Studs
DT Kedric Golston. I love watching him gain leverage, especially in short-yardage situations. He blew up a couple runs with penetration. Another time he prevented a cutback and clogged the lane by getting his hands inside the blocker’s pads and keeping a strong lower base. Textbook.
DE Andre Carter. Played the run well and applied some pressure. Carter’s motor doesn’t stop; because of that he and Brian Orakpo got Drew Brees off rhythm on some throws. Carter did a solid job holding the edge at times.
LT Levi Jones. Ripped him last week; have to credit him this week. Will Smith did not do a good job of getting him moving one way and coming back another. However, Jones did a better job of keeping his head up while blocking and moving his feet. Smith wanted to power him and that played to Jones’ strength.
C Casey Rabach. That might have been the best overall game Rabach has played this year. Rabach drove his man out more than a few times and handled the pressure well. The Redskins’ line was not confused by the blitzes.
QB Jason Campbell. He was more decisive with the ball than ever. The coaches helped with a lot of three-step drops, again, but even on the five-step throws Campbell was calm in the pocket and unloaded the ball in rhythm and on time. He failed, once more, to lead the Redskins late in the game. But he also led them to 30 points (and should have been 33). Campbell sold his fakes well. His biggest mistake cost them a chance to win in regulation when he was pressured and made a bad decision in trying to avoid a sack. But he threw to the outside to a covered receiver with his feet not set. Still, Campbell was mostly accurate and executed the game plan well.
RG Mike Williams. For a guy who has not played much lately, and is in a still new position, he handled himself well. There were some mistakes; saw him lunging at blocks once or twice. But did you notice him in a bad way? Me neither. That’s a good sign.
DE Phillip Daniels. Was not spectacular, but showed that he could still anchor the left side. He even deflected a pass at the line and dropped into coverage a few times.
WR Devin Thomas. Made big plays and finally had a breakout game with seven catches – and don’t forget the pass interference penalty he drew. He also had a 39-yard kickoff return. And I was impressed with him in kick coverage. He stayed in his lane and prevented the Saints from cutting the other way and getting outside.
Duds
K Shaun Suisham. Feel bad for the kid; the pain he felt was immense. When he spoke with us after the game, tears formed in his eyes and he struggled to get out some words. But thousands of Redskins fans right now would say one thing: make the kick. Yes, the snap was a little high. But it wasn’t the first time a snap was high so I’m not buying that excuse (which was not trotted out by Suisham, but by long snapper Ethan Albright and coach Jim Zorn). That’s two games his missed field goals have now impacted negatively; 5-7 wouldn’t sound so bad right now, would it?
RB Marcus Mason. There was a clear dropoff when he was in the game. On consecutive runs early in the fourth quarter, he appeared to miss an opening. Granted, tough running down there and decisions must be made quick. But on the first he appeared to cut back too soon and was eyeing it even sooner. Had he stayed in the hole, he might have scored. On the next play, he tried to go wide, but FB Mike Sellers had turned up. If he follows, it’s a possible first down if nothing else. But he was stopped short and they settled for a field goal. A touchdown here and the late miss would not have mattered. Did not like him in pass protection, either.
FS LaRon Landry. For much of the day he played a very good game. He hit hard; he didn’t miss tackles. But, man, the Saints knew he would bite on those in-routes and he certainly did. Even talked to him during the week about the need to stay disciplined when playing deep. He did not. On the second double move TD, Landry blamed it on a missed coverage assignment (translation: I was covering for someone else). However, he still bit on the double move.
RB Rock Cartwright. Wasn’t able to get much going. Had a run of 16 yards, but his other 12 carries gained 23. He was unable to make defenders miss, something he did against Dallas. But where he helped most was in pass protection. Cartwright did a good job picking up blitzers.
DT Albert Haynesworth. Too many times he would start his rush and then, um, play for the screen. Maybe he was still hurting and could not push off on his ankle. Outside of a couple plays in short yardage – when he was very, very good – he did not get much penetration. For $41 million guaranteed, he needed to come up bigger.
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