The Skins dominated possession. It was a good win, one that, in prior seasons, would have been a loss… but, there was good and bad to be gleaned from yesterday’s victory over the Cards.
The good:
Rex Grossman led a 4th quarter comeback, to lead the team to a close win, with a performance that included a tough 4th down TD pass. His decision making has clearly taken a turn for the better… one bad throw was picked, and another interception was clearly not his fault (hard for AA when one wrist is being held by the covering db).
The Redskins dominated time of possession, and played some very tough defense.
The team was penalized only 3 times for 15 yards.
The Redskins did not punt until the second half.
Tim Hightower! (note, he did not put the ball on the ground, even though Card tacklers were mugging him at the end of every run. Perhaps he has learned something about ball security)
Roy Helu! Wow! He is the real deal… and needs more carries… what a delightful problem!
Orakpo and Kerrigan are becoming dominant. Kerrigan is the real deal. I was amazed at his strength on a straight-up power rush from the three point stance… pushed the RT back into Kolb…
Fletcher still on fire.
Byron Westbrook knows how to hit.
Sav Rocca knows how to hit.
Gano makes a game winning FG
Hall in man coverage on Fitz… kept him pretty much bottled for most of the game, and won most of the battles (* see below before you try to burn me). Making solid tackles.
The bad:
Red Zone scoring…
Dominating the game, but letting an opponent hang around…
MacIntosh is getting slow… (Kerrigan should have gotten credit for that sack, btw. He knocked Kolb to the ground… then, Rocky fell on him.)
Why in the world would you get away from the run when it is killing your opponent??? (Kyle says he’s committed to the run, yet he still seems to get cute when he has a short field).
We continue to lack a quick strike capability. How nice would it be to have a weapon like Fitzgerald?
We still give up too many big plays, to wit:
Hall in man coverage on Fitz… Dude! How do you let him get that open when you have no help over the top??? You can NOT allow that to happen. Sucks being a corner… hero>goat>hero>goat. You must get awfully dizzy.
So… It’s good to be 2-0, and atop the NFC East… again, this is a game that we would have lost last year… and the year before. Progress is being made. Yet, there is still concern that the team is not finishing drives in the red zone. When you dominate on the offensive side of the ball, as they did yesterday in the first half, you MUST get touchdowns. If you allow a quality team, like the Cardinals, to hang around, they will bite you… and they nearly did.
It was a game played by a Redskins team that is still learning how to win against a good team… in the end, they figured out a way to do it. That’s very different from years past…
And, that’s a very good thing. HTTR
The lack of mention of Brandon Banks baffles me here. Also, you gotta mention how dominant Stephen Bowen and Carriker were at the ends helping Rak and Kerrigan and Fletcher get the job done.
I think you just did…