Washington Redskins Week 6 Report Card: Grading Each Unit

The Washington Redskins suffered their second defeat of the season, and in doing so, dropped their second game out of three against NFC East opposition.

A mistake filled performance on both sides of the ball condemned the Redskins to a 20-13 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The offense was the chief culprit, giving the ball away in critical moments.  The defense played hard but failed to generate the big play at crucial times.

Here are the grades for each unit after Week 6.

Quarterback Grade: E

The play from the quarterback position was the single biggest contributory factor behind the Redskins disappointing home defeat.

After a solid start to the season, Rex Grossman has fallen back into the habit of forcing too many throws and trying to make plays outside the system.

Grossman threw four costly picks that destroyed frequent Redskins attempts to gain some momentum in the game.

It wasn't as if the Eagles were doing anything particularly complex in coverage. Most of the time Philadelphia played man on the outside and had one safety over the top, patrolling the deep middle and the other underneath, spying the quarterback.

Occasionally the Eagles went with a box and one look, playing zone behind Asante Samuel, while leaving Nnamdi Asomugha locked up one on one.

Yet Grossman continually forced the ball into the middle of the coverage.  He stuck too rigidly to the original play, and if it wasn't there, he refused to simply throw the ball away.

Efficiency was always going to be the key for Grossman this season.  Protecting the ball and relying on an improved defense and running game should be the remit for Redskins quarterbacks this year, given the limitations at the position.

Grossman eventually left Mike Shanahan with no choice but to bench him in favour of John Beck. Beck was steady at best, but couldn't provide the necessary spark.

Offensive Line Grade: D

The suspect offensive line suffered a torrid time against an Eagles front that came into the game as one of the softest in the league.

Philadelphia's defense managed only two sacks, but they created consistent pressure most of the afternoon. In particular, the Redskins front five struggled to handle the rush up the middle.

The Eagles defensive tackles routinely pushed the pocket and disrupted the Washington ground game. After having struggled on the edges in the first four games, it was alarming to see the interior line exhibit similar frailties.

Running Backs Grade: D

Coming into yesterday's game many were anticipating a productive day for Ryan Torain and the Redskins running game.

After all, Torain had rushed for over 100 yards in the previous game against the St. Louis Rams, while Philadelphia had looked extremely vulnerable against the run.

But Torain could muster only 22-yards on 10 carries yesterday. His efforts were not aided by the Redskins falling behind 20-0 behind early on. But the fact is that in another big game, Washington's rushing attack failed to lead the offense.

The interior of the offensive line suffered badly when Kory Lichtensteiger went down with injury and Torain seemed to lack his usual power at the point of contact.

Tight End Grade: B

The Redskins efforts in this area were undermined by the injury to veteran Chris Cooley. When Cooley left the game, the Eagles were free to zero in on Fred Davis.

Davis began the game brightly, but the extra attention the Eagles defense paid to him eventually rendered the dynamic tight end a non factor. 

Davis finished the game as Washington's leading receiver, having collected six passes for 95 yards.  He also continued to display his knack for the big play with a 31-yard haul in the third quarter.

But the Redskins are in danger of becoming too reliant on Davis, and as a result, the passing attack risks becoming predictable.

The Eagles used rotating safeties and rolled their coverage to Davis, taking advantage of the team's habit of looking his way in clutch situations.

Wide Receivers Grade: C

Given the poor play at quarterback, it's difficult to be too harsh on the Redskins wideouts. But although they were up against premier corners, the group did consistently fail to defeat man coverage.

Jabar Gaffney continues to look the most dangerous amongst the Redskins pass catchers. He snared only two passes for 55 yards, but he showcased his playmaking attributes with a 45-yard grab off a well designed flea flicker to begin the third quarter.

Donte Stallworth also began to contribute, snatching three passes for 30 yards.  But the wide receivers did not offer a sufficient enough threat to force the coverage away from Fred Davis.

Defensive Line Grade: C

Given how well the Eagles ran the ball, a C grade might be a little too generous. But the Redskins defensive line was one of the few positional groups to emerge from the game with any real credit.

The solid play of the front three started with nose tackle Barry Cofield. Cofield enjoyed perhaps his finest performance since signing with the Redskins.

The hulking anchor man routinely held the middle and collapsed the pocket. Unfortunately for Cofield, none of his team mates manged to consistently hold their rush lanes on the outside.

More penetration is needed against the run, and the line may benefit from operating out of the base front a little more often.

Linebackers Grade: C

Like the defensive line, the Redskins linebackers would benefit from operating out of the base 3-4 front more often.

The foursome were very active and played tough, but lacked good technique on the outside, against the run. Brian Orakpo in particular had a poor game defending runs towards the edge of the defense.

Orakpo frequently took poor tackling and pursuit angles, and LeSean McCoy found it too easy to get to the perimeter.

London Fletcher and Rocky McIntosh combined for 10 tackles and 13 assists in the middle of the defense. But the duo struggled to adequately protect the underneath zones in pass coverage.

Seondary Grade: C

The Redskins secondary continued to be left exposed by Jim Haslett's insistence on going with a variation of the 46 front and zero coverage in the middle.

Even without sufficient protection, the Redskins secondary did a reasonable job against a dangerous group of Eagles receivers.

DeAngelo Hall and O.J. Atogwe each grabbed an interception, and for the most part, the unit managed to prevent the Eagles from getting behind them.

There are still issues with in the secondary.  Hall still gambles too often and LaRon Landry is a major question mark in coverage.

As usual, Landry was a force at the line of scrimmage, logging a team-high eight tackles, but the Redskins have to come up with better ways to protect themselves in deep coverage.

Special Teams Grade: C

The Redskins kicking game did a decent job, and Graham Gano continues to look considerably more solid than he did a year ago.

Gano connected on two first half field goals, one an impressive 50-yard effort. The Redskins have clearly worked hard in this area to improve both the protection and long snapping. and Gano is the beneficiary. 

The coverage units also produced a resolute effort to subdue the Eagles' prolific return men.  The coverage was aided by four kickoffs being boomed for touchbacks.

A hugely disappointing loss for the Redskins throws up many troubling questions regarding the team and already puts any hopes for the playoffs in serious jeopardy.

The quarterback dilemma will not go away and threatens to derail the season.  Defensively, too many unnecessary risks are being taken and the unit's struggles against the run are becoming a major concern.

The record in the division will likely have huge implications on the postseason prospects of those in the NFC East.

Having suffered two defeats against divisional opponents already, the Redskins have very little margin for error in their final three NFC East contests. 

The team must quickly correct their problems and get back to winning ways or risk falling further away from the division summit.