The Washington Redskins played the Lions last Sunday and caught their defense off guard; the Lions didn’t expect the Redskins to find those missing pages from Al Saunders’ playbook. Once those pages were found and implemented, the offense was changed into something that hadn’t been seen at Fed Ex in years. Rod Marinelli could have called Bill Belichick for some “film” but that wouldn’t have helped much; Redskins fans had not viewed much of what was seen on Sunday, so it’s no doubt a guy hiding in the tunnel with a camcorder would have recorded any of this. No one knows if the whole 700 pages are now all in one place; if not, and there are more pages out there – Look out NFL. Using the new pages against the Lions, the Redskins’ offense ran four more receiver sets, and to throw Detroit off further, they used more wide receivers in those sets than normal, and they all caught at least one pass; Randle El had 100 receiving yards in the first half. They let the fullback actually carry the ball and even snapped the ball to the running back a few times. It appears that one of the newly found pages called for a slant on fourth and one (it went for 37 yards). Jason Campbell may have had the pages all the time and put them in a place where they would be discovered because when the final whistle blew he had completed 23 of 29 passes for 248 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Campbell’s passer rating was his highest ever at 125.3 (second highest for the week behind San Diego’s Philip Rivers who rated a 151.4 on 18 attempts).
Regardless of how many pages were found (if that were the case), it also appears that other pages were lost during the extended time off; these pages missing from the defensive playbook. Those exotic blitzes that Williams loves to use must have been part of the missing documents, as well as the coverage packages that required the corners to play seven to ten yards of the line of scrimmage. Again Rod Marinelli was caught off guard. Washington’s “toned down” defense held Detroit’s quarterback Jon Kitna to 16 completions on 29 attempts for 106 passing yards and two interceptions (QB rating was 34.6), while running back Kevin Jones led the Lions’ ground game with 48 yards on 11 carries. Detroit’s only score came on a 39-yard Jason Hanson field goal in the third quarter. The Lions’ top receiver was Roy Williams, who was held to three catches for 36 yards. With less to think about, Carlos Rogers actually held on to an interception that he returned for a touchdown, and the defensive line contributed three sacks of a six-sack outing, and added a safety.
This, That, and the Other Thing:
– The Redskins won the game 34-3 on Sunday; on Monday, Gibbs made his normal announcement of which players received team awards for the Lions game. He mentioned the following players: Andre Carter, Carlos Rogers, Phillip Daniels, Marcus Washington, Fred Smoot on the defense; and Lorenzo Alexander, Carlos Rogers, Sean Taylor and James Thrash on special teams. For some reason, there was no mention of offensive awards.
– Packer injuries are piling up: cornerback Will Blackmon (foot), and center Scott Wells (eye) will be out for this Sunday’s game; tackle Chad Clifton (knee), tight end Bubba Franks (knee), cornerback Al Harris (back), wide receiver Greg Jennings (shoulder), defensive end Michael Montgomery (knee), and cornerback Charles Woodson (foot) all missed time during practice this week; and running back Vernand Morency missed practice this week due to the coaches’ decision.
– The Redskins’ replacement players: Demetric Evans, who had one sack last week will start against the Packers if Phillip Daniels can’t play; backup tight end Todd Yoder will more than likely move to fullback if Mike Sellers can’t play; 12-year veteran linebacker Randall Godfrey may make his first Redskins’ start if Marcus Washington can’t play; and wide receiver James Thrash will make a second straight start if Moss or Randle El can’t play (if neither can play, the other starting receiver will be a toss-up between Brandon Lloyd, Keenan McCardell and Reche Caldwell).
Up Next:
The Green Bay Packers (4-1) will host the Redskins at Lambeau Field on Sunday, Oct. 14th. Kickoff is 1 pm. Those not able to view the game can follow it online. The Packers lost to the Chicago Bears 27-20 last Sunday, as Brett Favre threw two second-half interceptions (matching George Blanda’s career NFL record of 277 interceptions). The Packers are led by quarterback Brett Favre (94.7 QB rating, 1527 yards, 9 Touchdowns, and 4 interceptions) who leads the league in passing, and middle linebacker Nick Barnett (44 Tackles, 30 Solo/14 Assists, 1.5 Sacks and 2 Interceptions). The Packers are ranked sixth in points scored with 125 points, and the defense is 21st in points allowed, giving up 93 points after five games.
Complete Tale of the Tapes:
Total Offense: Washington is ranked 12th with 340.8 yards per game and Green Bay ranks 6th with 362.2 ypg.
Rushing Offense: Washington is ranked 10th with 130.2 yards per game and Green Bay ranks 31st with 67.6 ypg.
Passing Offense: Washington is ranked 19th with 210.5 yards per game and Green Bay ranks 1st with 312.8 ypg.
Total Defense: Washington is ranked 3rd giving up 268 yards per game and Green Bay ranks 17th with 328 ypg.
Rushing Defense: Washington is ranked 9th giving up 86 yards per game and Green Bay ranks 14th with 101.6 ypg.
Passing Defense: Washington is ranked 8th giving up 182 yards per game and Green Bay ranks 23rd with 226.4 ypg.
Redskins Injury Update:
RG Randy Thomas Out (torn triceps muscle)
Thomas is recovering from arm surgery and will be out at least five or six more weeks.
LB Marcus Washington Questionable (Hamstring)
Washington was held out of practice on Wednesday and Thursday.
WR Antwaan Randle El Questionable (Groin)
Randle El missed Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practices but jogged on the sidelines both days.
DE Phillip Daniels Questionable (Shoulder)
Daniels missed practice on Wednesday and Thursday because of the “slightly” separated right shoulder he suffered last week.
WR Santana Moss Probable (Groin)
Moss, who did not play last week, was a full participant in Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practices.
CB Fred Smoot Probable (Hamstring)
Smoot was limited in practice on Wednesday and sent home on Thursday due to a stomach virus.
RB Clinton Portis Probable (Knee)
Portis left the game briefly in the first quarter after being hit on his right knee, but was a full participant in Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practices.
Injured Reserves:
FB Broughton, Nehemiah (Knee)
TE Ecker, Tyler (Groin)
WR Espy, Mike (Knee)
WR Harris, Steven (Knee)
WR McAddley, Jason (Hamstring)
OL Tucker, Ross (Neck)
OT Jansen, Jon (Ankle)
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Bernie Marshall