The Washington Post - 18.09.2019

D2 EZ M2 THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 , 2019

BY NEIL GREENBERG

Darkness looms for the Washington

Redskins after two straight losses to

start the season. A third loss Monday

night against the favored Chicago Bears

would almost certainly sentence the

Redskins to a fourth straight season

without an appearance in the playoffs.

And if Washington did somehow turn

its season around and qualify for the

postseason, the outlook for a team that

started 0-3 would not be optimistic.

There have been 176 NFL teams to

start a season 0-3 since 1980, and only

six of them went on to make the

playoffs. The Houston Te xans

performed the miracle last year before

losing, 21-7, to the Indianapolis Colts in

the opening round. The 1992 San Diego

Chargers are the only team to win a

playoff game after an 0-3 start.

If the Redskins are going to right the

ship and avoid the dreaded 0-3 start,

here is what they need to fix.

Pass rush must live up to its billing

The team invested heavily in its

defensive front, but so far the return on

that investment has been dismal. The

Redskins have managed 20 pressures

(sacks, hits and hurries) on the

quarterback, earning them the third-

lowest pass-rushing grade this season

from the game charters at Pro Football

Focus.

“The pass rush is not there,” Coach

Jay Gruden acknowledged this week.

In Week 1, Washington pressured

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback

Carson Wentz on just 11 of his 41

dropbacks. And when Wentz did face

pressure, it wasn’t effective. He

completed 9 of 10 passes for 141 yards

and two touchdowns in those

situations, taking just one sack. In

Week 2, Washington’s defense

pressured Dallas Cowboys quarterback

Dak Prescott a mere six times on 33

dropbacks, making him the third-least-

pressured passer of the week.

Chicago’s Mitchell Trubisky does not

respond well to pass pressure, giving

the Redskins an opportunity to

neutralize the Bears’ passing attack

Monday night. Two games into this

season, Trubisky’s passer rating has

dropped from 82.2 when he is not

pressured to 22.9 when he is.

For reference, an incomplete pass

carries a passer rating of 39.6. In other

words, Chicago would have been better

served if Trubisky simply threw the ball

to the ground every time he faced a pass

rush rather than try to make a play.

Stop opponents on third down

The Redskins are allowing

opponents to convert nearly two-thirds

of their third-down attempts this

season, a league high. They have been

poor against both the run and the pass,

allowing 7 of 9 attempted conversions

on the ground and 11 of 19 through the

air. That ineffectiveness has led to a

whopping 7.2 plays allowed per drive

this year, also a league high and almost

two plays per drive more than the

league average.

More plays equals more scoring

opportunities, and Washington’s

opponents have taken advantage. More

than half (53 percent) of Washington’s

opponents’ drives are ending in a

touchdown or field goal; only the

tanking Miami Dolphins are worse at

61 percent, while the league average is

34 percent. The Redskins are

surrendering 14 more points per game

than expected after taking into account

the down, distance and field position of

each play against them.

Better second-half adjustments

Gruden is either getting outcoached

in the second half or his team is fizzling

after halftime, and neither possibility

inspires optimism. The Redskins have

outscored their first two opponents

27-21 in the first half, but they have been

outscored 42-21 in the second. That

second-half point differential is the

second poorest in the league, ahead of

only the Dolphins. Their opponents’

scoring rate (2.1 points per drive in the

first half compared with 4.7 in the

second), plays per drive (5.8 vs. 8.7) and

frequency of three-and-out drives

(40 percent vs. 11 percent) have all

improved in the second half, which has

forced Washington to become one-

dimensional on offense.

High-paid players need to earn it

Josh Norman, Ryan Kerrigan,

Brandon Scherff, Jordan Reed and Paul

Richardson Jr. account for the five

biggest s alary cap hits on this roster, but

only Scherff is living up to expectations.

According to Pro Football Focus,

Scherff has allowed no sacks, no hits

and only two hurries over 123 snaps,

making him the fifth-best right guard of

2019.

The other players on this list need to

do more.

Norman has been targeted seven

times this season, allowing five catches

for 95 yards and a touchdown for a

near-perfect 153.3 passer rating when

opponents target h im. Kerrigan has one

sack, three hits and three hurries

through two games and is the fifth-

worst edge rusher of 2019, per Pro

Football Focus. (Rookie Montez Sweat,

a first-round draft pick, has been the

third worst.)

