Redskins vs. Titans - The Good and Bad

Posted by Johnny Buck on August 12th, 2007 filed in Game Stories, Opinions

With the Redskins first preseason game in the books, it’s time to take a look at the good and bad of Saturday night’s 14-6 victory over Tennessee.

THE GOOD:

1. The Redskins won – Though Washington trailed for the first three quarters and went scoreless while the starters were on the field, a win of any kind is something to build on. Especially when your team went 5-11 a year ago.

The Skins trailed 6-0 as the clock wound down, but third-string quarterback Todd Collins finally moved the team downfield for a touchdown. Moments later, undrafted rookie Byron Westbrook feel on a fumble in the Titans’ endzone. Coach Gibbs will be the first to admit this team has a long way to go after Saturday’s performance (he was quoted in a Washington Post story saying, “Obviously, we’ve got to get a lot better.”). Even so, a win of any kind is good for a team that found creative ways to lose last season.

2. The defense looked much better – This unit reminded me more of 2005 than 2006. While the defensive line wasn’t necessarily plowin g into the backfield on a consistent basis, they did an excellent job of tying up their offensive linemen. This allowed the rest of the Skins’ defenders to swarm to the ball, none more so than newly acquired middle linebacker London Fletcher-Baker.

Fletcher wasn’t showing any signs of wear on his 32-year-old body, fitting his gaps and taking down ballcarriers as if it was the re gular season. Fletcher had six tackles in roughly two quarters of play. That type of leadership and performance is exactly what this Redskins defense needs if it has a chance to bounce back from a horrendous year in 2006.

3. Jason Campbell’s play – Ok, so completing 6 of 14 passes for 104 yards isn’t exactly Pro Bowl material, but there are some positives to pull from Campbell’s play.

For starters, he didn’t get hurt despite taking some violent licks. Even better, he seemed to shrug off the hits as if he never felt them. There were no Pat Ramsey happy feet, and when his offensive line gave him time in the pocket, he tended to make good plays.

Campbell stretched the field on several occasions with both completions and near misses. Either way, it’s a huge improvement over Mark Brunell’s 3-and-8 dumpoffs from a year ago.

THE BAD

First-team offense struggles - After publicly declaring a desire to win in the preseason, Gibbs and his team was held scoreless by the Titans. The offense never got into rhythm, and if the regular season were to start today the team would have serious issues on the left side of its line. That’s where undrafted rooke Stephon Heyer, filling in for Pro Bowler Chris Samuels, was struggling at left tackle. Much of the pressure that hammered Campbell came from the left, so the team is surely hoping Samuels’ recovery is a speedy one.

Kicking woes – As the only kicker in camp, you’d like to see a strong performance from Shaun Suisham. That was not the case. Instead, last year’s late addition to the team clanked a first-half field goal off the upright and badly shanked a kickoff out of bounds. For a team that’s lacked a consistent kicker over the past decade or so, this is not a good omen.

Lloyd can’t go – There are plenty of other things that could be listed here, but Brandon Lloyd’s absence due to shin splits earns my vote. Lloyd, who came to the Skins last season as a high priced free-agent, was a monumental bust in 2006. He was supposed to offer an athletic, big-play threat opposite Santana Moss. Instead, he’s been little more than a distraction with zero touchdowns in a Washington uniform.

While other starters such as Clinton Portis and Samuels didn’t see the field, they’re proven commodities in D.C. Similarly, injured players such as Mike Sellers and Ladell Betts didn’t have to take the field but chose to do so. I firmly believe the Redskins’ passing attack needs more than Moss and tight end Chris Cooley to be a viable threat in 2006. Lloyd was supposed to be that addition last year, with Antwaan Randle El a potent third-receivin g option/punt returner. For that scenario to develop, Lloyd needs to develop a proven chemistry with Campbell – something that won’t happen as long as he’s on the sidelines.