Not Every Loss Has a Goat or Should Make Your Blood Boil

[kleese]

As some of you know, my "theme" on ES this year is that I'm holding Shanny accountable in terms of wins and losses this year. My expectations/goals are pretty modest... 7 to 9 wins and clear development in key spots. I won't pass final judgement on the season until its over of course, but I will update where I think we are along the way.

Through five games, I am content with what I see AND the results. Not thrilled, not doing cartwheels, but content. I think our 2-3 record and how we've attained it are acceptable at this point. I marked Tampa as a must win for several reasons and they got it done.

I think it's natural in an emotional game like football to try and cast blame after every loss. And sure, technically, someone is always at fault. But I am process driven. I liked the process the Redskins followed yesterday and it left me with no anger or frustration after our loss:

The defense was great--- executed the plan as best as they could. Atlanta had ZERO points with 2:00 left in the half AND the defense scored a TD. If I told Atlanta would be scoreless at the 2:00 warning and Kerrigan would have a TD, 100% of fans would have jumped for joy and probably assumed we had a 14-17 point lead.

But the offense was unable to help the defense.

So am I mad at the offense?

Not really. I liked the plan. They clearly wanted to try and control the clock. Morris was running well and the staff made obvious calls in an effort to protect RG3... Lots of quick passes that didn't even leave him th option to scramble. I would say that I think Kyle probably went a tad too conservative and probably should have given RG3 a few more chances, but again, I really don't have a problem with the gameplan... It just didn't quite come together. Drops killed us. Davis, Garçon, and Moss all had key drops that stalled drives and put our D back out on the field.

The one man I am mad at is Cundiff. That miss was killer. Not only did it cost us 3 points, but it shifrs momentum. No guarantee Atlanta scores that TD after a kickoff.

The defense continued to hold firm in the second half... Then, the huge sequence when RG3 got hurt. And that play is 100% on RG3 himself. Just a really dumb decision considering he had nowhere to go. Bad move on his part and it hurt his team and put Cousins in a tough spot.

Am I mad Rex wasn't in?

No, the future is now. Cousins earned the job in preseason. He made some nice throws including the TD to Moss. People act as if Rex never threw an INT on a final drive....

The defense is getting way too hammered by fans. Absurdly so. Our offense went three and out, Moss TD, three and out, after RG3 went down. Ran 9 total plays. The D was gassed. Jones made a great play on the TD catch and then the D did stop them and force a long FG attempt... Which of course they made.

After the last three and out, the D had nothing left. The Falcons final TD drive was pretty easy, but up to that point the D made them work all day long for everything they got.

No way to know this, but my gut tells me we win if RG3 stays in the game. Not a fact by any means, but put a gun to my head and that's what I would say.

The plan was sound yesterday.... Execution at times a bit off, but I was pleased with just about everything we did outside of Cundiff and the drops. Atlanta made som really tough/clutch plays in the 4th.

It was as "good" as a loss gets.

Now, next week, I won't be so forgiving. The Vikings game is a must win for me just like Tampa... I will likely be forced to change my tune if RG3 doesn't play, but assuming he does, we need to win that game... No excuses. Catching Vikings at a great time.

Through five games, I am just fine with where we are.

[Thirtyfive2seven]

I agree with you. The Skins are a young team in the process of rebuilding. Losses are to be expected especially with a rookie QB. I think the disconnect with some fans is they see a team like the Jets or the Falcons win in their first year with a rookie QB and that's not typical unless there are other pieces in place. The Redskins have holes that need to be filled on defense and offense. I won't get into that because you all know what they are.

I'm with you Kleese. This team can hang with anyone and eventually it will come together but I don't think it'll be this year.

[SJValleySkinz]

If they wanted to control the clock Morris should have had more carries. Consequently they were far from controlung the clock

[skins4eva]

A well reasoned and level-headed view, Kleese. It's hard for me to do that--I get way too worked up after losses (and wins for that matter). I wasn't a huge fan of Kyle's playcalling in the game. I thought it was too disjointed, and I would have liked to have seen us really pound the football and work the PA pass until they figured out a way to stop us. I also think the offense needs to move with a little more momentum. Just when we have a defense on its heels, it always seems as though we decide to use every second of the playclock and allow them to regroup. I wonder what we would look like in a no-huddle outside of the two minute drill. Perhaps it's too much to throw at RGIII. The concussion is a huge, devastating event, and at least for me, it made me realize that we've drafted an incredibly talented QB, given up our future for him, and there's no guarantee that he will play in this league for a long time. He has to learn his limitations and realize that football is a 60 minute game, and it's almost always ok to throw the ball away and live to see another day.

I'm frustrated with where we are because if we could just get our offense and defense to both play well in the same week, we could easily be 4-1 right now.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Great post kleese. Coming into the game, I would have been happy to hear that we hung in the game and lost by 7 in a tight one...especially if I knew that Griffin was knocked out in the third quarter.

We are in year 1 and playing a team that should challenge for a Suoer Bowl. No shame in being worn down by a team as good as Atlanta.

[Warhead36]

Good post Kleese. I agree 100%.

We had a good plan, and we executed okay at times but made a few too many mistakes to beat a powerhouse like Atlanta.

---------- Post added October-8th-2012 at 12:16 PM ----------

If they wanted to control the clock Morris should have had more carries. Consequently they were far from controlung the clock

We only ran 48 plays. 18 of them were Morris carries. Grant also had a carry and I believe RG3 had one designed run. 20 runs and 28 passes is a pretty solid ratio, unless all you want to see is run run pass punt. Gotta maintain some diversity.

Where we lost the game was 3rd down. We couldn't sustain drives, they sustained too many. That creates a domino effect where the D gets gassed while the O can't maintain rhythm.

