Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Arizona 23 at Washington 31 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Arizona Cardinals: David Boston was quiet early, but came alive in the second half. He was the only wide receiver to have more than one catch (Running backs Thomas Jones and Joel Makovicka had 3 and 2 catches each). Boston used his size to his advantage, creating mismatches against the smaller Fred Smoot and sometimes even Darrell Green. He finished with 7 catches for 138 yards and 1 touchdown. The Arizona offense still appears to be pass first, run just enough to keep you honest. Thomas Jones was inconsistent. He would break decent 5,6 and sometimes 7 yard runs every once in a while, but most often he would get stuffed at the line for only a small gain, or a loss. Jones had 17 carries for 54 yards. Washington Redskins: Steve Spurrier is one step closer to silencing the critics who claim the Fun n' Gun won't work in the NFL. Now he needs to put up similar numbers against a better team. (He'll get his chance Monday against Philadelphia) The offense was both balanced (32 rushes, 40 passes) and effective (443 total yards, 31 points, only 1 turnover). The majority of the time, Washington ran the offense 'no huddle' which kept Arizona from making needed substitutions. Shane Matthews looked very good completing 70% of his passes. He had beautiful touchdown passes to Kevin Lockett (26 yards), Rod Gardner (43 yards), and Derrius Thompson (17 yards). His interception occurred on a fluke play where the ball hit a lineman and was deflected. Stephen Davis was used very often and looks to be a huge part of this offense. Davis was the target of the first four plays. On the drive where he scored his only touchdown, he was targeted in the red zone on both plays. Controlling the latter part of the game with the rushing attack could be a regular occurrence. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Arizona Cardinals QB: Jake Plummer: Didn't have a great game. He was often inaccurate under pressure, making bad throws, some of which could have been picked off. Plummer had a 7 yard touchdown run where he completely outran the defensive backs chasing him. His one interception wasn't his fault. He was clearly locked on to David Boston - didn't have time to look at anyone else. If he was pressured, he dumped the ball in the direction of Thomas Jones. He threw many balls away to avoid sacks and was lucky to only to only throw 1 interception (four more could have been picked by the defense WR: David Boston: Didn't have a catch until midway through the second quarter, but after that, he exploded. The Redskins couldn't stop him. Boston was Plummer's top target. His size easily created mismatches against most Cornerbacks. Frank Sanders and MarTay Jenkins were very quiet. Jenkins had only one catch for 18 yards, while Sanders didn't have any receptions. David Boston is clearly Plummer's primary guy. RB: Thomas Jones was the only running back to get a carry, gaining 54 yards on 17 attempts. He also had the second most receptions with 3 for 7 yards. He dropped two other passes that would have both been over ten yard plays. His first contact was at or behind the line of scrimmage on most of his carries. He ran well considering the poor blocking and is clearly the entire Arizona running game. Possible concern is the Plummer bootleg call on the 7. The Cardinals didn't spend enough time in the red zone to see if that was a trend. TE: Freddie Jones caught his only pass for 10 yards on the first drive. He was wide open several times during the game, but Plummer either didn't see him, or didn't have time to check down to him. After the game film is analyzed, Freddie Jones should get more looks next week. Rushing Defense: Overmatched. Ronald McKinnon was in on 10 tackles, but no one could stop Stephen Davis. Davis ran on them at will it seemed. Passing Defense: Completely overmatched. The no huddle Fun-N-Gun was too much for the secondary. Matthews completed 28 of 40 passes for 327 yards, 3 TDs, and only 1 INT. It was really even worse than that. At least half of the 12 incomplete passes were bad throws to open receivers, not good defense. Even the interception was a gift. Matthews threw the ball into the back of one of his own linemen and it bounced right into the hands of Barron Tanners. This was a poor showing from the Arizona defense. K - Bill Gramatica looked good converting 3 of 4 field goal attempts and did not leave the ground in celebration even once. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Washington Redskins QB: Shane Matthews: Put up a spectacular performance. He had 3 very nice touchdown passes. Matthews started out sharp, completing his first 4 passes and going 5/6 on his first drive. He didn't make any major mistakes today. His lone interception occurred on a fluke play. Definitely looks to stretch the field with the vertical passing game. Did make a few poor throws on some of the incompletions. Spread the ball around to eight different receivers with WR Gardner and RB Davis each catching 7. WR: Rod Gardner: Proved that he could have a breakout year this year. He looked good on timing, crossing, and deep routes. He caught 7 passes for 138 yards, including a 43 yard touchdown reception. Gardner also had a 29 yard reception where he was pushed out of bounds at the 10. That catch helped to set up a Stephen Davis touchdown. Gardner was very aggressive going after passes. Coach Steve Spurrier commented after the game, "Anytime you throw it up and Rod Gardner is there, you've got a chance". Derrius Thompson: Started opposite of Gardner. He had a touchdown reception of 17 yards. Thompson finished with 4 receptions for 45 yards. He might become a bigger part of the Redskins game plan in the coming weeks. Jacquez Green: Seems to be sliding down the depth charts. He was only thrown at one time the entire game, and that pass was overthrown. Kevin Lockett: Was the 3rd receiver today with 3 receptions for 34 yards and a touchdown. RB: Stephen Davis: Was used much more than in the preseason. Davis looked very good, breaking many runs for more than 5 yards. Was used on the first 4 plays of the game. Davis was also the target of many dump off and screen passes, catching 7 passes for 46 yards. He was the target on both plays in the red zone on the drive where he scored his only touchdown. Davis finished with 104 yards rushing and 46 receiving. TE: Zeron Flemister - Wasn't used in the passing game much. Had one reception for 19 yards. Passing Defense - Very tough. They applied strong pressure to Plummer, often forcing him out of the pocket, allowing him to complete only 14 of 36 passes for 187 yards. Champ Bailey had the team's only interception, but 4 others could have been picked (one each by Trotter and Arrington, and two by Smoot). Fred Smoot was often covering David Boston. Smoot covered Boston like a blanket on some plays and got badly burned on others. Rush Defense - Held Jones to only 54 yards. They did a good job of not letting him break any huge runs. Jesse Armstead led the charge with 8 tackles. The unit only allowed 70 rushing yards, but Arizona only ran the ball 21 times. There was very rarely a hole of any size to run through.