Rams vs. Redskins: What Experts Are Saying About Washington
The average NFL season is hard on even the best teams in the league. The Washington Redskins have had it a little harder than others this season between the 3-9 record and a quarterback controversy.
Believe it or not, the Redskins have a game coming up against the St. Louis Rams that has been the subject of some chatter this week.
Washington is 22-10 all-time against the Rams, but that doesn't really factor into this upcoming meeting. The Redskins are coming off a 22-point loss to the Indianapolis Colts, while the Rams are riding high after a 52-0 victory over the Oakland Raiders.
To be certain, the tone of most of the analysis and discussion about the Redskins has been despondent. Here's what experts are saying about Washington heading into its game against St. Louis.
Ryan Kerrigan Is a Heartbreak Kid on and off the Field
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Football isn't the only thing Ryan Kerrigan has been up to lately, as he was spotted with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki at a benefit auction earlier this week. CSN Washington speculates the two may be dating: "Kerrigan and Wozniacki each took part in a live auction to benefit a D.C. area high school athletic department, as well as spending the bulk of the night within arms length of one another."
What does it have to do with the Redskins facing the Rams? Absolutely nothing. But when everything else seems to be going wrong for the team, it is good to see something go right for a guy like Ryan Kerrigan.
Colt McCoy May Be Under Siege by Gregg Williams' Aggressive Pass Rush
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In his weekly preview of the week's slate of games, CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora emphasizes the potential for Washington's porous offensive line and quarterback Colt McCoy to be assaulted by the Rams pass rush: "[The] pass rush is back to being fearsome and the Skins line—particularly the right side—is a joke. Could be a long, long day for poor Colt McCoy."
No secret here. McCoy absorbed six sacks from the Indianapolis Colts defense that had a middling 28 on the season before it feasted on the 'Skins. St. Louis has 28 sacks heading into Sunday and has been on a tear of late.
After tallying just one sack in the first five weeks of the season, the Rams defense has averaged 3.8 sacks per game, including eight sacks on the 49ers" target="_blank">San Francisco 49ers' Colin Kaepernick and six sacks between Derek Carr and Matt Schaub in last week's 52-0 romp over Oakland.
McCoy has some mobility, but that didn't do him much good against Indy. Don't expect it to save him from the aggressive defense Gregg Williams runs in St. Louis.
Also, don't expect Williams to show any mercy against his former team.
Secondary Woes Go Beyond Injuries and Depth Concerns
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CSN Washington Redskins blogger Rich Tandler points out a dire situation in Washington's secondary that was exposed in last week's 22-point loss to the Colts: "Unfortunately, even the simpler schemes did not prevent coverage mistakes that left receivers wide open at with alarming frequency, leaving both coach Jay Gruden and veteran safety Ryan Clark befuddled."
Clark has been a disappointment, both as a player and as a leader, because the defense has not shown any level of consistency or maturity that you would expect with a veteran at the helm.
It is frustrating for a defense when things aren't going right. The Redskins have, at times, looked to be on the verge of becoming an excellent defense with their personnel.
More often than not, however, those stretches don't last long and are marred by giving up big plays or simply failing to make the easy play.
Tackling has been a huge problem this season, as has been coverage down the field, which has seen Clark out of position, David Amerson out of position and oftentimes one of the pair expecting the other to do one thing only to be left on an island or burned for a big gain.
The Rams don't have a ton of reliable firepower on offense, but Kenny Britt and Brian Quick are averaging 15 yards or more per catch on the season, though they have just 53 catches combined.
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Jim Haslett's Defense Is a Mess
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Washington's defense has had it's moments this season. Against the Dallas Cowboys it put pressure on early and often, and the secondary did an excellent job of shutting Terrance Williams and Dez Bryant down.
Aside from that game and a few stretches throughout the season, Jim Haslett's defense has been a mess, and he should be the one to pay for it, as The Washington Post's Neil Greenberg puts it: "It is easy to blame the players, especially after Haslett was asked to convert Washington’s defense from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 alignment, but there is little evidence he is still one of the league’s best defensive minds."
This goes beyond a single game, particularly the upcoming game against the Rams. Haslett has had five years to craft his defense into the cream-of-the-crop 3-4 unit he wanted, and yet he has failed to do much of anything with decent talent.
Brian Orakpo, a supremely gifted athlete, is relegated to bull rushing when rushing the quarterback. Cornerbacks are left 10 and 15 yards off receivers to prevent deep completions but leaving anything and everything open underneath for short completions.
