Guy Spins 95 and Spins Again
Starting offense again spins its wheels in Redskins' 21-17 loss to the Packers
Kirk Cousins gets off a pass behind the blocking of tackle Morgan Moses during the Redskins' loss to Green Bay on Saturday night. (John McDonnell/The Washington Post)
Liz Clarke
After an utterly ineffectual showing in the preseason opener, Washington Redskins Coach Jay Gruden planned to play his starting offense Saturday against Green Bay long enough to develop a rhythm.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins was in favor of extended playing time, too, eager to show that he and his teammates could orchestrate scoring drives after their back-to-back three-and-outs in the Aug. 10 throttling at Baltimore yielded no points, no sign of a budding rapport with wide receiver Terrelle Pryor Sr. and no semblance of a running game capable of balancing last season's overreliance on the pass.
Saturday in a 21-17 loss at FedEx Field, that sought-after offensive rhythm was painfully slow in developing. Cousins needed six drives to engineer the Redskins' first touchdown of the preseason — a four-yard strike to the reliable Jamison Crowder. It came inside the two-minute warning of the first half and well after Green Bay's starting defense had retired for the evening.
[Jerry Brewer: This Redskins offense remains very much a work in progress]
Until that point, the Redskins offense hurt itself with penalties. Cousins underthrew tight end Vernon Davis by a foot on what should have been an easy touchdown, and he was off on throws to others. Fourth-year wide receiver Ryan Grant, who continues to win Gruden's confidence with his reliability and work ethic in practice, grabbed a six-yard completion on a third-and-7 then retreated rather than fought for the first down. And the running game that had disappointed Gruden so at Baltimore, gaining just 2.2 yards per carry, regressed against the Packers. When the Redskins starters' work was done, with just under two minutes remaining in the second quarter, running backs Rob Kelley and Chris Thompson had combined for 10 yards on 11 carries.
"We're a work in progress, no question about it," Gruden said afterward. "We're building something, and we've got to do some things and, quite frankly, we didn't get them done today."
[First-team problems: Redskins offense still has a long way to go]
Backup quarterback Colt McCoy took over in the second half and turned a four-point deficit into a lead with touchdown to tight end Niles Paul. But Green Bay prevailed, to the disappointment of the sparse remnants of an announced crowd of 55,239.
But the story line that mattered most was written in the first half, which belonged to the Cousins-led offense. It was bleak, littered with missed throws that suggested Cousins and his remade receiving corps need far more work together than the two remaining preseason games will permit.
Cousins, who is coming off consecutive seasons that saw him break the franchise record for passing yards, has yet to get the chance to throw to his favorite target, tight end Jordan Reed, who sat out training camp and both preseason games to date with an injured toe. He has completed one throw each to Pryor and Josh Doctson, the receivers the Redskins are most counting on to replace the 2,000 yards lost with the departures of free agents DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon.
Cousins completed just 14 of 23 throws for 144 yards Saturday. His best was a beauty of a deep ball that found running back Chris Thompson in stride for a 29-yard gain. But by any measure, the passing game that carried the Redskins to last season's 8-7-1 record is far from polished with just three weeks remaining before the Sept. 10 opener.
[The Redskins face an NFL-wide question: Are they practicing hard enough?]
Gruden, nonetheless, said he has seen "a huge progression" in Cousins's rapport with his new receivers in recent weeks.
The running game has far to go, as well. The offensive line isn't blocking well, and no back is showing the violence with his carries that Gruden seeks.
Further back on the depth chart, where rookies are trying to distinguish themselves and second- and third-teamers are vying for roster spots, there were some bright spots.
Rookie Fabian Moreau, who only recently started practicing with the team, made two big splashes on special-teams duty. Rookie running back Samaje Perine bounced back from his nervous preseason debut at Baltimore, reeled in a 29-yard pass from McCoy and flashed a bit of the physicality that distinguished his Oklahoma career. Paul, fully healed after missing all of 2015 and half of last season with injuries, made his presence felt, recovering a muffed punt return and scoring on a 16-yard reception.
Doctson, the team's first-round pick in the 2016 draft, made his long-awaited preseason debut, stepping onto the field for his first game since Achilles' injuries ended his rookie season in Week 3 last year. And Pryor, the 6-4 wide receiver whose length and athleticism had vexed Redskins defensive backs throughout training camp, caught his first pass of the preseason from Cousins.
"It was a good step in the process," Cousins said. "We all believe we've still got a lot of work to do."
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Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/redskins/redskins-fall-to-packers-21-17-as-starting-offense-again-spins-its-wheels/2017/08/19/95da8e9c-8451-11e7-b359-15a3617c767b_story.html
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