I had a family obligation today, and I missed the first half entirely and listened to the radio broadcast of the second half. This sounds like it was a good win, not just a fluky one, but of course given the circumstances I don't have a real good idea what went on.
I've been wondering about the questions below. I'll have my own opinions after going through the TiVo, but that's not til tomorrow night and, dammit, I want to know what happened. Let me know your take on these, or anything else you think I should know about the game.
- I know the Redskins didn't allow a sack in the first half. Did the gameplan allow for Campbell to get the ball out quickly, or did the line play much better than we're used to?
- Speaking of which - I gather Levi Jones looked pretty solid. Were they giving him a lot of help? Does he look like a keeper?
- How lucky are we to have faced Chris Simms for most of the second half? Was he giving the game away or was it quality play from our defense? Or both?
- Am I reading Redskins Insider correctly that after giving up the big touchdown Carlos Rogers was removed from the game completely? I can see benching him, but it seems hard to keep him off the field even in nickel and dimes situations...
- In general, do you feel like this can be a source of optimism moving forward or was this probably a one-off performance?
Let me know your thoughts.
And for those of you as impatient as I am, Curly R already has a game recap up.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
That game was won squarely on the shoulders of Ladell Betts and his sprained ankle with some assistance from Cartwright and Hunter the Punter who has more tds than just about anyone on the offense at this point. Rogers gave up 2 huge tds from what I remember but I can't attest to if he was taken out completely. Justin Tryon was in there so maybe. Simms was horrendous and the outcome probably would have been different had Orton played the 2nd half. He was not pressured much for the first half as noted by the 2 huge tds he threw. Had Simms been able to make a decision our secondary was still leaving receivers open. The lack of sacks on Campbell is likely due to the fact that we were running the ball. I would say overall they looked more like the team from first half of last year vs the first half of this year.
ReplyDeleteOf course, these are just my impressions since I'm watching it all live, but...
ReplyDeleteI find it... curious... how well the line looks for pass and run blocking with Betts in there. I don't want to knock Portis, because I'm a fan, but... the line really did look pretty good out there. And Portis being out these last two weeks... well, that's the only real difference. Right?
Speaking of the line, I'm a Levi Jones fan so I knew he'd fit in well. And while I wasn't staring him down every play, I think he did well and it seemed like I saw him locked up one-on-one more than getting help. He's only 30. I'd be happy with him as our LT for the next 5 years, for sure. He's solid.
As for Campbell, I feel like he's as good as the teammates around him. He won't make them better, but he won't drag them down, either. Today, he was pretty solid in regard to his performance, but the receivers were getting open, the line was holding, and the backs (Ganther, Cartwright, Betts) were running well. He led a few good, long drives. Didn't take a lot of shots, but I did notice a few times where he pushed it deep into coverage instead of dumping it off to an open RB -- and I thought that was a good thing. Your QB needs to be confident and take chances now and then. I wish he could make faster reads, though.
I'm glad we won but I really wasn't expecting much from Denver. They don't impress me. I know they've got a good record, but they're not really proficient, offensively, and our defense plays so well. I knew it'd be a lower score and we'd have a shot. I didn't think we'd hit for 27, though! :)
I think it might have been a tighter game had Orakpo not knocked Orton out. Simms came in and was just so-so. Lots of short, safe passes. He didn't really challenge the defense. They kind of teed off on him. Speaking of, really loved watching Carter, Haynesworth, and Orakpo. And lots of good hits all around.
I wasn't sure why Rogers was out. I think he's a good cover. Yanking him for blowing the coverage against a good player like Marshall seems extreme. I mean, Moss got his TDs tonight and the Colts kept at it.
Bottom line, I haven't felt good about the 'Skins all year. But today, I did feel good about it. I enjoyed the game, felt optimistic about the play. I lost the feed for the last 7 minutes of the game, sadly, but the rest just made me think we've turned a corner. Maybe not to being a great team, but good enough to ruin our draft pick and not make the play-offs, haha. :)
Of course, I await your final verdict.
Bobisimo - From what I've seen from reviewing the first half, Chad Rinehart really has been an upgrade over Will Montgomery, and Levi Jones over Heyer, so Betts wasn't the only difference. Betts did play well, but to my eyes there was noticeably more push from the offensive line. I suspect Portis would have had a pretty good game as well.
ReplyDeleteAs for Campbell, I shared your evaluation of him coming into the season. But despite the extenuating circumstances, in my opinion he has underperformed even on the rare occasion when his teammates have given him the opportunities. I like the guy, but at this point I have a feeling he's headed on the career track of being a pretty good NFL backup. You can have a good career doing that, and its not unheard of for those guys to have some good late-career seasons.
Jessica - Rogers was beat on the first big play, but the second big play and the third should-have been big play occurred after Rogers had been benched, so I think there were scheme and/or communication problems that went well beyond Carlos Rogers. Looking forward to reviewing the second hald - I have a feeling you're right that Chris Simms deserves more credit than out defense for shutting down the Broncos.