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Redskins Recon 2017: Week 2 at L.A. Rams

Redskins Recon

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Keep your friends close. And your enemies closer.


Boone here, reclaiming my ‘Redskins Recons' blog :)

Visiting several geographically-confused, emotionally-battered Rams fan boards, one could not get a more mixed grab bag of elation, ridiculous optimism, wariness, fear, and cynical skepticism. Many Rams fans are a mirror image of our Burgundy and Gold brethren. While the Rams season opening win with new head coach Sean McVay has them going undefeated to the Super Bowl, resurrecting the miracle 1999 Rams season, Redskins fans have already written off their team's hopes after another bad showing to open the season.

Without further ado, here's the sense of things from those Rams faithful (?)…

AvengerRam has had a prescient dream. May have been the cough medicine though..

AvengerRam said:
I'll go with the following score:

Rams 26
Redskins 17

And, for the details, here are my 10 predictions:

1. Jared Goff will have another efficient game passing the ball. I'll say 92.5 passer rating or better.
2. Todd Gurley will fare better. He'll exceed 4 yards per carry, in part due to a run of at over 25 yards. While he may not get 100 yards rushing, he'll have 100 yards or more from scrimmage.
3. In their debut playing together in the Phillips 3-4, Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn will combine for 4 QB hits and 2 sacks.
4. The Rams will again have 3+ sacks.
5. Kirk Cousins will throw at least 40 passes and exceed 250 yards, but he'll also turn the ball over at least twice.
6. Sammy Watkins will score his first TD as a Ram.
7. Marc Barron will have at least 2 TFL.
8. The Redskins' TEs will cause the Rams some trouble.
9. Alec Ogletree will force a fumble.
10. Pharoh Cooper will return a kickoff past midfield.

Randart said:
I could be happy with that score and outcome... Staying healthy is high on my priority list as well! If we can do that we should be able to handle the Redskins and keep progressing in our quality of play. Goff needs to be careful of Josh Norman and his playmaking abilities at CB that is a concern do not force a throw his way!

Rookie QB forcing throws against one of the NFL's best corners – is that possible? 

sdram said:
Pressure on any qb is the key to success for every defense. The Colts didn't put much of it on Goff last week and he had a nice game. We'll see if the Redskins can ratchet up the D this week. The right side of the Rams o-line is always a concern. Wentz looked a bit like Brett Favre last week against the Redskins rush making some wild escapes and throws for big plays. It would be nice to see Goff be able to do the same when he's pressured. Let's hope the Rams and Goff put back to back nice games together. Something we haven't seen much in the last 12 years.

As to ‘pressure', many Ram fans are pinning their hopes on the return of Aaron Donald, who 8 days after ending his contract hold out, will start on Sunday.

Rambush said:
Oh baby , it's time for the redskins to feel the pain. GO RAMS !!! Woot woot. A.D. is back in town. Can't wait...

DaveFan'51 said:
After Donald get's 2 Sacks - a Forced Fumble and 2 Tackles-for-Loss, against the 'Skins, everyone will know, for sure, he's Back and in Football shape!!

NN1badboy said:
Bring it!!! Let them bring all the pressure they want. Then watch the little genius send in a lot of screens to Gurley or short dump off's to Kupp. I think McVay will have a plan for their pressure. And since we now have Whitworth on Goff's blind side, any pressure they send he will see it coming.

69RamFan said:
D.J. Swearinger is comparable to last year, but this year O-line has much improved....
The schemes alone has triply improved... The skill players have also improved....
We need to take it to them... no mercy.....

Safety Blitz said:
Chance of rain and lower temperatures will help Goff. Anyone else getting nervous? I want a 3-0 start so much it hurts. Gurley wore glasses at his presser and said he never considers wearing contacts. Hope he's near-sighted and not far-sighted. Although favored, many analysts say the Rams will be lucky to score 17 points against the Skins D. Hope Goff starts hot. I wonder if McVay prefers to receive the opening kickoff when he wins the coin flip or prefers to kick it.

Go Rams! Great to be pumped up again. Big plays? Who gets them? Worried about them beating us over the top, deep. Gotta smack Cousins around.

