The Takeaways: Week 7, Redskins vs Eagles
by Steve Thomas
October 24, 2017
We’re starting a new column here at The Hog Sty, one which we’ll try our best to do after every game. Yes, yes, it’s actually week 7, but sometimes inspiration strikes at a late hour. Better late than never, as the old saying goes. The intent here is to give you a few instant “watercooler talk”-style talking points about what we learned from this week’s Redskins game so that you, the readers, can appear knowledgeable every Monday about what happened regardless of how much of the game you saw. Unfortunately, this isn’t a particularly good game to start with, considering the Redskins lost 24 – 34 in fairly depressing fashion, but we’re going to press on anyway. So, without further ado, here are this week’s Takeaways from the Redskins contest against the Eagles:
The Redskins can’t have a successful season without wide receiver production
The Redskins once again got essentially nothing of value from this position group. Combined, the wide receivers (Jamison Crowder, Josh Doctson, Ryan Grant, Terrelle Pryor, Sr.) were targeted 18 times, and had 10 catches for 100 yards and no touchdowns – in a game in which the quarterback threw for over 300 yards. Folks, that’s a good but not great day for a typical #1 receiver by himself on many teams. And that isn’t just unique to this particular game: this has been the pattern all year. If you’ve listened to the show over the past couple of months, you know that I’ve preached patience regarding the development of Terrelle Pryor, Sr., and Josh Doctson. Both of those players have the raw ability to be great, and in Pryor’s case, he’s also demonstrated the will to improve. But this experiment just isn’t working. These two players have not yet become a critical part of this offense. To compound things, Jamison Crowder, who was last year’s breakout star, has been similarly invisible all year. The Redskins are going to somehow have to figure out a way to make these players useful if they expect to finish this season in a successful manner. When the third down back is the leading receiver on a team that considers itself a passing team, that’s a problem.
The running backs failed to make an impact in limited opportunity
The return of starter Robert Kelley from injury was supposed to help spark the Redskins rushing attack. That didn’t happen. While Kelley did have a couple quality attempts, he was bottled up for most of the night, finishing with a line of 7 carries for 16 yards. Third down back Chris Thompson was once again the leading rusher with 38 carries on 7 attempts, and as a team – including three scrambles by quarterback Kirk Cousins and one carry by wide receiver Jamison Crowder, Washington finished with 75 rushing yards on 18 attempts. I don’t need to tell you that that isn’t the mark of a winning team not named the Patriots.
Poor playcalling doomed the Redskins at some points
Head coach Jay Gruden maddeningly called pass plays on third and 1 on two separate occasions, resulting in incompletions and punts both times. The higher percentage play on both would have been a running play inside, either power or inside zone. In fact, Gruden seemed to revert back to his former pass-happy ways early in the third quarter, well before the game had turned into a desperate situation. While it is true that the running game did not find success in the first half, I would argue that 14 total rushing attempts by the running backs is not nearly enough to establish a rhythm that might have led to success later in the game. This game harkened back to 2015 and ’16 Jay, who oftentimes refused to run the ball even when it was called for.
The Redskins have hit the limits of OL depth
Washington suffered a huge number of crucial injuries in this game, but the offensive line was hardest hit. Four of five starting offensive lineman were down at some point in this game, with All-World and future possible Hall of Famer Trent Williams exiting the game for good late in the contest and Pro bowler Brandon Scherff suffering what appeared at first glance to be a devastating knee injury (he was walking on his own on the sidelines later, thankfully). Morgan Moses left the game on two separate occasions and seemed to be laboring in pain simply to finish. Even center Spencer Long briefly left the game, and by the end, street free agent T.J. Clemmings and 6th round rookie draft pick Chase Rouiller had both played significant minutes. If Moses had been unable to continue, the Redskins would have had to scramble and play someone out of position just to field a complete offensive line. By the fourth quarter, the loss of Williams and Scherff, coupled with Moses’ clear limitations, gave the Eagles a decided advantage that affected the Redskins play calling options. This situation, which is compounded by Ty Nsekhe’s continuing recovery from a core muscle injury, could be a significant factor going forward. We should learn more early this week.
Terrible defense against tight ends and mobile quarterbacks continues
I suspect that if I asked anyone who has followed this team for several years about its historical glaring defensive weaknesses, the ability to cover tight ends and contain mobile quarterbacks would be at or near the top of every list. This game was no exception, with tight end Zach Ertz burning safety D.J. Swearinger (who had his worst game as a Redskin) and others on his way to 89 yards and a touchdown. More critically, quarterback Carson Wentz put the dagger in the Redskins’ heart with multiple critical scrambles for first downs, including a Houdini-like escape from what appeared to be a sure sack in the fourth quarter. While it is clear that the Eagles are a top-quality team, the defense eventually wore down across the board and allowed Philadelphia to dominate much of the second half.
This completes our first shot at instant Takeaways, from a game that ended up nearly a worst-case scenario for our boys. Stay tuned to The Hog Sty for our game recap show, our written recap, and more great content coming up this week. The Redskins will have a quick-turn to face the Dallas Cowboys at Fed Ex Field this coming Sunday, and we’ll have another set of Takeaways after the big victory!