RG3 Benched; Redskins Made the Correct Decision

Play 17
Situation: 1st and 10 at WSH 33
Description: Q3 - (4:20) (Shotgun) R.Griffin pass short middle to D.Jackson to SF 35 for 32 yards (D.Johnson). Caught at WAS 48. 17-yds YAC
Sideline View

This play is similar to play 11. RG3 is in shotgun and has Jackson wide right. Jackson runs an in-route while RG3 uses play-action to draw the inside linebackers towards the line of scrimmage. Jackson runs a nice crisp route underneath single-high safety and is wide-open. RG3 hits him accurately in stride.

Play 18
Situation: 2nd and 6 at SF 31
Description: Q3 - (3:02) (Shotgun) R.Griffin sacked at SF 42 for -11 yards (A.Lynch). PENALTY on SF-A.Lynch, Roughing the Passer, 15 yards, enforced at SF 31 - No Play.
Sideline View

Sack Alert! RG3 in pistol gets sacked by LB59 Lynch. 49ers are in Cover 0 while rushing 7 pass rushers. RT Compton gets beaten for the sack almost immediately off of the line. TE Paul is the checkdown receiver releasing from the line of scrimmage and is RG3’s intended target on the play, but RG3 is sacked too quickly.

Watch the other side of the line with LT Moses. His responsibility is to block any of the edge rushers but instead he assists LG Lauvao with LB57 Wilhoite while letting FS Reid into the backfield. Terrible pass protection. LB Lynch actually gets called for roughing the passer for a helmet-to-helmet hit on RG3 that shouldn’t have been called.

During the broadcast the announcers went to blame RG3 for holding the ball too long knowing that there is a free rusher, but I disagree with them. If RT Compton did his job blocking Lynch and if LT Moses picked up Reid then the pocket would have been fine since Morris delivers a great chip block on Ald. Smith. Typically when a defense rushes seven there are free rushers, but by the way the pocket was structured more than one defender was blocked by one of the lineman.

Play 19
Situation: 3rd and 5 at SF 11
Description: Q3 - (1:14) (Shotgun) R.Griffin pass short left to R.Helu to SF 9 for 2 yards (E.Reid). 0-yds YAC
Sideline View

RG3 in shotgun starts the snap with Garcon on the left outside running a slant as his first read. Garcon is covered well by Culliver so RG3 finds his next target Helu from the backfield. Good quick decision by RG3 to release the ball, but by the time the ball arrives to Helu he is hit for a minimal gain.

On the opposite side Roberts runs a hitch route and is open in the zone coverage. The 49ers start in Cover 2, but FS Reid makes an excellent read on RG3 following Helu to the flat.

Play 20
Situation: 1st and 10 at WSH 31
Description: Q4 - (13:07) (Shotgun) R.Griffin pass short right to P.Garcon to WAS 36 for 5 yards (P.Cox). Caught at WAS 35. 1-yd YAC
Sideline View

RG3 in shotgun runs read-option to the right drawing the inside linebackers to the left side of the field with Morris on the play-action. Garcon runs a quick out-route and is open for an easy 5 yard gain.

I like this play a lot actually. It allows RG3 to throw on the run, one of his better traits, and it allows him to make a quick, easy decision to get the ball out quickly to Garcon.

Play 21
Situation: 3rd and 5 at WSH 36
Description: Q4 - (11:22) (Shotgun) R.Griffin pass short right to A.Roberts pushed ob at WAS 41 for 5 yards (E.Reid) [D.Johnson]. PENALTY on WAS-K.Lichtensteiger, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at WAS 36 - No Play.
Sideline View

RG3 in shotgun has Garcon and Jackson wide, while Grant and Roberts are in the slot. 49ers use a Cover 0 blitz and rush seven pass rushers. The free rusher on the right edge delivers a huge hit on RG3 right after he releases the ball. Great recognition by RG3 to get rid of the ball before he gets leveled. Roberts runs an out route from the right slot and gets enough separation on the CB in off-man coverage.

The penalty on the play is for holding on C Lichtensteiger. Watch as LB50 Borland use the spin move to easily get around Lichtensteiger through the left A gap. In order to prevent RG3 from getting hit, Lichtensteiger tackles Borland to the ground. Ugly showing by Lichtensteiger on this play.

