In the aftermath of the Washington Redskins roster cuts, the team must now settle down and begin its processes for the regular season. There will likely be extra scrutiny directed toward the Redskins regarding how well (or poorly) the team plays in its first game this year. Head coach Jay Gruden is a highly-regarded coach with a first-rate offensive scheme but he doesn’t have a good record when it comes to the way his teams have looked in their opening games since he arrived in the DMV.
In 2014, the team was 1-3 in the first four games (loss, win, loss, loss) and then went onto a 4-12 season.
In 2015, the Redskins were 2-2 in the first four games (loss, win, loss, win) and ended the season on the four-game winning streak to earn the NFC East division title.
In 2016, Washington was 2-2 in the first four games (loss, loss, win, win) and ended the season 8-7-1 and last year, it was 2-2 in the first four games (loss, win, win, loss) and the season record was 7-9.
Now in his fifth year and with a contract extension, it behooves Gruden to bring his team out swinging this season. Words like lackadaisical, apathetic and half-hearted are terms heard to describe how the team has looked in those first games.
A more intense training camp, fewer player’s days off and more playing time for starters in the preseason are some of the things that NFL pundits have suggested to get Gruden’s ballclub to go into those first games primed for a fight.
With the Arizona Cardinals first up on the docket at State Farm Stadium (previously the University of Phoenix Stadium), Gruden’s new defense will be facing a team with a new head coach but with a healthy David Johnson at running back and a veteran QB in Sam Bradford.
The following home game is against the Indianapolis Colts and many will pencil that in as a win. But any time QB Andrew Luck is on the field; the Colts have a chance to win. If the Redskins lose at Arizona, the Colts game feels more like a “must-win” than a “should-win.”
Unfortunately, two players that will be integral to a Redskins win in Arizona are guys that haven’t seen any game reps since last year, namely running back Chris Thompson and tight end Jordan Reed. They have practiced but that is not the same thing.
Fortunately, they are veterans as is their quarterback, Alex Smith and no one is going to need to push them just because they haven’t seen any game time. They will do it themselves.
Gruden may still push them during practices, however.
“I do expect that and they have been participating off and on,” the coach said about pressing his players. “Chris has done quite a bit here in the last couple of weeks, as has Jordan. So, they have gotten a lot of work with Alex and we feel pretty good about where they’re at. The rep count in games early in the season… that could be maybe a little bit lighter than you would expect for those two guys. But we’ll see how they are on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, three big days of practice for them. We’ll see where they’re at, but we have Vernon [Davis] and [Jeremy] Sprinkle at tight end, who have done an excellent job, and obviously our running back situation we’re pretty good at also. I feel like we have a lot of different ways we can attack an opposing defense, we just got to figure out our best ways to do it and get our best players out there.”