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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

Welcome to the Neno's Place!

Neno's Place Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality


Neno

I can be reached by phone or text 8am-7pm cst 972-768-9772 or, once joining the board I can be reached by a (PM) Private Message.

Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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Established in 2006 as a Community of Reality

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    Five Things Learned from the Redskins’ Loss to the Panthers

    jedi17
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    Five Things Learned from the Redskins’ Loss to the Panthers Empty Five Things Learned from the Redskins’ Loss to the Panthers

    Post by jedi17 Tue 20 Dec 2016, 9:21 pm

    Five Things Learned from the Redskins’ Loss to the Panthers

    In a game the Washington Redskins needed badly, they were outplayed across the board by the Carolina Panthers—a team that had nothing for which to play, other than pride.
    Catching several breaks couldn’t keep the Redskins from falling to a mediocre 7-6-1 as the Panthers whipped Washington at the point of attack for most of the evening.  Carolina also kept the Redskins’ potent offense mostly in check, while forcing a pair of Kirk Cousins turnovers.  Cam Newton was good enough, while Jonathan Stewart ran for well over 100 yards.  Washington fell to an embarrassing 2-16 at home on Monday Night Football since the opening of FedEx Field.
    Here are five things we learned from this damaging loss . . .
    The Redskins early struggles made this a much tougher game than it might have been:  Two first-quarter plays in particular helped dig an early hole for the Redskins.  First, Donte Whitner completely lost track of his coverage responsibilities as Ted Ginn scored to put the Panthers up 10-3.  Then, Kirk Cousins, who had already unleashed a couple of shaky throws, tried to force a ball to Vernon Davis with three Panthers in the vicinity.  Kurt Coleman picked it off and returned it 37 yards to set up more points for Carolina.  Luckily for the Redskins, they got a couple of breaks as well . . .
    Two lucky breaks kept the Redskins in the game:  With Jonathan Stewart running roughshod over Washington’s defense, the fact that he got his facemask knocked off when Carolina got the ball deep in Redskin territory was a tremendous break.  That quite possibly saved four points.  Then, Cam Newton picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for flipping the ball at Trent Murphy, which pushed Carolina out of field goal range.  Instead of a possible 20-3 deficit, the Redskins managed to keep it to 13-3 for the time being.  Thanks to a nice screen pass to Rob Kelley and an incredible effort by DeSean Jackson to make two defenders miss in space on a third-down play, Washington went on to score on the ensuing drive.
    Nobody has dominated the Redskins up front this year like the Panthers did:  Both sides of the ball.  Jonathan Stewart often didn’t get contact until he was already three yards downfield (and then he’d drag defenders another 3-5 yards).  He finished with 132 yards on 25 carries.
    Meanwhile, Washington’s running attack regressed dramatically against a Panther defense that was missing All-Pro linebacker Luke Kuechly.  Carolina held Washington running backs to a pitiful 18 rushing yards, including Rob Kelley’s nine yards on eight carries.  That performance essentially turned the Redskins into a pass-only offense.  It was as bad as anyone had made the Redskins’ offense look since the Steelers way back on opening night.
    Jordan Reed’s ejection might have been a blessing:  I was really hoping Reed would get pulled around the time he decided to punch Kurt Coleman in the face.  Reed is very tough, but he was having trouble running routes without pain, or getting up from routine tackles.  He was playing with a fairly significant shoulder injury, and, as valuable as he is in the short-term, I was worried more about his long-term health.  Other than his wallet, Reed is probably better off having left the game when he did.

    The Redskins don’t deserve to make the playoffs:  Sorry, fans.  I know.  The truth hurts.  Washington has twice faced teams with losing records in recent weeks with an opportunity to take a big step toward the postseason.  It has failed to do so on both occasions.  Against the Cardinals and the Panthers, the Redskins didn’t look like a team with a playoff opportunity in front of it.  They looked flat against Arizona and simply outmatched against the Panthers for much of the game.

    More pointedly, the Redskins’ secondary is a major liability right now, other than Josh Norman, obviously.  Yes, some of that is due to injury.  But that excuse doesn’t make the coverage miscues count any less.
    On the other side of the ball, the running game was a non-factor, as described above.  Kirk Cousins turned the ball over twice, leading to 10 Carolina points.  He also seemed to be a little befuddled when the Panthers dropped back in zone, possibly missing some open men deep as he checked down to safer options that usually failed to move the chains.  This, too, was a regression.
    I said before the year started that this team would be improved overall, but, against a more formidable schedule, would probably wind up with eight or nine wins and miss the playoffs.  I think that prediction is a fair assessment of where this team is right now.
    The hard part will be accepting that the team is moving in the right direction, even though it is likely to miss the playoffs.  But they are.  They need to get better on defense, but another McCloughan offseason should help.

    Right now?  They’re probably the seventh-best team in the NFC.
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