The Redskins return to FedEx Field tonight for a primetime preseason game against the Cleveland Browns.
According to head coach Mike Pettine, the starters will play the first half against Washington. What we don't know, though, is exactly how the quarterback distribution will unfold. It has already been announced that QB Brian Hoyer will start.
Earlier this week, Redskins head coach Jay Gruden said that he expects his starters to only play a quarter, or a little more than a quarter. That means that there would be a chance that Manziel would only get to work against a second-team defense, which is not what Pettine wants.
Here is what I think we're going to see:
- Hoyer plays the 1st series
- Manziel plays the 2nd and 3rd series
- Hoyer plays the 4th and 5th series
- Manziel plays the 6th series
We've seen the type of attention that QBJohnny Manziel has brought to the Browns already, but it's going to be taken to another level today. The country will be watching for Manziel, but they'll also see the product that is the 2014 Cleveland Browns, and that's big. Cleveland already set the record for the most-watched game on NFL Network, and ESPN knows that the Browns-Redskins game will draw big numbers.
Will the newly-signed Rex Grossman see action against his former team? If he does, it likely will not be ahead of Connor Shaw, based on what Mike Pettine said on Saturday. I think the Browns are much more comfortable with Grossman being their No. 3 quarterback, but they want to make sure he's physically ready to jump into action. Until then, this is also a good opportunity to evaluate how Shaw responds in live-game action.
We're going to see a lot of changes in the secondary this week. First, starting free safety Tashaun Gipson is back after missing last week's game with a knee injury. Rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert is expected to make his debut and start across from Joe Haden. Gilbert has not beaten out cornerback Buster Skrine at this point, but Skrine injured his thumb this past Friday and will not play.
Earlier this week, defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil said that cornerback Isaiah Trufant is the team's current nickelback, but he is also out with a knee injury this week. On top of that, CB Pierre Desir (knee), CB T.J. Heath (hip), and CB K'Waun Williams (hamstring) did not make the trip due to injury. Because of that, Pettine said that the Browns will utilize a third safety when the team needs a nickelback against Washington.
Since five cornerbacks are out, expect Leon McFadden and Aaron Berry to get a lot of action with the second-team defense.
Although it's not confirmed that wide receiver Josh Gordon will play Today (abdominal injury), he made the trip and is expected to be a game-time decision. Having Gordon in the lineup would no doubt add a security blanket for both of the competing quarterbacks.
It's no secret that the Browns' offense struggled to get the ball into the end zone during camp, and they didn't score a touchdown in their first preseason game. The offense lost many of the "competition" battles in camp to the defense. It's about time they pick things up a bit. When you look around the NFL this week, 17 of 30 teams who have played put 24 of more points on the board. Many of those teams got up into the 30s.
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Right Guard is Settled? It's beginning to look like the right guard position is settled: the starting job belongs to John Greco. Greco has a good outing last week and has been getting more reps in practice, while Gilkey did not stand out among the atrocious second-team offensive line play vs. Detroit. Would it be too far of a stretch to say that Gilkey is not even a lock for making the roster?
Besides quarterback, inside linebacker is the top position battle right now. Unlike the guard competition, both of the contenders --Craig Robertson and Chris Kirksey -- delivered strong performances in extended time against the Lions. Who will succeed in round two? I'm not looking for one of these guys to blow the other one out of the water. If both of these guys continue to raise their game, then that is great news, because it means we the Browns can utilize both of them on gameday.
After Ben Tate and Terrance West, the running back position is very confusing. I thought Chris Ogbonnaya was a respected veteran,Dion Lewis would be lost in the shuffle, and Isaiah Crowell would be the "intriguing" guy who coaches would want to see. Instead, last week against the Lions, Ogbonnaya and Crowell did not see a single snap on offense, while Lewis saw significant action. The practice reps didn't correlate with the game action. This week, maybe we'll find out more answers about what the coaching staff things. If Lewis continues to get more work, then maybe the coaches like him better than we anticipated.
