The 0-2 Washington Redskins proved one thing in their 38-20 blowout loss this week: that their poor performance against the Eagles in Week 1 was not a fluke, but indicative of issues that may likely plague the ‘Skins for the rest of the season.
It’s easy to overreact to their horrible start, especially considering the hype that surrounded the NFC East champions coming out of the preseason.
But the fact is the team looks horrible, and it’s not at all outrageous to suggest that the ‘Skins could be at the bottom of the division come January.
Are they already done? No, they’re not. But they’re close to the edge. For more than a few reasons.
Stunted offence
The issues begin for the Redskins on offence, and in two games now they have seen themselves stall badly in the first half.
Aside from the obvious point that the offense clearly has trouble moving the ball and has a lot of trouble on third down, getting into the hole early has a compounding effect on the ‘Skins offense.
In short, it forces them to move away from their game plan, which would otherwise feature a heavy load of running plays and read-option.
The Redskins become one-dimensional when they get behind and quarterback Robert Griffin III is forced to play the role of the traditional drop-back passer.
All of his plays on the ground thus far this season have been from scrambles, not from designed-run plays.
In fact, it looked like the team has completely moved away from the read-option offense, taking away exactly what made the offense so dangerous last year.
RG3 running the ball, or perhaps more accurately the threat of RG3 running the ball created all kinds of problems for defences, problems the Redskins last year willingly exploited.
Griffin III is clearly limited, but it’s unclear if he’s not making use of his legs as much because of the gameplan the Redskins coaching staff has implemented or because he is hesitant – perhaps scared – due to his recovery from the knee injury.
Either way, teams are not afraid of his legs, and until the Redskins start making full use of his speed it’s unlikely he’ll have the success he found last year.
Not without a lengthy – and potentially painful – learning process.
The offence has some major issues if they can only score during garbage time. This poor start to games is something the quarterback has taken unto himself.
“If we’re not starting fast, it’s my fault,” Griffin said postgame.
“I’m not afraid to sit here and say, ‘Put that on my shoulders.’ I’ll take that. We didn’t start fast because of me.”
That’s true, but he’s getting little help from teammates and coaching staff. Last week we considered his slow start to be rust, but it’s happened again, and that is a genuine concern moving forward.
Leaky defence
Of course, part of the problem inevitably remains with the defence, though they certainly had their work cut out for them in Week 1 against Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offence.
Had their offence stayed on the field for more than three plays in the first half and given them some time to breath, it’s possible they wouldn’t have given up so many points so early.
But either way the issues that have plagued this unit for years still remain. Issues that should have been corrected a long time ago.
Botched coverages, missed open-field tackles and poor communication between teammates led to them frequently giving up big plays.
They seem to be getting worse. The Redskins gave up 580 total yards against the Packers in Week 2, that’s a higher number than any game they played in 2012.
They gave up 322 yards in the first half against the Eagles in Week 1.
Then in Week 2 they gave up 373 yards against the Packers (again in the first half).
Of course, they’re not helped by their rookies in the secondary, safety Bacarri Rambo and cornerback David Amerson.
And while they made some positive plays on the night you could tell they’ve still got a lot to learn, most obviously by the missed tackles and mistakes in coverage.
As good as their defensive line is, it doesn’t matter if the quarterback can get the ball out fast to multiple receivers, something Aaron Rodgers can easily do (he got his passes out, on average, in 2.1 seconds.
Average time to throw for Aaron Rodgers yesterday? 2.1 seconds. During the 2012 season he was at 2.8 seconds. #protecttheprotection
— Pro Football Focus (@PFF) September 16, 2013
Bad penalties, undisciplined play
Perhaps more worrying is how often the Skins players (on both sides of the ball) were caught for dumb penalties.
Not necessarily holds or interference calls, but personal fouls. Stupid plays that do nothing other than hurt the team.
The Redskins were penalized seven times for 78 yards total on the day, making them equal seventh worst in the league.
That poor discipline included three personal fouls in the game’s first 33 minutes. Those are 15-yard penalties that absolutely kill your team.
These penalties fly in the face of what was preached by coach Mike Shanahan in the preseason.
Obviously if the Redskins start winning, the frustrations and bad plays go away, but that’s not going to happen until everybody gets it together.
This is an issue that was found in both games against the Eagles and Packers. Last year the Redskins ranked fifth overall in penalties against. False start was the most common, next to offensive holding.
Unsurprising, but something that immediately stunts an offence. Exactly what the Skins don’t want when starting a drive.
This is the same issue the Redskins had last year too, when they started the first two games leading the NFL in penalties. Little appears to have changed.
The positives
Can the Redskins claw back and make this season a positive one? Sure. It helps that they’re only one game behind in the struggling NFC East.
The New York Giants are also sitting on 0-2 while the Dallas Cowboys and Eagles are each on 1-1 after losing in Week 2.
Pierre Garcon looks to be a genuine first wide receiver this season, with 143 yards receiving and one touchdown against the Packers.
Rookie tight end Jordan Reed also looks to developing into a fantastic pass-catching option, with three catches for 18 yards and a touchdown this week.
Most notably his hands look great, and he seems able to make difficult catches on the move.
Helping this is the pass protection from left tackle Trent Williams, who has been fantastic in the first two games. He has ranked as one of the top OTs this season (so far) by Pro Football Focus. Shame they still give up pressure up the middle.
The Redskins finally have their pass rush back as well. They have seven sacks on the season thus far, ranking them equal 10th overall.
Ryan Kerrigan has surprised the most with three sacks already (and a forced fumble), fellow pass rusher Brian Orakpo has one. They got to Aaron Rodgers four times on Sunday, not a bad effort.
Next week the Redskins take on the 1-1 Detroit Lions. They bring with them the best receiver in the NFL in Calvin Johnson, and the issues in the secondary look to continue.
The Redskins will most likely find themselves in another shootout and simply cannot afford to stall on offence once more.
This game is obviously critical.
0-2 can be managed, after all, the Redskins were 3-6 at one point last season before winning their last seven games.
But if they get in an 0-3 hole, with two of those losses played at home, then expect some changes to come to the Redskins by the end of the season. Permanent ones.
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