Dichotomies can be intriguing. It is curious that, since Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden came to the nation’s capital, the team has not won a regular-season home-opener. His new quarterback however, Alex Smith, lost only one opening game while starting for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Granted, there were 20-plus other guys on Smith’s team which affected the outcome of those games. But the veteran was impactful. He made plays during those game that helped his ballclub win.
Smith committed no turnovers and had a 118.6 QB rating in the Chiefs’ opening win against the Houston Texans in 2015. The following season, the QB threw for 363 yards and rushed for a touchdown, all while being pressured to the point of three sacks when K.C. beat the San Diego Chargers in Week 1 of 2016. And last year, during the Chiefs’ 42-27 whooping of the New England Patriots, Smith threw four TDs and had a 148.6 QB rating, all while being consistently pressured by Pro Bowl LB Justin Houston, who had two of the three sacks on Smith in the first game of that season.
By the same token, Gruden wasn’t on the field in any of his home openers.
He didn’t miss the blocks that caused his 2014 starting QB (Robert Griffin III) to be sacked by the Houston Texans’ defense three times. Nor did Gruden fumble the ball twice in that opening game. He didn’t throw the two interceptions in the 2015 opening loss against the Miami Dolphins nor did he miss tackles so that the Pittsburgh Steelers could rush the ball 147 yards in the Redskins 38-16 loss in 2016. The head coach also didn’t drop any of the passes thrown his way last year when Washington lost their first game of the season (30-17) to the Philadelphia Eagles.
However, Gruden is the head coach and, like all head guys, is ultimately responsible for the performance of his team.
As the Redskins prepare for Week 1 and the Arizona Cardinals, Washington’s horrendous 2018 schedule — and how important it is to start the year with a win — is in focus.
If they start 0-1, analysts say the Indianapolis Colts contest becomes a must-win game because, following the Colts, are the Green Bay Packers (at home) and then the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Redskins don’t want to be 1-3 in the first quarter of the season moving into an even tougher batch of opponents (the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons)… which is indeed possible.
The good news for Washington is that Smith brings talent, experience and good judgment to the DMV. Add that to an improved defense and the return to good health of some key starters on both sides of the line of scrimmage and the possibility of the Redskins coming home from Arizona with a ‘W’ is distinct.
Smith has heard the noise about Gruden’s slow starts. He knows the Redskins have a real challenge in front of them with the Cardinals. But he also knows that an early loss should not set the tone for the entire season.
“I’ve tried to think about some kind of commonality with these openers,” he said. “I mean, it’s hard. The opponents are all different. We’re all different every year. So, it’s hard to always find a commonality. I know just to say that, you can look at those and think that there’s some kind of correlation or something. But, I think these are all their own kind of individual fights and, we’ve got to find a way to beat Arizona. That’s it this year. This team [has] got to find a way to go beat them.
“I do think there are hidden things with a new coaching staff,” the QB continued, explaining a challenge of playing a team with a new head coach in the Cardinals. “They haven’t shown a ton, preseason-wise, so there’s that element to it. But, no, I don’t think there isn’t any secret “thing” [to a fast start]. You prepare the best you can to go win a game. I think it’s a fine line… you can get too over-hyped with this and think that this game is going to define your season and… it’s one of 16. Every team wants to start fast and every team wants to go 1-0 this week but, at the same time, realize that it’s football. Someone’s going to win; someone’s going to lose. It’s not the end of the world. Like I said, it’s not going to define us. But, certainly, we are trying to start fast.”