Redskins-Rams 2nd quarter review

First quarter review is here.

Second Quarter        

3-7-WAS 40 (15:00) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep left to M.Sims-Walker.

Redskins get a little lucky here. Barnes assumes responsibility for the deep coverage on the go route but is slightly late getting over and Bradford places the ball well.

4-7-WAS 40 (14:55) D.Jones punts 30 yards to WAS 10, Center-J.McQuaide, downed by SL.

Washington Redskins at 14:46

1-10-WAS 10 (14:46) R.Grossman pass incomplete short middle to F.Davis (J.Bannan).

This is one of those terrifying Rex throws. Lichtensteiger goes to the ground but leaves his DT standing. For reason unknown Rex, while sliding to the right with the moving pocket, tries to force it over the middle to Davis on the slant, and the DT is in the passing lane and easily knocks it in the air.

2-10-WAS 10 (14:42) R.Helu right tackle to WAS 15 for 5 yards (D.Stewart).

This run really showcases Roy Helu’s outstanding vision. This being an inside zone to the right, Helu initially aims at Chris Chester’s right hip. Williams and Montgomery both go straight to the second level, but both block the LB. That leaves an unblocked safety in the right B gap. Helu cuts hard and slips through the gap to Chester’s left.

3-5-WAS 15 (14:00) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass incomplete short left to F.Davis (D.Stewart).

Helu picks up the (obviously) blitzing MLB, but Jammal Brown is easily beaten around the edge by the LDE. But Rex is staring down Davis from the beginning because his route is aimed at the sticks, so he has time to get it out but is denied by blanket coverage.

4-5-WAS 15 (13:55) S.Rocca punts 56 yards to SL 29, Center-N.Sundberg, downed by WAS.

One of the few weak punts we’ve seen from Rocca this year, and it still worked out. It carries for 3.9 seconds and 37 yards, but the returner is playing very, very deep and lets it drop, whereup on rolls for an additional 19 yards. That’s a benefit of a strong punter I hadn’t thought of – because returners have to respect his leg they are not in a position to take advantage of the few short punts that do occur.

St. Louis Rams at 13:42

1-10-SL 29 (13:42) S.Jackson right tackle to SL 32 for 3 yards (B.Orakpo).

Stephen Bowen penetrates but overpursues and leaves what would be a big cutback lane to the backside, but Orakpo overpowers the TE and shoves him to the ground to fill the hole.

2-7-SL 32 (13:07) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to S.Jackson (B.Cofield).

3-7-SL 32 (13:01) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to A.Pettis [R.McIntosh].

Four man nickel front. Kerrigan takes his rush extra wide, drawing both  the TE and RT. That means that Rocky’s delayed blitz comes free through the B gap. If Orakpo had also rushed to the outside this may have been a sack, but he tried an inside spin move that just got him caught in the scrum in the middle field and may or may not have forced Fletcher to abandon his own blitz.

4-7-SL 32 (12:55) D.Jones punts 46 yards to WAS 22, Center-J.McQuaide. B.Banks MUFFS catch, and recovers at WAS 24. B.Banks to WAS 26 for 2 yards (D.Curry).

Ball security has been a concern with Banks since the 2010 preseason, and so far he has lucked out in the games that count. One of these days, he’s going to give away a turnover.

Washington Redskins at 12:45

1-10-WAS 26 (12:45) R.Grossman pass short left to C.Cooley pushed ob at WAS 30 for 4 yards (B.Leber).

2-6-WAS 30 (12:16) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to C.Cooley (D.Stewart).

Play action to the left means Hightower is not available to pick up the corner blitzing from the offensive right.

3-6-WAS 30 (12:09) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short right to S.Moss to WAS 37 for 7 yards (B.Fletcher).           

Hightower’s cut on the LB blitzing through the left B gap gives Rex the time to hit Santana, who is sprung open by the trips bunch run against the Rams man coverage.

1-10-WAS 37 (11:40) T.Hightower left tackle to WAS 35 for -2 yards (F.Robbins).

Trent completely loses his footing and lets the RDE blast into the backfield, while Brown simultaneously gives up the backside penetration.

2-12-WAS 35 (10:57) T.Hightower right tackle to WAS 39 for 4 yards (C.Dahl).

Hightower misses one here. A huge cutback lane opens to Montgomery’s left, but Hightower has already pressed it to far downfield and is forced to cut to Montgomery’s right and into a bunch of traffic, although some nifty moves save him from getting stuffed.

