skins offense 2017

[skinsdad62]

Red Zone- Kirk Cousins rushed for a TD on the Redskins only trip to the red zone. The offense scored touchdowns on 54.4% of the drives that made it inside of their opponent’s 20-yard line, which ranks 16th in the league.

This is a major improvement considering the team ranked 31st in RZ success rate last season (45.9%).

The Redskins finished the year ranked 31st in third-down success rate with a 32.4% conversion clip. That is the 5th lowest conversion percentage posted by the team on third down in recorded history (data dating back to 1991). However, you only have to go back to 2010 andThe Redskins finished the year ranked 31st in third-down success rate with a 32.4% conversion clip. That is the 5th lowest conversion percentage posted by the team on third down in recorded history (data dating back to 1991). However, you only have to go back to 2010 and 2014 to find seasons when Washington was worse on third down. 2014 to find seasons when Washington was worse on third down.

The Redskins finished the year with the 5th fewest accepted penalties (92) and the 2nd fewest penalty yards (733) in the NFL. This just goes to show that following the rules doesn’t always pay off
Rushing- The Redskins only rushed for 61 yards, 3 first downs and a touchdown on 16 attempts against the Giants (3.8 YPC).

Washington hasn’t topped 87 rushing yards in any of their last five games, which gives them the second longest active streak without a 100-yard rushing day in the league. The team only hit the 100-yard mark five times all year, which is tied for the second fewest such games by any team in 2017.

They haven’t averaged 4.0 yards per carry or more in six weeks. They only averaged that many yards per carry four times this season, which was also tied for second worst in the NFL.

The Redskins were a bottom-5 team when it came to running the ball this past season, plain and simple. Here are the team’s rankings and stats in every major rushing category: 28th in rushing yards (1,448), 30th in yards per carry (3.61), 28th in first downs (66), 31st in first down percentage (16.5%), 21st in touchdowns (10) and 32nd in 20-yard rushes (3).

They finished 27th in rushing average on 3rd or 4th down with 2 yards or less to go (2.05) and dead last in first-down rushing YPC (3.16).

These are all truly pathetic figures, but they really aren’t much worse than what we’ve come to expect from a Jay Gruden coached offense. I get that it’s a passing league, but you just have to get more from your running game if you ever want to have a truly elite offense


Injured Reserve Redskins- The team had a total of 20 players on their injured reserve list at the end of the season, which is a number only exceeded by the Giants (21 players).

Of those 20, 12 played on offense, with 6 of them being players who started in Week 1 against the Eagles (Trent Williams, Jordan Reed, Shawn Lauvao, Spencer Long and Terrelle Pryor). No other team has more offensive players on injured reserve than the Redskins do. Don’t forget that when you read about Kirk Cousins next.

 

[skinsdad62]

he Giants sacked him on 3 of his dropbacks this past week, which brought his 2017 total to a career-high 41 sacks. He had only been sacked a total of 65 times in his 46 career games and 5 seasons coming into the year
Kirk Cousins (Rushing)- Possibly the only truly positive thing Kirk Cousins did all day was to run for a 12-yard touchdown on a read-option fake in the 1st quarter. That was the team-best fourth rushing score of the year, which marks the second time in the last three years he has led the team in rushing TDs.

Cousins has now scored 13 touchdowns on the ground since taking over as the starter in 2015. Cam Newton (21) and Tyrod Taylor (14) are the only signal callers who have scored more in that time span, and they’ve had 361 and 283 more rushes to do it, respectively.

This marked Cousins’ third consecutive season with 4 or more touchdowns; he is the only QB in team history with three seasons of 4-plus rushing scores. Joe Theismann is the only QB in franchise history with more career TDs as a rusher (17).

He joins Aaron Rodgers and Steve Young as the only players to have scored 25-plus passing touchdowns and 4 or more rushing touchdowns at least 3 times in a season.

Cousins and Rodgers are the only players who have ever topped 4,000 yards and scored 4 rushing TDs three times in a single season (3 times for each of them). Kirk Cousins is the only player in NFL history that has accomplished this feat in three straight seasons
Kirk Cousins (Records)- Yes, Cousins struggled badly against the Giants on Sunday, but that should not take away from some of the impressive things he accomplished in 2017.

