Redskins Journal

By Rich Campbell

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Week 9: Game Balls and Gassers, and more

Nov. 11, 2009 2:58 am

Here's my recap of the Redskins' best and worst performances from Sunday's 31-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. I've also included some of my random thoughts and observations after re-watching the game on DVR.

GAME BALLS

Brian Orakpo, LB: He had two sacks and now leads all NFL rookies with 5.5 on the season. He made a great read on his first one. He was responsible for covering Atlanta running back Verron Haynes if Haynes released into a pass route. But once Haynes went to chip Albert Haynesworth on the right edge, Orakpo switched his sights to quarterback Matt Ryan and pulled him down. That was some impressive quick thinking.

Kedric Golston, DT: He continued his streak of fine play. He provided a great push to help force an intentional grounding penalty. Earlier, he made a terrific hustle play to get down the field after a screen pass and make a tackle. Golston has really improved since a lackluster start to the season. He's one of the Redskins' best defenders right now.

Rocky McIntosh, LB: McIntosh made an incredibly athletic catch on his interception. He also did well in his pass drop on that play, turning his back to the line of scrimmage to get depth and then turning and finding the ball. On the down side, he and London Fletcher both bit on a decoy and chased the play in the wrong direction on Michael Turner's 30-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Still, he was a bright spot.

Ladell Betts, RB: Betts showed a greater burst attacking the line of scrimmage than Clinton Portis has in a long time. He finished with 70 yards and a touchdown on only 15 carries. Betts says that he's a much better runner when he gets a lot of carries and develops a rhythm. He'll probably have a chance to back that up on Sunday against Denver.

Jason Campbell, QB: He didn't make all of his reads or his throws, but he was as tough as nails. He returned to the game after suffering a painful ankle injury in the fourth quarter. He's not going to quit on this team, even if the offensive line is hanging him out to dry.

Shaun Suisham, K: Add a 48-yard field goal to his stat sheet. He's having a fantastic season.

Sam Paulescu, P: He averaged 50 yards (46 net) on three punts because he was able to control his emotions and relax. That's impressive for a player who knows he's punting for his future with each kick.

Fred Davis, blocking TE: For as much criticism as Davis rightfully fielded after his atrocious blocking in the Philly game, his extra blocking practice in the bye week paid off against Atlanta. He wasn't dominant, and he was beaten on one of the Falcons' five sacks, but he got a much better push overall because of a lower pad level, improved hand placement and better footwork. Let's see if he can keep it up.

Todd Yoder, TE: What a sensational touchdown catch. He pushed off the defender covering him so he could get some separation, and he made an athletic run and leap to keep the Redskins in the game. He didn't block all that well in short yardage at the goal line, but the catch made up for it, and then some.

GASSERS

Mike Williams, RT: He's just not good enough to be successful in the NFL right now. His technique was really bad-he didn't keep his head up, his feet were too slow, his punch wasn't strong enough and his hand placement was poor. Rarely does a team get better when someone in the starting lineup goes down, but, depending on how much Levi Jones has progressed, the Redskins might actually benefit from Williams' ankle injury. That's twisted, I know.

Will Montgomery, RG: If Chad Rinehart isn't good enough to play ahead of Montgomery, then the Redskins should give up on him. Montgomery was as bad as Williams. He was pushed back way too often. On the failed fourth-and-1 pass from Todd Collins to Mike Sellers in the fourth quarter, Montgomery was pushed back so far that Sellers tripped over him and couldn't get upfield. Montgomery also seems to have trouble keeping his feet. He falls down too much. In my humble opinion, the Redskins need to go with The Rhino here and see what they have, because Montgomery is giving them next to nothing.

Casey Rabach, C: Rabach is Falcons DT Jonathan Babineaux's new favorite player. Babineaux owned him and had a career game. Rabach committed two holding penalties and allowed pressure on several other plays. His pad level was too high at times, which allowed Babineaux to get underneath him and push him back. We're seeing a stunning decline with Rabach, and it's especially painful to watch because he's a locker room leader, a steadying veteran presence and a good dude.