Play 22
Situation: 3rd and 15 at WSH 26
Description: Q4 - (10:40) (Shotgun) R.Griffin pass short left to R.Helu to WAS 33 for 7 yards (A.Bethea). Caught at WAS 22. 11yds YAC
Sideline View

RG3 in shotgun throws a screen pass to Helu in the backfield. Credit to RG Chester for the downfield block on Lynch and TE Paul for blocking out CB Culliver. C Lichtensteiger also delivers a nice block on J. Smith to spring Helu for the gain. Unfortunately it’s not enough for the first down and the Redskins are forced to punt the ball.

Play 23
Situation: 2nd and 11 at SF 37
Description: Q4 - (9:21) R.Griffin pass short right to L.Paulsen to SF 36 for 1 yard (C.Carradine, C.Borland). Caught at SF 39. 3-yds YAC
Sideline View

RG3 in I-formation motions TE84 Paul across the formation. Jackson is the lone WR lining up wide left. FS Reid who was in deep coverage over Jackson changes coverage pre-snap to cover TE Paul man-to-man while he motions SS41 Bethea to take his deep Cover 2 responsibilities on the play. The LBs are in quarter zones underneath.

RG3 runs PA to Morris and watches TE Paul as his first read running a deep corner route. He is covered well by FS Reid. Jackson’s route goes between zones. He is open briefly over the middle once he passes the LBs but it is too quick for RG3 to react on. RG3 then dumps the ball to TE Paulsen his checkdown receiver for a short gain. Good progressions by RG3.

Play 24
Situation: 3rd and 10 at SF 36
Description: Q4 - (8:32) (Shotgun) R.Griffin right end to SF 28 for 8 yards (A.Bethea).
Sideline View

RG3 runs a QB draw to the right side from shotgun. This is a good play call. The 49ers kept bringing extra pass rushers on 3rd down, so the QB draw is a very useful play to take advantage of that. 49ers actually only bring four pass rushers on this play, so RG3 has a clear hole between the RG and RT. RG3 follows Helu through the hole. Helu attempts to engage with LB57 Wilhoite, but Wilhoite sheds the block and heads towards the sideline. Jackson does a great job of blocking CB20 Cox on the right outside. Grant from the slot attempts to block SS41 Bethea but Bethea doesn’t allow him to square his shoulders so he is able to stop RG3 from getting the first down.

Play 25
Situation: 1st and 10 at WSH 20
Description: Q4 - (2:59) (Shotgun) R.Griffin pass incomplete deep middle to D.Jackson (C.Culliver) [Ald.Smith].
Sideline View

RG3 has Garcon and Jackson lining up wide and Roberts in the right slot. Jackson runs a deep-in route and is blanket covered by Culliver, while Garcon is shutdown on the opposite side of the field. Roberts runs a go-route from the slot and is covered all of the way by his CB in off-man coverage. RG3 in shotgun uses play-action to Morris in the backfield and immediately looks for Jackson and never look at any other receiver on the play. He then forces the ball to him over the middle of the field with two LBs underneath.

RG3 actually throws the ball well on this play from an accuracy standpoint. Any bit shorter it would have been picked off, and he allowed Jackson to make a play on the ball, but this ball should have never gone to Jackson in the first place because he was covered perfectly the entire play. The ball should have gone to Helu in the flat, but RG3 never looks away. This is one of his worst plays of the day. It’s incredibly frustrating to see a QB stare down his receiver, not go through his progressions and not find the checkdown receiver that could have gained some well needed yards on this drive.

On the offensive line I really don’t like that LT Moses let TE Paul take on Ald. Smith one-on-one. This is a terrible mismatch and Ald. Smith takes advantage of it hitting RG3 in the process. LT Moses clearly is not ready to start anytime soon.

Play 26
Situation: 2nd and 10 at WSH 20
Description: Q4 - (2:53) (Shotgun) R.Griffin sacked at WAS 17 for -3 yards (A.Lynch).
Sideline View

Sack Alert! RG3 in shotgun has Jackson wide right and Garcon and Roberts in twins bunch on the left. 49ers are in Cover 2 with Bethea and Reid occupying the deep zones. Since the Redskins have the bunch on the left, Culliver is taking the deep WR while the other CB is taking the underneath route. Roberts runs a short in-route across the field while Garcon runs a deeper out route.

After the snap, RG3 finds Roberts his intended receiver, but he is still getting out of his break. RG3 senses the pressure and starts scrambling in the pocket and eventually is sacked by LB59 Lynch. RG3 needs to release the ball earlier. Mainly, he needs to stop waiting for WRs to get open and get better at anticipating throws. At the point where Roberts breaks on his route is when RG3 should have released the ball to him. As a quarterback, you have to let your WRs attempt a play on the ball.

CLICK HERE FOR NEXT PAGE