Studs
WR Bobby Wade. Couple nice grabs over the middle. Caught a bullet from Donovan McNabb on a slant inside the 10-yard line vs. Phillip Buchanon. The coverage was fine; the throw was good and the route was good. A couple plays later, Wade reached up high to snag a Rex Grossman pass in the back of the end zone. Hard to tell if both feet were in since we were at an angle. But it was a good catch nonetheless.
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TE Chris Cooley. He did what he usually has done in the past: catch everything thrown his way. Most of the time he ran crossing routes, but he also made a nice grab while having to come back for a low pass that forced him to dive forward.
DL Adam Carriker. Had a very good day. It helped that he was facing Clint Oldenburg, but it was sort of amazing to see how much Carriker controlled him with his hands. He wasn’t letting Oldenburg to even get his hands on him. The same thing happened when he faced Will Robinson. Backups, yes, but still impressive. Carriker also bulled through a double team in his one snap at nose tackle.
S Anderson Russell. Not just putting him in here because he’s a fellow Buckeye (believe me, I yelled at him on TV a few times in the past). However, he made two nice reads in coverage. On the first, Joey Galloway tried a double move but Russell, playing a cover-2, had a good angle and Galloway wasn’t open. He also stopped a reverse to Brandon Banks by staying home.
QB Donovan McNabb. He’s had a better week after an at-times rugged opening 10 days. McNabb was hitting receivers in better position for them to run with the ball and also was better at throwing just before the break.
P Josh Bidwell. Nothing like watching punters on a +90-degree day. Can life get any better? Still, Bidwell got excellent hangtime on his punts, as well as good distance.
Duds
TE Dennis Morris. Jumped early on one snap and then was replaced before the next snap by Lee Vickers. Also, didn’t do a good job with his hands on one block while sliding to his right; he placed them too high on Rob Jackson to really do anything.
RT Clint Oldenburg. Struggled against the starters, particularly with his hands. Also didn’t like how he stared to his right for a long time before the ball was snapped. Not surprisingly, that’s where he would slide to block. At some point that stuff gets you in trouble. It’s one thing to do it last second; most do. But it’s another to stare.
CB Ramzee Robinson. Actually, he was decent and even played good coverage. However, he had a chance to finish plays and failed to do that. Robinson dropped an interception on a out pass to Terrence Austin. He came through the outside shoulder and put himself in excellent position. Later, on a flea flicker to Anthony Armstrong, Robinson appeared to have a good play on the ball. But it somehow got through his hands and fell into Armstrong’s for what would have been a touchdown. Gotta finish. But he also failed to get his hands on Brandon Banks to jam him, then allowed him to get inside.
DL Jeremy Jarmon. He seems to be struggling a little right now; could be the knee. Also, there has to be an adjustment period when you gain 30-35 pounds in an offseason. Makes you have to learn to play a little differently. Regardless, he wasn’t getting much push and at times was too high off his first step.
RG Artis Hicks. He may have had only two bad snaps, but both would have resulted in sacks by Carriker. He allowed Carriker to get inside him on one set and the only reason it wasn’t a sack is because Carriker pulled up before hitting McNabb to let the play develop. Couple plays later, he got his hands under Hicks’ pads and just moved him back into the quarterback’s face. Again, another sack. Hicks has had a better week, but these plays weren’t his best. Hicks did do a good job picking up Brian Orakpo on a blitz, shoving him aside.
