Plusses and Minuses vs. Browns

[Defensewins]

Originally Posted by KI Skins Fan

His losing confidence after an INT still puzzles me because he was great at leading late game comebacks in college. I thought he had ice in his veins. That's one of the reasons I was happy when we drafted him.

Not to get too touchy-feely but sometimes I wonder if he's being being handled the right way by Gruden.

One thing that really jumps out at me is KC has only STARTED 9 game in his entire NFL career.
By contrast RGIII has Started 36 games in his NFL career.
KC's interceptions last season behind that same terrible pass protecting O-line that RGIII also failed behind is not a measure of KC or RGIII's ability.
I am all for giving them time to see what they can do behind a better line this year and going forward. One thing I do not want to see is forcing one as a starter because of what we invested in him. The evaluation should be fair and even. That is all I want to see. A real competition. Not a mandate from the owners box.

[TheHolyGibbs]

Did everyone notice that RG3 was once again slightly hobbled on the one bootleg where he took a hit? He came up gimpy a bit, double hopping his steps. This guy is STILL not 100% and i just do not get it. Is he using bad mechanics because of fear? Is he favoring one leg and causing the ankle last year? I literally hold my breath every time he has the ball thinking he is seconds away from injury. Anyway, my point is he got gimped a bit again yesterday...my imagination?

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by TheHolyGibbs

Did everyone notice that RG3 was once again slightly hobbled on the one bootleg where he took a hit? He came up gimpy a bit, double hopping his steps. This guy is STILL not 100% and i just do not get it. Is he using bad mechanics because of fear? Is he favoring one leg and causing the ankle last year? I literally hold my breath every time he has the ball thinking he is seconds away from injury. Anyway, my point is he got gimped a bit again yesterday...my imagination?

Why do you care if he gets hurt? Not like a big drop off if KC comes in. Honestly at this point losing Niles hurts more then losing RGIII.

[Daseal]

Originally Posted by mredskins

Why do you care if he gets hurt? Not like a big drop off if KC comes in. Honestly at this point losing Niles hurts more then losing RGIII.

Because if he gets hurt we owe him 16M next year. If he sucks and we cut him, we owe him 0. That said, it shows he still doesn't understand the context. This is preseason, why are you taking hits? To me, Cousins is great until his first INT and he crumbles. RG3 is the same way, but after the first big hit - he gets scared and crumbles.

Last night I saw the same team I've been watching for years. It's still early. It's preseason. I saw improvements in the OL play on defense and I think our secondary is better, although Hall may not recover in time for the opener.

Here's what I saw last night:
Pros:
- Preston Smith played well.
- Our rushing attack looked good enough to keep us in games.
- OL overall improved, still not a superior line, but making strides.
- WR group has a lot of talent even without the Jackson in there.
- The Redskins players seems to be building a bond. I didnt see that last year.
- Cousins and McCoy looked pretty good with/vs backups. Again. Preseason and Game 1. Can't put too much stock in that.
- Matt Jones. This kid runs hard. He may be after Morris' spot.

Cons:
- RG3 did not play well. He only had 8 passes, so the jury isn't out. He got 36-ish yards on those passes. I saw him move to the 2nd read a few times which made me happy. Still question the decision making. Even the bomb to Garcon he wasn't decisive, pumped the ball and threw it to the wrong shoulder. Garcon adjusted and should have caught it. While the result looked okay, I highly doubt that was the plan.
- Tackling. Defense was letting them get way too many YAC. Lazy tackling, poor tackling, etc. I was hoping that would change with ol' Haslett outta here.
- Missed assignments. What drove me crazy last year was big plays on coverages that were clearly blown. We had one in the endzone. If they catch the ball near our DB, I'm typically much less upset than standing alone. Only Redskins drop wide open TDs.
- Special Teams. I think we need to look for a Kai replacement. He's a good kicker, but we have gotta start having our opponent on the 20. Roberts fumbles sometimes, that one was bad. Not worth pulling him off yet. I'd be interested in seeing that tiny guy (#19 I believe) that KC threw to a lot trying that role.
- Nothing I saw made me think we can make much noise this year. I hope we're building, but this team, in my opinion, lacks the talent to compete. I simply don't believe in RG3. I hope he proves me wrong. Truly. But I'm not seeing the progression I had hoped to by this time based on camp reports/8 preseason throws.