The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

In the first two games of the season, the Washington Redskins have been the NFL's most effective team on third down, cumulatively, on both sides of the ball.

The Redskins are the only team ranked in the top four in third-down efficiency on both offense and defense.

It may be too much to expect, but if this trend continues the Washington Redskins are looking at a great season.

That very stat was our Achilles heel last season.

Another Good Stat:

Washington has allowed only one touchdown in the first two games - something the franchise last accomplished when George Allen was coach in 1975

yeah i've noticed that this season.. on monday we were 8-15 i think while we held the eagles to 4-15....

A Not So Good Stat (So Far):

The statistics are uglier than your first date to the school dance. Three interceptions and a 66.3 pass rating over two games usually gets quarterbacks booted. Not exactly the second coming of Elway, Montana or Marino.

Jason Campbell is ranked 29th among NFL passers with a rating not even half that of Tom Brady. Only three passers have fewer touchdowns than Campbell’s one.

I'm stunned as to how anyone, Redskins fan or not, can look at JC's performance thus far and see more negatives than positives.

Frankly, I'd take a passer rating of about 60 if it could also be out 3rd down completion percentage. As stated about, that was our achilles heel last year. One has to believe that rating will continue to rise and he gets more comfortable behind center and more comfortable with the speed of his receivers. Not to mention cutting back on INT's, which I'm confident he will do.

Stats don't tell the tale. If we had MB as our QB and he had the same rating as Campbell, we would be 0-2.

Fios wrote:I'm stunned as to how anyone, Redskins fan or not, can look at JC's performance thus far and see more negatives than positives.

This is a perfect example of how statistics don't tell the whole story. Jason put us in a position to win on Monday Night, but the stats simply won't show his contribution in that game, since they tend to highlight good-for-fantasy-football contributions and not necessarily helped-us-win contributions.

You also can't measure potential. How close was Jason to hitting Moss on that final pass? I say that's a throw he makes by the end of the season and beyond. . .the stats simply see it as "incomplete." Oh well.

JC is a prime example of how statistics can't tell the entire story. If you watch him play you will see that he's still growing a maturing. The ceiling of his abilities is way above his head and he is steadily rising towards it.

Chris Luva Luva wrote:JC is a prime example of how statistics can't tell the entire story. If you watch him play you will see that he's still growing a maturing. The ceiling of his abilities is way above his head and he is steadily rising towards it.

Absolutely agreed, however, for those who place extreme creedence in statistics, I thought I would post both positive and not so positive stats. Stats are always a good topic for discussion.

I saw on a forum where a Puke said that JC is statistically comparable to Patrick Ramsey.

Look at the tools Jason has the Patrick didn't. He has pocket awareness, he's calm under pressure and doesn't throw into double/triple coverage.

Jason has the tools that are fundamental to a QB that CANNOT be taught.

Irn-Bru wrote:

Fios wrote:I'm stunned as to how anyone, Redskins fan or not, can look at JC's performance thus far and see more negatives than positives.

This is a perfect example of how statistics don't tell the whole story. Jason put us in a position to win on Monday Night, but the stats simply won't show his contribution in that game, since they tend to highlight good-for-fantasy-football contributions and not necessarily helped-us-win contributions.

You also can't measure potential. How close was Jason to hitting Moss on that final pass? I say that's a throw he makes by the end of the season and beyond. . .the stats simply see it as "incomplete." Oh well.

Potential can be somewhat measured. J.C. appears to be on his way to great things. I think we all agree he has only just begun. One glance at the Brandon Lloyd thread indicates that potential cannot always be accurately measured. The more opportunity we have to see a player, the more likely we might be somewhat accurate on measuring potential.

Potential is a word with a broad definition.

Campbell ALSO has 68 yds rushing in two games. Another angle that shows his overall utility as opposed to his 'look on paper.' Stop stirring the pot just do cause drama IMO.

If you have an idea for a post more interesting than this topic, please share. I'm simply attempting to generate some discussion. The forum has been a little slow this week because most of us appear to be biding our time until Sunday.

