[the poster]

Consistency & Predictability

Reviewing the performance of the offensive line last night, some good news and some bad news.

The good news:
whether the run or the pass game , it was almost always one person on the line (or TE) that caused the play to fail. Not the whole line.

The bad news:
when you look at preseason games, you dont concern yourself with blown assignments too much. because that's what coaching and practises are for. you concern yourself with watching one on one matchups up front and seeing if people are getting overpowered. because that cant be fixed without better players.

and certain players were getting overpowered a lot.

i watched the first 8 offensive drives.

Notes:
1. For everything good I said about Adam Gettis last week, take it all back this week. He was an absolute train wreck. You'd HAVE to grade him out with an F. Got beat so many times, I have the play numbers here...if you want to re watch the game I can point them out. It's pretty obvious. Consistency for him will be key. Cant be good one week, and lousy the next. He's clearly not ready to start.

2. Polumbus was better this week but you still cant feel comfortable with him.

3. Trent Williams was good, did get beat a time or two but for most part good.

4. the surprising GOOD grade. Maurice Hurt. Decent last week, very solid this week I must say. To me, he's your third guard after the injured starters. If he can play in the regular season like he did last night, that's fine. He did a fine job.

5. Ive said it since spring, the guy who gets too much of a pass on your line is your center. Montgomery. Reviewing his work last night.....TERRIBLE. This guy gets pushed in the backfield TOO MUCH. Check out 2nd play , 2nd drive , 2nd play 4th drive for examples, and a couple times on 5th drive.

Point blank...if you're going to be serious about improving your run game...you HAVE to upgrade at center. It's not a luxary, its not a wish list for you....it HAS to be done. Montgomery is HOLDING YOUR TEAM BACK

I watched a little of Lerebius and Compton when they came in and they struggled. Compton had the biggest whiff of all olineman in the game on one play, Lerebius as I reviewed last week, same goes this week, he's far from ready to play on sundays. FAR.

Fred Davis gave up the sack on the fumble, you cant leave him alone on DE's. Cooley was ok blocking actually had a nice run block or two.

All in all, while it looks bad, on each failed play it appeared to be one guy getting overpowered or missing his block and during the starters portion that guy was most often Adam Gettis.

Bottom line is you guys need your starting offensive guards back IMMEDIATELY though M. Hurt is looking pretty good.

Your o-line rookie draft picks are VERY, VERY FAR from ready.

by the way, quickly, the running backs looked okay except tristan davis. there are certainy running plays where it was blocked up well and its up to the back to beat the free ILB. and he couldnt. ever. he didnt have the vision to avoid or speed to beat and you might as well cut him now, he cant play.

[RayNAustin]

[everydayAskinsday]

[Matugi]

Some of my thoughts:

1. RGIII didn't have a great day, but he was adequate. A lot of the struggles come from restricted play-calling; obviously the coaching staff is limiting what they show by keeping everything basic (no spread concepts, very few pistol formations, a lot of running plays, little play-action, ETC.). The fumble was bad, but it's a learning experience and he'll continue to improve.

2. The offensive line was putrid, but it was also down at least two starters and our best offensive player in Trent Williams was hobbled. It's going to be a problem all season, but this is likely the worst it could possibly look.

3. Kirk Cousins, my man. Doing it against scrubs in the fourth quarter for a most part, but he showed why he was a good investment. Good backups are invaluable and he can likely be flipped for a higher round pick in a few years.

4. It is going to be a compelling battle for the last two receiver spots among Armstrong, Banks, Robinson, and Briscoe. If I had to hedge my bets, the last two will make it and the first two will be playing on other teams this year. A good problem to have.

5. Richard Crawford continues to show off. He's starred through training camp and it's simply continued into the regular season.

6. The secondary, top-down, will be a problem.

7. Alfred Morris showed well with little run blocking.

8. Depth on the front seven is excellent. Solid players all across the board.

9. Please learn to tackle.

[DarthMonk]

[Redskin in Canada]

[the poster]

[Redskin in Canada]

[rskin72]

I agree with several posts thusfar. My takeaway from last evening...

1. While RGIII looked a bit mortal last evening, many of the problems were on the Oline.....although a couple of times when he tried to evade the rush, he was not successful and seemed to me as if he thought his speed would allow him to escape. Also, curious where Cooley says that the offense will look like what the second string is doing with Cousins vice what RGIII is being allowed to do. Not a great night, but not a total throw away either as if nothing else, RGIII got to see a pretty good defense, even if they played a bit "vanilla".