Haslett may not be the only person to blame, but the defense on the field is a reflection of his coaching. Despite being a hard-nosed coach, he has failed to instill discipline in his players and can't even call a consistent game from week to week.
How is it that he managed to pressure Tony Romo and the Cowboys consistently but couldn't keep up the intensity against a rookie quarterback in the Minnesota Vikings' Teddy Bridgewater?
Shaun Hill isn't any kind of incredible quarterback, nor is the Rams offense particularly explosive. If Haslett can't formulate a game plan to stop it, why should he still have a job next season?
Redskins Should Be Concerned with Rams Pass Rush
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St. Louis has had an up-and-down season, no question, but the past few games have shown that its defense has an uncanny ability to get after the quarterback. Mike Jones of The Washington Post goes into detail about just how scary the pass rush has been of late:
"Defensive end Robert Quinn, a fourth-year pro, leads the way with nine sacks, and rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald has six, including four in the past five games. Defensive end Chris Long last week returned to action after missing the past 11 games with an ankle injury. He recorded a sack.
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Quinn was second in the league with 19 sacks in 2013. Long averages close to 8.5 sacks per year, and he's healthy now. And Donald has four sacks in his last five games.
What all of that equates to is a ton of talent coming at Colt McCoy through whatever pitiful pass protection the Redskins muster.
In case it wasn't clear by now, as pass protection goes so too does the offense.
If McCoy can't get into a rhythm, the run game suffers. If the run game suffers, the offense becomes one-dimensional. If the Redskins get into pass-heavy mode too early, they'll offer more opportunities for the Rams to flatten their quarterback.
Of their 28 sacks on the season, St. Louis has 22 in the last five weeks.
Health of Key Players Will Be Key to Success on Both Sides of the Ball
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Injuries are a factor in just about any NFL game it seems, and the Redskins have their fair share of nicks at this point in the season. DeSean Jackson suffered a knee injury last week, and he joins Keenan Robinson and Brandon Meriweather on the list of key players who may not play against St. Louis.
Zac Boyer of The Washington Times weighs in on the important injuries for this week: "Jackson’s potential absence should provide an additional opportunities for Garcon, but the real focus will be on the defensive backfield, which has been reeling for two weeks."
On the offensive side of the ball, Pierre Garcon can in some ways make up for Jackson's absence. With Jordan Reed in the lineup and Andre Roberts capable of a bigger role, perhaps the Redskins won't miss him as much.
Then again, Garcon has been invisible for most of the season, Reed's health is always in flux and Roberts hasn't posted a single game of more than 57 yards this season.
On defense, if Robinson and Meriweather can't go, things get dicey.
The secondary is thin on depth as it is, but Phillip Thomas can do enough to make the loss of Meriweather a moot point. Robinson, however, leads the team in tackles and tackles for a loss.
He has made the spotty play of Perry Riley less of a glaring issue, but he has also been a leader in the middle.
The Redskins need Robinson manning the middle and Meriweather prowling in the box to keep St. Louis' electric Tre Mason under wraps, as he has 290 rushing yards in his last three games.
Even on the Bench, RGIII's Situation Makes Its Way into the Spotlight
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Robert Griffin III was drafted by the Washington Redskins after they swapped first-round picks and sent their second-round pick in 2012 as well as two future first-round picks to the St. Louis Rams, this Sunday's opponent.
Now in his third year, Griffin has been benched to finish his last two seasons, and ESPN Washington Redskins reporter John Keim explains possible reasons why: "Griffin has talent, but what’s coming out now is what was whispered about before (and occasionally mentioned): He needs to focus a lot more on developing as a passer than working in the weight room."
Keim is spot-on in his analysis of Griffin's progress, particularly the reason why he hasn't progressed the way the Redskins need him to.
It is apparent with each and every dropback he took this season. Griffin took the snap, tried to survey the field and either made a bad read or failed to make a read. It ended in a sack or an incompletion.
Griffin was benched because he has not shown he is a good fit for Jay Gruden's offense. As shoddy as the offensive line is, Griffin should still look capable of reading a defense, which he has not.
He has looked tentative and clueless far too often, and the only way that's possible is if he's not putting in the work on developing his skills. Whether it be refining his mechanics or studying film, he's simply not doing the work necessary to become more than just a superb athlete.
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