For Jay Gruden and Redskins, the calls often seem to be wrong numbers
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Version 0 of 1. When the Washington Redskins had their way with an aggressive St. Louis Rams defense in Week 2, Coach Jay Gruden and General Manager Scot McCloughan’s vision for the offense appeared to be coming to fruition. They rushed for 182 yards with a punishing style and used the ground game to set up the pass, the result a double-digit victory. The Redskins hoped the performance represented the first of many, in both style and substance. [Cousins appreciates input of WR Jackson] In the 10 games that have followed, however, the offense has been anything but consistent in either regard, with this past Monday night against Dallas the most recent low point. The Cowboys sacked Kirk Cousins with blitzes on the first and third plays of the game. That dictated to the Redskins just how the contest would play out. Aggressive running game? Think again. Three-hundred-yard passing day? Nope. Because of that offensive futility, the Redskins wasted a quality effort from the defense, which forced three turnovers and surrendered only one touchdown, and fell into a three-way tie in the NFC East at 5-7 with a 19-16 loss. “Every game is different, and every team has to grow throughout the course of the season, but right now, Washington is kind of stuck and spinning their wheels,” said former NFL safety Matt Bowen, who now covers the NFL for ESPN. “They don’t have a true identity, and they’re running out of time to find one.” The lack of consistency has both frustrated and perplexed the Redskins’ coaches and players. The offense boasts a pair of 1,000-yard wide receivers, a top-flight tight end, two punishing running backs and a promising young quarterback. But a true calling card remains elusive. “It bothers me, especially Monday night,” said Gruden, the main architect of the offense. “Thought we had a good plan coming in and thought we could get some things going, but Dallas did a great job. [Linebacker] Sean Lee had a phenomenal game. But I have a lot of faith in these players. You feel like as a play-caller, you’ve let them down when you’re not calling the right play for them.” There’s no one cause for the on-again, off-again ways, the Redskins say. Injuries, poor performance and inconsistent play-calling have combined to keep the unit in check. The offensive line has mostly done well in pass protection, thanks in part to the tutelage of offensive line coach Bill Callahan and to Cousins for getting rid of the ball quickly. But the absences of Shawn Lauvao (injured Week 3) and Kory Lichtensteiger (sidelined since Week 5) have been difficult to weather, particularly in the running game. Since that 182-yard rushing performance against the Rams, Washington’s offense has generated 100 yards on the ground just three times. Additionally, the Redskins have averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, tied for third fewest in the NFL. The rushing struggles can’t be blamed entirely on the line, however. Alfred Morris has lacked the same effectiveness and explosiveness that made him a three-time 1,000-yard rusher. And Matt Jones, who has split carries with Morris, hasn’t made a consistent impact, either. The lack of a ground game has added to Cousins’s burden. “When you run it 16 out of 23 times on first down and 13 of those 16 runs you’re not getting more than three yards, that puts you in some tough situations,” offensive coordinator Sean McVay said. The frustrations have reached the point that Gruden publicly speculated about the team’s run-first approach. “Maybe we’re too predictable on first down,” Gruden said. “Maybe running the ball too much. I don’t know. On the games we don’t win, people say, ‘You only ran the ball so many times,’ and I say, ‘Yeah, we need balance.’ Then we try to get balance, and now you’re too balanced and not throwing the ball enough. . . . There’s a lot to it as a play-caller, and obviously we haven’t done as well, particularly last week. But we’ve just got to keep working on it.” The Redskins also have lacked consistent explosiveness. In the past three games, wide receiver DeSean Jackson has touchdown receptions of 56, 63 and 28 yards, but Washington has managed only one big play a game. Meanwhile, the Redskins’ play-calling has been constrained by the personnel available. On Monday, because of an ankle injury to Derek Carrier, Jordan Reed remained the only healthy tight end, so the Redskins had to use backup tackles Tom Compton and Ty Nsekhe in their usual multiple-tight end packages, with the linemen serving solely as extra blockers. Without the threat of Compton or Nsekhe as pass-catchers, the Cowboys didn’t have to account for them. Since Jackson returned to action in Week 9 after missing eight games because of a hamstring strain, Washington’s receiver parings have virtually telegraphed what play is coming. If Jackson is on the field, there’s a 73 percent chance of a pass play, according to ESPN Stats & Info. When the Redskins pull Jackson and insert backup Ryan Grant, there’s a 70 percent chance of a run. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out sometimes,” Gruden said with a chuckle. However predictable they may be, better results will come only through better execution, left tackle Trent Williams said. “The play-calling’s fine,” Williams said. “I feel like we’re getting there, and then some weeks, we take a step back, which is natural. It’s football. Nobody is perfect, and you’re not dealing with robots.. You’re working with humans. Sometimes as a whole, we take a step back; sometimes we take two steps forward. It’s just football. We’re not in here panicking. We just need to learn from our mistakes and implement it each week.” |