Game Analysis

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:36 am

Peter King wrote:Unveiling a new section of the column: The Deep End.

I asked Neil Horsnby of ProFootballFocus.com, the site that examines plays by breaking down all 22 players' roles and performances on every snap, to look at a matchup of the week for me. He'll provide the breakdown of a specific matchup, or how one player performs in a big game.

For Week 1, fortuitously, I asked Hornsby to provide data for Robert Griffin III's first regular season NFL start at New Orleans. Here's what the ProFootballFocus.com study of Griffin's play showed:

• Pressure: Griffin felt pressure on only eight of 31 pass drops, in part because of his quick release. On his drops when he didn't scramble, he averaged 2.1 seconds between the time he got the snap and the time he released the pass. Good game-planning by the Shanahans, obviously, to make sure the suspect Washington line could protect Griffin long enough for him to find an open man.

• Rushing: Griffin ran 10 times for 42 yards (an 11th run was negated by penalty). Cam Newton averaged eight rushes for 44 yards last season. Of the 10 runs -- as I suspected after seeing a Redskins training camp practice -- eight were by design. He scrambled once when the pocket broke down and his receivers were covered. That resulted in a 12-yard gain, but also in a couple of hard hits by Saints defenders on the play. His running is a concern. I can't see a 218-pound quarterback being exposed to 160 rushes in a season and surviving.

• Passing: He told me after the game he felt calm, like he had ice water in his veins. But on his first drive, he dropped one snap and threw two passes off-target. He hit Pierre Garcon on a cross 16 yards downfield, and Garcon turned it into an 88-yard touchdowns. For the day, the Redskins designed almost all quick-release throws. Of his 26 passes, none was a go pattern or a deep throw downfield, and he threw one post -- an excellent throw under pressure on 2nd-and-13 for a first down to tight end Logan Paulson when Washington was trying to bleed the clock.

• In summation: The best thing Griffin did was not make mistakes, and he had only three or four poor throws. He showed confidence, played well within the system, and evaded the really big hit that eventually dooms mobile quarterbacks. It was an opening game in which Griffin played well beyond his 22 years.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/w ... z2657Io486

More here... https://www.profootballfocus.com/

rskin72 · Post by **rskin72** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:47 pm

Thanks for the post. I will admit that while I thought our offense would put up some points on the Aint's, I had no thoughts that we light up the scoreboard like we did......and we did it without our #1 rcvr for most of the game.

RGIII played well beyond his age and NFL experience level against a good Aint's defense in their home, where they were undefeated last season. And, he wasn't just good occasionally, he was very impressive throughout the entire game. Even look at things like his clock management when we were trying to eat time at the end of the game, he would consistently take the clock down to a couple of seconds left prior to a snap. As a whole, his play really opened my eyes to just how his skill set has crossed over to the NFL, something that was difficult to gage after the pre-season due to his limited number of snaps.

I did notice the mentioned passes early on that were a bit off the mark, but not so much that our WR's could not make the catch. And, there were the mistakes on handoff's and the bobbled snap.....those miscues did not cost us in this game, but we have seen handoff issues in the preseason as well, so that is an area of some concern going forward.

Also agree that I did not like seeing RGIII on those designed runs as he took some pop's, and at one point was limping during the game for a brief period. Maybe it is me, but RGIII's speed is a little different than other running QB's....I don't think his initial burst is as quick as say a Vick, but his top end speed is better.....if that makes sense.

And, we now have some weapons in our offensive arsenal....in addition to the strength and accuracy of our rookie QB. Alfred Morris ran hard and got tough yards. Garcon is the real deal as a #1 WR, strong, good hands, and speed to pull away from a defender for YAC. Our WR corp is deep....and will be better the more they work with RGIII. Take the pass to the end zone from RGIII that appeared to be thrown to no Redskin. On the replay, you saw Moss get behind a Aint defender, but turn to the sideline.....RGIII thought he was going to go to the flags, and that is where he threw the ball. That play may have a different ending later in the season.

All in all, a very impressive start for our team.....hopefully the momentum maintains itself vs the Rams, which have presented us problems in our recent games against them pre-Jeff Fischer. Would be nice to be 2-0 for our first home game vs the Bungles.....

tribeofjudah · Post by **tribeofjudah** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:16 pm

Yeah, Bob seemed "slow" on film BUT I know he'll smoke me in a race...any day. NFL defenders are fast and I saw guys running him down yesterday.

Granted, it wasn't open field - In which I'm sure III will smoke them too.

Yes, I was impressed with his poise.... we got a winner, but I already thought this from the day we drafted him.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:40 pm

tribeofjudah wrote:Yeah, Bob seemed "slow" on film BUT I know he'll smoke me in a race...any day. NFL defenders are fast and I saw guys running him down yesterday.

