Burner's Burning Questions: Week Thirteen Grades, Evaluations, Questions

Greetings from BBQ. We hope you are having a good holiday season.

Week thirteen is in the books and now we take a look at how the entire team fared against the Cardinals. Everyone is angry - from coaches to players to fans and even to pets. We will try to make some sense of it all as BBQ hands out grades, evaluations and questions. Feel free to offer your own grades, evaluations, questions, and opinions.

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Week Thirteen Grades, Evaluations, Questions​

Greetings from BBQ. We hope you are having a good holiday season.

Week thirteen is in the books and now we take a look at how the entire team fared against the Cardinals. Everyone is angry - from coaches to players to fans and even to pets. We will try to make some sense of it all as BBQ hands out grades, evaluations and questions. Feel free to offer your own grades, evaluations, questions, and opinions.

Let’s take a look at week thirteen.

Quarterbacks:
Question: Do you give him a pass after this one game?
Answer: He can’t do it alone, but Kirk Cousins was one of the few reasons the team was in the game at all. He faced a good defense and did well under the circumstances. He still struggles with short and screen passes to running backs, but that can be corrected.
Grade: B-

Running Backs:
Question: Is there a reason why the coaches don’t trust the running backs a little more?
Answer: Robert Kelley and Chris Thompson had a combined total of sixteen carries. Sixteen. Both had a very good game in limited duty, but it is a mystery as to why they didn’t receive more carries. BBQ is tempted to give an incomplete grade here, but that wouldn’t be fair to their efforts.
Grade: B+

Wide Receivers:
Question: Should we be concerned that the Eagles are very interested in bringing back DeSean Jackson next season?
Answer: No. He had one catch on Sunday. Yes, it went for a touchdown, but that was his only catch. Jackson has lost more than a step and he is not dedicated to the offseason programs. It will be time to move on. The receivers had a respectable game on Sunday, but nothing really stood out as well.
Grade: C+

Tight Ends:
Question: Just how much does the team miss Jordan Reed when he is out?
Answer: A lot. Derek Carrier had very little impact and Vernon Davis did fine, but didn’t really create a whole lot of excitement either.
Grade: C+

Offensive Line:
Question: How nice will it be to get Trent Williams back?
Answer: He is one of the best left tackles in the game today, perhaps the best overall. He adds stability to the line. Shawn Lauvao is no longer an asset on the line – his struggles and mental errors have been on full display for much of the season and particularly so on Sunday.
Grade: C-

Defensive Line:
Question: What grade would you give their effort against the Cardinals?
Answer: Same as last week: Pathetic. Horrible. Lousy. Despicable. Garbage. Chris Baker is the best lineman for the Redskins. On most teams he would be a rotational player who would see fifteen to eighteen snaps a game. Enough said.
Grade: F

Linebackers:
Question: And what grade would you give to this group?
Answer: Ryan Kerrigan and Trent Murphy gave spirited efforts, but they can’t hide the woeful efforts of Mason Foster, Will Compton, and even Preston Smith. There are a multiplicity of concerns almost identical to the prior week: Poor angles of attack. Poor play calling at the line of scrimmage by Will Compton. Failure to contain the running back, the tight end, a slot receiver, and the Mikes all but disappearing. Mass confusion. At what point do you also fault a linebackers coach?
Grade: F

Cornerbacks:
Question: Why did Bashaud Breeland go after fans on social media after the game?
Answer: The Redskins should have a team rule – no social media during the football season. Breeland had a poor game and was trying to deflect his miserable showing by blaming anyone but himself. BBQ will not give Kendall Fuller a pass, but he is a rookie and the hope is that he will learn and be far better next year. The lone bright spot was Josh Norman, but he can’t do this alone.
Grade: D+

Safeties:
Question: Was this their worst game of the season?
Answer: Perhaps not their worst, but it was certainly far from being a good effort. Allowing a long touchdown late to seal the game figures into the equation, but allowing a running back to look like a stout downfield receiver was not pretty. The line and linebackers did them no favors, but it was still ugly.
Grade: F

Special Teams:
Question: Was this one of the bright spots on Sunday?
Answer: Dustin Hopkins demonstrated why he is needed on this team. In addition to having a 100% day, he was able to connect on field goals of forty-seven and fifty-three yards – both down the middle and with plenty of room to spare. Tress Way drilled a punt fifty-nine yards and had another punt downed near the ten yard line. The kickoff returns were good as well.
Grade: A

Coaching:
Question: Well, what can we say about the coaches this week?
Answer: Let’s start with the offense. One could expect a few struggles on offense when going against one of the best defenses in the league. However, when poor coaching is coupled with questionable play calling, the results are usually not good. Red zone issues really fall to the coaching this week. Who decided that DeSean Jackson (all 5’10” of him – and that is being generous) is a good target for a fade route while being guarded by Patrick Peterson? Why did the running backs log only sixteen carries? Their numbers were pretty good even in limited duty. Why did the team try a short pass on first and goal from the one yard line (that play can likely be called on a third down at the one yard line, maybe even second down)?

Let’s continue on with the defense (yes, this scrutiny deserves more than one paragraph). There was very little to like about the defense on Sunday. The line was all but absent. The middle linebackers look massively confused. The safeties were out of position. The opposing offense has scared no one this season, but the Redskins made them look like one of the best in the NFC.

