Preseason Game 1: Steelers: Observations, Quotes, Unpopular/Popular Opinions

[KDawg]

Well, I finally have a little bit of time to carve out an opinion piece on here. I'm also going to share some quotes from the locker room from the Steelers game.

But first, I want to thank murf for giving me the opportunity to be there, and JimmiJo for helping to show me the ropes. It was an outstanding opportunity as a Redskin fan, a football fan and a football coach to get to be in the press box and it was a TON of fun. Thanks to Huly and pez for what they did at the tailgate and it was great to meet everyone that I had the opportunity to meet!


:logo:
Major Positives:

Tim Hightower
The guy runs hard and has EXCELLENT vision. He sees the hole, makes one north-south cut and gets downfield in a hurry. When he sees a defender he squares up and delivers a blow rather than accepting contact. If he can hold on to the football, he'll be a great addition to our roster.

Offensive Line:
They looked good. Specifically Will Montgomery, who at times dominated Casey Hampton... That's no easy task, as well as Trent Williams and Jammal Brown. TW and JB did a great job on pass pro, and on rushing plays they managed to solidify level one or get to level two fairly well. It was fun to watch. Kory Lichtensteiger and Chris Chester didn't stand out to me, but when you're an offensive linemen that's usually a good thing. Backups Maurice Hurt and Sean Locklear held their own as well. Erik Cook looked decent, too.

Barry Cofield, Stephen Bowen:
Cofield is all over the field. He's a true monster. He knifes through the offensive line and draws double teams over and over again, and he even manages to defeat them most of the time. Stephen Bowen is explosive coming out of his stance and manages to close up running lanes fairly well. His sack was a great form tackle. I'm excited to watch these two play. I shouldn't leave out Carriker, either. He didn't do much worth noting, but he did his job and he did it well.

London Fletcher:
This doesn't even need to be noted. He's the heart of the defense.

Evan Royster:
He has pretty good vision. He's not that fast, but he's fairly agile and he hits the hole well. I'm excited to see what he has to offer. He missed one pass protection assignment pretty badly, but it's something the coaches can correct, I'm sure.

Graham Gano:
I'm one of his harshest critics, but he looks a lot better than he did last year. Kudos to him.

Brandon Banks, Terrance Austin:
Both looked explosive. Banks is elusive, but doesn't break many tackles... Which is fine because he flat avoids them. Austin is not quite as elusive, but on that punt return he got he pulled his foot from a defender's grasp, leaped over him and got down the sideline.


:logo:
Guys Who I Have Controversial Opinions About:

Rex Grossman: I'm going to start this off by saying that he played very well. He made some very good decisions and delivered a good football. He proved he has a good command of the offense. However, he made a few key mistakes. Some disagree with me, but there was an outside zone (Stretch) naked action play where Fred Davis was wide open twenty yards downfield and Rex went for the home run in the end zone to Donte Stallworth. I like the fact that he had the nutsack to go for that, but, it wasn't a great decision. Yes, Stallworth had a step on the defenders, and Grossman, for a positive, put the ball in a place where only Stallworth would catch it. Problem was not even Stallworth could have caught that. I think he needed to check down to Davis there and Davis would have gained a ton of yards. Some will disagree with me there, and that's okay, so don't get your panties wadded up. He also threw the ball directly to Larry Foote on a pass play near the end zone that could have wound up as a pick. But again, as a whole, he played well.

For the record, I think Clemens did well as a whole, too. But, he made some glaring mistakes, especially on his first drive in the game.


:logo:
Didn't Look Good:

Chris Horton:
He looked lost out there. Chris had an awesome rookie campaign when he was playing in the exact same defense that he played in at UCLA. But since we changed to the 3-4 he's been virtually MIA. He let receivers get behind him several times and wasn't getting in very good position to make plays. Hopefully he shakes off the rust soon.

Josh Wilson:
Learning a new system, it can be excused. But, he didn't do a great job in man coverage. And he didn't communicate well with Horton. He also had a PI call.

Selvish Capers:
This guy got blown up more times than I can count.


:logo:
Random Observations:

-Kyle Shanahan did a great job with his play calling. He kept calling the stretch play and then went to the stretch with naked boot action and got the TEs involved and they were wide open. One of the criticisms I have for Kyle is he was calling plays that didn't get the receivers to the sticks on third down situations. Perhaps that's on the receivers, or perhaps it's on Grossman. I don't know who to pin that on, just an observation. He did, and the receivers/Grossman as well, correct that issue as the half went on.

-Jarvis Jenkins got blown up pretty bad on one play. Opened a wide hole. However, as a whole, he didn't play badly. I think he's going to be a good player for us down the road.

