Redskins @ Dallas, 1st quarter review

FIRST QUARTER

G.Gano kicks 62 yards from WAS 30 to DAL 8. B.McCann pushed ob at DAL 46 for 38 yards (H.Blades). Return left side of the field outside the yard markers.

Dallas Cowboys at 15:00, (1st play from scrimmage 14:51)

1-10-DAL 46 (14:51) J.Kitna pass short right to C.Gronkowski to WAS 42 for 12 yards (R.Doughty; B.Orakpo). Pass complete out of the backfield.

Orakpo is slow getting into a stunt behind Daniels and the LT is able to slide with him to keep him out of the pocket.

1-10-WAS 42 (14:12) F.Jones right tackle to WAS 31 for 11 yards (R.Doughty).

Fletcher plugs the gap but loses the collision with the lead FB, while the TE hold Alexander to keep him to the outside.

1-10-WAS 31 (13:32) J.Kitna pass short left to J.Witten to WAS 22 for 9 yards (R.McIntosh). Pass complete on slant.

A hook to Witten – Moore is playing him deep and Rocky is slow getting to the outside to cut off the pass lane.

2-1-WAS 22 (12:55) F.Jones right guard to WAS 20 for 2 yards (A.Bryant).

Carriker and Bryant hold their ground at the line, but the FB again wrecks Fletcher in the hole.

1-10-WAS 20 (12:12) (Shotgun) J.Kitna pass incomplete short right to M.Austin. Pass incomplete sideline; Rogers closest defender.

2-10-WAS 20 (12:07) F.Jones right tackle to WAS 20 for no gain (C.Rogers).

The Cowboys don’t see Rogers’ blitz coming so he gets in the backfield untouched, and the cutback lanes are eliminated by Carriker (RDE) and Holliday (NT) storming through their gaps.

3-10-WAS 20 (11:24) (Shotgun) J.Kitna sacked at WAS 24 for -4 yards (R.Doughty).

The two Dallas receivers to the left have a wide split, there is no tight end to that side, and the one back is aligned to the right and releases straight into a route – so when Doughty and Rogers stage a cross blitz the LT is stuck with both of them. He chooses Rogers, and Doughty gets a free shot.

4-14-WAS 24 (10:52) (Field Goal formation) D.Buehler 42 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-L.Ladouceur, Holder M.McBriar.

WAS 0 DAL 3, 8 plays, 30 yards, 4:14 drive, 4:14 elapsed

D.Buehler kicks 69 yards from DAL 30 to WAS 1. B.Banks to WAS 13 for 12 yards (D.McCray). Return middle of the field.

Washington Redskins at 10:46, (1st play from scrimmage 10:42)

1-10-WAS 13 (10:42) R.Grossman pass short right to S.Moss to WAS 19 for 6 yards (B.James). Pass complete in the flat.

Rex makes no effort to sell the screen, staring down Santana behind the line of scrimmage even while making his three step drop. The LDE reads it (easily – I mean Rex may as well have shouted “I’M THROWING A SCREEN” while in his backpedal) but Santana puts a move on him and manages to salvage a few yards.

2-4-WAS 19 (10:09) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to R.Torain. Pass incomplete in the flat; Brooking closest defender.

Brown attempts to cut the SLB but misses, so the guy is able to interfere with Rex’s attempted pass into the flat.

3-4-WAS 19 (10:04) R.Grossman pass incomplete deep left to A.Armstrong (O.Scandrick). Pass incomplete at the Washington 37 sideline.

A dangerous out. Rex doesn’t lead Armstrong towards the sideline enough and a more alert corner could have picked it. Side note – I noticed last year that the official scorer in Dallas puts way more detail into the PBP than anyone else, and it would appear they still have the same guy.

4-4-WAS 19 (9:55) (Punt formation) S.Paulescu punts 45 yards to DAL 36, Center-N.Sundberg. B.McCann MUFFS catch, and recovers at DAL 39. B.McCann to WAS 30 for 31 yards (S.Paulescu).

