Tampa Bay Presents Big Challenge for Redskins

Landover, Md. – The Washington Redskins hit the practice field this past week after their bye week ended and looked as focused and as refreshed as they have in a while. There was frequently music playing on the loud speakers during stretching and drills which is not unusual. Still, things just seemed different… the players looked more determined perhaps.

That said, the game today against the 1-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers is going to be a big challenge.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was strange to not see any Redskins players off on the side practice fields working with trainers this week. Head coach Jay Gruden announced throughout the week that the only player with any issues was tight end Logan Paulsen who was limited in practice with a foot and hamstring issue until late in the week. Gruden expected Paulsen to play today when the Redskins take the field.

Tampa Bay is 1-8 but is still a formidable challenge for a multiple reasons. One is that starting quarterback Josh McCown just reclaimed his starting job last week and didn’t have a bad outing versus their NFC South division opponent, the Atlanta Falcons (3-6) although the Bucs lost the game. Everyone knows how beloved the next QB up is and how that can spark and offense.

McCown threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns against the Falcons and engineered a couple of really good drives in the game. In their best series (their opening one as a matter of fact), Tampa Bay had the ball for 17 plays and over eight minutes. While the drive netted them only a field goal, they drove 86 yards down the field with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the half and got themselves a 22-yard touchdown reception by rookie wide out Mike Evans. This kid is going to be a huge challenge for the Redskins’ two young cornerbacks to cover. He is 6’5”, 231 pounds and a beast. Some may recall that it was he who helped make Johnny Manziel “Johnny Football” back at Texas A&M.

This season, Evans has been targeted 62 times and caught 39 balls for 585 yards and five touchdowns. The Bucs’ first round pick now has back-to-back 100-yard games and leads all rookie receivers with a +7.0 grade according to ProFootballFocus.com

Granted, the Falcons’ defense ranks 24th in the league (the Redskins ranks 23rd overall according to the same site but sixth in pass defense per NFL.com, allowing only 229 yards in the air per game) so the Bucs weren’t exactly up against a marquee squad. But make no mistake… Evans is very, very good. He just doesn’t play for a very good team.

Tampa Bay did not win last week but the put up a good fight to some degree against Atlanta and no doubt feel that they can come into Washington and beat the Redskins.

The Redskins rank sixth in the NFL in passing, averaging 283 yards per game, which is no surprise given their elite pass receiving players consisting of wide outs DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garçon; and tight end Jordan Reed. Fortunately, Tampa has allowed the second-most passing yards per game this year in the NFL.

But these offensive stats don’t mean that Washington will have an easy day of moving the ball, especially on the ground. The Bucs’ Pro Bowl linebacker Lavonte David, had 14 takedowns last week, a season high, and leads the league with 73 solo tackles. He leads all linebackers with 37 defensive stops against the run.

While not the force he was in 2013, David is a fast and athletic linebacker (he ran a 4.65 40-yard dash, a 4.22 20-yard shuttle, and his vertical jump was 36.5-inch at the 2012 draft combine) and he and defensive tackle Gerald McCoy are the top dogs of the Buccaneers defense. Don’t forget that, even at 1-8, this defense is led by two of the most respected defensive minds in football, head coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.

McCoy is another playmaker that the Redskins need to worry about today. While he didn’t have a huge game against Atlanta (no sacks, one tackle), he’s had sacks in all but two other games this season, is a two-time Pro Bowler and was First Team All-NFL for the Associated Press last season. He and Redskins left tackle Trent Williams played together at the University of Oklahoma and were drafted right next to each other in the 2010 NFL draft. McCoy was drafted third overall and Williams fourth.

McCoy has a lot of respect for his old teammate… and a great story about him.

“[The] first time I found out Trent was faster than me,” the defensive lineman said in a conference call with the media this week, “we were all freshmen and Trent was a bigger guy before he started losing weight and I didn’t know he could run like that. So all the linemen got out there — all the smaller guys did a little race. It was quick… like 20 yards. So all the linemen got out there  and Trent beat everybody and everybody was like ‘Come on, man.’ And I kept on like, ‘No, no…  y’all are cheating me.’ And then we got out there and did it again and he won again and I was like, ‘Man… maybe this dude is fast.’  Then we ran our 40’s and his time was faster than mine. I said, ‘Yeah, he just can run.’ He is one of those rare athletic big guys from Texas that’s what his trademark is… his speed.”

Some of Tampa Bay’s secondary troubles have been due to injuries in their defensive backfield through part of the season with safety Dashon Goldson having missed some time. Defensive end Michael Johnson has also been having problems (hand) and he and Alterraun Verner (hamstring) were listed as Questionable on Friday’s injury report. Verner has since been made inactive for today and Crezdon Butler will likely fill in for him as he did last week against the Falcons. This fourth-year player is a 2010 fifth-round draft pick on his sixth NFL team. DeSean Jackson will probably eat him for lunch if the Redskins offense is clicking today.

