CBS broadcaster Dan Fouts, a Hall of Fame quarterback, just saw the Redskins a week ago and had a few minutes to share some thoughts on the Redskins and Patriots.
On the Redskins’ offense: “They ran the ball last week and went away from it and with Rex Grossman you get hot and cold streaks. He’s just inconsistent and that’s who he is. He’s brilliant at times and sometimes you scratch your head a little bit. They certainly have bigger problems now with Fred Davis and that whole situation. But as far as play-calling, you’ve got to have the players and that offense has had great success in the past. I have a lot of respect for Mike [Shanahan]. You can’t argue with his track record.”
On Roy Helu: “I think he’s got power, he’s got explosiveness. He’s got speed and he’s a good receiver as well. I think to be an every-down back he has to work on his pass protection, but I think he’s going to be a good player.”
On losing Davis: “Well, we’re seeing great tight end play in the league. So many teams want to play cover 2 and single up on the tight end or put them on a linebacker so if you’ve got a threat there that opens up the outside. Losing a threat down the field like Davis is obviously going to hurt the offense.”
On Tom Brady: “I like just about everything. His smarts are the No. 1 thing and the physical part is No. 2. He’s done this for a long time and the thing about most quarterbacks that are having success over an extended period of time means they’ve been in the same system and have stability with the head coach and coordinators. You look back and Joe Montana, Dan Marino, the great ones have been with the same coach and the same system. But to stop him, you’ve got to move Tom off the spot. You have to get push up the middle and make him move, knock him down. The Redskins do have good pass rushers, but they didn’t show it against the Jets.”
On Wes Welker and the passing game: “He just has a natural feel and a non-verbal communication with Tom. They have so many choice routes that they run and he knows exactly what he wants to do based on the defense. He’s a tough guy and he’s a smart guy. [The problem is] they spread things out pretty good and when they do that the defense has to tip their hand. Their tight ends are awesome and when you’ve got a talent like Ochocinco who’s not even a factor that tells you something. With Welker it’s the way he works over the middle. And then you’ve got a body like their tight ends and it’s not only a target for you, but it’s tougher for defensive backs to get around them. They get position on you and it’s like a basketball game. Then you have the athleticism those guys have and it’s rare. To have two like that it’s amazing.”
