The 3-8 Washington Redskins have a formidable task before them tomorrow as they play the 7-4 Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. Were one to only consider the Colts’ highly ranked offense in deciding who was most likely to win this game, there’d be little question as to the outcome. However, some consider it good news for the Redskins that head coach Jay Gruden has made a change at the quarterback position, sitting third year man Robert Griffin, III down and putting previously third-string QB Colt McCoy in. That being the case, one should consider the Colts’ not-so-great defense when figuring the winner and, since the Redskins’ offense is much more prolific with McCoy playing under center, the winner of this game is not set in stone. At minimum, Washington could challenge the Colts more than anyone might have thought they would.
McCoy went into the game against the Tennessee Titans in week seven and won it. He then started the following week against the Dallas Cowboys and, after a shaky first half, got things together and led the team — along with a great defensive plan — to a victory as well. The quarterback was adept at running the Redskins’ offense, distributing the ball to nine different offensive weapons in the Cowboys’ win, one of which was a 49 yard play to elite wide out DeSean Jackson. McCoy completed 25 of 30 pass attempted for an 83+ percent rate in that game.
The interesting thing about this Colts game is that, if McCoy can get the ball into his playmakers’ hands, there’s a possibility that the Redskins could compete pretty well against Indianapolis’ defense.
As a matter of fact, in certain categories, the Redskins’ defense has the upper hand. For instance, according to the Colts’ weekly press release, this is how the Redskins and Colts compare:
Yards per Game: Colts’ defense = 17th, Redskins’ offense = 11th
Yards per Play: Colts’ defense = 25th, Redskins’ offense = 7th
Rush Yards per Game: Colts’ defense = 17th, Redskins’ offense = 16th
Rush Yards per Play: Colts’ defense = 29th, Redskins offense = 10th
Pass Yards per Game: Colts’ defense = 20th, Redskins offense = 9th
Pass Yards per Play: Colts’ defense = 18th, Redskins offense = 4th
These rankings show where the Redskins can exploit the Colts’ defense if McCoy and company are on point like they were in the second half of the game in Dallas. And, if Washington’s defense plays as well as they did against Dallas, there just might be a competitive game taking place tomorrow.
Where Washington’s offense must improve — if they have any chance of keeping up with the Colts’ scoring — is on third downs. They have to convert more than they have and they must keep McCoy upright on passing downs. This is an area that has been a real problem for Washington but is also one in which McCoy should be an upgrade over Griffin.
Against both Tennessee and Dallas, the University of Texas star proved that he could unload the ball quickly, obviously reducing the stress on his offensive line and therefore the chance of sacks or hurries. But Indianapolis’ defense ranks second on third downs and 10th at sacks per pass attempt. With the troubles that Griffin was having getting the ball out of his hands on pass attempts, if for no other reason than that, it makes sense that McCoy is under center for the Redskins this week if they want to be competitive.
Given the Colts’ middle-of-the-pack defensive ranking (20th overall against the pass, 16th overall versus the rush), it’s an even bigger advantage that much of their personnel are having injury issues. Cornerback(s) Vontae Davis has a foot injury, Greg Toler is recovering from a concussion (both probable for Sunday) and Darius Butler has a sore knee (questionable). That of course doesn’t mean those guys won’t still be effective.
The Colts safety Colt Anderson (knee – questionable), cornerback Josh Gordy (lower back – probable) and linebacker Andy Studebaker (hamstring – out) all had injury issues Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Washington should be able to compete with the Colts if McCoy has shaken off enough rust from not playing since the Dallas game. He brings a bigger challenge to Indianapolis than Griffin would have in his current state and will have his own players to pick on, i.e. the less-than-100-percent healthy cornerbacks that will be covering Pierre Garçon, DeSean Jackson and tight end Jordan Reed (who participated fully in practice on Friday). Barring any setbacks, Reed should really test the Colts’ secondary as well as their linebackers. If running back Alfred Morris continues his better running, the Redskins should challenge the Colts’ 29th ranked rush defense per play.
The Redskins offense must take the lead in this game and take advantage of the Colts’ mediocre defense and the injuries plaguing it. Redskins’ left tackle Trent Williams participated fully in practice Thursday and Friday and will likely go up against second-year Indianapolis outside linebacker Bjoern Werner (four sacks this season) for much of the game. This will be a real test for Werner and could be a plus for the Redskins. DeSean Jackson will take up much of the attention of the Colts’ secondary and his speed will be tough for the Colts’ Davis with that foot injury. The two safeties for Indianapolis, Mike Adams and Sergio Brown, might try to gang up on the former Philadelphia Eagle to try to keep him in check. Whether or not they can bracket him successfully remains to be seen.
A lot of national media seem to think that Jackson has “lost a step” or “slowed down” recently and it will be the Colts’ downfall if they think so as well. Jackson’s only “lost steps” came from not being seen open down the field by Griffin in recent games. If anything, he seemed more focused and determined than ever this week.
“We have a job to do which is go out there and compete and play at a high level,” the wide out said this week, “and we’re focused on ourselves. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. Throughout the whole year, I think we had a lot of mistakes… a lot of games where we shot ourselves in the foot. The [goal for the] remainder of the season is to go out there and just do your best game on tape. You got to play for the name on your jersey and the organization, so hopefully we can get through it [on] a good note.”
As far as Washington’s defense is concerned, this is going to be a tough game, no doubt. But if it can, at minimum, just challenge the Colts’ pass catchers (Reggie Wayne, Hakeem Nicks and tight end Dwight Allen)… even just a little bit… there’s hope that tomorrow’s game won’t be a blow out. Redskins’ rookie cornerback Rashaud Breeland has shown that he’s not afraid of the task so it will be interesting.
It is also interesting that Luck’s offensive line didn’t do a great job protecting him against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week and he was sacked five times in the first half alone. He also fumbled the ball twice. While the Jaguars didn’t sack Luck in the second half, they still were still able to pressure him.
When there is no pressure on Luck, he has field days in the passing game (ranked number one in the league while Luck himself leads the NFL in passing yards) so for Washington’s defense to have a chance, the front line is going to have to be better than they have been at times and more like they were against the Dallas Cowboys. Unfortunately two of their linemen, Jason Hatcher and Chris Baker, were limited in practice on Friday and are questionable for Sunday. Even if they do play, there will be a lot of pressure on the rotational guys like Jarvis Jenkins, Barry Cofield and Kedric Golston (full participation all week after a back injury). The linebackers (Ryan Kerrigan, Trent Murphy, Keenan Robinson and Perry Riley) are all healthy fortunately. Unfortunately, cornerback Tracy Porter was placed on Injured Reserve this past week and that is a definite blow to the defensive backs group. But Breeland and fellow cornerback David Amerson, if put in the right position, have proven they can challenge good wide outs. Also, CB Chase Minnifield was brought up from the Practice Squad and E.J. Biggers has spent time on the field in every game this season. The biggest problem with depth that defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has is at the safety position so no doubt he is hoping that Brandon Meriweather and Ryan Clark both stay healthy.
The main reason the Redskins were even in the game against the San Francisco 49ers last week was because of the defense. Even the Special Teams have done their part, with punter Tres Way flipping the field and save for two weeks ago against the Minnesota Vikings, kicker Kai Forbath has made necessary field goals. While those squads have had their issues, more recently they been more consistent than the offense. Against the Indianapolis Colts, it is time for that unit to step up and do their part. With the entire team playing well, who knows what’s possible?
Hail.
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Injury Update: On Saturday the Redskins downgraded cornerback E.J. Biggers (concussion) to “Out” for the game against the Colts. Biggers did not travel with the team to Indianapolis.