Will Newton/Getty Images Jay Gruden
The Washington Redskins take on the Cincinnati Bengals tonight in their first preseason home contest in front of a fan base that needs to see some positive play.
Last week in Cleveland for their preseason opener, the Redskins didn’t look like a cohesive unit. Most of their projected opening day starters didn’t play against the Browns.
How much playing time stars such as Adrian Peterson, Brandon Scherff, Ryan Kerrigan, Josh Norman, and Landon Collins get will remain to be seen with next week’s ‘dress-rehearsal’ game against the Atlanta Falcons coming up?
According to coach Jay Gruden several starters should see the field.
“Yeah we should see them,” Gruden said. “We should see the starters a little bit. I don’t know how much yet. Make sure everyone comes out clean today and have a good walkthrough tomorrow. Then Thursday morning we’ll have a walkthrough again, see where everyone is at and make our determination.”
Last week the offensive line got manhandled by the Browns first-team defensive front and that will be a point of emphasis against the Bengals.
Nevertheless, the Redskins need for a good showing although it’s only a preseason game that some teams don’t put much stock into. Washington is trying to rebound from a disappointing second half of last season that was besieged with debilitating injuries.
At one point the Redskins were off to a solid 5-2 start to only finish 7-9 and miss the playoffs for a third straight year. If they are to get back into the postseason, games like tonight will go a long way in building cohesiveness and comradery on the field.
Washington must find out who their starting quarterback will be under center even though the early prognosis is veteran Case Keenum has looked the most steady.
Colt McCoy has been ruled out for a second contest so Keenum, Dwayne Haskins, and recently signed Jalan McClendon should all see the field.
Haskins had nice moments in his first-ever NFL game but also had a few gaffs along the way. It will be important to see how the rookie grows every week during the preseason.
“I think the big thing is just getting him in and out of the huddle, getting the plays called and then obviously, playing with what he sees, making the necessary adjustments and working on his fundamentals,” Gruden said about Haskins game-to-game growth. “But, he did some really good things for his first game. We asked a lot of him, probably more so than a lot of the other quarterbacks in their first year. We did a lot of different things – protections and different route concepts. I thought he handled it pretty well. Obviously, with Case [Keenum] and with Dwayne, there’s things we can coach off of and improve – with every position.”
Jay Gruden must also find out the best combination of five along his offensive line. All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams continues his holdout and it’s appearing by the day that a split between the player and Redskins looks inevitable.
Game time for tonight’s contest is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.