Post Game Notes: Washington Redskins Defeat The Cleveland Browns 20-17

The Washington Redskins now have more wins in their past nine pre-season games than their past 32 regular season games. That tells you all you need to know about Washington defeating the Cleveland Browns 20-17, Thursday. Don’t put much stock in it.

Pre-season isn’t so much about winning. It’s more about evaluating talent. So below, as we do every pre-season, are pre-film study notes that were jotted down while watching the game.

Notes:

• The starting OL handled stunts well on the first drive. Morgan Moses got pushed back a couple times but does a good job at resetting.

• Alfred Morris looked in mid-season form. The guy just gets the necessary yardage. He’s not a dancer. But he gets what’s given to him.

• I like how Brandon Scherff quickly gets to the second level on runs. That was an issue for Washington’s guards last year.

• Chris Culliver shouldn’t have been penalized on the first drive. I like the aggression he plays with. Culliver is a very physical, active player.

• Trent Murphy showed a nice swim move on Cleveland’s first touchdown. Unfortunately, he was essentially tackled by the LT and no flag was thrown. I like the way he played.

• Preston Smith looked great. He disengaged well on the first drive for a nice tackle. He was around the ball a lot. He had a nice sack vs the RT after swatting his hands and showing excellent closing speed. He’s a very active, long player. I like Preston Smith a lot.

• On Robert Griffin III’s run for a first down – the past two years, he’s been thinking instead of just reacting. He went through a progression and two receivers were open, but he opted to run. I didn’t hate the decision. But I think the coaches would have preferred him to throw. I liked the 22 yard pass to Ryan Grant on the second drive. Griffin was flushed to his right and forced to make a pass across his body. For a right handed passer, that’s incredibly tough. He showed a lot of arm strength and touch there. Griffin stood tall in the pocket on the fade route to Garcon. It wasn’t completed, but Griffin standing tall in the pocket – keeping his eyes downfield – is new.

• Ryan Grant continues to remind me so much of a young Greg Jennings. He’s just smooth. He has good hands and he’s a chain mover. He won’t do many special things (although his catch from Griffin on the second drive was nice) but he’s just a really smooth player.

• Andre Roberts fumbled on a punt return. That’s not a good way to keep a job. I don’t think he will have that duty during the season.

• The heavy play-action is back for the Redskins. That’ going to be money for RGIII as long as the run game is clicking.

• Kirk Cousins looked solid. He was decisive. His accuracy wasn’t great, but the receivers helped him by adjusting to the ball.

• Andre Roberts looked good at WR. He ran some nice routes – finding the soft spots in the defense. He also caught the ball well. I like how he adjusted to a few passes.

• Kai Forbath hit a 52 yard field goal. That’s good news for him as he’s struggled some during training camp.

• Matt Jones is pretty nimble on his feet for a big guy. He shows nice balance and soft hands as well. One thing he does different than Alfred Morris is showing creativity on the second level. Jones has a spin move, stiff arm, stutter step and pure power move that he likes to use. He also has a nice burst. He’s a bowling ball once he has a head of steam. One thing he has to be careful about, however, is dancing too much. For a big guy, sometimes he just needs to run through the tackler.

• Chris Thompson looked good at RB. He’s running between the tackles very well. He still has that quickness that makes him different than the other RBs in the stable. Thompson also looked good in pass protection.

• I’m not calling this guy a future pro bowler or anything, but Frank Kearse always seems to be in or actually making a play when he’s on the field.

• Quinton Dunbar, who is actually a WR but converted to CB with all the injuries in pre-season, looked pretty good tonight. Dunbar did a nice job breaking up a pass in the 4^th quarter – using his length.

• Kysheon Jarrett is going to be a really hard guy for the Washington Redskins to cut. He’s super versatile and showed that he’s a very active player tonight. Jarrett can play both safety and nickel back. I like him a lot.

• Pierre Garcon dropped a would-have-been touchdown and it’s inexcusable. He should have caught it. One thing I don’t believe many realize about Garcon is he’s not a great downfield receiver. He’s getting better at running downfield routes, however, he is not good at tracking footballs. He’s an inconsistent downfield threat – if you can even call him that. His game is creating yards after the catch in the intermediate game.

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