times; they converted seven (including five of their last six). Dallas was just one of four on third down when it was three yards or less.
…Credit Washington’s first-down run defense in part for creating so many third and longs. Dallas averaged just 2.8 yards per first down run on 14 attempts.
…Hall got away with a pass interference penalty on a third and 9 from the Cowboys’ 9 in the second quarter. It preceded Mat McBriar’s 23-yard punt. Romo tried to hit Kevin Ogletree on the play. Hall was covering Dez Bryant in the slot; Bryant raced to his right along the line of scrimmage, after the snap. Hall ran at him and bumped into Ogletree as the ball was thrown. Hall did not appear to see Ogletree.
…Last season the Redskins used a one defensive linemen look on a number of occasions to muster a pass rush. That hasn’t been the case this season. They’ve rarely used it, if at all. In fact, they used it four times Sunday with mixed results. They had a sack (by London Fletcher), allowed nine yards on a first and 15; allowed 12 yards on third and 8 and forced an incompletion.
…Riley had another good game against the run, with 10 tackles. DeAngelo Hall made it seem after the game that it was his responsibility to cover Witten on the long scoring pass. If so, Riley had just moved on that series to the strong side with Fletcher out because of cramps. This is what the coaches have talked about, how much things change when you line up inside on the strong or weak side. It was the first time Riley had been in that spot where Romo scrambled and when that happens things change in coverage. He just seemed to lose Witten. But he again showed speed and quickness getting to the ball.
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