Tomorrow night’s matchup between the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles has the potential to be one of the most exciting games of the openers. The National Football League certainly knew what they were doing when they put the schedule for Week 1 of the 2013 season together… all but two of the opening-week games are between either division rivals or, at minimum, conference rivals. When deciding on the first Monday Night Football game, they certainly put some thought into the fact that new Philly head coach Chip Kelly is libel to have one of the exciting offenses out there. They already know what to expect with the Redskins. Combine Eagles’ quarterback Michael Vick and Kelly’s no-huddle, spread offense with quarterback Robert Griffin, III and the read-option offense; AND the fact that they’re both in the NFC East… and you have the makings of one very exciting, high-octane game.
Philadelphia has an advantage in this matchup. The ‘Iggles’ played the Redskins twice in 2012 and Washington has showed no changes to either their offensive or defensive schemes. The Burgundy and Gold have never faced this Philly team before. The Eagles’ 3-4 defense is new under coordinator Bill Davis and the offense is new under coordinator Pat Shurmur and Kelly. Knowing the players themselves helps somewhat but not enough to think this will be an easy victory for the Redskins (thought it should be a victory). With this in mind, there are a couple of key points to consider regarding the upcoming contest:
● Jim Haslett’s Defense Must have Endurance
The game should be a better one than might have been originally thought before the preseason exhibitions of Philadelphia’s new offense. The Eagles do have a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator and a new defensive coordinator. This usually means huge learning curves for the players and mistakes on the field. But Philly has some talent and that will make the curve feel not so big. The ever-mobile Vick is the type of player that should do well in a fast-paced, zone-read type of offense and Kelly has made it clear that it will be fast by stating that he wants to knock off 80 plays per game.
In the NFL, teams currently average around 64-65 plays per game. Last year, the New England Patriots – who use an offensive scheme which makes them capable of running out of multiple formations without changing personnel – ran 1,191 offensive plays. This averages out to just under 75 per game. The speed at which they went from play to play in a series prevented defenses from substituting players based on down and distance. So far, in the preseason, the Eagles have run 90 percent of their offensive plays without a huddle. While this year’s offense is different from former head coach Andy Reid’s, the Philly offense last season was fast in terms of plays per game. Carryover players are mostly used to the speed.
Obviously, the Redskins’ defense will have to be on their toes Monday night and outstanding veteran middle linebacker, London Fletcher, will have to have done his homework. If the Eagles do get into a rhythm in the no-huddle, fatigue could be a factor. If Haslett doesn’t have time to make substitutions, the players out there are going to be grateful that they worked so hard during strength and conditioning drills. The Redskins’ D-coordinator doesn’t seem to be overly worried about the issue of subs going in (or not) to relieve his squad.
“I think we can play in our base and stay in it all day against everything so that’s not a problem,” he said during his press conference on Wednesday. “We’ve worked every personnel grouping. We’ve worked who we’re substituting, and we’ve worked when we couldn’t substitute, so I don’t think that’s going to be an issue… at least from our standpoint.”
Fortunately, Redskins’ linebacker Ryan Kerrigan faced Chip Kelly’s offense at Oregon when he was at Purdue so he knows what to expect.
“Getting lined up quickly is the biggest part of it,” Kerrigan told the Press this week, “because that’s one of the things this offense is designed to do, is it doesn’t allow you get lined up, getting the personnel you like on the field. They try to make you second-guess yourself, that’s what you’ve got to try to fight.”
The Eagles will likely try to dictate the pace of this game and some believe they’ll do things never before seen in the NFL. Should the Eagles be able to execute the offense as Kelly calls it, the Redskins’ defense will be challenged. Hopefully, they’re up to the task.
● TIME FOR ROBERT GRIFFIN TO SHAKE OFF THE RUST
Washington head coach Mike Shanahan opted to hold Griffin out of the preseason in order to keep his surgically repaired knee safe. But he did it at the risk that his star might be a bit rusty as well once the regular season starts. Fortunately, Griffin is an extraordinary NFL talent — physically and mentally — so the hopes are that not having been hit by any player from another team will not be much of an issue come Monday night.
We’ll find out if it was a wise decision or not. There are those who agree with the choice Shanahan made and those who think Griffin would have benefitted from even a minimal amount of time on the field during the preseason. Several players have told me that there is a certain amount of conditioning — both physical and mental — that you just don’t get unless you are playing in a game, against another team. There is a lot to be said for the safe, vanilla, scripted play that takes place during those four preseason games. It would have been fairly easy for Shanahan to get Griffin out there for two, maybe three series… just to see a player NOT in burgundy and gold coming after him. It could have been extremely beneficial for the Baylor grad to have to get out of bounds, throw a ball away or make sure to put his hands in the air to avoid a collision with an opponent… even just once.
But the head coach did what he did and now Griffin needs to go out and play. Left tackle Trent Williams and the rest of the offensive line will obviously be integral in protecting the second year signal-caller. There are plays that offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan can call to protect RGIII and he has said he will do what he can to help his quarterback shake off the rust. The weapons Griffin has around him — running back Alfred Morris, tight end Fred Davis and wide out Pierre Garçon are just a few — can do their part by executing the plays as called. Griffin must do what HE needs to do though, if a play doesn’t go as planned.
“I mean, you always hope you can call a perfect play and make it easy on guys,” the younger Shanahan said at his press conference this week. “That’s what our job is to do and that’s what you’re always trying to do. So the more open you can help people get, the more open guys can get on their own, the easier a quarterback’s decisions are and the less perfect he’s got to be. But rarely is any game perfect and that’s why there’s a lot of responsibility on the quarterback, and when it’s not perfect he has got to progress and if no one’s there, he has to tuck it away and run.”
Robert’s challenge (other than to avoid being hit) may be in his timing with his receivers. He hasn’t had to deal with a defense yet that is there to hit him. While the Washington coaching staff tries hard to set up game-type situations in practice, nose tackle Barry Cofield (who has now participated fully in practice) is not going to sack Griffin and go after his rehabilitated knee out at Redskins Park. Eagles’ defensive lineman Isaac Sopoaga will on Monday night, given the opportunity. Hopefully, Griffin is such a unique talent that he will not have much trouble regaining the rhythm he had with his receivers in 2012. But this will be the first time the entire offense has been together in a game situation and under pressure since the quarterback was injured last season. It would be a bonus for the Redskins if the Philadelphia secondary is not as sharp yet Monday night as they might become in Bill Davis’ 3-4 scheme.
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As exciting as it will be to see how well Vick does in Kelly’s scheme, make no mistake… all eyes will be on Griffin and his surgically repaired knee. The game is at FEDEX Field and the first time RGIII gets hit, every person in the stadium will stop breathing until he pops up, hopefully unaffected. The collective release of breath will likely be evident by the waving of the flags atop the bleachers.
Hail.