Redskins vs. Saints, 3rd quarter review

1st quarter review
2nd quarter review


3rd Quarter

T.Morstead kicks 59 yards from NO 30 to WAS 11. D.Thomas to WAS 26 for 15 yards (C.Roby).

Washington Redskins at 15:00, (1st play from scrimmage 14:57)

1-10-WAS 26 (14:57) R.Cartwright right end to WAS 31 for 5 yards (S.Shanle).

2-5-WAS 31 (14:17) J.Campbell pass incomplete deep right to M.Kelly (M.McKenzie).

Rock doesn't notice the MLB blitzing up the middle and Campbell is forced to unload the ball earlier than he wants and off his back foot.

3-5-WAS 31 (14:13) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass short middle to A.Randle El to WAS 43 for 12 yards (D.Sharper).

Campbell pumps once, then slides out of the pocket when the RDE spins off of Levi Jones. While on the move, he sees Randle El get open due to a pick by Fred Davis (shhh!).

1-10-WAS 43 (13:32) J.Campbell pass deep left to D.Thomas pushed ob at NO 28 for 29 yards (M.Jenkins) [W.Smith].

Fred Davis easily handle a blitzing LB on the right side, and Levi is threatened by the DE but slows him down just long enough for Jason to make his throw. Devin Thomas is tightly covered, but Campbell manages to place it right in his hands.

1-10-NO 28 (13:07) J.Campbell pass short left to D.Thomas to NO 23 for 5 yards (J.Vilma, T.Evans).

2-5-NO 23 (12:43) R.Cartwright right tackle to NO 16 for 7 yards (T.Hargrove).

Levi gets to the inside and blocks both the RDE and DT from closing up the hole. Heyer and Dockery both do an excellent job picking up LBs downfield.

1-10-NO 16 (12:04) J.Campbell pass incomplete short right to S.Moss.

2-10-NO 16 (12:00) J.Campbell pass short left to R.Cartwright to NO 10 for 6 yards (M.Jenkins).

Rock get the ball on a dumpoff, and Santana throws a very nice block on a LB to open up the yardage.

3-4-NO 10 (11:14) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass incomplete short left to S.Moss.

Saints run an overload blitz on the offensive left. Rock picks up a LB, but that leaves both a DE and a DB against Levi with no other help. Both get past him, and Campbell is hit just after he throws. The ball sails very high and behind Moss. The commentators suggested that Moss, who had cut inside, was supposed to have run a fade, but I'm not convinced Jason wasn't just throwing it away under pressure.

4-4-NO 10 (11:09) S.Suisham 28 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-E.Albright, Holder-H.Smith.

NO 17 WAS 20, 10 plays, 64 yards, 4:00 drive, 4:00 elapsed

S.Suisham kicks 59 yards from WAS 30 to NO 11. C.Roby to NO 48 for 37 yards (D.Thomas). FUMBLES (D.Thomas), ball out of bounds at NO 48. Ball fumbled forward and out of bounds at the NO49. Moved back to the NO48.

Again the returner cuts across the field with tons of room, and again Devin Thomas' speed prevents a huge return. Devin even strips the ball, but of course it goes out of bounds. Why do I feel like if the situation had been reversed that ball would have bounced into the hands of a Saint and been returned for a touchdown?

New Orleans Saints at 11:00, (1st play from scrimmage 10:51)

1-10-NO 48 (10:51) M.Bell right guard to 50 for 2 yards (H.Blades).
2-8-50 (10:16) M.Bell right tackle to WAS 43 for 7 yards (R.Doughty, L.Fletcher).

Doughty is solidly blocked by the LT but fights past him to make the tackle. Doughty just keeps getting better in the box.

3-1-WAS 43 (9:46) M.Bell up the middle to WAS 43 for no gain (P.Daniels).

The LG pulls to the inside right, so RB is being led up the middle by both a G and a FB. HB Blades comes off the edge and blows up the FB, and Daniels fights through both the RT and TE to penetrate and trip up the pulling guard.

4-1-WAS 43 (9:26) Z.Strief reported in as eligible. M.Bell right tackle to WAS 43 for no gain (A.Haynesworth, R.McIntosh).

The Saints really need more than one short yardage play. The LG pulls right again, but Kedric Golston drives back the C, cutting off the LG's path and wrecking the play. Haynesworth penetrates through the gap vacated by the LG, and Daniels lowers his shoulder and totally defeats the pulling FB.

Washington Redskins at 9:22

1-10-WAS 44 (9:22) J.Campbell pass deep right to D.Thomas to NO 16 for 40 yards (M.McKenzie).

We never get a good replay angle on this, but commentators say that Fred Davis ran a seam route to occupy the safety and that allowed Thomas to get so wide open after exiting the CB's shallow zone. Thomas has to slow up to make the catch, and stumbles. Given the moves we've seen from Davis, I have a feeling that if he had been able to cath it in stride he may well have been able to outmaneuver the closing safety, who was the only defender between him and a touchdown.

1-10-NO 16 (8:41) R.Cartwright right end to NO 13 for 3 yards (R.Ayodele).

2-7-NO 13 (8:02) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass incomplete short left to F.Davis (M.Jenkins) [W.Smith].

The LDE continues to beat Levi, and Campbell gets hit in the back while throwing. Partly as a result, he misses his intended receiver (Davis?) badly and the ball hits a DB right in the chest, but our side gets some good luck for once and it is dropped. Jason had no good throws and a ton of open running room to his right. His awareness has declined so dramatically over the course of the year.

