The Redskins Blog

Pregame Video: Team Stretching, Throwing

For being in Buffalo, it’s actually pretty warm out on the playing surface at Ralph Wilson Stadium, where the Bills are playing host to the Redskins tonight.

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Pregame Video: Team Invades Buffalo

To say the Washington Redskins are amped up for tonight’s preseason opener at Buffalo would be an understatement.

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Preseason Schedule Has A Familiar Feel

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The NFL has released the 2012 preseason schedule today, and Redskins fans will find some familiar foes on the preseason docket.

The Redskins will open Week 1 (Aug. 9-11) on the road in Buffalo, a game that will be aired on NBC4 and CSN Washington. This is the 16th preseason meeting between the two teams, and the first since 2010.

While it is just a preseason game, Redskins players and fans will surely be reminded of the 0-23 rout in Toronto last year to these same Bills.  It’s the first contest of the preseason, but there could be some fireworks for the Burgundy and Gold, particularly on defense.

The Redskins will stay on the road for Week 2 (Aug. 17-18), travelling to Chicago for a Battle of the Midway with the Bears.  This will be the two teams’ 12th matchup all-time, and the first preseason matchup since 1976.  The game will be aired locally on NBC4 and CSN Washington.

Only one Redskins player currently on the Redskins’ roster (Sav Rocca, 38) was alive for the last contest, and he was likely preoccupied with other Australian toddler things.   Read more »

The Untouchable Brandon Banks

How does one race 95 yards down the field on a punt return, without being touched?  One part blinding speed, 11 parts really good blocking.

Certainly everything went right on this return, and everyone managed to take care of their blocks without earning a penalty.  But there were three blocks that helped to eliminate the opportunity for a Bucs player to make a ‘saving tackle.’ Read more »

Redskins Riding High After Win

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With a win last night, the Redskins secured their first winning preseason since 2008, finishing 3-1.

Exactly zero of those wins will translate over to the regular season, but it’s short-sighted to call the preseason meaningless.  For a young team with dozens of unknown entities entering training camp, this team certainly has a clearer picture of what they can do now.

For players with secured roster spots, last night was a feel-good win going into next week’s battle with the Giants.  But for players fighting for a spot, this is hardly a relaxing day off.  Players tweeted a range of emotion after the game:

Good win tonight. The next time we take the field it will finally be for real!—
Adam Carriker (@AdamCarriker) September 02, 2011

Got the win! Felt good to start off the game even if it was in preseason…—
Niles Paul (@Niles_Paul) September 02, 2011

Proud of all the players on the redskins 90 man roster. We have alot of talent. Everyone will be somewhere—
Darrel Young (@darrelyoung) September 02, 2011

Felt pretty good tonight, now the chips will fall where they fall…—
DeJon Gomes (@HuskerHybrid_7) September 02, 2011

and now we wait… ~$HOWTIME—
Reggie Jones (@RegJones29) September 02, 2011

Darrel Young summed up the emotion pretty well in his latest blog post:

Being with the players for so long through the offseason and training camp and then things change. People get cut or traded and it is tough because of the memories you build up with those players that you will never forget and then they are gone.

Carriker and Young appear to have a good chance to start this season, but Paul, Jones, and Gomes did a lot to help themselves last night and throughout the preseason.

This will be a stressful 24 hours for a lot of players.

Fourth Quarter Redux

I pity anyone that left the stadium or turned off their television sets at the 2-minute warning.

With three minutes left in the game, the Redskins were comfortably ahead.  After a 60-yard, 44 second drive by the Bucs, they were trailing by one.  After a 74-yard, 60 second drive by the Redskins, they were back up by five.

Clearly the fast-break offense was on the court.

Here’s a crowd reaction from the tunnel:

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After another valiant bend-but-don’t-break stand that saw a desperate shot at the endzone, the Redskins ran off the field, victorious.

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Most Valuable Redskin

The people have spoken: the offensive position in most need of clarity was quarterback.  Congratulations to those of you that selected other positions, but you were vastly outnumbered.

The defensive position in most need of clarity was cornerback by a slim margin.  Josh Wilson had a good night and is probably a favorite to start alongside DeAngelo Hall against the Giants.  The rest of the depth chart has yet to shake out.

Who was your top player tonight?

Third Quarter Recap

The good news is that Redskins quarterback Matt Gutierrez completed his first three passes as a Redskin.  The bad news is that one of them was to a Buccaneers defensive back.  In the endzone.

On the ensuing Bucs drive,the Redskins defense bent but did not break, hunkering down in the redzone and holding them to a field goal.

