Fourth Quarter Blues

[burgold]

In the last three games against Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Philly we led entering the fourth quarter. In fact, in all three games we led most of the game. Against Chicago and Philly we practically fielded a shut out (admitted the Eagles kicking woes helped a lot.) But then the fourth quarter happens and our multi score lead vanishes and turns into a loss against Chicago (saved by the Hail Mary), our six point lead turns into a loss against the Steelers, and our four point lead turns into a multi-touchdown loss (softened by a garbage time touchdown and two point conversion.) Recently, when this team finds itself in crunchtime, it gets crunched, and I'm wondering is there a way out of it this season?

I don't think it's entirely an issue of fatigue. Our D couldn't possibly have been tired against Chicago and yet they entirely collapsed in the fourth quarter. I doubt it's an issue of want to. Likewise, it's hard for me to imagine it's totally an issue of talent. After all, they were talented enough to build those leads and neutralize those offenses for a half or three-quarters. Is it a chess issue? Are we unable to adjust to their adjustments? Is it a little bit of everything? Is it that after a half, the O gets figured out? Is it nerves? Does this team tighten up and become conservative in the fourth corner? Is it more concerned with preserving leads and not screwing it up then winning? Do we lack discipline and unravel when the game gets tight because we're trying too hard to win? Is that why the runs are bigger in the fourth then at any other point in the game? Is it all of the above?

What I do know is that we don't know how to make stops in the Fourth Quarter and it's harder for us to score or get first downs even when the opportunities are there. Yesterday, the play to salvage the game presented itself when we punched the ball loose and the ball decided not to go out of bounds. Somehow we had three players there and yet the only one alert enough and active enough to pounce on the fumble was a trailing Eagle. Not getting that fumble was the end of the game (or it turned out to be.) After that, our D and especially our run D just folded. Is that focus?

We have twelve days to figure out why we fold in the fourth quarter. I don't know why it keeps happening. Maybe the answer is Lattimore and he really does make everything easier, but those dropped coverages and those gaping holes can't all be filled by one corner. It's a bigger problem than that. I've said this year is about next year and it is, but at 7-2 (now 7-4) this year suddenly is about this year, too. That means we need to fix things on the fly and there is something broken about what we're doing in that final period. I hope we can come up with an answer. If it is lack of depth and we just wear down (even in games when the time of advantage is hugely on our side (not yesterday) then this is likely a problem for next year, but I think there must be an answer for the here and now. There's got to be a way to sing a different tune at the end of the game.

 

[skinsfan63]

could be from exhaustion.i ain,t worried,jd was due a bad game anyway.all is well. on to the cowgirls.

 

[burgold]

could be from exhaustion.i ain,t worried,jd was due a bad game anyway.all is well. on to the cowgirls.

Hope you're right. I'm seeing a three game trend. Three fourth quarter collapses in a row. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

 

[skinsfan63]

Hope you're right. I'm seeing a three game trend. Three fourth quarter collapses in a row. Maybe I'm overthinking it.

call me amazed if it happens against dallas.

 

[Boone]

Those 3 teams have QBs who can absolutely gut you with their feet - and it was mostly due to them not being contained late that has gotten us in trouble. We have not been sustaining offensive drives like we did a lot earlier in the season, and that’s resulted in the D being asked to stay on the field a LOT. That’s why we are struggling more in the 4th quarter. People throw ‘complementary football’ out there all the time. We aren’t playing it the past few weeks. When both your offense and defense play well, it takes a ton of pressure off each of them.

 

[bowhunter]

You know what else I have not seen during those past 3 games? JD smiling on the field and sideline. The first several games Daniels would flash that confident smile. He was having fun and ready to roll. Nothing was too big for him. Confidence that spread throughout his team. I haven't seen that smile since the rib injury I don't know if that is what took the smile away, but it needs to come back. Soon

 

[skinsfan63]

You know what else I have not seen during those past 3 games? JD smiling on the field and sideline. The first several games Daniels would flash that confident smile. He was having fun and ready to roll. Nothing was too big for him. Confidence that spread throughout his team. I haven't seen that smile since the rib injury I don't know if that is what took the smile away, but it needs to come back. Soon

somebody should teach him when and how to slide or his career will be shorter than rgme.

 

[CommanderDOOM]

JD is going thru his rookie slump. He’s probably wearing down a lil bit too….being a rook. And, the league adjusts. His legs have been a non-threat for a minute now and the lack of talent around him is starting to show, exacerbated by JD’s recent accuracy issues. The D is playing way above expected and we should be excited about the build to come. The Eagles are loaded. We shouldn’t have even been close going into the 4th at philthy.
Is Dan Q. Coach of the year??

