Redskins Reality Checks after a Week 5 Win vs. Carolina
By Tim Payne
2. Reality Is, this is a key game for the Redskins’ offensive line.
I think, five games in, we can safely say that the Redskins’ offensive line is not elite. They have too many breakdowns, too many penalties, and too many injuries to deserve that label. However, they are a gritty and effective group, on the whole. In the pregame reality checks, I predicted the unit would put together their most complete game of the season and clean up their mistakes. I thought they were due for a solid all-around performance.
Reality Check: I guess we’ll have to wait another week for that all-around performance. There were significant highlights from the offensive line against Carolina, including some massive holes for Adrian Peterson and Trent Williams’ clutch fumble recovery/carry to get the team into range for Hopkins’ 56-yarder. But overall, this unit still looks like they’re banged up and a little out of sync in pass protection in particular.
We know we’ll get max effort out of them every play, and we know Brandon Scherff and Trent Williams have elite toughness, but I’m still waiting for them to put together a complete game where they open up consistent holes for the running game and also keep Smith clean throughout a game. They face another tough test against Dallas’ front 7 next Sunday.
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3. Reality Is, Jay Gruden and Alex Smith need to get on the same page…quickly.
Monday Night in New Orleans felt like a game that proved Gruden and Smith weren’t in sync quite yet. There were too many plays where Smith didn’t seem comfortable with the degree of aggressiveness in the play call, or when he seemed to be running through the progression differently than the design intended, missing open receivers. With the stretch of important games coming up, they needed to get some of those issues resolved.
Unfortunately, they came into this game against Carolina missing two of their three most effective weapons in Chris Thompson and Jamison Crowder. But in spite of that significant handicap, they seemed to be a bit more synced up in this game, especially early. The touchdown to Vernon Davis was a brilliant play call to go with excellent execution by Alex Smith, selling the heavy side of the field with his eyes while Davis snuck out the back side.
The lack of offensive efficiency and production after they ran out to the 17-0 lead is a concern that I would argue stems from this same “out-of-sync-ness” between the QB and play-caller. There were too many long-developing passing plays on a day when the offensive line was struggling to protect. There were too many times where they abandoned the rush. But, all that said, this game represented progress on this front.
Reality Check: I’d like to see them talking more on the sideline. I’d like to see them staying aggressive with more intermediate passing, rather than the occasional “token” throw deep up the sideline (pronounced “out of bounds”). There’s still room to grow here. And there’s still time to grow. They found a way to get enough points on the board on Sunday to win. If they can manage to do the same next week against an aggressive Dallas defense, then we should all be very happy.