CierraRam said:
I think it was Indy's plan to shut down the run game first and foremost and make the Rams beat them with the passing game. They did. So now Washington has to defensively plan for both. I expect Washington to dial up exotics to rattle Goff. This week is the time to pound the ball on the ground and take advantage of gaps defenders are leaving expecting a pass. McVay could set up that run game up too by passing the first series or two.

We have ‘exotics'? Who knew.

ClaremontRam said:
Not sure if Washington will take the Goff passing threat seriously as of Week 2. We may need to wrack up some more aerial bombardments over the course of several weeks before defenses start backing off their safeties. Question: In Gurley's rookie season he was running lights out; the second coming of Dickerson (sort of). What were we doing right to make that happen? Is there something we can adapt for this season?

Go Rams!

You have to hope that McVay wants to embarrass his former team with a big score win – as that would mean putting it up and hoping Goff is up to the task. The smart move is to hand it off to Gurley all day long. Here's hoping McVay's ego leads him to put it on Goff's shoulders.

Ants said:
Don't worry - when the Rams lose a couple of games, you will no doubt be right here screaming about how the sky is falling, Snead sucks, Goff isn't the answer, blah, blah, blah.

Apparently, Ants has heard this all before 

ggrams said:
Washington D elite? After we smoke ‘em this week, it will be all about how the Redskins were overrated and Goff has not proven himself. I know we can be hot and cold but this good in all 3 phases of the game for 60 minutes? I can afford to be overconfident. Let's hope the coaches have the team balanced, hungry, and ready for anything! The Patriots dominated the Chiefs for 3 Quarters (24-21) and were blown out in the 4th Q 21-0. GB was shutout at the half 0-0 against the Seahawks but pulled away late. The Rams could have been looking at 10-7 against the Colts instead of 10-3 but the good teams pace themselves, pull away and put away. Let's hope this is habitual!

Safety Blitz said:
Cousins and the Skins struggled on offense against the Eagles. In addition to losing Jackson and Garcon, the Redskins are without McVay. Rams will have a great chance against them especially if Donald can get some work in to stuff the run up the middle and pressure Cousins who was largely off-target last week against Philly.

Go Rams!

There are some smart, savvy Rams fans.

dick84 said:
I think they're missing Jackson & Garcon more, at the moment. But the comments Wash players & coaches have made about McVay are just amazing. The guy won everyone over & impressed all of them.

Rammer said:
I watched that whole game, definitely, something was missing. Cousins just didn't look like he looked last year. Eagles played hard but had an uneven, inconsistent kind of performance. Wash of last year would have beaten them.

Intermingled with the typical homer ‘we're going to the Super Bowl!' stuff, I found more than a little grudging respect for the Redskins talent.

RAMpage28 said:
I think they have a lot of talent. Kerrigan, Brown, and Mason Foster in that LB corps along with Preston Smith and Junior Gallette who is finally playing after 2 years on IR. He could be a good situational pass rusher. Norman and Breeland are good corners. I don't like Swearinger as a cover guy but I've heard good things about the other safety Everett, even if he his a bit inexperienced. I don't like their D-line too much. Allen is an interesting first round rookie, but Stacy McGee and Ziggy Hood are just serviceable guys. Hood is actually less than that even.

Regardless, I think that LB corps is great, the secondary is good, and the D-line is at least hovering around league average. They got burned a couple times by the Eagles and they couldn't get off on third down, but I think there's a lot of talent there. Just need to put it together for 60 minutes.

jrry32 said:
I think you're being a bit kind. Looking at their starting lineup:
DE: Stacy McGee - JAG
NT: Ziggy Hood - Liability
DE: Jonathan Allen - Talented rookie
OLB: Ryan Kerrigan - Very good player
ILB: Mason Foster - Average
ILB: Zach Brown - Average to above average
OLB: Preston Smith - Inconsistent
CB: Josh Norman - Great player
CB: Bashaud Breeland - Inconsistent
FS: D.J. Swearinger - Good last year; bad before that
SS: DeShazor Everett - Uncertain

They're not completely lacking in talent, but they don't have many guys who are established top players. And their DC, Manusky, isn't good at his job.