 

[TD_WashingtonRedskins]

This defense is still not a great defense. I think *some* of what you might be seeing is in-game adjustments finally catching up and the outcomes/results normalizing just a little bit. Think about it, in any of these games, should the Washington defense be holding these offenses in the single-digits (even Chicago's)? Once the scheming and smoke-and-mirrors is figured out by the opposing offensive staff and players, the counter punches come and succeed more frequently.

 

[Skinsfan1311]

I think it's a combination of all the things mentioned in this thread. I think that the 10 days between games will help immensely

 

[burgold]

This defense is still not a great defense. I think *some* of what you might be seeing is in-game adjustments finally catching up and the outcomes/results normalizing just a little bit. Think about it, in any of these games, should the Washington defense be holding these offenses in the single-digits (even Chicago's)? Once the scheming and smoke-and-mirrors is figured out by the opposing offensive staff and players, the counter punches come and succeed more frequently.

I think the smoke and mirrors probably applies to our o-line, too. A bunch of us feared our o line was not good enough at the start of the season and they outperformed expectations. Now, because of injury and maybe some of their workarounds being solved or us facing tougher defenses, the line is struggling to protect and open holes. It was really telling how this line could not get that needed yard yesterday. How many times did we have 2nd and one only to wind up in third and three? Straight up, we aren't winning enough of the battles.

 

[TD_WashingtonRedskins]

I think it's a combination of all the things mentioned in this thread. I think that the 10 days between games will help immensely

I'd agree. Getting some guys a little rest will help. The other thing Kliff can do is have some time to figure out where the holes are and how he can use those to his advantage (if possible).

 

[Knightingale]

As mentioned in another thread, I think this is mostly fatigue and injuries.

It feeds into what Boone is saying about complementary football.

Early in the season, our offense was on fire, covering for a défense that took time to get up to speed.

The JDs ribs got hurt. He’s not been the same since.
We lost BRob for 2 games.
We lost Lucas, and Biadasz and Wylie are borderline. (Wylie say out the Pittsburgh game)
Have players like JD and Coleman hit something of a rookie wall?

On paper, our starters are pretty good, but we don’t have the depth to compensate for these debilitating injuries.

We’ve also been unfortunate enough to catch these good teams (some of whom are coming off Byes and are much healthier and more rested than us) when we’re at our lowest ebb, which distorts things. Thinking about it from that perspective, it’s a miracle to some degree that we’ve even been in some of these games.

So, with our offense struggling, that’s putting our D on the field more. We know this D has flaws, we’ve seen them all season. We are sometimes vulnerable to the run, and we’re constantly in fear of that big passing play to St Juste. As the D tires, these flaws become exposed.

I think getting Lattimore will help hugely in fixing some of the flaws on D.

The offense needs rest. Needs to heal up. I think the Dallas game will show us a lot. Hopefully we’ll have Lattimore and we’ll be rested.

 

[CobraCommander]

We have a mini Bye week. Need the players, especially Daniels and Lattinore to heal. Also need the coaches to get it together. I fear we are seeing the second half slump Kingsbury has become famous for and I don’t like it. Need him to find ways to get players involved early. Also need Jayden to understand the ball has to come out in three seconds or less. Every rookie QB thinks they can wait and find someone. It doesn’t work that way in the NFL. Sometimes it does but you can’t count on it like College ball.

 

[Pokey]

There does seem to be an element of a rookie hitting a wall which is understandable.

I also remembered during the offseason there were observations about Kingsbury that his teams historically tended to falter around mid-season. I feel that might be part of the issue, though Philly and the Steelers are good teams.

 

[RexTomb]

1. Kliff's playcalling last night became incredibly stale in the second half. It has been a trend in the last three games (yes, including the win against the Bears) With all the pressure and with the Eagles blitzing and daring JD to beat them with his arm, I don't recall a single bootleg or roll out play to get him some real estate to work with. The pocket remained constant, there was no movement of it and I think it's costing JD time against a more talented defense. He seems to be rushing his throws a bit, but he has someone in his lap literally a second after the ball is snapped. Changing JD's spot and using his legs to immediately pressure the defense should get him some time and get him back on track.

2. The defense was on the field for what felt like entire second half last night. Our offense wasn't sustaining drives and I think the D just got exhausted.

