The Redskin Report

The Jim Zorn era is off to a sputtering start.

For all the off-season talk of a revitalized offense, the Redskins sputtered and produced almost nothing offensively in a 16-7 loss to the New York Giants on Thursday.  Jason Campbell never looked comfortable and in throwing for 98 yards.

Jim Zorn was ultra conservative with his play calling, almost force feeding the run and leaving extra blockers in on most plays.  The Redskins seemed fearful of the Giants pass rush and were never able to establish an offensive rhythm.

Defensively, the Redskins were awful in the 1st half.  They couldn’t get off the field and the Giants moved up and down the field at will.  They were able to tighten up in the red zone to hold the Giants to 16 points in the 1st half but their inabliity to get off the field added to the lack of success in the offense.  The Redskins were able to make adjustments at half time and were much better defensively in the 2nd half.

The only strong suit for the Redskins on this night were on special teams.  Rock Cartwright busted a long kick-off return which led to the Redskins only touchdown.  The coverage units were outstanding, limited the Giants to minimal returns.

It was an ugly opener for the Redskins.  Offensively there just isn’t much to build on.  Jim Zorn is going to have to loosen up his play calling and let the offensive line and Jason Campbell earn their pay cheques.  Its just one game, but until the offense can show even a smidge of potential, its hard to feel positive going forward.

1. Jason Campbell - can he take the next step and become a good NFL starting QB?  He worked hard this off-season but is again learning a new offensive system and results were mixed in the pre-season.  The Giants are expected to bring pressure on most passing downs so watch for Campbell’s tempo.  At times he holds on to the ball too long which results in sacks and fumbles.
2. Full Redskins Defense - Its unknown if Jason Taylor will play (although if I were a betting man, I’d assume he’s playing at least on passing downs) but after playing the pre-season games shorthanded we should see the full defense on the field tonight.  With Greg Blache taking over from Gregg Williams, will the schemes change much? 
3. New Giants Defensive Ends - Matthias Kiwanuka and Justin Tuck are both highly regarded players and should be able to get some pressure on Campbell.  The questions is can they stand up against the run?  Kiwanuka played linebacker last year and may struggle against bull rushing linemen.
4. Eli Manning - Manning usually starts out the year hot.  The Redskins have had some success against Manning in the past (QB ratings of 63.7 and 51.1 in last year’s match-ups) and beyond Plaxico Burress the Giants don’t have many great receiving options.  Limiting Manning’s output is important as the Giants will likely be able to run the ball.
5. Giants Running Game - Expect Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Ahmad Bradshaw to see time during the game.  The use of Bradshaw will be interesting to see; he’s the scariest of these three backs in terms of game-breaking runs but the Giants are listing him 3^rd on the depth chart.
6. Carlos Rogers and Rocky McIntosh - Both players are returning from devastating knee injuries and expected to play key roles on the defense this year.  If either guy’s performance is sub-par, the Redskins don’t have a ton of depth to cover at either position.
7. Reed Doughty - He struggled mightily at times in the pre-season, failing to wrap up on tackles and being beat in pass coverage.  The hope here is that the return of Landry to line-up will allow Doughty to focus solely on his job and not worry about getting rookies into position and covering for missed assignments.  There’s been talk of the Giants focusing on having TE Kevin Boss, whose 6′6, match-up one on one with Doughty, but Boss isn’t a primary target in the passing game and is unlikely to get more than 1 or 2 receptions.
8. Clinton Portis - Portis was his usual invisible self for much of the pre-season.  He’s dropped some weight in hopes of regaining more of his break-away speed but he’s had a lot of carries over his career.  There has also been talk of Zorn using him in more of a pass catching role than ever before, so his all-purpose yardage totals this year could improve.
9. Durant Brooks - The new punter in town makes his NFL debut tonight.  Can he handle the pressure and stay consistent? 
10. Shaun Suisham - Speaking of Brooks, his holding ability will affect the play of Suisham.  We all remember Suisham’s last meaningful kick in the playoffs last year.  Can he put that behind him and have another solid season?  He seemed to have gained some leg strength in the off-season, so a touchback or two would be nice.
11. The 2^nd Rounders - Do they see the field at all?  Malcolm Kelly will be inactive and neither Devin Thomas nor Fred Davis has shown much in training camp.   It will be an upset if either makes a play on offense tonight. 
12. Giants Secondary - The Giants secondary was been considered the weak link of the defense for much of last year, but they played solidly in the Super Bowl win.  The concern is how they will stand up without the relentless ‘four aces’ pressure package.  If Campbell has time, Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El could have big games.
13. John Carney - With Lawrence Tynes out with a knee injury, the Giants signed 44 year old Carney to be their kicker for the week.  Carney can still knock through short kicks but hasn’t hit a field goal over 41 yards in 2 years.  His range or lack thereof may be a factor tonight.
14. Dominik Hixon - The Giants kick returner broke some big runbacks last season and had a big pre-season with two receiving touchdowns and a return TD.  Receiving-wise he’s one of the seemingly endless supply of fast receivers the Giants always seem to have (Steve Smith, Sinorice Moss) but his return ability will test the special team coverage units.
15. Jeff Feagles - Feagles begins his 90^th NFL season tonight (the Giants kickers are a combined 86 years old).  His leg strength has decreased over the years but he’s still one of the best directional punters in the game making it unlikely that Antwaan Randle-El will bust a long return.
16. Redskins Coverage Units - While the Redskins will return some special team stalwarts such as James Thrash, Khary Campbell and Rock Cartwright, the team did release some guys who made an impact on the coverage units in Vernon Fox and Anthony Mix.  Young guys like Chris Horton and Justin Hamilton will have to fill these roles.
17. Mike Sellers - The Redskins are going into the season with one fullback.  Nemo Broughton is ready on the practice squad if needed, but if Sellers gets dinged up during a game someone like Todd Yoder is going to have to take over that role.
18.  Kedric Golston - Many analysts were impressed with Anthony Montgomery’s work last year as a starting defensive tackle for the Skins, but he’ll start this year on the bench.  He’s been beaten out by Golston who held the job for much of 2006.  This will be an on-going battle between these two players and expect both to see a lot of action tonight.
19. Jason Taylor - Does the play or not?  Can he and Andre Carter combine to form the ferocious pass rush Redskins’ fans have long desired?  Taylor won’t be at 100% if he does play, but his presence on the field is enough to draw attention away from other defenders.
20. Ethan Albright - If all goes according to plan (and it usually does with Albright) we won’t talk about him again this year, so we’ll give him a token mention here.  Say what you will about long snappers, but I can’t recall Albright messing up a snap in his entire tenure here.  This guy is good.
21. Football’s Back - Finally the games matter and we can celebrate (or panic) for a reason tonight.  Enjoy the game folks.

