Impressive. That is the word to describe the Washington Redskins win over defending AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers Friday night. Surprising, delightful and even overwhelming are other words to describe the way the ‘Skins stumped the Steelers.
The game was a low scoring 16-7 affair where both teams left points on the field. But Washington exceeded widely-held low expectations with a crisp performance, albeit against the Pittsburgh’s second and third team.
Redskins Hog Heaven graded Washington’s performance on seven evaluation points that we publiished yesterday. We grade the effort a B+ (3.6 on a 4.0 scale).
1. Gold pants – No points here, but this was for extra credit anyway. The ‘Skins played in burgundy jerseys and white pants. It’s always good to see the team in burgundy shirts.
2. Pitch and Catch – The benchmark was 7 yards per pass attempt and 13-yard average for per reception. Washington achieved 7.2 yards PPA and the receivers averaged 11.1 yards per catch. Rex Grossman completed 73 percent of his passes for a score and a 109.0 QB rating. Kellen Clemens, in camp about two weeks, looked like a quarterback in search of receivers at points, but had some nice throws, particularly to Donte’ Stallworth. Clemens averaged 6.2 yards per attempt on his way to a 71.9 rating. Clemens appeared in 25 games with the New York Jets, starting in nine. His career QB rating is 59.7. That’s five-times John Beck’s experience and Clemens has a two-year age advantage on Beck. Like a juicy orange, Beck will be squeezed on both sides in this quarterback race. GRADE: 3.5
3. Offensive line fundamentals – The benchmarks were legal blocks and no sacks. The results? Legal blocks and no sacks. Tempering the excitement, the Steelers’ starting defense looked uncharacteristically disinterested. Mike Tomlin pulled them mid-first quarter while Mike Shanahan worked the first team for the full half. That’s something you take account of when predicting the real season, but the game stats are what they are. GRADE: 4.0
4. Offensive line, disappearing tight ends – At first glance, the Redskins passed this test. The tight ends did not spend the entire game as offensive linemen. They released into pass patterns. Fred Davis and Logan Paulsen caught two of Washington’s 28 completions (and one spectacular miss for Davis). Absent a coaches camera, I’m giving the ‘Skins the benefit of the doubt for the grade. GRADE: 3.0
5. Offensive line, beyond the scrimmage – Simple. A rushing average of better than 4.5 yards showed that the O-line made a few blocks at the linebacker and safety level. Tim Hightower and Evan Royster, who got the bulk of the carries, averaged 4.4 yards per carry. (Royster’s performance was particularly eye opening.) For the game, Washington averaged 4.0 yards. We are basing this grade on Hightower’s and Royster’s average. GRADE: 3.5
6. Pressure by the defensive front seven – Does the addition of free agents Barry Cofield and Stephen Bowen along with rookie Draft Picks Ryan Kerrigan and Jarvis Jenkins make up for the loss of Albert Haynesworth? Yes, yes, yes and yes. Bowen scored a sack (two others were on blitzes by Kevin Barnes and DeJon Gomes). Bowman and Kerrigan combined for two of the team’s tackles for losses. OLB Kerrigan was particularly impressive considering his missed practices. DE Jenkins looked good on TV, but did not show up on the stats. Front seven pressure helped defensive backs Barnes and Gomes as much as it helped the linebackers. That was a pleasant surprise. GRADE: 4.0
7. The score at the half – By the book, Washington was ahead 14-7 at half-time. They could have been down 7-3 when Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger left the field. Roethlisberger overthrew WR Mike Wallace who badly beat the Redskins secondary for what would have been a sure touchdown. Grossman drove the Redskins from their one-yard line to the Steelers 13. Shayne Graham missed the ensuing field goal attempt, his first of two misses for the night. We are shaving the grade a bit because Washington’s preseason first team offense and defense were up against Pittsburgh’s reserve players from most of the half. GRADE: 3.5
Points after: The Redskins opened the 2010 preseason with an impressive 42-17 win over the Buffalo Bills and later beat the New York Jets 16-11. Neither was a sign of things to come in the regular season. Exhibition games show how players perform against the man opposite them and how they perform in units (D-line, secondary, etc.) There’s a lot to like in the win against Pittsburgh. The video will show there’s a lot to work on.
The Redskins reached the red zone four times and came away with three scores, only one by touchdown. Shayne Graham missed what for him should have been a chip shot. Graham Gano was three-for-three in his field goal attempts. Moving the ball was not a problem for the 2010 Redskins. They were the eighth-ranked passing offense after all. Scoring was the problem. Sixteen points after controlling the ball for 38 minutes and 452 yards of total offense needs improvement.
Rex Grossman threw for 207 yards and a score in one half of football. Grossman has more Super Bowl appearances than Tony Romo and Michael Vick combined. Not for a minutes do I believe that he is the equal of Donovan McNabb, or Jason Campbell for that matter, but I wish the national media guys would get off his case until we see how he performs in this offense under this set of coaches.
WR Aldrick Robinson severely damaged his cause with two bobbled punt returns. With a huge line-up of young wide receivers who must perform on special teams to make the roster. Robinson’s flubs could have been fatal. I felt for the kid last night. This morning? Take a seat over there next to Shayne Graham, kid.
Brandon Banks averaged 58 yards on his one kick-off return. Mr. Excitement is my Mom’s favorite player.
Santana Moss has morphed into a possession receiver. He caught seven of the nine passes thrown to him. Jabar Gaffney was five for five. Anthony Armstrong was three of four and Terrence Austin was two of three. Overall, the receivers had a 66.6 percent completion ratio.
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