Commentary: Timing of Rams Game is Good for the Redskins

Out of all of the opponents that the Washington Redskins must face in 2015, the Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams are two with really good defenses. The Buffalo Bills should be pretty good on that side of the ball under new head coach Rex Ryan, but the Dolphins’ defensive unit containing Ndamukong Suh, Cameron Wake, Earl Mitchell and even Olivier Vernon was a great test for Washington. The second game of their schedule against the St. Louis Rams could not come at a better time under the circumstances.

Despite Miami’s really good defense, Redskins running back Alfred Morris was able to rush against the unit for 121 yards on 25 carries. After all the talk of the likelihood of him being unseated by rookie running back Matt Jones, 4.8 yards per carry is a good chunk of yards to get against a defensive line like the Dolphins’.

Right tackle and second-year man Morgan Moses and rookie right guard Brandon Scherff held their own and did surprisingly well (at least for those outside of Redskins Park) against Miami’s fearsome foursome. Today offensive coordinator Sean McVay commented about how well veteran center Kory Lichtensteiger and left guard Shawn Lauvao did against the unit also. Not many should be surprised that Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams did way more than hold his own. One has to wonder if how well the line performed was a surprise to Suh & Co.

As good as the Dolphins’ defense is, this week’s opponents for Washington, the St. Louis Rams, are even better.

St. Louis’ defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is a master at game-plan and play design and has a mean streak which he imparts to his players. He will no doubt throw a lot of different looks and stunts at the Redskins’ offense to take advantage of the young players on the line and a quarterback in Kirk Cousins who has only started 10 games.

Rams’ left defensive end Chris Long pressured Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson six times last week. This seven-year veteran is the proud owner of 51.5 career sacks.

Teammate and left defensive tackle Aaron Donald sacked Wilson twice and had 11 tackles in the game, two for a loss. Donald, a first-round draft pick last year, led all NFL rookies in 2014 with nine sacks, setting a franchise record and sending him to the Pro Bowl. He also had a record 32 QB pressures, 12 QB hits and 17 tackles for loss overall.

Right defensive tackle Michael Brockers — another first-rounder although from 2012 — led his team in tackles last week with 13. He has been a consistent starter for the Rams in his time with the team, finishing last season with 73 tackles and 14 QB hurries.

Right defensive end Robert Quinn is just scary. He posted two sacks (and had two pressures) on the Seahawks quarterback which means he’s now had 13 multi-sack games since 2012. In 2014 he went to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive year in which he posted 37 QB hurries and 24 hits.

These are all impressive stats for this very talented unit. That is why, since the Redskins must face them this year, it’s beneficial that it happens this very week.

After the showing the offensive line had in their opener against the Dolphins, it is good that the Redskins go up against another excellent defensive front immediately after those successes. Despite the fact that this first game was a loss, the solid play that Moses, Scherff and Cousins exhibited was better than many thought possible. Cousins was only sacked once and was able to move the ball up the field. He and the offensive line are healthy and will not be suffering the wear and tear that will come later in the season when — even if playing less talented teams —guys are beginning to feel beat up. Moses and Scherff having to deal with Long, Donald and Quinn so quickly after dealing with Suh, Wake, Mitchell and Vernon is about as good a thing as one could hope for in what is sure to be a pivotal season for this team.

Despite how people have felt about the Rams over the years, Sunday’s game is not going to be easy. Running the ball against this defensive front is going to be harder than it was against Miami’s. Fortunately, offensive line coach Bill Callahan has been around so if anyone can get these players ready, he can. The team is going to have to be able to run the ball but they are also going to have to commit more to the downfield pass than they did last week after they lost star wide out DeSean Jackson to the hamstring injury. Hopefully Rashad Ross, having trained with the aforementioned Pro Bowler over the offseason, learned out how to use his speed in a similar fashion to Jackson and will fill in well enough so that Cousins can get to him downfield. Scherff, Moses and the entire O-line is going to have to have the same type of commitment to physicality and nastiness that they displayed last week.

If the O-line can hold their own, if the tight ends can be the receiving threat the team needs while handling their blocking assignments decently, there is hope. If the running game can include some off-tackle and side-to-side scheming to tire out those big men along that Rams D-line, it’s not out of the question that the Redskins could move the ball.

Thinking about Washington’s special teams up against Tavon Austin is mind-boggling. There is but one thing to say… they’ll need to take some advice from one of the best old bands ever — Archie Bell and the Drells — and tighten-up.

Even as well as the offensive line did last week, this is going to be one of the toughest matchups the Redskins have all season. This is not the same Rams team of a couple of years ago. They have improved greatly and are still doing so. That win against a Seahawks team that was one win away from a second Super Bowl victory last week proves it. While certainly “winnable,” even if the Redskins play better than they played last week, no one should be looking at this contest through rose-colored glasses.

“It’s [going to be] very difficult,” offensive coordinator Sean McVay said about running the ball against the Rams defense. “There is a lot of movement. There is a lot of pressure on first and second down. They do a good job of mixing it up on the back end. Anytime that you have a front that has as many moving pieces [as the Rams do], with the type of players that they do have at those spots, it presents a big challenge for us.”

The other scary thing is that all of the aforementioned prose doesn’t even take into account the challenges that Washington’s defense faces with St. Louis quarterback Nick Foles, Austin, running back Todd Gurley and the rest of their offense.

It could be a blessing in disguise that, while it’s tough for the Redskins to go against two really good ball clubs in Week 1 and Week 2, the memory of the game-plan and their effectiveness in it against Miami is still fresh in their minds as they battle a better-than-originally-thought St. Louis Rams team.