Redskins vs. Vikings, 3rd quarter review

1st quarter review
2nd quarter review

THIRD QUARTER

G.Gano kicks 70 yards from WAS 30 to MIN 0. P.Harvin to MIN 26 for 26 yards (R.Williams).

Minnesota Vikings at 15:00, (1st play from scrimmage 14:55)

1-10-MIN 26 (14:55) T.Gerhart up the middle to MIN 31 for 5 yards (B.Orakpo).

Golston gets pushed off the line and the center easily controls Maake singlehandedly, so the LG is free to get a hat on Rocky.

2-5-MIN 31 (14:23) T.Gerhart left end to MIN 31 for no gain (K.Golston, C.Rogers). PENALTY on WAS-M.Kemoeatu, Defensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at MIN 31.

1-10-MIN 36 (14:01) B.Favre pass short right to G.Camarillo to MIN 48 for 12 yards (D.Hall).

The WR got way too open. Hall is the corner nearest him, but he has deep zone responsibility and heads downfield. Rogers is lined up over the slot guy – he first freezes on the play action, then turns to race over to the short zone vacated by Hall, but is too late.

1-10-MIN 48 (13:30) B.Favre pass short right to T.Gerhart to WAS 46 for 6 yards (M.Kemoeatu; R.McIntosh). Penalty on MIN-P.Harvin, Illegal Shift, offsetting, enforced at MIN 48 - No Play.

1-10-MIN 48 (13:07) B.Favre pass short left to T.Gerhart to MIN 45 for -3 yards (R.McIntosh; P.Daniels).

Daniels and Rocky sniff out the screen immediately.

2-13-MIN 45 (12:24) B.Favre pass short right to V.Shiancoe to WAS 43 for 12 yards (R.McIntosh, R.Doughty).

Alexander swallows the play action hook, line, and sinker, and gets caught inside to let Favre into his bootleg.

3-1-WAS 43 (11:42) B.Favre pass deep right to V.Shiancoe to WAS 14 for 29 yards (C.Rogers).

Redskins give a four man front, and the LBs and safeties absolutely sell out against the run up the middle. Rogers also hesitates while looking into the backfield, allowing the TE to easily beat him on a corner route.

1-10-WAS 14 (11:04) B.Favre pass short right to P.Harvin to WAS 9 for 5 yards (D.Hall; L.Alexander).

2-5-WAS 9 (10:33) T.Gerhart up the middle to WAS 5 for 4 yards (C.Wilson).

The RG pins Golston to the inside. Wilson is at ROLB and seems to have a good angle but the RB powers through his tackle for some yards.

3-1-WAS 5 (9:56) T.Gerhart left tackle for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

The LT overpowers Wilson (ROLB) and drives him to the outside. The LG, after helping the C seal Daniels inside, gets a hard block on Rocky. Gerhart outruns his blocking which is the only reason Rocky gets a shot at him, but he is still reeling from the block so he is easily run over.

R.Longwell extra point is GOOD, Center-C.Loeffler, Holder-C.Kluwe.

MIN 14 WAS 7, 9 plays, 74 yards, 1 penalty, 5:12 drive, 5:12 elapsed

R.Longwell kicks 64 yards from MIN 30 to WAS 6. B.Banks pushed ob at WAS 26 for 20 yards (F.Walker).

Washington Redskins at 9:48, (1st play from scrimmage 9:41)

1-10-WAS 26 (9:41) D.McNabb pass incomplete short middle to C.Cooley (K.Williams).

McNabb falls getting into his bootleg, and when he gets back up the LDE is in his face, forcing a quick throw. But McNabb fails to see that a DT has an angle to cut off Cooley (in his defense he may have been screened from seeing him by Jammal Brown’s body) so it is very nearly picked off.

2-10-WAS 26 (9:35) D.McNabb sacked at WAS 24 for -2 yards (B.Robison).

Lichtensteiger gets spun around completely by a swim move from the DT, and when McNabb steps up to avoid him he gets taken down because Brown can’t sustain his block on the LDE.

3-12-WAS 24 (8:59) (Shotgun) D.McNabb pass incomplete deep middle to A.Armstrong (K.Williams) [B.Robison].

