Redskins coaches’ report cards through two weeks of preseason
By Ian Cummings
Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Manusky
Greg Manuksy presents a preseason resume similar to Jay Gruden. On offense, the drop-off from starters to backups on the line is stark, and the same can be said for the drop-off from the defensive starters to the defensive backups.
A slight drop-off is to be expected, as the starters are ideally the best players on the team at their respective positions. The Redskins starters were, for the most part, very good. Jon Bostic wasn’t good in coverage, but aside from his hiccups, the unit generally played very well against the Bengals. They made several key stops and prevented the Bengals starting offense from getting points.
The backup defense then came in and allowed 23 points to Ryan Finley and Cincinnati’s second-string offense. This discrepancy is not abnormal, but Manusky, aside from his strong start with the first-team defense, needs to find a way to put his players in position to succeed on the second unit. Again, it’s a job for several coaches, but Manusky is the coordinator, and he’s had issues using players to their strengths in the past. With the backups, he can mix and match, and be more creative.