In order to do this clicking, Washington must account for McCoy every single play today when they’ve got the ball. Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin, III will be starting his second game since returning from his ankle injury and actually could have a good game against the Bucs. The experience he gained in the game two weeks ago against the Minnesota Vikings combined with having the bye week in order to digest that game and continue to work on his game should all lead towards a good game today against a pretty bad team.

If Griffin is allowed and willing to play his game; using the read-option and play-action to put Tampa Bay’s defense on their heels because of the threat of he AND Morris AND Roy Helu, Jr. running, there’s every chance that Griffin and Redskins can move the chains successfully.

Redskins’ running back Alfred Morris, while not having the year many expected, is still tied for fourth in the NFL with six rushing touchdowns this season and he looked much more like the Morris Redskins Nation knows and loves last week with Griffin in the game.

The offense must convert on third down and in the red zone, and the quarterback must get the ball into the aforementioned play makers’ hands. Wide out Leonard Hankerson is back on the field today from IR and it will be interesting to see how he is used. Perhaps in the red zone with the height he has on the other receivers on the team (not including Reed). The offensive line and additional blockers must protect Griffin against McCoy and David to be successful.

The Redskins defense is getting nose tackle/defensive lineman Barry Cofield back from IR this week. With defensive end Stephen Bowen surprisingly inactive today, Cofield’s fresh legs will bring some much needed depth to the front seven.

Cofield’s starting position was nose tackle before he was injured but don’t expect that he’ll necessarily start there or be there the entire game. Chris Baker has filled in admirably for Cofield, despite not hearing his name called much during games. That’s ok. As both Baker and Haslett said this week, “Big Swaggy” was busy taking on double and triple teams most games while giving linebackers Ryan Kerrigan, Trent Murphy, Keenan Robinson and Perry Riley space and time to make plays. Baker and Cofield might both line up all over the place today. If they, teamed up with D-lineman Jason Hatcher, can spend some time in the Bucs backfield they can do some damage. They need to disrupt McCown enough to keep him rushed and off balance so that he can’t hit Evans and veteran teammate and receiver Vincent Jackson accurately. If they do that, the Redskins’ young cornerbacks David Amerson and Bashaud Breeland could both each have a really good day.

These two young men should match up nicely against the Buccaneers’ receivers. Both play man-to-man coverage really well. Despite his shorter stature (5’11”), Breeland is a rangy, athletic player who has good length to match up with big receivers. He plays with an aggressive temperament which DBs coach Raheem Morris loves. Amerson is a bit taller (6’1”) and has good length.

Hopefully, defensive coordinator Jim Haslett will dial up some great blitzes and coverages today. Buccaneers’ starting running back Doug Martin is officially out and half-back Bobby Rainey will fill in. He has 388 yards this season, on 87 rushing attempts and out of those, forced 18 missed tackles, logging a 4.5 yards per carry average over the season and averaging 43 yards per game. He’s forced 14 more missed tackles on his 27 receptions with an average of 9.5 yards per catch. Note: he’s fumbled the ball three times and lost it all three times.

The Redskins are favored today by anywhere between seven and nine points depending on what Vegas odds maker you like. This should not lull anyone into a false sense of security however. The Redskins have proven that they can let bad teams think they can win and that’s a scary proposition against this Tampa Bay Buccaneers team. The two teams are tied 10-10 in the series but that really doesn’t mean much with new coaches and systems in play.

Washington must be spot on today to assure a win. If they are; if the special teams plays well — kicker Kai Forbath and punter Tress Way have been amazing of late — if the defensive front seven and corners can pick up any slack that safeties Ryan Clark (still think his ankles are bothering him despite not being on the injury report) and Brandon Meriweather (still working on getting his head into the new rules) might drop; if the team can finally get some turnovers, and if Griffin continues to progress towards the potential seen in 2012, there is no reason they should not do to Tampa Bay what they did to the Jaguars. Really good teams rout really bad ones in the NFL. This game will be a huge indicator as to what kind of team the Washington Redskins might become.

Hail.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Redskins Inactives: DE Stephen Bowen, QB Kirk Cousins, CB Greg Ducre, G Spencer Long, WR Santana Moss, T Tyler Polumbus, WR Aldrick Robinson

Buccaneers Inactives: DE Da’Quan Bowers, WR Robert Herron, RB Doug Martin, T Kevin Pamphile, TE Luke Stocker, CB Alterraun Verner, C.J. Wilson