October 7, 2006
5 questions for a Redskins blogger
I did a question exchange with a Redskins blog, an excellent idea that I can't take credit for. You'll definitely want to check out that blog now and before the Dec. 30 game and possib;y inbetween. Kind of like scouting behind enemy lines without the extremeskins crap. Anyway, check it out!
1. Which teams have defended Santana Moss best and what were their strategies for taking Moss out of the game?
Santana the Redskin has been very consistent with his number of catches per game. Never less than 2, never more than 10. The difference between a good game and a bad game for Santana is delimted in yards per catch. Santana is a two-way receiving threat, both as the short man in traffic as well as the streaking-behind-the-defense long man. Santana's first TD catch of 55 yards against the Jaguars was caught six yards downfield, and Santana spun around a direct hit at the 10 yard line. The 68 yard TD catch in OT was long for that night at 25 yards.
Against the Cowboys, though, on Monday Night last year, Santana's two TD catches were caught 30 and 45 yards from LOS. If Brunell can get it up there, Santana's open.
The games where Santana has not been open deep or had the YAC on the production have been at the Giants (last season's slaughter) and at home against the Raiders last season. In these games, he had a regular number of catches, but under 60 yards. I don't figure this season's games into that calculation. If I were though, it'd have to be the Texans, who held him to 50 yards on 6 catches. That's his worst catch-yards this season.
2. Will the Redskins offensive tackles be able to handle Umenyiora and Strahan one on one?
Not sure. Osi and Michael have combined for 18 tackes and one sack so far. They are due for a breakout game, and even though history is against the Giants after the bye, this is as good a game as any.
Jansen v. Strahan and Samuels v. Umenyiora is going to be epic. If Redskins lineplay is like the Jaguars game, yes. The Redskins offensive line was moving the Jaguars' defensive line back as the game wore on. If it's the lineplay from the Minnesota game, no. The Redskins looked overmatched and bewildered by the Vikings' rush schemes.
3. Many Giants fans are calling for a more aggressive defense that knocks receivers off their routes; could this be effective against the Redskins quick, short passes?
I thought the Redskins' gameplan for the Texans would have been a great opportunity to test out some longer passes, the timing routes, some play-action. Instead, the narrative about the Redskins gameplan was about how the shorter, 'high percentage' passes would solve the attacking defense of the Texans. Whatever we thought we saw in Houston, it worked. All day.
The difference here would be that the Giants, though not up to their game yet, are a real defense and so I would assume the quality of attack would be of higher quality in New York than Houston. Mario Williams may be a great player someday, but right now, he's worthless as the NOOP (Number One Overall Pick).
So to your question, I believe Al Saunders is showing a basic part of his philosophy with this part of the offense, that against an attacking defense, someone is out of position and so someone is open.
My opposing gameplan for the Redskins' offense would be to take away that open man short by playing bump and run and man to man on the corners, forcing the Redskins to run in the middle and throw over the middle. They had success with that against the Jaguars, but at this point, that performance is still the exception.
4. Why hasn't the Redskins defense looked as tough as they did last year?
Injury and scheme. Shawn Springs is still injured, and even though I have badmouthed Springs in the past, it's obvious how much this defense relies on him. My beef all along with Springs has been that he's got the injury bug. Never the same injury twice, but he's been dinged so much in his career that you have to think that compensating of one injury leads to another. WTF your abdominal is torn off the pubic bone and you wait until training camp to have surgery?! Still, when he comes back, I think Gregg Williams will be more confident in the corners.
In the scheme department, I truly believe Williams' philosophy is to protect the Redskins offense. As the Redskins offense has moved upwards statistically, the Redskins defense has moved down. It was ranked 3rd in 2004 (Gibbs' first year back; 7th pass / 2nd rush), 9th in 2005 (10th pass / 13th rushing -- how does that work?) and in this season so far, ranked #15 (26th pass / 5th rushing). The Redskins appear to prefer living on the edge. That means the offense has to get better, because the defense won't at least until Springs gets back. Memo to Tim Lewis: pass over the middle and send the corners into man to man downfield.
5. Who's going to win in the trenches and why?
The Giants offensive line will be challenged by the Redskins defensive line. The Redskins are improving and held the Jaguars to 33 yards rushing. Can't blame that on the Redskins' offense going out to a big lead. It was a back and forth game and the Redskins controlled the tempo on the ground the whole game. Tiki...?
The huge battle will be on the other side of the ball. If Robbins, Osi and Strahan can get it going early, that will limit the Redskins ability to use the run to set up the pass.
BONUS QUESTION: Regarding Chris Cooley, does every Redskin fan love the way he plays
or what? He's easily my Favorite Redskin because he's what a football player should be, tough but not flashy.
Chris is living the dream. Chris was a 3rd round draft pick, and played a key role in Joe Gibbs' offense as the H-back in his first two seasons. 71 catches last year, Joe's never had a TE or H-back that productive. He has a good sense for the underneath seams and as we saw against the Jaguars, can work the sidelines as well. He has not trended the same production this year, which is pretty much attributed to his Al Saunders role as a TE v. his Joe Gibbs as an H-back. As the season wears on, he should see more action.
Off the field, he's the tabloid boy. He diddled not one but two Redskins Cheerleaders, Christy and Frankie, getting them both fired. Last I heard last season, he had took up with the second one as his girlfriend, but I also think I heard he's moved onto blonder pastures. Like Sean Taylor's upside v. his stupid penalties, Chris Cooley will be a favorite as long as he's productive. The moment he drops off, the whole Spicoli thing won't fly in town.
Posted by James Trotta at October 7, 2006 1:36 AM