Many reasons behind gut-punching losses
ASHBURN – The cheering started during what should have been the game-clinching drive Sunday. Players on the sideline showing more emotion, sensing a big upset. Albert Haynesworth heard it and knew it was premature.
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“You don’t start cheering until that clock has hit zero,” he said.
Nobody in Washington would disagree with him.
And after yet another gut-punching defeat, this time a 33-30 overtime loss to New Orleans, the Redskins (3-9) dealt with the fallout.
The missed field goal » After the game, coach Jim Zorn blamed the snap, at least in part, for Shaun Suisham’s missed 23-yarder that would have given the Redskins a 10-point lead with one minute, 52 seconds remaining — and New Orleans out of timeouts. Even long snapper Ethan Albright agreed with Zorn.
But Suisham did not. And he was correct. Albright’s snap was a little high, but holder Hunter Smith got it down in time. Suisham never broke stride.
“It was a decent snap,” Zorn said. “It was an excellent hold and it was a poor kick. That’s what it was.”
The fallout is this: Zorn said the Redskins might bring in kickers to work out Tuesday. “That’s a possibility,” Zorn said. “We work out a lot of guys during the week.”
Mike Nugent and Jason Elam, both of whom have been released this season, are available.
Suisham has missed three field goals this season but all of them — two occurred vs. Dallas — could have meant the difference in the game. Overall, he’s made 18 of 21.
The double move » Safety LaRon Landry bit on a post-and-up route, something he said he’s never seen run from the slot position, for a touchdown. Later in the game, he bit hard on an in-route only to watch Robert Meachem fly past him for the game-tying 53-yard touchdown. Landry blamed the latter play on a missed coverage assignment, suggesting someone else should have been behind him. Nobody was. Regardless, he got fooled.
Landry allowed a touchdown vs. Denver when he came up too fast and abandoned his area. Corner Carlos Rogers has allowed two touchdowns off double moves this season.
“It’s not acceptable,” Zorn said of falling for double moves. “Teams will continue to do it. We have to continue to work on that and continue to be disciplined and we can’t be fooled.”
The solution would be to play Landry closer to the line as a strong safety. He’ll play close on rare occasions. But Zorn said they’re not in a rush to move him. Kareem Moore is the only other free safety with experience and he only plays in certain coverages.
“There is nobody on that field that has the range and violence as LaRon does back there at free safety,” Zorn said. “We have to get him into a position where he can also make plays around the ball, but when he’s playing free safety he was roaming good. It was the two-safety look that got him — and it got him twice. That’s something we have to improve on as we go along, with LaRon and the other safeties as well.”