3. This mini-bye week should really help in terms of healing up: JD's ribs, Lattimore's hammy, BRob's hamstring, the three tackles' various ailments, etc. I think it comes at a perfect time to make a stretch run for the division crown by the end of the season. Then we have our actual bye week. All is not lost - the Eagles still have to play the Steelers, Ravens, and us one more time and hopefully at full strength. As frustrating as it is, we still have a very good chance to be NFCE champs and make noise in the playoffs.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

1. Kliff's playcalling last night became incredibly stale in the second half. It has been a trend in the last three games (yes, including the win against the Bears) With all the pressure and with the Eagles blitzing and daring JD to beat them with his arm, I don't recall a single bootleg or roll out play to get him some real estate to work with. The pocket remained constant, there was no movement of it and I think it's costing JD time against a more talented defense. He seems to be rushing his throws a bit, but he has someone in his lap literally a second after the ball is snapped. Changing JD's spot and using his legs to immediately pressure the defense should get him some time and get him back on track.

2. The defense was on the field for what felt like entire second half last night. Our offense wasn't sustaining drives and I think the D just got exhausted.

3. This mini-bye week should really help in terms of healing up: JD's ribs, Lattimore's hammy, BRob's hamstring, the three tackles' various ailments, etc. I think it comes at a perfect time to make a stretch run for the division crown by the end of the season. Then we have our actual bye week. All is not lost - the Eagles still have to play the Steelers, Ravens, and us one more time and hopefully at full strength. As frustrating as it is, we still have a very good chance to be NFCE champs and make noise in the playoffs.

These last 3 games against good/really good defenses, Kliff brought his C/D game. Not good enough. When you commit to the run, sure, getting 2ypc even, you break one eventually OR you set up some play-action. Players BITE on that fake because, surprise-surprise, they think you are going to run. That gives you more time to throw too. Kliff had a lot of pre-snap motion that had the RB dropping out as a receiver. That means no extra-blocker, no delay by DL/LBs who may be coming, and as a result under the circumstances yesterday, JD ended up with little time repeatedly. We need Kliff to wake up here. I think Jayden has been dropping a bit, but honestly Kliff's playcalling has not been the same either. Between those two circumstances, we are seeing what is happening.

 

[Commander Wraith]

You know what else I have not seen during those past 3 games? JD smiling on the field and sideline. The first several games Daniels would flash that confident smile. He was having fun and ready to roll. Nothing was too big for him. Confidence that spread throughout his team. I haven't seen that smile since the rib injury I don't know if that is what took the smile away, but it needs to come back. Soon

I feel like he’s been smiling early, but then he starts getting hit… coupled with the offense not making plays. Although against the Steelers, he looked rushed all night. Not panicked, just tight, forcing some throws, and putting more mustard on passes. Never looked comfortable.

Said it elsewhere, but I also feel like we’re playing with more 5 man protections, aside from the chip help on Watt. Teams are getting quick pressure rushing 4 while also taking away Daniels’ ability to scramble and dropping 7 in coverage. And the pressure is coming from all over - weak side, strong side, and up the middle. So Daniels is rushed while trying to decipher coverages and going through 3/4/5 man progressions. We’re asking too much of him IMO. It’s been a little reminiscent of last year with Howell.

Put another way, Daniels has looked great when 1) he can get the ball out fast on quick hitters and screens, 2) facing undisciplined pass rushes (ie when he can scramble), and 3) he has time to find a guy down field. The better defenses are basically taking all of that away.
I’d add that these good defensive fronts are also limiting the run, meaning their backers are able to play more coverage and not fall for PA.

Or that’s my impression anyway.

 

[ntotoro]

Team is in a rebuild. Not that the early success was an oasis, but now they're finding out truly what they have... along with the rest of the league finding out. There are several weeks worth of film out there on the current talent and even the depth just isn't there yet. Add injuries to the particularly bad O-Line, WR and Edge depth... it's gonna' take some time. They've turned around a ton in a short time, but are still a work-in-progress.

 

[Bulldog]

We aren’t dominating time of possession and running ball at 5.2 yards per clip anymore.

Our offense the first 8 weeks tired team out with 10 minute drives and scoring points at a good clip.

Two of the past three weeks we are down to scoring in the teens.

Teams have the wherewithal to come back in the fourth quarter and we stop pressuring them by failing to match these scores.

Again, this to me is a sign of injuries and a team in need of a break.

We have a late bye week which was compounded by a game four days after a physical loss to the Steelers.