I wish we could have seen the downfield routes, because clearly everything was deep. McNabb takes a 5 step drop (from shotgun no less) and still waits several beats for something to develop, until the pressure gets to him.

4-12-WAS 24 (8:52) H.Smith punts 42 yards to MIN 34, Center-N.Sundberg, fair catch by G.Camarillo.

4.1 seconds

Minnesota Vikings at 8:45

1-10-MIN 34 (8:45) T.Gerhart left end to MIN 38 for 4 yards (M.Kemoeatu; L.Fletcher).

2-6-MIN 38 (8:15) P.Harvin left end to MIN 42 for 4 yards (D.Hall).

Orkapo gets taken down by a pretty violent cut block from the FB; Doughty initially has an angle to the corer but get buried by a pulling guard.

3-2-MIN 42 (7:31) B.Favre pass incomplete short middle to V.Shiancoe.

Favre rolls out to his right, with his protection sliding the same way. The 8 man max protect obviously walls off the Redskins pass rush, but neither of his receivers gets open until Favre is near the sideline and he is forced to throw rather desperately across his body and misses badly.

4-2-MIN 42 (7:23) C.Kluwe punts 36 yards to WAS 22, Center-C.Loeffler, out of bounds.

Washington Redskins at 7:14

1-10-WAS 22 (7:14) J.Davis left tackle to WAS 25 for 3 yards (B.Leber).

More poor execution of zone blocking. Lichtensteiger is on the DT with Rabach chipping him before moving to his second level block. But Rabach leaves the LB in front of him untouched and instead moves to help Montgomery with the other DT. Meanwhile Davis is forced to cut inside earlier than he would like because Trent is pushed back by the LDE, then Cooley, who is lead blocking after motioning to the FB position, goes to the wrong side of Lichtensteiger (probably due to Rabach’s miscue) and leaves a LB unblocked.

2-7-WAS 25 (6:39) J.Davis left guard to WAS 29 for 4 yards (E.Henderson). MIN-H.Abdullah was injured during the play.

The offensive line creates a great wall to their left to open a big hole for Keiland on the counter run, but he barely gets tripped by a falling LB before he can break a big run.

3-3-WAS 29 (6:09) (Shotgun) D.McNabb pass short left to K.Williams pushed ob at WAS 33 for 4 yards (A.Allen).

Nice job by Lichtensteiger neutralizing a trail blitz. He absorbs the rush from the OLB and slows him down enough that, without all other blockers occupied, he can shove him off and adjust to pick up the trailing MLB.

1-10-WAS 33 (5:44) D.McNabb pass short middle to S.Moss to WAS 37 for 4 yards (P.Williams).

2-6-WAS 37 (5:03) D.McNabb pass short left to C.Cooley to WAS 35 for -2 yards (J.Allen).

The play is predicated on Cooley feigning as if he is staying in to block, letting the RDE get past him, then taking the easy short pass. Problem is the RDE, Jared Allen in this case, is in coverage to compensate for two LBs blitzing on the other side of the formation. So they both stand there rather awkwardly for a moment. The play could still have worked, but Trent fails to square up Allen so Allen gets past him and takes down Cooley for a loss as soon as the pass arrives.

3-8-WAS 35 (4:21) (Shotgun) D.McNabb pass incomplete short left to B.Banks

Note to Trent Williams: It is true that on a screen you intentionally let the pass rush “beat” you. But you have to at least slow them down a little. Trent fails to even make contact with the RDE and McNabb is forced to throw before the screen is set up. Although to be fair, I should point out that the CB on Banks took press coverage to a new level and basically mugged him (including obvious holding) to keep him from getting to the inside to take the pass. But the speed with which Allen (the RDE) was allowed to get to the quarterback left no margin for error.

4-8-WAS 35 (4:16) H.Smith punts 55 yards to MIN 10, Center-N.Sundberg. G.Camarillo to MIN 24 for 14 yards (R.Doughty).

4.0 seconds. Seriously, what happened to Hunter’s hangtime?

Minnesota Vikings at 4:05

1-10-MIN 24 (4:05) B.Favre pass short middle to S.Rice to MIN 44 for 20 yards (R.Doughty).

1-10-MIN 44 (4:05) PENALTY on MIN-R.Cook, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at MIN 44 - No Play.