-James Davis didn't get a single carry. Draughns got more carries than he did. That's not a good sign for JD.

-Keyaron Fox did a decent job replacing Fletcher in the game, but he doesn't have that same fiery leadership. He made a few mistakes, but as a whole, he's pretty good, and he's still learning. This was a good pick up.

-Brian Orakpo was pretty silent, but I watched him on a few plays. He played EXCELLENT backside contain, and he was held when he was on a pass rush quite a few times. Ryan Kerrigan has a good pass rush, decent block shedding and poor coverage skills. But we kind of knew a defensive end was going to have to transition. Give him time.

-DeJon Gomes looked fairly good out there. He's an impact player. He reminds me of Chris Horton in his rookie year. He's going to make mistakes, but he has a nose for the ball.

-Roy Helu, even in warm ups, wasn't very fast coming in and out of his cuts, but once he gets going, holy crap can he fly.

-Rocky McIntosh took quite a few bad angles. I'd like to see what Keyaron Fox offers the first unit. But Rocky as a whole didn't do horrendous, either. He looks a lot more comfortable this season and he was consistently around the football.

-DeAngelo Hall got beat in man coverage a few times. But then he made two great plays to keep outside contain on a run play and stuffed the back. He has a fire about him that I love.


:logo:
Quotes from the Locker Room:

Roy Helu on Pass Protection:
"It's something I'm comfortable with and its something I've kind of prided myself on ever since I started playing football. You know, it's something I'm going to continue to work at and hopefully I'll be the kind of back that Clinton Portis was."

Graham Gano on Kickoffs:
"A bunch of guys on the kick off team said man you gotta stop doing that [kicking out of the endzone], we aren't getting any tackles."

Graham Gano on Shayne Graham:
"He's a class act guy, he is. This type of stuffs happened before to all kickers, he knows how to handle it. It's not something you wish upon anybody but I'm sure he'll bounce back and be fine."

Terrance Austin on new kick off rules:
"You know, it sucks. We're questioning coming out six yards deep in the end zone, most teams do that. Right now if we're six we want to take it, but if we start getting eight or nine yards deep it's a tough decision to make. Most guys are ready to down it. It depends on how the kick is. If it's a line drive and its that deep we'll probably bring it out. If it's a high and deep kick we probably won't bring it out."

Terrance Austin on getting an opportunity to return one:
"It felt good! I haven't returned in a long time! Last time I returned was probably preseason last year. It felt good, I still got it. I've been working every day in practice on catching the punts and stuff. I'm still able to do it, if they need me I'm there."

KDawg Note: Austin was smiling from ear to ear when I asked about getting the chance to return one

London Fletcher on Leadership:
"It's very important. It's a role I take very seriously. Just trying to go out and do my part. Just trying to give guys as much knowledge as I can, help them to play fast, play better."

[GibbsFactor]

Kerrigan wasn't able to maintain contain on a number of Redman's runs. That's an alarm for me since he should be better against the run, he's played strong side contain his entire college career. I'll chalk it up to the newness and his inability to get his pads under his blockers. That can be fixed. He has instincts. That can't be fixed.

I'm not too worried about our corners, the deep pass to the right was on Horton, not Wilson. DHall gets beat every once in a while, he did in this game.

I thought Rex played a good game. Couple of boneheaded mistakes and he got lucky once or twice. Stallworth should have caught that pass. He's a bubble player and should have extended.

[KDawg]

Agree with everything you said

Except for Stallworth catching that pass. He was running hard, he did dive, he just couldn't get there.

Also keep in mind, DHall excels in zone coverage, not man.

[santanathegreat]

You're right about the Grossman pass to Stallworth....Davis was wide open down the field. Even the announcers said it.

I think Grossman just wanted to go for it since it was preseason, and he really had nothing to lose on that throw. I think once the season starts, that pass would have gone to Davis.

[radskin]

Royster doesn't do anything for me. Basically seems like another Marcus Mason type. Not very explosive or fast. Just a good preseason runner that's gets yards but won't do anything in the "real" season.
I think having a change of pace back would still be good. Helu might be that guy but someone maybe smaller and quicker. We should give Davis another look.

[Oldfan]

In defense of Grossman on the overthrow of double-covered Stallworth when Davis was wide open:

Stallworth was probably Rex's first read and, although Stallworth was doubled, he had separated from both defenders. Stallworth was able to get one hand on the ball, so it was a couple of inches from a TD. Rex most likely never saw Davis because his first read looked good. It only looks like a bad decision with the benefit of seeing Davis open in hindsight.