3-8-WAS 39 (10:14) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to D.Stallworth [E.Sims].

PENALTY on WAS-R.Grossman, Intentional Grounding, 11 yards, enforced at WAS 39.

Clearly someone gets open out of the trips bunch to the left as Rex starts to throw right as he reaches the top of his 5 step drop, but Montgomery lets a stunting LDE push him into the center of the pocket. Rex is forced to pull the ball down, and doesn’t take care to get out of the tackle box before throwing it away.

4-19-WAS 28 (10:05) S.Rocca punts 39 yards to SL 33, Center-N.Sundberg. A.Pettis MUFFS catch, touched at SL 35, recovered by SL-D.Curry at SL 41. D.Curry to SL 41 for no gain (N.Sundberg). PENALTY on WAS-P.Riley, Unnecessary Roughness, 15 yards, enforced at SL 41.

Leaving the penalty aside, this was a 5.1 second punt so it’s pretty clear why the coverage was right on top of the returner (again).

St. Louis Rams at 9:52

1-10-WAS 44 (9:52) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep right to M.Hoomanawanui. WAS-D.Hall was injured during the play.

Hall has outside leverage on the TE’s slant, and it looks like Rocky was supposed to cut it off from underneath but hesitates as the RB came out of the backfield. Lucky drop, as the guy was easily open.

2-10-WAS 44 (9:47) (Shotgun) S.Jackson right tackle to WAS 38 for 6 yards (B.Westbrook).

Kerrigan bites way too hard to the inside, setting up the RB for his cut.

3-4-WAS 38 (9:29) (Shotgun) S.Jackson right tackle to WAS 35 for 3 yards (S.Bowen).

4-1-WAS 35 (8:47) S.Bradford pass short right to A.Pettis to WAS 31 for 4 yards (K.Barnes).           

The FB is offset right, and when he fakes left it freezes Barnes, allowing the RB to slip into the flat uncontested.

1-10-WAS 31 (8:10) S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to M.Sims-Walker.

2-10-WAS 31 (8:03) S.Bradford pass short left to S.Jackson to WAS 28 for 3 yards (S.Bowen).

Bowen recovers well on the screen and takes down the RB from behind.

3-7-WAS 28 (7:20) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete short left to A.Pettis (A.Carriker).

PENALTY on SL-J.Smith, Personal Foul, 15 yards, enforced at WAS 28 - No Play.

Carriker is at LDT in the four man nickel front but crosses the center’s face and attacks the opposite A gap in order open a blitz lane for Barnes. Barnes is taken down by the RB and the RT defeats Kerrigan’s edge pressure with the facemask foul, but Carriker’s supposedly diversionary rush leads to penetration and he knocks the ball down. One note, although it did not effect the play – Kevin Barnes once again got eager and tipped his blitz, and you can see the slot receiver point him out just before the snap.

3-22-WAS 43 (7:14) S.Bradford sacked at 50 for -7 yards (R.Kerrigan). FUMBLES (R.Kerrigan), RECOVERED by WAS-B.Cofield at SL 47. B.Cofield to SL 44 for 3 yards (R.Saffold).

Redskins crowd the line with eight guys, but only four end up rushing. Carriker and Cofield attempt a sloppy stunt and get nowhere, but Orakpo bullrushes the LT and drives him back into Bradford. Bradford spins to escape, but by the time he gets his feet back under him Kerrigan, with his typical relentless pursuit, is there to knock the ball out from behind.

Washington Redskins at 7:07

1-10-SL 44 (7:07) R.Grossman pass short middle to J.Gaffney to SL 27 for 17 yards (B.Fletcher).           

1-10-SL 27 (6:33) R.Torain left tackle to SL 20 for 7 yards (D.Stewart).

And this is where the Torain fun begins. Davis and Williams turn the RDE to the outside, but the interior line allows penetration and Brown doesn’t land a solid second level block on the MLB. And yet Torain shows that sudden speed through the hole we remember from last year, then  flattens a DB as he’s being taken down.

2-3-SL 20 (5:54) R.Torain left tackle for 20 yards, TOUCHDOWN.           

Montgomery and Lichtensteiger both get pushed back but Torain beats them both to his cutback point and puts on his burst, then at the three lowers his shoulder and obliterates a DB who was trying to knock him out of bounds.