1-15-MIN 39 (3:13) B.Favre pass incomplete short left to S.Rice (P.Buchanon).

Buchanon reacts well on the comeback route and knocks the ball out. Is it just me or has Buchanon performed much more consistently than we expected?

2-15-MIN 39 (3:06) T.Gerhart right guard to MIN 45 for 6 yards (R.McIntosh, R.Doughty).

Carter is at LDE and sells out on the outside pass rush, leaving an enormous hole when Golston, at the nose, gets sealed inside by the RG. This means the FB gets a free shot on Fletcher, and an effective block by the slot WR on Barnes ensures a nice run. Only a nice adjustment by Rocky from the other side of the formation prevents a bigger run.

3-9-MIN 45 (2:23) (Shotgun) B.Favre pass incomplete short middle to G.Lewis [A.Carter].

I criticize Haslett’s slow-developing blitzes, but sometimes the guy gets there. Carter starts with his hand down at LDE, but lets the pass rush develop in front of him, including a blitz up the middle from Fletcher and Rocky that prevents the line from picking up Carter as he loops around and comes through the left B gap, leveling Favre as he throws.
4-9-MIN 45 (2:17) C.Kluwe punts 41 yards to WAS 14, Center-C.Loeffler. B.Banks to WAS 9 for -5 yards (E.Griffen). PENALTY on WAS-P.Riley, Illegal Block Above the Waist, 4 yards, enforced at WAS 9.

Banks probably should have fair caught this. The middle coverage guys had blown past their blockers, and Banks’ hopeless attempt to make it outside is what compelled Riley to make his block in the back.

Washington Redskins at 2:05

1-10-WAS 5 (2:05) D.McNabb pass short middle intended for S.Moss INTERCEPTED by E.Henderson at WAS 5. E.Henderson to WAS 9 for -4 yards (K.Williams).

Hits Santana right in the hands, and the MLB dives to make the INT. Pay no attention to the PBP guy’s claim that Henderson intercepted it at the 5 and then lost 5 yards – he caught the ball at the 5 and fell straight down.

Minnesota Vikings at 1:59

1-9-WAS 9 (1:59) T.Gerhart left end to WAS 7 for 2 yards (K.Golston; M.Kemoeatu).

2-7-WAS 7 (1:21) (Shotgun) B.Favre pass incomplete short middle to V.Shiancoe (L.Fletcher).

Redskins bring both OLBs, but the main pressure is from Carriker who blows past the RG to get in Favre’s face and forces him to rush his throw.

3-7-WAS 7 (1:17) (Shotgun) B.Favre sacked at WAS 13 for -6 yards (sack split by A.Carter and A.Haynesworth).

The four man front is back; from left to right it’s Carter-Daniels-Haynesworth-Orakpo. Daniels drops into coverage but the other three collapse the pocket rather quickly. Favre has the FB open in the flat, but after pumping to him he inexplicably pulls it down and is immediately buried by Carter and Haynesworth.

4-13-WAS 13 (:56) R.Longwell 31 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-C.Loeffler, Holder-C.Kluwe.

MIN 17 WAS 7, 4 plays, -4 yards, 1:07 drive, 14:08 elapsed

R.Longwell kicks 63 yards from MIN 30 to WAS 7. B.Banks MUFFS catch, and recovers at WAS 7. B.Banks to MIN 28 for 65 yards (J.Brinkley).

Well this return sums up Banks nicely doesn’t it? Terrifying ball security and legitimately exciting return skills. As always with Banks it’s not just pure speed – he reads his blocks well, knows how to pick his hole, and turns on the jets at just the right moment to blow through it.

Washington Redskins at 0:52, (1st play from scrimmage 0:39)

1-10-MIN 28 (:39) D.McNabb sacked at MIN 36 for -8 yards (J.Allen).

Hooo boy. Rabach makes a quick chip on the LDT, then turns to help Lichtensteiger with the RDT. Lichtensteiger is distracted by Trent being beat on the edge by the RDE (Allen) and seems to think Rabach will pick up the RDT entirely, but he doesn’t. So the RDT splits them and McNabb is unable to step up, so when Allen gets around Trent he takes down McNabb easily.