Stephon Heyer, LT: Ironically, he played better in the first half than in the second half. But his feet were too slow, he didn't block well moving laterally, he was too slow getting to the edge on a wide receiver screen, he added to his holding penalty total, etc, etc.

LaRon Landry, FS: His tumbling tackle attempt (can it even be called that?) on Michael Turner's 58-yard touchdown run was awful. I was amused to hear how incredulous FOX analyst Daryl Johnston was about it. Anyway, the play made me wonder whether getting trucked by Brandon Jacobs in last year's opener still weighs on Landry's mind. We asked him after the game about choosing to go high or low on tackles, and he said: "If you take a charge, you might get run over or you might make the tackle. You've got to make a choice and make a tackle." Sure looked like he had no intention of squaring Turner up.

DeAngelo Hall, CB: He now has three high-profile missed tackles. The two-hand-touch attempt on Mario Manningham's touchdown in the opener, the Jake Delhomme bootleg in short yardage at the end of the Carolina game, and his weak attempt to bring down Michael Turner on Turner's 58-yard scoring run. I sense a trend.

Fred Davis, receiving TE: He dropped a pass that Atlanta intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Yes, he had to reach up for the ball, but he got both hands on it. That has to be caught. All that blocking improvement and he still couldn't avoid a gasser.

Chris Wilson, LB: He momentarily took his eyes off tight end Tony Gonzalez in a goal-line situation and instead looked into the backfield. Gonzalez used the split-second to get all the separation that he needed for a touchdown catch. Wilson has to "keep his eyes on his work," as defensive coordinator Greg Blache likes to say.

Carlos Rogers, CB: I get that the Redskins want their corners to play off-man coverage a lot. But Rogers was giving up too much cushion and wasn't breaking on the ball in time. On one play, he gave up 12 yards to Roddy White at the snap. White, predictably, ran past the first-down marker and stopped for an easy first-down catch. Off-man coverage only works if corners are breaking on the ball and close enough to the receiver to do something about it.

Santana Moss, WR: He dropped three passes. That's uncharacteristic of him.

Reed Doughty, SS: He lined up offsides on a punt and gave the Falcons a first down. That's elementary stuff.

Albert Haynesworth, DT: He did well rushing the passer, but he gave the Falcons a first down inside the 10 yard-line by watching Matt Ryan's feet instead of watching the ball. That's elementary stuff. ...and it led to a touchdown.

Justin Tryon, CB: He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for not immediately re-entering the field of play as the gunner in punt coverage. Again, elementary stuff.

...did I miss anyone?

Some thoughts and observations:

*The Redskins blitzed five guys three separate times during Atlanta's two-minute drill at the end of the first half. Justin Tryon blitzed from the slot all three times. On two of those, he was five yards from the line of scrimmage at the snap. Washington didn't blitz much more than that.

*The stunts that Brian Orakpo and Albert Haynesworth ran were effective in getting them in one-on-one blocking matchups. The stunts aren't new, but they were effective on Sunday.

*I saw Andre Carter get chipped by a running back only once. I guess you can't expect two sacks from him every game.

*The Redskins' young receivers could learn a thing or two from the way Santana Moss ran his slant on a first-and-20 late in the third quarter. Moss lined up wide to the left, set the defensive back up by faking out hard, stuck his left foot in the ground and exploded back to the inside. Jason Campbell hit him for a 15-yard gain.

*The bootleg to the right seems to be the Redskins' best play right now. They ran it successfully with three different receivers: Antwaan Randle El, Mike Sellers and Fred Davis. All three receivers sold the run fake beautifully.

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Rich Campbell joined The Free Lance-Star as a sports writer in Sept. 2007 and covered the Washington Nationals until Jan. 2008. He is not related to Jason Campbell, but he does cover the Washington Redskins and local high school sports.

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