He has started in all 48 games since being named the starter prior to the beginning of the 2015 season. This makes him the first Redskins’ QB to start 16 contests in three straight seasons in team history. Only Joe Theismann has started in more consecutive games at QB for the team (60).

Captain Kirk topped the 4,000-yard passing mark for the third straight season. He is one of just three Redskins’ signal callers who have ever thrown for over 4,000 yards (Brad Johnson and Jay Schroeder) and he is the only Washington player that has done it more than once.

KC is just the 11th QB in league history to have ever gone over 4K as a passer in three straight years. Here are the other 10 players: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Dan Marino, Dan Fouts, Matt Ryan, Dan Fouts, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers and Eli Manning.

but he isnt a franchise qb or even good

 

[skinsdad62]

osh Doctson- Believe it or not, but Josh Doctson was the Redskins’ healthiest receiver in 2017. He played in all 16 games, started in 14 of them, played 752 snaps and was in for at least 90% of the snaps in seven games this season; every one of those playing time statistics ranked 1st among all Washington wideouts.

Doctson was targeted 10 times against the Giants, marking the second time in as many weeks and in his entire career that he has had 10 or more passes thrown his way. He only caught 4 of those targets for 37 yards. He did record a team-high 3 receiving first downs. His 4 receptions match the career high he set in two other games. Yes, he has never caught more than 4 passes.

Doctson’s 6 touchdowns on the year were tied for the team lead (Chris Thompson), but he was wildly inefficient overall this season. Check out some of his rankings among the 80-plus receivers with 50 or more targets: 67th in yards per target (6.44), 69th in yards per route run (1.10) and 81st in catch percentage (44.9%). He has a 57.7 PFF grade on the year, which ranks 77th out of 118 qualifying receivers.

He is one of just 28 receivers since 1992, which is as far back as target data goes, to have 35 or fewer receptions in a season when they were targeted 75 or more times. Being on this list is not a death sentence, but the company he is keeping certainly doesn’t inspire any confidence either.

Although, that isn’t the only bad list Doctson finds himself on. If you want to give yourself nightmares then just check the first-round receivers who caught 40 or fewer passes in the first two years of their careers. Santana Moss is the only truly comforting name that I can find on there.

All of this doesn’t necessarily mean Doctson is doomed to be a bust, but that also doesn’t make the prospect of this scenario any less likely or scary. The 2018 season will likely be a make-or-break year for the 25-year-old receiver

hope he bucks the trend

 

[skinsdad62]

Grant set new career highs and doubled his career totals in virtually every important receiving statistic. Just look at his 2017 totals compared to his career totals coming into the year: receptions (45 to 39), receiving yards (573 to 550), first downs (29 to 28) and touchdowns (4 to 2).

He finished 2nd on the team in receptions, receiving first downs and receiving touchdowns.

During his Tuesday press conference, Jay Gruden expressed serious interest in re-signing the 2018 free agent.

 

[skinsdad62]

Crowder finished the year with a new career high in targets (103) and was just 1 reception short of tying the career high that he set last season (66 receptions in 2017). His 789 yards were 58 shy of the personal yardage record he set in 2016. The third-year receiver led the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards , yards from scrimmage and first downs.

He had a nice year, but you have to wonder how it would’ve turned out if an early-season injury didn’t hamper his production in the first half of the year. In Weeks 1-7, Crowder didn’t score a single touchdown and averaged 3.4 receptions and 24.2 receiving yards per game. In Weeks 8-17, he scored 3 TDs and averaged 5.2 receptions and 71.1 yards per game.

No player in franchise history has caught more passes prior to their age-25 season than Crowder has (192 receptions). The next closest player on this list is Chris Cooley, with 165 receptions.

Jamison Crowder is entering the final year of his rookie deal and is eligible for a contract extension. The Redskins need to show some love to their best wide receiver.

 

[skinsdad62]

Maurice Harris- Moe Harris returned after sitting out last week’s win over the Broncos, but he only played 6 snaps. Harris ran 5 routes and was not targeted in the game.

He only played 76 snaps and ran 42 routes this season, which is basically the equivalent of two games played for a #3 wideout. That makes it difficult to put a lot of stock in the fact that he only finished the year with 6 targets, 4 receptions, 62 yards, 3 first downs and 1 touchdown.

