Comprehensive coverage of Washington, D.C. sports by local writers
Following the Washington Redskins playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, players from the visiting team started to mock the Burgundy and Gold. On his way to the locker room, wide receiver Randall Cobb mocked the catchphrase of quarterback Kirk Cousins by shouting “You Like That!?” on his way to the locker room. Rookie defensive back Damarious Randall followed suit on Twitter after the conclusion of the game.
— Damarious Randall (@RandallTime) January 11, 2016
(Photo by: Evan Habeeb/ Getty Images)
The Washington Redskins are hoping that Scot McCloughan‘s magical talent of picking up players off the street that can contribute immediately continues with veteran cornerback Cary Williams. Jay Gruden previously discussed how the Redskins first year general manager has done a nice job of signing players that can come in on Monday to play the following Sunday, which looks to be the case with the former Legion of Boom member.
Jay Gruden believes Williams has “done well” and does not think “there will be an issue as far as the mental part” of the game.” With Baltimore and Seattle running “very similar coverages” it is just a matter of “calling them [coverages] what we call them” since he’s played all of the pro type of coverages before.
The Washington Redskins newest strong safety, DeAngelo Hall did not talk to the media following the NFC East clinching Philadelphia Eagles victory because he thought he had tore his calf. The veteran defender apologized for the non-availability and is happy to say it is much less serious than a tear as he has classified the injury as a strain and is already able to do some light jogging. If healthy enough to play, DeAngelo Hall would “gladly” take game reps to improve his comfort level in the new position; however, he trusts the coaching staff to make the best decision for him and his teammates.
As Kirk Cousins has also said, Hall also believes that Jay Gruden has grown as a coach as the year has gone on. That makes Hall and others “want to succeed and make him look good.” An underrated offseason acquisition on the coaching staff during last summer was defensive backs coach Perry Fewell. Hall called the former Giants coordinator the most detail oriented coached he has ever player for and can see him being a head coach in the future.
When the season started, the Washington Redskins were easily the laughing stock of the NFL. Robert Griffin III was benched and Kirk Cousins was given the keys to the team. With Tony Romo hurt, Chip Kelly’s player personnel thinking not panning out, and the Giants defense out of sorts, the NFC East was up for grabs.
Things might not have looked pretty early in the year, or even near halftime of today’s game, but in the end Kirk Cousins is showing why he is a starter in the National Football League. Behind 365 yards passing, four touchdowns, and poise after making an ultimate blunder from Cousins, the Washington Redskins steamrolled the Philadelphia Eagles 38-24. [Read more…]
COUSINS THROWS 4 TD PASSES, RUNS FOR ONE TO LEAD REDSKINS TO .500
In the last regular season game at FedEx Field, where the Washington Redskins boast a 5-2 record going in, the Buffalo Bills stood in their way to keep pace in the woeful NFC East. With the easiest remaining schedule in the division, the Skins were still looking for back-to-back victories for the first time since Week 8 of last season. A clinic by quarterback Kirk Cousins, with a career high five total touchdowns, allowed the Redskins to continue their success against the Ryan brothers. Despite a couple of big plays by Buffalo in the second half, Washington dominated the Bills for their first victory over an AFC East team since 2007, 35-17.
It has been customary for Alfred Morris to start the game on offense, which continued today. Two yards on his first three rushes looked to stall Washington’s opening drive, but Cousins delivered a beautiful ball in between the corner and safety to DeSean Jackson on a double move for a 28-yard game. Sean McVay started to exploit the Bills run defense with play-action and bootlegs that netted 35 yards on three plays with a great second effort by Alfred Morris sprinkled in. Faced with a goal-to-go situation, Cousins fired to Jordan Reed who ripped the ball away from former Redskin Bacarri Rambo for a touchdown.
The Washington Redskins traveled to Chicago to take on a Bears team that is just as bad at home as they are on the road.
And they won.
By a score of 24-21, the Redskins staved off a second-half charge from Chicago that saw them tie the game at the end of the third quarter. Unlike the Redskins Monday night loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Dustin Hopkins made more field goals than Robbie Gould, and that was the difference on the scoreboard.
Behind a fast start, the Redskins got to just enough of a lead to where a stronger second half by their opponent didn’t cost them the game. Jay Gruden‘s squad did just enough to hold for the victory, their sixth of the season.
Here are five more takeaways from the Redskins’ first road win of the season:
(AP Photo/Gary Hershorn)
1. Kirk Cousins Played Well
One of these days, I won’t have to comment on whether or not quarterback Kirk Cousins played well. Going 24-31 with 300 yards, one touchdown, one interception and one rushing touchdown, I actually believe that this was one of his better performances. Save for his lone interception, which was a great play by the defensive back, he was careful with the football, but not afraid to take chances, hitting DeSean Jackson and Jordan Reed for big gains. He was efficient, smart and didn’t cost his team the game — what more can you ask for from your starting quarterback? With one more 300-yard game, he’ll set the franchise record for a single season.
