Redskins @ Chargers, 1st quarter review

Last game review of the year. Play by play is taken from the NFL Game Book, then I added my commentary in its own font.

1st Quarter

G.Gano kicks 72 yards from WAS 30 to SD -2. D.Sproles to SD 25 for 27 yards (H.Blades).

San Diego Chargers at 15:00, (1st play from scrimmage 14:56)

1-10-SD 25 (14:56) PENALTY on SD-B.Dombrowski, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at SD 25 - No Play.

1-15-SD 20 (14:56) (Shotgun) P.Rivers pass short right to C.Davis to SD 29 for 9 yards (H.Blades).

The first of many screens. A wide receiver does a good job of boxing out DeAngelo Hall, and two linemen get outside and while they don’t land crushing blocks they create enough interference to mess up the defenders’ pursuit angles.


2-6-SD 29 (14:18) P.Rivers pass deep middle to M.Floyd to WAS 46 for 25 yards (B.Orakpo).

The defensive line continues its practice of almost getting to the quarterback. Daniels at LDE stunts inside of Cornelius Griffin. The Chargers do not adjust well – the guard on Griffin is unable to pass him off to the RT – so in effect Griffin faces a double team. Griffin hits Rivers just after the ball is thrown to a big void in the downfield coverage.

1-10-WAS 46 (13:41) L.Tomlinson left end to WAS 46 for no gain (C.Rogers).

Carter at RDE takes on a pulling RG but slips under his inside shoulder, thus denying the corner and forcing the RB wide, where he is almost brought down by HB Blades who gets into the backfield due to a lackadaisical block by a TE. This forces the RB even farther to the sideline, where he is chased down by DeAngelo Hall, who managed to evade a noticeably lazy block by a WR.

2-10-WAS 46 (13:02) P.Rivers pass short left to L.Tomlinson to WAS 31 for 15 yards (H.Blades).

Golston is the only lineman who reads the screen but he isn’t quite fast enough to break it up.

1-10-WAS 31 (12:16) P.Rivers pass incomplete short middle to D.Sproles.

2-10-WAS 31 (12:11) (Shotgun) P.Rivers pass incomplete deep middle to A.Gates (F.Smoot).

Lorenzo Alexander lines up at DT and gets past the RG with a spin move (his favorite move by far) and is only tripped a little by the RB who tries to pick him up. He hits Rivers forcing a high throw which sails over Antonio Gates and land right in Smoot’s hands – and he drops it on the way down.

3-10-WAS 31 (12:05) (Shotgun) P.Rivers pass short right to L.Tomlinson to WAS 29 for 2 yards (D.Hall).

Another screen, and DeAngelo Hall does a great job evading a lineman to make the open-field tackle.

4-8-WAS 29 (11:27) N.Kaeding 47 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-D.Binn, Holder-M.Scifres.

WAS 0 SD 3, 8 plays, 46 yards, 3:38 drive, 3:38 elapsed

N.Kaeding kicks 67 yards from SD 30 to WAS 3. R.Cartwright to WAS 21 for 18 yards (K.Osgood, C.Spillman).

Washington Redskins at 11:22, (1st play from scrimmage 11:18)

1-10-WAS 21 (11:18) J.Campbell pass incomplete short right to F.Davis.

2-10-WAS 21 (11:14) Q.Ganther right end to WAS 22 for 1 yard (S.Gregory, L.English).

Ganther could have had a shot at the corner but a safety reads the play and Fred Davis fails to block him effectively.

3-9-WAS 22 (10:34) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass incomplete short right to A.Randle El.

4-9-WAS 22 (10:29) H.Smith punts 38 yards to SD 40, Center-E.Albright. D.Sproles to SD 39 for -1 yards (R.Cartwright).

San Diego Chargers at 10:19

1-10-SD 39 (10:19) (Shotgun) P.Rivers pass short left to C.Davis to SD 48 for 9 yards (A.Carter).

Orakpo reads the WR screen immediately, but the LT makes it to the outside quick enough to block him out of the play. That and a solid WR block against an unidentified corner create a good gain.

2-1-SD 48 (9:47) P.Rivers pass incomplete short left to M.Floyd.

3-1-SD 48 (9:41) D.Sproles right end ran ob at WAS 40 for 12 yards (L.Fletcher).

The RT pulls to the outside and knocks Hall out of the play. Tryon has an angle on the RB but even though the WR misses his block he manages to grab Tryon around the waist as he runs by and trip him up to keep the hole open. Kareem Moore has a shot in the open field but Sproles’ quickness causes him to miscalculate his dive and miss badly.

1-10-WAS 40 (9:12) P.Rivers pass short right to M.Floyd ran ob at WAS 28 for 12 yards.

1-10-WAS 28 (8:45) P.Rivers pass incomplete deep right to A.Gates.

2-10-WAS 28 (8:39) (Shotgun) P.Rivers pass short left to M.Floyd to WAS 19 for 9 yards (C.Rogers).

Soft coverage by Rogers opens up an easy out route.

Timeout #1 by SD at 08:14.

3-1-WAS 19 (8:14) P.Rivers pass incomplete deep right to A.Gates.

Orakpo has man coverage on Antonio Gates and to the surprise of no one he get beat by about 4 steps. Luckily, Rivers just misses the throw.

4-1-WAS 19 (8:09) P.Rivers pass short left to M.Floyd to WAS 13 for 6 yards (L.Fletcher).