3-7-NO 13 (7:57) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass short middle to D.Thomas for 13 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

Devin Thomas is absolutely deadly on the shallow cross. He catches it near the hashmarks, then a LB and two safeties all underestimate his speed and take bad angles. He turns the corner on them and tip-toes the sideline to stay in bounds.

S.Suisham extra point is GOOD, Center-E.Albright, Holder-H.Smith.

NO 17 WAS 27, 4 plays, 56 yards, 1:34 drive, 7:12 elapsed

S.Suisham kicks 70 yards from WAS 30 to NO 0. C.Roby to NO 27 for 27 yards (R.Doughty).

New Orleans Saints at 7:48, (1st play from scrimmage 7:43)

1-10-NO 27 (7:43) M.Bell left end to NO 34 for 7 yards (L.Landry).

The line and the leads FB block to the right, but the Redskins, especially Rocky McIntosh, collapse the corner and the RB cuts it back to the left. I like Lorenzo Alexander so I don't feel good about publicizing this, but he was at RDE and got completely beat by a slot receiver to allow the RB around the edge. Ouch.

2-3-NO 34 (7:08) D.Brees pass short left to J.Shockey to NO 45 for 11 yards (R.Doughty).

1-10-NO 45 (6:33) D.Brees pass short middle to J.Shockey to WAS 47 for 8 yards (L.Landry).

Quick slant. Landry was in man coverage on him but was playing outside leverage and so never had a chance. Rocky McIntosh is momentarily frozen by play action so he is unable to make it to the outside to cut off the slant route.

2-2-WAS 47 (5:58) M.Bell left end to WAS 47 for no gain (R.Doughty).

Reed Doughty isn't even on camera at the snap, but he reads the play from the beginning and beats the RB to the corner and blows him up. In a previous post a commenter and I discussed the safety situation and I mentioned that I would be fine with Landry taking over strong safety because I consider him and Doughty about even in that role, but I am reconsidering it. Doughty is fantastic.

3-2-WAS 47 (5:19) Z.Strief reported in as eligible. D.Brees pass deep left to D.Thomas to WAS 26 for 21 yards (R.McIntosh).

Saints line up with a sixth offensive lineman and run a play action, so the Redskins are more concerned with gap control than rushing the passer so Brees has plenty of time. McIntosh initially bites on the play action so the TE is able to beat him fairly easily.

1-10-WAS 26 (4:34) D.Brees pass short left to D.Henderson to WAS 11 for 15 yards (L.Landry).

Again the pass rush is frozen by an effective play action.

1-10-WAS 11 (3:49) P.Thomas right tackle to WAS 8 for 3 yards (L.Landry).

The LT tries to keep Anthony Montgomery to the outside, but Montgomery fights through him and puts a hit on the RB before Landry comes to finish him off.

2-7-WAS 8 (3:04) D.Brees pass incomplete short left to M.Colston (L.Landry).

Damn the Saints are good at play action. Smoot was lined up outside so Colston easily beat him on a slant, but fortunately Landry read sBrees' eyes and comes over to break up the play in the end zone.

3-7-WAS 8 (2:58) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass short right to D.Henderson to WAS 9 for -1 yards (L.Alexander).
Penalty on NO-J.Stinchcomb, Illegal Block Above the Waist, declined. [ed.: Call is illegal block in the back. Not sure what an illegal block "above the waist" is.]

An attempted bubble screen. Byron Westbrook sees it developing and avoids the blocking. He doesn't manage to tackle the WR (largely due to the illegal block), but he forces him to cut too early and allows time for Lorenzo Alexander to recover from the screen and take him down from behind.

4-8-WAS 9 (2:40) G.Hartley 27 yard field goal is GOOD, Center-J.Kyle, Holder-M.Brunell.

NO 20 WAS 27, 10 plays, 64 yards, 5:13 drive, 12:25 elapsed

T.Morstead kicks 56 yards from NO 30 to WAS 14. D.Thomas to WAS 34 for 20 yards (P.Prioleau).

Washington Redskins at 2:35, (1st play from scrimmage 2:31)

1-10-WAS 34 (2:31) R.Cartwright left tackle to WAS 39 for 5 yards (S.Ellis, T.Evans).

A LB gets free penetration but Rock puts a cut on him worthy of a video game.

2-5-WAS 39 (1:51) J.Campbell pass short middle to A.Randle El to WAS 45 for 6 yards (J.Vilma).

1-10-WAS 45 (1:11) R.Cartwright right guard to WAS 44 for -1 yards (B.McCray).

Either Heyer or Williams screwed up - they were both seeking out the OLB and the LDE penetrated virtually uncontested.

2-11-WAS 44 (:32) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass incomplete short middle to A.Randle El.

Dockery and Rock do a nice job adjusting to a LB and S who blitz up the middle. Campbell, unfortunately, throws it low.

3-11-WAS 44 (:27) (Shotgun) J.Campbell pass deep middle to A.Randle El to NO 12 for 44 yards (M.Jenkins). WAS-A.Randle El was injured during the play. His return is Questionable.

The RDE once again beats Levi and is tugging at Jason's back as he is in his motion, but he makes a strong throw and Randle El is wide open on a deep post.



Play by play info taken from the NFL Game Book.