Redskins rookie nose tackle Chris Neild has had a solid night for the Redskins, starting in place of Barry Cofield in the middle of the defensive line.  In typical nose tackle fashion, he hasn’t recorded any official stats, but has eaten up blockers to allow his linebackers to make plays.  He is part of a defensive group that has held the Bucs to 41 yards on 16 carries, for a 2.6 yards per carry average.

The other thing that’s impressive about Neild is his value in special teams,where he is a member of the group formerly known as ‘the wedge’ (before the league banned wedges).  He, and reserve offensive lineman Erik Cook are surprisingly light on their feet and frequently explode through the pack like rhinos at the end of a kickoff.

Not bad work from the guy taken second to last in the 2011 NFL Draft.

The third quarter expired on a play that will likely get extra emphasis during defensive film study this week.  Safety DeJon Gomes and safeties Davonte Shannon and Reggie Jones each failed to wrap up receiver Ed Gant.  After ping-ponging off tackles, he raced to the endzone for a 96-yard play.  The Redskins benefited from his unsportsmanlike entry into the endzone with good field position, but this was an unfortunate way to end a good defensive quarter.

Redskins still on top going into the final frame, 20-13.

Second Quarter Musings

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The Redskins started the second quarter with a bang.

In an effort to get on with his touchdown celebration, Brandon Banks very nearly overlooked the most important part of the play: the touchdown.  Other than that, every other facet of his 95-yard punt return was perfect, especially the blocking that set up the play.  Banks was able to scamper right through a crease in the middle of the coverage and juke two players on his way to pay-dirt.

He also managed to hold possession of the ball for exactly 95 yards.

I can only imagine what special teams coordinator Danny Smith said to his underestimated returner after the play (although I imagine it was unbloggable).

Washington newcomer, cornerback Josh Wilson had his ‘Welcome to the Redskins’ moment tonight after a preseason riddled with injury.  Climbing the ladder on an overthrown pass,he picked it off and was one or two blocks away from running it back for another quick score.

Does anyone remember Ryan Torain?  The All-Torain Vehicle was out of the shop for the first time this preseason, and had some good vision,especially on draw plays when the blocking opened up some holes for him.  It’s hard to gauge his runs against any of the other backs considering who was blocking for him, but he looked to be running hard.

The fourth preseason game isn’t all for the rookies, and some reserve veteran players improved their stock in the first half as well:

• Rob Jackson: 2 tackles, sack, forced fumble, pass defensed.
• Logan Paulsen: 1 reception, 22 yards.
• Kedric Golston: tackle, sack, 2 QB hits.
• Keyaron Fox: 6 tackles, pass defensed.

If not for a 42-yard field goal at the end of the half, the Redskins would have completely throttled the Bucs in the first half.  Redskins are up, 17-3.

First Quarter Thoughts

A pretty shaky start for the boys in Burgundy and Gold, as Brandon Banks was bottled up inside of the 20 on the opening kickoff.  Things got worse on the third play of the drive,when running back Evan Royster was dropped for a six yard loss and coughed up the football.

Turns out they just needed a mulligan.

It took the defense setting the tone with a goal line stand to wake up the offense–and the crowd.  On fourth-and-goal from the 1 yard line,the defense penetrated the backfield and turned Bucs running back Kregg Lumpkin into a pumpkin.

First down, Washington.

A rookie on offense that did a lot to help his cause in the first quarter was rookie receiver Niles Paul.  Getting the starting nod in place of a resting Jabar Gaffney, he was targeted twice and hauled in two passes for 27 yards.  He came in as a late-round pick in a crowded field at receiver.  No question, that in this game and throughout the preseason, he has shown the ability to be a go-to guy in the Redskins offense.

A rookie on defense that did a lot to help his cause in the first quarter was outside linebacker Markus White.  When fellow outside linebacker Rob Jackson rocked Bucs quarterback Rudy Carpenter for a sack and fumble, White alertly scooped it up and raced down the sidelines.  White was supposed to be a project pick, selected in the late rounds as a defensive end.  He has held his own throughout the preseason and really opened some eyes.

One intriguing rookie on defense is defensive back DeJon Gomes.  While he has shown the ability to play solid coverage as a safety and rush the passer, he also got flagged for a big penalty for a hit on a defenseless receiver.  Defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has singled Gomes out as a player in the past that he really likes, and the ability is apparent.  He just needs to play smart all the time.

The Redskins managed to shut out the opposing offenses in the first quarter the entire preseason.  For the first three games, it said a lot about the character and composition of the starting defense.  Tonight, it says a lot about the depth of resiliency in the whole defensive unit, especially on that goal line stand.

Redskins out to an early lead, 7-0.