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Free Agency, Mock Drafts, Camps, Roster Predictions, 2018

Peterson clearly looked good and I think he's pretty motivated to show he's still got something to give. Gruden alluded that it was Peterson who gave up the early sack, but that's probably more about not being familiar with the plays/protections.
 
Not sure where game thoughts are being posted - been away too long!

Wellllllllll

1. Alex did not look good tonight. His forte is supposed to be accuracy. Only eight passes none of which looked like veteran passes to me. Hopefully, this can be traced to not having a set cast to work with. No touchdowns from Mr Smith in his appearances.

2. Petersen looked good. You can see the difference between him and the other backs. He sees the holes fast, decides very quickly and makes the right decisions.

3. Pass defense was awful. Huge gaps in space between defenders and receivers. Got it, vanilla defense. Nevertheless, looked like a step back from the previous two games.

4. Tackling by the first team was horrendous.

5. Who knows what Coach Gruden was thinking most of the game. He had that old "why aren't they doing what I want" grimace on his face.

6. Fourth and inches and we can't eke out a first down? But Denver can do it 3rd and long? Over and over.

This game had a familiar look. how much was the players and how much was coaching?

I think you can get away with posting just about anything in this thread up until the regular season.
Anyway, I agree with #1 , but on the other hand, I'm not worried about it, because last week in his one and only drive, he looked much more calm and precise. So, there was just something that caused him to be "off" tonite in particular, but I can't put my finger on the cause.
EDIT : Just re-watched some of it, and it looks like Denver had our receivers covered pretty well, and while our OL pass blocking wasn't bad, it was not quite good enough to hold up for all the time the receivers were covered, hence Smith either getting sacked, or antsy, etc.
His passes themselves were "off" too, but they were usually still catchable, but dropped multiple times.

I only watched a little more than a half, but yeah, Skins looked very shaky overall. Beyond Peterson, not many bright spots, although Bibbs had 2 good runs for 40 yds and Richardson looked okay. I didn't see it but looks like Hogan played better.

I'm also not worried about Smith. I do disagree Fear that the pass blocking was 'not bad' - it was shaky at best and although Smith wasn't in the dirt a lot, the pocket was getting collapsed on a regular basis. Of course Trent wasn't in there. I also think Smith will be a lot more successful if Reed and Chris Thompson are out there. The only safety valve he had out there last night was Davis and he had a bad night too.

Case Keenum is a better QB than people give him credit for being. He pretty much did whatever he wanted last night.

It was just a weird showing all around. Even Colt had a deer in the headlights look about him. Nothing was clicking for whatever reason. Hopefully we don't have many regular season games where we just don't show up.
 
I know there is a difference between Rob Kelley and Adrian Peterson, but watch how quickly AP (or AD, as some call him) hits the hole. When the hole quickly closes, AP suddenly changes direction and is still able to get something out of nothing. Several solid blocks from the fullback (JP Holtz) in this vid.

 
It would seem the team lacked consistent effort just going by the stat lines. Definitely NOT what you wanna see in game 3 of preseason.

Did it appear as though the Broncos had game planning going that was more regular season like?
 
The Broncos started the preseason at 0-2 and really wanted to make a statement. I'm fine with that, but we needed to show a bit more. I'd like to see the starters play a series or two next week just to get a little more time on the field. I think it is needed.
 
I know there is a difference between Rob Kelley and Adrian Peterson, but watch how quickly AP (or AD, as some call him) hits the hole. When the hole quickly closes, AP suddenly changes direction and is still able to get something out of nothing. Several solid blocks from the fullback (JP Holtz) in this vid.

That video shows 2 things
1) AP's amazing ability to adapt to when the intended rushing hole is clogged, using his tremendous vision, super quick cutting ability, and explosive speed in that order.
2) Also shows how bad our run-blocking can be, since many of those runs, AP had to resort to an un-intended direction due to those clogged holes.


So does JP Holtz have a reasonable chance to make this team ? It appears so, due to his much needed blocking ability.
It shows 2 disappointing conclusions.

1) A UDFA TE is perhaps a better blocker than the TE we used a draft pick on, that was regarded as being strong as a blocker.
2) How sad it is that we might need to keep a 4th TE, just due to the fact that none of the top 3 TE's are capable of being an effective blocker.
 
Okay on a more serious note, one other thing, post-Broncos concerns me.
Does it look like Norman is beginning to decline ?
Last year was an "off year" for him. And last night was a MAJOR "off night" for him.
Was that game a fluke for him, with a reasonable explanation, or is this the new and un-improved and declining Norman, just continuing his dropoff that started last year ?
If the latter, then by all means, let him go this offseason, because he won't be worth anywhere near that money.
 
It's not that I don't like Norman, but his ordinary play sure hasn't justified his extraordinary salary.
Since he's been here, he's just been "a guy."
 
Okay on a more serious note, one other thing, post-Broncos concerns me.
Does it look like Norman is beginning to decline ?
Last year was an "off year" for him. And last night was a MAJOR "off night" for him.
Was that game a fluke for him, with a reasonable explanation, or is this the new and un-improved and declining Norman, just continuing his dropoff that started last year ?
If the latter, then by all means, let him go this offseason, because he won't be worth anywhere near that money.



In terms of last season, what makes you say that he had an 'off year'? It's true he didn't have an INT for the first time in his career. I don't think opposing teams threw to his side a whole lot as is generally true. I know some, including the analyst below, feel he's lost a step, but I don't really see it. Our whole team had a 'down year' last year, with all the injuries and the tough schedule. DBs don't operate in isolation - they need a solid pass rush to really have a great year. I think he's got 2 or 3 more solid if not great years ahead. As we should know, great DBs are hard to find.

Here's a pretty detailed assessment of corners in 2017 - at least it uses some scoring parameters to judge. They actually had Breeland ahead of Norman, which I don't agree with, but it's an interesting list.

24. Josh Norman, Washington Redskins

Coverage: 19/25
Reaction: 20/25
Recovery: 17/25
Tackling: 9/15
Position Value: 10/10
Overall Grade: 75/100

2017 was the first of Norman's career where he failed to register an interception. The 30-year-old corner is on the downside of his career, lacking the burst that caused his breakout in 2014 and 2015. Still, he's a tough-nosed run-stopper who can roam underneath zones effectively, even if he's no longer a playmaker.
 
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It's not that I don't like Norman, but his ordinary play sure hasn't justified his extraordinary salary.
Since he's been here, he's just been "a guy."

I look at it this way Ax. He's still a starting corner. And he fell into our laps because the Panther's FO is stupid. We got him at a huge discount a few years ago, well below what he could have made as a free agent. So if he gets overpaid for a few years now that *perhaps* he's slowing down a little, I'm not worried about it.
 
Well, like I said, I don't hate the guy. But I thought he was a little overrated when we got him. I think he gets away with a lot of stuff because of his reputation of being one of the top corners. Just as most top rated guys do. At all positions.

Int's aren't that big of a deal for me. He is a pretty could tackler. He does have a knack for creating turnovers. Especially AFTER giving up the catch.

But his pay is far, far greater than most corners. I just don't think his overall play is far, far greater. That's all.

And, I hope he has the greatest season of his life.
 
Let's work on the assumption that the Skins didn't scheme for the game and were focused on final roster evaluations. Gibbs used to say preseason set the momentum. Guess this is a sit back and see what happens moment.
 

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