As the Washington Redskins prepare for their upcoming Monday night challenge against the New Orleans Saints, Pro Football Focus has released several rankings, grades and observations for the first quarter of 2018. Upon review, those given to the Redskins are widely varied. As always however, none of these grades or observations should be given more weight than deserved. The talent/effectiveness of any given player or team is influenced by much more than stats or grades. They can be interesting though.
For instance, in PFF’s Week 5 ELO rankings, the Burgundy and gold earned the No. 19 spot which is not terrible considering the team was on its bye last weekend.
PFF’s ELO is: “an iterative system that updates each team’s rating after each game based on two things: how well they played against their opponent and how well they were expected to play against their opponent. The PFF ELO rating system measures the former using [its] unique offensive, defensive and special teams grades, while the latter is determined by the PFF ELO ratings leading up to the game and where the game is played.”
Of Washington, PFF authors Eric Eager and Ben Brown wrote:
After a bye week, the Redskins return to face the Saints on the road. Through three games, [QB] Alex Smith has generated an EPA per dropback of .16, and he ranks second (behind [Saints QB] Drew Brees) with the lowest percentage of turnover-worthy throws in the NFL. With the lowest amount of successful passes allowed on early down attempts, the Redskins have one of the best coverage units in football, but the real test comes this week against the Saints. With a tough remaining schedule, we have their current playoff chances at 47 percent with a 30 percent chance of winning the NFC East division.
The 3-1 Saints are coming off a shoot-out of victory over the New York Giants that only solidified Brees’ future as a Hall-of-Famer. The game also debunked some of the reports that the team’s defense is downright terrible and it highlighted how dangerous RB Alvin Kamara is. In his career second half, the Tennessee alum logged 102 yards (he recorded 134 in the game) and scored three touchdowns.
The Redskins have their work cut out for them.
Of the Saints Eager and Brown wrote:
At 11/1 to win the Super Bowl, there’s some value in backing the Saints moving forward. Running back Alvin Kamara has been one of the league’s best players so far, not only is he generating almost three yards per carry after contact, but he’s also on pace for more than 1000 receiving yards after the catch this season. Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk are blushing.
Washington has its own players that will be integral to a win Monday night and, in this first quarter of 2018, they have earned the following summary grades:
LT Trent Williams – 77.6
RB Chris Thompson – 73.3
TE Jordan Reed – 72.4
RT Morgan Moses – 70.3
QB Alex Smith – 69.6
Other offensive Redskins grades were (and are good examples of how misleading the grades can be):
Jamison Crowder – 58.6
Paul Richardson Jr. – 63.8
Josh Doctson – 55.0
TE Vernon Davis – 57.8
Adrian Peterson – 60.5
PFF observes that, after Week 4, the Saints offensive line has allowed pressure on just 20.6 percent of their pass-blocking snaps so far this season (the third-best in the NFL). By the same token, according to PFF, while Redskins OLB, Pernell McPhee, has only played 27 pass-rushing snaps in his three games this year; he’s produced pressure on 29.6 percent of those pass-rushing snaps (the best rate among edge defenders so far this year).
Redskins CB Quinton Dunbar received an Honorable Mention nomination for PFF’s First-Quarter All-Pro Team. Michael Renner, the author, writes:
After switching from safety to corner over the offseason, it’s not hyperbole to say that Jones has been the best cornerback in the NFL so far this year. He’s been targeted 16 times, allowing only seven catches for 51 yards. That’s fewer than 13 yards allowed per game! It’s been quite the start for the Cowboys defensive back.
Washington’s special teams continue to require attention although, in their defense, their rankings statistics are missing a week’s worth of work due to the bye. For the first quarter of the season, PFF ranked them at No. 29, with author Eric Eager writing:
Tress Way’s 37.9 net average so far on punts is among the league’s worst, hampered by a punt team that has allowed 14.6 yards on five returns so far.
Smith, Redskins will need four good quarters of football against Saints