Honestly, the track speed of his isn't going to translate to the NFL aside from straight line speed. He's not an NFL runner like Cam, or Vick. If RGIII can get around the corner, he needs to get what he can and get out of bounds. Vick has the moves and his body has paid the price. Cam has the moves, speed and most importantly size... Cam is like Big Ben and Vick melded into one. LOL

Cappster · Post by **Cappster** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:08 pm

Chris Luva Luva wrote:
tribeofjudah wrote:Yeah, Bob seemed "slow" on film BUT I know he'll smoke me in a race...any day. NFL defenders are fast and I saw guys running him down yesterday.

Honestly, the track speed of his isn't going to translate to the NFL aside from straight line speed. He's not an NFL runner like Cam, or Vick. If RGIII can get around the corner, he needs to get what he can and get out of bounds. Vick has the moves and his body has paid the price. Cam has the moves, speed and most importantly size... Cam is like Big Ben and Vick melded into one. LOL

RGIII showed some moves on one play when he ran around Trent Williams side and juked a Saints player to the ground. I'd rather him not do that too much this season unless he has wide open space to run in and able to slide before he gets hit.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:30 pm

Cappster wrote:
Chris Luva Luva wrote:
tribeofjudah wrote:Yeah, Bob seemed "slow" on film BUT I know he'll smoke me in a race...any day. NFL defenders are fast and I saw guys running him down yesterday.

Honestly, the track speed of his isn't going to translate to the NFL aside from straight line speed. He's not an NFL runner like Cam, or Vick. If RGIII can get around the corner, he needs to get what he can and get out of bounds. Vick has the moves and his body has paid the price. Cam has the moves, speed and most importantly size... Cam is like Big Ben and Vick melded into one. LOL
RGIII showed some moves on one play when he ran around Trent Williams side and juked a Saints player to the ground. I'd rather him not do that too much this season unless he has wide open space to run in and able to slide before he gets hit.

Yea, he has moves but they're nowhere on the level of a Cam or Vick. I've seen linemen try to juke when they're returning an INT, it doesn't mean it's effective.

I'm not knocking the kid but realisitcally he doesn't have the wiggle that the elite runners have. He has track speed. Speed is speed, he's just not that elusive. His low weight doesn't help.

gay4pacman · Post by **gay4pacman** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:33 pm

he is more elusive than cam. cam is using way more of his power game to get his yards. griff will prove mighty elusive.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:39 pm

gay4pacman wrote:he is more elusive than cam. cam is using way more of his power game to get his yards. griff will prove mighty elusive.

I'd take Cam in space over RGIII, at least at this point. Even watching his Baylor tape, it's mostly straight line speed. If he can get into the secondary, it's a wrap.

ferryrich · Post by **ferryrich** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 2:51 pm

I used to work with that Neil Hornsby. the stuff they analyse at pro football focus is pretty good stuff.

skinsfan#33 · Post by **skinsfan#33** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:36 pm

Cappster wrote: I'd rather him not do that too much this season unless he has wide open space to run in and able to slide before he gets hit.

I also would rather NOT have him being a lead blocker for a RB. No matter how impressive it was.

tribeofjudah · Post by **tribeofjudah** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:47 pm

skinsfan#33 wrote:
Cappster wrote: I'd rather him not do that too much this season unless he has wide open space to run in and able to slide before he gets hit.
I also would rather NOT have him being a lead blocker for a RB. No matter how impressive it was.

hahaha...warrior mentally

welch · Post by **welch** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:39 pm

I would rather he pretends to be Sonny Jurgensen and makes the throws...and only run as a last resort...to avoid getting smashed.

gibbsfan · Post by **gibbsfan** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:02 pm

rskin72 wrote:Thanks for the post. I will admit that while I thought our offense would put up some points on the Aint's, I had no thoughts that we light up the scoreboard like we did......and we did it without our #1 rcvr for most of the game.

RGIII played well beyond his age and NFL experience level against a good Aint's defense in their home, where they were undefeated last season. And, he wasn't just good occasionally, he was very impressive throughout the entire game. Even look at things like his clock management when we were trying to eat time at the end of the game, he would consistently take the clock down to a couple of seconds left prior to a snap. As a whole, his play really opened my eyes to just how his skill set has crossed over to the NFL, something that was difficult to gage after the pre-season due to his limited number of snaps.

I did notice the mentioned passes early on that were a bit off the mark, but not so much that our WR's could not make the catch. And, there were the mistakes on handoff's and the bobbled snap.....those miscues did not cost us in this game, but we have seen handoff issues in the preseason as well, so that is an area of some concern going forward.

Also agree that I did not like seeing RGIII on those designed runs as he took some pop's, and at one point was limping during the game for a brief period. Maybe it is me, but RGIII's speed is a little different than other running QB's....I don't think his initial burst is as quick as say a Vick, but his top end speed is better.....if that makes sense.

And, we now have some weapons in our offensive arsenal....in addition to the strength and accuracy of our rookie QB. Alfred Morris ran hard and got tough yards. Garcon is the real deal as a #1 WR, strong, good hands, and speed to pull away from a defender for YAC. Our WR corp is deep....and will be better the more they work with RGIII. Take the pass to the end zone from RGIII that appeared to be thrown to no Redskin. On the replay, you saw Moss get behind a Aint defender, but turn to the sideline.....RGIII thought he was going to go to the flags, and that is where he threw the ball. That play may have a different ending later in the season.

