Thoughts on Washington Redskins vs. Miami Dolphins

I had no intentions of doing this, but I suppose I'm a fool.

The Washington Redskins lost to the Miami Dolphins. Color me surprised... not. 17-10 flashed on the scoreboard as the final moments of the game came to a close, and all of the horrible decisions throughout the game flooded minds.

But we will get to the game in a minute.

I have been a Washington Redskins fan for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories in my life have to do with the Redskins. I have defended this organization and its fans through the worst times. But I am fed up of all of the idiots claiming to be fans who can not take a criticism of this team from other fans. It is something I have not seen among fanbases of other teams. When they point out a flaw or struggle in their team's games, their fans all discuss it. Here, we challenge the integrity of our own fans for such things.

Today, I pointed out that Joe Barry's defense did not excite me. I was not impressed. I was skeptical and worried. The Redskins held Miami's offense to 10 points (the other 7 came on a punt return), but I said that did not tell the whole story. Time and time again today (like the play that saw Miami TE Sims knocked unconscious, or a crucial 2nd and 10 drop by one of Miami's receivers, among many others), Miami shot themselves in the foot, stalling their own drives. It was not always Washington making a huge stop by doing something amazing on their own. In fact, several of the Redskins opportunities to do something amazing on their own ended with dropped INT's that could have changed the outcome of the game.

When I pointed this out (something I have seen many others respected among our fanbase and media say), I was told I am a horrible fan, and I'm known as the consensus douche of our fans.

@Sean_Bishop you're actually well known to the fan base, consensus is you're a douche

— 53  (@therichturpin) September 13, 2015

@Sean_Bishop typical dumb Skins fan, don't credit the D rather blame Miami miscues. You're a horrible fan.

— 53  (@therichturpin) September 13, 2015

The only thing this assclown did not do is call me a Cowboys fan... it has happened before... but now I'm just the consensus douche.

I am confident that very few offenses the Redskins face this season (teams like New England, Philadelphia, and now Buffalo looks terrifying) will not make the same mistakes Miami made today. The Redskins are not playing a defensive scheme to strike fear in the hearts of others. They are in a scheme which is relying on the opponents to make mistakes they should not make. This is the same approach Barry's defense had in Detroit when the Lions went 0-16. The same defense they tell us to ignore because that whole team was just tremendously bad.

Well, the Redskins have no secondary, generate very little pressure out of the front 7, and on top of that, have one of the worst, most neutered offenses I have seen in a long time. Yes, it's week 1 and things can change... but this is Jay Gruden and the Redskins we're talking about. I will always support this team, but I'll be damned if I don't tell the truth about our team.

Now to the offense... boy oh boy I wish I had not decided to write this. I could press close on the tab right now and just leave it be. Last chance, Sean. Nope, I'm a fool, remember?

The offense was horrendous. The team started out... fair. Kirk Cousins threw a horrible interception (a play design that never should have occurred, but a play Kirk has to know he needs to launch it downfield for). If Kirk throws that INT into the deep secondary 40 yards away, it's just a punt on third down. But he gave Miami what should have been favorable field position. Instead, Tannehill threw the aforementioned sailing ball to Sims out of bounds, resulting in a diving Sims knocking himself R-G-3 shades of stupid. The Dolphins tried to make the most of the situation, got to 4th and 1, and Ryan Kerrigan made a heroic play.

Cousins responded with a helluva drive and marched down the field nearly flawless for a score.

Then the wheels came off.

There were penalties galore by the Redskins on one drive. At one point it was three plays in a row. And then the next drive the Redskins had the ball, the penalties continued on nearly every play. Not once in either of these situations, where penalties were killing drives while the game was still very much manageable, did Jay Gruden call a timeout to talk to his team and settle his players down. There was no leadership on the field. There was no leadership on the sideline. Kirk Cousins was becoming erratic because the team was digging him deeper into a hole.

I will admit, I was fairly impressed with first half Kirk Cousins. I thought for most of the game, Jay Gruden did everything he could to put Kirk in a shitty position while still doing whatever he could to give Kirk an opportunity to look like he had a decent game in completion percentage. The only problem is, we all watched the game, Jay. We know there were multiple checkdowns. We know there were few shots taken deep. Something Kirk impressed me on that I have never seen him do well is throw the slant accurately. He managed to fit some tight windows and also lead his receivers on these routes today. But then Kirk did things I didn't like, such as force some passes out earlier than he needed when his line held up strong for him. While it's good to have a quick release, sometimes (as evidenced tonight in the Cowboys hosting the Giants) it's okay to hold the ball, let a play develop and make an off-schedule throw for a bigger gain. Jay clearly was not taking shots for Kirk, so Kirk should have taken a few opportunities to do so himself. It's not a major problem, or concerning, but it is something I would like to see from the QB who is "furthest along" in our system.

The run game did well. The young linemen blocked efficiently. And I can't go on any further in this post.