Studs
TE Fred Davis: Caught four passes for 50 yards, but also did a good job in opening creases on the edge. A couple times he and LT Levi Jones cleared a lane in which the back was not touched for the first 6-7 yards.
LT Levi Jones: See above. Jones was better than anticipated. The Redskins game plan helped as they used a lot of three-step drops. Jones struggled a bit when he had to block on longer drops, but that was often not the case. He did a nice job turning his man where he wanted him to go.
FB Mike Sellers: Caught a 35-yard touchdown pass, but he also, like Davis, excelled on the edge. He missed a couple blocks, but he was a road grader on Ladell Betts’ touchdown run (with a little help from Todd Yoder).
RB Ladell Betts: Ran hard and with energy. Always seemed to get a couple extra yards after contact and even broke a couple tackles. Jim Zorn said Clinton Portis would get his job back when healthy, but we have to ask: why?
DE Andre Carter: He was quiet for the first half, but finished with 1.5 sacks and seven tackles. He also had four quarterback hurries and two tackles for a loss. Yep, quite a day. The Redskins helped him with some strategy. For example, on one of his sacks, Rocky McIntosh showed blitz, which drew the tackle’s attention. But McIntosh dropped and that allowed Carter to turn the edge and combine on a sack.
LB Brian Orakpo: Finished with 1.5 sacks, three tackles for a loss and two quarterback hurries. The Redskins are using him well, too, especially as a standup linebacker behind a three-man front. Orakpo got a tackle for a loss out of this set because he came through too quick for the guard. He’s doing a better job of taking on blockers.
DL Lorenzo Alexander: He really only flashed on two plays, but one resulted in a fumble thanks to his hustle — Denver would have had a first down at the Redskins’ 31-yard line. And he had a crushing hit on a kickoff.
LG Derrick Dockery/Casey Rabach: Putting them together because they both did a good job on combination blocks and then having one get to the linebackers.
CB DeAngelo Hall: His interception and return helped turn the game around. It was an easy pick, but he still always finds himself in position to make those plays. He did miss a tackle on the first play of the game and could have had better position on some other runs; got caught inside a step too far on one. But the pickmade up for the other gaffes. However, the lateral was a boneheaded decision.
P Hunter Smith: Who knew?
The game plan: OK, this is a different twist. But using two tight-end sets was a huge benefit. The Redskins cut off Denver’s backside pursuit, which has hurt other offenses. In fact, the only two times that Denver made a tackle from the backside is when Washington did not use a two tight-end alignment.
Duds
CB Carlos Rogers: Bit on a double move by Brandon Marshall and was benched. It only took one mishap to get him benched, which means the Redskins had to be displeased with his performance before Sunday. This has not been Rogers’ best season.And it’s not certain that he’ll get his job back.
FS LaRon Landry: Came up to cover an underneath route when the corner was expecting him to stay deep. Can’t do that; the corners need to trust the safety on their side. It resulted in an easy touchdown for Brandon Marshall. On Hall’s interception, Landry did not seem to find the ball, which should not have occurred.
FS Kareem Moore: Got lucky that Kyle Orton overthrew a wide-open Eddie Royal. But Moore bit on a double move, a hard plant inside by Royal. Moore’s rise as a FS would help Landry go back to SS, but plays like this make you wonder if he’s ready to be trusted deep.
PK Shaun Suisham: Had two kickoffs go out of bounds, giving Denver the ball at the 40-yard line. He was aiming for the right spot, but he was too wide.
LB London Fletcher: Maybe some of this had to do with positioning; he was not always lined up in the middle. But he only finished with two tackles.
Follow me on twitter @John_Keim
