Here is what you need to know on this Sunday, May 12, XX days before XX
That was the week that was
—Around midday on Friday, a series of tweets from Jets writers started to pop up in my timeline. The big event was Geno Smith taking the reigns in a seven on seven drill during rookie minicamp. And they were actually tracking his completions. Against undrafted free agents and tryout players. Without a pass rush. We’re QB crazy here and a year ago we were specifically RG3 crazy. But I don’t recall any Redskins writers tracking his rookie camp seven on seven completion percentage.
—Ryan Clark told ESPN that the Steelers were able to contain Griffin during Pittsburgh’s 27-12 win over the Redskins by hitting him hard. “Our goal was to be physical with him at any opportunity we had, and I think it affected his play,” Clark said. But did it really? As John Keim notes, the Steelers hit Griffin 11 times, only once when he carried on the zone read. That’s the same number of times RG3 was hit against the Saints in the season opener and the results there were considerably different. One could argue that the 11 or 12 Griffin passes the Redskins dropped during the game had more to do with the Steelers’ win than did anything they did to RG3.
—I think that Jordan Reed could prove to be a big steal in this draft but it will be surprising if the Redskins see much out of him in 2013. Playing a hybrid sort of position, Reed faces a steep learning curve. His development track could follow that of a wide receiver and they are generally slow to develop. The Redskins could get a few highlight reel plays out of Reed this year but it will take a year or two before he reaches his full potential.
—One thing needs to be kept in mind when trying to analyze the Redskins’ safety situation—Brandon Meriweather is not an interchangeable safety. He is a strong safety, period. You don’t want him back as your last line of defense. The others may be better at one than at the other but Meriweather ended up getting released by the Patriots and Bears because he struggled when they tried to make him something that he’s not. If his two-plus quarters of action against the Eagles in November are any indication, the Redskins do have a role that suits him and as long as that is where the use him they should be fine.
—Chip Kelly is on record saying that he wants his quarterback to get rid of the ball in 1.5 seconds. In 2012 Michael Vick took an average of 3.07 seconds from the snap to get the ball out of his hands. It will be interesting to see if Vick, who will be 33 next month, can make the adjustment.
In case you missed it
Here are links to all 26 Redskins posts from here over the past seven days.
Sunday 05.05
- Rookie safeties shine in minicamp
- Shanahan has praise for Rambo and Thomas
- The Week that Was: Everybody’s favorite long shots
Monday 05.06
- Draft review: TE Jordan Reed
- Redskins announce training camp schedule
- Is offense more important that defense
- Interchangeable safeties
Tuesday 05.07
- Why a new deal for Orakpo should wait
- Santana Moss has high hopes for 2013
- History suggests the Redskins will have a tough time repeating
- Center Kevin Matthews signs with the Redskins
- Redskins can move on from Tanard Jackson
Wednesday 05.08
- RG3 raises $33K for charity, talks about his knee
- Redskins draft review: David Amerson
- Nixon looking for a fresh start
- Redskins ranked seventh
Thursday 05.09
- Chris Thompson expects to be ready for training camp
- Tweetbag: Mt. Rushmore, Reed’s role, and more
- What is Kevin Matthews’ role?
- We’re halfway through the offseason
Friday 05.10
- Point-Counterpoint: Which rookie safety will shine?
- Point spreads so soon? You bet!
- Rambo: “I can be the best”
Saturday 05.11
- Enemy Intel: Cowboys
- Enemy Intel: Eagles
- No draft picks signed, no problem for Redskins
