Redskins vs. Broncos, 3rd quarter review

1st quarter review
2nd quarter review


3rd Quarter

M.Prater kicks 70 yards from DEN 30 to end zone, Touchback.

Washington Redskins at 15:00

1-10-WAS 20 (15:00) J.Campbell pass short middle to F.Davis to WAS 30 for 10 yards (L.Smith, C.Bailey).

1-10-WAS 30 (14:24) L.Betts right end to WAS 30 for no gain (B.Dawkins, C.Bailey). DEN-D.Williams was injured during the play.

Betts has a shot at the corner but Devin Thomas, who is in perfect position to put a real block on Brian Dawkins, instead decides to just slap at him as he runs by.

2-10-WAS 30 (14:06) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass short left to S.Moss to WAS 33 for 3 yards (A.Goodman).

Screen pass. Levi Jones is unable to make it out in front of Santana to block, but I’m not sure I blame him. Santana is out wide, not in the slot, and that’s a long way for a big lineman to go in a very short time. It’s true that RBs and TEs typically catch screens in the same spot, but the the extra few seconds it takes them to get there from their original position buys the blockers some time. In this case, though, Santana took one step downfield and turned to Campbell, making this almost a hitch. Jones never had a chance.

3-7-WAS 33 (13:24) (Shotgun) J.Campbell sacked at WAS 28 for -5 yards (D.Reid, E.Dumervil).

This sack goes on Campbell. He stepped up into the pocket, hesitated (this was the point where the decision to run needed to be made), then reared to throw and was taken down from behind.

4-12-WAS 28 (13:00) H.Smith punts 44 yards to DEN 28, Center-E.Albright, fair catch by E.Royal.

Denver Broncos at 12:55

1-10-DEN 28 (12:55) K.Moreno right end to DEN 37 for 9 yards (D.Hall, R.McIntosh).

2-1-DEN 37 (12:14) K.Moreno right tackle to DEN 39 for 2 yards (A.Carter, R.Doughty).

1-10-DEN 39 (11:30) C.Simms pass incomplete short left to C.Buckhalter.

An easy dumpoff, but Simms felt pressure that was still a few second from him and rushed the throw.

2-10-DEN 39 (11:25) (Shotgun) C.Simms pass short left to J.Gaffney to DEN 47 for 8 yards (L.Fletcher, L.Landry).
PENALTY on DEN-E.Royal, Offensive Pass Interference, 10 yards, enforced at DEN 39 - No Play.

2-20-DEN 29 (11:00) K.Moreno right end to DEN 47 for 18 yards (J.Tryon, R.Doughty).

Andre Carter achieves penetration and should stuff the play for a loss, but Moreno puts a great move on him to break the tackle. Fletcher shoots the gap and has a shot at Moreno as he’s avoiding Carter, but Moreno shows great quickness to come out of that move and regain his speed to the corner. After he’s downfield Hall and Tryon each miss tackles.

3-2-DEN 47 (10:13) (Shotgun) C.Simms pass short right to B.Marshall to WAS 48 for 5 yards (D.Hall).

Redskins only rush three and try to flood the shallow zones with defenders, but someone forgets where he’s supposed to be and Marshall comes open too easily. I suspect Smoot, because he and Fletcher were both in the same place when the ball was thrown, and after the play Fletcher immediately goes over to talk to Smoot and points in Marhsall’s direction – possibly indicating the zone Smoot was meant to be covering.

1-10-WAS 48 (9:33) C.Simms pass incomplete short left to T.Scheffler.

Bootleg, but Carter recovers and pursues Simms to the outside. Simms has Scheffler in the flat for a short gain but panics and throws the ball away.

2-10-WAS 48 (9:27) (Shotgun) C.Simms pass incomplete short middle to J.Gaffney.

The pressure which causes Simmsh to rush is throw is really just the result of holding onto the ball for way, way too long.

3-10-WAS 48 (9:21) (Shotgun) C.Simms pass incomplete short left to B.Stokley.

Again the initial pass rush is stopped and Simms holds onto the ball so long that Rocky comes free to create pressure mostly because the RB blocking him gets tired.

4-10-WAS 48 (9:10) M.Berger punts 16 yards to WAS 32, Center-L.Paxton, out of bounds.

Washington Redskins at 9:03

1-10-WAS 32 (9:03) L.Betts up the middle to WAS 40 for 8 yards (B.Dawkins, A.Davis).

Sellers is at LTE and kicks his guy out, Levi Jones and Derrick Dockery blow through the line and Betts follows on their heels.

2-2-WAS 40 (8:33) L.Betts left end to DEN 49 for 11 yards (C.Bailey).

Sellers takes his guy to the outside again, and Betts cuts to Levi’s left to get to daylight. Betts may have gained more but Devin Thomas, rather than get inside his defender (Champ – remember that guy?) to seal him out, just gives him a head on shove and allows him to grab Betts from behind.

