Season Film Review: Washington Redskins vs Philadelphia Eagles Week 1

For the next several weeks we plan to look back at the Washington Redskins season. As we review the film, game-by-game, we’ll assess the good and bad. In addition to, breaking down Robert Griffin III’s performance.

Washington Redskins fell to the Philadelphia Eagles, 33-27

Good:

David Amerson played well in his NFL debut. He lined up across Riley Cooper majority of the game and did a nice job. He also flashed a willing effort and ability to help run upfield — making tackles. One of Amerson’s issues in college was he often attempted tackles with his head down. You have to see who you’re tackling or you can severely injure yourself. That’s something Amerson had to work on after this game.

Ryan Kerrigan looked like the best defensive player on the field in a game where there just wasn’t many guys playing well.

Perry Riley looked decent making plays up-the-field but was not great in coverage.

Leonard Hankerson had two touchdowns. It wasn’t a spectacular performance, but he made plays.

Bad:

London Fletcher simply looked lost in this game. The Redskins were better off having 10 defenders on the field. He wasn’t filling gaps and didn’t play well in coverage.

Defensive line over pursued — allowing huge lanes. The zone read absolutely destroyed them in this game. They also didn’t create much pressure. Although, Barry Cofield flashed a few times. He, of course, was also playing with a huge club on his hand that definitely impacted his game.

Chris Thompson struggled mightily in the punt return game. His NFL debut came with “rookie mistakes” — he just lost track of the basic rules to punt returning. For example, not downing a ball behind the 10-yard line. That’s something he did not once, but twice.

Brian Orakpo had a horrible game in coverage and against the run.

Secondary had two rookies, a cornerback playing safety for the first time and a nickel DB who had limited experience playing over slot. Pretty much sums it up.

Run game wasn’t able to heat up, although they basically abandoned it in the second half. Alfred Morris missed a few cutback lanes. He also fumbled on first play for Washington’s offense. He didn’t haul in a toss from Robert Griffin III on another drive — albeit a wide toss — should have been caught by Morris. His hands continued to be a question mark. The offensive line didn’t play horrible, but was inconsistent.

RGIII Report:

Robert Griffin III was rusty with this being his first game action since January. He didn’t appear confident until the 4th quarter. Griffin woke up in the 4th Q and started to look like himself.

There’s a couple notes I jotted down when studying Griffin in this game: he needs to utilize his outlets, three-quarters delivery (low delivery and release point) and overthrows.

Here’s a screenshot of what I mean by Griffin’s three-quarters, low release point. While Griffin can throw from numerous launch points, the ball being that low can create several issues. It makes it easier for balls to be batted and potential strip-sacks. Guys like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning get that ball up high to their ear. However, Drew Brees has a similar three-quarters delivery to Griffin, although he’s raised his launch point since being in New Orleans. Timing and location is that much more important when the ball is low like that. It’s not a huge flaw to be concerned about — just a fundamental I’m sure he’ll work on.

Griffin was intercepted twice in this game. Above is the first interception. On 3rd and 10, Griffin simply attempted to force this football to Santana Moss. Brandon Boykin had excellent coverage and the ball should have never been thrown. We’ve talked before about how I think sometimes Griffin “believes in the play” and feels obligated to trust the play design. I’m not sure what his progression was on the play, but Logan Paulsen was open in the flat. With a defender trailing, he may or may not have reached the first down marker. But it certainly wouldn’t have resulted in an interception. Utilizing outlets when they are there is something Griffin has to work on.

Here’s another example of Griffin needing to use his outlet. This was a play on 3rd and 10 — the Redskins went with a three receiver set, but it really appeared to be a one man route. The two receivers on top of the screenshot ran essentially clear-out routes to open up a lane for Pierre Garcon’s fly route. (Continued in next screenshot)

Again, it’s 3rd and 10. Although Garcon (red) was able to gain some separation… Prior to Griffin even releasing the ball, Paulsen was wide open in the flat with green field ahead. He likely would have made it to at least the first down marker. Now, again, this was a half field read. Griffin trusts the play. He threw a horrible ball down-the-field to Garcon and it was an opportunity missed. Griffin has to learn that there’s nothing wrong with dumping the “checkdown” if that outlet is made available in a play.

With it being Griffin’s first game action since Jan., his awareness and reaction skills were not up to par. However, in the screenshot, this is something that Griffin just hasn’t done consistently in general — get rid of the ball. This was a 2nd and 11 play that ended up being a sack on a delayed CB blitz. It could have been avoided (next screenshot).

The fullback Darrel Young raised his hand in this screenshot — prior to Griffin getting sacked. His pocket awareness has to let him know that if the WR hasn’t completed his route and you have an outlet — throw the checkdown. He had enough time to check it to Young, who could have picked up a few yards.

Griffin also overthrew the ball several times in this game. He has a cannon of an arm. But out-routes like the one pictured above are one of his better routes from a throwing standpoint. Griffin can throw “outs” in his sleep. But he wasn’t able to connect here. It was a sign of rust. However, he connected with Santana Moss on one later in the game (next screenshot).

Here’s a mirrored out route on the flip side of the field. I circled Griffin’s arm again so you can get a good look at his launch point. (Next Screenshot)

Now this was a Robert Griffin III throw. He showed very nice touch and accuracy on this ball. Moss had enough room to tap both his feet in-bounds. This was probably his best throw of the night.

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