Studs
FB Chris Cooley. For a guy playing his first full game at this spot, Cooley did rather well. He was physical, which isn’t a surprise considering he’s had to block defensive ends in the past. He was quick to his blocks, meeting blitzers closer to the line. And I loved how they would use him to shuffle down the line, tight behind the line, and then get to the linebackers. The linemen struggled to do this all night so on a couple occasions they used someone quicker and it worked. On one run by RB Tim Hightower, Cooley set up behind RT Trent Williams and shot to LB Bradie James on the backside. It wasn’t a pivotal block, but it was a good one. And if Santana Moss had given a little more effort on his block on the corner, Hightower would have had an excellent run instead of one for five yards. Regardless, Cooley blocked well. He picked up DeMarcus Ware on one play-action rush. He picked up Gerald Sensabaugh on a blitz. Cooley also caught four passes for 41 yards and picked up a first down on third and 1. Why they went back to that same play on the next third and 1, I’m not sure. Regardless, using him in this role enabled the Redskins to show a little more versatility. Maybe this is a way to get him more involved in the future?
LT Trent Williams. OK, let’s get this out first: He held DeMarcus Ware a couple times and it wasn’t called. Those of you who shout about Brian Orakpo being held all the time would have been doing the same if you were a Ware fan Monday. Williams one time dove at Ware’s legs; basically, it was a shoestring tackle. Williams wasn’t perfect and a couple wrong steps here or there would have resulted in a really bad outing. He still gets beat inside too often; has been that way since camp opened. Cooley and Tim Hightower helped him out a couple times because of this.
But it wasn’t always Williams who was the culprit and overall he did an excellent job, regardless of who he faced. Ware got him for a pressure in the first half on an inside spin move that caught Williams by surprise. But Ware tried the same move in the fourth quarter only to be stuffed by Williams, who remained balanced enough to bump Ware further inside with his arms and then recover with his feet. Williams also had consecutive plays in which he lost Clifton Geathers inside (looked like Williams got a late jump because of crowd noise). Then on the next play, Williams lunged at Sean Lissemore and lost. However, Williams’ athleticism came in handy vs. Ware all game. Williams could recover from bad spots; on the sixth play of the third quarter Ware tried to rush inside (third and 3 from the Dallas 19) and Williams shoved him a yard back. Ware then tried to get upfield but Williams had recovered and reset his base and stopped him. Rex Grossman completed the pass.
Duds
Holder Sav Rocca. Just an inexcusable drop on the hold of the blocked field goal in the second quarter. Yeah, the ball was snapped just a little high but it wasn’t that bad. Not every snap is going to be perfect, that’s why you have people who can handle the bad ones doing the holding. Rocca just failed on this attempt. His punting was solid, averaging 44.4 yards on five kicks and only 10 return yards thanks to good hangtime. For that he should be commended. But the botched hold cost them a chance at three points in a two-point loss. Ouch.
QB Rex Grossman. By this point, nobody should be surprised when Grossman turns the ball over a couple times. This is what he does. In six starts with Washington, he’s now turned the ball over 13 times. He did it twice Monday night. Call it an average game in that respect. He did make some excellent throws; one to Santana Moss sandwiched between two defenders. The one to Jabar Gaffney on the last drive, where he dumped over the top of one defender. But this game boiled down to a couple plays for him: the interception and the fumble. In a two-point loss, those plays mattered. He also got away with one on a field goal drive in the second quarter in which he threw flat footed and all arm into the flat, where Sean Lee broke up a pass to Tim Hightower. At some point, a defender is going to pick that pass and take it all the way.
On the interception, Grossman looked to his right and gave a half-pump, but Lee only took a step to that side. He didn’t sell the fake. So when Grossman turned back, Lee was in great position to recover. That kid is quick. But here’s the thing: If Lee doesn’t get that ball, then Bradie James is in position for the interception (the way the pass was thrown; needed more air). In other words, Fred Davis wasn’t open (linebacker underneath, safety over the top). Maybe if he hadn’t thrown it on such a tight line Davis would have had a chance. But he didn’t. And it led to a Dallas field goal.
The fumble ended the game. The Redskins had second and 10 from the Dallas 43 with 31 seconds, and one timeout, left. He would have been sacked for about a five-yard loss anyway. Still, it cost them a chance to win. My problem is the way he carries the ball on those runs; earlier in the game he was chased out of bounds by the same linebacker, Anthony Spencer, and carried it like a loaf of bread. Got away with it then, but not in the final drive. Not sure why Grossman didn’t tuck the ball as he ran; initially he kept his eyes downfield but he then looked to his left as he ran. Perhaps that’s when you should tuck the ball. Spencer closed fast on that play, but Grossman just doesn’t run that well anymore. This isn’t about his needing to lose weight. Grossman tore his ACL in 2004 and broke an ankle a year later and hurt his knee in 2007. Those reasons are why his mobility suffers now. He can take off a few pounds and maybe go from running a 5.1 to running a 5.07. Point is, it’s not his game.