1-10-DEN 49 (7:59) J.Campbell sacked at WAS 44 for -7 yards (A.Davis). DEN-K.Peterson was injured during the
play.

The blitz beats our protection design. Dumervil and one of the ILBs blitz from the offensive right, drawing Heyer to the outside and occupying Betts with the blitz pickup. The Broncose have another OLB threatening blitz on the opposite side, meaning all four of the remaining linemen are occupied accounting for him and the three DLs. That LB drops into pass coverage though, and Dockery is left blocking air as the second ILB comes in untouched for the sack. 3-4 defenses are fun are just plain fun.

2-17-WAS 44 (7:31) J.Campbell pass short middle to F.Davis to DEN 47 for 9 yards (D.Williams).

Nice timing between Campbell and Davis on the short route.

3-8-DEN 47 (6:55) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass short right to D.Thomas pushed ob at DEN 37 for 10 yards (T.Law).

Campbell has a textbook pocket to step up into, but no one gets open. He moves to his right while keeping his eyes downfield, and just before he has to commit to running he sees that Devin Thomas has come (barely) free heading towards the sideline.

1-10-DEN 37 (6:18) R.Cartwright left end to DEN 31 for 6 yards (A.Davis).

Fred Davis seals his man outside, Levi and Dockery turn inside and form an absolute wall. Rabach goes to the second level and picks up and LB, but can’t hold the block long enough for Rock to slip by. In a development so extraordinary that it justified its own post, Devin Thomas comes inside from the slot, sees a DB who is in Rock’s running lane, and blocks him. Just like football players do! He probably gained Rock 4 extra yards.

2-4-DEN 31 (5:49) R.Cartwright up the middle to DEN 31 for no gain (A.Davis, V.Holliday).

The hole line gets push except for Chad Rinehart, who gets stuck and bottles up the play. That said, Rock hesitated in the backfield when he saw the blocking break down. A little decisiveness and a cut to either side may have gained at least a couple yards.

3-4-DEN 31 (5:06) (Shotgun) L.Betts right guard to DEN 28 for 3 yards (D.Williams, A.Smith).

Draw play.

4-1-DEN 28 (4:37) R.Cartwright right end to DEN 30 for -2 yards (B.Dawkins).
Penalty on WAS-M.Sellers, Offensive Holding, declined.

A LB squeezes between Rinehart and Heyer, and Sellers (the outermost of twin TEs right) is unable to seal another inside. There’s also no one else on the right side to block Dawkins, so Rock is chased down by three guys.

Denver Broncos at 4:31

1-10-DEN 31 (4:31) K.Moreno right end to DEN 32 for 1 yard (R.Doughty, K.Golston).

Doughty comes off the edge and takes on a tackle to hold the edge and force Moreno back inside. Wow. Someone buy Doughty a beer.

2-9-DEN 32 (3:54) C.Simms pass short left to T.Scheffler to DEN 33 for 1 yard (F.Smoot).

Smoot is all over the flat route and lays the hit immediately.

3-8-DEN 33 (3:12) (Shotgun) C.Simms sacked at DEN 26 for -7 yards (sack split by A.Carter and B.Orakpo).

Carter beats the LT the outside. Orakpo lines up in a traditional LB spot, rather than up on the line where our SLBs often play. He builds up a head of steam, slams into the LG, and blows him up to make the sack.

4-15-DEN 26 (3:08) M.Berger punts 65 yards to WAS 9, Center-L.Paxton, downed by DEN-D.Bruton.

Washington Redskins at 2:55

1-10-WAS 9 (2:55) L.Betts up the middle to WAS 17 for 8 yards (B.Dawkins, A.Davis).

Beautiful beautiful beautiful. Rabach, Rinehart, Heyer, and Fred Davis form a wall to the right; Dockery, Levi, and Sellers form a wall to the left, and Betts has a wide open alley.

2-2-WAS 17 (2:20) J.Campbell pass short left to S.Moss to WAS 22 for 5 yards (A.Goodman).

1-10-WAS 22 (1:44) L.Betts left tackle to WAS 27 for 5 yards (V.Holliday).

Behind Levi and Dockery again. These two are starting to remind me of the Samuels-Pete Kendall tandem. October 2008 seems like so long ago – I’d almost forgotten what good blocking looked like.

2-5-WAS 27 (1:06) L.Betts up the middle to WAS 34 for 7 yards (B.Dawkins, A.Goodman).

Sellers is in the FB position and lead blocks. Rabach is overpowered and this blows up the designed run to the left. Seller throws himself into the scrum and powers ahead to create a few yards of running room for Betts. However, Betts displays some good vision and make a nice cut to the right to find some open field.

1-10-WAS 34 (:30) Q.Ganther left tackle to WAS 35 for 1 yard (A.Davis, R.Fields).

Levi and Dockery again dominate their side of the line, but Rinehart and Heyer get hung up on their linemen and a ILB achieves backside penetration between them.