Redskins Quarterly Report

PennSkinsFan has written a Quarterly Report on Washington Redskins rookies and sophomores that you should read. This is the Quarterly Report for the entire team.
Quarterback
Jason Campbell has completed 65% of his passes for 6 TD, zero INT [the only QB in the NFL with at least 20 pass attempts to have zero INT] and a 102.2 passer rating. This is the best 3-game stretch of Campbell’s career, as he has posted a passer rating of over 100 in each of Washington’s 3 victories. He’s shown an ability to throw the short pass to every receiver on the team and hit the long bomb to Santana Moss, Washington’s sole deep threat. Campbell has moved around in the pocket well, gained yards with his feet when necessary, and given his receivers more time to get open. There are probably only 2 or 3 passers in the NFL playing better than Campbell right now. Grade: A
Running Back
Clinton Portis is having a good year, averaging 4.3 yards per carry and scoring 3 TD in 4 games. Portis has shown a big play ability we haven’t seen much of in Washington, but he’s also running hard and getting tough yards when necessary. The spread-ish offense the Redskins are using some of the time is good for Portis since it allows him to get on the edge more and use his speed and quickness in space. The traps and draws Head Coach Jim Zorn is calling are also perfect for Portis. His blitz pick-up continues to be first rate, but I’d like to see him more involved in the passing game. We may see that against the Eagles. Grade: A-
Ladell Betts hasn’t turned the ball over and continues to get open in those rare moments when he’s a part of the passing game. His blitz pick-up has improved dramatically, probably from watching what Portis does. However, Betts is a better starter than back-up and he’s playing below par right now. Grade: C
Mike Sellars has mostly been ignored as a runner or receiver, but he’s absolutely blowing blockers up for Clinton Portis. Sellars continues to be one of the best and most overlooked fullbacks. Grade: B
Tight End
Chris Cooley has 16 catches in his last 3 games, all wins for the Redskins. When Washington ignored Cooley in week one, the Redskins offense was awful and the team lost badly. Cooley isn’t a great blocker and never will be, but he’s chipping pretty well and his hands have improved. He continues to break tackles and is a reliable route-runner who will usually get open. Campbell likes throwing to Cooley and Zorn needs to make sure the tight end stays active in the offense. I’d like to see Cooley get more involved around the end zone, as he hasn’t scored yet this year. Washington’s inconsistent red zone offense would benefit from more Cooley near the goal line. Grade: B+
Wide Receiver
Santana Moss is the best player on the team right now. Moss is second in the NFL in receiving yards and leads the team in catches, receiving yards, TD catches and big plays. When healthy, Moss is an elite receiver and he’s healthy right now. Moss is doing the tough stuff — brutal wide receiver screens and flares — not just the glamorous deep post patterns. Grade: A+
Antwaan Randle El made several nice catches and runs after the catch against Dallas, but basically he’s an ordinary possession receiver right now, catching 18 passes and averaging little over 10 yards per catch. Randle El is a first rate teammate and human being, but his production is rather poor considering his paycheck. Still, with the rookie wideouts contributing so little, Randle El remains the best #2 receiver this team has. Grade: D
Offensive Line
The Redskins offensive line has yielded 7 sacks in 4 games — not great, but not terrible either. The line has opened up nice holes for the running backs to run through and RT Jon Jansen stepped in effectively last week in Dallas when RT Stephon Heyer went down. C Casey Rabach, who has been the heart and brains of this outfit, had a complete meltdown in Dallas, though, negating two touchdown passes with stupid penalties. LT Chris Samuels has been an absolute monster in the running game and the Redskins have made a living running over his left tackle spot. If he stays healthy, Samuels is likely headed for another Pro Bowl.
Grade: B-
Defensive Line
After the Redskins lost 2 defensive ends on the first day of training camp, they traded for DE Jason Taylor from the Miami Dolphins. Taylor has 1 sack, but has missed one game, is about to miss a second game and has been hobbled in other games. So far, Taylor hasn’t impressed. DE Andre Carter has demonstrated he has a real problem handling double teams and his 1 sack through 4 games doesn’t inspire confidence. The Redskins have gotten decent push from their interior linemen, DT Cornelius Griffin, Kendric Golston, and Anthony Montgomery. Demetric Evans is a competent rotation lineman at all 4 positions, but you don’t want him starting 16 games. Run defense has been decent at times [Dallas] and pretty bad at others [New York, Arizona]. The Redskins need more of a pass rush from their front four, but Redskins fans shouldn’t hold their breath waiting for it.
Grade: C-
Linebackers
The good news here is that WLB Rocky McIntosh recovered from a devastating knee injury much quicker than ancitipated and is using his quickness to become a better-than-average defender. McIntosh is decent in coverage and playing his side well. He’s second on the team in tackles and has forced turnovers twice. 
