What I learned tonight

that if dyson weren't injured, this team would have great depth all over the place.

that this is what it's like to have a real, quality team.

 

I always like to do a 53 list after the games, but its really just observations, so I'll post it in this thread

This is actually 54. A OL, DT, or WR has to go.

QB 3
Weinke - He really did look the best. He threw all kinds of passes. A weird, fall out of the hand one to start. None of the horrible throws we've seen the 1st 2 years. He faced a little pressure too. The TV guys said that Henning's been saying "good decision" alot to him. I'm ready to see him against better competition.
Peete - Looked good. I was impressed he wiggled free from an almost certain sack. He's not going to complete as many deep passes as Weinke, if the Weinke we tink we're seeing is for real. He was the only QB who really didn't look deep.
Delhomme - Not bad. He doesnt have the talent Weinke may have.

Fasani goes to PS. I'm not ready to completely give up on him. QBs often take 3 years, although we should be seeing more by now. If he gets claimed, so be it.

RB 4
Davis - I love what I saw.
Foster - Can't wait to see what I've heard about.
Smart - Those were some quality runs. Plus his ST ability.
Brown - It could be Hicks here.

I think the talent on the team has increased to where there's no room for a nice but untalented guy like Goings.
Bates was responsible for that long sack on Delhomme. He still doesnt look like a football player except on STs. I can't make a sport for him. I think I'd rather have Smart.

FB - 2
Hoover
Moore I didn't notice either of them doing much. Moore gets a job by default.

WR - 6
Moose. Yes, he dropped a very difficult one, but he's not good enough to catch the tough ones. He did runs sharp routes, caught the reasonable ones, and then ran like a, uh, Moose.
Smith - I'm trusting he will come back and play well.
Proehl - Looked good.
Young - Looked like a rookie. Its very rare for a rookie WR to come in and play well in games.
Baker - I'm ready to see him against better competition.
Wilkins - He did OK, I guess, but he has some competition to make the team. He had 2 clips to help him on that nice return, but he does look like a dangerous punt returner.

At least one that we cut goes on PS. I'm really ready to cut Hankton. We didn't have Bates, Cooper or Smart when Hankton was the best cover guy. I'd rather keep Bates than Hankton.

TE - 3
Mangum - the one he "dropped" was very difficult. I doubt any of our TEs gets that. I hate cutting ALL the vets at a position. We tried that at WR in 97 and QB in 2001. Bad results.
Seidman - nothing spectacular, but not lost like a rookie
Heinrich - I really didnt see him at all. May be Wiggins here.

Cut - Wiggins. It was hard to follow him, but he just didnt look all that good. I'd keep the vet who knows the O, and go with the younger guys.

OL - 9
Gross - Its hard to watch the OL, but he seemed to look good. That pressure on Peete came from Donnelley. Gross had taken his guy inside.
Donelley
Mitchell - all of Davis's nice runs came up the middle.
James - It was hard to see who was doing what, but I think he opened that nice hole for Davis
Steussie - If James didn't get that hole, he did.
Fletcher - he looked OK to me.
Willig
Brezinsky - he does have a gut, doesnt he. If I were trying to move up from backup to starter, with a short, moderate starter's contract, I think I'd show up in shape.
Nelson - I only saw him at C. He may have played G late. I didn't see him do anything good or bad.

DL - 9
Peppers
Jenkins
Buckner
Rucker - the top 4 looked great.
Williams
Pitman - These guys looked good.
Burton - need to keep him as a proven run guy
Moorehead - I'm trusting he will recover from that nasty spider bite and show well.
Brown - I saw him making plays and getting into the backfield.

Cut - Rassmusen. That's a shame, because I like him.

LB - 6

Morgan
Fields
Witherspoon - the D starters were on the field for such a short time it was hard to see anything. I think this group will do well.
Favors - Overran some stuff, but looks like he can do some things too.
Allen - OK
Cuicui - I didnt see him make any plays, but he might unseat Townes, from the practice reports.

CB- 5

Cousins
Howard
Wesley
Manning - this guy is going to be good
McDaniel - maybe. Franklin was getting beat, but not that bad. He may take this spot. Or Hampton may sneak in. He looked good against the 3rd stringers.

Franklin or Hampton, or both to PS.

S - 4

Minter
Grant
J. Cooper - couldnt tell whether he was in the right place, but he looked fast and physical. Plus the STs ability. He may be good enought to let them cut Robertson. I know they play different S spots, but I keep reading the SS and FS responsibilities aren't that different in this D.
D. Cooper - Still intercepting things. Not sure if he does anything else well.

Cut Branch - just hearing or seeing a few things. I hate to cut a 4th rounder. We'll see. If so, he goes to PS if not claimed.

STs (only) 3
K - Graham. Even though he missed his 55 yarder, he got that KO high and to the end zone. I bet he wins the job regardless of salary or injury considerations.
P - Saeurbrun - a 39 yarder with no return because it was nice and high. I love it.
Kyle - someone will have to snap almost perfectly to unseat him. We've gotten in trouble trying to get a player who plays a position to double as LS.

PS
Fasani
Branch
Frankin or Hampton
a WR
another WR or the other CB, or Cuicui, if he gets cut

 

Mangum dropped a punk pass he sucks... I'd keep him though as the number 2 TE for blockin situations in 2 TE sets, but if another guy proved he could block Mangum would be WAY gone in my opinion.... Seidman had some VERY good plays... how do you cut Wiggins for Heinrich when Heinrich wasn't in the game? That makes no sense

Why do so many people want to put Cooper in the FS spot?? He's a strong safety... and as far as coverage goes there are HUGE differences between FS and SS and coverage is Coop's biggest weakness... And who the hell is Robertson?? How do you call for a 4th rounder's head after one game when he played very little at all? I personally didn't see enough of him to determine if he would be a quality player or not... furthermore he's one of the guys that missed minicamp due to school so he's got a little more to learn before making a bigger impact... I expect his play to increase as preseason continues

 

I couldn't tell much from my seats up in the far reaches of the upper deck, but here's what I gathered.

