The Redskin Report

It was nice to actually to be the team coming back from a deficit rather than the team holding on by their fingernails for once. The Washington Redskins defeated the Jets 23-20, overcoming a 1st half 17-3 Jets lead. Let’s take a closer look:

Positives:

The Running Game – That was more like it. There were some nice holes created by the offensive line and Clinton Portis did the rest. The talk of Portis losing a step can be quieted for at least one week after a very nice 196 yard effort. Ladell Betts and Jason Campbell also managed to rack up decent yardage on limited attempts.

Shaun Suisham – I ripped my fellow canuck a few weeks back, but Suisham was fantastic today. Five for five on field goals was good and all five were straight down the middle. He also managed a touchback on a booming kick and avoided Leon Washington for the most part after the opening return touchdown.

On-side Kick Call - What is this? A ballsy call from the Redskins? It caught the Jets (and the commentators) by surprise and would have been an easy recovery had Suisham kicked it a bit harder. The Redskins did recover and managed a field goal on the ensuing drive, giving them some momentum heading into the 2nd half.

LaRon Landry – A bit of a coming out party for the young guy. He was a blitzing machine and laid a bunch of solid hits on Kellen Clemens. He does remind me of Sean Taylor from a few years back – he makes plays, but he also makes some big mistakes (the 15 yard penalty and he was very nearly burned on a pass to Leon Washington). He’s going to be a good one.

Defense – It wasn’t their best effort – the pass rush was pretty non-existent without blitzing, but it was a nice comeback effort after being shelled by the Pats last week. Rocky McIntosh again led the team in tackles and Shawn Springs is back to his usually shut-down corner self.

Negatives

Passing Game – Santana Moss and Jason Campbell just cannot hook up. This week it was Campbell, who was either behind or overthrowing Moss on nearly every pass. These guys need to get their timing down. The Redskins average 5.6 yards per pass play and the wide receivers made only 5 catches on the day. It was enough against a feeble Jets team, but with some tough divisional games coming up, improvement is needed.

Kickoff Coverage – The Redskins have been burned a few times by guy getting around the outside after the Redskins contain guy cheats inside. They’ve been very good this year in general, but the Suisham pinned the guy to the sideline, you can’t let him cut all the way across the field like that.

Brandon Lloyd – What an idiot.

Onto the Eagles.