Here are the important takeways from the Washington Redskins first preseason game of 2016 – a 23-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
None.
Zero.
It’s preseason, get over it. You can’t draw any concrete conclusions. You think you can. You want to. It’s in your armchair nature to even need to.
But you can’t.
Because it’s just a worthless preseason game.
Having said that, here are some more concrete observations…
Tress Way booted the laces off the ball, and was in mid-season form. He averaged almost 50 yards per punt (48.3), and 4 of his 7 punts landed inside the 20.
Su’a Cravens had a really nice debut. He was very active and noticeable.
Duke Ihenacho can play when he’s not injured.
Martrell Spaight looked good (5 tackles to lead team).
Greg Toler looked a lot better than Quinton Dunbar.
All of the quarterbacks did a good job – relative to their playing time and situation.
I can’t believe Niles Paul got a little injured. *removes tongue from cheek*
Vernon Davis is still having trouble catching the ball regardless of which team he plays for.
The running game pretty much stunk.
The game was pretty sloppy as to be expected. The Redskins only converted 1/3 of their 3rd downs (5/15), and the Falcons 1/5th (2/10)!!
The best factoid for the game? No major injuries.
NFL.com game recap here.
Other less concrete observtions…
The Redskins twitterverse is still filled with Chicken Littles, so beware, the sky is falling.
It doesn’t matter how little the game matters or how little you can garner, it’s still good to have some Redskins football again.
Hail.