The
Washington Redskins lost an ugly game last night. They started to make strides
in the second half, but it was too little – too late as they failed to do
enough to regain the lead. There was a lot of sloppy play on both sides of the
football, but in a loss, some of the better performances are getting
overlooked.
Special
Teams:
There
was only one guy who stood out for me on the unit, and he didn’t really excel
outside of one area last night. Kai Forbath on kickoffs was a different player
than last year. In 2012, Forbath couldn’t kick the football across the goal
line if he had a backwind helping him. Last night, he drilled the football to
the back of the endzone to pin returners deep and forced consistent touchbacks.
His missed field goal was a real upset for a guy who has been so good at
hitting 3-pointers so far here in Washington. The only positive to take away
from that field goal was that it was a 45+ yarder that was coasting even with
the top of the upright when it crossed the back of the endzone. If we
extrapolate that kick, it may have been good from 60+ yards out.
On
offense, three players really stood out last night above the rest for playing
well. Those guys are:
Roy
Helu, Jr.: A lot of people were ready to give up on the oft-injured Helu. I’ve
been outspoken in my support of the kid and believed cutting his workload would
make him exceptionally more effective. But Helu exceeded even my expectations
of his talent last night as he proved to be a very good pass-protection back.
Helu picked up blitzes and bailed at least twice on his routes to stay in the
pocket and provide support when a lineman was beaten. Helu didn’t get many
handoffs (a byproduct of the large lead the Eagles built) but the few occasions
that he carried the rock, he showed patience while still maintaining an edge
with his speed and burst.
Jordan
Reed: This kid has done nothing in game situations besides play well. Jordan
Reed’s biggest question mark coming into the league was his ability to block.
His injury also led coaches to question whether he could pick up the offense in
time and perform at a level high enough to earn playing time. Well, he has
certainly learned enough to play in the offense: he runs very solid routes and
shows a good knowledge of how to play vs. the defense (a byproduct of his
experience at QB). What Reed also does very well? Block. I’ll even go as far as
to say that Jordan Reed is one of the better blockers on this team. Last night
he played football and had fun on the field, and his attempted hurdle/dive to
get extra yards showed he has heart and is willing to put it all on the line
for his team, even when the team is down by a lot.
Leonard
Hankerson: I had Hank as an honorable mention on my list on Twitter, but it’s
hard to discredit his performance. The only reason I knocked him is because I
want to see Hank’s awareness of the field grow. He loses himself at times on
the sideline (something he didn’t do in college, at all). He still loses a
little effort when he’s short of the 1st down marker, which is
something he should take a page from Santana Moss’s playbook to improve on. But
Hank showed a determination last night to catch the football before he turned
upfield. He also scored twice, the second TD in the back of the endzone on a
long ball thrown perfectly by Robert Griffin III.
On
defense, four players really stood out. I wanted to add Rambo for his ability
to bring down the ball-carrier when he didn’t get shook out of his cleats, but
he got shook out of his cleats a lot, and bit up hard on some of the run fakes..
But these are mistakes rookie safeties make; even the late Sean Taylor made his
share of playaction bites and took himself out of the play. It happens. Rambo will
learn from this game and I’m sure he will make this list several times this
season.
Ryan
Kerrigan: We all know Kerrigan has a high motor, and he plays his ass off in
front of the home crowd at FedEx Field. He showed up last night before leaving
the game late with concussion-like symptoms. Kerrigan got consistent pressure
on Vick, got a notch in the sack column, got his hands up at the line to force
ugly throws from Vick, and batted a lateral pass to force a fumble which
DeAngelo Hall eventually scooped up and carried into the endzone for a TD.
Kerrigan also helped free up other rushers when the Eagles committed more
attention to him.
Perry
Riley: Riley was one of those other rushers. Used in multiple blitz packages up
the middle and on the edge, Riley really made his name known last night. There
was a fire, intensity, and motor we haven’t seen out of Perry before, and if it
carries over, we’ll be saying his name for a lot of years… that is, if he earns
the contract it looks like he’s playing for here in Washington.
Brian
Orakpo: Coming back from a torn pectoral (twice), many fans wanted to know what
to expect from Orakpo. Would he be as strong? Would he play with the same
intensity? Rak was lined up over Jason Peters almost the entire game, and while
the numbers don’t exactly reflect him putting up stats, Rak helped by grabbing
the attention of the Eagles and helping make Ryan & Perry’s job a lot
easier on the opposite side. In the run game, Rak missed one tackle which
stands out (Shady hit a massive spin move on him in the box), but I thought he
set the edge very well for the majority of the game against Peters; his
teammates just didn’t consistently close the gaps in the inside when Rak helped
free those lanes.
And
your overall player of the game for the Redskins this week:
David
Amerson: I don’t think he played a perfect game, but he damn sure didn’t do
anything noticeably bad. His name wasn’t mentioned outside of when he was
batting passes or making tackles. He wasn’t a major contributor in stopping the
run, but the Eagles ran a lot to the right or up the middle, which meant
Amerson wasn’t really the guy to attack. He had one big tipped pass which could
have been an interception, but he didn’t let his man get past him with the ball.
For a rookie who had concerns with his tendency to peak into the backfield and
bite on fakes, Amerson showed poise and patience in sticking with his man or on
his assignment in loose zones and he wasn’t targeted much because of his
committal to his duties.
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