G.Gano extra point is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-S.Rocca.

WAS 14 SL 0, 3 plays, 44 yards, 1:25 drive, 9:18 elapsed

G.Gano kicks 63 yards from WAS 35 to SL 2. A.Pettis pushed ob at SL 25 for 23 yards (G.Gano).

PENALTY on SL-D.Alexander, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at SL 21.

St. Louis Rams at 5:42, (1st play from scrimmage 5:37)

1-10-SL 11 (5:37) (Shotgun) S.Jackson up the middle to SL 14 for 3 yards (R.McIntosh).

Orakpo holds up the tight end and plays his gaps. He doesn’t make the play but he forces the RB to make multiple cuts.

2-7-SL 14 (5:11) S.Bradford pass short left to B.Gibson to SL 28 for 14 yards (J.Wilson).           

Orakpo drops into coverage while Fletcher blitzes off the offensive right edge. He gets the pressure, but Orakpo lacks the awareness to play the underneath coverage on the WR’s post (Wilson was playing outside leverage with a cushion in anticipation of help on just such a route).

1-10-SL 28 (4:30) S.Jackson right end to SL 29 for 1 yard (R.McIntosh).

Penalty on SL-J.Smith, Illegal Formation, declined.

Carriker takes on a double team from the RG and FB and stands them up on the line of scrimmage while Kerrigan does the same with the TE, preventing them from sealing the corner and allowing Rocky to make the play.

2-9-SL 29 (4:08) S.Bradford pass short right to B.Bajema to SL 33 for 4 yards (R.Kerrigan).

3-5-SL 33 (3:26) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short right to L.Kendricks to SL 41 for 8 yards (D.Hall).           

1-10-SL 41 (2:52) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass short right to S.Jackson to SL 47 for 6 yards (D.Hall).

2-4-SL 47 (2:19) S.Jackson left tackle to SL 45 for -2 yards (R.Jackson).

Rob Jackson is at ROLB and blows up the FB in the backfield.

Two-Minute Warning

3-6-SL 45 (2:00) (Shotgun) PENALTY on SL-L.Kendricks, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at SL 45 - No Play.

3-11-SL 40 (2:00) (Shotgun) PENALTY on SL-Jason.Brown, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at SL 40 - No Play.  

3-16-SL 35 (2:00) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep left to D.Alexander [R.Kerrigan].

Kerrigan attacks one tight end, shoves him off the line, then powers through a second tight end who was in an H-back position behind the first. Meanwhile Orakpo beats the LT and both get hands on Bradford as he is throwing.

4-16-SL 35 (1:54) D.Jones punts 65 yards to end zone, Center-J.McQuaide, Touchback.

Play Challenged by Replay Assistant and Upheld.

Washington Redskins at 1:39

1-10-WAS 20 (1:39) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to S.Moss.

Rex simply misses the throw.

2-10-WAS 20 (1:36) T.Hightower up the middle to WAS 29 for 9 yards (C.Dahl).

Lichtensteiger is destroyed by a swim move from a DT, but this merely has the effect of opening up a hole for the draw. Chester dominates the other DT to keep the hole open, while Davis gets a good second level block on a LB and Santana takes out the slot corner.

Timeout #1 by WAS at 00:49.

3-1-WAS 29 (:49) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right to S.Moss (D.Stewart).

A safety jumps Santana’s slant and Rex doesn’t see him lurking. This should have been a classic Rex interception but was dropped.

4-1-WAS 29 (:46) S.Rocca punts 56 yards to SL 15, Center-N.Sundberg. A.Pettis MUFFS catch, touched at SL 10, recovered by SL-J.Gordy at SL 3. J.Gordy to SL 3 for no gain (R.Doughty). PENALTY on WAS-N.Paul, Unnecessary Roughness, 15 yards, enforced at SL 3.

4.9 seconds. Another interesting side effect of a strong punter – the coverage guys are already on top of the receiver in most cases, which means there are lots of opportunity for penalties like this one and the one called on Perry Riley earlier.

St. Louis Rams at 0:34

1-10-SL 18 (:34) (Shotgun) S.Bradford sacked at SL 16 for -2 yards (sack split by B.Orakpo and S.Bowen).

2-12-SL 16 (:23) (Shotgun) S.Jackson right tackle to SL 17 for 1 yard (R.Kerrigan).