1. Jason Campbell was much more decisive on his throws. It helped that he had decent time to throw, but not always. It seems with Campbell he’ll have a game like this followed by a bad one where he’s indecisive. That bothers the coaches and leaves them perplexed about where he’s headed. Campbell got into a better rhythm, though he was asked to throw tough passes much of the night, much tougher than, say, Tom Brady. But Brady and his receivers took what the defense gave them, so it’s not a straight comparison.
2. The plays also helped as Zorn seemed to find his rhythm, too. I loved the pass to Chris Cooley that resulted in a 73-yard gain. Cooley simply snuck behind the linebackers and to an uncovered area. It was a wide-open pass for Campbell to complete. It almost seemed to relax Campbell.
3. But it is telling that, when asked in the postgame presser about Campbell’s night, the first pass Zorn referenced was the missed deep ball. One consistent thing about the Campbell/Zorn pairing is the references to the missed opportunities. Zorn clearly feels like many points have been left on the field. By the way, at first glance it appeared Campbell did not throw a good fade ball to Malcolm Kelly. But I also wonder if Kelly is ready to run that route vs. quality corners. A question that will be asked.
4. I did not like the run blocking one bit. Center Casey Rabach had a rough night and not just against Vince Wilfork, either. His man disrupted too many plays. The tight ends, especially Cooley and Fred Davis, did not do a good job in the first half in this area. Too often they would engage a linebacker who would easily shed him and make the tackle. The one time that didn’t happen? On the first drive of the second half. Cooley drove the ‘backer out and Marcus Mason ended up with a 12-yard run. It’s a bit simplistic to say that was the only reason. However, there were many runs in the first half where others had their men blocked and the tight ends could not sustain their blocks. Makes a difference.
5. Davis, at times, does not have a good base on his block. On the Mason run after Cooley’s 73-yarder, all Davis had to do was hold his block and Mason might have scored. But he couldn’t. Davis appeared to lunge enough to allow Paris Lenon to shed him (his base was much better). It’s a shame, too, because even Derrick Dockery had gotten to the linebacker on the play.
6. Devin Thomas did a nice job much of the game. He ran some good routes, showing a little veteran savvy on one in route in which he gently nudged off the defensive back. One thing I wonder: did returning kicks help him get into a groove? It enabled him to get involved in the game in another way – and I really liked how he looked doing it. Don’t want to bump Rock Cartwright from the job, but Thomas, if he’s not starting, could also help here paired next to Rock. He looked explosive. It’s the first game where I liked what I saw much of the night from him because he showed different things.
7. What’s going on with the defense? Part of the problem Friday was the Patriots ability to do whatever they wanted. They negated the pass rush with a lot of quick throws, spreading the field and hitting guys underneath. Even in shotgun, Tom Brady would go 1-2-3 throw – if that. As a result, when the Pats went to deeper stuff, the line almost anticipated quick throws. A couple times the linemen would make a move, then almost try to plug a passing lane and that would give Brady time to go downfield. Didn’t happen all the time, but it did happen.
8. Yes, LaRon Landry had an interception but it came off the No. 2 quarterback. But the DBs had a rough night. DeAngelo Hall did not play like a No. 1 cornerback; he needed to be more physical against Randy Moss. They could have used Carlos Rogers in this game (and, yes, a healthy Shawn Springs, but he’s no longer here, so we’ll drop that; irrelevant). Hall did a poor job on the touchdown pass to Moss, where he caught Landry flat-footed. Hall needed to jam Moss much, much better. Heck, he didn’t do it and Moss’s path was never moved. Landry also still takes tough angles, especially on blitzes. Fred Smoot had a solid night, though he gives too much cushion when not in press coverage – after getting beat deep too often last season, maybe that’s on his mind? Don’t know. I did like Kevin Barnes’ interception. He played it perfectly; his job on the play was to stay between the QB and the receiver. So the moves by the receiver mattered nothing to him. He did his job. Still, if the Redskins are an elite defense, they need to play better, especially in the back four.
9. Brian Orakpo was mostly quiet. There was one play where, head down, he lunged at the tight end and missed. Fortunately for him, Rocky McIntosh was behind him and Brady looked elsewhere. Orakpo did a nice job on one run as an end, where he came down inside to make a tackle. Otherwise, the Pats quick throws took him out of the game. One thing I do know is that he’s hard to cut.
10. I wish I saw more out of Phillip Daniels. He’s typically very stout (when he’s at his best), but I saw him get moved out too much Friday. Makes you wonder what is going on with his knee – can he plant the way he needs to? They’ll have to do a good job keeping him fresh. Renaldo Wynn hasn’t shown much at this spot, at least not to play it for anything other than spot duty. And Jeremy Jarmon is not ready to play the run at this position. So it’s up to Daniels. His upper body strength is terrific, but it’s the lower body that often wins these battles.