[wrecker]

You're right about the Grossman pass to Stallworth....Davis was wide open down the field. Even the announcers said it.

I think Grossman just wanted to go for it since it was preseason, and he really had nothing to lose on that throw. I think once the season starts, that pass would have gone to Davis.

Yeah, you have to take a few shots like that so the defense has to cover it.
It will help open more stuff underneath in the course of the game.

[GibbsFactor]

I've never been much of a Rocky hater, actually quite a fan of his. His tackles are becoming more fierce each season which is only a good thing. With the Oline not able to get to the second level, I expect big things from him this year. Remember, he's a decent cover linebacker as well. To my knowledge we only have Fletch as the other option. And for that reason I'm really in love with Gomes. I hope he can play well and make a solid contribution to the team. I thought his selection was a stroke of genius and he can play that Dime spot, even the nickle, or spot fill on long down conversions. I have high hopes for what he can bring to the table.

[KDawg]

In defense of Grossman on the overthrow of double-covered Stallworth when Davis was wide open:

Stallworth was probably Rex's first read and, although Stallworth was doubled, he had separated from both defenders. Stallworth was able to get one hand on the ball, so it was a couple of inches from a TD. Rex most likely never saw Davis because his first read looked good. It only looks like a bad decision with the benefit of seeing Davis open in hindsight.

I don't know that Stallworth was the first read. On stretch action naked boot action plays, you're generally targetting the TE. But, he may of been. Either way, it's not make or break, but it's a microcosm of what Rex is. Still, he looked better than most believed he'd look. I'm very happy to say that.

[GibbsFactor]

Yeah, you have to take a few shots like that so the defense has to cover it.
It will help open more stuff underneath in the course of the game.

The ball was there, Stallworth had a step. Should have caught that pass.

**** it! I'm going deep. It's just a shame my flankers can't catch.

[Thirtyfive2seven]

Great review - I read all of it and I agree with most of your observations. Either way, I'm actually excited about the next game - specifically the 1st half to see where this team is against yet another great defense. I just don't understand how a team can come out looking this good when they were SO awful last year. Does it matter? no. It's pre-season I get it but they were actually excited to play and that is refreshing to see.

[KDawg]

It does matter, though. When you look at everything technique was, to the best of your ability without fully knowing scheme, they looked much improved. The team hustled. The team put in a ton of effort. And the best thing Rex has going for him, the team played for Rex Grossman.

Score doesn't matter. Effort, determination, technique and discipline (lack of penalties) do. :)

[GibbsFactor]

It does matter, though. When you look at everything technique was, to the best of your ability without fully knowing scheme, they looked much improved. The team hustled. The team put in a ton of effort. And the best thing Rex has going for him, the team played for Rex Grossman.

Score doesn't matter. Effort, determination, technique and discipline (lack of penalties) do. :)

I'll just add, to calm expectations, that I remember looking at this team last preseason and thinking how well prepared they were. Just something for us all to keep in our back pocket.

[Oldfan]

I don't know that Stallworth was the first read. On stretch action naked boot action plays, you're generally targetting the TE. But, he may of been. Either way, it's not make or break, but it's a microcosm of what Rex is. Still, he looked better than most believed he'd look. I'm very happy to say that.I have always assumed that Mike Shanahan loves his stretch-boot because it gives his QB the time to look deep first, but that could be a false assumption.

Rex looked great, but I still believe that Mike will go with Beck if John can keep the competition close.

[KDawg]

I'll just add, to calm expectations, that I remember looking at this team last preseason and thinking how well prepared they were. Just something for us all to keep in our back pocket.

I agree. I don't think this team does better than 8-8... ANd I think we could be worse, dependent on the injury situation. But, the team looks better. I don't think I'm going to have the "Well, we're in it, but we'll find a way to blow it" feeling I've had the last few years.

---------- Post added August-15th-2011 at 10:22 AM ----------


I have always assumed that Mike Shanahan loves his stretch-boot because it gives his QB the time to look deep first, but that could be a false assumption.

Rex looked great, but I still believe that Mike will go with Beck if John can keep the competition close.

Could be the case with the Stretch Action play with Shanahan. I know a ton of coaches that run it at HS, college and some even at the pro level, that preach to look TE first. But Shanahan could have a different set of reads, I guess we just don't know :)

[wrecker]

The ball was there, Stallworth had a step. Should have caught that pass.

**** it! I'm going deep. It's just a shame my flankers can't catch.

It was a pretty pass. Armstrong would have had it.

[KDawg]

It was a pretty pass. Armstrong would have had it.