So in one breath he gets a pass, but in another he really needs to start showing something more if he hopes to remain in the NFL for more than another year or two. Harris’ career totals of 12 receptions, 128 yards and 1 touchdown are extremely low for a player who will be turning 26 next year.

The Redskins have control over his rights next season ($630K) and in 2019 they have the ability to retain him with an RFA tender

step back this year

 

[skinsdad62]

Davis is by no means a perfect prospect, but his elite athleticism should cause the team to give him a much closer look next season. Davis’ 9.77 relative athletic score ranks 38th on a list of wide receivers that is over 1,600 players long.

need to see more of him

 

[skinsdad62]

Vernon Davis- Vernon Davis started in every single game this year, which marks the first time that he has done so since 2012. He is one of only three offensive players on the team to start in every game. Davis played on over 90% of the snaps against the Giants, his sixth game over the 90% threshold this year. His 799 snaps this season were his most since 2013.

The 34-year-old tight end finished the year with the most starts and snaps played by a Washington wide receiver, tight end or running back. In fact, Davis played more snaps than the rest of the team’s tight ends combined (660). This should really tell you something about A) Davis’ durability and B) Kirk Cousins’ supporting cast.

On Sunday, Davis ran 32 routes and received 3 targets, but only hauled in 2 receptions for 20 yards and 0 first downs. This is not a new trend. VD was playing some great football between Weeks 3 and 11, when he averaged 4 receptions and 64 yards per game, but he completely fell off the map after that. Davis finished the season with just 10 receptions for 121 yards in his last six contests (1.9 receptions and 26.9 yards per game).

The late-season downturn wasn’t enough to stop VD from ranking 2nd on the team in receiving yards (648), his highest yardage total since 2013, and 1st on the club in yards per reception (15.1).

With his final catch of the season he passed Jeremy Shockey for 9th on the all-time receptions list by a tight end (548). He currently ranks 9th and 7th all time at the position in receiving yards (7,072) and touchdowns (60).

Davis is under contract with the Redskins for two more years, but it would not be wise to expect a repeat performance of this past season from a player that will be turning 35 in just under 13 months.

Niles Paul- Paul started for a career-high eighth time this year, but only played 18 offensive snaps (32% snap rate). His 300 snaps on the year were his second most since 2012.

He caught one of his two targets against New York, but failed to gain any yardage on the play. His 19 targets and 13 receptions this season both were the second highest single-season totals of his career.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t very efficient as a receiver. He only totaled 94 yards on 96 snaps in route (0.98 YPRR). He also posted career lows in both yards per reception (7.2) and yards per target (4.95).

Paul is the second longest tenured player on the offense behind only Trent Williams, but his impending free agency leaves his future with the team uncertain. With Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis due to count a combined $15.5M against the cap next season and the additions of our next two tight ends this past season, Niles Paul may have very well played his last snap for the Burgundy and Gold.

Jeremy Sprinkle- This was the 11th game of the year for Jeremy Sprinkle. The rookie tight end played on 11 offensive snaps, which brought his total on the year to just 126. This was one of his six games with more than 10 snaps. He only took the field for 20 snaps in three games and never more than 24 snaps or a 38% snap share.

He only ran 30 routes and received 3 targets this season, but he turned those opportunities into 2 receptions for 13 yards and a touchdown.

The bulk of his time on offense was spent as a blocker, particularly in the running game. He pass blocked just 18 times, which pales in comparison to the 78 snaps he took as a run blocker.

Jordan Reed’s health can’t be trusted, Vernon Davis will be almost 35 by the time next season ends and Niles Paul is scheduled to hit free agency in a few months. Sprinkle should see a huge jump in playing time next season unless the Redskins acquire a trustworthy tight end in the offseason.

Manasseh Garner- Manasseh Garner was signed to the team last Wednesday. He dressed for the game, but didn’t play. The 2015 UDFA has never played in a regular season game and has caught only a total of 3 passes for 28 yards in his preseason career.

