Studs
LB/DE Brian Orakpo. This might be the best pick of Vinny Cerrato’s career because of where he got him (13th overall). Orakpo’s first of his four sacks came as a standup linebacker – it would be wrong to abandon having him rush from a two-point stance – when he got through the tight end first and then the running back. What I also like is how nimble his feet are; twice the Raiders tried to cut him low and he avoided the block and got in on the play. He also recorded sacks via different ways: with power, speed and both. And a few times the design of the rush left him with one guy to beat. For example, there was one sack in which Justin Fargas was in the backfield waiting to help the tackle. But as Orakpo patiently rushed at the tackle. Fargas then slid inside to take on London Fletcher, who showed blitz – but only to draw Fargas. Left alone, Orakpo beat Mario Henderson wide. Outstanding.
QB Jason Campbell. Hard to believe they might actually let him go after what is clearly the best season of his career, when considering the circumstances. He gets poor protection yet as he runs up into the pocket his eyes remain downfield. Two touchdowns, no interceptions and no fumbles given the amount of hits yesterday? Hard to beat. It helps
RB Quinton Ganther (runner). He only had 50 yards rushing, but did have a 42-yard catch. What he does well is break tackles and make defenders miss. He had consecutive runs where he gained a combined six extra yards after first contact on tough runs through the left side.
DE Andre Carter. Had two sacks. Again, the design of the rushes left him one-on-one enough times to do damage. Played contain well and had a couple backside tackles.
DT Kedric Golston. A very underrated player. Uses leverage as well as most players and it led to tackles and clogged lanes. Golston played the run well. Want to know why Orakpo got two of his sacks? Because Golston went where he should on a stunt, finding a way to occupy two blockers and, one time, obstructing the vision of the guard enough to let Orakpo slip to the middle.
PK Graham Gano. How about the new kid? Nobody looked more relieved than Gano after his 46-yard field goal than the rookie. But as much as that, his kickoffs were excellent. He pinned the Raiders into the corner twice and had two touchbacks. His worst kickoff came after the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty when his line drive led to a long return.
TE Fred Davis. He’s on this list a lot lately and well-deserved. Did a nice job on his first touchdown catch, getting to the middle and then cutting hard back to his left to get open. His block on the Santana Moss screen inside the 10-yard line highlighted his athleticism.
FB Todd Yoder. The Redskins used more I-formation in the second half and Yoder made it work with some good lead blocks. He cleared an opening on one touchdown for Ganther. Considering he’s not a fullback, Yoder did a nice job.
DL Lorenzo Alexander. Best plays came in punt coverage when he recorded tackles in the open field, no small feat for a guy his size. Also had a sack late in the game.
S LaRon Landry (when not in man coverage): Used up near the line most of the time and had some strong hits. He blitzed well. Preview of things to come? Or was it because the Redskins wanted to blitz more and knew the Raiders would not be able to go downfield. Plus his interception helped
Duds
RB Quinton Ganther (pass protection). He went the wrong way on at least two occasions leading to unblocked blitzers who drilled Jason Campbell. Ganther is a willing blocker and his chips on ends are excellent; he does so with violence and knocks them back. But he must improve at learning where to go. On one blitz, when he was to the left of Campbell, he only looked middle and to the right. He never saw a defender to his left. On the snap, Ganther went to his right and the blitzer went past him for the hit.
WR Antwaan Randle El. He dropped a pass and his punt returns, once again, were brutal. He let one punt roll way too far and then he dropped another. Not a good day for him.
LT Levi Jones. Was beaten way too often and mostly because he did not use his feet well. Found himself reaching too much with his hands and that led to him getting off-balance on a few occasions. The turf was horrible so it appeared many linemen on both teams had a tough time; they’d try to plant and could not. But it doesn’t explain everything.
RT Stephon Heyer. Allowed a sack; again he appeared to have trouble setting one time because of the turf. But overall did not have a strong game. Got knocked off-balance a few times; had help on many occasions. Got beat by a linebacker on a rush where he lunged at him and missed.
S LaRon Landry (man coverage). Darren McFadden and Zach Miller got him in one-on-one coverage, partly because Landry did not have his eyes in the right place. Sean Taylor used to be able to cover in the slot; that’s not Landry’s strength at all. The coaches realized this and ended this strategy early. Blame them for putting him in that position.
LG Derrick Dockery. Was too upright and that landed him in trouble. Got shoved back a couple times forcing a deep cut by the running back. Lunged at Richard Seymour one time and missed.
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