I do agree that the ball looked awesome. Tight spiral. :)

I got practice, I'll check in later :)

[ScreamingAmish]

Good observations overall, nice writeup. I'd like to talk about the Rex pass, but I promise I'll keep my panties on straight. :silly:

The thing I'd like to point out to everybody ( because it does keep getting mentioned in various posts ) is on the Rex deep pass to Stallworth: 1) Dante was close enough to get his hand under it. For having only 1 week to practice with the receiver that was a pretty accurate pass. 2) I remember seeing info graphics last year about how McNabb had to change his read order in Kyle's system. Kyle wants his QBs to take the deep option first and then look closer. Assuming that is still the case and knowing that Dante did have a step on the defender I'd say that Rex made the correct decision within the system.

Otherwise I agree with your observations. ( Looks like someone beat me to the punch, sorry about the double team. ) Hail.

[ouvan59]

Rex Grossman: Some disagree with me, but there was an outside zone (Stretch) naked action play where Fred Davis was wide open twenty yards downfield and Rex went for the home run in the end zone to Donte Stallworth. I like the fact that he had the nutsack to go for that, but, it wasn't a great decision. Yes, Stallworth had a step on the defenders, and Grossman, for a positive, put the ball in a place where only Stallworth would catch it. Problem was not even Stallworth could have caught that. I think he needed to check down to Davis there and Davis would have gained a ton of yards. Some will disagree with me there, and that's okay, so don't get your panties wadded up. He also threw the ball directly to Larry Foote on a pass play near the end zone that could have wound up as a pick. But again, as a whole, he played well.



I'm one of the ones that disagrees with you. Stallworth was doubled but he had both men beat. If you've got a guy open deep you have to go for it. It was a bad throw not a bad decision IMO especially since it was 1st down. 2nd or 3rd down maybe you check down. It was also a message that they couldn't ignore the deep throw since we'd been doing a lot of dumpoffs early.

[themurf]

Nicely done, kind sir. Although the sooner you realize there's no such thing as a usable quote from Roy Helu, the better.

[Darkstarr]

Yeah in Shanny's Offense, you look deep (as a general rule) first on boot leg options. Usually there will be 3 layers (deep wr, middle te, and short fb). The pass was not complete, but considering the struggles the skins have to score td's atm, if the shot is there take it. Risk/Reward said go for it.

[KingGibbs]

Not bad Dawg. I could add to it, but I have a case of the Monday's.

However, you really need to let go of the so-called "mistake" by Grossman. Yeah, he could've thrown to Davis for a nice gain. But, Rex clearly saw that Stallworth had beaten the corner and his safety help. He saw an opportunity for six and the play was there for six and it was a matter of inches.. You know as well as I do those opportunities don't come often in the NFL and when it is available you take it.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

What I am going to love about this team (I think) is that we'll sink or swim with mostly younger players. So, a 6-10 record in 2011 will come with some hope for the future. Last year's 6-10 was tough considering that we knew most of our key contributors weren't here for the long haul.

[skins island connection]

One thing I noticed was improvement on tackling, at least from an overall perspective.
The one single thing that constantly sent me over the edge was "shoulder tackling", which was an often repeated move throughout the last few years. Seeing Hall going after the weakest poiint of a runner worked alot better than trying to give them the shoulder, and I believe LL has a good memory of being steamrolled, so hopefully a solid tackling performance will equal positives for the defense...

[pjfootballer]

It does matter, though. When you look at everything technique was, to the best of your ability without fully knowing scheme, they looked much improved. The team hustled. The team put in a ton of effort. And the best thing Rex has going for him, the team played for Rex Grossman.

Score doesn't matter. Effort, determination, technique and discipline (lack of penalties) do. :)

I like what Joe Theismann said. The offense looked efficient. No penalties, no turnovers, no sacks and 25 first downs at one point. We still have a problem of lack of touchdowns. FIve FG attempts suck. I'd like to see more of those converted to TDs, but I have the offense an B+ for this effort.


I'll just add, to calm expectations, that I remember looking at this team last preseason and thinking how well prepared they were. Just something for us all to keep in our back pocket.

I don't remember that we were this prepared last year. Maybe preparation isn't the right word. I think both the offense and defense looked more comfortable in the schemes then last year.

[scruffylookin]

Has anyone asked Shanahan about that throw?

I tend to agree with those that say that the deep throw was the first read and Stallworth was open and Rex made the proper read and took the shot. But until Shanahan confirms this it's all speculation.

I think Rex looked great on Friday. His throws had zip. His TD to Moss was fantastic. Great recovery after the poor snap. He looked to be in total command of the offense. Exactly what he looked like last year when he came in.

[mossomo]

He looked to be in total command of the offense.

