Thursday, October 6, 2011

Redskins-Rams 3rd quarter game review


Click here for the 1st quarter review, and here for the 2nd quarter.

Third Quarter

Josh.Brown kicks 67 yards from SL 35 to WAS -2. B.Banks to WAS 18 for 20 yards (E.Sims).

Washington Redskins at 15:00, (1st play from scrimmage 14:56)

1-10-WAS 18 (14:56) R.Torain left tackle pushed ob at WAS 20 for 2 yards (J.Hall).

Lichtensteiger is pushed into the backfield and knocks into Torain.

2-8-WAS 20 (14:23) R.Torain right tackle to WAS 27 for 7 yards (D.Stewart).

I have no idea what happened on this play because Fox is simply terrible at telecasting football games.

3-1-WAS 27 (13:48) R.Helu left end to WAS 34 for 7 yards (J.Hall).           

The line blocks hard to the right and takes the front seven with them, Helu then takes a pitch to the left and easily gains the first down due to Niles Paul’s excellent block from the slot position.

1-10-WAS 34 (13:12) R.Torain right tackle to SL 27 for 39 yards (Q.Mikell).

Not to take anything way from Torain, who did a fine job running here, but this is textbook zone blocking.  Davis and Brown attack the LDE and Chester and Montgomery the LDT. Then Montgomery and Brown each shed off the combo blocks and go straight to linebackers, while Davis and Chester control the defenders enough that they can’t fill the gaps. Torain times his cut just right and bursts through the hole fast enough that the closing safety takes a terrible angle and misses the tackle, releasing Torain deep into the secondary. Beautiful all around.


1-10-SL 27 (12:26) R.Helu right tackle to SL 26 for 1 yard (J.Laurinaitis).

This time Chester is pushed three yards back by the DT, who may have known the snap count as he was the first guy on either team out of his stance. Or he guessed and got lucky. Either way, Torain has to go around him before turning the corner.  He’s late to the hole, meaning he is met there by the MLB whom Montgomery missed with a second level cut block.

2-9-SL 26 (11:42) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass incomplete short right.

This play was hard to decipher, and I’m still not quite sure what went on. I get the feeling the line made incorrect adjustments to a blitz. Also, though it seems like Rex panicked too early, we don’t get to see the routes so we don’t know what he was looking at.  The blocking by both tackles is imperfect but good enough to allow a throw; the problem comes from the interior linemen and Torain. Despite no obvious tip off that my amateur eyes can spot, it appears that the line expected the Mike to blitz. Montgomery avoids the LDT altogether and squares up on the MLB, who remains downfield. Montgomery’s absence is a problem because the LDT is attacking Chester’s inside shoulder; he gains leverage and forces his way into the backfield. Torain comes to help, but instead of making solid contact he stays back on his heels and bear hugs the guy. But as soon as Torain’s there Chester abandons the block and Torain is overpowered. Then the Mike finally does come on a (very) delayed blitz, but both Montgomery and Chester simply fail to intercept him in space. Despite all this Rex’s desperate backwards flight from the pocket seems premature, as the protection problems take a few seconds to develop.

3-9-SL 26 (11:35) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short left to F.Davis to SL 20 for 6 yards (C.Dahl).

Davis takes the screen after letting the LDE slip by him. Trent gets a good downfield block, but Montgomery trips getting off the line and leaves the MLB untouched. This forces Davis outside where a safety has a good pursuit angle.

4-3-SL 20 (11:12) G.Gano 38 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-S.Rocca.
WAS 17 SL 0, 8 plays, 62 yards, 3:52 drive, 3:52 elapsed

G.Gano kicks 74 yards from WAS 35 to SL -9. Q.Porter, Touchback.

St. Louis Rams at 11:08

1-10-SL 20 (11:08) S.Bradford pass incomplete short middle to S.Jackson.

2-10-SL 20 (11:03) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep right to L.Kendricks [L.Landry].

You can tell from Landry’s stance that he’s blitzing. So can the slot receiver, who points him out before the snap. The RB picks him up, and fortunately Landry is sufficiently physically fearsome that he defeats the block and hits Bradford anyway to force an errant throw.

3-10-SL 20 (10:57) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep right to L.Kendricks [B.Cofield].

The four man nickel front. Orakpo and Kerrigan get just enough pressure on the edges to force Bradford ro step up, right into a hard blow from Cofield who beat the RG with a spin move. This was a pretty clear helmet hit; not sure how Cofield didn’t get 15 yards.

4-10-SL 20 (10:52) D.Jones punts 49 yards to WAS 31, Center-J.McQuaide. B.Banks to WAS 26 for -5 yards (D.Curry).

This is either a fair catch or a ball you let drop. As I have written many times Banks’ appeal is not only his speed and cutting ability but also his mature approach to returns. When he starts getting frustrated, he gets sloppy.

Washington Redskins at 10:42

1-10-WAS 26 (10:42) R.Grossman pass short right to F.Davis to WAS 34 for 8 yards (B.Poppinga).

The cameraman gets completely fooled by the play action here.

2-2-WAS 34 (10:04) R.Torain left tackle to 50 for 16 yards (B.Poppinga).           

Trent Williams clearly has the play wrong here as he tries to bolt to the outside as if on a zone stretch but everyone else blocks straight ahead. He simply trips over Fred Davis and it is pretty embarrassing. This results in the MLB coming clean right into the running lane, but Torain puts a move on him that takes him to the ground in even more humiliating fashion than what happened to Trent. Lichtensteiger gets tossed to the ground by the RDT, but on his way down takes out the guys legs. This opens up a path for Torain between Montgomery and Davis who have driven their men outside to create a rather classic alley. This was an ugly play, but it got done.

