The game on Friday evening between the Redskins and Jets produced some highs and lows. As is to be expected, the game was rather sloppy in the second half, with many second and third stringers running the show. Overall, the Redskins were able to produce a late touchdown, then hang on for the victory.
Below are my studs and duds for the game.
Studs:
Brandon Scherff - Scherff wasn't quite in mid-season form, but you could tell he looked much more comfortable against the Jets than he did in our preseason opener. The Redskins running game started to click a bit in the first half, and Scherff was a big part of that. He used good body position on runs to his side, showing both solid technique and good strength to turn his defender and great a seam. He also showed a good job of getting to the second level and helping our backs gain extra yards downfield.
Spencer Long - I was focusing a lot on Long after he took over at center halfway through the first quarter, after starting the game at left guard. Long, much like Scherff, did a nice job getting to the second level on the linebackers. He was solid when asked to reach his playside gap defender, and unlike Licht, was able to generate some push up front. He wasn't perfect, as I notice on one play, where Williams ran an inside stunt, Long didn't pick up the rush, causing Thompson to try and block Williams one-on-one. The play resulted in a sack. Otherwise, I thought Long looked surprisingly good as center, and was a key reason the run game was successful early on.
Ryan Grant, Rashad Ross and Jamison Crowder - The trio was instrumental on the first two drives of the game, in getting open in space, and giving McCoy reliable passing targets. Ross played more snaps later in the game, while Crowder and Grant got some rest, and he didn't disappoint, catching 4 passes for 58 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Willie Jefferson - The young outside linebacker was disruptive off the edge while he was in the game. He combined with Paea for a sack in the third quarter, and had a few other pressures and a pass defended. He looked solid against the run as well.
Martrell Spaight and Terence Garvin - The two linebackers, although they were not paired up many times together on defense, were disruptive when they were in the game. Spaight had a few big hits, and seemed to be all over the field. He had a hit that caused a fumble that DeAngelo Hall recovered. Garvin played later in the game, but looked tremendous when he was in there. He was around the football a lot, and delivered some big hits on runs, and in coverage. Gavin also showed up on special teams, which is very important for our team.
Stud/Dud:
Colt McCoy - This may sound a bit harsh, but I didn't think McCoy played very well, despite his 13-16 passing for 159 yards and 2 TD's vs 1 INT. He made a horrible throw in the endzone that was intercepted by Revis on the Redskins opening drive of the game. He underthrew some easy passes early on, and even his touchdown to Ross was underthrown(Ross just made a great play on the ball). I couldn't however give him a full dud, because he did make some excellent plays during the game. The spin move to avoid a sack, and pick up some yards, was a thing of beauty. Some of his roll-outs looked good as he delivered the ball on target, and he was solid in the intermediate passing game.
Duds:
Nate Sudfeld - For as good as Sudfeld looked against Atlanta, he looked equally as bad against the Jets. He seemed a bit uncomfortable in the pocket, and was not accurate with his passes. The touchdown and two-point conversion in the 4th quarter were both beautiful passes, but otherwise, I think he was terribly inconsistent throughout the game.
Jeremy Harris - Harris seemed to be this weeks Quintin Dunbar. He was targeted often in the second have in his defensive matchups, and he gave up some big plays. He did have very good coverage on the long pass to Anderson, but you need to go up and make the play.
Austin Reiter - Reiter made some decent plays at center, but he also missed some key blocks, got blown up a few times, and overall, didn't play very effective in the second half of the game. Some of it could have also been attributed to the third-stringers playing along side him, but I was looking to see more from him - and I simply didn't.