Indeed. Was refreshing. Beck doesn't have this thing. Will be interesting to see his performance this week.

[Mad Mike]

Outstanding report and observations. I hope to see more from you in the future if you can find the time. Thanks. :cheers:

A few notes of my own.

Tim Hightower - Just want to add that I was encouraged to see him put two arms around the ball on contact. From the reports of his fumbling I half expected a more casual grip.

Rex Grossman - No judgment because every play in the NFL is a mater of fractions of an inch, but that first pass form the endzone was almost tipped for a possible INT. Just saying... a fraction of an inch and that first play could have been a disaster. Then again that was against the first team and one of the NFLs best defenses. Then, at the end of the drive, one poster in the game thread freaked out about play calling not going into the end zone. But in watching the game again, that was on Rex (to be fair under extreme pressure). On that play there were two receivers in the endzone and one was raising his hand for the ball. Maybe on a pre snap read, Rex should have been looking left because a really quick throw there might have been a TD. But that's a lot of "ifs" and it may be that Rex played it best by being smart and safe. At any rate it was NOT on play calling that we didn't throw into the endzone.

Roy Helu - Good observation here. I was disappointed in his burst as I saw it in the game. I hope it gets better as he gets more comfortable because it looked to me like he was hesitant. I just expected more from his combine stats where he was one of the quickest backs in the 20 and short shuttle. It also looks like he may take a while to develop more power to play against bigger NFL linemen and backers. I hope he gets in early at some point so we can see him play with the first string line. I'd like to see what he can do with bigger holes.

[darrelgreenie]

Good thread Kdawg-

On the whole I think Rex played well, he had a few bad throws and a few poor decisions.
But, net-net for Rex it was a great game.
I think the bigger story is that Rex's level of play is a testament to Kyle's offense/playcalling.

I thought all the backs looked good.
I liked the way all the backs ran.
Helu's accleration excites me, he stuck his foot in the ground after he caught a swing pass from Clemenza and ran around the Steelers CB like the guy was stuck in mud, wow!
If he's our 3rd/4th back then our backfield is upgraded big time.

I agree w/ you about Rocky, I was saying in the draft thread that Rocky looked hesitant and for lack of a better word..soft.

o The defensive scheme seems more aggresive (1-gap/stunting) then last year.

o On the whole it seems like more teams are doing more gameplanning then usual for preseason; and we appear to be part of that group.
(IIRC WCO teams tend to gameplan more then most teams)

[SpacePenguin]

-James Davis didn't get a single carry. Draughns got more carries than he did. That's not a good sign for JD.

Yeah, really fighting the urge to flip out about this, was calmed by remembering Shanahan's terrible HB evaluating practices in the preseason.

But now I read James Davis was heated about the lack of opportunity himself. There isn't enough Kool-Aid on the planet for me to understand why Royster is favored over Davis. I watched each in college, and its really no comparison.

Only thing I can figure is lack of work ethic, which, if this is the case, he should've been cut a week ago with Henson, and lack of pass protection skills, in this case....does it matter if he gets Kellen Clemens killed in the 2nd half?

I guess it's Shanny's way or the high way, but it doesn't mean I have to agree with it.

Things looked good on Friday night, but I'm pretty sure Royster's stats had more to do with the OL than any athletic ability.

[Botched]

Nice write-up KDawg, thanks.

My biggest gripe from the whole game was our time out on the first series. We had just driven 89 yards without breaking a sweat, and then we completely kill our momentum and gave the defense a rest with that timeout. I knew right away that we wouldn't get in the endzone after that.

[joeknows]

Things looked good on Friday night, but I'm pretty sure Royster's stats had more to do with the OL than any athletic ability.

are you giving the O-line credit for an RB's stats? im not sure i have EVER seen our O-line be given credit on this board for anything other than str8 sucking!

my my .... how times change....

[SpacePenguin]

are you giving the O-line credit for an RB's stats? im not sure i have EVER seen our O-line be given credit on this board for anything other than str8 sucking!

my my .... how times change....

Hehe. the last Redskin back I could say that about would be Ladell Betts. Wonder if the mention of the holy one will conjure up McD5.

Anyways, I think pretty much any HB we put in the 2nd half of that game would've done well. The Steelers did not come to play, and wanted to get the hell out of there, from what I saw. So maybe a combo of that and a better OL. It's never one thing in such a complex sport as football.

[Chris 44]

Thanks for the write up KDawg.

[doghouse4x4]

It was a pretty pass. Armstrong would have had it.

Nobody would have had it. The throw was out of bounds.

[bedlamVR]

Gotta say good overall write up - I like the reasoning if I don't agree with everything .