2. Matt Jones is Making Alfred Morris Obsolete
I’ll touch on this more this week, but rookie running back Matt Jones is making Alfred Morris more and more expendable with every carry. On Washington’s first drive, Morris scored his first touchdown of the season (that’s right, his first). For a guy that was expected to become a cornerstone of the franchise, he sure hasn’t been shouldering the workload this year. Jones carried the rock 18 times (seven more than Morris) and rushed for 62 yards, including a strong run at the end of the game to pick up a first down and ice the game for Washington.
3. The Defensive Backs Got Beat Deep…Often
The boxscore says that Bears quarterback Jay Cutler threw for 315 yards, but a 400+ yard performance was well within his grasp if he laid the football out for his receivers to run under on deep routes. On far too many plays, the Redskins’ defensive backs got beat deep. On what could have been the game-tying, or even winning, drive, Alshon Jeffery ran straight past the cornerback for the easy reception. If not for safety help over the top, he’d still be running. Washington’s secondary severely underperformed and it nearly cost them the game.
4. Jordan Reed Is A Matchup Nightmare
That’s not a secret, but it certainly became apparent early in the game there isn’t a single player on the Bears’ defense that matched up well with the tight end. Reed finished with nine receptions for 120 and one touchdown. When the Redskins lined Reed up in a three-point stance on the outside of the tackle, a linebacker was used to cover him, which typically ended in a reception. The former Florida Gator has all the tools to become one of the most dominant receivers, not just tight ends, in the NFL and Sunday’s display certainly proved that. Against Chicago, in particular, he’s been a killer. In just two games, he has 18 receptions for 254 yards and two touchdowns.
5. Defensive Front Strong
The Redskins’ defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage right from the get-go. While their offensive line saw a shift in favor of the Bears’ defensive line, Joe Barry‘s unit got strong up front as the game went along. Terrance Knighton, Trent Murphy and Ryan Kerrigan all registered sacks, and Kerrigan and Knighton combined for three tackles-for-loss. They stifled Chicago’s rushing attack, holding the Bears to just 87 yards rushing. For his strip-sack, Murphy used a strong move to get past the right tackle, and he now has 3.5 sacks on the season.
Following a heartbreaking loss to the rival Dallas Cowboys on Monday night, the Washington Redskins travel to Soldier Field in Chicago to take on the Chicago Bears. Both teams sport mediocre 5-7 records, but Washington still has control of the NFC East division lead via tiebreak. Chicago is coming off of a disappointing loss last week to the lowly San Francisco 49ers.
The Bears are in a similar situation as the Redskins this year, with a new General Manager trying to go through a rebuilding process with a younger team, resulting in inconsistent (and many times ugly) play. Jay Cutler, the much-maligned franchise QB, has been relatively steady compared to years’ past, throwing for 14 TDs and 7 interceptions on the season. [Read more…]
After their first official practice in a shortened week, head coach Jay Gruden and defensive coordinator Joe Barry addressed the media.
Although the running game has been consistently abysmal at times this year, Gruden continues to preach that “you cannot abandon it”. Washington ran the ball on 15 of 22 first down plays against Dallas on Monday so there is definitely room for mixing things up better. Defenses have continued to cheat up into the box because of the lack of consistent deep throws. If this team wants any chance of making the playoffs, the ground attack is going to have to come along.
In the shortened work week following a Monday night game, the Washington Redskins held a walkthrough on Wednesday. Following the latter, head coach Jay Gruden and quarterback Kirk Cousins addressed the media as they look ahead to the Chicago Bears.
Throughout much of the Cowboys game, Washington was unable to make Matt Cassel feel uncomfortable and allowed him to deliver the ball in a clean pocket. Gruden says that Joe Barry, who does not like to blitz often, is not dialing up many blitzes because of the instability in the secondary. The Redskins do not want to leave their corners on an island, but thinks that as the defensive backs start to become consistent more safety blitzes could be dialed up. Such is a role that both DeAngelo Hall and DaShon Goldson could thrive in.
DESEAN JACKSON BUNGLES LATE PUNT RETURN, SCORES MINUTES LATER — ALL TO NO AVAIL
Mark Tenally/Associated Press
Last week’s victory over the New York Giants to take control of the NFC East showed that the Washington Redskins are indeed contenders, not just pretenders. However, with the Philadelphia Eagles returning to form with the return of Sam Bradford, the magnitude of a prime time matchup against the archrival Dallas Cowboys grew.
In their last 22 games in night games, Washington is a dismal 4-18, though they were victorious last year in Dallas under the lights. After the team’s traded field goals, an action-packed final two minutes ended in the Redskins doom.
Dan Bailey hit a 54-yard field goal with 9 seconds to go and the Cowboys further muddled the mess that is the NFC East with a 19-16 win over the Redskins. [Read more…]