1 How is LaRon Landry’s health? It’s still uncertain whether Landry will be able to play Sunday because of his hamstring issues. The best guess is that the Redskins will be — should be — ultraconservative with him considering he has hurt his hamstring twice. Yes, they could use him. But it’s hard to imagine him playing Sunday after being unable to participate in a full workout since camp opened. 2 Can Rex Grossman keep it going? Grossman has had good games before. The guy is a talented passer capable of big games, especially in a quarterback-friendly offense. Give him a pocket and he will find open receivers in this scheme. But the key is how he performs under duress. He lost one fumble and made a couple questionable decisions vs. the Giants. They didn’t hurt him. To gain consistency he must limit those plays.
3 Will the defensive line pressure like this all season? The unit had four sacks in the opener after nine in all of 2010. That’s a lot to ask to continue. Some games it just works out that way. The Redskins pinned New York deep often in the second half, and they had a two-touchdown lead. The situation was made for pressure.
4 Will the running game get going?
It won’t until the line — and everyone else for that matter — starts blocking with any consistency. Too often someone is getting pushed back, forcing running back Tim Hightower to cut much deeper than desired. But he showed this summer he’s capable of long runs after long periods of short ones. And the offensive tackles, Trent Williams and Jammal Brown, need to block better.
5 Is Fred Davis an emerging star? Davis is a major talent who is capable of hurting defenses. In this offense, his speed combined with misdirection will get him wide open. Davis will show flashes of his talent more this year than in the past. But the more Chris Cooley plays, the more it will cut into Davis’ time in one tight end sets or opportunities in two tight end sets. Davis’ athleticism will scare defenses.
– John Keim
