What We Saw: Week 1 2018

Redskins vs. Cardinals

Redskins

The West’s Best Gun Alex Smith…and some receivers

I have to indulge a bit here: I was called crazy in quite a few of my leagues for drafting Alex Smith AT ALL, let alone as my starter for the season. Well, Smith looked like he un-packed up his things from Kansas City and got right back to being a stud QB. With a near 70% completion percentage, the usual 0 INT’s, and a modest 250+ yards and 2 TD’s, Smith churned out a productive performance against one of the best secondaries in the NFL. Now, the same can’t be said for the targets of Smith’s passes, as Smith quite literally “spread the love” in this one. The only “receivers” to top 50 yards on the day were the two starting RB’s, and the lucky “receivers” who caught Smith’s two TD passes were Jordan Reed and Chris Thompson, again not actual WR’s. This could realistically mean one of two things: 1) Smith is bringing his style of play from pre-Tyreek Kansas City to Washington, namely screw the receivers, or 2) The ‘Skins leveraged running back and tight end matchups against a team with a top-tier secondary. My bet is firmly on the latter, though that means we still have yet to identify a “#1” receiver for this team. For what it’s worth, Paul Richardson saw the “lion’s share” of WR targets with a whopping six, but I’d wait until a game where Smith really airs it out to identify the receiver to target.

Jordan Reed is Back…For Now

Real quick before I drool over the Redskins run game, I wanted to mention the solid return of Jordan Reed. Despite only 5 targets, the undeniably talented TE logged a solid 48 yards and a TD in Sunday’s game. As I expected, Vernon Davis played a minimal role (if you can even call it that), receiving only 1 target in the game. Reed’s production should only continue to grow as his report with Smith grows, but do remember that Reed could be out for the season at any moment. Next week’s game is against the lowly Colts D, so I’d hold off on flipping the skilled TE for now, but maybe consider doing so prior to Week 3 to get you a solid, and healthy option if any are left after yesterday’s slew of injuries.

Father Time and TD-Regression Are for the Birds, not the ‘Skins!

Another take of mine for which I was thoroughly grilled, AP’s revival has officially begun. Despite an inefficient 96 yards on 26 carries, the 33 year old back looked truly alive running behind the Redskins superb offensive line. He flashed several moments of the powerful, yet refined running style that will someday soon punch his ticket to Canton, and was aptly served the appropriate volume to do so on a silver platter. It remains to be seen if All Day can hold up to this type of volume over a prolonged stretch of games, but I’m certainly not going to be the one to bet against AP’s conditioning. Speaking of conditioning, Chris Thompson has seemingly conditioned fantasy owners to expect a TD from him in every game he doesn’t break every bone in his body. Exaggeration aside, the man looked INCREDIBLE, catching 6 of 7 targets for 63 yards and a TD, all while gashing the Cards rush D for 13 YPC on his 5 carries. Also, get this: apparently he’s NOT 100% ON HIS LEG YET!!! Folks, I had my doubts about Thompson coming into the season, but with how polished the man looked in his season debut, I am all aboard the Thompson hype train.

Nice D, Broh!

The Redskins secondary absolutely pinched the demonstrably average (when healthy) Sam Bradford, holding him to 153 yards passing, no TD’s, and an INT. The entire Cardinals offense was stymied form the get-go as anyone not named Larry Fitzgerald struggled to gain separation from the likes of Josh Norman and Quinton Dunbar. Though the ‘Skins defense did do a fantastic job locking down the Cards passing attack, they were perhaps fortunate that Alex Smith so efficiently picked apart the Cards D, handing his defense a 21-0 lead at the half. The Cardinals run game, highlighted by oft-slept on star David Johnson, averaged over 4.5 YPC on the day, though they were only able to attempt 13 rushes due to the quickly growing deficit. Although the ‘Skins rush defense is something to monitor going forward, it seems this unit has earned itself the label of a solid streamer moving forward.

-Alex Silverman

Cardinals

It was a difficult start to the season for Arizona. So difficult that I wrote an entire “What I Saw” column for the Washington Redskins before realizing I don’t actually cover that team. The pass offense was inconsistent and generally unproductive. The running game was effective, but rendered obsolete thanks to an early deficit.

What Happened in the Passing Game?

Sam Bradford struggled through the air both for completions and yardage. The veteran finished with 20 completions on 34 attempts for a measly 153 yards. Failing to put the ball in endzone on his own account, Bradford found Redskins’ DB Quinton Dunbar more frequently than number two receiver Chad Williams. This offense predictably went heavy towards Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson, but that game plan has become increasingly unproductive over the past couple of seasons. Fitzgerald still proves to be a valuable option in any type of PPR with his 7 receptions, but when the opponent finishes with nearly double the amount of yards in the same amount of drives…something is off.

The offensive line continues to be successful in the run game.

Arizona found regular success on the ground in the preseason and that extended into Week 1, when the team was still running the ball. Thanks to a 21-point deficit at the half, the Cardinals rushed the ball just 13 times for 61 yards. David Johnson shined in a small sample size. Fresh off his new extension, he ran nine times for 37 yards and a score – never rushing for a loss of yards. Chase Edmonds ran his way to 24 yards on four carries, also never being tackled for a loss. It seems impossible for there not to be a greater focus on the run game in coming weeks as this offense lacked any oomf in the passing game. Johnson remains a coveted name to start, and things can only come up from here.

-Michael Collins