This Sunday the 2-4 Washington Redskins will be taking on the 2-3 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at FedEx Field in Landover Maryland Tampa Bay has been a bit of a thorn in the Redskins side as they have only one three of the last seven meetings dating back to 2006. Tampa Bay won the last meeting, 27-7 on the road in November. Bucs Wide receiver Mike Evans had seven catches for a career-high 209 yards with two scores as part of a stretch in which he had at least 124 yards in three straight games.
The Redskins are coming off a two-game losing streak which involves second-half collapses, a lack of a running game and too many turnovers by their quarterback Kirk Cousins. They would love to get a win at home going into the bye week, so much so that in Sunday’s postgame press conference Head Coach Jay Gruden told reporters that it was a “Code Red” game.
It is certainly understandable that Gruden would look at this contest in this manner. After the team’s Week 8 bye, they will have two road trips to play to of the leagues unbeaten: the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers. It is imperative to go into the bye on a positive note and get everyone healthy for the second half of the season.
What are some things that need to be addressed in order for the Redskins to accomplish this task? Let us examine some key points that will help this team get one step closer to .500 football:
First Down Efficiency: First downs are one of the key downs in an offensive drive, especially at the start. Success on this down can dictate the plays called to help back the defense off and keep it guessing. When the offense is in a lot of long distance situations it can make it one dimensional.
The Redskins are ranked 23rd in yards-per-first-down-attempts with 5.64 yards overall in these situations. Whether they run or pass, the Redskins must be more consistent in putting themselves in second- and third-down short yardage. When this happens it allows them the ability to mix things up keeping the defense unsure and making the offense unpredictable.
Effective Run Game: Gruden has made it clear from day one that he wants his team to pound the rock but that has not actually come to fruition. Despite having success against the Atlanta Falcons, the effective run game that had been present in the first two weeks of the season came to a screeching halt as they were only able to gain 51 yards rushing. Against the New York Jets it was virtually nonexistent as they rushed for 34 yards on the ground.
The team is battling a lot of injuries, especially key players along the offensive line. But that is no excuse for the lack of success. One thing can fix this: execution. This is one key area that has to be improved upon if they want to have success in the run game. Maintaining blocks and winning the battle up front will be a tremendous help. Most importantly, the Redskins have three backs with different styles of running. Each of these players’ style can dictate the way an offense should block for this particular back. Calling the proper plays with blocking schemes that fit the running backs on the field at any particular time in the game will help each one to reach their maximum potential.
Elevate Second Half Performance: The Burgundy and Gold have had dominating first-half performances; controlling the game in all three phases. But something happens during that 12-minute back halftime back in the locker room… once they return to the field they are a different team. Washington has been outscored by its opponents in the second half 87-61. This must change, not just from a player standpoint but from a coaching standpoint as well.
When the offense goes three-and-out or turns the ball over in the second half, it begins to put a serious strain on the defense, mentally and physically. It appears that guys begin to do too much, feeling as if they have to do something special. This, in turn, causes people to be out of position and overpursuing on plays. This causes missed or poor tackling and then comes the fatigue… the downward spiral is now out of control.
To avoid this, the offense must come out more aggressively than in the first half with a ‘Kill the Giant” mentality. More attention to detail needs to be paid and coaches have to make the necessary adjustments in the game plan. They need to either improve on some things that didn’t work so well and exploit holes in the opposing team’s game plan or have the defense take advantage of tendencies or shortcoming and use them to their advantage.
A game plan is never perfect and never too good to fine tune. All involved must have the attitude and the mindset of a team that has their backs against the wall and have been backed into a corner.
When asked by reporters about referring to this week’s game as a “Code Red” situation Gruden had this to say:
“Well, they’re all important games but this is big. We’re getting backed into a corner right now and everybody’s taking their shots at us right now and we can either come out swinging or we can take it. I hope that we all come out swinging. I have faith that the competitive group that I have in the locker room — the coaches and the players, myself — will come out swinging and give it our best shot to get this thing turned around and get some positive thinking going on during our bye week and come back fresh and healthy after the bye.”
The coach hit the nail right on the head. It’s not about firing coaches and quarterbacks at all. It’s about a team… a group of men coming together and fighting. It’s about not being the sort of men who shrink back but rather are a competitive group with a wolf pack spirit, fighting until the end and showing that they will not back down or roll over for anyone. If they do that the Bucs will know they have played the Redskins
Prediction: Washington 24, Tampa 17