Washington Redskins 24 New York Giants (-3.5) 21

From the NFL media release:

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

WASHINGTON REDSKINS AT NEW YORK GIANTS

SERIES

STATS

NOTES

REDSKINS: Rookie head coach JIM ZORN makes NFL debut…QB JASON CAMPBELL passed for career-best 2,700 yards & had 60.0 comp. pct. (250-417)…RB CLINTON PORTIS rushed for 1,262 yards & has 1,250+ rush yards in 5 of 6 career seasons. When Portis has 100+ rush yards, his teams are 28-9 (.757)…Pro Bowl TE CHRIS COOLEY has 27 TDs since entering NFL in 2004, most in NFC among TEs. WR SANTANA MOSS has 351 rec. & 5,497 yards for 15.7 avg., 4th highest among active players with 5,000+ yards. Incl. playoffs, WR-PR ANTWAAN RANDLE EL has 24 career TDs (13 rec., 6 PR, 4 pass, 1 KR)…LB-DE JASON TAYLOR could make Redskins debut. Has 117 career sacks, most among active players. Taylor (Mia, 2006) & CB SHAWN SPRINGS (2004) are 2 of 5 players in NFL history to lead team in sacks & INTs…GIANTS: Have 46 wins in openers (46-32-5), 3rd-most in NFL history…Head coach TOM COUGHLIN aims for 4th consecutive postseason berth…QB ELI MANNING passed for 3,336 yards & 23 TDs last year, joining PHIL SIMMS as only NYG QBs with 3,000+ yards & 20+ TDs in 3 seasons in row. Manning & Simms are only NYG QBs to be named SB MVP…Rush offense was 2nd in NFC (134.3 yards per game). RB BRANDON JACOBS led team in rushing with 1st 1,000-yard season (1,009). Had 130 yards in last meeting…WR PLAXICO BURRESS led team with 70 receptions, 1,025 yards & 12 TDs – 1st Giant since DEL SHOFNER (1961-62) to post back-to-back seasons with 10+ rec. TDs. WR AMANI TOOMER is team leader in catches (620), rec. yards (8,917) & rec. TDs (50). TE KEVIN BOSS had 1st career TD in last meeting…Defense led NFL with 53 sacks. DE JUSTIN TUCK had career-best 10 sacks. DE MATHIAS KIWANUKA had 1.5 sacks in his last game vs. Was. LB ANTONIO PIERCE led team in tackles last year.

