Sad State of Affairs

Chris Cooley reviewed in excruciating detail all the ways in which RG3 failed in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2014/11/19/chris-cooley-rgiii-was-so-bad-i-cant-assess-the-rest-of-the-redskins-offense/

The Jay Gruden Outlook

New head coach (again)... what do we really know about him?

1. Jay Gruden was Cincinnati's offensive coordinator and helped develop Andy Dalton and AJ Green.
2. He's Jon Gruden's brother and has ties with Bruce Allen to the Tampa Bay Bucs organization.
3. He does have head coaching experience, albeit with the Arena Football League and United Football League, for both the Orlando Predators and Florida Tuskers, respectively.

4. Gruden also has ties with Haslett, for whom he served as offensive coordinator when Haslett was his predecessor as head coach of the Tuskers. 

5. Unfortunately, he didn't recognize Marvin Jones' playmaking ability and has played Mohamed Sanu in front of him the last two years.
6. He runs a West Coast system but will run more power running plays and fewer stretch running plays.

Fantasy Football 2014 Prognostications

With the Gruden West Coast offense and the DeSean Jackson signing, here's the general consensus from the media, mixed in with my own opinion:

1. Jackson's own numbers won't match his own career numbers from last year. He's the #2 option behind Garcon.
2. Garcon will see fewer receptions but his yardage and TD total may increase since there are plenty of other threats.
3. Alfred Morris will run inside the tackles more but will probably yield playing time to the speedier Roy Helu, who is more of a threat in the passing game.
4. Jordan Reed can be a difference-maker running drag routes and down the seam as long as (1) he stays healthy, and (2) the offensive line sufficiently protects RG3.
5. RG3 will have a much better year than last year. He'll be used more similarly to Russell Wilson and use his running ability to scramble and buy time rather than be a huge part of the running game offense. So his running total may be even less than year but he'll be much more effective throwing the ball.

DeSean!

What an exciting signing and way to shake up the NFC East! Suddenly, the Redskins have a potent offense so long as they can stay healthy (knock on wood). Given his small stature, it's somewhat surprising that Jackson hasn't experienced long bouts of game absences due to injury. We've already seen firsthand how talented RG3 and Jordan Reed can be but we have also seen them both miss games.


A second reason to love DeSean Jackson - he hails from my Alma Mater, UC Berkeley. As a college player, Jackson led a few talented Cal squads and even made the cover of the EA Sports NCAA '09 game, two years removed from his last game.

On the flip side, though, Rich Tandler makes a great point on CSNWashington.com about the very limited window Washington has before contracts start blowing up in the next 2-3 years. Despite core talent being young, if they all perform as well as expected, the team won't be able to keep everyone.

Summary of Preview Heading into the Season

This Washington Post article nicely summarizes things to watch out for as we inch closer to the midpoint of the season:

http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2013/08/17/redskins-training-camp-what-weve-learned-and-the-questions-that-remain/

Curse you, Blogger app, for not making it simple to hyperlink!

Here's my assessment from digesting all the news.

1. The pass rush with be better thanks to the return of Orakpo, assuming he stays healthy

2. Helu will be able to provide speedy depth to spell Morris

3. Garçon and Fred Davis will help the passing offense tremendously 

4. The secondary is still a question mark since the rookies will take their lumps, Thomas is out for the season, Meriweather is still not 100%

5. When called upon, Kirk Cousins will be able to step in and perform as ably as he did at the end of last season

6. I suspect the running game will be less effective with defenses around the league gearing up to stop the read-option and because the Skins will be confident in their own passing attack and so they will resort to the pass more frequently. As a result, the Skins are far less likely to repeat as the league's top rushing offense which would have negative implications around ball control, turnovers, and pressure on the defense.