London Fletcher is the team’s leading tackler. He plays sideline to sideline and has so far avoided being exploited in deep zone coverage as he was repeatedly last year. A lot of that is scheming, but if Fletcher is not being beaten in coverage it reflects well on him, as well as Defensive Coordinator Greg Blache. Fletcher is the team’s second best defender and best linebacker.
It pains me to write this, but the Redskins are nearing the end of the road with SLB Marcus Washington. The high-spirited ‘backer, whose enthusiasm and ferocity are admirable, has simply lost too much due to injuries the last few years. He can’t stay in coverage with good tight ends and he’s not getting to running backs as quickly as he once did. Considering his salary, it’s hard to see him staying in DC beyond this season.
Grade: B
Secondary
The team’s best defender is Shawn Springs, who took the distinction back for himself after last year’s tragic murder of FS Sean Taylor. Springs is the cornerback who combines rare strength, size and speed, along with a fearlessness in taking on the running game. Springs is the entire package, but his relatively advanced age is making his susceptible to injuries. This is a big problem because the Redskins defense suffered badly without Springs in the first half of the Giants game and could have used him in the last 3 minutes against Dallas. He’s likely to miss the Eagles game, as well, creating matchup problems for the Redskins.
Like Rocky McIntosh, Carlos Rogers has seemingly made a quick and complete recovery froma horrific knee injury. While Rogers looked slow and tentative in the preseason, he’s now playing the best football of his pro career. Coordinator Greg Blache is raving about Rogers’ work habits and believes he is truly a changed player, the player Washington was hoping to get when it drafted him in the first round in 2005. Rogers played very well against Dallas when Springs went down and his interception and 42-yard return against the Cardinals was the defensive play of the first quarter of the season for the Redskins. 
Fred Smoot is a pretty good nickel cornerback, but he’s not physical enough to be a good starter for a 16-game period. Smoot is giving up a big cushion, probably at Blache’s instruction, because his speed is not what it once was. 
Laron Landry is the single biggest reason the Redskins have mostly avoided giving up big passing plays. Landry is patrolling centerfield, intimidating wide receivers and covering up the mistakes of his teammates. Landry isn’t getting interceptions because opposing quarterbacks are reluctant to throw in his direction. Landry is a player whose stats are not indicative of his contribution on the field. If Landry misses a significant amount of time, expect the secondary to degrade significantly in production.
Reed Doughty is a pretty good decisionmaker, but his relative lack of athleticism and playmaking abilities has cost him his job. I like Doughty as a 3rd safety and a special teams player, but he just doesn’t make the plays you’d want from a starting strong safety.
Chris Horton has taken Doughty’s starting job and while he’ll never be a great cover safety and is prone to mental mistakes [as you'd expect from a rookie], he’s accounted for 4 turnovers in 4 games and has won Defensive Rookie of the Week and Defensive Rookie of the Month honors. Not bad for a guy taken near the bottom of the final round of the NFL draft. The Redskins have probably found their strong safety of the future.
Grade: A-
Special Teams
Antwaan Randle El is not a good punt returner anymore. His awful fumble against the Saints kept New Orleans in a game that should have been a blowout. He spends far too much time running East-West instead of North-South and he hasn’t broken a big run in a long time. Washington needs to look elsewhere.
Rock Cartwright continues to be one of the best kick returners in the NFL. His return average of better than 25 yards is consistently setting the team up in decent field condition. Also, Cartwright plays on all coverage teams and is usually the first man down the field to make a play. Without Cartwright, I shudder to think what Washington’s special teams would be like.
The punting and kicking games with P Durant Brooks and PK Shaun Suisham has been spotty. Brooks has had trouble doing everything [more about him in the Youth Quarterly Report] and Suisham has missed some make-able field goals. However, Suisham’s kickoffs have been mostly fantastic, much better than last season.
Grade: C-
Coaching 
Jim Zorn has turned out to be an effective motivator, a good quarterbacks coach and a surprising and innovative play-caller. It is safe to say that if the NFL knew Zorn would be this good he would have been promoted wel before his 55th birthday. Zorn adjusted very well to the shellacking the team got from the Giants and the media and the fans early in the season. Zorn has also demonstrated a willingness to tinker with his West Coast offense and to be flexible with his quarterback. So far, so good. Grade: A
Greg Blache is a fiery leader who likes to pressure the quarterback but doesn’t like to blitz to do it. He’s gotten terrific play from his secondary and pretty good play from his linebackers. The defensive line, though, which was supposed to be his speciality, isn’t playing as well. Much of that has to do with talent. The Redskins have held all 4 opponents under their scoring average for the season, but that prevent defense the Redskins played against Dallas at the end of the 2nd and 4th quarters was abysmal. Grade: B