The Rex thing in particular is neither here nor there - it ended up with the ball on the floor in the preseason - - but there is one thing which struck me in the soundbites from today's practice - Rex was saying that he implicitly trusts Gaffney and Moss (interesting considering Gaffney has been running in this system a few weeks) but he also talked about how Davis knows exactly what he has to do to step up - not really gushing ...

[LUCKYMAN]

Royster doesn't do anything for me. Basically seems like another Marcus Mason type. Not very explosive or fast. Just a good preseason runner that's gets yards but won't do anything in the "real" season. We should give Davis another look.

First of all...Royster is the ALL TIME leading rusher at Penn State. Marcus Mason types don't do that. So you are wrong. However, I do agree with you that he does not appear very explosive or fast from where you and I sit in our easy chairs. Try telling that to the people who keeps chasing him from behind. This guy is a houdini. He just seems to teleport himself downfield and somehow he has 5 or 6 yards when everybody was around him. No clue how he does it. I don't care. The guy is a great running back. He moves the chains. Also...you are wrong about your boy Davis. He cannot even show up for Practice. Coach doesn't even know where he is and has labeled him MIA. Is that really the kind of guy you want to promote here on this board?

[MartinC]

Hehe. the last Redskin back I could say that about would be Ladell Betts. Wonder if the mention of the holy one will conjure up McD5.

Anyways, I think pretty much any HB we put in the 2nd half of that game would've done well. The Steelers did not come to play, and wanted to get the hell out of there, from what I saw. So maybe a combo of that and a better OL. It's never one thing in such a complex sport as football.

I would hope McD5 is keeping his head down after confidently predicting our starting offense would not get 50 total yards against the Steelers.

[SpacePenguin]

I would hope McD5 is keeping his head down after confidently predicting our starting offense would not get 50 total yards against the Steelers.

Haven't seen BrandonLloydChristmas around either, he made the exact same prediction, complete with the obligatory "BOOK IT". The Lucksters seem to have gone into hibernation as well.

ExtremeSkins is uncharacteristically grounded in reality after this weekend. It's a good thing.

---------- Post added August-15th-2011 at 03:28 PM ----------


First of all...Royster is the ALL TIME leading rusher at Penn State. Marcus Mason types don't do that. So you are wrong. However, I do agree with you that he does not appear very explosive or fast from where you and I sit in our easy chairs. Try telling that to the people who keeps chasing him from behind. This guy is a houdini. He just seems to teleport himself downfield and somehow he has 5 or 6 yards when everybody was around him. No clue how he does it. I don't care. The guy is a great running back. He moves the chains. Also...you are wrong about your boy Davis. He cannot even show up for Practice. Coach doesn't even know where he is and has labeled him MIA. Is that really the kind of guy you want to promote here on this board?

He didn't show up after having an argument with the coaching staff over playing time Sunday night. Can't say I blame him either, why sit around on the sidelines all preseason and watch the no burst magician running through giant holes out there just to get cut without getting a shot?

But hey, I'm not trying to fight with you about it, out of our hands anyways. I knew when Royster was drafted it meant Davis was in trouble. It doesn't endear him to me in the least, putting his unimpressive running style aside. He does get yards somehow, I'll give you that.

I think many of us simply wanted a foil to Torain/Hightower, a change of pace back who's a threat to break a big one any play. Since Helu isn't ready, and drops at the slightest hint of contact, Davis is really the only option for a change of pace back early this season. Royster most certainly doesn't have the breakaway speed for this role.

[NLC1054]

The problem with JD (and what got him benched last season) is that he can't block. The fact that he whiffed on blocks in game action, and then whiffs on blocks in camp and practice...you have to be able to block in this offense.

Love it or hate it, Evan Royster is productive. Somehow, someway, he gets yards. He might not dazzle you he may not break out the big run very often...but he always falls forward, he gets yards, he can catch, and he can BLOCK. You earn your spot, and if James Davis wants to go elsewhere, perhaps it'd be better for him to go to Mike and asked to be released or traded, instead of going AWOL like a punk.

Sometimes, it matters more that a guy is productive and can always positively effect the chains. Right now, of the three backs that look like they'll be starting week 1, you have a nice mix. Hightower has a little bit of that breakaway potential, but he's also a hard runner, can catch, can block, can bowl over people and run away from people. He's probably the most complete guy we have. Royster doesn't have the break away speed or that burst, but he's got great vision, he can also catch, he's a smooth runner, and he can block. Helu's got the breakaway speed, he's shifty in space, he can catch the ball some. He might not be the best blocker yet, but he's a rookie, not a three year vet.