Merlin said:
All the signs point to a Rams victory in this game, everyone will just have their eyes opened after the Rams win just like with the Colts.

There's a chance the Skins make this close by their TEs going the F off and maybe running the ball a bit to balance things, but it's unlikely. More likely is the Rams pull away on them and win by at least 10 IMO. Agreed. Skins are not that good offensively thus far this year, and defensively they are nothing special going back through a larger sample size. This is a good time to play them. Tougher defenses definitely lie ahead though.

Ah yes, the ‘signs'. Magic 8 ball. Ouija board. Gotcha.

Mojo Ram said:
That sounds about right but i'm not expecting quite as much easy sledding this week. If the Rams are "who i think they are", they'll be a 24ppg offense this season. Right about where Washington was last year(24.8ppg). Spread it around, get chunk yardage here and there. It was encouraging to see the success in the red zone last week because McVay's Redskins offense struggled badly in that phase last season. (TD%) 45.9

RamBall said:
They will just say that the Rams beat a crappy washington team. People wont give the Rams credit until they beat dallas in week 4. They wont be able to dismiss it as beating a crappy team after being on Dak and Zekes nuts for over a year now.

Rams fans have already chalked up easy wins in weeks 2 & 3 – on to predicting they blow out the Dallas Cowboys. Um-huh.

-X- said:
Madden says we win!


You knew it was coming.

Scirca said:
Jared Goff is going to go off on that Redskins defense. 3-4 TD's 300+ yards.

jrry32 said:
I want it to be so bad, but I gotta see how we do against the Redskins. The Colts stink. The Redskins are a team that could end up in the playoffs or in the top 10 picks. But they're good enough to gauge how good we are.

If we start 4-0 and look good doing it, I'll believe that something special is cooking here.

Fool me once, shame on you…

Scirca said:
If we beat the Redskins and Cowboys, we are super bowl contenders period.

RamDino said:
Playoffs? Super Bowl? You guys are awesome.

Alaskan Ram said:
Heart: Rams win last week is indicative of the point differential we'll be seeing in every contest for rest of season. Rams 38 Redskins 3.

Head: Rams are an improved team, and will finish with a winning record. They will beat the teams they are supposed to beat this year. Starting with another home win against the Redskins. There will be adversity in the contest though. A gutty team win at the wire. 17-14 Rams.

Liver: Never to early to start planning the Rams Superbowl party next February. Going with Elysian Space Dust IPA on tap. Breaking out the deep fryer. Wings. There will be "The Rules written on the Scroll" drinking game. I'll put the first rule on the Scroll 1) Referee gets knocked down equals every one do a shot. OH, almost forgot: Rams over Redskins: 50 to 3 this Sunday.

Go Rams!

50-3 Rams win. Superbowl. Good lord brother.

Rmfnlt said:
Good point IMO... I've seen a number of posts here citing McVay's knowledge of the Skinnies offense as a big positive... but that cuts both ways.

Gruden knows how McVay thinks too.

Should be a good game (better be!!! )

Ding Ding Ding!

Selassie I said:
Those foreskin fans are pretty funny,,, and they're scared shitless of Son of Bum.

One of them called McVay a red headed troll. LOL. He's obviously missing Sean.

ramfan46 said:
Isn't it interesting how similar fans sound of teams that haven't had a lot of success lately? It's so easy to get those old feelings of dread going even after the 1st game when you've seen that routine for the better part of 15 years. I think this is where McVay is key in understanding that they HAVE to change the culture in the building. I firmly believe sustained losing takes it's toll on people mentally. After a while you expect it or accept it. I think this is why you always hear McVay preaching about taking it day by day and getting better. Really have to change how the team approaches, preperation, practice, film study and of course game day! Consistency is key and and I'm all strapped in for Washington with AD's return.

Ramfan46 channeling some of our own ‘dread', ‘old feelings', ‘losing', and ‘culture'.

