These are the questions I asked Saturday; now we have the answers.
1. How big is Landry’s loss? There were a couple times Reed Doughty was a tad slow to the hole; had Landry been in the game maybe he gets there sooner to stop Chris Johnson for a short gain rather than seeing him get 10 or 15 yards. But Doughty did a solid job for the most part. The Titans did not really test him downfield, aside from one throw. Sort of weird. They did use Doughty in the box at times and he was effective.
2. How about Carlos Rogers? Phillip Buchanon intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble, so I’d say he did a solid job. The Redskins did not use as much nickel as in the past, so the linebackers often would be responsible for jamming in the slot. Kevin Barnes covered in the slot a few times. Overall, Buchanon held up well.
3. What other problems does this present? Thought the biggest problem would be being able to cover a long enough time, considering they don’t pressure well out of the 3-4 base defense. But that wasn’t an issue once Vince Young left the game.
4. How big is Artis Hicks’ absence? Well, it should have been a big one. Not because he’s a dominant player, but look at the supposed dropoff. Stephon Heyer ultimately replaced him in all the shuffling. Yes, Heyer had some issues, but the guy has never played guard before. It helped that Jammal Brown played a better game and the two handled a couple stunts well. The Titans, for some reason, could never capitalize on this makeshift line. Unreal.
5. Can the Redskins do anything to give Donovan McNabb more time? They tried something novel. They blocked. The game plan helped with the slide protections; a couple times they slid right to where a blitz was coming. Also, more screens early helped slow the rush. At times they used shotgun and let McNabb drop back. Keiland Williams did a good job vs. the blitz and there were a couple times they used max protection. But give the front credit; they handled the pressure. I didn’t think the Titans were as physical as some other teams were; when guys like Will Montgomery were knocked back, they were able to still anchor. The tackles fared well, too.
6. How much will they use Clinton Portis? Turns out not very much. I didn’t think he’d get more than 12-14 carries and thought they would use him more on third downs to protect. He looked fresh when he ran, showing a burst around the edge that a guy like Williams just doesn’t have. But now you have to wonder if he’ll play again this season.
7. How good is Tennessee’s defense? They’re OK; the Titans were strong in the red zone and should have had a couple more turnovers. But they couldn’t figure out a way to apply pressure vs. a depleted front. The Titans did blitz the A gap a couple times, with little success. The Redskins took advantage of Cortland Finnegan’s aggressiveness on one route to Santana Moss; Finnegan jumped him inside and Moss cut back outside for an easy catch and run. They’re a good D, but I was disappointed in the lack of a rush.
8. How dangerous is Vince Young? Apparently he’s more dangerous to his own career than he is to other teams. One reason Donovan McNabb is respected is because of how he handles adversity. Everyone who wants a QB to react a certain way, pay attention to what’s going on with Young. You can’t handle adversity that way and last in this league. Anyway, he was doing fine until he hurt his thumb and it impacted the game as Rusty Smith is not in a position to win a game, or at least wasn’t equipped to do so Sunday.
9. Will Randy Moss hurt the Redskins? The one-word answer: No. The coverage played a part as they often ran a safety underneath with DeAngelo Hall over the top. The Titans only threw Moss’ way three times. Moss’ lack of effort on one pass nearly led to an interception. But I’m surprised the Titans didn’t try to get him the ball on some short routes.
10. Can they stop Chris Johnson? Yes and no. Johnson gained 130 yards on 21 carries; great numbers no doubt. But 78 came on four runs – and none of them ended up hurting the Redskins. It could have been a lot worse, so I give Washington credit for not letting Johnson beat them. They had a couple good tackles – by Hall and H.B. Blades – that saved even longer runs. The outside linebackers did a decent job of holding the edge and forcing Johnson back inside. And they stayed in their base much more than usual, using eight men in the box at times, too. As long as Johnson didn’t score and 17 of his runs didn’t produce a whole lot. He didn’t beat them.
11. Who will win? I thought the Redskins would respond with a good effort; I did not think they would win, mainly because they were depleted – and that was before the game. It helped that Young exited the game; Smith could do little in the passing game. But the Redskins at a certain point seemed like they were going to will themselves to a win and they did.
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