Arguing with coaches like Bobby Turner isn't going to win him more playing time. (If it was Bobby Turner he argued with, if he argued with anyone).

[SpacePenguin]

He's not going to improve his blocking skills on the sidelines. If the staff didn't like what he brought to the table in passpro, then cut him along with Henson a week ago. Hell, he was benched against the Giants last year, for the rest of the season, for a missed block, so they knew what they were getting with him.

Instead they decided to string him along, I suppose in case of injury.

This is what angers me. I can understand why Davis would be upset, since he wanted to be here over other teams last season.

Sorry to hijack your thread, Kdawg. He's pretty much gone at this point anyways, so I'll drop it.

[NLC1054]

He's not going to improve his blocking skills on the sidelines. If the staff didn't like what he brought to the table in passpro, then cut him along with Henson a week ago. Hell, he was benched against the Giants last year, for the rest of the season, for a missed block, they knew what they were getting with him.

Instead they decided to string him along, I suppose in case of injury.

This is what angers me.

Well it's hard to put him into the game knowing he can whiff on a block and get your quarterback creamed. (See: Tampa Bay game). They're not stringing him along. There's still other backs in camp, and if JD was being impressive, he'd be in the game. As it stands, he'll probably have his chance to make the team as a depth back if he plays well in the fourth preseason game, but right now, even Shaun Draugn is beating him out.

And regardless of the situation, you don't yell at your position coach, and then decide to blow off practice the next day. That's not going to earn Davis anymore playing time, and in a weird way, it probably makes it LESS likely that Mike will work with him. It's not going to impress his teammates or the offensive coordinator and certainly not the head coach. Pouting about the situation didn't work for Fat Al or McNabb, how's it going to work for the (current) 5th string running back?

As you said, they know what they have in him now. They don't know what they have in Hightower on film, and the same goes with Royster and Helu, and all of them have showed willingness and the ability to improve that JD happened. The guy has upside, but you have to be a professional when you're dealing with adversity. I'd also like to say this is now the second time he's gotten on a coaching staff's bad side, and while Eric Mangini might've sucked as a coach, it seems a bit too much of a coincidence.

[Enter Apotheosis]

Tim Hightower - Just want to add that I was encouraged to see him put two arms around the ball on contact. From the reports of his fumbling I half expected a more casual grip.

When Hightower gets a little off-balance after contact you'll see him extend his ball-carrying arm as he tries to right himself and push for extra yards, leaving himself vulnerable to an easy strip. He did seem to do a decent job of covering up when he expected contact, though.


Roy Helu - Good observation here. I was disappointed in his burst as I saw it in the game. I hope it gets better as he gets more comfortable because it looked to me like he was hesitant. I just expected more from his combine stats where he was one of the quickest backs in the 20 and short shuttle. It also looks like he may take a while to develop more power to play against bigger NFL linemen and backers. I hope he gets in early at some point so we can see him play with the first string line. I'd like to see what he can do with bigger holes.

I suspect Helu will get a workload in week two similar to what Royster had in week one. He should start to look more dangerous as he gets more touches and gets into a rhythm, too.

[SpacePenguin]

And regardless of the situation, you don't yell at your position coach, and then decide to blow off practice the next day. That's not going to earn Davis anymore playing time, and in a weird way, it probably makes it LESS likely that Mike will work with him. It's not going to impress his teammates or the offensive coordinator and certainly not the head coach. Pouting about the situation didn't work for Fat Al or McNabb, how's it going to work for the (current) 5th string running back?



Davis absolutely went about this in the wrong way, and you're right it does nothing but hurt his chances to lose his cool like that. That being said, I can understand why he'd react like this. Just as you pointed out, this isn't the first coaching staff that Davis has landed in the doghouse with. On the flipside, this isn't the first player that Shanny's iron fisted motivational tactics have offended.

Good post, I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle as usual.

[KDawg]

Folks, I'm not going to let go of the Grossman throw to Stallworth. I even noted Stallworth had a step. I just didn't like the decision. Others did. Different strokes, different folks. That's not a situation I want my QB taking a shot in. If you would, I'm okay with that :)

Really wish I had access to Shanahan after the game. Really wanted to ask him that.

murf, it's become painstakingly obvious that that's the case with Helu... :ols:

SpacePenguin, football talk is always welcome in my threads.

Everyone else, thanks for reading. And I appreciate the kudos.

[darrelgreenie]

Arguing with coaches like Bobby Turner isn't going to win him more playing time. (If it was Bobby Turner he argued with, if he argued with anyone).I hope he had the sense not to argue w/ Bobby Turner.
And if he did argue w/ coach Turner he was probably smart not to show up today, Bobby being Mike's right hand man and all.

