Courtesy: HogsHaven.com
Coming off of a disappointing 4-12 season, the Washington Redskins are ready to turn the page to the 2014 season as they begin their conquest for a Super Bowl title with an exhibition game where they play hosts to the New England Patriots.
A new head coach, new additions, and a healthy Robert Griffin III making the signal calls are all steps in the right direction. But like any team in the NFL, question marks still fly.
Even though the first preseason game likely won’t feature a heavy dosage of RGIII leading his troops down the field against the vaunted Patriots, this will be head coach Jay Gruden’s first litmus test to figure out how much depth he has after just a few weeks of practice.
When watching the game tonight, keep an eye out for these three players:
1. WR/RS Andre Roberts
While DeSean Jackson may be the wide receiver garnering a large chunk of publicity given his successful career in the NFL thus far with division rival Philadelphia, Andre Roberts could be a solid pickup for this organization in more ways than one.
He comes over from an Arizona team that not only saw success last season, but he has also benefited from playing alongside one of the best at his position in Larry Fitzgerald. Some may say that Roberts only saw success because Fitzgerald was being double-and-triple-covered, but Roberts has solid hands and should be a solid fourth option for RGIII in the aerial attack.
Roberts is the leader in the clubhouse right now for the kick return specialist spot and it will be interesting to see what other dynamics he can bring to the table in possibly playing kick or punt coverage.
2. OLB Trent Murphy
Trent Murphy is listed behind Brian Orakpo on the depth chart, but if the Stanford product knows anything about his injury history, he knows he has to be a virtual minuteman.
This first test against the Patriots will be tough, especially if he gets a few snaps against Tom Brady. Brady is a quick decision-maker and Murphy was one of the better pass-rushers in college football last season. It will be interesting to see how well Murphy responds to not only the speed of the game, but the quick-thinking required to be successful in the NFL.
While he will likely see most of his reps against New England’s backup Ryan Mallet, it will also be interesting to see if Washington decides to test Murphy in pass coverage. Even though he was a sack master in college, sometimes teams like to experiment to try and showcase a player’s athletic ability or gauge as to whether or not he is a hand-in-the-dirt player.
3. S Bacarri Rambo
The Redskins brought in veteran Ryan Clark to play free safety and bring to the defense more sound tackling in the secondary, but that doesn’t mean anyone should sleep on Bacarri Rambo.
Rambo doesn’t have the ball-hawking abilities of some of the top free safeties in the game, but he can lay the wood when ball-carriers are coming over the middle or in his zone. The former sixth-round pick only started three games last season and is likely playing with a chip on his shoulder given the addition of Clark in the offseason.
That is only a temporary fix though as Clark is aging and likely in the November of his career.
Rambo has to improve in pass coverage and maintain the physical nature he displayed during his days as a Georgia Bulldog. While he can make big hits, his tackling technique is poor. Washington — not just Rambo — needs improvements in all of those areas as offenses matriculated the ball with ease last season, putting RGIII and the offense in catch-up mode earlier than anticipated.
I would also argue that 2 additional players to watch would be:
Keenan Robinson (LB) – 3rd year, prior 4th round pick out of Texas but has landed on IR before season begun in last two season could be solid depth or starter next to Riley.
Philip Thomas (S) – 2nd year, liked him more than Rambo coming into last year but landed on IR in the 1st week of preseason. Would be solid addition/upgrade at SS or compliment over what is currently going at Safety.