- Stephen Davis is gonna be great for us... adds a spark to this offense that we've needed for some time now.

- Hated to see the fumbles, but hopefully time running the offense and what-not will decrease instances of that happening.

- The Redskins' rush defense is anemic.

- Delhomme looked good.

 

>>Gross - Its hard to watch the OL, but he seemed to look good. That pressure on Peete came from Donnelley. Gross had taken his guy inside.

It did come from Donnalley, but didn't develop until Gross had to cross Peete's face with his man. Took him inside, but certainly was not in control of his man. Donnalley was, until Peete moved. So not to blame Gross for Donnalley's play, but Gross did struggle on the play.

I thought Wiggins looked decent. He's a better pass player, and an OK blocker. Mangum did nothing of worth.

 

I thought Stephen Davis looked great. If he can play like that all year we are gonna be tough.

I thought all the QBs looked OK but not great. I would really like to see Delhomme and Wienkie get some work with the first team. I think Fasani is about done. If he could pass half as well as he runs he would be good.

I thought Manning looked great. He made some nice plays and showed good tackling too. I thought McDaniel played well too. Maybe we will finally have some depth at corner for when we have to play a spread offense (hint two minute offenses),

I liked the play calling for the most part. I think we will beat team to death running on them this year. I thought we did not look that great in the red zone. We ran up the middle like four times in a row that one time. That needs to get better quick.

I think the skins are gonna struggle. Ramsey likes to audible a lot and it would have gotten him killed if this had been a regular season game. He would have looked better if not for the drops but they seem to have a long way to go.

 

Here's my 500 words on what I learned -

This club is deeper than ever and Davis does in fact look like the premier RB we have needed here. They showed a TON of highlight clips from his Auburn days and especially high school . . . aside from being a bit “thicker” in the lower body he looks (and RUNS) like the same guy. The man has not lost a damn thing.
I think Brown is in trouble and either Bates or Smart will have to go too due to Foster coming back. It goes without saying that Goings is gone. Hicks had the one long run and an easy TD but he went down too easily a few times and looked a little “off”. Maybe it’s the fact that I haven’t seen the guy run for a couple of years. At this point he looks like a better backup than Smart or Brown though.

Peete just ain’t got enough zip . . . Delhomme and the Weinkster looked pretty damn good. Fasani needs to play in Canada so he’ll have a little more room to run to the sideline on every other pass play.

Gross looked good as did our line in general. Nelson even looked okay at Center. Brez looked a little pokey and he better get in shape purdy damn quick.

Seidman looked solid and worthy of a 3rd . . . yeah, he could start by the bye (or sooner maybe). Wiggins hurt his case a lot with that fumble. Now I want to see what Heinrich and McMullen can do. I feel like Wiggins Heinrich and McMullen are fighting for one spot.

Moose looked fresh . . . wouldn’t it be sweet if he stayed that way for a whole season?! Aside from one ST tackle Hankton didn’t show much at all. Baker was a nice surprise. He looked like a tougher more sure handed version of Anthony Bright but he’ll need to keep it up to stick. Wilkins did not look like much as a receiver but he did show value as a returner. Young was nonexistent but it was only his first game with the big boys. My other guy Moore made no case for himself with the lil’ bit of time he got.

Ricky “The Man” Manning looked worthy of the trade up. Mixed review on McDaniel, though does seem to have a nose for the ball and he would be hard to let go because of that.
IMO Franklin lost a little ground to Hampton who looked worth keeping a great big eye on.

The Coopers both look like Keepers. Jarrod plays like he wants to start or somethin’.)

Our D-line rocks the entire universe and Pittman and Wallace are very nice luxuries to have.

Our starting LBs also look good. Ciurciu was nonexistent but maybe in the coming weeks he’ll get more of a chance to shine a little. Favors looked a little lost but he’s a vet and will get more comfortable each week. Towns and Allen . . . not bad.

Too close to call on the kickers . . . we probably wouldn’t know until final cuts anyway with Kasay as a possible injury risk now.


So the score could have easily been 35 – 0. Normally I would be worried about the squandered TD opportunities inside the 10 yard line and the fumbles but hell it was our first game and we did look a LOT better than Washington. Last year at this time we definitely could not say that.
I am EXTREMELY psyched about this season, and that’s my reserved side talking.

 

I loved the way the Panthers looked. The word is dominate. you could feel it and see it.

Of the rooks I was totally impressed with Manning and Gross.Especially Manning. If he is not a player I'll apologize to the Tuna for calling him a homo. His ability to close on a play is outstanding and very few receivers are going to shake him no matter how tall they are. As for Gross he doesn't just run into a hole he actually blocks someone. Believe in him, Davis is goiung to love this guy.

Jake walked on the field like he owned it. He has a confidence
about him that I like very much.

I am no Weinke fan but I'm not blind either, he threw some pretty passes tonight and looked good.

 

Uh, the fact that he got his hands on it is a credit to Moose. Peete threw it waaaaaay behind and he had to turn around and get it. Jerry Rice wouldn't make that catch - If you reel that one in, it's a fluke, not the norm.

 

I've now watched the game 3 times...what I learned is that the Redskins REALLY suck. Don't get too excited as a lot of their errors (instead of our plays) saved the shutout and the win. The touchdown that was called back (luckily) was Mannings.