Redskins-Jets film review: Offense

“I used Jabar as an example of a veteran player that played hard for 60 minutes,” Mike Shanahan said Monday. “I mean, he got open, did some things. Then when you take a look at film, even though Revis was covering him, he was open. The way he blocked, the way he played in the running game and on screens, just to see somebody’s character playing for a full 60 minutes when he didn’t get the ball, that’s what you like to see.”

• Hey, would you look at that: the Redskins successfully attempted four field goals and an extra point. As you might have expected, the Jets on the first field goal tried the same tactic Seattle used to block two kicks last Sunday. Credit RG Erik Cook, however, for fixing his mistake. DL Ropati Pitoitua lined up over Cook but shifted to the right over LS Nick Sundberg after the snap. But instead of blocking down and opening a gap on the overloaded side of the line, Cook stopped the rush by staying put and making himself wide.

• K Graham Gano also deserves positive marks for making field goals of 33, 23, 46 and 43 yards. He would have gotten a game ball if not for his poorly executed short kickoff in the fourth quarter. After the Redskins took a 16-13 lead with 7:52 remaining, coaches called for a short kickoff designed to keep the ball away from dangerous return man Joe McKnight and disrupt New York’s timing. The Jets fumbled on short kickoffs twice earlier in the season.

Gano, however, didn’t hit the ball properly, according to Shanahan. The hang time was insufficient, and the Redskins didn’t cover it well. FB Josh Baker returned it through a hole created by a successful block against RedskinsWR Anthony Armstrong.

• RT Jammal Brown successfully sealed the defensive end on two good runs, but two failed blocks of his resulted in turnovers. DL Marcus Dixon forced RB Roy Helu to fumble in the third quarter after beating Brown. Dixon shed Brown’s block with a violent left-handed rip that got him to Brown’s play-side shoulder. That enabled him to get down the line and hammer the ball out of Helu’s grasp.

OLB Aaron Maybin beat Brown to sack Grossman and force him to fumble in the fourth quarter. With the Redskins trailing 20-16, the play sealed the loss. Maybin set Brown up by rushing wide before cutting him back to the inside. Brown’s footwork was poor, and actually crossed his feet in trying to stay with Maybin’s wide rush. When Maybin cut back, Brown was horribly off-balance.

© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.