Redskins vs. Buccaneers: The Good & The Not-So-Good

You know how after a loss, athletes and coaches often make reference to the fact that the loss wasn’t attributable to any specific play but rather to a whole host of missed opportunities? Well, to a certain extent, that’s true. For example, against the Buccaneers, the Washington Redskins wasted numerous opportunities to put the match in a choke hold. We’re talking missed field goals, blown red-zone possessions, and untimely turnovers. But in a way, blaming a loss on missed chances doesn’t cut it. For example, against the Buccaneers, the Redskins fought their way back after being down by one score, only to lose the game because of one play that went horribly wrong (more on that later). Of course, either way, you’re still talking about a loss, so maybe the finer nuances of responsibility aren’t worth griping about. And on that note, I present to you the good and the not-so-good from Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers.

Good

• Ryan Torain: Returning to on-field action for the first time in four games, Torain pummeled the Bucs for 173 yards on 24 carries. That’s 7.2 yards per carry, and it’s also without question the best rushing performance by the team this season. Torain showed great vision by finding the gaps that the offensive line opened (finally), and he showed some lateral quickness by throwing a few jukes to gain extra yards. The best example was his 54-yard breakout on the first drive, when he was able to cut around a second-level block by Kory Lichtensteiger and scoot down the sideline for a big gain. If he can stay healthy, Torain may just be able to make himself a fixture in the Redskins’ backfield.
• Logan Paulsen’s TD catch: At this point in the game, the Redskins had wasted two red-zone possessions and missed two field goals. But on their third trip, the ‘Skins dialed up the most perfectly-executed end-zone fade off of play-action that I’ve ever seen the team run. It was simple: fake the handoff to Torain, force the defense to hesitate, and allow Logan Paulsen to sneak behind the coverage. After that, it’s just pitch and catch for an easy touchdown. I don’t think I’m alone in wishing that this kind of play design would show up more often.
• Donovan McNabb’s two-minute drill: Down 17-10 with just over three minutes remaining, Donovan McNabb led the team on a 13-play scoring drive that ended in a TD pass to Santana Moss. On the drive, McNabb completed 8 of 12 passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. If they’re practicing that two-minute offense, it seems to be paying off.
• The defense minus Haynesworth: Didn’t feel any different to me. Just sayin'.

Not-So-Good

• Special teams: First, Graham Gano missed a pair of fairly easy field goal attempts. Then Chris Wilson muffed the opening kickoff of the second half. And then, at game's end, rookie long snapper Nick Sundberg launched a high snap towards the helmet of Hunter Smith on what would have been the game-tying extra point. I know that some of these guys are young, so I’m tempted to give them some slack. But at a certain point, I have to wonder if Gano and Sundberg are really the answer at their respective positions. And I also have to wonder if Danny Smith’s reputation as a special teams coach might be just a hair overrated.
• Play-calling: I realize that the Redskins really had no problem moving the ball in the first half, but that was really more due to good execution by the offensive line and Ryan Torain that it was due to clever play-calling. In fact, whenever the Redskins seemed to need good play-calling, they never managed to muster it up. The perfect example is the team’s second half game plan. Halftime is typically the moment in which teams make adjustments based on how the game has progressed thus far, and considering that Tampa Bay had been getting gashed on the ground up until that point, it should have been obvious that they might sell out for the run in the second half. But instead of taking advantage of that fact with more play-action calls, the Redskins came out with two runs to the left and a short pass that wasn’t even close to gaining a first down. Along with Wilson’s fumble, this lack of clever play-calling arguably turned the game in the Buccaneers favor. The Redskins need to get better at making adjustments and calling good plays or else they’re never going to be able to put teams away.

It's "Football 101": If you call good plays that take advantage of your opponent's strategy and you play mistake free football, then you have a great shot at winning each week in the NFL. Unfortunately, those two key ingredients to a winning football team somehow manage to elude the Washington Redskins. If it’s not rookies making mistakes, it’s the rest of this short-on-talent roster of veterans who are making mistakes. And the reason for poor play-calling might have something to do with fact that the team just doesn't have the talent to do what it wants.

But maybe with another offseason under Mike Shanahan, coupled with a hopefully productive draft performance, the team will be able to turn into something in the future. But if you haven't already (and I don't know why you wouldn't have already), you might want to lower your expectations for this team in 2010.