1 It’s easy to rip officials after a game, and it’s usually the lament of the losing team and its fans. But if ever there was a time to do it, it was Sunday. However, direct the blame where it belongs: on the NFL. Perhaps the league has some good reason why it continues to keep the officials locked out. Does anyone really care what the reason is? Here’s what is known: The NFL has made its product worse, and Sunday was a prime example. It’s not that calls were missed; that happens every game, though not nearly to this extent. It’s also that the referees were overmatched and let the game get out of hand. Shame on the NFL.
2 There were a couple times when Robert Griffin III seemed like he might get too involved with the chippiness of the game. But give the rookie credit: He refrained from anything other than sticking up for himself and getting back to the huddle with no issues. Instead he just competed. Griffin did look like a rookie at times, forcing an interception under duress — cornerback Cortland Finnegan read him perfectly, broke over and made the easy pick. Griffin led the late drive until Josh Morgan messed up, first by turning outside and then by drawing a penalty. Griffin also had a deep ball dropped by Aldrick Robinson inside the 15. Griffin was pounded at times and kept bouncing up; he needs to learn how to slide more.
3 It’s tough to play as much zone coverage as the Redskins did without getting more pressure on the quarterback. Sam Bradford grew more and more comfortable as the game unfolded because he had a mostly clean pocket. It hurt that Adam Carriker and Brian Orakpo were out, but the Rams also were minus three starters along the line for much of the game. The Redskins did not look comfortable playing so much zone (they worked in man coverage in the second half), and the Rams made them pay. Too often the receivers were wide open. The defense played better in the fourth quarter, but a lot more was expected from this unit.
