This is the first quarterly report for the Washington Redskins this year. We will do another quarterly report after 8 games of the regular season and then another after 12 games. Finally, at the end of the season, DC Pro Sports Report will have a yearly report on the Redskins. Each quarterly report will look at every position — including the coaching staff and the front office — on the team and grade it on a scale from A through F. We will also give overall grades to the offense and the defense.
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks: Contrary to popular opinion, Jason Campbell is not having a poor season. His 88.5 passer rating is very respectable and superior to those of more celebrated quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Tony Romo. His 65.3 completion percentage is the highest of his career and his 7.8 yards per pass attempt is his highest by a big margin. In most statistical categories, Campbell is playing well. The problem is with the 5 interceptions he’s thrown and the lack of points scored by the offense [27th overall in the NFL]. These problems are not all of Campbell’s making. The offensive line is a mess, blocking poorly for the run and worse for the pass. The lack of any reliable receivers other than Santana Moss and Chris Cooley is hampering the offense, just as it did last year. Unfortunately, Campbell is feeling the pressure to score and has begun forcing some passes, particularly to receivers that are never open. Campbell needs to stop doing that and go back to taking what the defense gives him, even if it isn’t much. GRADE: B-
Running Backs: It looks like Clinton Portis has lost a step [certainly he no longer breaks long runs], but he still runs hard. He’s been stopped on some crucial third and fourth down plays, though, and that’s a major problem. The blocking hasn’t been good for Portis or any other running back — particularly on the right side of the offensive line — but Portis isn’t making guys miss or running through them. He played better last week against and awful Tampa Bay defense, but Washington desperately needs a reliable ground attack. Ladell Betts has taken another step backward, running out of bounds when he should stay in and staying in bounds when he should get out. He seems to be fading quickly and it isn’t clear if he has the support of the coaching staff. The team is desperately searching for some answers at running back, trying Marcus Mason and Anthony Aldridge out, too. And Rock Cartwright has caught a touchdown pass. At fullback, Mike Sellers is having his worst year as a Redskin, just after signing a lucrative contract extension. Sellers’ run blocking — the main reason for him to occupy a roster spot — has been subpar and caused tension with Portis. GRADE: C-
Receivers: Santana Moss has caught two long touchdown passes the last two weeks, restoring a sense that Washington can make a big play in the passing game — as long as Santana Moss is the one who makes it. Moss faces a lot of double teams and those can take him out of a game, but when he’s in single coverage, he is a danger to score on any deep route. Overall, Moss has caught 17 passes for 293 yards, averaging over 17 yards per catch. No other wide receiver is doing much at this point and the sophomore 2nd rounders from last year — Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas, and TE Fred Davis — are a complete bust. Antwaan Randle El played well in the team’s first game and then disappeared. Apart from Moss, only TE Chris Cooley is providing any production. Cooley has a strong rapport with his quarterback and is good at finding seams in the zone coverage. Cooley already has more touchdowns [2] than all of last year and his 22 catches for 254 yards are also better than last year’s Pro Bowl pace. The team continues to make WR Marko Mitchell, a preseason sensation, inactive on game days. The rap against Mitchell is that he made his mark against backups and less than backups, but at least he made his mark. Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly haven’t made their mark against anyone — starters, backups or scrubs. As far as receivers go on this team, it’s Moss and Cooley — and that it. GRADE: D
Offensive Line: LT Chris Samuels isn’t playing as well as he did when healthy last year, but he’s still performing at a high level. LG Derrick Dockery isn’t quite the run blocker he was during his first stint in Washington, but he’s committing fewer penalties. C Casey Rabach is still far too mistake-prone. RG Chad Rinehart, who stepped in after Randy Thomas was lost for the season with a torn triceps, is still learning the NFL game. Rinehart hasn’t embarrassed himself so far, but it’s pretty clear he is not ready to start and play at a high level in the NFL. RT Stephon Heyer was given the starting job early in training camp, which tells you how poor the competition from Jeremy Bridges and Mike Williams must have been. Heyer is a poor run-blocker, routinely getting pushed back and shoved around, and as a pass-block
er, he’s not as good as he was last year. Simply put, Stephon Heyer is a starting right tackle in the NFL, but he’s not playing like one. GRADE: D-
er, he’s not as good as he was last year. Simply put, Stephon Heyer is a starting right tackle in the NFL, but he’s not playing like one. GRADE: D-
Overall Offensive Grade: D
DEFENSE
Defensive Line: The front four rarely gets pressure on the quarterback without the help of a blitz and sometimes not even then. The Redskins are tied for 19th in the NFL with 7 sacks [tied with fellow awful teams Detroit, Cleveland and St. Louis]. Against the run, the Redskins are ranked 22nd overall, giving up 128 yards of rushing per game. Washington gives up 4.3 yards per rush, 20th in the NFL. None of these numbers are good and reflect a line that, apart from Albert Haynesworth, is old and apart from Haynesworth and Cornelius Griffin, isn’t any good. DE Andre Carter is paid well to rush the passer, but he rarely gets pressure, let alone a sack and he’s a very poor run defender. Phillip Daniels is a team leader and an admirable person, but he gets no pressure on the passer and his rush defense has declined. Rookie Brian Orakpo sometimes play at defensive end and he’s gotten some pressure on the passer, but not enough. The fact that Orakpo’s two sacks leads the team tells you something about the rest of the pass-rushers. Rookie Jeremy Jarmon has made a play or two, but he’s also out of position on other plays, reflecting his youth and lack of experience. Clearly, the Redskins need to invest still more draft picks in the defensive line. GRADE: C
