I’m calling this “The good, bad and ugly (part one)” because I fear that this theme will play out multiple times this Redskins season. During Week 2, here is how I saw it, starting with the worst first.
Courtesy: Washington Post
The ugly: Josh Morgan knew going in that St. Louis’ Courtland Finnegan was a very accomplished instigator. Look at some of Finnegan’s recent work.
Yet Morgan still took the bait and cost his team a chance to tie a very close game. The officiating also falls under the ugly category. These replacement referees are doing the best they can, but both the players and coaches have no respect for their authority and it showed in the game with 18 combined penalties and actions from both sides that scream out of control.
Commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners need to stop messing around, make the deal and get the real zebras in the game before someone gets seriously hurt. Speaking of hurt, the loss of Adam Carriker and Brian Orakpo for the season due to injury is going to put the depth of the Redskins defense to the test.
The bad: The defense in St. Louis was appalling. Jim Haslett’s decision to stay with a zone scheme that wasn’t working is a head-scratcher. The defense made Danny Amendola look like an All-Pro with 15 catches and more than 300 passing yards were surrendered. This unit has now given up 63 points in two games.
The special teams unit was also bad. Another blocked punt and there could have been more. Danny Smith’s unit has had seven kicks or punts blocked in two seasons.
Finally, the coaching by Mike Shanahan on the final possession was very bad in my eyes. Why attempt a long field goal that is clearly out of your kicker’s range instead of giving your rookie sensation at quarterback a chance to convert a fourth down? You have him, why not use him?
The good: Robert Griffin III can indeed play on this level, accounting for three touchdowns while going 20-for-29 and running for 82 yards. Going back to the defense, although the unit was porous it did get 3 takeaways for a second straight week and won the turnover battle. The last thing I saw that was good is that after two tough tests on the road, the Redskins come to FedEx Field for three of the next four games (Cincinnati visits Sunday) in hopes of improving on a dismal 2-6 home record last year.
I think that about covers it. Anything I’m missing here in any of the categories, folks?
*Also posted at: http://www.masnsports.com/holder_on/2012/09/the-good-bad-and-ugly-part-one.html *
