Overall, MOST of the OLine was a touch off; not badly, but most were off. Of the lineman, from my perspective Fabini had the worst night. I know he gave up one sack, and I’m pretty sure he gave up two. Jansen gave one up (but that was botched blocking from the snap; the player was too wide for Jansen to cover).

Luckily, it doesn’t mean anything in 4 more weeks.

Regardless, Zorn’s arguably one of the best QB teachers in the league, picking up a project like Brennan in the sixth was a great plan.

I didn’t notice the play that you’re referring to with Mason, but I agree that he and Rock both looked great.

One thing that kind of bothered me on offense was Jason getting sacked. I realize Jansen needs to knock some rust off, but Freeny wasn’t even playing.

Cartwright is the #3 RB, and the #1 Punt and Kick return man; he’s very important for the team, and even a short term injury would be a big problem. Mason is not likely to get many in season reps as the #4 RB. While he, too, is an important player for Special Teams, a short term injury for him neither jeopardizes his spot on the team (he’s almost certainly “in” as the the history of injuries to RBs will require the Redskins to keep 4), nor hurts the team (they plug in a rookie for the rest of the preseason). Yet, at #4 of 4 RBs, he needs to show courage to go for the tough yardage; he won’t get that many carries in the regular season, so the coaches need to see he wants that yard for the time when he WILL get carries.

Rock has been pressed into being #1 for short periods before; he needs to think about injuries FIRST. Marcus needs to think about showing the coaches he’ll grind it for them…. very different requirements on what to do on that yard.

If it was Rock, it was a “safe” play, and a good decision. If it was Mason…. he should have dove for the yard.

BTW, someone mentioned Rinehart, and that reminded me I neglected to other players that had an up or down that should be noted.

Rinehart played well, but during much of that time, Pass Protection didn’t look quite right. That has nothing to do with Rinehart, though. Look to see him play on the 2nd string at some point during the preseason, and maybe get a short shot at a first string D at some point. He was an up (though I wouldn’t say best player of the game).

Fred Davis wasn’t QUITE Mr. Invisible, but in an offense that should have been stressing TEs, he only caught a few passes against 2nd and 3rd stringers. It was a disappointing performance for him, from my perspective, as he appeared only “workman-like”.

And lastly, an (almost) bubble veteran…. Jason Fabini. Fabini has the fact that the Redskins are still shy of depth on the OLine (Heyer and Rinehart are the youngsters) in his favor. Fabini is one of the players we NEED to continue to perform well. He did NOT have a good night, however; he was credited with giving up at least one of the sacks, and I believe he gave up two. Not good. He had his highlights, though (recovering Jason Campbell’s fumble/incomplete shovel pass, for example). Perhaps it’s footsteps, or age, or just an off game.

I thought the run that Bill (author Bill, not commenter Bill) mentioned was Rock Cartwright dancing around instead of taking the 1st down although I could be wrong. Mason seemed more willing to go straight ahead than Rock, then again Rock is a veteran he may have been looking to avoid taking straight on shots.

I’m not saying the sidearm motion isn’t ok (it’s fine, when you need it to put the ball in an awkward place). I’m saying that it seemed to be that he was sidearming even on his rainbow passes. Yes, Favre has been known to sidearm, but that’s when Favre is >MOVING< and not set; his normal motion is over when he has an open field and is set. Joey T. had a sidearm when HE scrambled (yeah, some of you folks don’t remember him other than as a Redskin rooting talking head for ESPN, but he was a nice scrambling QB back in the day, before LT broke that leg).

However, I said I was a doubter of Brennan, and I’m NOT the only one… but there are a legion of non-doubters, and last night, SOME of that doubt went away…. but everyone also needs to remember a few things: PRESEASON GAME. Third stringers. Babe Laufenberg.

In a few years, Brennan may make a very good backup QB. For now, he’s raw, and had a bit more going for him than I feared. Let’s especially not get worked up with some QB controversy (he says while wearing a #17 Jersey which has the OTHER #17 on the back, Jason Campbell, vice the original Doug Williams).

Bernie Kosar?