[Skinz4Life12]

this is a good post. i'd love to see RG3 recover and have a bounce back win over the Vikings this week. 3-3 with a wide open division this year. Anything could happen

[KingGibbs]

I like your style kleese. There was alot of positives from yesterday's game, but all of these moral victories have led many of us to be apathetic. I hate when I see what was IMO the best defensive effort of the year and yet another great effort from Morris wasted. We've seen too much of this under Shanny and if it was anyone else but Shanny as the HC fans would be callling for his heads. As the old saying goes ."You are what your record says you are" and quite frankly Shanny hasn't delivered thus far. Like you, I'm reserving judgement 'til the end of the season, but he is under the proverbial microscope. His 4-14 home record coupled with 8 straight losses is completely unacceptable for a veteran coach like Shanny.

[SJValleySkinz]

Good post Kleese. I agree 100%.

We had a good plan, and we executed okay at times but made a few too many mistakes to beat a powerhouse like Atlanta.

---------- Post added October-8th-2012 at 12:16 PM ----------



We only ran 48 plays. 18 of them were Morris carries. Grant also had a carry and I believe RG3 had one designed run. 20 runs and 28 passes is a pretty solid ratio, unless all you want to see is run run pass punt. Gotta maintain some diversity.

Where we lost the game was 3rd down. We couldn't sustain drives, they sustained too many. That creates a domino effect where the D gets gassed while the O can't maintain rhythm.

I think if Morris gets the ball more we could have found ourselves in more managable 3rd down situations. I agree that the loss in itself isn't a bad one considering who we were playing, but certain aspects of the playcalling on offense still make my blood boil. The Falcons could not stop us to save their lives on conventional running plays and I think we should have went to that a lot more. When something is working that well you force the other team to adjust to it and until RG3 went out it didn't look like they were making any adjustments. I can't help but feel like if Morris gets the ball on conventional running plays on the sequence Griffin got injured he finds the endzone.

[skinsfan07]

this is a good post. i'd love to see RG3 recover and have a bounce back win over the Vikings this week. 3-3 with a wide open division this year. Anything could happen

Especially if Dallas loses next week, the G-Men Lose to SF and Philly loses to Detroit. We'd be right back in the mix. We'd be tied with the Eagles and G-Men for 1st in the division.

[authentic]

what killed the momentum in the first half wasn't only the missed FG my Cundiff, but the decision to run on the 3 and 6 right before the FG. I think we got too conservative and should have went for either the TD or at leas the first down. We should have went into the Half either 14-7 or at least 10-7.. Otherwise i really didn't have much of a problem with the game plan, just disappointed with the dropped passes and lack of pass rush..

[skins4eva]

I like your style kleese. There was alot of positives from yesterday's game, but all of these moral victories have led many of us to be apathetic. I hate when I see what was IMO the best defensive effort of the year and yet another great effort from Morris wasted. We've seen too much of this under Shanny and if it was anyone else but Shanny as the HC fans would be callling for his heads. As the old saying goes ."You are what your record says you are" and quite frankly Shanny hasn't delivered thus far. Like you, I'm reserving judgement 'til the end of the season, but he is under the proverbial microscope. His 4-14 home record coupled with 8 straight losses is completely unacceptable for a veteran coach like Shanny.

Yup--that's absolutely correct. We're all giving him wide berth because let's face it--many of us can't stomach the consequences of Shanny's hiring and his master plan not working and at least restoring us to contender status. But, the fact remains that there are Sunday's like yesterday, where this team still insists on finding every possible way to lose a game instead of finding ways to win. It's tough to understand how this can still be the case three years into his tenure. It's tough to rationalize Danny Smith remaining as a coach on this team given our special team lapses year after year. It's even more difficult to understand why we are incapable of finding a reliable placekicker. Every other team in the league seems to have the little details like this ironed out.

I'm not sold on Shanny or his son (especially his son) at all. But, what choice do we really have at this point other than to hope for the best? Unfortunately, a season's worth of consecutive home losses coupled with a bad injury to our franchise QB have made me feel worse about this team than I have in some time--and that's saying something.

[Skinz4Life12]

Especially if Dallas loses next week, the G-Men Lose to SF and Philly loses to Detroit. We'd be right back in the mix. We'd be tied with the Eagles and G-Men for 1st in the division.

yep, that's what i'm talking about. I haven't been overly impressed with what I've seen from the vikings but they are finding a way to win. the fact that they beat SF is impressive so I definitely have my doubts. I like our chances to win with a healthy RG3 though

[Warhead36]

I think if Morris gets the ball more we could have found ourselves in more managable 3rd down situations. I agree that the loss in itself isn't a bad one considering who we were playing, but certain aspects of the playcalling on offense still make my blood boil. The Falcons could not stop us to save their lives on conventional running plays and I think we should have went to that a lot more. When something is working that well you force the other team to adjust to it and until RG3 went out it didn't look like they were making any adjustments. I can't help but feel like if Morris gets the ball on conventional running plays on the sequence Griffin got injured he finds the endzone.

So should every pass play been replaced with a run? No guarantee that would have worked. The run game was stonewalled in the 2nd half, 80+ of Morris's yards were in the 1st half.

Teams usually don't have a high # of run attempts unless they're leading late in the game and are just running out the clock. We were in a competitive game and had to maintain a diverse run/play selection to try to keep the ball moving.

[authentic]

yep, that's what i'm talking about. I haven't been overly impressed with what I've seen from the vikings but they are finding a way to win. the fact that they beat SF is impressive so I definitely have my doubts. I like our chances to win with a healthy RG3 though

they are very impressive on defense (sort of reminds me of TB).. outside of AP, i think their Off is pretty average. Also it appears Ponder will give your defense an opportunity for at least 2 picks in a game.