Washington Vs. Arizona - Studs and Duds

The Washington Football Team went into Arizona on Sunday afternoon and ran into a complete buzz-saw! The Cardinals and second year quarterback Kyler Murray had their way with a Redskins defense who played very well against Carson Wentz and the Eagles just one week earlier.

The Redskins offensive left a lot to be desired for coordinator Scott Turner, but many expected this to be the outcome seeing as our offensive line is a sieve, our receiving corps has just one legit weapon, and our quarterback is still very much a work in progress.

If there is a positive to take out of this loss, it’s that we are still tied for first in the NFC East after two weeks. Just how long that will last is the big question.

Below are my Studs and Duds of the game followed by some observations.

Studs:

Terry McLaurin - F1 was a RAC machine against a solid Cardinals defense. He was Haskins’ only reliable target on the afternoon, collecting seven catches for 125 yards and his first touchdown of the young season.

Chase Young - Young collected another sack, a quarterback hit and had two tackles for a loss. His field awareness for a rookie is absolutely outstanding, as he continues to sniff out screens, and hustles downfield in pursuit.

Kevin Pierre-Louis - The veteran linebacker was all over the field for Washington, racking up a whopping 15 tackles and a forced fumble. His speed really showed well. He atoned for a poor game against the Eagles with a stellar game at Arizona.

Tress Way - Way punted six times, and averaged 47 yards per kick - landing 3 inside the 20. Yeah, you can tell I’m reaching here a bit to find some positives...

Duds:

Geron Christian Sr. - Christian showed a LITTLE bit of improvement this week, but he still not very good against the Cardinals front. His feet tend to stop moving is pass protection and his hand placement is poor to say the least. He missed a few cut-off blocks on inside zones that could have helped spring big gains. The early sack in the second series really wasn’t on him - as Haskins ran into the stunting DT, but he was responsible for one later on, and gave up multiple pressures. If he doesn’t start to put things together quickly, it’s going to be a long season for Haskins.

Brandon Scherff - I hesitate to put an injured guy on the dud list, but before Brandon went out with his leg injury, he was NOT playing well. He had already given up two pressures and a strip-sack that resulted in a turnover inside the Washington 20. He was missing blocks at the second level as well - something you don’t see him do often.

Dontrelle Inman - You’re a veteran. Run your route beyond the sticks on third down! I think I have seen about enough of him.

Logan Thomas - Thomas had four catches for 26 yards, but he dropped a few “should-be” catches - although not all of them were incredibly accurate. Still, for a team lacking weapons on offense, he has to be be better for Haskins. He also need to have better field awareness and run his routes PAST the sticks. Getting separation is still a major challenge for him.

Troy Apke - Another week, another dud by safety Troy Apke. The third year player showed, yet again, that he has major issues tackling - he missed tackles badly on both of Kyler Murray’s touchdown runs, and was caught flat-footed when Andy Isabella ran by him for a big gain on a deep pass. If he was on a short leash heading into this game, that leash may now be broken!

Jimmy Moreland - Moreland was credited with six tackles, but most of those came after he allowed a chunk of yards to his man. He missed at least three tackles that I counted, and his coverage was not good. It was a complete 180 from last weeks game.

Notes:

- I do not think Dwayne Haskins Jr. played very well Sunday, but it’s very evident that he lacks weapons on the outside. It also didn’t help he had numerous drops by his tight end. On the Reddick sack in the second quarter, where Arizona brought the house, there was not one receiver who had any separation when the blitz arrived. I know that was a bad sack to take, but there was just NOTHING there. What I can say, is he plays so much better when Turner calls an up-tempo offense.

- Steven Sims Jr. was close to winding up on my dud list after he fumbled a punt return, and had a bobble on what should have been a easy catch. But, he had a nice run-after-catch on a quick screen, and caught a nice over-the-shoulder ball on a corner route he ran from the slot.

- Wes Martin picked up his game significantly against the Cardinals. He is still a work in progress, but it was nowhere near the disaster that the Eagles game was.

- Tim Settle didn’t stuff the stat sheet, but he played a heck of a game against the Cardinals. He was disruptive, stout against the run and showed good hustle when he was on the field.

- I noticed defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio was not playing as aggressive up front as he did last week. Guys almost looked to be two-gapping instead of looking to get quick penetration. I assume this was by design with the thought of not creating natural running lanes for the dangerous Kyler Murray.