1. The Redskins offense was awful in the first half. In fact awful might be too nice. I seriously overestimated how quickly RGIII would shake the rust off. I thought after the 1st quarter he would be on his way to at least a decent game. That wasn't the case. Griffin went 5 for 11 in the first half for 53 yards and an interception and a second interception early in the 3rd quarter. He really looked uncomfortable and didn't seem to throw with much power or accuracy. Part of that he never played in the preseason so timing was off but the other part was his foot work was off and he didn't seem confident in his knee. Some may question if he was/is fully healthy but I seriously believe it was a confidence issue and I completely disagree with anyone who was saying they should take him out of the game.
2. To make things worse Alfred Morris and the run game was equally inept. Morris fumbled the ball on his first carry of the night and later failed to handle a pitch from Griffin in the end zone which led to a safety. The pitch could have been much better but it hit Morris in the hands and you have to make that play. The run game should have been something the Redskins could lean on until RGIII found a rhythm but it was just as inept as the passing game.
3. The Redskins D started off on their heels. The Eagles came out fast and did an exceptional job of getting numbers where the needed them and forcing individual Redskins' defenders to make plays one on one which they too often failed at. LeSean McCoy really just ran all over the Redskins making a lot of nice plays but some of them should have been stopped. Orakpo had a nice ankle tackle on McCoy on one play but I saw him too often failing to keep contain. He really didn't seem to have a good game but he should get better. Remember, he is coming back from an injury as well.
4. The secondary didn't play any better missing a lot of tackles in the open field. Rambo made a few nice tackles here and there but he missed a tackle on one Eagles' touchdown and still needs to work on that part of his game. DeAngelo Hall continued his off the field antics getting a personal foul and hitting Jackson out of bounds and later jawing with him. Hall didn't have his worst game ever but it wasn't a very good one either. Again this secondary has always had its problems but last year Haslett found a way to cover it up with scheme. Against the Eagles this was harder because they play so fast. EJ Biggers played safety instead of Reed Doughty which I thought was interesting. The plan might have been to have someone who is better in coverage but Biggers really struggled to make tackles something that Doughty is good at and the Redskins needed.
5. None of this was helped by Chris Thompson who has probably lost his return duties. He rarely got a chance to return kicks or punts but too often he ran the ball out of the end zone and failed to make it to the 20. On one punt he actually called a fair catch inside the 10. There was a Eagles player right behind him so the thought must have been that he didn't want it to be downed at the 1. But you have to make that Eagle player make a play instead of making it for him. At that point there isn't much of a difference between the 5 and the 1.
THE GOOD
1. The Redskins will only get better. This was a sluggish start but this isn't the way the Redskins will play all year. Next week is a tough matchup against the Packers but that may actually a better fit for what the Redskins like to do than the Eagles were.
2. RGIII may have started off bad but he showed flashes of why he was rookie of the year and consistently got better. You can see it by looking at how his completion percentage went up each quarter and he completed 71.4% in the 4th quarter. He had a nice throw to Hankerson in the back of the end zone but his best throw was probably two plays before that. He hit Hankerson in the middle of the field and the ball was delivered on time with good velocity. As Griffin grows more confident his accuracy and timing will get better and lets face it after the first half against the Eagles he can only get better.
3. Hankerson had 5 catches for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns. He will need to continue to produce for me to believe he has taken that step but last night was a good start. He got separation and made plays when he needed to. Hankerson did bobble the throw I mentioned earlier but he stayed focused and brought it in something he may not have done las year. I really like this guy going forward.
4. The defense had some bright spots that should only get better. Kerrigan had a good game and consistently made plays and if he is healthy (he was getting tested for a concussion) then he could be the best defender on this team. Perry Riley also made some nice plays and seemed to be all over the field making tackles when no one else could. He has really taken a step forward and while Fletcher is still the heart of this defense Riley is probably the better player at this point. David Amerson also played pretty well. He was one of the better tacklers in the secondary and almost had a nice interception. Amerson is going to be good and it isn't out of reach for him to not only be the best rookie on the team but the best player in the secondary especially with Meriweather's return still in question.
5. I will talk more about the Packers later in the week but they really should be a better matchup for the Redskins for a few reasons. First, they aren't and unknown like the Eagles were. Second, Aaron Rodgers may have a lot of weapons to throw to but that offensive line is horrible while the Eagles have an extremely talented one. Third, with the exception of Clay Matthews the defense is pretty weak as well. Finally, Eddie Lacy is a talented young back but he doesn't have the shiftiness that LeSean McCoy does. The power running game is something the Redskins should handle better especially with a weaker offensive line.
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