3.8 seconds. Despite the poor hangtime the coverage team is mostly able to close, but borderline blocks to the back open a lane up the middle between Sellers and Alexander, then Sundberg, the second line of defense, takes an awful angle to turn this into a really big return. Excellent job of illegal tripping by the new punter – cheating really doesn’t bother me; it’s getting caught that pisses me off. So, well done.

Dallas Cowboys at 9:46

1-10-WAS 30 (9:46) J.Kitna pass short left to J.Witten to WAS 4 for 26 yards (L.Fletcher; R.Doughty). Pass complete on a crossing pattern.

Nice pass by Kitna under pressure. Daniels (RDE) and Alexander create pressure off either edge, and when Kitna steps up to escape them he has to step right into Carriker, who has beaten the RT and RG and lands a solid blow right after the ball comes out.

1-4-WAS 4 (8:57) F.Jones up the middle to WAS 1 for 3 yards (L.Fletcher).

2-1-WAS 1 (8:22) J.Kitna pass incomplete short left to M.Austin. Pass incomplete 5 yards deep end zone; Moore closest defender.

It looks like Kitna wants to go to Witten on the slant, but Carter does a good job of jamming him and delaying the route, forcing Kitna to throw it away.

3-1-WAS 1 (8:22) (Shotgun) PENALTY on DAL-K.Kosier, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 1 - No Play.

3-6-WAS 6 (8:17) (Shotgun) J.Kitna up the middle to WAS 1 for 5 yards (C.Rogers).

Designed QB draw. The LG gets a clean shot on Fletcher and the TE has no trouble holding Orakpo to the outside; only a sound tackle by Rogers prevents a touchdown.

4-1-WAS 1 (7:34) T.Choice up the middle to WAS 2 for -1 yards (L.Fletcher; R.McIntosh).

Bryant and Maake are the middle men in a goal line formation that has no less than seven guys with their hands down. Bryant goes low and takes down the center, while Maake pushes hard against the RG and actually drives him back (see, I’m not just picking on Maake – I tell you when he does something good). This means the RB has to go airborne earlier than he should, and Fletcher and Rocky meet him in midair and crush him.

Washington Redskins at 7:27

1-10-WAS 2 (7:27) R.Grossman pass deep middle to S.Moss to WAS 22 for 20 yards (A.Ball). Pass complete on a curl.

DeMarcus Ware gets his hands on Trent and pushes him back, then almost slips around the outside, then spins back to the inside, all in very close proximity to Grossman. I mention all this because really Trent did a pretty good job to avoid holding in the end zone for a safety.

1-10-WAS 22 (6:57) R.Torain left tackle to WAS 25 for 3 yards (I.Olshansky; A.Spencer).

Lichtensteiger cannot hold his second level block.

2-7-WAS 25 (6:28) R.Torain up the middle to WAS 34 for 9 yards (K.Brooking).

Torain’s vision is questionable at times, but when he sees the hole he damn well drives through it fast and hard. A good cut block by Cooley keeps the ROLB to the outside. The second level blocks by Lichtensteiger and Montgomery on the ILBs are mediocre but they create enough of a seam for Torain to work with.

1-10-WAS 34 (5:53) R.Grossman pass short right intended for M.Sellers INTERCEPTED by G.Sensabaugh at WAS 36. G.Sensabaugh to WAS 27 for 9 yards (R.Torain).

Will Montgomery gets completely blow up by the RDE, meaning when DeMarcus Ware stunts to the inside Jammal Brown is unable to adjust. Torain misreads the stunt and helps Montgomery against the DE instead of picking up Ware. Rex tries to dump it to Sellers in the flat, but Sellers is running a wheel route instead and is heading downfield as the safety makes the pick a good 10 yards behind him. Was Sellers supposed to read the pressure and adjust his route in case Rex had to go hot? Probably.

Dallas Cowboys at 5:43

1-10-WAS 27 (5:43) F.Jones right guard to WAS 25 for 2 yards (R.Doughty).

Doughty lines up deep but he’s blitzing from the get-go. He comes in fast enough to beat the crackback block from the WR.

2-8-WAS 25 (4:58) (Shotgun) J.Kitna pass incomplete short left to M.Bennett. Pass incomplete on seam pattern; Orakpo closest defender.