The WR subtly fakes a move to the outside, freezing Rogers and opening up the quick slant. The ball appears to slip in Rivers’ hands, so he executes a sort of two-handed chest pass. It comes up short, but the WR is able to go to the ground and get it.

1-10-WAS 13 (7:26) L.Tomlinson left end to WAS 12 for 1 yard (K.Moore).

The RG pulls to the left edge, but Andre Carter lowers his shoulder and absolutely blows him up. This also interferes with the FB’s route to the corner, allowing Rocky to come unblocked and force the RB farther outside where he is easily chased down by the rest of the defense.

2-9-WAS 12 (6:47) P.Rivers pass incomplete short middle to M.Floyd.
Hall completely blankets the WR in the end zone.

3-9-WAS 12 (6:42) (Shotgun) P.Rivers pass short left to A.Gates for 12 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Orakpo and Alexander nearly collapse the offensive left side of the pocket, but Rivers makes the throw just in time despite not really being able to step into it. The Redskins are once again the victim of a miscommunication in coverage, and its impossible to tell with certainty who blew the assignment. Gates comes from the LTE spot, but when the RB runs a short hook to the left it freezes both Rogers and an unidentified LB, so Gates runs straight through them and Kareem Moore is unable to make it to the corner of the end zone before Gates makes the catch. Rogers is the prime suspect, but it also appears Moore was too slow to recognize what was happening.

N.Kaeding extra point is GOOD, Center-D.Binn, Holder-M.Scifres.

WAS 0 SD 10, 11 plays, 61 yards, 3:43 drive, 8:24 elapsed

N.Kaeding kicks 68 yards from SD 30 to WAS 2. R.Cartwright to WAS 30 for 28 yards (M.Harris).

Washington Redskins at 6:36, (1st play from scrimmage 6:30)

1-10-WAS 30 (6:30) J.Campbell pass short left to M.Kelly to WAS 32 for 2 yards (A.Cromartie).

2-8-WAS 32 (5:59) Q.Ganther up the middle to WAS 41 for 9 yards (P.Oliver, C.Spillman).

Great, great vision and quickness. This appears it was meant to be a counter play with blocking action to the left and a run to the right. Casey Rabach allows penetration by the DT, but Ganther makes his cut to the right side and evades him. Fred Davis and Stephon Heyer successfully seal the LOLB and LDE to the inside, and Ganther slips right behind them. A DB is unblocked on the play side but takes a poor angle into the backfield, and Ganther zips past him.

1-10-WAS 41 (5:16) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass short left to M.Kelly pushed ob at WAS 48 for 7 yards (A.Cromartie).

2-3-WAS 48 (4:56) Q.Ganther up the middle to SD 48 for 4 yards (K.Burnett).

Sellers, leading from FB, kicks a LB to the offensive left and creates a nice lane for Ganther to cut back off the line’s blocking to the right. Two defenders nearly fill the hole but Ganther splits them and powers through their tackles for the first down.

1-10-SD 48 (4:19) Q.Ganther up the middle to WAS 48 for -4 yards (S.Gregory).

The safety very visibly walks up to the line, but no one notices him and no adjustment is made to the obvious blitz. He comes in free and takes down Ganther right after the ball is handed off.

2-14-WAS 48 (3:37) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass short right to S.Moss ran ob at SD 36 for 16 yards (S.Gregory).

The other receivers run deep routes, and a huge void is left as Santana runs a shallow cross. Two defenders – a LB and a DB – are pursuing Moss when he turns upfield, but the DB takes a bad angle (underestimating Moss’ speed, somehow) and the LB just quits on the play.

1-10-SD 36 (3:06) PENALTY on WAS-F.Davis, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at SD 36 - No Play.

1-15-SD 41 (2:39) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass incomplete short right to M.Kelly.

Jason had Kelly on an easy comeback route against soft coverage, but despite a lack of pressure he just throws it high and wide.

2-15-SD 41 (2:35) J.Campbell pass short middle to Q.Ganther to SD 34 for 7 yards (B.Siler).

3-8-SD 34 (1:52) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass incomplete short right to S.Moss [S.Phillips].

A safety blitzes, but Rock picks him up well. An ILB also blitzes and attacks Rabach’s right shoulder, driving him to that side. But the LOLB stunts inside and exploits the lane just created. Rabach and Dockery both try to stop him and manage to bring him to the ground, but as he dives forward he is able to take out Campbell’s feet as he throws.

4-8-SD 34 (1:52) (Punt formation) PENALTY on WAS-H.Smith, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at SD 34 - No Play.

4-13-SD 39 (1:45) H.Smith punts 19 yards to SD 20, Center-E.Albright, fair catch by D.Sproles.

San Diego Chargers at 1:40

1-10-SD 20 (1:40) B.Volek pass deep right to M.Floyd to WAS 30 for 50 yards (K.Moore).

WR puts on a subtle little move and leaves DeAngelo Hall in the dust.

1-10-WAS 30 (:55) C.Davis left end to WAS 26 for 4 yards (K.Moore).

A reverse. Volek makes a valiant effort to block Orakpo on the play side, but Orakpo shrugs him off and pursues to the outside and forces the WR wide enough the Moore gets a good angle.

2-6-WAS 26 (:20) B.Volek pass incomplete short middle to M.Tolbert.
3-6-WAS 26 (:16) (Shotgun) B.Volek pass short right to M.Floyd to WAS 19 for 7 yards (D.Hall, F.Smoot).