Reed has been in the concussion

protocol since the preseason and has

yet to suit up for a game. And

Richardson, who was signed to be a

deep threat, has caught seven of 10

targets for 52 yards and a touchdown.

His longest reception was a 17-yarder

against the Eagles in Week 1.

Whether because of play-calling or

the change at quarterback, Richardson

is now being used more conservatively,

negating a significant reason for his

signing.

[email protected]

QUOTABLE

“I knew we did some

new stuff that nobody

had seen, but it didn’t

surprise them.”
NORRIS VAUGHAN,
former football coach at
Mountain Pointe High in Arizona,
where a coach resigned Friday after a
school district investigation found he
had shared football and basketball
game strategies with opposing teams.

REDSKINS: ANALYSIS

A checklist to turn things around

OUTDOORS

BY CINDY BOREN AND

MICHAEL BRICE-SADDLER

On Sunday morning, Sarah

Thomas plunged into the water at

Dover, setting out to swim across

the English Channel. And then

back. And then again. And again.

Fifty-four hours and a few min-

utes later, the breast cancer survi-

vor from Colorado had accom-

plished a remarkable feat, becom-

ing the first person to swim the

channel four times in succession,

covering 84 miles without a break

while treating the body of water

like a huge lap pool.

“I just can’t believe we did it,”

Thomas told the BBC. “I’m really

just pretty numb. There was a lot

of people on the beach to meet me

and wish me well and it was really

nice of them, but I feel just mostly

stunned.”

Thomas, a 37-year-old open-

water ultra marathon swimmer,

finished cancer treatment a year

ago and dedicated her swim to

“all the survivors out there.” She

wrapped up the journey Tuesday

at 6:30 a.m. British summer time

(1:30 a.m. Eastern) at Dover’s

Samphire Hoe nature preserve.

Because of strong tides, she end-

ed up swimming closer to 130

miles, according to the BBC.

“This is for those of us who

have prayed for our lives, who

have wondered with despair

about what comes next, and have

battled through pain and fear to

overcome,” s he wrote Saturday on

Facebook. “This is for those of you

just starting your cancer journey

and those of you who are thriving

with cancer kicked firmly into the

past, and for everyone in be-

tween. This is for our family and

friends who held us in their arms

and provided the strength and

support we needed in the hardest

times. This is for those who strug-

gled alongside us, feeling our

pain as if it was their own. I’m

holding you all in my heart and

swimming for our health and

futures. We are stronger together,

each and every one of us.”

As e xpected, there were treach-

erous moments. While Thomas

neared landfall late in the swim,

the final stretch was marred by

“dark, windy and choppy condi-

tions,” according to Elaine How-

ley, who is working on a docu-

mentary about Thomas’s feat.

Hundreds of fans rooted for

Thomas on social media and fol-

lowed her progress via an online

tracker, her twisting journey

mapped by a blinking dot that

stretched across the Strait of

Dover.

Like thousands of swimmers,

Thomas had swum the Channel

before, in 2012 and in 2016, but no

one had ever swum back and

forth four consecutive times.

Thomas said her immediate plan,

after celebrating with cham-

pagne and chocolate, was to sleep

all day.

“I’m pretty tired right now,” s he

said.

[email protected]

[email protected]

Cancer

survivor

completes

epic swim

TELEVISION AND RADIO

MLB

1 p.m. Washington at St. Louis » MASN, WJFK (106.7 FM), WFED (1500 AM)

4 p.m. New York Mets at Colorado (joined in progress) » MLB Network

7 p.m. Toronto at Baltimore » MASN, WTEM (980 AM)

7 p.m. Philadelphia at Atlanta » ESPN

NHL PRESEASON

7 p.m. St. Louis at Washington » NBC Sports Washington, WJFK (106.7 FM)