The team has Garner under contract through 2019 and it’s possible that they view him as a potential replacement for Niles Paul.

need TE help

 

[skinsdad62]

However, it’s tough to hate on Bill Callahan and company when you consider the following facts:

• Three of the team’s opening day OL starters finished the season on injured reserve.
• Those three players were Trent Williams, Shawn Lauvao and Spencer Long. They missed 39%, 48% and 61% of the offensive snaps this season, respectively.
• The original starting five missed just over a third of the team’s offensive snaps (33.4%).
• 11 different linemen started and played more than 140 offensive snaps for the team this year.
• 13 different offensive linemen played for the team in some capacity this season.

 

[skinsdad62]

Chase Roullier- Roullier was perfect in pass protection on Sunday. He played on every snap and did not allow a single pressure over the course of his 40 pass-blocking snaps. The crazy thing is that this was pretty much par for the course for the sixth-round rookie out of Wyoming.

Chase Roullier did not allow a single sack all season and only gave up a total of 6 pressures all year long. He was one of just eight centers who played on over 200 pass-blocking snaps without surrendering a sack (289 snaps). His 98.4 pass-blocking efficiency rating ranks 7th best at the position. He is the only rookie center that can make those claims.

Roullier has the potential to more than ably man the pivot for the Washington Redskins for quite some time.

one of the better picks in a long time

 

[skinsdad62]

Scherff missed games for the first time in his career and played on a career-low 867 snaps. He also surrendered 22 pressures, 3 of which were sacks. However, the third-year guard was called for a career-low 1 accepted penalty and 83.2 PFF rating ranked 8th among all guards and 1st on the entire Redskins’ offense

The Iowa product was named to his second Pro Bowl this season. Only eight other pure guards have been selected to two or more Pro Bowls in their first three seasons since the 1970 merger. Three of those other eight players are either already in the Hall of Fame or will more than likely end up there.

With his third season in the books, Brandon Scherff is now eligible for a contract extension. Of course the team still has control over his rights for two more years via the fourth and final year of his rookie deal and a possible fifth-year-option designation in 2019. Expect him to break the bank whenever he does happen to sign a new deal.

 

[skinsdad62]

Morgan Moses- Morgan Moses had a rough day at the office on Sunday. He was responsible for giving up a team-worst 3 total pressures (tied with Catalina), including a sack by JPP. Unfortunately, this was nothing new for him, as he was the primary culprit on 5 sacks and 38 pressures this season, both of which were worst on the team.

It’s hard to be too disappointed in the Skins’ right tackle, though. He was one of just three offensive players to start in every game and he ranked third on the team in snaps from scrimmage, despite battling through multiple injuries that combined to land him on the injury report 12 times (75% of the season). There is a strong possibility Moses will need to have ankle surgery in the near future

here is moses dean

 

[skinz2winz]

Lots of weapons here that did not remain healthy this season. That trend will likely favor the team next year however, Gruden should sit down today and watch his prodigy call plays and review his new schemes. They seemed to have sped up the maturation process in LA in the matter of months!

 

[Sportster 72]

Lots of weapons here that did not remain healthy this season. That trend will likely favor the team next year however, Gruden should sit down today and watch his prodigy call plays and review his new schemes. They seemed to have sped up the maturation process in LA in the matter of months!

They also have a lot more talent. Gurley is a beast, Kupp has been a big help, solidified their line with Whitfield and Sullivan. Defense isn't close. A lot of talent was there, they filled holes the biggest being the coach. Fisher sucked.

 

[skinsdad62]

The Redskins entered 2017 with the following wide receivers on the 53-man roster. Below are their stats for the season:

Jamison Crowder: 66 receptions, 789 yards, 3 touchdowns

Ryan Grant: 45 receptions, 573 yards, 4 touchdowns

Josh Doctson: 35 receptions, 502 yards, 6 touchdowns

Terrelle Pryor Sr.: 20 receptions, 240 yards, 1 touchdown (was placed on injured reserve)

Brian Quick: 6 receptions, 76 yards, 0 touchdowns

Maurice Harris: 4 receptions, 62 yards, 1 touchdown

- The receiving corps accounted for just 176 receptions, 2242 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season.

- The Steelers Antonio Brown himself accounted for 101 receptions, 1533 yards and 9 touchdowns on the season. He was just 75 receptions, 709 yards, and 6 touchdowns short of matching the entire Redskins receiving corps totals for the season.

