The Washington Redskins have found themselves a stud in rookie tight end Jordan Reed. Selected in the 3rd round out of the University of Florida — many knew Reed had some major talent. In fact, he often drew comparisons to another former Gator, New England Patriot and now alleged murderer — Aaron Hernandez. After Reed’s breakout game against the Chicago Bears – 9 catches for 134 yards and a TD — he hasn’t fallen short of expectations. In fact, he’s probably exceeded them.
“When we looked at Jordan, we felt we had a guy that was very special catching the football and very special in and out of breaks – more like a wide receiver than a tight end,” said coach Mike Shanahan during his Monday presser. “You could not see on film, consistently, how he blocked, so we weren’t sure if we were getting a polished wide receiver or a tight end. Very quickly we could see that he was a very competitive player and he’s done a good job in both areas. We thought he was a special player and we thought he was a first round talent, but you could not see the blocking ability, so that’s why we took him when we did – and it was based on talent.”
It took the Redskins’ offensive coaching staff a few weeks to let the beast loose… But on Sunday, they toyed with the Chicago Bears — moving him all around the field. By my count, out of Jordan Reed’s nine catches — only two came with him as an in-line tight end pre-snap. The Washington Redskins essentially used Jordan Reed to play a game of Hide-and-Seek. Let’s look at the film:
Catch #1 for 38 yards:
– What the Redskins basically did here was have their in-line tight end run a wide receiver route. I’m not great at drawing on screenshots, but that’s basically a post corner route Reed ran that gained 38 yards on the team’s first drive.
Catch #2 for 15 yards:
– This time the Redskins moved Jordan Reed to the left side as an in-line tight end. He ended up running a hitch route here and picked up some extra yards on the play. This was the last time Washington used Reed as an in-line tight end.
Catch #3 for 5 yards:
– Here’s where the Redskins started getting fancy. Shanahan takes a page out the ol’ ball coach — Joe Gibb’s playbook having Reed line up as a fullback/hybrid back. He initially was an in-line tight end before motioning. And all Reed does here is sneak up-field, chip the linebacker and run a quick out for a gain of five.
Catch #4 for 11 yards:
– Here the Redskins sneak Jordan Reed into slot, right next to Pierre Garcon to cause confusion. Bears’ conerback Charles Tillman is basically on an island with no help and has to pick his poison. He chose Pierre Garcon while backpedaling keeping eyes on Jordan Reed, but it was an easy 11 yard gain on the quick-out.
Catch #5 for 15 yards:
– Redskins spread the field again here, this time Reed lines up in the right slot. Bears go business as usual and send all their linebackers leaving the middle of the field open. Easy 15 yard gain for Jordan Reed.
Catch #6 for a TD:
– Right here, Jordan Reed has to be thinking: “hello, I’m the guy whose been toying with you all afternoon — you might want to cover me.” Eventually the Bears player slid over to defend Reed, but he lined up with a poor angle and Reed caught the ball on an endzone fade. These type of packages in the endzone could be nearly unstoppable, because you have Roy Helu in the backfield whose a threat to catch or run the ball. You also have a QB whose a threat to pass or run the ball. The defense now has several guys to key-in-on and it will be difficult.
Catch #7 for 11 yards:
– This is new to me… I don’t think I’ve ever seen this alignment before: Jordan Reed is considered a wingback here. He’s lined up directly behind another tight end — Logan Paulsen, who originally was in-line on the right side but motioned over next to LT Trent Williams. When the ball is snapped, it’s a play action fake to the left — Jordan Reed runs a flat to the right and it fools everyone. #50 attempts to get over, but it was just too late.
Catch #8 for 26 yards:
– Here’s a read option look with Leonard Hankerson sneaking in the backfield. The defense doesn’t know what to expect. Jordan Reed is lined up in the slot and runs a post route for a gain of 26. This was one of a few crucial plays on the Redskins’ game winning drive.
Catch #9 for 10 yards:
– Here’s another crucial catch late on the game winning drive. First of all, Reed ran a beastly route here… He sold the mess out of what looked to be an out route, but he turned and ran a post. Key third down catch that helped the Redskins ultimately win the football game.
In all, it’s very clear that Jordan Reed is going to be a special player — and he’s just scratching the surface. The Washington Redskins are now able to spread the field and give numerous of looks on offense with Reed. They literally played a game of Hide-and-See against the Bears using Reed. Going forward, defenses will keep an eye on the emerging star. The Chicago Bears failed to do so in the first half and Reed took advantage of that. In the second half, they tried to have a DB or LB keep an eye on Reed and he still found a way to get open. This should eventually open up things for a guy like Pierre Garcon. I fully expect a new game to be played starting this week — it’s called: “where is Jordan Reed?” That’s what defenses will be asking every down after watching Sunday’s film.
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