Let me say this first: the Washington Redskins are 3-1 heading into their Bye week. If you would have told me that before the season started, I would have been ecstatic. They beat a division rival in the Giants. They took care of two young, seemingly up-and-coming teams in Arizona and St. Louis, and they narrowly lost to the Cowboys in Dallas.
The defense is dramatically improved. The running game is working pretty well, and Rex Grossman hasn’t really cost the team any games, but it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. There were a bunch of good plays in yesterday’s game, but there were a handful of bad ones as well. Kick it!
The Good:
- Where the heck did Ryan Torain come from and why hasn’t he played yet this season? Torain ran the ball 19 times for 135 yards in a touchdown. He passed the 100 yard mark on his eighth carry. He ran the ball with authority and hit the holes hard. It’s clear that his injury pushed him behind Tim Hightower and Roy Helu, but after yesterday’s performance, I suspect we’ll see plenty of him going forward.
- The defense was spectacular. Simple as that. Now, granted, the Rams are pretty terrible, but they’re still an NFL team. They were held to just 172 total yards and Sam Bradford was sacked seven times. Additionally, Steven Jackson, who has hurt the Redskins in the past, was largely held in check.
- Defensive standouts from yesterday include: Ryan Kerrigan (sack, pass defensed, forced fumble), Brian Orakpo (2.5 sacks), and Stephen Bowen (1.5 sacks).
- The offensive line again played well, not giving up a single sack and opening plenty of running holes.
- Sav Rocca and Graham Gano were seen and not heard, which is exactly the way it should be.
The Bad:
- Oh Rex, I keep trying to defend you man, but you’re not making it easy. Grossman had two fourth quarter interceptions. The first one was tipped by Santana Moss so you can’t blame him for that, but the second one was just a terrible throw. He also made several poor throws that very easily could have been picked off. I’m really tired of hearing about the “Good Rex, Bad Rex” cliche, but it really is true. John Beck’s seat is still comfortably on the bench though, as it should be. We’ll see how Rex plays against the Eagles following the Bye week.
- Tim Hightower looks like he’s either tired or hurt. He was largely ineffective yesterday which opened the door for Torain. If he’s not careful, he could find himself in the exact same role that he had in Arizona: a third down back.
- The offense still lacks any kind of vertical threat. Grossman’s longest pass yesterday was 20 yards. Anthony Armstrong was out with a hamstring injury, but it wasn’t Leonard Hankerson who benefited, it was Donte’ Stallworth and Niles Paul, neither of whom had any impact. I still maintain that Hankerson would add a whole new dimension to the offense, but for some reason, the Shanahans disagree.
- Penalties, penalties, penalties! The Redskins committed ten penalties yesterday, four of which were of the personal foul, fifteen yard variety. There were two on special teams (Perry Riley and Niles Paul). DeAngelo Hall got one (again) when he tackled a receiver out of bounds, and Rob Jackson was flagged when he drove Sam Bradford back five yards before slamming him to the ground, for no reason at all.
- Brandon Banks remains a disappointment so far this season. He had plenty of opportunities yesterday as the Rams punted on 90% of their possessions, but he was easily bottled up. He also muffed one but was fortunately able to fall on it before the defenders could get to it. Is there a health issue here?
The Ugly:
- It’s hard to find anything that really fits the “Ugly” category. It was a win after all. I did hear a disturbing stat though. The Redskins haven’t shut a team out since 1991. That’s a sad indication of just how bad this team his been for the most of the last two decades. Let’s hope this year changes that trend.
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