1-10-50 (9:26) R.Torain right end to SL 46 for 4 yards (D.Scott).

Chester fails in his second level block and the LB bursts into the backfield, but Torain puts on a nice spin move.

2-6-SL 46 (8:39) R.Torain left tackle to SL 41 for 5 yards (B.Fletcher).

Timeout #1 by WAS at 07:50.

3-1-SL 41 (7:50) R.Grossman scrambles right end ran ob at SL 39 for 2 yards (C.Long).           

1-10-SL 39 (7:28) R.Torain right tackle to SL 33 for 6 yards (J.Laurinaitis).

Montgomery allows penetration, but Chester completely controls his man and gives Torain a hole to cut through.

2-4-SL 33 (6:52) R.Grossman pass incomplete short middle to S.Moss (E.Sims) [J.Hall].

There are dumb plays, then there are Rex Grossman plays, then there’s this abomination. I stared in silence at my paused TV for several seconds after first viewing this one. So the Redskins run play action to the right, then Rex boots to the left. Routine.  Apparently no one is open downfield. Santana, after angling in, doubles back and heads towards the sideline. He’s at the first down line and is an obvious option, but he seem to give up to quickly on the route so the DE pursuing Rex cuts off the passing lane. Rex’s solution is to jump back to the  inside and, while falling, try to fire a desperation pass to Cooley over the middle. Rex doesn’t see the DT who is closing in underneath and he knocks the ball in the air. Rex seems to not see underneath defenders often. I mean, like all the damn time. It’s bizarre.

3-4-SL 33 (6:43) PENALTY on WAS-R.Grossman, Delay of Game, 5 yards, enforced at SL 33 - No Play.

3-9-SL 38 (6:43) (Shotgun) R.Grossman Aborted. W.Montgomery FUMBLES at SL 46, recovered by WAS-T.Hightower at SL 46. T.Hightower to SL 46 for no gain (E.Sims).

Rex is still making adjustment when Montgomery shoots the ball into his chest. Oops.

4-17-SL 46 (6:10) S.Rocca punts 29 yards to SL 17, Center-N.Sundberg, fair catch by Q.Porter.
PENALTY on WAS-D.Gomes, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at SL 17.

Would like to have seen this a bit deeper, but at least it wasn’t a line drive. The 4.4 second hang time allows the coverage team to once again be in place and standing around waiting for the ball to come down. The penalty, of course… well the special teams penalties have got to stop.

St. Louis Rams at 6:05

1-10-SL 27 (6:05) S.Jackson up the middle to SL 30 for 3 yards (K.Golston).

Nield plays himself out of his gap responsibility, but fortunately Golston keeps his at RDE. He stands up the LT and maintains enough control to shed him and tackle the gap as he goes through the hole.

2-7-SL 30 (5:35) S.Bradford sacked at SL 23 for -7 yards (B.Orakpo).

The Rams have a moving pocket to their right, but that oh-so-sneaky center curls around to set up for Orakpo who is initially unblocked on the back side. But the center never gets his feet set and Orakpo goes right through him for the sack.

3-14-SL 23 (5:06) (Shotgun) S.Bradford pass incomplete deep middle to L.Kendricks.

Bowen defeats the LG out of the nickel front, though its hard to tell if the pressure directly led to the incomplete pass.

4-14-SL 23 (4:59) (Punt formation) PENALTY on SL-D.Curry, False Start, 5 yards, enforced at SL 23 - No Play.

4-19-SL 18 (4:59) D.Jones punts 42 yards to WAS 40, Center-J.McQuaide, fair catch by B.Banks.

Washington Redskins at 4:51

1-10-WAS 40 (4:51) T.Hightower right end to WAS 42 for 2 yards (B.Fletcher).

Chester goes to the second level without anyone else having a grasp on the LDT, so Hightower has to break a tackle in the backfield and it’s to his credit that he managed two yards.

2-8-WAS 42 (4:15) R.Torain left tackle to WAS 42 for no gain (C.Long).

This one, I think, goes on Torain. He plants way to early and looks for a backside lane that isn’t there, and the pursuit takes him down.

3-8-WAS 42 (3:31) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short right to S.Moss to SL 47 for 11 yards (B.Fletcher).           

Nice adjustment by the line to a complex blitz, and Rex is confident in the protection and even almost steps into his throw. Sort of.

1-10-SL 47 (2:55) R.Torain left end to SL 40 for 7 yards (J.King).

The WLB and slot corner both blitz leaving the outside open for Torain, especially after Paul puts a nasty crackback block on the MLB out of the slot.

2-3-SL 40 (2:19) R.Torain left tackle to SL 35 for 5 yards (J.Hall; J.Laurinaitis).           

Davis stands up the LDE and Cooley (from FB) takes on the SLB, while Chester pulls and leads through the hole. First down.

Getting late, so I hope nothing terribly interesting happened in the next few plays because I’m calling it here. Check back Saturday morning for the 4th quarter review.

1-10-SL 35 (1:39) R.Torain left guard to SL 30 for 5 yards (G.Gibson).
PENALTY on WAS-W.Montgomery, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at SL 35 - No Play.

1-20-SL 45 (1:15) R.Grossman pass short left to F.Davis to SL 38 for 7 yards (B.Poppinga).

2-13-SL 38 (:32) (Shotgun) R.Grossman pass short left to S.Moss to SL 36 for 2 yards (A.Harris).

PENALTY on WAS-T.Williams, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at SL 36.

2-21-SL 46 (:07) R.Grossman pass short middle to F.Davis to SL 33 for 13 yards (Q.Mikell).

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