Photo by David Silverman
The Commanders preseason opener against the Patriots didn’t quite go as planned. New England returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, setting the tone for what would be an ugly evening in all three facets of the game.
Playing without starters on both sides of the ball certainly didn’t help matters, but the general sloppy play will still keep Dan Quinn up late at night.
Despite the lopsided score, there were still some good opportunities to evaluate young players. Some rose to the occasion while others were less impressive.
Below are my Studs and Duds of the game, followed by some notes.
Jer’Zhan Newton – Newton tallied three tackles, a sacked and a forced fumble in his limited playing time. He looked quick off the ball and redirected well when persuing a play.
Jeremy Reaves – Reavo knows just one speed – and that is 110%. He made some big plays on defense and showed he deserves a role in this secondary.
Bill Croskey-Merritt – Bill showed the burst and elusiveness that everyone has been talking about in camp. There were a few times he made plays out of nothing and he has that special something that no other back on the roster has.
Ja’Corey Brooks – Brooks caught all five targets thrown his way and led the receiving corps with 59 receiving yards. He showed good separation at the top of his routes and had some wiggled after the catch. I was impressed with his combination of size and movement skills.
Sam Hartman – Hartman did not look the part of an NFL quarterback Friday night. He had no zip on his passes, made some late throws and was generally inaccurate. His chances of sticking on this roster remain VERY low.
Dominique Hampton – The converted safety-turned-linebacker looked a bit out of place playing WILL. His reads were slow and many times he was caught flat-footed while linemen easily reached him at the second level. His chances of making this roster have become slim.
Chris Moore – Moore had more drops (two) than receptions (zero). This is not good for any receiver, never mind a guy fighting for one of the few remaining roster spots in that room.
Matt Gay – Unfortunately, it seems as though the kicking woes for Washington have continued…
-Josh Conerly played pretty well in his first game in Burgundy and Gold. He was not perfect but showed his outstanding athleticism getting to the second level on multiples occasions. He still has a lot of work to do, but this was a generally positive showing.
-Trey Amos played very well in his limited time. He had very nice coverage on a few passes that came his way and came up well to support the run. I think Washington found a really good player here.
-Washington’s back-up linebackers did not look very good. Kain Medrano made some bad reads and Hampton looked out of place. Whitt desperately needs Jordan Magee to get, and stay, healthy.
-Noah Igbinoghene played well in the secondary. He had some nice plays in coverage and showed very well in run support.
-Michael Gallup outperformed K.J. Osborn – however this is not saying a lot.
-I thought newcomer Tay Martin looked pretty solid in his Washington debut. He caught all three of his targets for 36 receiving yards, showing good hands on all of them.
-Ben Sinnott blocked well and caught two of his three targets (one was a misfire in the middle of the field by Hartman on a well-run route).
-Car’lin Viggers struggled a bit in coverage – especially later in the game. he has great measurables and will need to use those to his advantage moving forward.
-The special teams were especially poor during this game. Something that will need to be worked on during the next few weeks.
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