Linebackers: MLB London Fletcher is having another solid season, leading the team in tackles [by far] with 54 and also notching a sack. Fletcher is still a tackling machine, though he has slowed a bit and doesn’t get to the sideline as quickly as he once did. WLB Rocky McIntosh is vulnerable on passing plays, but he’s also second on the team in tackles and has forced two fumbles, so he’s making some plays. SLB Brian Orakpo can be put out of position on passing downs and he’s still learning the position — one wonders if he wouldn’t do better as a full-time under-sized defensive end. Orakpo is still learning to read offenses, reflected in the fact that he has only 15 tackles after 4 games. One good thing is clear, though: Orakpo is incredibly quick and can really rush the passer. GRADE: B
Secondary: FS Laron Landry is third on the team in tackles and rarely makes a big play [no fumble recoveries, no forced fumbles and no interceptions after 4 games], so it is difficult to say he’s living up to his 6th overall draft status. Free safeties are supposed to make big plays in the secondary and Landry just doesn’t do it, for whatever reason. Ed Reed he is not. Chris Horton struggled with his assignments and was benched after 3 weeks in favor of Reed Doughty, the former starter who got his job back through hard work and dedication. Doughty is leaner and quicker than ever before and was probably inserted into the starting lineup by coaches in search of someone who could make a big play. Despite not being a starter until last week, Doughty has 22 tackles [5th on the team] and 2 forced fumbles, first on the team. Carlos Rogers continues to drop easy interceptions and his coverage skills have declined from last season, possibly due to lingering injuries. Clearly, Rogers is not going to earn the gigantic contract he wants at the end of this season if he continues to play this way. DeAngelo Hall, who got a massive contract in the offseason, has failed to live up to his paycheck. Hall leads the team with 2 interceptions [actually the only 2 interceptions the team has], but he’s giving a 10-yard cushion to every wideout and he’s already put together a lowlight reel of missed tackles after one month. Nickel cornerback Fred Smoot gives an even bigger cushion than Hall does, misses just as many tackles and isn’t making big plays anymore. How Smoot continues to get on the field is a mystery. Last week he was replaced by young Justin Tryon, a 2008 draft pick. Tryon got a sack and looked far more comfortable in coverage than he did during his disastrous preseason. If he keeps up this level of play, Tryon could definitely replace Smoot as the nickel cornerback. GRADE: C
Overall Defensive Grade: C
Special Teams: PK Shaun Suisham has recovered from a poor 2008 and is kicking solidly so far, though he hasn’t really been tested yet. He even stepped in for some emergency punting last week and didn’t embarrass himself or hurt the team. Punter Hunter Smith was averaging 43.5 yards per punt and getting plenty of hang time before injuring himself last week. He will miss Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers. Smith even ran for a touchdown on a beautifully executed fake field goal in week one. KR Rock Cartwright‘s numbers have declined a bit to 24 yards per return, still respectable, though not exciting. As usual, the team has gotten almost nothing on punt returns; a total of 40 yards on 6 attempts. The coverage teams have been shaky at times, though not as bad as originally feared after a truly dreadful preseason. The fake field goal helps the grade here. GRADE: B
COACHING: Defensive Coordinator Greg Blache has stopped talking to the media, which is just as well since he was picking fights with the media before that. Blache’s defense has declined from last season des
pite an ostensible improvement in the talent. Head Coach Jim Zorn is on the hot seat and might not last the season with the Redskins. Zorn’s offense continues to sputter and under-perform. He’s now under the supervision of a “consultant,” former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis, who will presumably report to the front office what he thinks about the offensive game plan and coaching staff. Zorn has appeared over-matched since coming to Washington. He has admitted doubting his own
pite an ostensible improvement in the talent. Head Coach Jim Zorn is on the hot seat and might not last the season with the Redskins. Zorn’s offense continues to sputter and under-perform. He’s now under the supervision of a “consultant,” former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Sherman Lewis, who will presumably report to the front office what he thinks about the offensive game plan and coaching staff. Zorn has appeared over-matched since coming to Washington. He has admitted doubting his own
game plan and doesn’t seem able to alter his plans during the game the way truly gifted coaches do. [See Gibbs, Joe.] It’s hard to see Zorn lasting longer than this season and by the time the season ends, he may be grateful to be out of a job in Washington. GRADE: D-
FRONT OFFICE: This team was put together by Snyderrato — owner Dan Snyder and his helpmate Vinny Cerrato, who hosts an awful radio show when he’s not pretending to be an NFL general manager. Snyder plays a key role in all personnel decisions, but refuses to answer questions during the season, ducking the responsibility that normally comes with authority. Coaches and players have come and gone, but Snyder [and, to a lesser extent, Cerrato] is the one constant. Snyder hired Zorn as head coach when no one else would work for him — even thought it is not even clear that anyone apart from Snyder wanted Zorn as an offensive coordinator, let alone a head coach. Ultimately and appropriately, the verdict for the performance of this rapidly declining franchise is a verdict on Dan Snyder. GRADE: F
Loading ...
FanSided
NFLMocks.com
Absolutely right on in the evaluation for first quarter. However, its is possible and likely that this team in week 5 will travel in 1 or 2 directions. The Skins are about to IMPLODE or EXPLODE. Its up to them and not us. If they explode, then this team is a playoff team. If they implode, Zorn is gone within 2 weeks. Period.
- spam
- offensive
- disagree
- off topic
Like