I understand why the kid was upset but he went about it thee wrong way.

[KDawg]

I hope he had the sense not to argue w/ Bobby Turner.
And if he did argue w/ coach Turner he was probably smart not to show up today, Bobby being Mike's right hand man and all.

I understand why the kid was upset but he went about it thee wrong way.

Without a doubt. You want playing time? Throwing a temper tantrum won't help. In fact, the 'Skins really have no reason to even release him at this point. He gave the entire deck of cards to the 'Skins until roster cut downs are necessary... And there's virtually no film on James Davis running the football.

Very poor decision on his part.

[thesubmittedone]

Great job on all of this KDawg, hope to see more like it! I'm digging into it right now. :)

[LUCKYMAN]

While I appreciate that everybody wants to be a junior coach and offer their expert analysis in the hopes that Coach Shanahan will drop by here and take your advice, I gotta say that some of you people cannot possibly be real Redskins fans. You however are real Redskins critics. Sometimes I think it would take a 50-0 victory with 17 sacks and zero yards rushing defense in order to satisfy you.

My Gawd critics...the Redskins just got through completely outplaying the Superbowl Pittsburgh Steelers. The offense ran the ball on the number 1 rushing defense in the NFL, the FIRST team offense had an 89 yard drive on the Steelers FIRST team defense. The Redskins won the game. There were no injuries. Everybody else is happy. And yet all you can do is start a thread to point out all the discrepancies and knit picking plays that didn't go the way you think it should have gone. Well, congratulations. Maybe this week the Redskins can take all your professional and expert tips, and do a better job.

As for me, I was happy with the performance. And this week, I will be pleased if the Skins can run the ball once again, and if the offensive line protects the QB as well as last week, and if the Redskins can get another first half TD. Those 3 things would be HUGE considering that last season this team was totally incompetent and impotent at all three. It doesn't take much to make me happy. In fact I am a lot like Coach Shanahan. I am happy as long as we get better every day and show improvement and win ball games.

Calm down folks and learn to be thankful!

[darrelgreenie]

Football at its core is about analysis and assessment.

I don't think the intent of this thread, and OP please correct if I'm wrong, was about wether the game made us happy vs not happy.
Rather this thread is an attempt at a more in depth assessment of the game in specifics.

It's straight football talk and its one of the reason this forum is cool.

[KDawg]

Football at its core is about analysis and assessment.

I don't think the intent of this thread, and OP please correct if I'm wrong, was about wether the game made us happy vs not happy.
Rather this thread is an attempt at a more in depth assessment of the game in specifics.

It's straight football talk and its one of the reason this forum is cool.

Don't bother with LUCKYFAN. He clearly skimmed through all of the good in the OP and went right to the negative. The OP was mainly positive. Yet, he comes in here and flings insults. He's juvenile, to say the least.

[Jumbo]

Don't bother with LUCKYFAN. He clearly skimmed through all of the good in the OP and went right to the negative. The OP was mainly positive. Yet, he comes in here and flings insults. He's juvenile, to say the least.

I think you called him a troll before your edit, and I just will say I agree. That's one of the reasons (and reason enough on its own) that UNLUCKYMAN won't be posting here again. We are all stocked up on every form of stupid and annoying and don't need new applicants. There are enough guys here holding on to those positions already, if only due to seniority. ;)

[TE#80]

Fox was the linebacker that was responsible for the Steelers touchdown. After horton missed the tackle fox just crumbled in the hole and was easily sealed off by their O linemen.

[KDawg]

I think you called him a troll before your edit, and I just will say I agree. That's one of the reasons (and reason enough on its own) that UNLUCKYMAN won't be posting here again. We are all stocked up on every form of stupid and annoying and don't need new applicants. There are enough guys here holding on to those positions already, if only due to seniority. ;)

I did. I edited to try to remain civil. :ols:

[mudhog]

I think you called him a troll before your edit, and I just will say I agree. That's one of the reasons (and reason enough on its own) that UNLUCKYMAN won't be posting here again. We are all stocked up on every form of stupid and annoying and don't need new applicants. There are enough guys here holding on to those positions already, if only due to seniority. ;)


Wow, that was a pretty quick flame-out by the Luckmeister.

Seems like just the other day I was reading his first post.:notworthy

Hail

[Chump Bailey]

KDawg, did you notice Xavier Fulton and Willie Smith's play at all? Smith seems to be a legit reserve OT. Fulton was playing OG I think? I wanted us to take a look at Fulton when he declared. I agree with you about Capers and don't think he's going to make it.