- DeAndre Hopkins (13 touchdowns) came just two touchdowns shy of the Redskins entire wide receiving group.

Compare the stats of our top six receivers in 2017, to our top three wide receivers in 2016:

Pierre Garcon: 79 receptions, 1041 yards, 3 touchdowns

DeSean Jackson: 56 receptions, 1005 yards, 4 touchdowns

Jamison Crowder: 67 receptions, 847 yards, 7 touchdowns

The top three receivers in 2016 accounted for 202 receptions, 2893 yards, and 14 touchdowns.

This drop in production resulted in Kirk Cousins throwing for 800 yards less than the previous season, and the lowest total he’s put up as an NFL starting quarterback for a full season. His completion percentage dropped from 67% in 2016 to 64% in 2017.

Catch Rate - Catch rate is a good metric for evaluating receivers (although it’s not perfect), because it takes into account the amount of catches vs. the number of targets thrown that players way. Things like drops, separation and routes run (for example, a pure deep threat will usually have a lower catch rate than a possession receiver or slot receiver) all factor in. That being said, the average catch rate for a wide receiver seeing at least 50 targets is 65%

The Redskins top three receiver’s catch rate is listed below:

Ryan Grant - 69%

Jamison Crowder - 64%

Josh Doctson - 45%

*average catch rates for slot receivers is 71%

Only one receiver, Ryan Grant, ranks above average in catch rate. Crowder is about average when compared to receivers in general, but falls well below average when compared to slot receivers. Doctson ranks as one of the lowest receivers in the NFL in catch percentage of players receiving at least 50 targets.

Here the the receivers the Redskins have under contract for 2018:

Josh Doctson

Jamison Crowder

Robert Davis

Maurice Harris

I know injuries really hurt the overall performance of our team, and losing Pryor, who had a catch rate of 54% before he was placed on injured reserve, certainly didn’t help, but overall, our wide receivers stayed relatively healthy, but just didn’t preform well on the season.

If the Redskins want to sign Kirk Cousins to a long-term deal this winter/spring, they better get a plan in place to improve this below-average unit.

really really bad

 

[skinz2winz]

They also have a lot more talent. Gurley is a beast, Kupp has been a big help, solidified their line with Whitfield and Sullivan. Defense isn't close. A lot of talent was there, they filled holes the biggest being the coach. Fisher sucked.

Your right, Gurley wasn't Gurley until this year. The Skins must draft a bonafide RB or find one. Nobody really wanted Whitfield and we gladly let Sullivan go. While Kupp was a contributor as a rookie on offense, was he really better than Doctson or Grant? My point is, I believe McVay is a superior coach to Gruden and it clearly showed. McVay has more vision to his offense and obviously raised the bar for Goff and he took off this year.

 

[Sportster 72]

Your right, Gurley wasn't Gurley until this year. The Skins must draft a bonafide RB or find one. Nobody really wanted Whitfield and we gladly let Sullivan go. While Kupp was a contributor as a rookie on offense, was he really better than Doctson or Grant? My point is, I believe McVay is a superior coach to Gruden and it clearly showed. McVay has more vision to his offense and obviously raised the bar for Goff and he took off this year.

Not so much last night. Once again I will say something I have said a bunch of times. Wade Phillips!!! I wanted him as our DC several years ago and many here said he was too old. Several years later and one SB ring in his pocket he is now doing a pretty good job for the Rams.

Taking nothing away from Scott because I like him a lot. Not ready to say he is better than Gruden yet but in the future that could change.

 

[skinz2winz]

Not so much last night. Once again I will say something I have said a bunch of times. Wade Phillips!!! I wanted him as our DC several years ago and many here said he was too old. Several years later and one SB ring in his pocket he is now doing a pretty good job for the Rams.

Taking nothing away from Scott because I like him a lot. Not ready to say he is better than Gruden yet but in the future that could change.

I will say that McVay is a better play caller than Gruden, that is proven from his previous 3 years in WASH and his lone season in LA.
As for Phillips, I ALSO wanted him in DC at the time and we showed virtually no interest. Just another FO blunder by Mr. Redneck!