Despite a comeback attempt in the 3rd quarter, the game never really got close and the Redskins fell to the Atlanta Falcons 31-17. Washington’s record is now 2-6, and the schedule just gets worse from here.
In a lost season, there’s not much consolation to be taken from a team’s progress, though quarterback Jason Campbell continues to have good numbers and show toughness his critics didn’t know he had.
The downside to the game was much more significant. Campbell was beat and battered as the Swiss cheese protection failed to even do an adequate job, forcing Campbell from the game twice due to injuries (he returned both times). Running back Clinton Portis left early with what appeared to be a nasty concussion and backup right tackle Mike Williams also left the game, not to return.
Injuries aside, the play-calling in the secondary continues to be incompetent. Anyone watching at home on television can see 11 offensive players versus eight and even sometimes seven defensive players. Much of the Redskins secondary continues to play 10, 15 and, in the case of LaRon Landry, up to 30 yards off the line of scrimmage. It doesn’t take a genius to run short passing plays and runs to the edge where the corners have to come up 10-15 yards to make a tackle. Just ask Falcons back Michael Turner and is 9.2 average yards per carry.
Obviously, the offensive line was plain awful, and that’s not something that’ll get any better with time. As the Fox commentators kindly put it, “the Redskins gambled with their offensive line.†In addition to missing two of their four legitimate starters, the line also had to grapple with a gimpy tackle in Stephon Heyer, and was reduced to their third string right tackle when Williams left the field. In all Campbell was sacked five times in the first half, allowing the Falcons to set a franchise record. The Redskins also had a stunning statistic in the first 30 minutes: their average yards to go on third down registered at 12.2 yards.
The special teams as a whole continued to be sub-par, and though the punt returning has long established itself among the league’s worst, the team did not surpass expectations against the Falcons. Amazingly, the team only fielded one punt during the entire 60 minutes, and Dante Hall managed to lose two yards on the play.
What the Redskins showed is that they are a talented team with no true leadership (at any level) that’s in complete disarray. That’s how you get the disgusting performances you see in the first half, the flashes in the third quarter and the letdown in the fourth. The team had an array of dumb penalties, bad play-calling on both sides and a head coach who simply looked lost.
Just like the season.
