Welcome back to the B&G Report! Sunday nights win over the Oakland Raides was as good as it gets for a Skins fan! It was the most dominating Redskins performance on defense, that I’ve seen in years! It was actually the least amount of yards given up in a game since the 1992 season, in which the Redskins won SB XXVI. In no way I’m I saying this team is in their league, but the potential to be great is there. The Skins were excellent on both sides of the ball vs the Raiders. Last weeks game plan was “Ground & Pound”, but on Sunday night Captain Kirk put on an aerial show! Cousins was an impressive 25-30 365 YP and threw for three touchdowns with zero interceptions. The Michigan State product looked sharp, accurate and most importantly had a huge pocket most of the night. Many columns I’ve read have stated, that without DeSean Jackson Kirk will not be able to throw the long bomb. Djax had a knack for getting under long throws, no matter how off target they were. In 2017 insert second year WR Josh Doctson. Although the TCU product only had one catch on the night, he sure made It count. Doctson cought a 52 yard bomb, showing shades of Randy Moss on the catch, as he leaped over a defender and snatched the ball on his way to the end zone. Incidentally former Redskins cornerback David Amerson was in coverage and was frequently targeted. One again the O-Line aka Hogs 2.0 came to play and created a comfortable cushion for Cousins to go to his playmaker Chris Thompson, numerous times for big gains. On this night it was about the pass protection. On defense the Redskins were even better than Cousins and the offense. Greg Manusky’s “cracking skull” defense only allowed 128 total yards, as well as not allowing a 3rd down conversion all night (0-11). The score was not indicative of how competitive this game was though. With the exception of the Crowder muffed punt, which led to a touchdown & Perine’s fumble that led to a field goal, this game should have been a shut out. I’ll go through the Redskins offensive & defensive game results. Also new to the B&G Report is “Tell Us You Team”, this will be by a selected reader’s NFL Team, in which I’ll breakdown their last game with player notes. I’m really excited to add this topic and hope to see more reader requests! Let’s get this started!
REDSKINS OFFENSE
Although Kirk Cousins had a great night, the star of the show was Chris “Mighty Mouse” Thompson for the second week in a row. The Mighty Dynamo had another stellar performance with 150 yards receiving and adding 38 rushing yards for nearly 200 all purpose yards! It’s scary to think what Thompson could do with more touches, but I agree with Coach Gruden that he’s too valuable on 3rd down to be an every down back. I’d also like to see him motion out more in the slot as a decoy, this would set up more one on one match ups for other pass catchers. I’ve talked to a lot of Skins fans who just don’t understand why WR Terrelle Pryor (6’4) isn’t more productive. After all he’s the big red zone threat that the Skins have been missing. The former Ohio State product only had 2 catches for 19 yard versus Oakland and only 10-119 yards on the season. Cousins obliviously doesn’t have trust in Pryor as of yet to throw up jump balls, but who could blame him with all the dropped passes. I believe with more reps, Pryor will develop and play to his potential soon enough. I’m still waiting to see the former QB run some Wildcat packages, considering he’s a dual threat who can still throw a decent ball. As I previously mentioned in the last post, I expected to see second year WR Josh Doctson step up if he could stay healthy. Although he only had one reception against the Raiders, he sure made it count! In the 3rd quarter the sleeping giant was awoken. It was a 1 and 10 play for the Redskins at their own 48 yard line. This time Kirk looked off his check down and chucked it deep to Doctson, who had one on one coverage. Doctson didn’t disappoint! The TCU product leaped over the Raiders defender and made a “Randy Moss” type catch in route to a 52 yard touchdown. Although the Skins offense only totaled 116 rushing on the ground combined, it was enough to keep the Raiders offense off the field most of the night. The time of possession tells the story with a 38:06 to 21:54 time of possession advantage for the Redskins. I think we will see a more balanced attack like this game going forward if The Hogs 2.0 can keep up their dominance.