Discussion was, in fact, generated. Several posters have made excellent points that stats in football are over-rated or do not tell the entire story. The first two stats posted do tell a good deal of the story of the Redskins' success thus far.

How do the 5-6 dropped passes we've seen from our wide receivers factor into this?

If Lloyd makes that catch where does it put Jason?

If ARE bats down the pass last week...

There are too many if's. There are too many things that can't be controlled. All I know is that we have the best QB we've had in many years.

Who here goes into a game worrying about what about how our QB will perform? I don't.

Play nice kids

Chris Luva Luva wrote:How do the 5-6 dropped passes we've seen from our wide receivers factor into this?

If Lloyd makes that catch where does it put Jason?

If ARE bats down the pass last week...

There are too many if's. There are too many things that can't be controlled. All I know is that we have the best QB we've had in many years.

Who here goes into a game worrying about what about how our QB will perform? I don't.

I have no concerns about how J.C. will perform. It is unfair to develop expectations of J.C. given he had almost nothing to work with last season. J.C. has given Redskins players and fans a boost of confidence we've not had since the Skins last made the playoffs. You can't put a qualifier on what that means to the team and to us as fans.

Strange how the one area no one thought would be an issue this season turns out to be the one issue everyone is concerned with. If our makeshift offensive line continues to keep J.C. upright, everything else about this team well exceeds any expectations I had at the beginning of the season.

I know there's a weird and whacky formula they use to obtain a QB's "rating", and I'm not sure what exactly it is. I know they have something like yards per completion + passes attemped x2 = the total of interceptions divided by incomplete passes, but what part of the formula contains the category of "poise under pressure", "pocket awareness", "scrambling for the 1st down and then some extra yardage", "maturity", "throwing the ball away when no receiver is available". Or, how about the part of the formula that includes the maturation process from how J.C. looked in his first game as a starter, and how he's progressed to where he is today, and figure where he'll be in 8 weeks taking into account continued progression and maturity?

Colin Cowherd brought up a good point about two important stats in the NFL the other day:

3rd down efficiency and take-aways/give-aways. Both are the true mark of a playoff team. The Skins are great on 3rd down this year, but most troubling is their -2 in TA/GA. I think that will improve, but the Skins need to be generating more turnovers. I also think Cambell will improve his interception ratio which will help as well. Plus, he has shown the ability to get out of trouble with his feet and freeze the Safety.

Bottom line, the Skins are playing better football this year and it shows. The defense is flying around the ball and the Skins had gotten to the QB a bit this year. Good things will happen if they keep playing aggresively.

Also, in two consecutive games the Redskins have scored more points than their opponents.

riggofan wrote:Also, in two consecutive games the Redskins have scored more points than their opponents.

Or, conversely, the Redskins' opponents have scored fewer points in two consecutive games. Some statistics can be twisted to suit the needs of the statistician.

Only one statistic is important. That is the stat that goes into the WIN column. Everything else is pretty much irrelevant.

I am really impressed with the growth I have seen from Campbell. The progression he made during the last game was very noticeable. During the 2nd half he was making better decisions than in the 1st half. Knowing when to scramble, freezing the defenders, making good choices were a few things that impressed me.

I feel he will only continue to improve.

Nice thread btw.

I think it's a little too early to be looking at stats and thinking playoffs. I agree that we have some good stats, and some not so good, but I think they are currently only as telling as our next opponent.

J.C. has averaged 200 yards per game through the air against defenses I would categorize as better than the Giants. He's had twice as many dropped passes as overthrows (not an official stat, but that's how it's looked to me).

He adds a new layer to our running game, which only helps our passing game. If Caldwell works out and becomes a solid number three reciever, we have a lot of weapons on our offense for defenders to cover. I see a lot of room for trickery this season.

They've already started setting it up with fake reverses. One of these times that fake reverse will be real, and could be an option-play by Randle-El and we know he can throw.

We saw an option play last week against Philly, that turned into Portis chewing up quite a few yards.

We've got four games in five weeks to get our timing down to a science before our major test against New England. If we can beat the Chowder Heads in week 8, then I'll start thinking playoffs, and Superbowls. Hell, if we make it to week 8 at 6-0 I'll start thinking playoffs at least.