Sick. I’m so sick. I feel like I’ve been knocked out, concussed, and am now nauseated… oh, maybe that’s Robert Griffin III.
Before I start, allow me to link you to my keys to the game.
1. We didn’t throw the football. We tried, a little, but we didn’t throw, especially not when we should have.
2. We ran it down their throats, but we stopped effectively running it down their throats late in the game when we still had opportunities. Or we ran in moments we shouldn’t have particularly run (especially with who we ran it with; I’m thinking 3rd and 1 where a QB keeper may have been a wiser decision with everyone committing to Morris).
3. Yeah, we incorporated Fred Davis early and often but he had a key drop early and didn’t really have the opportunities we saw Tony Gonzalez get on the other side of the ball.
4. This one stood out to me. Seemed like Cousins relied a little on this… RG3 did it too, and I’m thinking specifically of the Garcon fumble (challenge overturned the ruling to an incomplete pass). We underestimated specifically how fast this Atlanta defense was, and we paid for it a few times.
5. We did a real good job of shutting Turner down, but we allowed a TD where the entire secondary decided it was in their best interests to let him run clean. Well, his score ended up being the difference in the game where a 3-point difference could have spelled a different finale.
6. …Haslett allowing this 10-to-15-yard cushion against premiere receivers makes me sick, like I’ve been knocked out, concussed, and am now nauseat.. oh.
Anyways, game balls:
Alfred Morris: You sir, are a beast, and way better than advertised. Can’t say enough how grateful I am to have someone this hungry, this devoted, and this humble on the Redskins.
Ryan Kerrigan: Does all the little things most vets think they can get by not doing… well, those little things pay off.
Barry Cofield: I give Stephen Bowen love when he shows up week-in and week-out… you had a pretty damn big game today and I have to give you credit for your performance.
Madieu Williams: Yeah, I said it. If I can knock him for being a bonehead, I can give him credit when he plays a solid game, and he showed up and played a good game today. This is what we need out of our safeties… consistently.
Robert Griffin III: It’s clear how valuable he is to our team. Taking nothing away from Cousins, who IS a rookie and our vision of what a rookie should be is clouded by RG3 and Morris, but there’s a level the team plays at and an energy apparent when he’s on the field that is unmatched. He didn’t light it up, but he did some enough to keep us in the lead/competitive until he went out.
Game losers:
Jim Haslett: I didn’t see zone, and had we won, I may have been tempted not to knock you for anything. However, this cushion from the corners is really starting to piss me off to Haynesworth heights.
Kyle Shanahan: It wasn’t ALL bad, but 3rd and 1… some of the late game streak plays? Man you’ve REALLY got to show me some consistency. This was a HORRIBLE gameplan. I get not everything goes your way all the time, but we started out strong, and WE got flat… the DEFENSE you play is supposed to get flat.
Danny Smith: I… I… … … …
Billy C#nt: You better not be on this roster tomorrow.
Mike Shanahan: You told us Billy Cundiff was good enough in field goals and could boot it out of the back of the endzone. He has lived up to only half of that. It still makes no sense to me anyways. For years, the Redskins kick-coverage team has been among the best in the league and has stopped people INSIDE the 20. The average starting position for our opponents on kickoffs for the majority of the 2000’s was the 17.5 yard line if I’m not mistake. So you sacrifice 2.5 yards every kickoff, for THIS on field goals!?
Billy C#nt: I’m serious. You better not be on this roster tomorrow.
@Sean_Bishop
Good stuff Sean, thanks.