REDSKINS DEFENSIVE
Redskins Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky, has turned the Skins revamped defense unit into a powerhouse early on. The Skins currently rank in the top 5 in most statistical categories, but that doesn’t tell the real story of how they’ve dominated over the last two weeks. The Raiders game was the coming out party for this defense. Although they were impressive against the Rams, the Skins defense dominated the Raiders high powered offense led by QB Derek Carr. The emergence of 4th round rookie safety Monte Nicholson was an unexpected bonus. On the second play of the game, Carr went deep on what seemed like a Go Route down the sideline to receiver Amari Cooper. Nicholson had his eyes on Carr the entire time and leaped over Cooper to snag the interception. This kid really makes it look easy with his 4.4 speed standing 6’2. I think they’ve found something in this kid. That turnover started what would be one of the most dominating defensive performances the Skins have had in decades. Redskins DB Kendall Fuller added another interception in the second half, ILB Matrell Spaight addd a fumble recovery to cap of a three turnover day for the Skins defense. Zach Brown one again showed he has the rare speed for a linebacker, to keep up with tight ends and running g backs in coverage. As far as the Redskins defensive front line, they pummeled the highly touted Raiders Offensive line into submission. Rookie DE John Allen & second year DE Matt Ioannidis frequently pushed the Raiders O-line into Carr, closing what little pocket he had. The defense finished the day with four sacks, but also had over ten pressures frequently forcing Carr to get rid of he ball. When the Raiders turned to Marshshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch he was reduced to “Least Mode”! Coming into the Sunday Night Showdown, defensive Captain DJ Swearinger promised he’d lay the wood on Lynch and he didn’t disappoint. The defense held Lynch to a measly 18 yards on 6 carries. As a team the Raiders only had 32 rushing yards on the day. This was mostly due to the Raiders playing from behind all night, but regardless they had no lanes to do anything on the ground all night. This could be the start of something beautiful for this defense with Swearinger leading the way.
FINAL THOUGHT
The upgrades the Redskins made on defensive have started to pay dividends, the addition of DJ Swearinger in particular. The coaching upgrades though, seem to be the main reason for the Skins early success. The hiring of former San Francisco Head Coach Jim Tomsula as the defensive line coach has been huge! The Skins D-Line has been a weakness for years and the drafting of DE John Allen was a big step in the right direction. Also the hiring of defensive backs Coach Torrian Gray was an under the radar hire. Josh Norman, Swearinger and Coach Gray have quietly starting building a dynamic defensive backfield. Although the defense is still a work in progress, Defensive Coordinator Greg Manusky has changed the culture in the Capital. The toughness Manusky’s players have displayed is nothing short of miraculous. On offense Gruden and Co seem to be taking a Patriot approach, basing their offensive game plan on their opponents weakness and changing week to week. Last week it was a heavy dose of the aerial attack, compared to the week before when the Skins did the bulk of their damage in the run game. Next up is the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs on a Monday Night Showdown, in arguably one of the loudest stadiums in the league traveling to Arrowhead. Stay tuned for the B&G Chiefs Primer with matchup breakdowns and what the Skins need to do to beat the high powered Chiefs.
“TELL US YOUR TEAM”
BUFFALO BILLS SEASON REVIEW
In the first installment of the “Tell Us Your Team” Reader Rewuest form die hard Buffalo Bills fan Richard Williams requested an overview of his squad. The Bills currently sit atop the AFC East at 3-1 with an impressive win against the Atlanta Falcons today. The story this year has been the production of the Bills defense and the steady, if not spectacular play of Bills QB Tyrod Taylor & RB LeSean McCoy. In Atlanta the road warriors held Falcons Pro Bowl QB Matt Ryan to only 24/42 attempts 242 PY with 1 TD and two interceptions. The Bills defense ended the game with a red zone stop, preventing the Falcons from making a last minute push to score. The Bills offense has been a “game manager” type of offense with QB Taylor and & RB McCoy leading the way. Although the Bills only had one sack today, they forced 4 turnovers(2 int & 2 fumble forced) and that’s how close games are win in the NFL. Going forward I expect to see underrated Bills defensive coordinator LedFrazier use linebackers Lorenzo Alexanfer(former Redskin) and Jerry Hughes on more stunts/blitzes. They have combined for 4 sacks on the year and I expect their production to continue. On offense Tyrod Taylor need to find a go to target and today it was TE Charles Clay who had 115 yards receiving. Last week former Eagle WR Jordan Matthew had a decent game, but wasn’t involved today only catching 2 passes for 10 yards. McCoy is always a threat out of the backfield and receiving, so getting the ball in his hands more often will be paramount going forward. In the end the strength of this Bills team is and will be the defense. Next Sunday the Bills visit the Cincinnati Bengals who just came out of their shellacking the Browns 31-7. The Bengals offensive line is suspect, so I’m expecting a dominating performance by the Bills defense. Prediction Bills win 24-12.