Jorgeh0605 said:
You should know what to expect. The Rams will always fall short of your expectations. Drink up buddy, you got 6 weeks before you can start writing mock drafts. Skins win it 30-12

Fool me twice…

A.J. Hicks said:
I just finished watching the Redskins and Eagles game. Terell Pryor is a threat and he is going to be targeted a lot. So many balls were thrown his way. Redskins oline looked like ours, pretty good pass blocking (Cousins was certainly pressured more than Goff) and not so good run blocking. Eagles vs. Redskins defense was hit and miss. Skins are much better than the Colts. I think with a good overall gameplan we can win in this game. But it isn't going to be easy. We need to get pressure on Cousins. It would be lovely in our secondary can perform again, and that pressure would certainly help. Stymie the run game. Win on Special teams. Offensively we are going to be facing a more difficult defense. I'd like to see the run game be opened up. But I expect another game where the pass is relied on to open up the run. Goff needs to be really ready with his reads, Corners could be jumping routes. I'd like to see Tavon get a few more touches out of the backfield this week run, toss, sweep, or screen. Our weapons should be able to produce again. Watkins - Norman, Woods - Breedland. . . Kupp will be getting open again.

JRobinson said:
I don't think we will just run away with a W. They have a decent defense, and yes, some weapons on offense. The name of the game will be the same as it is every game: get after the QB and sustain offensive possessions. If we do that, we will win; but the Redskins are much more talented than the Colts... even the coaching staff.

A.J. Hicks and JRobinson = smart.

Rainram said:
Man...some of those guys are predicting they score high 20's to 30's...?!?!

There are very few teams that are gonna sniff 30 points against our defense this year.

And it's a Skins team that lost Jackson, Garçon, and oh, McVay. They scored 10 offensive points and had about 260 total yards of offense last Sunday. And I like our D better than the Eagles.

They do still have a decent OLine imo. And their defense is certainly better than Indy's. The battle in the trenches this week will be the deciding factor, I think.

But no way are they gonna come close to 30 points

Ram65 said:
Cousins was off last week against the Eagles. He was throwing high to open WRs. Rams will cover better and Prior has jelled with Cousins yet. It looks like the Rams should handle the Skins at home. It is a big game for the Skins as they cant go 0 and 2 and expect tp keep up in their division. They will put up a fight.

This.

Psycho_X said:
In my Fisher conditioned world, I am fully expecting a complete and utter collapse by the Rams because that's what a Fisher team would do. We would win big and look like the best team in football and the next week against an average team we'd lose 17-3. Someone would get ejected. Greg Robinson would have 56 holding penalties and negate at least one touchdown. Brian Quick or Lance Kendricks would drop an easy touchdown in the endzone.

That is what I'm conditioned to expect this Sunday. If McVay has this team playing like they did last week again I will officially be full onboard, nonstop homer boy for the rest of the season.

The Ghost of Jeff Fisher seems to haunt a lot of Rams fans. That moustache!

Rmfnit said:
Yeah, it's hard to shake off the effects of hurricane Jeff... he did a lot of destruction. But, like those poor souls in Texas and Florida, we can rebuild our foundation again and things will improve. Just an analogy (not trying AT ALL to minimize the ordeal of the victims of Harvey and Irma)... just that you get affected by your environment and it changes your outlook. But things do improve and the human spirit always prevails. I have donated a fair amount to the hurricane victims (our company matched dollar for dollar)... and I've donated a lot of by life to the Rams.

Here's to knowing both will improve! Prayers to the victims!

Rmfnit is my hero – Hurricane analogy. Prayers to the victims indeed.

Corbin said:
Rams win 89-6, Aaron Donald breaks Cousins after the 3rd sack and then makes the backup his bitch begging not to get wrecked like the Qb on Waterboy.


Some fan thinking is universal.

So there you have it folks. Rams Nation is unanimous. Goff is the next Kurt Warner, the Rams are going to the Super Bowl, and will beat the Redskins 120-7. Unless this is the only win of the 2017 season and the curse of Jeff Fisher goes on, and on, and on.

