Redskins Vs. Jets - Studs and Duds

First of all, let me just say this was one hell of a boring game to watch. But second, we appeared to come out of the game with no major injuries - so that in itself was big.

My guess was that these two teams were sick of seeing each other after the week of joint practices, and just wanted it to end.

Below are my Studs and Duds of the game, followed up by some notes.

Studs:

Cam Sims - This is a bit of a tough one, because Sims dropped one that hit him right in the hands, leading to an interception, BUT, I look at how these young guys bounce back after a mistake, and I felt Sims did an excellent job of putting that behind him, and moving forward. The touchdown that got called back for an illegal formation was simply an amazing effort. We saw his route running ability, length, hands and toughness all on that play. If that doesn’t excite Redskins fans about our undrafted rookie, I don’t know what does. Should he have made the catch on the fade the next play - maybe, but the DB did a nice job of getting a hand in there as well. He made an outstanding catch on a back-shoulder pass to put the Redskins into field goal range with four seconds left in the game. Sims had three catches for 57 yards on the night. You can contest this rating, but to me, he was impressive.

Da'Ron Payne/Jonathan Allen - The duo was simply un-blockable Thursday night. It’s going to be a fun season watching these two!

Trey Quinn - Trey Quinn is as advertised folks! He showed good route running ability, solid hands, and the ability to come away with the ball in traffic and on contested catches. I didn’t like the route he ran at the goalline on the slant, as I though that could have been a bit crisper, and broken that more shallow across the corner’s face...but he’s a rookie; he’ll learn. Otherwise, a very solid night for Mr. Irrelevant, who also added a nice punt return in the second half.

Kapri Bibbs - Bibbs couldn’t really get it going on the ground behind our reserve offensive line, but he showed how dangerous he could be in the passing game, hauling in seven receptions for 47 yards. He had a beautiful 29 yard catch-and-run in the first quarter. He did run hard, and was able to fight for some yards after contact despite the lack of holes opened up by the line. he had a great blitz pick-up on the Skins last scoring drive to end the game.

Martez Carter - Carter broke off some nice runs, making something out of nothing when the blocking was less-than-stellar. He showed nice speed to get to the outside and a devastating jump-cut.

Cassanova McKinzy - Let’s keep this in perspective - McKinzy was playing against the Jets reserves. That being said, he looked outstanding. He was explosive, relentless and made some big plays - none bigger that his tackle for loss at the goal line late in the game. He may not make the Redskins 53 man roster, but this guy has a place in the league.

Dustin Hopkins - Although he hit the upright on a pretty easy field goal attempt, he was a perfect 5-5 on the night, and hit the game winner as time expired.

Duds:

Tony Bergstrom - Bergstrom did not look good at center, even against some of the Jets reserve defensive linemen. He gave up a lot of interior pressure on passing plays, and generated almost zero push up the middle when the Skins tried to run the ball. A very poor showing by the veteran. He was also called for holding late in the third quarter when he and Kalis didn’t communicate well in pass pro.

Ryan Anderson/Pernell McPhee - Neither player did much of anything when they were out on the field (and Anderson was playing late in the game against the Jets second and third teamers). McPhee missed a tackle in the backfield, and Anderson struggled in coverage when he was asked to drop.

Fish Smithson - He was not good in coverage, and not good at making tackles in space, and this is against reserves. Smithson was called for lowering the head in the fourth quarter, which resulted in a 15 yard penalty.

Ranthony Texada - Too many missed tackles for my liking where he was diving at guys ankles. Some of these were on special teams - an area he’ll need to make an impact if he hopes to make this team.

0 - How in the hell do you not call “lowering the head” AND throw out Luvu, the Jets linebacker, for that vicious hit on Colt McCoy late in the second quarter? That’s the exact play they are trying to stop in the NFL this season, and that hit could have SERIOUSLY injured McCoy! Luvu was called for lowering the head later on during the game when he ear-holed Carter at the end of a run. There is no place in the league for that kind of play! I hope he’s heavily fined for those two hits, and the refs are fined as well for the blatant missed call earlier in the game.

Notes:

• Martrell Spaight as usual, made some big splash plays, but also missed some tackles and took some false reads and poor angles, and lost his man in coverage on two occasions I counted. It’s the second part that continues to hurt him.
• Samaje Perine looked EXPLOSIVE on his lone run of the game. It’s too bad he tweaked his ankle on the play. I’d have liked to see what he could do with some more snaps.
• Geron Christian Sr. looked a bit better at left tackle against the Jets, although he’s still a MAJOR work in progress.
• Tim Settle continues to show well with the back-up linemen. He did a nice job collapsing the pocket, and had a nice batted ball while going against Spencer Long in the second quarter.
• Troy Apke showed that 4.3 speed on the interception off the Everett tip late in the second quarter. Great effort by the rookie! I also saw some poor tackling, especially on an open-field attempt to start the fourth quarter, when he just dropped his head and completely whiffed on the ball carrier.
• Shaun Dion Hamilton just plays much smarter and takes better pursuit angles than the other reserve linebackers. He doesn’t miss many tackles when he gets there.
• Prince Charles Iworah played the receiver and the ball perfectly on his interception off Teddy Bridgewater in the fourth quarter.
• I like the way Casey Dunn anchors and operates in space.