Washington Redskins Week 8 post-game Reality Checks
By Tim Payne
No. 4 – Reality Is, the Redskins need to start improving in the passing game.
Knowing this was true, I was curious to see if they would include more quick-game, more hurry-up, and more misdirection in the passing game this week. I was also looking to see if Thompson’s return would lead to more two-back sets with both he and Peterson in the game to keep the defense guessing. Most importantly, I was still looking for the passing game to be more consistently built around Jordan Reed, saying that anything less than six or seven targets was unacceptable. I predicted a more open game with both teams making more big plays than expected. I thought Chris Thompson would have a big impact in the passing game.
Reality Check: The Redskins’ passing offense still is not on track. No consistent separation by anyone but Reed is hindering Smith’s reads, leaving him uncomfortable in the pocket and inaccurate with this throws. The Redskins did open the game with quick throws to Jordan Reed, sending three targets to Reed in first drive (one negated by penalty which killed that drive), and another first down catch on next drive.
On the second drive, the Redskins incorporated lots of pre-snap motion, lots of misdirection, and more of the quick passing game. If those trends continue, this passing attack will blossom. Many fans are calling for more “vertical” passing. I think it’s actually the intermediate passing game that is more vital and integral to this offense, and we’ll see if they can get in sync in that area this coming week.