It’s that time again, the start of another NFL season.  With the opening game just days away its time to put it all on the line and put your predictions out for the world to see, and with that we present the completely unbiased NFC East predictions.

1. Dallas Cowboys 11-5

I think we can officially call Tony Romo a poor man’s Brett Favre.  He’s got the media love because of his ‘having so much fun out there’ play.  He can string together some pretty impressive games particularly in mid-season.  And he also can play completely out of control and cost his team some games.  While playing this style can lead to impressive wins when push comes to shove in tight games, Romo’s turnovers really hurt the Cowboys.

The Cowboys are going to score points this year.  Terrell Owens is still playing well (although he could slow down at anytime, he’s turning 35 in December).  The effective Marion Barber should carry more of the load at running back with Julius Jones’ departure and Felix Jones is expecting to bring a home run threat to the running game.  They are a bit short at wide receiver with Patrick Crayton as the only other established receiver beyond Owens but Jason Witten is one the best pass catching tight ends in the league.

The defense returns pretty well intact with a few additions.  The ancient Zach Thomas will look to pull another year out of his beat up body, while Pac-Man Jones will try to stay out of trouble and on the field after his suspension from the NFL.  DeMarcus Ware is key cog to the front seven, he’s one of the top pass rushers out there these days.  The cornerbacks look very strong if Jones can return to form after skipping a year.  Roy Williams is back at safety and will continue to be a huge liability in pass coverage.

On paper, this is the strongest team in the division.  The biggest question is can Romo take the next step and move beyond being a fantasy QB star and turn into the type of QB who can win a tight playoff game.  With Wade Phillips and his lax attitude back as head coach, another playoff upset could be on the way for Dallas.

2. Washington Redskins 10-6

Despite having a big run to make the playoffs last year, the Redskins have been predicted by many to finish in the basement.  But besides a coaching change and adding Jason Taylor this is basically the same team that won their final four games and made the playoffs.  They beat both the Giants and Cowboys handily in December; this is still a pretty solid team.

The level of success the Redskins have this year depends mainly on the arm of Jason Campbell.  He’s a reasonable QB at this point (higher QB rating than Eli Manning) but if the Redskins want to take the next step Campbell is going to have to improve substantially.  The receiving corp is a question mark beyond Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle-El and neither of those guys are a picture of health to begin with.  If (when?) injuries occur, Chris Cooley could have a career year unless Devin Thomas or Malcolm Kelly improves their performance from training camp.

3. Philadelphia Eagles 7-9

Decent defense, no wide receivers, one man offense - sound familiar?  The Eagles are living Groundhog Day over and over again.  There are a few changes - the one man offense is Bryan Westbrook not Donovan McNabb.  Westbrook is the most indispensible player in the division.  If he were to go down, the Eagles would be in serious trouble.  He’s avoided injuries thus far in his career but every time he gets tackled Eagle fans will hold their breath.

The Eagles upgraded their defense by adding Asante Samuel through free agency.  Samuel replaces Lito Sheppard in the starting line-up.  Sheppard isn’t happy but he’ll be the nickel back for the time being.  The Eagles also added ex-Redskins Chris Clemons to add to the pass-rush and he’ll play opposite Trent Cole on passing downs.

The Eagles are a good team, but not great and in this division good isn’t going to work.  This will likely be the end of the line for both Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb in Philly as they disappoint overly optimistic pundits once again.

4. New York Giants 6-10

The Giants were an average team last year that took advantage of a favorable playoff schedule to reach the Super Bowl.  In the Super Bowl they played the game of their lives and were full value for their victory over New England.  One big week doesn’t make a powerhouse and the Giants are anything but an elite team this year.

The Giants were built around a relentless pass rush led by Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan.  Neither player will play this year, and while their replacements - Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka are fine players, they’ll be facing double teams they didn’t see last year and the pressure from other parts of the field - i.e. defensive tackle and linebacker will be greatly reduced. 

The offense was downgraded in the off-season with the trade of Jeremy Shockey but besides that the unit returns in tact.  Eli Manning will look to continue his playoff success but throughout his career he’s been very inconsistent so that it is unlikely.  Ahmed Bradshaw will likely have more of a role than last year, much like the playoffs, so his numbers should increase. 

This is a flawed team, the secondary isn’t that strong and without the top notch pass-rush it will exposed.  It will be a tough fall this year for the Giants.