Skins News of the Day - Tues 10/13

[Caliskinsfan]

Excerpt

Scot McCloughan, the man charged with fixing all that ails the Washington Redskins, kept pacing in and out of a melancholy locker room Sunday afternoon. The general manager wasn’t there as an evaluator this time. He was a sympathizer. Every time he saw a dejected player enter, he walked over to give a back pat and whisper encouragement, making sure to acknowledge the positives bushwhacked by an overtime loss.

Nine months ago, McCloughan was hired to make over a carefree locker room that accepted losing too easily. So it speaks to the team’s growth that the new sheriff in town could substitute discipline with compassion.

Don’t be cynical. It’s not like the franchise will be given a key to the city for losing a close game and feeling bad about it. But if you focus on what the team is trying to become — a vision that has been missing for too long — then you understand the significance.

It’s another sign the Redskins might not be as fragile as we thought. They’re not full of the nonsense that has burdened them in the past. They’re still in a novice stage of development, but they’re a real football team right now, with a professional and serious approach to complement a burgeoning competitive mentality. They’re not a week-to-week concern so much anymore. They haven’t exactly stabilized, but they have graduated from around-the-clock monitoring to longer-term worrying about their health.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

Excerpt

Gruden said Monday that multiple variables contribute to a successful running game — blocking by the linemen, help from tight ends, backs hitting openings and making smart cuts — and all must work in concert.

That didn’t happen against the Falcons. And the Redskins’ passing game, which was missing its biggest playmaker in wide receiver DeSean Jackson and its go-to tight end in Jordan Reed, wasn’t capable of picking up the slack.

“There’s so many things that go into a good running play or a bad running play that it’s hard to just put your finger on it,” Gruden said. “But I know that our blocking in the running game was not up to our standards. It was not winning football for us. . . .

“If we don’t have that part of our offense going, you see what kind of troubles we have: We’re not very good.”

 

[Caliskinsfan]

• manny_bentonI'm not sure what it is about these crossing routes that makes Kirk consistently throw behind the WR. These are plays meant to help make things easier for him -- keeping throws in-between the numbers #Falcons#Redskins#FilmStudy
  

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[Caliskinsfan]

Tried to maneuver these new bans with Twitter not linking to gifs and it's a pain. So the best way for anyone to see some really good film stuff from Manny is to follow his Instagram account.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[Caliskinsfan]

Interesting order from Mark

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[Caliskinsfan]

At least Kirk maintains a sense of humor here

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[Caliskinsfan]

Hopefully we will get this turned around

 

[Caliskinsfan]

@ehb5 this just made me chuckle. Here's the skins definition I guess.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

Also a good question regarding DY. I've wondered about that since Alf always seemed to run better with DY in to help block. Jones says Callahan prefers the multiple TE sets adding help to block. Given our lack of effective and healthy TEs right now, wish we'd use DY more myself.


Excerpt

My question is simple and yet nobody has been able to answer it. What has happened to Jeron Johnson? During the summer he was a possible starter and now to the best of my knowledge, he has yet to have a defensive snap. With all of our defensive injuries in the secondary, this guy can’t get on the field?

– Randy Mason

Jeron Johnson’s case is a curious one, all right. Like you said, he was touted as a possible solution at strong safety when he signed as a free agent, and alternated days with the first team with Duke Ihenacho. But in training camp, he got off to a slow start and then missed some time with a hamstring injury and never climbed back up the depth chart once healthy. He had some attitude issues during the late preseason and early regular season, but also just wasn’t giving defensive backs coach Perry Fewell what he was looking for.

Washington defensive back Jeron Johnson, left, pursuing Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman, got some non-special teams snaps on Sunday. (Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports)
Trenton Robinson displayed more of the versatility that coaches wanted, because in this system, the free safety and strong safety are interchangeable and shift up into the box, or back deep in coverage depending on the alignment of the offense. And so, when Ihenacho got hurt, Robinson got the nod, and rookie Kyshoen Jarrett also has gotten on the field ahead of Johnson. Johnson has played on special teams, but hasn’t made many plays. He did get on the field for one defensive snap in Sunday’s game at Atlanta.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

Dustin has really been a bright spot.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[ehb5]

@ehb5 this just made me chuckle. Here's the skins definition I guess.

Haha yea I saw that on twitter today and laughed but had no idea how to post a tweet lol.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

Just posting what we all know. We definitely need a center.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[Sharkinva]

They need to use Ross and the ground game more at this point. I havent seen any updates on Jackson, Culliver or Reed this week. I think if we get two of the three back for this weekend it changes the complexion of this game.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

They need to use Ross and the ground game more at this point. I havent seen any updates on Jackson, Culliver or Reed this week. I think if we get two of the three back for this weekend it changes the complexion of this game.

One thing I read seemed to be optimistic that DJax and Reed might be available Sun. Given track records, I'd say we are more likely to see DJax on a set snap count than Reed.