Poor Fundamentals Could Derail Washington Redskins in 2013-14

Expectations were high among fans and analysts alike, but an inability to carry out the basic fundamentals of football could quickly sabotage the Washington Redskins’ bid for back-to-back NFC East titles.

Most people will tell you that balance is the key to a good football team. This doesn’t have to be the case—as the 2006 Indianapolis Colts will tell you—but it certainly helps. The passing game helps the running game, and vice versa. Controlling the time of possession on offense helps the defense remain fresh.

These things are ingrained into players—and viewers—from an early age, which makes Washington’s capitulation over the first half of football on Monday night all the more remarkable.

The only time the team looked balanced during that stretch was when the offense and defense were equally bad.

It was Week 1, which is obviously the best time to have a meltdown. Robert Griffin III looked much-improved in the second half, stepping into his throws more and finding receivers with greater frequency. His chemistry with Alfred Morris will improve with more reps, and he’s also taken his first hits since witnessing his knee buckle under him in January. Crucially, he’s gotten straight back up, too.

Griffin isn’t the worry, however.

The night was beset with basic errors, only some of which can be attributed to the pace of Chip Kelly’s offense. Who calls a pitch play in their own end zone? Kyle Shanahan, apparently. Who committed three turnovers in their first six offensive plays? The Redskins did.

Because of this, the anointment of Kelly as a game-changer within the NFL is premature. Remember Steve Spurrier’s first game in charge of the Redskins? Looked good, didn’t it?

The Redskins defense missed 14 tackles during the game, which was the most of any team during the opening games. Failing to wrap up tackles against fast players like DeSean Jackson, Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy is going to kill your night.

Failing to do so across the year is going to kill your season.

Rookie Bacarri Rambo had problems with tackling in the preseason, but Michael Vick’s 36-yard gain past him on Monday shouldn’t define his night.  He had good moments, too—he took out Vick on a scramble for a four-yard loss, registered 10 total tackles and also got a sack. It was a tough debut in a patchwork secondary, but he’s only going to improve. For a sixth-round pick, he remains a great value.

Playing E.J. Biggers at safety in the absence of Brandon Meriweather was strange. Biggers is the quicker option, but he’d never played a snap at safety until Monday. Reed Doughty has his detractors, but at least he’s played the position.

Letting the opposition dictate the defensive scheme to the point where players are forced into unfamiliar roles is a strategy doomed from the outset. That one’s on Mike Shanahan.

Biggers missed his assignment on the first touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson, which Mark Bullock at HogsHaven.com outlined—along with mentioning the look it drew from DeAngelo Hall.

Hall himself gave up typical penalties in a manner that’s become so frequent that Redskins fans are expected to shrug it off. He offers a great deal to the team, but those types of penalties are so frustrating when your defense is already up against it.

David Amerson, on the other hand, looked both composed and aggressive, staying tight in coverage and keeping his head up when making tackles. He looks like 2011 Amerson right now, which is exactly what the team needs. Raheem Morris has done a good job getting Amerson and Rambo up to speed ahead of Week 1, which bodes well for the future.

The rookies are being forced to play like veterans, but it’s the veterans who are letting them down. Doomed by a combination of a fast scheme and offensive turnovers, any mistakes made were always going to be costly.

It also didn’t help that Kai Forbath missed his only field-goal attempt of the night, the two-point attempt was unsuccessful and Chris Thompson looked incredibly shaky as a punt returner.

It’s only one week—and the first of 16 regular-season games—but these things cannot be allowed to go unchecked, or there will be a worrying familiarity to the Redskins’ season.

Give credit to Philadelphia; they had a plan and executed it well. However, the offense dug the defense into a hole much bigger than the ones Vick found as he scanned the field.

The Eagles knew Griffin wasn’t going to run at them and planned accordingly. It’s likely that Green Bay will have a similar plan. The Packers dared Colin Kaepernick to beat them with his arm and he duly responded. Griffin will have to do the same, because Aaron Rodgers isn’t going to waste any time in carving up the secondary.