7 p.m. Florida vs. Montreal » NHL Network

SOCCER

1 p.m. UEFA Champions League, Group B: Tottenham at Olympiacos » TNT

3 p.m. UEFA Champions League, Group A: Real Madrid at Paris Saint-Germain

» TNT

8:30 p.m. Copa Sudamericana semifinals, first leg: Independiente del Valle

at Corinthians » beIN Sports

10:30 p.m. Leagues Cup, final: Cruz Azul vs. Tigres UANL » ESPN2

TENNIS

6 a.m. ATP: Moselle Open, early rounds; WTA: Japan Women’s Open

and Guangzhou Open, early rounds » Tennis Channel

11 p.m. WTA: Korea Open and Japan Women’s Open, early rounds; Guangzhou

Open, quarterfinals » Tennis Channel

4 a.m. (Thurs.)WTA: Japan Women’s Open, early rounds; Guangzhou Open, quarterfinals

» Tennis Channel

GOLF

10 p.m. Asian Tour: Shinhan Donghae Open, first round » Golf Channel

WOMEN’S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL

7 p.m. Purdue at Kentucky » ESPNU

7 p.m. Michigan at Notre Dame » ACC Network

8 p.m. Stanford at Nebraska » Big Te n Network

BY MATT BONESTEEL

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher
Felipe Vázquez was arrested
Tuesday and charged with com-
puter pornography-solicitation of
a child and providing obscene
material to a minor, the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement
announced.
In a statement, FDLE said
Vázquez — an all-star closer this
season and in 2018 — was taken
into custody in Pittsburgh on
Tuesday morning after an investi-
gation into whether he had a sex-
ual r elationship with a 13-year-old
girl in Lee County, Fla. Major
League Baseball placed Vázquez,
28, o n administrative leave.
“Today we were made aware of
an active law enforcement investi-
gation involving Felipe Vázquez
and h is subsequent a rrest,” P irates
President Frank Coonelly said in a
statement. “We take this matter,
and these charges in particular,
extremely seriously. We have in-
formed t he Commissioner’s O ffice
of the investigation and arrest.
The Commissioner’s Office will
immediately place Felipe Vázquez
on administrative leave (and, as a
result, restricted list) pursuant to
the Joint MLB/MLBPA Policy. We
need to be respectful to all in-
volved and the ongoing legal pro-
ceeding. As a result, the organiza-
tion, our staff and players cannot
comment any further at t his time.”
The FDLE began investigating
in August after it received infor-
mation t hat Vázquez c ontinued to
have a relationship via text mes-
sage with the girl, who is now 15,
the department said. The FDLE
said the girl received a video from
Vázquez in July “in which he is
shown p erforming a sex a ct. Addi-
tionally, Vázquez allegedly sent
the victim text messages suggest-
ing they would meet for sex after
his baseball season was over.”
He is being held at Allegheny
County Jail until he can be extra-
dited to Lee County, on Florida’s
Gulf Coast.
The Venezuelan-born Vázquez,
then known as Felipe Rivero,
made his MLB debut f or the Wash-
ington N ationals in 2015 b efore he
was traded to the Pirates in July

2016. He h as 86 saves o ver the past
      three seasons and is 5-1 with a 1.65
      ERA and 28 saves t his season.
      [email protected]

BASEBALL

Star closer

arrested on

charge of

solicitation

TONI L. SANDYS/THE WASHINGTON POST

Josh Norman has allowed five catches for 95 yards and a touchdown on seven throws to receivers he was covering.

NFL teams rarely recover

after starting a season 0-3,

so upcoming game is critical

washingtonpost.com/sports

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Terps lose right guard

for four to six weeks

Maryland offensive lineman
Terrance Davis w ill miss f our to
six weeks with a sprained medial
collateral ligament, Coach
Michael Locksley s aid Tuesday.
The senior right guard, who is the
Te rrapins’ most experienced
lineman, w as injured during the
second quarter o f Saturday’s 20-17
loss at Temple.
Apart f rom tight e nd Tyler
Mabry, who t ransferred from
Buffalo, Davis h as more career
starts than any player o n
Maryland’s r oster.
Maryland began the season
with an offensive l ine that l acked
experience after three of last
year’s s tarters graduated. The
first-choice group includes
redshirt freshman left tackle
Jaelyn Duncan, w ho had n ot
played b efore this season; left
guard Sean Christie ( 27 career
starts); c enter Johnny Jordan
(nine c areer s tarts); Davis ( 30
career s tarts); a nd r ight tackle
Marcus Minor ( seven career
starts).
“We already w ere thin there,
but w hen you lose a player o f
Te rrance’s c aliber,” L ocksley said,

“he’s a three-year starter f or the

most part, was playing at a high

level for u s, i t’s still a next-man-up

mentality.”

