Redskins Game Preview Week 2: Rams @ Redskins

Who: St. Louis Rams and Washington Redskins

What: Week 2 of the 2009 regular season

When: Sunday, September 27, 2009 at 1 PM ET

Where: FedEx Field, suburban Washington, D.C.

When the Rams Have the Ball

The Rams have lost Torry Holt and their receiving corps is suspect, at best. This leaves QB Marc Bulger, who has suffered from injuries, poor play and awful pass protection since the end of the Rams glory years, with little to work with on offense apart from TB Steven Jackson, who remains one of the best in the NFL. Jackson should see plenty of carries on Sunday, as he is easily the best weapon the team has on offense. The Rams didn’t throw at all to Jackson last Sunday, a major mistake because the running back is a good receiver and makes big plays in space. The Redskins linebackers are not good in pass coverage and Jackson could exploit a major weakness in Washington’s defense if the Rams make it a priority. On the outside, St. Louis’ only big play threat is WR Donnie Avery, who doesn’t scare any decent NFL secondary.

The Redskins need to pressure Bulger, who makes a lot of mistakes under pressure and is playing behind a revamped and unproven offensive line. The Redskins were unable to get much pressure on Eli Manning last week, but the Rams don’t have that great New York offensive line. If the Skins can’t get pressure with just the front four, they’ll have to blitz. Don’t be surprised if the Redskins use a number of run blitzes to stuff Jackson in the rushing game and force the Rams to the air. MLB London Fletcher needs to have a big day around Jackson, tackling him near the line of scrimmage in running plays and not being beaten too badly by him in the passing game.

When the Redskins Have the Ball

The Redskins will try to run Clinton Portis, as they are much more likely to win games when he gets upwards of 100 yards rushing and the Rams are not a good run [or pass] defense. The Redskins are strongest when they run off LT Chris Samuels and LG Derrick Dockery, so look for Washington to rely on plays over left tackle as long as the Rams will let them do it. Rookie LB James Laurinitais had 15 tackles last week and will be devoted to keeping Portis under control.

Washington needs to get the ball more to WR Santana Moss, who is the centerpiece of any successful air attack the Redskins can mount. The team has been trying to throw deep to Moss, but without success last weekend. Long bombs to Moss would be nice and need to happen, but it is more important just to get the ball to him so if the Rams are doubling over the top to take away the long pass to Moss, the Redskins should pepper the St. Louis defense with screen passes and button hooks to Moss, who makes big gains happen in the open field. This should produce first downs for the offense and eventually force those corners and safeties to edge up nearer the line of scrimmage, freeing space in the defensive backfield for Moss to make a big play.

The Rams blitzed often last week and will likely continue to do so, as that is the style of new head coach Steve Spagnuolo, who usually got the best of the Redskins when he was running the defense for the NY Giants. Washington’s offensive line must not collapse under this pressure and a few draw plays to Clinton Portis may be enough to slow those blitzes a bit. However, St. Louis’ uber-aggressive attacking style will leave them vulnerable down the middle of the field, leaving a lot of space open for TE Chris Cooley and slot WR Antwaan Randle El to make plays. The Redskins must watch out for safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, a turnover-creating machine who killed Washington last year with a 75-yard fumble return for a touchdown that eventually won the game for St. Louis. Atogwe is a speed demon with a nose for the ball and one of the best safeties in the NFL.

POSITIONAL COMPARISON

Quarterbacks: Redskins

Running Backs: Even

Wide Receivers: Redskins

Tight Ends: Redskins

Offensive Line: Redskins

Defensive Line: Redskins

Linebackers: Even

Secondary: Redskins

Special Teams: Even

Coaching: Rams

Home Field: Redskins

As you can see, I don’t rate the Rams with a clear advantage anywhere, apart from coaching, where new head coach Steve Spagnuolo has a history of getting the better of Washington’s offense and Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell, in particular. This game should be a rout and a team with a more reliable and explosive offense would rout the Rams. It’s not responsible to predict such a thing, however, since the Redskins offense has proven to be neither reliable or explosive. But it should be enough to win the game.

Washington 23 Rams 6

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