RG Chris Chester. It’s awfully hard to often determine who’s at fault when it comes to line play unless you know the assignments. We are reminded of that time and again and it’s accurate. The same is true of most positions. The Redskins couldn’t deal with linebacker Sean Lee all night and that fell on the interior; saw a couple times where each of them failed to get him. They said he was coming downhill quicker than they anticipated, but maybe he was just quicker than they thought in general. He certainly beat them to the spot time and again. On a second and 10 in the second quarter, the Redskins ran a stretch zone to the left. Chester blocked down on Jay Ratliff, then tried to get off to get Lee; not fast enough; guess who made the tackle.
During training camp, Chester struggled more in the one-on-one pass sets than some of the other linemen. Just setting up in a straight dropback is not what he did best. He’s better when he can be athletic more than just physical. Chester wasn’t the only guy who struggled; Lichtensteiger had his moments – he doesn’t get a lot of pop on the big guys when he pulls — but also had times where he did fairly well. Same with Will Montgomery. Even Brown, who did a decent job for three quarters had his moments. And Chester had his positive times: he blocked Jay Ratliff to the ground on the first series on a run to the left; he seemed to work well on the combo blocks. But too often he lost his matchup; Ratliff swatted him aside on a third and goal from inside the 9 in the first quarter. Ratliff pushed him back, tried to get around him to the outside, then swatted him wide and darted inside for a hurry. That happened a couple times. But, again, this is what we saw at times in practices. Also saw end Kenyon Coleman get off his block to make a tackle. Don’t want to keep picking on Chester because an offense doesn’t fail on one guy’s shoulders. He had a couple good combo blocks on Ratliff so he had his moments. But he played better a week ago.
…Just seemed like there was some communication issues on certain plays. On a second and goal from the seven in the first quarter, center Will Montgomery pointed to linebacker Sean Lee right before the snap. But here’s who blocked him on the play: nobody. Lichtensteiger helped with the left end, then peeled off and ran past Lee en route to a safety. Montgomery blocked to his right, then tried to get Lee at the last minute. Meanwhile, Hightower sort of slips as he cuts only to then be tackled by Lee. If Lee is stopped, there’s another good lane to run up into.
…Dallas did move linebacker DeMarcus Ware around a bit, but he still stayed predominately on the right side. He lined up on the right 45 times, 16 times on the left and twice he rushed up the middle.
…Ware’s influence is felt on plays he doesn’t even make. On a Hightower stretch zone run to the left inside the 10-yard line late in the first quarter, Ware pushed tight end Fred Davis back at the last second. That’s when Hightower was about to make his cut and it caused him to trip over Davis’ foot. A big cutback alley was missed.
…Right tackle Jammal Brown was matched up against Ware on eight of those snaps on the left side. Ware didn’t do much damage vs. Brown until the fourth quarter. Of course, Redskins fans might say he was offsides on the sack he got in the fourth quarter. Brown had no shot on the play because of the jump by Ware. On the first play of the next series Brown wasn’t going to let that happen again; alas, he was flagged for a false start. Thought Brown played pretty well vs. Arizona last week, but in each of the past two games he’s appeared to have his best half in the first half.
…Ware at times had incredible jumps; again, some people might say he was offsides. But that wasn’t the case all the time; he clearly had a read on the cadence. There was one play in which he was at right outside linebacker and was across the line of scrimmage before the right side of the Redskins’ line on had even started to move.
…I wish they had shown Rob Ryan more on TV. I’m not sure he got enough pub.
…Love Santana Moss as a receiver, but his blocking is inconsistent. Take the play right after Moss made a 16-yard lunging grab over the middle. On the play, Hightower bounces to the left, where Moss was aligned. Perhaps Moss wasn’t expecting Hightower to bounce it outside; Hightower took a half jab as if he were going to cutback and then darted wide. Moss barely engaged the corner, who then made the tackle. Had Moss blocked him, it would have gotten 10 yards instead of five.
…The Redskins ran 16 plays from scrimmage in the fourth quarter; 14 were pass plays. They ran the ball seven times in the second half of a game in which they were either tied or led for all but the final two minutes.
…But the real problem is that they’re only averaging 3.7 yards per carry this season and in two games they’ve gained three yards or less, including Monday. Again, in the preseason the bulk of Tim Hightower’s runs produced little to no gain. So are these numbers really surprising? There is not enough consistency in this area. Hightower isn’t breaking tackles; he’s not getting enough help from all of his blockers. He’s a decent all-around back, as a couple scouts called him after the Redskins acquired him in a trade. And that’s what he’s been through three games.
…Yes, the slips impacted a couple Redskins plays (saw it on defense too). But let’s not get into using this as an excuse, OK? It was open for both teams. Yes, the stretch zone could be hurt more I suppose because of the nature of the plays (more necessary to plant and cut). But it’s not as if every Dallas run was a straight dive up the middle. And I also saw Ratliff slip one time when he got past Chester.
Submit a question for Redskins mailbag. Click here.
