The Redskins 2014 season arrived, and not in the fashion that any Redskins fan could have anticipated. If I told you that the Redskins would combine for 372 yards of offense, with 131 of those yards on the ground, plus Robert Griffin going 29 of 37; you would have thought we were going to score somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-30 points and beat a Texans team that had not won a game in almost a full calendar year. Or, you would have thought that we were getting blown out, and Griffin had to put on another futile fourth quarter stat padder. Alas, this team could only muster six points in a loss that can only be described as vintage post millennial Redskins football; two Redskin fumbles inside the opponent's ten yard line that came off of a tripped up handoff exchange and a receiver stripped of possession in the midst of executing a 48 yard pass play, giving up a blocked punt for a touchdown (our fourth blocked punt in two years), and allowing a 76 yard touchdown pass on a broken play where there was no pressure from the front seven and we relied on Bacari Rambo to A) single cover a speed receiver with no safety help on a crossing pattern because everyone else was out of position, and B) take proper tackling angles. That's right. This game came down to four plays that crippled a relatively well played game on both sides of the ball. These four plays, along with a modest passing performance from Robert Griffin, have caused the Kirk Cousins fan club to furtively stroke their guns during Redskin press conferences in preparation for a perceived quarterback controversy. A closer look at the positives and negatives of this game, however, make a quarterback controversy seem less imminent than one thinks.
Positives
There were a surprising amount of positives to take away from this 17-6 loss. I agree with Griffin and Gruden that there are no moral victories, but isn't it nice to have a competent put/kick returner who can set up advantageous field position? After Andre Roberts's first punt return, didn't you get that giddy feeling like "this guys is going to take it to the house on every punt return" a la Brandon Banks circa 2010? It is nice to have that feeling again, and Roberts's 25 yard punt return set up the only score of the game for the Skins by giving them a 46 yard field to work with.
Speaking of punting, how about Tress Way? No, that is not another on-ramp project being built near Tysons Corner, he is the punter for your Washington Redskins. His 49.2 yard punt average kept the Texans on their own end of the field when the Redskins offense could not get going in the first half. This is a far cry from watching Sav Rocca, and his double chin, shank 15 yard punts from his own ten yard line. I think we may finally have a challenger to Matt Turk's 99 Madden rating.
The offense seemed to be clicking after the first quarter, and Griffin seemed to gain a more confidence as the game went on. One needs to look no further than the third quarter stats. Griffin threw for 123 of his 267 yards in the third quarter, and his touch on the Niles Paul fumble pass was exquisite. Gruden was also able to mix the run and the pass with effectiveness in the third quarter, and credit needs to be given to the offensive execution after halftime. Gruden also began moving the pocket for Griffin after the first quarter with the use of rollouts that kept the defense off balance, which allowed for the running game to open up. The offense did everything it needed to do to win the game, except score points, but their ineptitude at getting into the end zone should not be a prelude to an early Kirk Cousins appearance as the starter. The offense played well enough to win, but the fact that they did not win leads to an analysis of the negatives
Negatives
Griffin has not learned how to maneuver in the pocket. For all his athleticism, Griffin takes bad sacks in the pocket because he cannot avoid pressure in short spaces. This is something that has plagued him his whole professional career, and it was on display against the Texans. One sack came when he had DJ Swearinger bearing down on him and he did not throw the ball away. One sack came when he chose to run outside the pocket and right into the pressure of three defenders, and the other came when he had JJ Watt pressuring him in full view from the right side and Griffin did not even attempt to avoid him. I saw Colin Kaepernick yesterday avoid a sack from pressure that was behind him by stepping up in the pocket and throwing a 35 yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis. Griffin does not have that kind of pocket awareness about him, and he needs to develop it if we want to have a more dynamic passing game.
For all the accolades bestowed upon the defense, they could not come through in the end, and their lauded front seven did not do much to unsettle Ryan Fitzpatrick. Their only sack came when Fitzpatrick bobbled a snap, and there was no consistent pass rush throughout the game. The Texans's lone touchdown pass came because Fitzpatrick had all day to let DeAndre Hopkins run across the field, and the last two drives of the game were extended because we could not get to the quarterback. The defense kept us in the game with big stops, but it was not like we were playing Payton Manning either. The defense needed to get the stops at the end and they came up short.
The glass is still half full
As frustrating as this loss was, there are still things to be optimistic about. The biggest thing is that it is the first game. The Redskins still have time to rectify these mistakes, and two big mistakes were the fumbles that cost the Redskins one score (you have to assume that one of the field goals they would have kicked, had they not fumbled, would have been blocked). If the Redskins can clean up the red zone turnovers I see a Kai Forbath game winning field goal being set up by a questionable roughing the passer/illegal hands to the face penalty against the Jags. If not, get ready for the Cousins fan club to start loading their guns in preparation for all out assault. Hail to the Redskins, baby.
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