2. Cousins looked accurate, decisive, and in control. While I know Rex will be around this season....wonder if we have to use a second QB in a game if it will be Cousins or Rex off the bench first. Cousins continues to impress me, and I was not on the Cousins bandwagon when he was drafted. And....yes....I realize he was playing against backups....but he was also playing with backups....and he still looked far better than many of the backup's I have seen on other teams this pre-season.....heck, he looks better than Kolb right now.

3. Morris, Crawford, Robinson, Briscoe all impressed me last evening. While Banks had a nice return for a TD, he also did this last pre season against the bucs.....but that did not carry over to the regular season. Based on the pre season games (I did not get a chance to visit TC) that I have seen, Banks is on the outside looking in. Garcon, Morgan, Hankerson, Moss, Robinson and Briscoe.......Banks would be my next WR.

4. Oline is an issue. Even when the starters get back and play.....they will still need time to gel. Just look at how the bears Oline (first team) played last evening........kept our defense at bay for Cutler. It is definitely hurting us that several of our starters are not playing now, and this will carry over into the season as the Oline will still need time to gel, something that should be happening now. Even though we have competition, it may be competition between players that are not quite top tier linemen....outside of Williams. And even he is debatable.

5. As many have been saying for a while, our secondary still looks suspect. And, if Merriweather has a season ending injury, along with Gomes....it certainly impacts how good the secondary can be. Hall did not have a good game....Cutler threw the ball as if our third string was playing. Of course...this leads to the next item

6. Our Dline got absolutely no pressure on Cutler for the most part. As others have mentioned, we seem to be unable to generate a pass rush without a blitz. The bears first team seemed to provide good protection allowing Cutler time to dissect our secondary.

7. Da Bears looked pretty sharp last night (first team).....certainly better than the Bills first team.

8. Can Raheem Morris have his guys practice catching the darn ball for interceptions? Several players in the past two games showed "hands of stone" where instead of a timely interception, the bears ended up with new life.

We should fare better against the Colts this weekend, don't think anyone will confuse their defense for da bears. While I don't want to read to much into preseason games.....we certainly looked like the young, inexperienced team on the field last evening during the first half.

[riggofan]

RGIII's final series in the first half was a 70 yard drive that ended in a FG. Its too bad they didn't get a touchdown on that drive.

I'm glad Cousins did so well in the second half. If there is seriously any talk of controversy with RGIII, I'll puke. But it would be awesome if Cousins can bump Rex.

Btw I'm sure they commented on this in the game thread, but Jason Campbell was painful to watch.

[The Hogster]

I look at what the O Line did for what it is. Trent Williams played very well against Julius Peppers.

Adam Gettis & Leribus are not only backups, but they are rookies who faced a very formidable front seven.

Gettis has obvious leverage issues on some plays, but keep in mind he is an undersized, rookie lineman. He doesn't look out of place, but with coaching, experience, and weight training, he showed that he can play in this league.

Leribeus has played well also. Will Montgomery was getting pushed back a bit, but I think much of that is fan over reaction. Montgomery is what I'd call a steady Center. He's probably middle of the road in terms of the league.

As for Polumbus. I disagree. He has not played as poorly as some say. He's facing the starting defenders, and on most plays holds his own. He's also playing with Niles Paul & Fred Davis, two TEs who aren't exactly superior blockers next to him. He is also supposed to be a reserve, but is forced to start. If Brown can't go, I think he is serviceable but not spectacular. On the sack/fumble, Alfred Morris told the media that it was on him. He released into his route before blocking in pass protection. And, if you look at the replay that's right. So, some of those pressures are not all on the linemen although it may look that way.

I urge people to remember that this line is down 3 starters. The only one who may be out indefinitely is Brown. So, what I'm looking at is a line of young reserves who played well against one of the better front 7s in the game. That's why I am not as pessimistic as some.

Gettis gets to the second level and runs well downfield. He's a rookie though. He will get better. With another draft and free agency, we might have a line that is talented and deep.

[Bob 0119]

[emoses14]

[tribeofjudah]

REED DOUGHTY.....

Give the guy a roster spot. I love tenacity and ball-hawking - swat ball, cause FUMBLE....!!!

[frankcal20]

Coaches have praised him b/c while he may not be the most athletic guy, he's always in the right spot. His biggest downfall is coverage but he's REALLY good in run support and always seems to be involved in the tackle when it's in the secondary.