Likewise, in DC, the opener was just par for the course enroute to competing for the NFC East Division crown, or the Redskins will earn the top pick in the draft and start over again.

Sunday, we'll find out which way the pendulum is swinging – for both teams.
 
The Colts without Andrew Luck are the worst team in the NFL. Much worse personnel-wise than Cleveland or Jacksonville.

So, facing Scott Tolzien was not exactly a real test in Week 1. I would go as far as to say the Redskins would have posted a double digit win over the Colts, if not blowing them out as the Rams did.

We faced a legitimate quarterback in Week 1.

Let's see what the Rams do when they play NFL caliber rosters in Game 2 and 3 before marking them down as 'much improved'.

Although I will give McVay credit for going with Goff and not going out and bringing in another QB to challenge him right away.

That's a sign he is confident in his abilities to coach and develop players.
 
With all the points the Rams put up last week they should've been able to run the ball well. Gurley (19/40)/Brown (7/16) combined for 26 carries/56 yards. I don't see them doing much better this week although Gurley catching the rock is a concern.
 
I watched that Rams v Colts game last week, mostly because wifey but an ill advised bet on the Colts (the odds were very good! LOL)

I didn't see anything special there, it was much more evident how bad the Colts were in almost every aspect of the game. Simply dreadful.
Now I understand that the Rams did EXACTLY what you should do in those circumstances, ramp up the points to a big win. They handled matters... but I didn't come out of that game feeling particularly like they were the second coming of the Patriots.

In many ways I thought that the Eagles looked much better than the Rams did.

Now the Rams look confident, and you can see McVay's influence in the locker room. They're definitely a team with renewed vigor and confidence, but on the field I didn't see much room for improvement if that makes sense.

So with the assumption that the Rams come out prepared at home and play to the level we saw last week this game boils down to the Redskins.

I'm convinced we're a team that SHOULD be better than the product we put on the field last week.

For Cousins, it was a bit of an outlier. Yeah he has bad games, sometimes at the worst moments, but generally he throws around 68% accuracy if you look at the last couple of years. Last week that was 57%. We can blame this on him missing Garcon and Jackson, or Reed being rusty... but some of those throws last week were badly off target too. And our O-Line? Can it have taken a step back from last year so badly?

All we need this week is for our O-Line and Cousins to return to the norm and I think we have enough to win. With Reed, Crowder, Grant (who played well last week) and with Kelley and Thompson we have enough weapons. If Doctson and Pryor contribute then great.

In fact it's Pryor who actually gives me the most concern. He has the speed and the height to do great things... but.

Last year in Cleveland he was targeted 140 times and caught 77 of em. 55% (13.1 ypc)
Last week he was targeted 11 times and caught 6. 55% (11 ypc)
Now Jackson caught 56% of his passes last year, but his average yardage is significantly more at 17.9 ypc.
And don't get me started on Garcon...(70% catch rate! 13.2 ypc)

So is this just who Pryor is? Or was it an off week by him and Cousins last week and the results of having about forty different QB's in one season at Cleveland?

If he can get on the same page as Cousins and start eking out the yardage to Jackson levels (which he should be able to considering his speed) and if Crowder (68% Catch rate 12.6 ypc) can bounce back and be Garcon.... then we're in business.

The potential is there. It now all boils down to whether they can play to that potential. If they can then this offense should be as good as last year.
Match that with a Defense which I do think is better, just needs time to gel and I still think we're in a good place. I think ALOT hinges on our O-Line getting back to form, giving Kirk more time to settle down and hit targets.

Gruden for his part needs to stick with the run more, something he's shown an aversion for at times. We need that balance though, or at the very least the threat of it.

I'm optimistically believing we get back on track this week and put up a better show. Win number 1 coming right up.

HTTR
 
Not gonna lie, I kind of want to know what they are saying today.
 
Looking at some of them they are blaming the refs
Donald was held on every play
Didn't think it was fair on the kickoff on offsetting penalties to get the ball at the 2
Wade may be over rated
Why did they make the switch to the 3-4 without the proper personal.
One guy can't wait till cousins is their QB next year
 

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