Special teams was a bright spot. That is your one positive from the coaching staff, but it is not enough to salvage a good grade this week.

It was reported that Jay Gruden went on a very loud, profanity-laden, and massively angry tirade against the team after the game. Where was this emotion after other games? BBQ noticed that some players were on social media after the game and going after fans. That speaks volumes. We’ll see if the team not only responds against the Eagles this week, but for the rest of the season.
Grade: F

How would you grade each position and the coaching staff? Many of you seem willing to part with Joe Barry in the offseason – who would you like to see as his replacement? If this happens, is there any member of the defensive coaching staff that you would retain? In all honesty, would you like to obtain a new offensive coordinator this offseason or hope that he learns so much more by next season? How much of the upcoming draft should be spent on defense? Are you happy to have Trent Williams back? Are the Redskins out of the playoff picture? On to week fourteen. We’ll see you next week with grades, evaluations, and questions.

Hail to the Redskins!

Awesome read again!

Comments....

Re: Kirk's play... 'Zona brought the pressure straight away and we have an O-line with a missing all-pro, three bum ankles and a third string centre (if you think Kory was the 1st choice and Long was second... I personally think Long is way better than Cory...). It looked to me like early in the game he was scampering around, but as the game wore on he adjusted to it and started to play better. Then late in the game 'Zona started to send those Safety blitz's which caused some problems. Honestly this was the type of game I wanted to see from him. One where he was under pressure and see what he'd do. I think he did well and kept us in this game despite a fumble that I don't blame him for (blindsided!). I think if our O-line had been healthy and if we'd had Trent back, this would have been a different game. But he never panicked, which I liked.
The one thing I did worry about for a while was those low throws.

RE: Cousins on the RB screens... when was the last time we had a reliable back who could catch out of the backfield? Granted that Kirks little screen pass to Kelley was not a great throw but it was catchable. I think Kelley needs some practice here too. Jones was pretty good at this, but his fumble tendencies neutralised his effectiveness. I remember Morris working on this before he left.
This feels like something Kirk and FatRob need to be practicing on.

Re: The defense, all of it!... I defended them last week as it was a short week... but NO excuses this week. 9 days of rest and that was the effort. Awful. Josh Norman, for all his foibles, seemed like the only one who was ACTUALLY engaged in the game. Kerrigan and Murphy (as you alluded to) showed up too. But where was everyone else??

The thing about this Defense is, they should be well aware that this team is based around it's offense. They should know a Defensive overhaul is coming in the offseason... They should know that there will be a large turnover of defensive players in the offseason. So why aren't they playing like their jobs depend on it?!?!

Are they all REALLY so sure that they aren't about to be released after the season? That we can find no better options? The mind boggles!!!!!

Re: Coaching... Overall an F is fair. Gruden didn't have the team up for this game, I think he relied on them understanding the consequences of the Dallas loss and realising themselves the stakes. But sometimes I guess you have to treat adults like children. I think after his tirade they had better be on fire this week.
Personally I like Coaches like Gruden who show fire when fire is needed. My Ex before current wifey had kids and she was constantly shouting at them for something and nothing and it got to a point where you could see the kids had tuned her out. Shouting was just Business as Normal.
I'm pretty mellow, so when I blew my top the kids KNEW it really was serious. I think that's why I like Grudens style, he reminds me of me! LOL

But if it's McVay calling the Offensive plays... Ugh. that fade... the lack of runs and hence balance... it was an ugly offensive (in both senses of the word!) performance.

And the Defense... As I said above... so bad. If I was in Barry's shoes I'd be feeling the heat right now. The fan base is calling for his head. If that was me, wouldn't I be passing that pressure to the players? Making it clear that they need to perform? That they may very well be playing for their jobs?
Or is that the problem? Do the players think Barry will be gone soon and hence they've tuned him out? Hmmmm

Problem with his tirade is, it should've come after the 1st loss to the Cowboys.

Seems a day late, and a dollar short now.

And, if it does seem to do the trick, it will only reinforce the notion that it should have happened long ago.

I went to the Redskins website after the game just in case they had some info on the injuries. I didn't find anything there but the twitter part already had some player posts. I don't know a whole lot about the social media world but it seems to me after a game a guy would have better things to do than to find the need to defend themselves against comments made people who have absolutely nothing to do with their current or future employment. Or even to get some kinda atta boy after a good showing.

But especially after an embarrassing performance - maybe just keep your trap shut at least until after a shower. Are phones or other type of internet technology allowed on the sidelines during a game by the players? I would certainly hope not, I suspect the NFL would have a ban on it. Maybe reflecting on how a game got away from a team with playoff aspirations within the team. A game maybe they didn't need but one that really would have helped.

Most of the tweets were likely occurring as the team was flying home from Phoenix.

Social media allows for no contact in your face stuff that we old farts wouldn't tolerate in person.

I presume if I were a young buck growing up in this day and age, I might be much thicker skinned about social media smack talk realizing that it's just 'name calling by remote' which might be just funny to the recipient and whoever else is following the stuff real time.

While some of it is embarrassing, tasteless and shameful to we of different perspective it's probably the norm for a lot of these youngin's and not particularly a problem unless it infringes on their performance and production.