Redskins vs. Chiefs, 2nd quarter review

First quarter review is here.

Redskins third possession of first half, in progress

3-3-W40 – Campbell gets a little pressure off the edges but he easily steps up and despite having time he throws without setting his feet. The ball is too high for Randle-El. The protection wasn’t perfect but it was good enough, and Campbell just missed the throw and lost a first down.

Chiefs fourth possession

1-10-K5 – A well executed play fake fools everyone. Haynesworth switches to run mode and tries to maintain gap discipline, meaning he generates to pass pressure at all. Carter almost gets around the outside but a RB comes to help out so Cassel has plenty if time in the pocket. The LBs have bit hard on the run and are up on the line, and the DBs are playing very deep so Bobby Wade is insanely wide open over the middle for a 16 yard gain.

1-10-K21 – A run up the middle. The three interior linemen manage to swallow up Golston and Haynesworth (who plays way too high and loses leverage so his strength is neutralized), and a double team by the RT and TE blocks Daniels to open up the hole. This means the leading fullback is able to get a block on Fletcher, and the Chiefs gain 6 up the middle.

3-12-K20 – The pocket mostly holds up except for the unfortunate LG who is up against Haynesworth. The poor guy gives a good fight but is steadily carried back into Cassel’s face. Haynesworth finally gets past him and crushes Cassel right as he throws. He has a receiver open but the pressure forces a bad throw well behind the WR.

Redskins fourth possession

1-10-W41 – Campbell is well protected and has Santana Moss wide open on a deep post. The fault for the incompletion is, I think, shared between the two of them. The throw was inaccurate, and even if Santana had caught the low ball he would have been downed immediately whereas if he caught it in stride it would have been an easy touchdown. However the ball was very catchable, even if imperfect, and we should have at least gotten a big gain out of the play.

3-4-W47 – Campbell has time again but his feet get skittish and he rushes yet another throw, trying to force it to Cooley over the middle. If the pass hadn’t been so low it may well have been picked by a LB who read Campbell’s eyes and dove in front of the pass.

Chiefs fifth possession

1-10-W33 - Big run to the right. The RG pulls and take out Orakpo’s feet, taking him out of the play. Meanwhile the LG tried to cut Haynesworth’s legs at the snap. Haynesworth stays up, but he’s tripped up a little and while he gets free to come over to the edge he’s a split second too late to the hole. Meanwhile a TE does an excellent job of blocking London Fletcher, and this also closes of Rocky McIntosh’s angle of pursuit. DeAngelo is totally walled off by Dwayne Bowe downfield, and Johnson gains 17 yards.

2-7-W33 – Haynesworth plays high again and, in a rarity, simply loses a one on one battle against the LG. The center slides past this action with the mission of getting a block on Rocky, who is lined up near the usual MLB position (Fletcher is playing aligned really deep for some reason). But Rocky misreads the play and attacks the wrong gap, so the center doesn’t even need to block him, and the RB shoots through the hole and gets a first down.

Chiefs hit a 39 yard field goal. 3-0.

Redskins fifth possession

3-5-W25 – Campbell is sacked, and it’s all on Ladell Betts. The line holds up but a LB blitzes through the gap between LG and LT. Betts picks him up and simply fails to execute the block – the LB gets low and manages to shoulder him aside.

Chiefs sixth possession

Chiefs go 3 and out in 3 rather un-noteworthy plays.

Redskins sixth possession

1-10-W12 – A DT beats Rabach and squeezes Portis’ hole. He only gets a hand on Portis, but holds him up so a safety can close and stuff the play.

2-10-W12 – Campbell again has a nice pocket and hits Fred Davis near the sideline at the 17. Davis breaks a tackle and turns it upfield to get the first down.

1-10-W45 – Betts picks up a safety blitz, and while the pressure forces Campbell to move up he still has plenty of time. Apparently no one gets open, but Campbell is seized by indecisiveness and decides too late to pull it down and run, so he is stopped after 2 yards.

4-2-K35 (6 seconds left in the half) – Campbell has time in the pocket but none of the deep routes get open. Time is expiring, so he throws it to the right side of the end zone where either Thomas or Kelly might have a shot at it, but there are four Chiefs there too and is it picked off. The DB makes a pretty nice return, but is taken down at the 36 yard line by a very impressive tackle by Stephon Heyer.

I think the most significant takeaway from reviewing the first half is that, contrary to my expectations, the offensive line was not the problem. They were not stellar but they were perfectly adequate against the weak Chiefs defense, but the receivers couldn’t get open and Campbell played as if he was under constant pressure even though he wasn’t. So on this second look, the decision to put in Collins appears pretty reasonable.