All in all, a very impressive start for our team.....hopefully the momentum maintains itself vs the Rams, which have presented us problems in our recent games against them pre-Jeff Fischer. Would be nice to be 2-0 for our first home game vs the Bungles.....

all valid points that can be addressed by the team moving forward .
i,m thrilled to see what i saw yesterday and i hope it continues but there will be moments during the year where it will get interesting and adversity will hit.This season will be on how this team progresses thru RG3,s developement during the year as he gets even better as we get better as a team around him.so for the 1st game of the year at new orleans against the nfl,s leading passer and seeing this team play like a team gives me hope that things are getting better and for us skins fans i hope much better as we move on thru the year.

HTTR.

GoSkins · Post by **GoSkins** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 7:31 pm

welch wrote:I would rather he pretends to be Sonny Jurgensen and makes the throws...and only run as a last resort...to avoid getting smashed.

Yes. RGIII needs to focus on passing which btw he will. His accuracy and quick delivery are excellent.

Countertrey · Post by **Countertrey** » Mon Sep 10, 2012 7:52 pm

welch wrote:I would rather he pretends to be Sonny Jurgensen and makes the throws...and only run as a last resort...to avoid getting smashed.

He has to bootleg and otherwise move laterally at least some... this has the effect of slowing down the ends, as they must first focus on contain before they can pass rush. Shanahan wants to get plenty of tape out there so that teams have to game plan containment.

Slow down the pass rush, get more Sonny... I watched him run through his progression a couple of times... like what I see. He will only get better.

WOW can he sell the play fake! You have to respect the work that went into that... I know it drove the NO front 7 nuts. It also helped to slow down the pass rush...

When it breaks down, he's still looking downfield. He is NOT run first... if there's an open receiver, he wants to pass...

He will only get better. What a pleasure to watch...

RayNAustin · Post by **RayNAustin** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:42 am

^^^ My sentiments exactly.

I was anxious to see how he reacted and performed on the "big stage" when the games count. And I thought he was outstanding, particularly in that environment and against a very good opponent. You really couldn't ask for a better performance from a veteran QB ... so having your rookie QB play like that in his first NFL regular season game is more than anyone could have asked. To me, he exceeded expectations, and they were set pretty high to start with.

Yes there is a bit of "sloppiness" that needs cleaning up in the QB-RB exchange, but aside from that ... I really have a hard time finding much to be concerned about ... but I could see great concern coming from the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants!!!!

What impressed me the most was the decision making ... the quick reads and the short amount of time this kid holds the ball. He really gets it out fast and accurately. Honestly, the sky is the limit for this kid.

Two years from now, he could very easily become one of the top 5 QBs in the league .... as he may wind up in the top 10 this year if he keeps playing like he did in New Orleans.

Sure, he'll have his own moments and bumps in the road no doubt. But from all indications so far, he has the mindset of a champion, with a healthy but humble confidence that will help guide him past adversity.

I see in RG3 an NFL version of Tiger Woods .... laser like mental focus, and an expectation of success, with no fear of failure on this kid's radar screen.

Does anyone still think we can't win 10 games this year? If RG3 stays healthy, I think 10 wins is absolutely in the realm of reality.

skinsfan#33 · Post by **skinsfan#33** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 5:42 am

RayNAustin wrote:

Two years from now, he could very easily become one of the top 5 QBs in the league .... as he may wind up in the top 10 this year if he keeps playing like he did in New Orleans.

After week one, he is one of the top give QBs in the league

But I know what you mean and I agree. One week certainly doesn't make a season or a career.

skinsfan#33 · Post by **skinsfan#33** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 5:42 am

RayNAustin wrote:

Two years from now, he could very easily become one of the top 5 QBs in the league .... as he may wind up in the top 10 this year if he keeps playing like he did in New Orleans.

After week one, he is one of the top give QBs in the league

But I know what you mean and I agree. One week certainly doesn't make a season or a career.

UK Skins Fan · Post by **UK Skins Fan** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 7:26 am

One of the most encouraging aspects of the game was certainly the fact that RGIII's first instinct was not to take off and run, but to make time for the pass. He ran more than I would have liked to see, but that was due more to the play calling than it was to his own tendencies.

Time and again, he kept looking down the field, saw the open man, and found him. In the long term, that will hopefully keep him healthier, and certainly make him a better QB.

Happy days.

44diesel · Post by **44diesel** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 8:07 am

UK Skins Fan wrote:One of the most encouraging aspects of the game was certainly the fact that RGIII's first instinct was not to take off and run, but to make time for the pass.

The best example of this was on a pass to Santana Moss. RGIII was forced out of the pocket and had enough room open in front of him to easily pick up the first down, but he kept his eyes down the field and pulled up before the line of scrimmage to fire a dart down field for a big gain.

Still hard to believe that this was his first pro game.