The Washington Redskins will travel north on I-95 on Saturday to take on the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium at 7:30 pm for what figures to be the “dress rehearsal” for the 2014 starters. Apart from the excitement of seeing every day players into the second half, this preseason matchup should provide even more answers for what the 53 man roster should look like for both teams.
We know about the offense and the development of Robert Griffin III, who gave a mixed performance in the win vs. the Cleveland Browns last week. But there are several other key factors to keep close tabs on while watching the preseason game that everyone hates the least.
Here are the things to keep your eye on in preseason game 3:
Jason Hatcher: One of the Redskins’ biggest offseason acquisitions, Jason Hatcher, will don the burgundy and gold for the first time this preseason in Saturday’s game. Hatcher has been sidelined through training camp and the first two preseason games due to arthroscopic surgery he had on his right knee in the offseason. A dynamic pass rusher, Hatcher brings physicality and also helps to create depth along the Redskins’ 3-4 defensive front, which looks to improve upon a meager 2013 performance.
Hatcher doesn’t figure to play long as the Redskins will most likely limit his snaps, but it will be interesting to see how well he bursts off the line after the snap on that repaired knee. A solid pass rush is essential, especially when facing Joe Flacco who tends to make poor decisions when he feels pressure. Chris Baker is the other defensive end and Jarvis Jenkins figures to have some significant playing time this season too. Hatcher certainly adds to the talent that goes along with these names and Saturday’s contest should be a good measuring stick for how this group is going to look in 2014.
Penalties: The hot-button issue in the NFL this preseason has been penalties, especially those pertaining to defensive holding and illegal contact beyond five yards past the line of scrimmage. Players, coaches, and fans alike are becoming increasingly frustrated with the amount of “yellow” on the field so far this year, with penalties in preseason games up 44 percent.
But that is the reality of the modern day NFL. The NFL makes its money off of high flying offenses and the players that feature them, so it appears the league will continue to make it tougher for defenders to actually defend. At any rate, defenses must adjust or be doomed to suffer.
Sure, the referees could be just setting a precedent and could back off once the regular season begins, but the Redskins need to start making these adjustments now while they have live game action available to them. Last week against the Cleveland Browns, the Redskins committed 11 penalties for 100 yards, so this has definitely got to be an area that Jay Gruden will look to improve upon this week.
Third Running Back: Alfred Morris and Roy Helu Jr. are going to make this team. That is a given. So who will be the third guy? This has been one of the biggest questions since the preseason began and both Lache Seastrunk and Silas Redd impressed against the New England Patriots. In the Browns game, it was a mixed bag for the offense as a whole, although Seastrunk certainly didn’t do anything to increase doubt in his abilities.
Chris Thompson is a dynamic and gifted running back and Evan Royster seems to have never gotten a true chance to showcase his true talents since being drafted by the team in 2011. However, these two seem like the odd men out at this point. Lache Seastrunk is speedy, shifty and Jay Gruden spent a draft pick on him. It’s hard to fathom that Seastrunk or Redd would make it to the practice squad before another team picks them up, which leaves Washington’s coach with a difficult decision indeed.
Battle of the Beltway!: The Redskins and Ravens (maybe even more-so on the part of Baltimore) have tried since Baltimore re-acquired an NFL franchise to make this matchup a regional rivalry. The thing is, it may be developing into one. The last time these teams faced each other was in the 2012 regular season, where Robert Griffin III’s knee was originally injured, arguably setting into motion the events that led to the Seahawks playoff game disaster and the eventual debilitation of Mike Shanahan and Griffin’s relationship. However, the Redskins won that game in dramatic fashion, and even though the Ravens went on to win the Super Bowl that year, it was still a tough pill for them to swallow.
This may never be a huge rivalry, but there certainly is animosity developing between the fan bases of these two teams. Some fans of the Baltimore Colts adopted the Redskins once Irsay moved the team in the middle of the night, but then quickly bolted back to Baltimore once the Cleveland Browns made the move in the late 90′s.
Redskins fans hold animosity there and it’s clear that while the Ravens control most of Maryland, anything below College Park, into DC, and well into Virginia and North Carolina is Redskins country, which seems to irk even Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh. It will be interesting to see just how many Redskins fans make the trip north for this preseason matchup, and just how electric the atmosphere will be for an otherwise less than desirable exhibition before the real action starts in September.