The Redskins Portal - ESPN 980

Not pretty but a big win.  The good, bad, and more.

Good:

1.  Defense played its best game. It wasn't perfect but it was their best comparably to the rest.  The three turnovers in the first half set the tone and they were all pretty much forced with pressure and a good fumble-force.  The return of Merriweather before his injury in the 2nd half was a factor for sure.  He's a big hitter and a playmaker.  I'm not a huge fan of some of the playcalling like big blitzes on 2nd and 20 that allow simple screens to go for big yardage but Haslett was able to scheme up some pressure which really affected the rookie Foles.  They did a good job making Foles look like a rookie QB, something they haven't done in 7 years to a rookie QB.

2.  RG3. His running ability as a result of design or improvisation has been the key to all four Skins' wins this year.  He makes chicken out of chicken-blank and it's why they have a chance in any game he plays.

3.  Skins made the Eagles quit. The deep TD to Moss seem to be the play that did it but there was little legit fight from the Birds after that play.

Bad:

1.  Penalties. The Skins are an undisciplined team right now.  They lead the league in penalties and most of them are concentration-related.  They were penalized early and late.  Even Lorenzo Alexander's late offsides penalty on a 4th and 3 with under 2 minutes left is bad and a reflection of a problem.  How many false starts or illegal formations can you have in one game?  How does 7 sound.  Not good.  The Perry Riley late hit on 3rd and 18 is a perfect example of undisciplined.

2.  The offense. Despite the #'s and the victory, the offense struggled for much of the game when the game was competitive.  Pass protection was bad during the competitive portion of the game although it was just good enough on the two long touchdown passes.  Nice timing.  The running game was ineffective early but RG3 extended drives with his feet on 3rd and 2nd and long on multiple occasions to keep drives alive.  It got better as the game progressed when the Eagles seemed to lack will.  The final #s would be pretty convincing to the contrary but context is important here....the offense didn't do much in the first 2.5 quarters and the team would've been in trouble if not for the Eagle turnovers.

More:

1.  Their short-yardage playcalling was questionable today.  RG3 doesn't like the option against short-yardage goal line defenses unless it's the zone-read and they never seem to make short-yardage situations on pitch sweeps to Morris either.  Not sure what the answer is when you're only playmaker is your quarterback and the parts around him are subpar but they need some new ideas.

2.  Why didn't they know the 3rd quarter gameclock would run out before the playclock?  Again, they seem to struggle with the simplest parts of managing the clock.

3.  The end of first-half decision to run Morris and kick the FG instead of taking shots at the end zone seemed to be a result of no-confidence in the pass protection.  Still, you've got to be able to take a few shots or at least throw a screen with one timeout and plenty of time left.