Thanks, Dallas official scorer who gets way more into his job than all the other guys, for letting us know that this was a seam pattern and Orakpo was the closest defender. You really love your work don’t you? Dallas has an empty backfield, so when Doughty and Rogers perform a cross blitz from the offensive right Kitna has to unload it quickly, and Orakpo is running stride for stride with the TE (in the seam, by the way).

3-8-WAS 25 (4:53) (Shotgun) J.Kitna pass short middle to J.Witten to WAS 3 for 22 yards (K.Moore). Pass complete on post pattern.

Chris Wilson is at RDE and rushes to the outside while Orakpo stunts behind him, but the Dallas line adjusts well and Orakpo runs right into the LG and C. Witten sells the out well enough to take Doughty to the ground, then breaks inside on the post wide open.

1-3-WAS 3 (4:14) J.Kitna pass short right to M.Austin for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Pass complete on up and out pattern 5 yards deep end zone.

Both Hall and Doughty appear to be trying to take away Austin’s inside routes, so when he runs an out he is hopelessly wide open. I think Hall just blew his coverage here.

D.Buehler extra point is GOOD, Center-L.Ladouceur, Holder-M.McBriar.

WAS 0 DAL 10, 4 plays, 27 yards, 1:34 drive, 10:51 elapsed

D.Buehler kicks 79 yards from DAL 30 to WAS -9. B.Banks, Touchback.

Washington Redskins at 4:09

1-10-WAS 20 (4:09) R.Torain up the middle to WAS 23 for 3 yards (G.Sensabaugh).

2-7-WAS 23 (3:32) R.Grossman sacked at WAS 15 for -8 yards (G.Sensabaugh).

The safety comes off the edge and Torain doesn’t even come close to recognizing it.

3-15-WAS 15 (2:57) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short left to S.Moss to WAS 19 for 4 yards (D.Ware). Quick out sideline.

I am nearly left speechless by how terrible Rex Grossman is at selling a screen. Once again he turns to stare down Santana even before the snap hits hands, and throws immediately rather than wait for Dallas to commit to the pass rush.

4-11-WAS 19 (2:25) (Punt formation) S.Paulescu punts 39 yards to DAL 42, Center-N.Sundberg. B.McCann ran ob at WAS 35 for 23 yards.

3.5 seconds. Here at SM we call that “Hunter-worthy.”

Dallas Cowboys at 2:17

1-10-WAS 35 (2:17) J.Kitna pass incomplete short middle to J.Witten. Pass incomplete at the Washington 20 on crossing pattern; Barnes closest defender.

2-10-WAS 35 (2:12) J.Kitna pass short left to F.Jones to WAS 20 for 15 yards (A.Carriker). Pass complete on screen pass.

You see Rex, this is how you throw a screen. Kitna makes it look at least plausible that he intends to throw downfield, so Holliday (RDE) and Bryant get sucked in and Kitna can drop it right over their heads.

1-10-WAS 20 (1:32) T.Choice up the middle to WAS 15 for 5 yards (M.Kemoeatu). PENALTY on WAS-A.Carriker, Defensive Offside, 5 yards, enforced at WAS 20 - No Play.

Maake is back in at nose just because Jim Haslett hates me. He is easily controlled by the LG, which lets a double team tee off on Rocky to open a huge hole.

1-5-WAS 15 (1:08) J.Kitna sacked at WAS 22 for -7 yards (L.Fletcher). PENALTY on DAL-D.Free, Illegal Block Above the Waist, 10 yards, enforced at WAS 15 - No Play.

Carriker reads the bootleg off play action and tracks Kitna down the line of scrimmage, while Alexander is all over the TE in the flat so there is no dumpoff option.

1-15-WAS 25 (:29) (Shotgun) J.Kitna pass incomplete deep left to M.Johnson. Pass incomplete "fly" pattern; Buchanon closest defender.

It's not really a fly pattern - it's a "fly" pattern. Apparently.

2-15-WAS 25 (:23) T.Choice left tackle to WAS 23 for 2 yards (K.Barnes).

Barnes is now in at strong safety; he makes a nice read on the run and slips past the WR’s crackback block to put a good hit on the RB. No neon vomit involved, but a pretty good hit.