— Emily Giambalvo

SOCCER

Yamil Asad w ill r ejoin D.C.

United f or the 2020 season, club

officials confirmed, but a fter

initially p lanning to play for t he

organization’s s econd-division

team this fall, the Argentine

attacker will w ork instead o n a

fitness p rogram on his own.

Asad, 25, recently signed a two-

year guaranteed contract w ith

United, effective in January.

Additionally, the t eam wanted

him t o sign a short-term deal with

Loudoun United a nd u se the

remaining USL Championship

schedule for conditioning

purposes.

However, by the time h e would

have received a work visa and got

into proper game s hape, only a

few Loudoun matches w ould

have remained.

So Asad will r eturn to

Argentina t his week and follow a

club-specified workout regimen

before reporting t o training camp

in January....

World Cup star Rose Lavelle,

sidelined for a month with a h ead

injury, w as cleared to r esume full

training with the Washington

Spirit and is slated t o play 4 5

minutes S aturday.

Since getting hurt Aug. 17, she

has m issed three National

Women’s Soccer League matches

and two U.S. n ational t eam games

on the World C up victory tour.

Lavelle, 24, experienced

headaches and b alance i ssues and

was p laced in c oncussion

protocol after a ball k icked by U.S.

teammate Emily Sonnett

smashed into the side of her face

during the N WSL match against

the Portland T horns.

— S teven Goff

On a n ight when E urope’s

biggest s tars c ouldn’t f ind a way

to score, teenager Erling Braut

Haaland m ade i t look easy.

The 19-year-old Norwegian

shined in h is Champions League

debut, scoring a hat trick as

Salzburg beat visiting Genk, 6-2.

Meanwhile, Liverpool, Barcelona

and C helsea a ll failed to score.

Liverpool’s prolific front t hree

of Mohamed Salah, Roberto

Firmino a nd Sadio Mane

misfired as the European

champion’s t itle defense started

with a 2-0 loss at Napoli.

Chelsea w as beaten, 1-0, at

home by Valencia thanks t o a

volley from Rodrigo, with Ross

Barkley missing a chance to

equalize when he fired a penalty

onto the crossbar.

In h is first appearance of the

season following a calf i njury,

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi came

off the bench but couldn’t t urn

the t ide in a 0-0 away draw w ith

Borussia Dortmund.

Ajax, last season’s s emifinalist,

shut o ut visiting Lille, 3-0;

Leipzig surprisingly b eat Benfica,

2-1, i n Portugal; Lyon drew, 1-1,

with visiting Z enit St. Petersburg;

and S lavia Prague was u nlucky

not t o win at Inter Milan before

Nicolò Barella’s h eader in

stoppage t ime e arned a 1-1 d raw.

PRO BASKETBALL

Alyssa Thomas h ad 22 points

and g rabbed 1 0 rebounds to lead

a balanced Connecticut offense,

and t he S un o pened t he WNBA

semifinals with a n 84-75 win o ver

the L os A ngeles S parks in

Uncasville, Conn.

Jasmine Thomas s cored 19

points f or the Sun, which won its

first playoff game since 2012.

Candace Parker h ad 24 p oints

and 1 0 rebounds f or the Sparks,

who knocked off defending

champion Seattle i n the s econd

round....

The New York Liberty w ill have

the No. 1 pick in next year’s

WNBA draft for the first time in

franchise h istory. D allas w ill p ick

second, Indiana third and A tlanta

fourth.

COLLEGE S OCCER

Sophomore Daniel Steedman

scored i n the fifth minute to lead

the No. 5 Virginia men (5-0) to a

1-0 victory over Radford in

Charlottesville....

No. 17 V irginia Te ch ( 5-1)

scored three second-half goals e n

route to a 4-0 victory over Grand

Canyon i n Blacksburg, Va.

— From news services

and s taff r eports

DIGEST