Snap Judgments: Week 6 Redskins @ Cardinals - OFFENSE

At 1-5, the season is all but lost.  At this point it's hard to call the Redskins anything but one of the worst teams in the NFL.  However, was it fair of us to expect much more given the situation?  This is a team that has not had a first-round pick in two years and that just came off of a 36 million dollar cap penalty.  A team led by a rookie head coach and offensive coordinator, a second-year special teams coordinator and a highly overrated defensive coordinator.  They are bereft of talent and depth because of the lost cap space and draft picks, and we expected three somewhat green coaches and an annually under-performing defensive boss to lead them to what?  The playoffs?

I had them going 8-8 this year and starting off with a 2-4 record.  If you told me that they would lose Jordan Reed, Robert Griffin III and DeAngelo Hall to significant injuries in three successive weeks to start the season, then I may very well have dropped my prediction for the first six games to 1-5.  Where would you have had them if you had really considered the situation and if you knew about the injuries ahead of time?

We need to start recognizing this season for what it is: a rebuilding year.  It actually may have been all along, even in spite of our bad injury luck.  Hopefully, the Redskins can finish out the year on a hot streak that will carry over into 2015 and along the way we can discover which current players are worthy of being mainstays in the Jay Gruden era.  The playing time that the players receive going forward and how they produce with those opportunities will provide more than a few clues about which players will be in the Redskins' long-term plans.

***Data Disclaimer: This is my own count after watching the game tape.  Snap data for kneel-down snaps and plays negated by pre-snap penalties are not included.***

The Offense ran 60 snaps

• 43 Passing Snaps (72%) and 17 Rushing Snaps (28%)
• This is the third consecutive week in which the Redskins have set or matched their season-low in rushing snaps and rushing snap percentage.
  
• Washington trailed Arizona during 38 offensive snaps (63%), was tied with them on 16 snaps (27%) and led them on 6 snaps (10%).  The offense had not been on the field with a lead since the Week 3 matchup against the Eagles.
• According to the ESPN play-by-play log, the Redskins ran three no-huddle snaps on Sunday (5%).
• The Redskins scored on four their fourteen drives.  They also committed a turnover on four drives (all in the fourth quarter).  The 14th and final drive of the game lasted just one play before time expired.
• Washington trailed for the entire second half and passed the ball 22 times (81% of the second half plays) in their attempt to make the road comeback.  This included a stretch of 19 straight passing plays from the 3:37 mark in the third quarter through the second to last play of the game.  I know the running game was not effective and that they were down, but 19 straight?
  
• The offense was responsible for three of the team's six penalties.  All three penalties were false start infractions (15 combined yards lost).  Logan Paulsen, Tyler Polumbus and Chris Chester were the guilty parties.

Team Snap Data:

• The good news is that both the number and percentage of third-snaps against the Cardinals were the second lowest this season; the bad news is that this probably had something to do with four of the fourteen drives ending on a first-down play (fumble, interception, interception and time expired).
  
• The Redskins lived on their side of the field in this one.  The 49 offensive snaps and 82% of snaps on their own side of the field were season-highs (or lows depending on how you look at it).  Field position has been a major issue over the course of the last three weeks. 
  
• Fifteen of the offenses' sixty snaps (25%) were from the pistol formation.  This is the team's highest usage of this formation in a 2014 Kirk Cousins start.
• The Redskins matched their season-high for screen plays (four) before the first half had even ended.  They called six total in the game (five to receivers and one to a running back).  These plays were extremely successful, as five of the six passes resulted in gains of 15, 42, 9, 33 and 22 yards.

Personnel Groupings:

• For the second week in a row, both of the Redskins' touchdowns were scored from the 11 personnel.  Half of the team's touchdowns this year have been scored from this grouping (8 of 16).
  
• Sunday's game featured the highest usage of the 11 personnel in 2014 (total snaps and percentage).
• While the use of the 11 increased, it decreased for the 21 grouping.  The number (4) and percentage (7%) of 21 personnel snaps in this game marked the lowest totals of the season.
  

Individual Player Snaps:

• There were 21 active offensive players in this game.  All of them except Josh LeRibeus, Silas Redd and Colt McCoy recorded an offensive snap.  Aldrick Robinson, Spencer Long, Morgan Moses and Robert Griffin were declared inactive.  For the first time this year Santana Moss was active and Aldrick Robinson was not.  Moss recorded one snap on the day.  Colt McCoy is now the only offensive player on the roster that has not recorded a snap.
• Aldrick Robinson has one reception (on a screen pass) over the course of his 25 snaps this year.
• Roy Helu out-snapped Alfred Morris for the second week in a row.  Helu handled 11 of the 12 combined third and fourth-down snaps (92%), and 31 of his 34 snaps came on passing plays.
  
• Alfred Morris, Darrel Young, Ryan Grant, Tom Compton and Logan Paulsen all saw season-low snap totals and percentages.  Roy Helu, Jordan Reed, Pierre Garcon and Andre Roberts all posted season-high snap percentages.
• I forgot how much of a non-traditional tight end Jordan Reed was.  He lined up out wide (15 snaps/43%), in the slot (8 snaps/23%) or as a running back (2 snaps/6%) on 25 of his 35 snaps (71%).

Team Records, Streaks & Rankings:

Individual Players

• Alfred Morris followed up what was probably the worst game of his career last week, with what very well may have been his second worst game.  His 41 rushing yards and 3.15 yards per attempt were his fourth and fifth worse in a game respectively.  He dropped a pass, did not score and for the first time in his career he did not rush for a first down.  I know there are some extenuating circumstances that are effecting his production, but something seems wrong here.
• Jordan Reed has played on over 50% of the offenses snaps in 6 of his 11 career games.  Reed has averaged 9 targets, 6.5 receptions and 79 yards receiving in those games.  If you're still having a hard time remembering how good he is (when he's healthy), then check this out.
• Kirk Cousins is now 1-7 as a starter and the Redskins are 1-9 in the last 10 games that he has appeared in.  In his 13 total games, he has scored 18 touchdowns and thrown 18 interceptions.  He threw three interceptions in a single quarter twice in the last three weeks.  Robert Griffin has thrown 17 interceptions in 30 career games and has never thrown three in a game.  Help me RGIII, you're my only hope.
• DeSean Jackson's 26 receptions and 20 touchdowns of 50 yards or more since 2008 leads the NFL.  He is now in the top ten for most career 50-yard touchdowns by a player since 1970.

Team

• So, the Redskins aren't very good on third down this year.  They rank 31st in third-down conversion rate (32.4%), and they have only converted 6 third downs on their last 30 tries.
• Washington has now lost nine straight games on the road.  The nine consecutive road losses ties the franchise record.
• The Redskins have lost 13 of their last 14 and 18 of their last 22 games.  If my calculations are correct, then you cannot find a worse 14 week span in franchise history (based on the number of losses only) without including one of weeks 6, 7, 8 or 9 from the 1961 season.  That means that the current 14 week span is tied for 5th worst in franchise history.  The current 22 week span is tied for 12th worst in franchise history.  Make no mistake about it, we are in the midst of one of the worst periods in the franchise's 83 year and 1,144 game history.  Hopefully, things will begin to turn around with a win against the Titans in Week 7.

Snap Judgments: Week 1 Redskins @ Texans- OFFENSE

Snap Judgments: Week 2 Jaguars @ Redskins- OFFENSE

Snap Judgments: Week 3 Redskins @ Eagles- OFFENSE

Snap Judgments: Week 4 Giants @ Redskins- OFFENSE

Snap Judgments: Week 5 Seahawks @ Redskins- OFFENSE

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